NEWS IN BRIEF – JULY 15, 2013
1. Rush for scholarships as cost of foreign edu soars : Mumbai: The weakening rupee is sapping the confidence of those seeking to pursue higher studies abroad. Faced with the prospect of increases in tuition fees, air fare, food and living expenses, many are dropping their plans or looking for funding avenues beyondtheir parents’ bank deposits. For one, scholarship applications to philanthropic trusts have increased. [TOI p1]
2. Crisis-hit Cong hides in secular burqa: Modi : Pune: Two days after his puppy analogy and ‘Hindu nationalist’ remark in the context of the 2002 Gujarat riots drew outrage from political parties, Narendra Modi on Sunday hit back at the Congress, saying the party was adept at donning the “veil of secularism” and “hiding in a bunker” whenever faced with a crisis. [TOI p1]
3. Congress Hiding in Burqa of Secularism: Modi, Questions Cong motives on food security ordinance, says Grand Old Party wants to keep the country poor : PUNE : Launching a scathing attack on the UPA government over the downturn in economy, falling rupee and corruption, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress of hidingbehind a ‘burqa of secularism’ to cover its failures.
4. Don’t Let Cong Force a Debate on its Terms, BJP Must Bring Back Political Discourse from Past to Present : New Delhi : Saturday, July13, came with a clutch of the most distressing news on the economic front. Industrial production figures for May contracted by 1.6%. Industrial growth figure for April was revised downward from 2.3% to 1.9%. Exports contracted by 4.6% in June
5. India to restore Bhutan fuel subsidy soon : NewDelhi:The stunning victory of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Bhutan’s second democratic elections has raised hopes of an early settlement to the situation arising out of India’s withdrawal of subsidy on its supply of LPG
and kerosene.
6. RTI deadline for parties ends today : New Delhi: Political parties are unlikely to be rapped by the Central Information Commission (CIC) for missing its Monday deadline for appointing public information officers. Though the CIC has recognized parties as public authorities under the RTI Act, it does not have powers to take suo motu action, allowing the government at least 45 days to amend the RTI Act and keep parties out.
7. Parties have 45 days to dodge RTI bullet : New Delhi: The six national political parties — the Congress, BJP, BSP, NCP, CPI and CPM — may not only get away with flouting a CIC deadline, they may altogether manage to stay out of the RTI in a matter of 45 days.
8. Apex court gave teeth to poll panel and punch to voters : Handicapped by illiteracy and awestruck by the powerful, a legacy inherited from the British Raj, majority of voters in India till the mid-1970s were simple enough to be taken in by cunning politicians’ election season cards dipped generously with hypocritical concern for caste, poverty and regional considerations.
9. Modi is no Vajpayee : Sachin Pilot : New Delhi : Calling Narendra Modi a “chest- thumping, self-proclaimed hero”, Union Minister Sachin Pilot today said it is not possible for the Gujarat leader to be like former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
10. BJP defends Modi, blames media for targeting him : New Delhi : The BJP rushed to the defence of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who is in the eye of storm following his remark — in relation to the Gujarat riots — that he would feel sad even if a puppy came under his car.
11. Cong : Chouhans like Reddy brothers : Bhopal : The Congress
Sunday got all its state satraps on one platform on Shivraj Singh
Chouhan's home turf and came up with a new slogan, “Reddy brothers in
Bellary, Chouhan brothers in Budhni,” while accusing the Chief Minister
and his brother of indulging in illegal mining.
12. R R Patil wants changes in cops transfers, chavan wants a review : Mumbai : Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil has this year again recommended wholesale changes to transfer postings of IPS officers recommended by the state government's Police Establishment Board (PEB), prompting Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to demand a review by his NCP Cabinet colleague before he clears the file.
13. Mayawati seeks ban on RSS, VHP, Justifies BSP’s Caste Rallies : Lucknow: Three days after the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court banned caste-based rallies, BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday justified such gatherings organized by her party and instead demanded a ban on RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal, saying religion-based organizations are “far more dangerous to national unity”.
14. CPM joins hands with SP, JD(S) : New Delhi : Although it has ruled out the possibility of formation of a third alternative before the Lok Sabha elections, the Left has begun an exercise to enter into state-level alliances with “like-minded parties” which could pave the way for a possible postpoll alliance.
15. Rallies Unite, not Divide: Mayawati : LUCKNOW : Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has said that despite a High Court ban on holding castebased rallies, her party would continue to organize as they were meant for bringing all castes together and not divisive in nature
16. Fearing threats, govt may extend SPG cover to Prez : New Delhi :Seriously worried about the grave threat to President Pranab Mukherje after he rejected mercy petitions of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Ajmal Kasab and Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru, the government is deliberating on the possibility of bringing him under the cover of Special Protection Group (SPG).
17. House pulls up AG for opinion flip flop : New Delhi : A Parliamentary panel has asked Attorney General GE Vahanvati to appear before it and explain the two contradictory opinions given by him on a CAG report, which stated that over Rs. 37,000 crore expenditure was incurred by the government during the last five years in violation of the constitutional provisions.
18. Fate of new appointment system for judges uncertain : New Delhi : Lack of political unanimity and the aggressive stand taken by successive Chief Justices of India appear to have stalled the government's ambitious plan to replace the existing system for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts
19. Denied top posting, Lt Gen may drag army to court : New Delhi : A lieutenant general may drag the army to court after being passed over for appointment to a top-level post last week. In a rare violation of the seniority principle, the force overlooked Lt Gen GS Bisht and named Lt Gen Nitin Kohli – who is six months junior to the former – as the signalofficer-in-chief. The post is that of the head of the army's information technology and communications wing – the Corps of Signals – and falls vacant on August 31.
