2100 HRS.

19-07-2013

THE HEADLINES

• Prime Minister calls for pushing exports to address rupee depreciation issue; Assures industry proactive steps for higher economic growth.
• Supreme Court  issues  notice to Uttarakhand and six other states for their alleged failure in implementing Disaster Management Act.
• Coal Ministry to issue show cause notices to 27 coal mines for delaying production.
• Two persons killed in poll related violence in 3rd phase of Panchayat elections in West Bengal.
• In Iraq,  twenty people killed  in a powerful bomb blast inside a Sunni mosque.
• Sports Ministry  recommends  hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand's name for Bharat Ratna.

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Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has called for pushing exports to reduce the impact of rupee depreciation. He said the rupee depreciation will help the Indian industry to effectively compete with other countries, both in export markets and against their imports in the Indian markets.

Addressing the Annual Meeting of the ASSOCHAM in New Delhi today, Dr Singh said the Reserve Bank of India had taken some short term measures to contain the speculative pressure on the currency. He said the volatility in the foreign exchange markets is the most immediate cause of worry.

Large volumes of funds were withdrawn from emerging markets and there was a depreciation in many emerging market countries.  We too  experienced a significant depreciation in the exchange value of the rupee.  It was perhaps exacerbated by the fact that our current account deficit in the balance of payment had increased to 4.7 per cent of GDP in 2012-13.

The Prime Minister assured the captains of the Indian industry that the government will proactively address their concerns to put the economy back on the higher growth path. Dr Singh also promised to unleash more FDI reforms and push several infrastructure initiatives to boost economic growth.

Dr. Singh said, the Centre will use all available fiscal, monetary and supply side interventions to ensure that the CAD declines further. Taking a dig at his political critics, Dr. Singh said Poverty also declined by more than two per cent per year between 2004-05 and 2011-12.

Percentage of population below the poverty line declined at 0.75 percentage points per year before our government came to office in 2004-05. It has fallen more than two percentage points per year between 2004-05 and 2011-12.

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The Supreme Court today issued notice to Uttarakhand and six other states for their alleged failure in implementing Disaster Management Act in order to handle natural catastrophe.

A bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik sought response from the Centre, the states and the Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands on a PIL alleging that governments have failed to implement in true spirit the Act which was passed in 2005.

The six other states issued notice are Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Gujarat.

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The Coal Ministry has decided to issue show-cause notices to allottees of 27 captive coal mines for delaying production and seek explanations from another 21 mine holders for not developing them on time.

The steps come on the heels of an inter -ministerial group recommending the issue of show -cause notices to companies, including Jindal Steel and Power, Hindustan Zinc and Ultratech, for delaying production from around 40 mines.

The Coal Ministry had earlier issued notices to allottees of 30 captive coal blocks, including NTPC, GVK Power and Monnet Ispat, for failing to develop them on time.

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Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Chairman Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani were today directed by a Delhi court to appear as prosecution witnesses in the 2G spectrum case.

The court which allowed CBI's plea that their testimony may throw light on alleged investment of over 990 crore rupees by his group companies in Swan Telecom.

The court said CBI's plea to summon Anil Ambani, Tina and 11 others as prosecution witnesses was essential for arriving at a just decision in the case.

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In West Bengal, two persons were killed in a series of clashes in North 24 and South 24 Parganas districts during the Panchayat polls in the State today.

According to official sources, one CPIM supporter was killed in a bomb attack at Amdanga in North 24 Parganas one Trinamul congress activist was shot dead at Magrahat in South 24 Parganas district during the clash.

Both the warring groups indiscriminately used bombs and fire-arms. Stray incidents of violence were also reported from Howrah district.

Quoting official sources, our correspondent  reports that over 70 per cent polling was recorded in the third phase of Panchayat polls in North and South 24 Parganas and Howrah district till 5 this afternoon.  More From Our Correspondent

CPIM supporters staged blockage on road and rail track at different parts of north 24 Pargana protesting alleged irregularities in polling. The voters turned out at Kamduni  in the district were very low. Clashes were also reported from Panchala and Bagnan in Howara district. The State Election Commission is likely to order repoll atleast in six polling booths in three districts following complaints of booth capturing and tempering of ballot boxes. Arjit Chakraborty AIR News.

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Curfew continues in Srinagar City and some other major towns in Kashmir valley to prevent any untoward incident.  The curfew was imposed following killing of four people in Ramban on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway yesterday.

Our Correspondent reports that the situation remained by and large under control. However, two youth were injured in clashes with police in Gandharbal area.

State Cabinet  which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned excessive  use of force  in Gool area  of Ramban and sanctioned   ex -gratia of Rs. 5 lakh  and Government job each to the next of the kin of those killed in the firing incident. Omar Abdullah also lamented the "inaccurate" reporting by some sections of media about the deaths in the firing incident at Ramban saying the inaccurate reporting of death toll  by  many TV news channels and websites of leading national newspapers is unprofessional and certainly does not help in improving the situation on the ground. R K RAINA, FROM JAMMU.

