NEWS IN BRIEF – APR 02, 2012
1. 3 cops to protect each VIP, just 1 cop for 761 citizens: New Delhi:
There’s a shortfall of five lakh cops against sanctioned vacancies in India.
But that doesn’t stop massive deployment for VIP security — to the tune of
almost three cops per VIP. That, in turn, leaves hardly any policemen to
safeguard lesser mortals — one cop for every 761 citizens, to be precise.
[TOI p1]
2. Indian envoy in South Sudan on oil mission, Crisis With North Hits
Supply To OVL: New Delhi: Responding to the ongoing conflict between
Sudan and less than one year-old South Sudan, India has appointed a
special envoy to broker peace between the two countries that hold the key
to India’s pursuit of oil and other hydrocarbon resources in Africa.[TOI p1]
3. Send Army chief on forced leave: Brajesh: New Delhi: Attacking Army
chief Gen V K Singh for his stand on bribery allegation and the resultant
unease due to his certain remarks, former national security adviser
Brajesh Mishra on Sunday said that Gen Singh should be sent on “forced
leave” and not sacked.[TOI p9]
4. Tatra : CBI issues alert against Vectra chief : New Delhi : The CBI
today issued a restraint order to prevent Vectra group chairman Ravi
Rishi, under the scanner for alleged irregularities in the Rs 5,000-crore
Tatra-BEML deal, from leaving India. Lookout notices have been issued at
all airports, exit points and major ports to ensure that the London-based
NRI businessman does not leave the country.[IE p1]
5. Govt plans single holding firm for PSEs : New Delhi : The government
is considering wide-ranging reforms in central public sector enterprises
(CPSEs) which, if implemented, will see its role being transformed from an
active promoter to a professional portfolio manager or a venture capitalist,
with the twin objectives of managing investments and deciding which
sectors to invest in.[IE p1]
6. Salahudin’s claim diversionary tactics: MHA, Says Hizb Alive &
Kicking In Kashmir: New Delhi: Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed
Salahudin’s claim of withdrawing his cadre from the Kashmir Valley has no
takers in India’s security agencies that term such statement as the terror
outfit’s diversionary tactics. In fact, the government had recently informed
Parliament that the militant group continues to remain active in the Valley.
[TOI p13]
7. Anna to take part in Ramdev June 3 dharna : Pune :Even as Yoga
guru Ramdev announced to stage a dharna in New Delhi on June 3 to
mark the first anniversary of the police crackdown on his supporters at
Ramlila grounds, social activist Anna Hazare said he would participate in
the protest.[IE p4]
8. EC deserves praise for its order says Advani : New Delhi : Lauding
the Election Commission’s decision to cancel the Rajya Sabha election in
Jharkhand, senior BJP leader L K Advani on Sunday said the decision
would go a long way in preventing moneybags with no political support
from entering Parliament.[IE p3]
9. CBI Wants Ravi Rishi to Remain Here, Agency alerts all airports and
exit points to ensure the chairman of the UK-based Vectra Group
does not leave India:NEW DELHI : The Central Bureau of Investigation
has issued a restraint order to prevent NRI businessman Ravi Rishi,
chairman of the UK-based $800-million Vectra Group, from moving out of
the country. [ET p2]
10. Revised Road Safety Bill May be Tabled in Winter Session, Earlier
version was rejected by a House panel for Centre’s ‘piecemeal
approach’: NEW DELHI : Two years after it was rejected by a
parliamentary standing committee with a stinging critique, the Ministry of
Road Transport and Highways has decided to give another push to
National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board Bill in the new
financial year. [ET p3]
11. Union minister hits out at Kejriwal : NEW DELHI: The acrimonious war
of words between the government and Team Anna intensified on Sunday
with Union minister Virbhadra Singh threatening to file a criminal
defamation suit against Arvind Kejriwal for “maligning” him and the activist
bluntly refusing to apologise for his remarks.[HT p8]
12. RS poll: Advani lauds EC move : New Delhi : Senior BJP leader LK
Advani on Sunday welcomed the election commission’s (EC) decision to
scrap the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha polls after R2.15crore was seized from
a car belonging to the brother of an independent candidate.[HT p8]
