No N-deal but boost for Indo-Japan defence ties Mashelkar, Iyengar

Great Mangla Times
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Vol. 3 Issue No. 4,
HIGHLIGHTS
LPG Connection
Nationwide Portability
Ajay Gupta
Panchkula, January 2014
A V
oice of T
ec
hno Y
outh
Voice
Tec
echno
Youth
RNI No. HARENG/2011/45794
(Continue on Pg 7)
INSIDE PAGES
on page 2
Republic Day
Celebrations
As news of the
release of Lakhwinder
Singh and Shamsher Singh
from the Burail Model Jail,
Chandigarh, poured in,
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani
Gurbachan Singh offered
juice to protesting Sikh
activist Gurbaksh Singh
Khalsa ...
on page 3
“Akshay Urja ...
Association
for
Development and Research
of Sustainable Habitats
(ADaRSH) has conferred
upon five-star GRIHA rating
award ....
on page 4
Correspondent
Great Mangla Times
New Delhi
The
government
announced the Padma awards
covering a wide spectrum of
society-scientists,
yoga
experts, actors, judges,
doctors, authors, social
workers and sportspersons.
This year the President
approved conferment of 127
Padma Awards - 2 Padma
Vibhushan, 24 Padma
Bhushan and 101 Padma Shri,
the Ministry of Home Affairs
said today. A total of 27 of
the awardees are women and
the list also includes 10
persons from the category of
foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and
Posthumous awardees. These
awards are conferred by the
President of India at a
ceremonial function at
Rashtrapati Bhawan in
March-April every year.
The country's highest
civilian honour, the Padma
Chandigarh
The President’s Police
Medal will be awarded to two
police officers for their
distinguished service and the
Police Medal to 12 police
personnel
for
their
meritorious service on the
occasion of Republic Day.
A spokesman for the
Haryana Police said Parminder
Rai, Director General of Police,
State Vigilance Bureau,
Panchkula, and Muhammad
Akil, Inspector General of
Police (IGP), Law and Order,
Panchkula, had been selected
for the President’s Police
Medal for distinguished
service. He said 12 other
police personnel who would
be awarded with the Police
Medals included Charu Bali,
IGP, Administration, Subhash
Yadav, IGP, Telecom, Rajesh
Kumar Duggal, Additional
on page 6
5 things you
must...
The
British
Council is offering
IELTS
Scholarship
Award
to
study
undergraduate
or
p o s t g r a d u a t e
programmes
at
a
recognised education
institution
in
an
English...
on page 7
‘Bhim Award
Distribution
Haryana Governor
Mr. Jagannath Pahadia
said that Haryana is the
first State in the country
where the players
winning
medal
in
Olympics and other
international sports ....
on page 8
GSLV propels
India..
India joined the
big league of space
powers at 4.35 pm
when its mega launcher,
the Geosynchronous
Satellite Launch Vehicle
or GSLV-D5, powered by
sophisticated ....
Vibhushan, awarded for
exceptional and distinguished
service, has been conferred on
Dr RA Mashelkar and yoga
guru BKS Iyengar. Mashelkar,
a former Director-General of
the Council of Scientific &
Industrial Research, has been
a member of the Scientific
Advisory Council to the
Prime Minister and also of
the Scientific Advisory
Committee to the Cabinet set
up
by
successive
governments. Iyengar is
founder of 'Iyengar Yoga' a
method that is very popular.
In the category of
Padma Bhushan the list
includes Justice JS Verma,
who led the commission that
led to a change in rape laws
in the country after the
December 16, 2012, gang-rape
in New Delhi. Justice Verma
has
been
awarded
posthumously. Actor Kamal
Haasan and Justice Dalveer
Bhandari, who was elected to
the International Court of
Justice in April 2012 for sixyear tenure, are also in this
list. Prof P Balaram, director
of the Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore, and Dr
Madappa Mahadevappa, an
agricultural scientist, are on
the list along with thrice
Booker-award
nominee,
author Anita Desai, and
acclaimed short story writer
Ruskin Bond.
Tennis player Leander
Paes and former Badminton
ace and All England
Champion Pullella Gopichand
are the two sportspersons.
American authors Prof Lloyd
I. Rudolph and Prof. Susanne
H. Rudolph have been jointly
awarded the Padma Bhushan.
On the list of Padma
Shri awards is Prof Amod
Gupta, eye specialist at the
PGI in Chandigarh, Delhibased Cardiologist Dr Nitish
Naik, Delhi University ViceChancellor Prof Dinesh Singh,
authors Manorama Jafa and
(Continue on Pg 7)
New Delhi
Amid increasing Chinese
assertiveness in the region,
India and Japan on Saturday
decided to intensify defence
and maritime cooperation, but
made little headway in
wrapping up the muchanticipated civil nuclear deal.
As part of growing
trade and economic links,
Japan announced a loan of $2
billion for the expansion of
the Delhi Metro project. The
two countries also announced
the expansion of the bilateral
currency swap arrangement
from $15 billion to $50
billion.
The two countries
signed eight agreements in
various fields after wideranging talks between Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh
and his Japanese counterpart
Shinzo Abe at the annual
India-Japan Summit here this
evening. Abe, who is keen to
forge a strong relationship
with India in view of the
threat China poses to Japan,
as the chief guest at Republic
Day parade.
“Japan is at the heart
of India’s Look East Policy. It
is also a key partner in our
economic development and in
our quest for a peaceful,
stable and prosperous Asia
and the world,’’ Manmohan
Singh said in a statement after
the talks.
The visiting leader
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shakes hands with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe
before their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi
noted there had been steady
progress in the strategic and
global partnership between
the two countries. He
emphasised that cooperation
between the defence forces of
the two countries would
contribute to the region’s
peace and security. He also
promised India his country’s
full support in becoming a
member of the four
international export control
regimes -- the Nuclear
Suppliers’ Group (NSG), the
Missile Technology Control
Regime, the Australia Group
and
the
Wassenaar
Arrangement.
A
joint
statement issued at the end
of the talks said India had
invited the Japan Maritime
Self Defence Force for the
next edition of the ‘Malabar’
maritime exercise conducted
annually by Indian and US
forces. In 2007, India had
invited Australia, Singapore
and also Japan for the
exercise. Japan’s participation
had angered Beijing no end.
India and Japan also
agreed
to
launch
consultations between the
Secretary General of the
National Security Secretariat
of Japan and Indian’s
National Security Advisor.
This is considered significant
as the dialogue will provide
the two countries an
opportunity to discuss
strategic issues of importance
as well as regional threats.
New Delhi also lent its
support to Tokyo in its
ongoing tussle with Beijing
over China’s controversial
decision to set up an Air
Defence Identification Zone
(ADIZ) over the East China
Sea that requires its
neighbours to give advance
notice while overflying the
territory.
“The
two
Prime
Ministers underscored the
importance of freedom of
overflight and civil aviation
safety in accordance with
recognised principles of
international law and relevant
(Continue on Pg 7)
14 to be awarded Police Medal Britain to scrap turban ban
Narendra Modi would
like to appeal to different
people in different ways.
After the initial consolidation
phase, when he was seen
solely as a Hindutva.
Corresponding
author Frank A.J.L.
Scheer, PhD, director of
the
Medical
Chronobiology Program
at ....
Annual Rs. 50, Single Copy Rs. 5
Great Mangla Times
Ajay Gupta
Why heart
attacks ...