20. Quattrocchi Haunts Cong even after Death : NEW DELHI : A day after the death of Ottavio Quattrocchi in Milan, one of the accused in the Bofors scandal, a political war of words erupted here between the Congress and BJP. The Congress alleged he was a “ghost” created by the BJP, which retaliated by saying it should not think the issue can now be buried.
21. BJP wants lower cut-off for Delhiites : New Delhi : Bharatiya Janata Party's youth wing will spearhead a city-wide campaign demanding a 4 percent relaxtion in Delhi University (DU) cut-offs for the Capital's students, Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel said on Sunday
22. Can’t trust Cong on T, says KCR : Hyderabad: After two days of silence, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao lashed out at the Congress on Sunday, saying that the party cannot be trusted anymore on Telangana’s statehood until the bill is passed in Parliament and called on people to step up protests.
23. Shivraj subverted panchayati raj system, says Digvijaya :
Nasrullaganj (MP): Putting up a united front, the opposition Congress on
Sunday showed resolve to defeat the BJP in Madhya Pradesh for its
‘antipeople’ policies in the upcoming assembly elections. AICC general
secretary Digvijaya Singh said that CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan ‘subverted’
the local self-government system.
24. CWG graft hit nat’l honour: Modi, Launches Attack On Govt For
Scam-Tainted Games From Kalmadi’s Turf : Pune: Under fire from
Congress, Gujarat CM Narendra Modi on Sunday said the scam-tainted
Commonwealth Games (CWG) “destroyed national honour in the eyes of
the world”.[TOI p10]
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25. Cong destroys all that comes its way: Modi : Pune: Targeting
Congress scion Rahul Gandhi, Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in Pune on
Sunday said: “He (Rahul) visits the poor and stays with them. This is like
the descendants of erstwhile rulers who take tourists to dilapidated old
palaces and talk about their forefathers. He is doing the same. He is
showing the poor what his predecessors have done… keeping the poor in
poverty.” [TOI p10]
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26. Jayalalithaa shoots off yet another letter to PM : Chennai : Expressing
her concerns over Sri Lankan Government's move to dilute or repeal the
13th Amendment to its Constitution, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to
decisively take a bold stand in support of the Tamil Minority.[The Hindu
p9]
27. BJP approaches 'winnable candidates' to join party : New Delhi :
Desperate to revive its fortunes in Uttar Pradesh and avert a setback in
Bihar, Team Modi is eyeing to lure “winnable” candidates form rival
parties. These two States account for 120 seats, and the BJP won just 22
out of them in the 2009 Lok Sabha election.[The Hindu p1]
28. U'khand hid info on Modi kits? : Dehradun : Gujarat Chief Minister and
BJP election campaign committee chairman Narendra Modi, who had
made a two-day tour of disaster-affected areas in Uttarakhand after the
cloudburst on June 16-17, has sent around 1,200 tonnes of relief material,
sending the Congressled State Government in a tizzy.[Pioneer Daily p4]
29. NaMo will meet BJP State leaders in Puri : Bhubaneswar : Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi, after his visit to Puri on July 16, would
depart Bhubaneswar for Ahmedabad at 4.45 pm on the day, said BJP
State president KV Singh Deo here on Sunday.[Pioneer Daily p4]
30. 4 lakh laptops for students lying in UP godowns : Lucknow: Nearly
four months after the Samajwadi Party government started distributing
free laptops to students in line with Akhilesh Yadav’s poll promise, over
4.4 lakh devices [TOI p11]
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DELHI NEWS
31. HC notice on parking mess at GK-II market, Focus On
Encroachment, Jams; Report In 2 Wks : New Delhi: The parking mess
in the capital’s upscale GK-II M block market has caught the attention of
the Delhi high court. The thriving market, which boasts high-end
restaurants, bar and pubs, is a nightmare for commuters. Now, a petition
complaining of encroachments and extreme traffic congestion has made
the HC step in and issue notice to all the agencies. [TOI p2]
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32. NDMC plans spl parking charges in CP : The civic agency also plans to
introduce “special” parking charges in Connaught Place. The move is
aimed at decongesting CP by encouraging people to use the multilevel
parking at Baba Kharak Singh Marg. The multilevel automated parking
facility developed by DLF and NDMC has being lying unutilized ever since
it was inaugurated last year. [TOI p2]
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33. Delhi Metro to gauge customer satisfaction, In A First, DMRC Seeks
Feedback This Week : New Delhi: If you are unhappy with any of the
services offered by Delhi Metro, here’s your chance to be heard. The Delhi
Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is planning a feedback survey of
commuters as part of its “customer satisfaction week”. [TOI p2]
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34. BJP wants 4% off DU cutoffs for Delhiites : New Delhi: Demanding a
four per cent relaxation in cutoff marks for admission in Delhi University for
students passing Class XII exam from city schools, Delhi BJP on Sunday
slammed the Sheila Dikshit government for “doing nothing” in the last 14
years to address the problem of shortage of colleges in the city. [TOI p6]
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35. UPA food scheme to kick off in city on August 20 : New Delhi: Delhi
chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday announced that the city will roll out
the ambitious food security scheme from August 20—the birth anniversary
of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.[TOI p6]
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36. Courses with a difference now on offer for DU students : New Delhi :
For students who want to study unconventional courses at Delhi
University, the Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) is the answer. CIC offers
two courses: B Tech in Humanities and B Tech/B.S. in Innovation with
Mathematics and IT. The CIC follows the concept of Meta College under
which students are free to choose papers they would like to study.[HT p3]
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/newdelhi/Courses-with-adifference-
now-on-offer-for-DU-students/Article1-1092525.aspx
