0815 HRS

16-05-2013

THE HEADLINE

• LPG consumers in 20 identified districts to get subsidy in their bank accounts from first of next month.
• RBI to issue inflation linked bonds every month to attract household savings.
• Polling begins for Panchayat and first time Municipal Elections in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Cyclone MAHASEN likely to hit coastal areas of Bangladesh by noon today; Thousands evacuated.
• South-West monsoon expected to hit Kerala on 3rd June.
• And, East Bengal enters the AFC Cup quarter-final for the second time after 2004.

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The Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for transfer of cash subsidy on cooking gas is being launched from the first of next month. Initially, it will cover 76 lakh LPG consumers in 20 identified districts of 8 states and 2 Union Territories. Announcing this in New Delhi, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M Veerappa Moily said that the scheme aims to curb leakages and prevent black marketing. He said, the transfer of subsidy has been linked with Aadhar Cards and Bank account with Aadhar number. He said, 89 per cent of LPG consumers in these districts already have Aadhar Cards.

We would like to launch it on 1st June 2013, in 20 districts having 76 lakh consumers, covers 520 LPG distributors.

The subsidy will be allowed on 9 cylinders a year beyond which the consumers will have to pay the market price. It will be provided in advance in their bank accounts at the time of booking itself. Mr Moily said, that the roadmap for extending the scheme to the rest of the country is being worked out. There are 14 crore LPG consumers in the country out of which 63 lakh connections have been blocked for want of completion of KYC formalities.

The districts covered are Anantpur, Chittoor, East Godavari, Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, Diu in Damn and Diue, North Goa, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi and Una in Himachal Pradesh, Mysore and Tumkur in Karnataka, Pathanamthitta and Wayand in Kerala, Wardha in Maharashtra, Pondicherry, SBS Nagar/Nawanshahar in Punjab and East Nimar (Khandwa) and Harda in Madhya Pradesh.

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The Reserve Bank of India, RBI has announced that it will launch inflation-linked bonds every month to attract household savings of up to 15,000 crore rupees this fiscal so as to discourage investments in gold. The central bank said, in consultation with the Government of India, the RBI has decided to launch Inflation Indexed Bonds, IIBs. The first tranche of the IIBs 2013-2014 for 1,000 to 2,000 crore rupees will be issued on June 4th. The maturity period of these bonds will be 10 years. The total issue size will be 12,000 to 15,000 crore rupees in 2013 to 14. After the first tranche, bonds will be issued on the last Tuesday of every month. While the first series of the bonds will be open for all class of investors, the second series issue - beginning October - will be reserved exclusively for retail investors.

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In Arunachal Pradesh, polling for the Panchayat elections and the first time municipal elections began at 7 this morning. Despite showers since last night, voters started lining up at the polling booths. Our correspondent reports that adequate security measures have been taken to check poll violence.

Around 90 percent polling booths in Itanagar municipal segment are hyper-sensitive and fool-proof security arrangement have been made to check any unwanted incidents. Ballot boxes are being used for the panchayat elections while voting for Municipal polls is being conducted using EVMs. Polling is being held in 30 wards in Itanagar and while 10 wards in Pasighat in insurgency hit Tirap district. Sonikumar Konjengbam for AIR News, Itanagar.

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Actor Sanjay Dutt is to surrender before a court in Mumbai today to undergo the remaining prison term in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. Dutt's lawyer yesterday informed the special TADA court that the actor wanted to withdraw his application filed a day before seeking leave to surrender before the Yerwada jail in Pune instead of giving himself up in the TADA court in Mumbai. However, he did not assign any reason for withdrawing the application.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (Prisons) Vinod Lokhande said Arthur Road Central Jail authorities in Mumbai had received an anonymous letter alleging a threat to Dutt's life. He said, the jail authority have taken cognizance of the letter received three days ago and shall be providing adequate security to Sanjay Dutt.

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Hearing on Zakia Jafri's petition against the Special Investigation Team's closure report on the Gujarat riots will resume from June 3rd, after a gap of almost two weeks following the transfer of the Metropolitan Magistrate who was hearing it. On May 2nd, the Gujarat High Court as part of routine transfers shifted Magistrate B J Ganatra to Anand. However, during the hearing of a bail application by one of the under trials of the Gulberg Society massacre case, the Supreme Court ordered the High Court to revoke Ganatra's transfer.

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In Uttar Pradesh, a police sub inspector accused for slapping a 23-year-old woman inside the Sahibabad police station in Ghaziabad has been suspended. A departmental inquiry has also been initiated. Our correspondent reports that the district police chief has taken the action after getting a report from a deputy police superintendent level officer.

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Dentist couple Dr. Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, accused in the murder of their teenage daughter Aarushi Talwar has filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court to summon 14 witnesses. The matter is likely to be taken up for hearing tomorrow. They were on Tuesday allowed by the CBI court to leave the national capital region for filing a plea in the Allahabad High Court.

The CBI had told the court that 14-year-old Aarushi was killed by her parents. Aarushi was found dead on May 16th, 2008 at her residence in Noida. The body of their servant Hemraj was found the next day on the terrace of the house.