Pages 8,
Correspondent
From Hindutva
to ...
on page 5
Monthly English News Paper
Mashelkar, Iyengar get No N-deal but boost for Indo-Japan defence ties
Padma Vibhushan
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
Petroleum Minister
Dr. Moily approves launch
of
LPG
Connection
Portability on All India basis
Portability Scheme rolls out
in 480 districts covering all
possible markets of the
country. To register for
Portability, the LPG
Consumers need to do the
following : Visit the website
of the Oil Marketing
Company
they
are
presently with Register
them in the site, if not
Postal Regd. No. : L/HR/AB/99/13-15
Great Mangla Times
at high-risk workplaces
REPUBLIC DAY-214
City, and Anup Singh, DSP,
Battalion,
HAP,
President’s Police Mdeal to Haryana Police Officers for Distinguished Service 2nd
Madhuban. Similarly, Ramvir
Singh, Inspector, Ashwani Agency
Kumar, Sub-Inspector (SI),
Great Mangla Times
Malkiat Singh, SI, Gurvinder
London
Singh, Assistant SubBritain is set to scrap a
Inspector (ASI), Pardeep
Kumar, ASI, Surinder Singh, ban on turbans at high-risk
ASI, and Janak Kumari, SI, workplaces next week, a
move that some Sikh groups
see as a “sweetener” to deal
with the fallout of the
Margaret
Thatcher
government's alleged role in
Operation Bluestar in 1984.
The Department for
Work and Pensions is set to
announce that Sikhs will no
longer be forced to wear hard
hats inside factories and
warehouses. British Sikhs
have complained about the
law since it was introduced in
1989 as it allows them to wear
turbans on building sites but
has required hard hats in other
Superintendent of Police, Deputy Superintendent of will also been honoured with high-risk areas.
However, some Sikh
Rohtak, Mohinder Pal, Police (DSP), CID, Ambala the Police Medal.
groups questioned the timing
of
the
government's
announcement,
which
coincides with an ongoing
inquiry into Britain's alleged
role in Operation Bluestar, the
Indian Army's operation to
flush out extremists from the
Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Documents
recently
declassified by the National
Archives
pointed
to
Thatcher's collusion with her
Indian counterpart Indira
Gandhi in planning the raid
on the Golden
Temple.
Amrik Singh,
chairman of the Sikh
Federation
UK,
claimed the move
could
be
a
"sweetener" to deal
with the fallout of
the
allegations,
which are being
probed by Cabinet Secretary
Jeremy Heywood on the
instructions of British Prime
Minister David Cameron.
"There's an old political
saying that timing is
everything in politics. This
long overdue closure of a
loophole in the employment
law is welcome, yet it will do
little to assuage the great
concern that the government
of 2014 may refuse to reveal
the
truth
about
the
government of 1984," he said.
776 security personnel awarded on Kejri Justifies Rail Bhawan Protest
Republic Day eve, CRPF tops list
Correspondent
Great Mangla Times
Correspondent
Great Mangla Times
New Delhi
The Central Reserve
Police Force, India’s main
anti-Naxal force, won the
highest number of gallantry
medals among all the police
forces in India, on the eve of
this year’s Republic Day.
The CRPF is also the
only Central Armed Police
Force which won the
gallantry medals this time.
Last year also, on the eve of
India’s 67th Independence
Day, the CRPF had won the
highest number of gallantry
awards among all the police
forces in the country. The
force had then won 34
gallantry medals, including
four posthumously.
This time, the CRPF
has been awarded 15
gallantry medals, including
two President’s Police Medal
for
Gallantry,
both
posthumously, and 13 Police
Medal for Gallantry, including
five that were given
posthumously.
Constable
Ugrasen
Tripathi, of the 155 Battalion
of the CRPF and Constable
Santosh Kumar Singh of the
209 CoBRA battalion were
awarded the President’s Police
Medal
for
Gallantry
posthumously.
A total of 766 personnel
were awarded police medals
on the occasion of Republic
Day this year. President’s
Police Medal for Gallantry
has been awarded to four
personnel, Police Medals for
Gallantry has been given to
44 personnel, President’s
Police
Medals
for
Distinguished Service to 94
personnel and Police Medal
for Meritorious Service to
624 personnel.
The President has also
approved 41 Correctional
Service Medals on this
occasion. The Correctional
Service
Medal
for
Distinguished Service has been
awarded to two officers, while
Correctional Service Medal for
Meritorious Service has been
given to 39 officers from 15
states and union territories.
Police Medal For
Gallantry
Chandigarh: Avtar Singh,
Inspector (Orp)
Jammu & Kashmir:
Tahir
Sajad
Bhat
Superintendent of Police,
Pankaj Sharma SI, Imtiyaz
Mohammad HC, Lateef
New Delhi
In his first Republic
Day address, Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal
justified his Rail Bhawan
dharna and said the
Constitution does not stop
the CM from protesting for
people. “I have read the
Constitution and it does not
state anywhere that a CM
can’t hold protest for
people,” said Kejriwal. “The
imposition of Section 144 of
the Cr PC was an
unconstitutional act, not my
dharna,” he said.
Kejriwal’s two-day
protest had paralysed traffic
in Delhi and invited flak from
all political sections. He said
the
government
has
completed the draft of Jan
Lokpal bill and plans to pass
it in a special session that
(Continue on Pg 7)
will be organised at Ramlila
Ahmad Constable, Sher
Mohammad HC, Mohammad
Majnoon Follower, Fayaz
Ahmad Dy. Superintendent of
Police, Showkat Ahmed HC.
Punjab: Gurdial Singh
(Posthumously) ASI.
Rajasthan: Nihal Singh
(Posthumously) Constable.
Uttar Pradesh: Govind
Singh
(Posthumously)
Inspector, Rajesh Kumar
Verma Inspector, Rakesh
Kumar SI, Satayendra Kumar
HC. CRPF: Ali Hasan
Constable, Prabhu (Posthumously) Constable, Narender
Singh (Posthu-mously) HC,
Parasmani Jha (Posthumously) Constable, Subir Das
Constable, Pradeep Kumar
(Posthumously) SI, Anjani
Kumar Assistant Commandant, Raj Kumar Constable,
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal looks on as a rickshawpuller Vijay Baba inaugurates an upgraded Palika Maternity
Hospital at Lodhi Colony in New Delhi
Maidan in the first week of
February. “Women security
in the national capital is
highly compromised. It is our
utmost duty and priority to
provide security to women.
We have formed a committee
under the Chief Secretary for
formation of Mahila Suraksha
Dal,” he said.
Kejriwal also presented
a cheque of Rs one crore to
Savita Devi, widow of Delhi
Police constable Vinod
Kumar, who was killed during
a raid on suspected liquor
mafia in south Delhi’s
Ghitorni area last month.
Great Mangla Times
REGIONAL NEWS
Panchkula, January 2014
Page 2
Republic Day Celebration - Haryana
Haryana Chief Minister Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda inspecting the parade at Nuh in Mewat.
Haryana Governor Mr. Jagannath Pahadia taking salute
after unfurling the National Flag at Gurgaon.
Childrens takes participate at panchkula
CM lauds role of Small newspapers in
publicizing government initiatives
Correspondent
Great Mangla Times
Shimla
Chief Minister Shri
Virbhadra Singh said that
small newspapers were
playing important role in
publicizing the developmental
and public welfare oriented
policies of the Government to
the farthest corners of the
State. The Government was
providing all possible
assistance to these small
newspapers and periodicals
who were working with zeal
despite financial constraints.
The Chief Minister
was presiding over the
34 th annual function of
Himachal Kesari newspaper
at Dharamshala today. He said
that press was the fourth
pillar of democracy which
played pivotal role in the
freedom struggle of the
country and thereafter for the
reconstruction of the modern
India. He expressed concern
over the yellow journalism in
big media houses adding that
true
and
transparent
journalism
should
be
encouraged so that the vital
socio-economic issues could
be highlighted in right
perspective.Shri Virbhadra
Singh lauded the efforts of
Himachal Kesari newspaper
for its consistent efforts
during past over three decades
for
the
society
and
journalism.