13. Sangma taunts Manmohan, says PM must be from LS : New Delhi:
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Lok Sabha
Speaker Purno A Sangma said one of the problems facing Indian
democracy is that it’s not binding on the PM to be a member of the Lok
Sabha. Singh is a member of the Rajya Sabha. [TOI p8]
14. Eye on ’14 polls, govt may award 50% of NH projects to UP, Raj: New
Delhi: With an eye on 2014 elections and key states like Uttar Pradesh
and Rajasthan could play at the hustings, the Centre plans to award
almost 5,000 km highways projects in these two states during the current
fiscal. [TOI p10]
15. Bhushan backs anti-nuke stir, protest turns aggressive : CHENNAI /
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Emboldened by Team Anna member
Prashant Bhushan’s support, anti-kudankulam protesters on Sunday
turned strident and launched a fresh tirade against the Centre and Tamil
Nadu government for allegedly letting loose “a reign of police terror”
against villagers.[TOI p10]
16. Jagan to blame Cong : poll funds : Hyderabad : Facing arrest by the
CBI, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has reportedly threatened to announce that
a large sum of the money that his family allegedly made when his father Y
S Rajasekhara Reddy was the chief minister — by allotting land to some
corporates and individuals as part of a quid pro quo deal that they would
invest in Jaganmohan’s businesses — went into the Congress’s coffers for
financing the 2009 general elections and the Andhra Pradesh Assembly
elections the same year.[IE p1]
17. RTE Ready, States Have to Implement it: Sibal: NEW DELHI : As the
Right to Education completed two years, human resource development
minister Kapil Sibal said that it was now the responsibility of state
governments to deliver on the promise of universal elementary
education.[ET p2]
18. Now, ration cards scam hits Karnataka : BANGALORE: Karnataka’s
food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department has wasted R54.53
crore by entrusting to a private company the computerisation project to
digitise the data collected through a house-to-house survey and issue
computerised ration cards to the eligible families.[HT p11]
19. Break Barriers to Overcome Stagnation: Gurudas to CPI: NEW DELHI
: The Left’s ‘stagnation and decline’ has been questioned by senior CPI
leader Gurudas Dasgupta. He has proposed an alternative to his party’s
draft political resolution at its recently-concluded party congress in Patna,
saying it was not enough for the Left to limit itself to the slogan of Third
Front or Left and democratic unity. [ET p2]
20. Ex-minister NKP Salve Passes Away, Headed BCCI when India won
Prudential World Cup in 1983: NEW DELHI : Former minister, freedom
fighter and ex-cricket administrator NKP Salve died in New Delhi on
Sunday. The Congress veteran was minister in the Indira Gandhi and
Rajiv Gandhi Cabinet and headed the cricket board when India first lifted
the world cup in 1983. The 91-yearold had age-related problems. [ET p3]
21. Zardari to visit Ajmer next week on ‘private’ trip : Ajmer: The district
administration here is gearing up for the visit of Pakistan President Asif Ali
Zardari, who is likely to offer prayers at the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin
Chisti on April 8. Asif Ali Zardari The entire dargah area is likely to be
cleared of other devotees during Zardari’s visit. Only khadims will be
allowed inside the shrine during Zardari’s visit. [TOI p1]
22. You have manufacturing defect, Raman Singh tells state Cong Chief :
Raipur :In a bizarre instance, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh
has said that Pradesh Congress president Nand Kumar Patel has
“manufacturing defect”.[IE p7]
23. 3 Army officers quizzed in double death case: New Delhi: Police are
now looking beyond the possibility that defence ministry official Yashkar
Sinha committed suicide after strangling his wife, Archana Sharma, even
as they questioned three senior Army officers on Sunday in the mysterious
double death case. [TOI p1]
24. Himachal Pradesh bats for a tough Lokayukta : Shimla : Freshlyappointed
Media Advisory Committee vice-Chairman Ashok Kapatia has
said that a new and effective Lokayukta will be in place soon in the hill
state.[The Hindu p5]
25. Advani hails EC’s landmark order to block RS seat sale : Senior BJP