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Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the UPA government's flagship educational scheme has reduced dropouts from Schools by 50 lakh children in the last three years. The number of dropouts in the age group of 6 to 14 has come down to 30 lakhs in 2012 from 80 lakhs in 2009. The SSA envisages universalizations of elementary education in a time bound manner. Another significant achievement is that the net enrollment ratio at the primary school level has achieved an admirable 99.8 per cent. This has also led to gender parity at the primary level.

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For news updates, follow us on Twitter @ airnewsalerts. For regional and national news from AIR download the free All India Radio News application on any android based mobile phone.

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Cyclone Mahasen in the Bay of Bengal has intensified further and moved closer to Bangladesh and is likely to cross the country’s coast by noon today. According to a special bulletin of the Bangladesh Met Department, the cyclonic storm was centred at 06.00 am today about 435 kms southwest of Chittagong port, 385 kms southwest of Cox’s bazar port and 320 kms south of Mongla port. The report predicts that cyclone Mahasen is likely to intensify further and move in a north-northeasterly direction and may cross Chittagong-cox’s bazar coast by noon today. Our correspondent has filed this reports.

The government has taken elaborate steps to protect the people living in the vulnerable coastal districts. People living in the low lying areas of 13 coastal districts have been moved to Cyclone shelters as the storm is likely to trigger of eight to nine feet high tides near the sea shore. More than 1300 medical teams have been made ready to assist in relief work when needed. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority has suspended the operation of vessels and passenger ferries on long routes till further notice. The Armed forces division has opened a special cell in the Prime minister’s office to co-ordinate and monitor steps being taken to face Cyclone Mahasen. Senthil Rajan for AIR News, Dhaka.

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The crucial south-west monsoon is expected to bring its first showers to Kerala on the 3rd of June, a slight delay that could be attributed to the cyclonic activity over the Bay of Bengal. The Chief Monsoon Forecaster, India Met Department, D Shivananda Pai said in New Delhi yesterday that it was a slight delay than the usual onset date of 1st June. He said that the delay could be attributed to cyclone Mahasen that is churning the Bay of Bengal packing wind speed of 90 kmph. While Mahasen is expected to delay rain over Kerala, the strong cyclonic winds are driving the monsoon flow over the Andman where the onset is expected by Friday. Andman and Nicobar Islands usually receive monsoon showers between the 10th and 20th of May.

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A delegation from the Information and Broadcasting and Tourism Ministries is participating in the 66^{th Cannes Film Festival to showcase the heritage of Indian films and promote the country as a filming destination. The festival which opened in France yesterday is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Indian Cinema. The activities of the Tourism Ministry at the event include a presentation on Incredible India to provide opportunities for business networking. The Tourism Ministry has set up an Incredible India booth at the exhibition.}

Our correspondent reports that the two ministries had signed an MoU to promote cinema as a sub brand of Incredible India at various international film festivals.

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In Iraq, at least 23 people were killed in a wave of bomb attacks in Shia districts in the capital, Baghdad. Police said, 11 bombs, all in the space of an hour, exploded last evening in the Shia-dominated neighbourhoods across Baghdad.

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The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution calling for a political transition in Syria and condemning President Bashar al-Assad Government for its increasing use of heavy weapons. The non-binding resolution was adopted easily but with slightly less support than for a similar one last year as many countries abstained.

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All India Radio Tiruchirapalli, is celebrating its platinum jubilee today with a series of special programmes including folk dance and music. A report:

AIR Tiruchirapalli is one of the six pioneer radio stations in pre-Independent India and was started on 16th May, 1939. The radio station with a 5 Kilo watt medium wave transmitter was inaugurated by Madras Province Chief Minister C Rajagopalachari. From 1988 onwards the transmitter was upgraded to 100 Kilo watt and Regional News Unit was started on November 14, 1981. The Primary Channel covers about three and a half crore people. As part of the platinum jubilee celebrations Pavizhamalli a special programme from archives will be broadcast daily for a year. K Devi Padmanabhan, AIR News, Tiruchirapalli.

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East Bengal entered the Asian Football Confederation Cup quarter-final for the second time after 2004. At the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata yesterday, Bengal beat Yangon United of Myanmar 5-1.

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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES

India's attempt to re-enter the Olympic movement from which it was banished last December has been widely reported by papers. "India pledges radical sports reforms to re-enter Olympics", says the Times of India, while the Mail Today writes ''IOA Zamindars out - IOC and Indian delegation hammer out roadmap to conduct fresh elections".

"India, China must shake hands, says Li", reports the Indian Express, writing that ahead of his visit to New Delhi Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called India a "friendly neighbor" and said both countries must shake hands to make Asia an engine of the world economy.

The Hindu writes that India's bid for "observer status" in the Arctic Council was successful yesterday, at a meeting in Sweden. India would contribute its scientific expertise, particularly in Polar research capabilities, to achieve the councils objectives.

"North Pole wanders due to global warming", writes the Pioneer reporting that the increased melting of the Greenland ice sheet and to a lesser extent, ice loss in other parts of the globe have helped shift the North Pole several centimeters east.

And in welcome news for communication through texts, the Hindustan Times writes that struggling smart phone maker Blackberry, has announced plans to offer its popular and secure, instant messaging system, the Black Berry Messenger or BBM or rival devices too.