He
also
appreciated the initiatives of
the newspaper in honouring
the eminent personalities of
different fields.
Shri Praveen Roy, Editor,
Himachal Kesari said that the
newspaper had strived hard to
maintain the standards of
journalism during its journey of
34 years. He thanked the
Chief Minister for gracing the
occasion and said that he had
always given protection and
support to the small
newspapers in the State.
Chief Minister honoured
various personalities with the
Himachal Kesari Award on the
occasion. Shri Karan Singh,
MLA was honoured in the
field of politics. Shri Devesh
Kumar,
Deputy
Commissioner, Mandi for
administration, Shri Abhishek
Dullar, S.P. Shimla for police
services, Shri Amitabh
Awasthi, Mission Director,
NHRM for health services,
Landmark Hotel Shimla for
tourism, Divya Manav
Anathalaya, Dehar, district
Mandi for social services, Shri
Pawan Sharma, correspondent,
Divya
Himachal
for
journalism, Shri Krishan
Kumar Nutan for literary
work, Shoolini University,
Solan for education, Pt. Lekh
Raj Sharma for astrology,
Jagran Pahal NGO for
environment, J.P. Cements Ltd.
for industries, Shri Anurag
Prashar for electronic media,
Shri Harbhajjan Singh for
youth power, Shri Surender
Sharma
for
youth
entrepreneur, Shri J.S. Guleria
for art and culture, Shri Prem
Prasad advocate for legal
affairs and Shri Desh Raj,
photographer, Dainik Jagran
for photo journalism.
Shri Sudhir Sharma,
Urban Development Minister,
Shri Jagjivan Pal, Chief
Parliamentary Secretary, Shri
Ajay Mahajan and Shri
Pawan Kajal, MLAs, Shri
Kewal Singh Pathania, Vice
Chairman, H.P. Forest
Development Corporation,
Smt. Viplove Thakur, Senior
Congress leader, Shri Surender
Kaku, Ex MLA, Shri Rohan
Thakur, ADC and other
prominent persons were
present on the occasion
among others.
Photo : Ajay Gupta
Safai sewaks
resume work
Ajay Gupta
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
The American Panjabi
community opened the India
Centre of Sikh American
Chamber of Commerce
(SACC)
Sukhwinder Singh Kaila,
founder President of SACC,
New Jersey, USA, presented
the charter to the newly
elected President of India
Centre of SACC Manipal
Dhaliwal. Speaking on the
occasion Sukhwinder Singh
Kaila who is a successful IT
entrepreneur in New Jersey
said that “strength of a
community is judged by the
strength of its business
community”, and hence the
SACC was formed in 2011
by Sikh American business
persons and professionals to
create a strong voice in the US
as well as address various
ethnic challenges that Sikh
community faced.
Lee
Ann
Eager,
President of Fresno County
Economic
Development
Corporation
of
USA,
complimented the initiative
and hoped that meaningful
business cooperation can be
planned and facilitated
through SACC for not only
Indian but even the US
businesses. She said that
India is considered the most
favoured destination for
business growth in US.
Mr Ruby Dhaliwal,
Mayor from City of San
Joaquin, California, said that
tremendous potential exists
for collaboration in the
agriculture and agro-processing
field which both the countries
can explore much more
actively through the Chamber.
Manipal Dhariwal,
President of SACC India,
an NRI and a successful
business investor in Punjab,
said that the major aim of
SACC’s India presence is
to empower the Panjabi
youth in the hinter land
with the right kind of skills
and
networking
opportunities to not only
scale up their enterprise
but also to explore newer
opportunities in the global
market, as well as foster
entrepreneurship.
The
Chamber represents a
cross-section of Punjabi &
Sikh American businesses
and professionals, SACC is
a trade body engaged in
promoting entrepreneurship,
offering trade and business
opportunities,
through
networking and exchange of
young
professionals,
startups and students.
Atul Gupta, founder of
city-based IT firm, Red
Alkemi, an active member of
SACC India said that special
focus would be on upgrading
the skills of Panjabi youth and
hand-holding those who intend
to pursue higher studies
abroad, or intend to setup their
own enterprise locally.
Utilizing the experience of
successful Panjabi and Sikh
business leaders, SACC will be
able to extend a helping hand
to the new generation of
entrepreneurs as well as
support the existing ones with
newer trading opportunities.
SACC India aims to
encourage young Panjabi
youth in Punjab and in the
US by encouraging youth
exchange programs that create
a strong cultural bonding.
Republic Day Celebrations 2014 North India
Great Mangla Times
Mohali
Striking safai sewaks
resumed work here this
morning only after their
demand to meet the Deputy
Commissioner was met. A
meeting of representatives of
the protesters with the
Deputy Commissioner was
arranged around 9.30 am by
the authorities of the
Municipal Corporation. It
was after meeting the district
head that the work of lifting
garbage was started by them
around 10 am.
BD Singla, additional
commissioner
of
the
corporation,
said
the
protesters had suspended their
strike till February 20. He
said they had now been asked
to clear the heaps of garbage
lying along the main roads, in
vacant plots and other open
spaces. The priority was to
lift garbage while sweeping the
town areas could be done later.
He said it would take about a
week to clean up all areas.
The safai sewaks, who
usually enjoyed weekly off
on Sunday, would, however,
be working tomorrow.
Safai sewaks had gone
on strike on January 15
demanding regularisation of
the jobs of persons working
on contract-basis over the
past many years.
SACC To facilitate business investment, mentoring,
fostering entrepreneurship and creating jobs
Ajay Gupta
Panchkula MLA Mr. D.K. Bansal taking salute after
unfurling the National Flag at Panchkula.
SACC India will help youth
to setup their own enterprise,
SACC shall be establishing
state-of-the-art incubation
facility as well as angel
funding to help them realize
their dreams. SACC shall also
be facilitating the visit of
business and trade delegation,
professionals and students
from US under its regular
exchange program to not
only network and share
ideas, but also connect them
with their rich heritage and
culture.
India Centre has started
its operations in Chandigarh
and would organize regular
interactive sessions with the
experts and business leaders,
exchange information on trade
opportunities, build a financial
corpus to assist with seed/
angel funding of startups, and
mentor young entrepreneurs.
Himachal Governor Shrimati Urmila Singh taking salute after
unfurling the National Flag at Shimla.
Punjab Governor & Chandigarh Administrative Mr. Shiv Raj Patil
taking salute after unfurling the National Flag at Patiala.
Photo : Neetu Gupta
Chandigarh Police salute the National Flag at Chandigarh.
TRICITY NEWS
Great Mangla Times
Panchkula, January 2014
Page 3
“Akshay Urja Bhawan, Panchkula” :
Awarded with 5 Star GRIHA Rating
Ajay Gupta
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
Association
for
Development and Research of
Sustainable
Habitats
(ADaRSH) has conferred upon
five-star GRIHA rating award
to “Akshay Urja Bhawan” the
building
of
Haryana
Department of Renewable
Energy and HAREDA situated
at Panchkula during the
GRIHA Summit 2014 held
recently at New Delhi.
Director, Haryana Renewable
Energy Department and
HAREDA Mrs Amneet P.
Kumar received the GRIHA
plaque for five-star rating from
Chief Minister of Assam Mr.
Tarun Gogoi, who was the
Chief Guest of the Summit.
The building Akshay
Urja Bhawan, Panchkula is one
of its kinds in the country
having energy and water
autonomy by incorporating
the latest energy efficient
concept. Besides, it is first
building in the government
sector which is constructed in
compliance with the Energy
Conservation Building Code
Photo : Ajay Gupta
(ECBC).