leader LK Advani on Sunday lauded the Election Commission for
scrapping the election for two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand. The
EC’s decision came following several complaints about use of money
power and the recovery of Rs 2.1 crore belonging to an independent
candidate. The money was allegedly meant for luring legislators.[Pioneer
Daily p1]
26. Bahuguna keeps Home, Power; Rawat loyalists to get berths :
Dehradun :After days of dithering in the wake of pressure from several
quarters for plum departments, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay
Bahuguna on Sunday allocated porfolios to his ministers keeping 20
departments, including Home, Power and Industries, with himself.[IE p4]’
27. Tamilnadu MLA killed in road mishap :Tiruchirapally: A CPI MLA in
Tamil Nadu died in a road accident in Pudukkottai district on Sunday,
police said. Pudukkottai legislator S P Muthukumaran, 43, died on the spot
when the jeep he was travelling in turned turtle after a tyre burst around 10
am. The driver and another person present in the jeep died too.[IE p7]
28. Gowda likely to expand Cabinet : Bengaluru : Is Karnakata Chief
minister D V Sadananda Gowda finally going to expand his much depleted
Cabinet? Sources said the Chief minister is keen on shedding some key
departments of the 21 he is holding now.[AA p2]
29. Modi is likely to change his seat : New Delhi : Gujarat chief minister
Narendra Modi may change his Assembly seat in the upcoming elections,
according to Congress feed back. But the Gujarat BJP leaders neither
denied nor confirmed the speculation about Mr Modi’s Assembly seat,
suggesting it is too early to talk about it. [AA p2]
30. Gujarat won’t be another UP : Cong : New Delhi :Congress leaders are
confident that Uttar Pradesh will not be repeated in Gujarat in the
upcoming state Assembly polls. This is because Chief Minister Narendra
Modi will be on a slippery path.[AA p2]
31. Rs. 54 crore tribal fund scam exposed : Guwahati : The Comptroller
and Auditor General (CAG) of India has detected 15 cases of fraudulent
withdrawal of more than Rs 54 crores in the North Cachar Hills
Autonomous Council (NCHAC) between 2007 and 2009 fiscals.[AA p3 ]
32. CAG: Nagaland police faked 4 crore bills : Kohima: Nagaland police
allegedly used fictitious bills to withdraw Rs 4 crore for the procurement of
1,750 fire extinguishers, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of
India said in its annual report tabled in the recently-concluded Nagaland
budget session. [TOI p1]
33. BJP kicks off poll campaign with corruption ammo, Projects EGovernance
As Big Achievement: New Delhi: BJP launched its election
campaign for civic elections on Sunday with a blistering attack on
Congress on the issue of corruption. From posters, hoardings, TV ads,
short films, jingles, internet banners to street plays, BJP for the first time
has planned an extensive media campaign to woo voters. [TOI p3]
34. Stay in line or get expelled: Congress, BJP crack whip on rebel
candidates : NEW DELHI: Unable to pacify rebel candidates and make
them withdraw their nominations, both the Congress and the BJP have
decided to take strict action against them. To send a message that
indiscipline would not be tolerated, senior leaders of the two major political
parties said that the “strictest possible action” would be taken against
those who continued to remain in the fray against the official party
candidates.[TOI p3]
35. Rebels unite to wreck BJP: New Delhi: It is going to be a tough
municipal election for BJP as it battles the enemy within. Nearly 25 rebel
councillors and party workers have joined hands to wreck BJP’s return to
MCD.[TOI p3]
BUSINESS NEWS
36. Home loan rate cuts only for new buyers: New Delhi: When it comes
to increasing home loan rates, banks believe in an across-the-board policy
and raise rates for all and sundry. However, in case of reduction, the
policy is aimed at benefiting only new borrowers as lenders try to grab a
bigger market share. [TOI p1]
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
37. Suu Kyi set to enter Myanmar’s Parliament: Yangon: Supporters of
Myanmar’s opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi erupted in cheers on
Sunday after her party said she won a parliamentary seat in a landmark
election, setting the stage for her to take public office for the first time.[TOI
p1]