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In Uttar Pradesh Union Civil Aviation Minister  and Rashtriya Lok Dal Chief Ajit Singh today suspended  two sitting Party MPs. Party has issued notices to Devendra Nagpal MP from Amroha and Ms. Sarika Baghel from Hathras seeking their reply within a week.

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Actor Salman Khan appeared before the Mumbai Sessions Court today for a fresh trial in connection with the 2002 hit and run case. The court has adjourned the hearing till 24th of this month, when charges are likely to be framed against him.

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The BJP has formed  20  committees to focus  on various aspects of electioneering for the next General Elections in 2014. Announcing the decision of yesterday's Parliamentary Board Meeting, senior party leader Ananth Kumar told reporters in New Delhi that the committees will function under the overall guidance of eleven member Central Election Campaign Committee which will  be headed by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr Kumar  said, the Central Committee will work under the guidance of former Prime Minister and veteran leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, senior leader L.K Advani and party President Rajnath Singh.

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In Iraq, at least twenty people have been   killed  in a bomb blast inside a Sunni mosque  in the central Diyala province.  Police said  the blast   took place in the Wajihiya town of the province and several people were injured in the attack.    It is the latest attack in a surge of violence that has seen a number of mosques targeted in recent weeks.

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A Judicial magistrate’s court in Mannar in Sri Lanka today extended the remand of 21 fishermen Tamil Nadu who were arrested on the 6th of June by the Sri Lankan Navy. The remand has been extended to August 2 and the fishermen will continue to be lodged in the Anuradhapura prison.

This is for the first time this year that the fishermen will be kept in Sri Lankan custody for almost two months.

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NEWS FROM THE BUSINESS WORLD

Rising for the third straight session, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange ended with a small gain of 21 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at a new six-week high of 20,150, lifted by good buying in IT stocks. But the Nifty at the National Stock Exchange declined 9 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,029. The rupee appreciated 32 paise, to end at 59.35 against the dollar. Gold rose 275 rupees, to 27,300 rupees per ten grams in Delhi. Silver gained 295 rupees, to 40,730 rupees per kilo. And Brent crude oil futures stood near 109 dollars a barrel, while US crude rose 15 cents, to 108.19 dollars a barrel. AIR News

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The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance today finalised its report on Goods and Services Tax (GST) which will be tabled in Parliament in the monsoon session beginning August 5. Sources said the report will be sent to the Parliament today only.

The GST Bill, introduced in Parliament in 2010, is being vetted by the Standing Committee on Finance. Now, the states and the Centre would together finalise the draft and bring it back to Parliament.

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The Environment Ministry today granted green clearance for an international airport in north Kerala's Kannur district.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters in New Delhi that a global tender for construction of the runway would be invited soon.

Kannur airport would be the fourth international airport in the state after Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.

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Heavy rainfall continued to lash various parts of Uttarakhand, especially the Kumaun region, leading to landslides and rising water levels in several rivers.

Intermittent showers were reported in the Udham Singh Nagar and Champavat districts in Kumaun region.

Separate cases of landslides in two villages in the Munsyari area of Pithoragarh district caused damage to houses.

All major rivers flowing through the state registered an increase in water levels including Ganga, Yamuna, Kosi and Sharda.

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In Andhra Pradesh, incessant rains continued to lash several parts, especially North Telangana districts in the state. The district administrations of 8 districts have been put on high alert as Godavari River is flowing above danger mark.

About 40 villages in Nizamabad, Adilabad and Warangal districts have been marooned and crops in 69 thousand hectare have been inundated. About four thousand people from low lying areas have been evacuated to 16 relief camps in the rain hit districts.

Meanwhile, Met officials have warned that heavy rains will occur at several places in the state for next 48 hours.

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A Delhi court today extended till July 24 the judicial custody of nine accused, including former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla, who have been arrested in connection with the Rs 10 crore railway bribery case.

Nine accused, including Singla and then Member (Staff) of Railway Board Mahesh Kumar, were produced before the court after expiry of their judicial custody and Special CBI Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma extended it till July 24.

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The Sports Ministry has recommended hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand's name for India's highest civilian honour -- the Bharat Ratna.

Sports Secretary P K Deb said that the letter recommending Bharat Ratna for Dhyan Chand has already been sent to the Prime Minister.

The recommendation, sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will be studied further before it goes for approval of President Pranab Mukherjee, for the hockey wizard to get the award posthumously.

Dhyan Chand won three gold medals at the Olympics -- 1928 in Amsterdam, 1932 in Los Angeles and 1936 in Berlin. He passed away in 1979.

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In the second Ashes Cricket Test at Lord's, Australia have lost nine wickets and face follow on, on the second day. The visitors were 120 when reports last came in. This is in reply to England's first innings score of 361. England's seamer Graeme Swann claimed four Australian wickets, Tim Bresnan 2 and Stuart Broad 1.  Earlier,  resuming on their overnight score of 289 for 7 , Stuart Broad and Gareme Swann waged a counter attack in the morning against Australia after R.J.Harris claimed five English  wickets.

Hosts England are currently leading the 5-match series, 1-0