This
building
is
constructed based on solar
passive design techniques
having building integrated
photovoltaic (BIVP) system
of 42.5 KW capacity, solar
Chimneys,
Evaporative
cooling, cavity walls, use of
fly ash based bricks, water
recycling, rain water harvesting
structure of 6.25 lakhs
capacity and energy efficient
lighting etc.
The incorporation of
these features has resulted in
achieving
an
internal
temperature of about 28 to
30 degree Celsius without air-
conditioning. The energy
consumption in this building
is estimated to about 20
KWhr/m2/year in comparison
to the consumption of about
200 KWhr/m2/year for the
existing and conventional airconditioned building.
This
building
is
constructed over an area of
0.96 acres at a cost of about
Rs. 12 crore including all
items and fixtures. The fund
for the same has been
provided by the State
Government. Due to its
unique design and features, it
took nearly four years in
completing construction and
commissioning of this building.
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
Haryana Government
has notified Haryana e-Seva
Scheme for Common Services
Centres (CSCs), 2014 in
order to make all government
services accessible to the
common man in his locality
through electronic medium
and to ensure efficiency,
transparency and reliability of
such services. About 2500
Common Service Centres
(CSCs) would be set up
throughout the state under
phased manner.
The Department of
Electronics and Information
Technology said that these
CSCs would be set up both in
rural and urban areas and
would be functional under
Integrated Electronic Services
Model. Under the Scheme, as
many as 500 CSCs would be
set up in the State under the
first phase till March 2014
and 2000 CSCs would be set
up under 18 to 24 months
under second and third phase
of the scheme. Each rural
CSC would cater to a
population of about 10,000
people. Services related to all
departments of government
like receipt of applications
under
RTI,
grievance
registration and printing of
any application form would
be available in CSCs. Apart
from this, several important
services related to various
departments namely Revenue
and Disaster Management,
Forest and Wildlife, Power,
Finance, Urban Local Bodies
and Health, Health, Home,
Urban Local Bodies, Public
Health Engineering, Social
Justice and Empowerment,
Welfare of scheduled Castes
and Backward Classes,
Education,
Elections,
Transport, Employment and
Food and Supplies would also
be provided in these CSCs.
Similarly, the services
which would be offered in
CSCs include appointment for
registration
of
deeds,
mutation, certified copy of
sanctioned mutation, certified
nakal of jamabandi and
application for providing
copy of land records, caste
certificate, tapriwas vimukt
jaati certificate, residence
certificate,
rural
area
certificate,
composite
certificate and income
certificate. Application for
permissions for felling of
trees and application for
NoCs in respect of PLPA or
Forest or Restricted lands and
grant of NOC would be
provided. He said that
application for new electricity
connection, application for
temporary
electricity
connection, application for
Haryana Governor Mr. Jagannath Pahadia with the journalists during the ‘Patarkar Samman Samaroh’
organized by Haryana Patarkar Sangh. Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Dr. K.K Khandelwal,
Director General, Information Public Relations and Cultural Affairs Department Mr. Sudhir Rajpal and
Secretary, Governor Mrs. Neelam Pradeep Kasni are also seen in the picture. On this occasion, Mr.
Pahadia also honoured the journalists for their outstanding contribution in the field of journalism.
Haryana admits Jind & Karnal in Delhi NCR Inauguration : ADR Panchkula
Ajay Gupta
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
Jind and Karnal districts
of Haryana have been
included in the National
Capital Region. This decision
was taken at the 34th meeting
of the NCR Planning Board in
New Delhi.
The development of
Haryana Sub Region of NCR
has effectively checked the
migration to Delhi and has
even attracted reverse
migration, but lot still is
required to be done in respect
of bringing the infrastructure
facilities at par with that of
NCT-Delhi. The city of
Gurgaon has grown at the rate
of 293 per cent of last decade,
he said and as such there is an
Haryana e-Seva Scheme
Ajay Gupta
Photo : Neetu Gupta
enhancement of electricity
load, collection of payment
for electricity bill, meter
reading, bill generation and
printing and bill distribution
would be provided at CSCs.
Receipt of Government
payments and fee upto Rs
1000 and issue of non-judicial
and judicial stamps and
stamp papers would also be
provided under the services.
Apart
from
this,
services like application for
birth registration, issue of
birth certificates, application
for correction of birth records,
application for inclusion of
name in birth certificate,
application
for
death
registration, application for
issue of disability and
handicap
certificate,
application for marriage
certificate, issue of marriage
certificate,
house
and
property tax collection,
duplicate house tax bill,
application for new water and
sewerage connection, E-billing
and payment and collection
system, application for
financial assistance under
various pension schemes,
application for financial
assistance
to
higher
competitive
entrance
examination to scheduled
castes and backward classes
students, issue of admit cards
and duplicate admit cards,
application for addition,
correction and inclusion of
name in voter list, driving
license, registration of new
vehicle, issue of bus passes,
application for registration
under one family one job
scheme, application for
registration of renewal and
grace period of two months
for renewal, application for
inclusion and deletion of
family member ’s name in
ration card would be provided.
At present, a total of
about 102 e-Disha Centres
were being functioning in the
State and delivering services
to the citizens. These were
being managed through the
District IT cum e-Governance
Societies. These would
continue to be operated by
the respective District
Societies under the existing
arrangements. However, the
service delivery mechanisms,
software,
technology
platforms and the service
charges
would
be
standardized with the norms
applicable to the CSC. This
scheme would be administered
through
a
three-tier
administrative
structure
namely CSC Level, District
Level and the State Level.
The CSC operations are
envisaged to be operated and
managed by the selected
village level entrepreneur who
would be formally authorized
for the purpose.
urgent need to evolve
strategies to upgrade the basic
infrastructure in the entire
National Capital Region.
The issue of interest
rate on NCPRB loans and
said that interest rate on loan
for power infrastructure
projects at present is 9.25
per cent. He requested that
loan should be provided at
the interest rate at par with
other basic infrastructure
projects. The issue was
discussed and it was agreed
that interest rate on NCR
Planning Board loans for
power infrastructure projects
for
transmission
and
distribution utilities will be
reduced to 7.5 per cent and
kept at par with the interest
rate of loans for other basic
infrastructure projects.
Ajay Gupta
Great Mangla Times
Panchkula
The Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) Centre in
Panchkula was inaugurated at
Panchkula district headquarters with a call to
maintain public faith in the
judiciary through speedy
justice and evolution of new
methods to provide relief to
those engaged in protracted
litigation.
Hon’ble Chief Justice
Mr Sanjay Kishan Kaul
inaugurated the ADR Centre
in the presence of Justice S.K
Mittal, Executive Chairman
Haryana Legal Services
Authority and Justice Kannan
, Administrative Judge,
Panchkula Division. Chief
Gas leak triggers panic in Sec 21, Chandigarh
Ajay Gupta
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
Panic spread in Sector
21 after chlorine gas
reportedly leaked from a
tubewell of the Municipal
Corporation (MC) this
afternoon. Fire tender were
rushed to the spot to control
the gas fumes.
MC officials said no
causalty was reported at the
site. This is the second
incident of gas leak in the city
in the last four months.
The incident was
reported at as some problem
cropped up in the regulator of
the cylinder. MC officials
decided to shift the cylinder
to the 3BRd Sewage
Treatment Plant so that the
gas could be mixed with the
sewage. But as soon the
laborurers tried to load the
A fire tender tries to bring the situation under control near the
Photo : Neetu Gupta
tubewell in Sector 21, chandigarh.
cylinder on to the truck, the
gas began leaking again from
it.
Suresh Kumar Gill,
SDE (public health) stated
that the labourers began feeling
nauseated after inhaling the
gas so we immediately alerted
the Fire Department. “To
avoid any untoward incident,
we decided to dump the
cylinder at the spot only. A
fire tender was rushed to the
spot from the Sector 17 fire
station”.
The SDO said an
earthmoving machine was
requisitioned to dig the pit to
dump the gas cylinder. The
officials cordoned off the area.
At last, the cylinder was
dumped in the pit near the
boundary wall of the
tubewell.
Sources stated that the
steel valve of the regulators
got eroded which led to the
gas leak. October 19, 2013:
Twenty-two
persons,
including four fire-fighters,
were rushed to the GMSH-16
after they fell unconscious due
to chlorine gas leak. A truck
of the Chandigarh Municipal
Corporation was transporting
an already leaking chlorine gas
cylinder to the Sector 39
water plant when the
situation went out of control
after the truck reached the
road separating Sectors 24 and
15.
Equipment at tubewells
to be checked MC officials
have decided to check all
equipment installed at the
tubewells for mixing chlorine
in the water to avoid similar
incidents in future.
No. Samvad-Advt. 1089/13/281/1314/16767
Photo : Satish Sharma
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul
said the new centre would
play an important role in
reducing the pendency of
cases. Hon’ble Chief Justice
highlighted the role of
alternative methods, such as
arbitration,
settlement,
mediation and Lok Adalats, in
the delivery of justice.
Justice S.K. Mittal said
that in each district ADR
center would be opened.
Justice K.Kannan also told
about the importance of ADR
mechanism.
Great Mangla Times
EDITORIAL & REVIEWS
Panchkula, January 2014
Page 4
From Hindutva to Too Scared toturn Left or Right
development
Narendra Modi would like to agricultural-rural development, women’s
appeal to different people in different empowerment
and
security,
ways. After the initial consolidation environmental protection, youth power,
phase, when he was seen solely as a democracy, and knowledge and skill
Hindutva proponent, Mr. Modi is now development.
in the expansion phase, trying to reach
out to people who have not traditionally
Had the same strategy been spelt
voted for his Bharatiya
out by the Congress’s
Janata Party. The BJP’s
Rahul Gandhi, no one
Editor Review
prime
ministerial
would have batted an
AJAY GUPTA
candidate wants to be
eyelid. Mr. Modi might
Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K.
not think much of the
Advani rolled into one, a Loh Purush leaders of the Congress, but he appears
and a Vikas Purush. The Gujarat very intent on wooing sections
strongman will have few rivals within or considered as the traditional support base
outside his party for the “man-of-steel” of that party. As evident from the results
title with his carefully-cultivated image of of the Assembly elections late last year,
political decisiveness and administrative Mr. Modi was able to reinvigorate the
firmness. After having outdone Mr. cadres and support bases of the BJP.
Advani as Loh Purush, Mr. Modi needed But, 2013 showed that he was not
to extend his support beyond the core politically acceptable to many of the
constituency of the Hindutva brand of BJP’s former allies, such as the Janata
politics. The “development” or Vikas Dal (United) and the Biju Janata Dal.
Purush tag, which comes with holding Without toning down the Hindutva
up Gujarat as a model State for growth rhetoric, and without placing governance
and development, is a more recent in the forefront, Mr. Modi realises, he
acquisition, but not any the less would not be able to bridge the seats
important
for
that
reason. deficit after the Lok Sabha election.
Unsurprisingly, Mr. Modi’s articulation Mission 272+ is easier said than done,
of his idea of India at Sunday’s national and the BJP cannot wish away its
meet of the BJP was important both for dependence on other parties if it is to
what it highlighted and what it left out. form the next government. With the
There was no space for controversial growth and development mantra, Mr.
issues such as minority rights and the Modi is not exactly engaged in an image
building of a Ram temple at Ayodhya, makeover, but he is certainly showing a
the trump cards of the BJP whenever it readiness to appear to move away from
is in retreat. Instead, Mr. Modi came up a divisive communal politics that
with a “rainbow strategy” of characterised his emergence as a politician
strengthening cultural and familial values, in the initial years.
Tea-selling Narendra Modi
A satire in the form of an open letter by Sashi
Kumar, columnist and Chairman, Asian College
of Journalism
Sashi Kumar
Dear Shri. Mani Shankar Aiyar,
We know we need no introduction.
And yet it may be useful to highlight
some aspects of our reputation which
you and others have been carelessly
sullying in the run-up to the general
elections. When Hillary and Tenzing
scaled Mount Everest, imagine their
chagrin when they found one of us had
already set up shop there. When Neil
Armstrong landed on the moon he
almost forgot his lines “One small step
for man, one giant leap for mankind”,
because he ran into one of us, and that
was not part of the script. That is how
ubiquitous we are. It takes a lot of
enterprise and hard work to be that.
It is, therefore, a matter of deep
dismay and hurt, in fact a crisis of
identity, for us when you and others
like you mention Modi and us in the
same breath, or mention the one and
mean the other.
Let us make this very clear. Modi
may or may not have what it takes to
become the prime minister. But he
certainly doesn’t have what it takes to
be a tea seller.
We are, of course, assuming here
that the term tea seller includes what it
takes to brew the stuff, and doesn’t just
mean going around selling tea made by
someone else as, we suspect, you meant
when you suggested he could distribute
tea at Congress melas.
Tea selling, in the holistic sense of
the term, requires skills that are tested
and unique to members of our
association.
They say tea sellers are born,
Malayalees, not made. They don’t make
them like that, in Gujarat or anywhere
else.
Please ponder for a moment on
why there is so little of the BJP in
Kerala, even if this little is all over the
local television news shows all the time,
giving the misleading impression of a
considerable constituency out there.
This is because the generic tea seller is
secular and the typical tea shop is a
nodal point for discussion and argument
conducted in the secular spirit, with an
inclusive political awareness.
Indeed, as you may know, scholars
like Robin Jeffrey acknowledge the role
of the tea shop in Kerala’s capitalist
newspaper revolution. Given that we
already have another even-longerstanding anti-capitalist revolution on
there, we guess we could, taking liberties
with Regis Debray, call this a revolution
in the revolution.
To put it another way, tea shops
have been to Kerala what coffee houses
have been to Europe in the evolution of
journalism and the public discourse. We
trust these scholarly citations will suffice
to vest the profession of tea selling with
some gravitas in your mind and that you
will not mix up what Modi and tea
selling stand for.
Moving beyond signification to
hands-on adeptness, can Modi, by any
stretch of imagination, stretch the tea out
from one vessel to another at anywhere
even remotely close to the gravity
defying horizontal angles that a Beeran,
a Varkey, or a Nair can?
That kind of tea treatment requires
consummate skill. Rhetoric will not do.
It is the ritual equivalent, in the Kerala
tea shop, of the Japanese tea ceremony,
sans the sophistication.
True, as Beeran, Varkey and Nair
moved out of Kerala to other parts of
India and the world, often forsaking tea
selling for better prospects, immigrants
(internally displaced persons, we are
told, is the correct term) from Orissa,
Bengal, Assam, or Uttar Pradesh may
have taken their place in Kerala and
made tea selling a lacklustre affair.
True too, that with small-time
retail outfits having no place in the
market model of Manmohanomics, tea
shops may not be around too much
longer as places for the more outgoing
males of the local community to meet,
exchange and contest views.
The opinion-making and rumourmongering roles of tea shops may have
been taken over by the social media. But
we still value our notional brand equity,
which is jeopardised by indiscriminate
comparisons, by politicians, between
politicians and tea sellers.
Some of this may be purely by
way of tailing what is fashionable in the
US of A.
After all they have a very
attention grabbing Tea party on the
Right there and it may be fashionable for
the Right here to have some association
with tea. You may like to consider
whether, by talking about Modi and tea
the way you do, you are not
unwittingly enhancing your political
adversary’s prestige in the eyes of
Indians starry-eyed about anything US,
not to mention the vast NRI community
already enthused by him.
Before you know it, they may
replicate a version of the JC Penny
Hitler teapot for the Indian market.
No brew from that pot, we know,
will be your cup of tea. But do consider
whether you may be playing into a
larger well thought-out scheme of tea
selling Modi.
There is a tremendous new energy
on the streets of Delhi and, almost
surreally, it is spreading to other parts of
the country. The phenomenon is a tribute
to the Aam Aadmi Party, a spunky
political debutant already in government
in the national Capital and with plans to
contest over 400 Lok Sabha seats.
In retrospect, it is clear that the
Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP tapped into
popular resentments bubbling under the
surface. The emotions found release with
Mr. Kejriwal’s promise of systemic
overhaul and transformative politics. The
stampeding crowds at the AAP’s offices,
the rush of the who’s who to join its rolls
and the frightened responses of its
political rivals, all speak to the
newcomer’s emergence as a harbinger of
hope in a political environment sullied by
greed, graft, waste and incompetence.
Great expectations
Yet the danger with excessive
expectation is that it can quickly turn into
disillusionment and despair. The AAP
faces two potential pitfalls. First is its
near free-for-all style of governance,
evident in such hasty and baffling decisions
as turning the Delhi Secretariat into a
Janata durbar (since dropped) and calling
upon people to sting corrupt officers.
Without a proper structure and discipline,
these solutions can degenerate into tools
of vigilantism, leading to a blurring of
lines between liberty and licence.
The second is the AAP’s refusal to
define itself ideologically. In an interview
to CNN-IBN, the AAP’s national
executive member, Yogendra Yadav, denied
that the party was socialist and said that
the “binaries of the 20th century, either
Left or Right, do not make sense”. An
entry in the AAP website, now removed,
had ridiculed the demand for ideological
clarity, saying ideology was for pundits
whereas the AAP saw itself as solutionbased, open to using solutions from the
Left and the Right.
The attractions of a solution-based,
commonsensical approach are undoubtedly
enormous, especially to audiences fatigued
by the opportunistic aspects of politics. It
is also true that there is a jaded, outmoded
feel to politics compartmentalised as Right
or Left; secular or communal. More so
when parties and politicians themselves
feel no discomfort in crossing the divide,
often for the flimsiest of reasons.
But can a party function without a
sense of history, without an understanding
of its own roots and why and how it has
evolved to its present? The Anna
movement had a strongly regressive
can judge for himself … Many of them
are positively against certain communities
in India… Such forces have been given
respectability. They have been given an
opportunity to reach out to areas where
they had no foothold before. This is
extremely dangerous to the future of the
country..” (Source: Ajit Bhattacharjee;
election. This setback, coupled with her Unfinished Revolution). JP’s blinkered
unseating from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha view of the fight against corruption led to
seat, led Indira Gandhi to impose the the inevitable. The socialists opposed the
Jan Sangh’s continuing allegiance to the
Emergency.
The 1971 Grand Alliance was RSS, resulting in the collapse of the Janata
formed by the Congress (Organisation), Government. The fall of the V.P. Singh
the Swatantra Party, the Jan Sangh and Government in 1989 was almost an action
the Praja and Samyukta Socialist Parties. replay, with VP realising too late that his
The Congress (O) was backed by big accommodation of the RSS and the BJP
business, the princely class and the media. gave the latter credibility and a chance to
The Swatantra Party drew its membership revive itself post its 1984 debacle. The clash
from the princes, wealthy industrialists and of ideologies was written into the script.
Three interesting facts emerge from
extreme right-wing elements. Driven by
the RSS, the Jan Sangh had a clearly this. All pan-national anti-corruption
spelt-out Hindu nationalist goal. The movements so far have been against the
Socialist parties joined this grouping Congress. All of them have had a strong
because like the rest they abhorred Indira right-wing content which led them to selfGandhi and saw her policies as destructively destruct. The Jan Sangh/BJP gained in
leftist. The 1974-1975 Janata Morcha, respect and influence by associating with
which began as a coordination front for these movements. The Anna movement
JP, consisted of the Congress (O), the Jan was uncannily similar to the earlier antiSangh, the Socialist Party (formed by the corruption movements. The JP and Anna
merger of the two socialist parties) and movements sought to overthrow the
the Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD). The BLD system and were set against the same
in turn was a coalition of seven parties, background of corruption, runaway
among them the Charan Singh-led inflation and an explosion of public anger
Bharatiya Kranti Dal and the Swatantra against those in power. V.P. Singh’s antiParty. The 1977 Janata Party was a Bofors campaign struck a powerful chord
product of the merger of the Congress (O), with the people in much the same way as
the Jan Sangh, the Bharatiya Lok Dal and did today’s 2G and other scandals. And like
his predecessors, Anna chose to be
the Socialist Party.
Confusing? Far from it, what the ideology-neutral, associating himself with
narrative establishes is a rightwing Baba Ramdev and holding up Narendra
continuum. The 1971 Grand Alliance, the Modi as the ideal Chief Minister. His
1974-1975 Janata Morcha and the 1977 protégé Kiran Bedi has since come out in
Janata Party all had roughly the same open support of Mr. Modi.
Baba Ramdev was Mr. Kejriwal’s first
constituents. The RSS provided the
logistical support for each of these port of call on his anti-corruption journey.
formations as it would do more than a It was later that he turned to Anna. But,
decade later for the Janata Dal. Indeed, by since forming the AAP, Mr. Kejriwal has
1989, the leading lights of the Janata evolved in a more progressive direction,
movement had faded away. But, as before, which is surely the reason why someone
the RSS and its political offshoot, now the like Mallika Sarabhai has joined the party.
Bharatiya Janata Party, would drive the But the AAP also harbours the very
regressive and gender-insensitive Kumar
anti-corruption movement.
JP believed that the RSS had Vishwas, the video recordings of whose
changed. He said in March 1975: “I have comic shows make for cringe-inducing
to admit that the RSS has undergone a viewing. The fight against corruption is
change and is still changing… By including critically important. But the neglect of
these organisations in the movement for ideology can prove ruinous for this cause.
Total Revolution, I have made an attempt The AAP has a historic responsibility to
to decommunalise them and now they are make a clean break from the past and
not communal..” Indira Gandhi’s response emerge as a party that can combine
to this was typically caustic: “Anybody systemic overhaul with a progressive,
who has read the speeches of RSS leaders clearly-articulated vision.
The Aam Aadmi Party is in favour of a solution-based,
commonsensical approach to problems and seeks to escape
the trappings of the Left or the Right
Vidya Subrahmaniam
streak. The AAP has moved away to saner
positions without frontally confronting
and interrogating that past. The AAP’s
army of supporters may want to treat
ideology as baggage and see the party as a
grand standalone phenomenon, but that
would be delusional because history has
lessons to offer to forget which is to risk
repeating it with tragic consequences.
Previous movements : Consider the
fate of India’s previous anti-corruption
movements. Two kinds of popular
movements have led to party formation
in India — those based on self-respect and
identity and the more pan-national ones
focussed on political corruption and
misrule. The former category is made up
of largely regional parties such as the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the
Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Asom
Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP). In the second category
fall a series of anti-corruption
mobilisations of which two are regarded as
milestones in Indian political history —
the Total Revolution call of 1974-1975
and the anti-Bofors movement of 19881989. Led by Jaya Prakash Narayan and
V.P. Singh respectively, both movements
targeted the Congress, and the end result
of each formed a political alliance — the
1977 umbrella Janata Party and the 1989
Janata Dal coalition — that eventually
disintegrated because the leadership
mistakenly believed that ideology could be
brushed under the carpet. Both
accommodated the RSS, believing its
involvement to be necessary to fight the
‘corrupt’ congress. But there is a curious
back story to this story. The rightward tilt
of the two movements can be traced back
to 1971 when the Opposition banded
together into a Grand Alliance to fight
Indira Gandhi’s ‘destructive’ politics. That
alliance was routed. However, JP’s 1974
Total Revolution call and the then
ongoing student protests in Gujarat
provided the perfect backdrop for the
Grand Alliance constituents to regroup. JP
gave the constituents credibility and they
gave his movement political muscle. This
mutual support resulted in the formation,
in 1974 itself, of the Janata Morcha, a
loose coalition that went on to defeat the
congress in the 1975 Gujarat assembly
Manmohan makes way
For Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh’s colleagues in the Congress, his
announcement on January 3 that he will
not be the UPA’s prime ministerial
candidate for a third term came not a
moment too soon — a fortnight ahead of
a crucial All India Congress Committee
session that will mull strategy for the
forthcoming general election. Over the last
three years, as the economy dipped, and
financial scandals and large urban social
protests took centre stage, Dr. Singh has
become the face of ineffectual governance.
The media played its role, with television
channels working overtime to contrast his
low-key, gentle manner with the BJP prime
ministerial nominee Narendra Modi’s
muscular style.
As the general election loomed large,
a growing number of Congress MPs —
including ministers — seeking re-election
had begun to privately articulate the need
for a change at least in optics, starting with
a clarification that this is Dr. Singh’s last
innings: the TINA (there is no alternative)
factor no longer works for him. The
Prime Minister evidently heard the message,
and his own advisers, The Hindu learnt,
suggested he mention it in his opening
statement at his press conference rather
than merely state it in response to what
was an anticipated question. At the press
conference, he looked feeble and defeated:
UPA-II’s inability to create jobs and tackle
inflation, something he himself conceded
that day, combined with the Aam Aadmi
Party’s success in creating a countrywide
anti-Congress mood through its relentless
focus on corruption, added to the negative
atmospherics. The Prime Minister didn’t
help himself when he told journalists that
the UPA was re-elected in 2009 even
though the financial irregularities relating to
the allocation of 2G spectrum and coal
blocks related to his first term. Of course,
it was of a piece with the way the otherwise
incorruptible PM has dealt with corruption
cases that surfaced in UPA-II, making it
harder for the government to counter the
AAP narrative.
Five feel-good years
And yet, just four-and-a-half years
ago, the same Dr. Singh, transcending the
disadvantage of being a “nominated” rather
than an “elected” leader, had led the UPA
not just to a renewed, but to an enlarged
The confidence the Indian Prime Minister generated among
the middle class in his first term saw the Congress sweep
all the major metros in the 2009 election, but over the last
three years, he has become the face of ineffectual
governance
Smita Gupta
mandate. In 2009, the Congress rode back
to power on the back of five feel-good
years marked not just by welfare schemes,
promoted by Congress president Sonia
Gandhi’s National Advisory Council (NAC)
but, equally significantly, by the PM’s skilful
stewardship of a coalition government and
the economy at a difficult time. His
decisive handling of the nuclear deal with
the United States and the positive signals he
sent out to all minorities played a key role
in the Congress’s victory. He roped in the
Samajwadi Party to compensate for the
Left Parties’ exit, signalling that behind that
tentative manner, there was an
understanding of politics.
The confidence he generated among
the middle class saw the Congress sweep all
the major metros; equally in the rural
hinterland of Uttar Pradesh, where the
party won 22 Lok Sabha seats, in the runup to the 2009 elections, voters — cutting
across the urban-rural barrier, and from
differing caste and religious backgrounds —
told me they wanted to see a Manmohan
Singh–led Congress back in power. There
was an economic meltdown, they said, and
the country needed an arthashastri
(political strategist) at the helm; at a time
when India was engaging with the world, the
country needed a leader who could
converse with world leaders on equal terms.
On May 16, 2009, hours after it
became plain that the Congress was back,
when Ms. Gandhi and Dr. Singh jointly
addressed the media at 10, Janpath, the
Congress president cut short the expected
babble of Gandhi acolytes who had already
stepped up the demand to make Rahul
Gandhi PM: “Dr. Manmohan Singh is our
prime ministerial candidate,” she said
firmly. As the two stood together, a bank
of microphones before them, they
projected a perfect picture of partnership.
But today, after Dr. Singh’s
announcement, this unique power-sharing
arrangement may be drawing to a close.
Congress leaders, who consistently defended
the “dual centres of power” project, are
now beginning to question it. The first was
party general secretary Digvijaya Singh in
March 2013: “Personally, I feel that this
[power sharing] model hasn’t worked very
well… there shouldn’t be two power
centres… Whoever is the Prime Minister
must have the authority to function
although Sonia Gandhi has really never
interfered in the government’s functioning,”
he said, when asked whether he believed
Rahul Gandhi should follow his mother’s
model in future when she stepped aside to
make Dr. Singh PM.
Subsequently, Mr Singh retracted
what he had said after a fellow functionary
criticised him for it; but the idea had been
introduced in the public domain. Today, the
numbers of those saying that the powersharing model has failed has swelled, even
though it is being said behind closed doors.
Those privy to exchanges between the PM
and the Congress president say it has been
a very correct relationship with the two
deferring to one another depending on the
occasion, governmental or party; it has
also been one of trust. On issues of
pluralism and social inclusion, it has been a
meeting of the minds. But on economic and
foreign policy issues — the Prime
Minister’s core areas of interest — there
were differences. If many in the party now
feel that a division of power came in the
way of a coherent vision, a key
sympathiser of Dr. Singh disagrees: “In a
democracy, if leaders differ on policy issues
and debate them, it is healthy as it leads to
better decision-making. The real problem
lay in the NAC becoming a parallel centre
of policy, undermining Dr. Singh’s authority
in [the] Cabinet,” he said, adding, with
some cynicism, that those in the party now
saying that the power-sharing arrangement
failed are doing so to block the possibility
of a P. Chidambaram or an A.K. Antony
emerging as Dr. Singh’s successor, should
the UPA win a third term.
Undermining of PM’s authority
Indeed, Dr. Singh was aware that the
Sonia Gandhi–led NAC’s existence tended
to undermine his authority in government
and he subtly sought to block its
resurrection in UPA-II (in UPA-I, it
receded into the background after 2006,
when Ms. Gandhi resigned as chairperson
following the Office of Profit controversy):
a whole year elapsed after the UPA returned
to power in 2009 before the NAC was
reconstituted in June 2010.
No one in the party still questions
Dr. Singh’s personal probity, phenomenal
memory, intellect or scholarship, but those
who have worked with him closely say that
he is a poor manager, a tardy decisionmaker, and finds it hard to bring the passion
he brought to the India-U.S. nuclear deal to
all that he does. In UPA-II, as the
disapproval of his own party colleagues
began to show, a Cabinet minister said, he
left it increasingly to Pranab Mukherjee —
now President — to lead at Cabinet
meetings, leading eventually to a
dysfunctional government. If in UPA-I, Dr.
Singh looked to allies such as the
Nationalist Congress Party and Rashtriya
Janata Dal to “balance” Congress
colleagues, in UPA-II, he began to look for
“friends” within the Cabinet to deal with
his increasing isolation. Above all, he is a
poor communicator.
History, Dr. Singh said at his press
conference, will judge him kindly. Perhaps,
it will, given his record in UPA-I. For the
moment, it remains to be seen whether Dr.
Singh’s opting out of a third term will bring
the power-sharing arrangement to an end
in the Congress — and herald the return of
absolute supremacy to the family. On
Thursday, a day ahead of the AICC session,
after members of the Congress Working
Committee proposed that Rahul Gandhi be
named the prime ministerial candidate, Ms.
Gandhi opposed it in her capacity as party
president: Mr. Gandhi will now be the
party’s campaign committee chief, and the
decision to name him the PM candidate has
been deferred. But party leaders stressed that
in the unlikely event of the Congress
returning to power later this year, Mr.
Gandhi would be the PM candidate.
HEALTH & DIET
Great Mangla Times
Panchkula, January 2014
Page 5
Cancer risk cut by H. pylori coevolution
Diet plan for a flat tummy
Why heart attacks happen in morning
When modern humans,
who evolved in Africa, left
their homeland some 60,000
years ago and made their
way to the far corners of the
world, they took along a
stomach
bacterium,
Helicobacter pylori.
The bacterium is today
found in about half the
world’s
population,
producing inflammation of
the stomach and, in some
cases, stomach or peptic
ulcers. But only in less than
one per cent of people does
the infection lead to stomach
cancer, a leading cause of
cancer-related
deaths
worldwide. Moreover, not all
populations are equally
susceptible to developing
stomach cancer in the face of
H. pylori infections. In
Africa, for instance, infection
with the bacterium is
widespread but stomach
cancer levels are very low, a
phenomenon that has come to
be called the ‘African
enigma.’
A group of scientists,
after examining the interplay
of human ancestry with those
of the H. pylori they carried,
has found that coevolution of
the two over long periods of
time reduced the risk of gastric
disease. Their research was
published this week in the
Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The scientists looked at two
towns in the South American
country of Colombia. Both
towns had virtually identical
prevalence of H. pylori
infections but dramatically
Here's a tried and tested
diet plan to help you stay in
shape this festive season.
1. Have a healthy
breakfast: Avoid rushed
breakfasts like chocolate
cookies and milk. Instead opt
for an omelette with two egg
whites and some fruit juice
minus any sugar.
2. Cut down on
fattening meat: Avoid meats
like pork, beef etc. You can
indulge once in a while, but
try to avoid fattening food as
much as possible.
3. Exercise smart: You
don't need to go all out with
your exercise regime. Instead
opt for smarter and simpler
exercises. "Breathing exercises,
jogging, squats etc help much
Corresponding author
Frank A.J.L. Scheer, PhD,
director of the Medical
Chronobiology Program at
Brigham and Women's
Hospital (BWH), said that
their findings suggest that the
circadian system, or the
internal
body
clock,
contributes to the increased
risk for cardiovascular events
in the morning. The
researchers studied 12 healthy
adult volunteers in the
intensive
physiological
monitoring laboratories at
BWH.
Participants
were
assessed throughout a twoweek laboratory protocol
designed to desynchronize
daily
behavioral
and
different rates of gastric
cancer. The town of
Tuquerres in the Andean
mountains has a cancer rate
that is about 25 times that of
Tumaco only 200 km away
on the coast. Spanish settlers
who colonised South America
introduced their genes as well
as the H. pylori strains they
carried into the native
Amerindian people living there.
The settlers also brought
slaves over from Africa,
adding more ingredients to the
human and bacterial genetic
mix.
In order to decipher
such complicated ancestry, the
scientists relied on the genetic
patterns found in the genomes
of the 242 individuals from
the
two
towns
who
participated in the study. The
ancestry of the H. pylori
those people harboured was
established in a similar
manner. The mountain town
of Tuquerres, it turned out,
was mostly Amerindian. The
coastal town of Tumaco, on
the other hand, had largely
African ancestry. Their H.
pylori had African, European
and East Asian roots.
“We found that the
people living on the coast
who were largely of African
descent had mild stomach
lesions if they had an H.
pylori infection that had a
largely African ancestry,” said
Barbara
Schneider,
a
professor at Vanderbilt
University Medical Center in
the U.S. and a senior author
of the paper. “But the
Amerindian people in the
mountains, if they had a
strain that had a large amount
of African ancestry in it (it
didn't even have to be a
majority), they had worse
lesions,” she observed in an
email. African H. pylori
ancestry was relatively
benign in humans of African
ancestry but was deleterious
in individuals with substantial
Amerindian ancestry, the
scientists pointed out in the
PNAS paper. “We conclude
that
coevolutionary
relationships are important
determinants of gastric
disease risk and that the
historical colonisation of the
Americas continues to
influence health in modern
American populations.”
more than heavy exercises
where you only end up
exerting yourself and getting
lethargic and weak in the
process. Since you're cutting
down on your regular food
intake, exercise wisely." says
nutritionist Sonia Rao.
4. Avoid eating late: As
much as possible, eat early and
make sure there's enough time
gap between your dinner and
sleep. Eating a large meal and
immediately sleeping post that
is a bad idea for both, your
weight as well as digestion.
5. Eat whole grains:
Whole grains keep you full for
a long time which in turn can
help with weight loss. Add
low glycemic foods like
tomatoes to your diet.
environmental rhythms from
internal circadian rhythms.
Researchers specifically
evaluated the role of
Plasminogen
activator
inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which
inhibits the breakdown of
blood clots and is thus a risk
factor for blood clotting, one
of the major contributors to
heart attack and ischemic
stroke. The researchers sought
out to test whether this
morning peak in PAI-1 is
caused by the internal
circadian system or by
behaviors that typically occur
in the morning, such as
altered posture and physical
activity. The researchers
found a robust circadian
rhythm in circulating PAI-1
with a peak corresponding to
approximately 6:30 a.m. in a
regular sleep/wake cycle.
Co-author Steven Shea,
PhD, director of the Oregon
Institute of Occupational
Health Sciences, sad that their
findings indicate that the
human circadian system
causes a morning peak in
circulating levels of PAI-1,
independent of any behavioral
or environmental influences.
The new findings have
been published in the journal
Blood.
Check out the ultimate workout list KEEP AN EYE ON GENE THERAPY
While New Year ’s
resolutions are still fresh,
Spotify has put together a
playlist of songs scientifically
proven to motivate gym-goers
during a workout. The music
streaming platform teamed up
with the Music in Exercise
and Sport Group at Brunel
University in London to
select the international hit
songs that provided the best
motivation during exercise.
Spotify and Brunel
University
specialists
considered several criteria
when selecting tracks for this
ideal workout playlist. Songs
were chosen in part for their
popularity and tempo (BPM),
but also for their musical
style and lyrical content.
"A suitably motivational
playlist can help to 'color' the
symptoms of exercise-related
fatigue, like breathlessness and
a beating heart, in such a way
that they are interpreted in a
more positive manner,"
explains
Dr.
Costas
Karageorghis, Deputy Head
of Research at Brunel
University's School of Sport
and Education.
Katy Perry's hit song
Roar opens the playlist for a
moderately fast-paced warm
up, leading into a string of
higher intensity tracks -including electronic music hits
such as Daft Punk's single Get
Lucky and Avicii's You Make
Me -- followed by a cool down
to Lorde's Royals. While
composing its ultimate playlist,
Spotify analyzed 6.7 million
workout playlists created by
users, enabling it to determine
that the most popular workout
song in the world is Can't Hold
Us by Macklemore & Ryan
Lewis feat Ray Dalton.
Here are the first 10
tracks in Spotify's Ultimate
Workout playlist:
1. Roar - Katy Perry
2. Talk Dirty - Jason Derulo
ft 2 Chainz
3. Skip To The Good Bit Rizzle Kicks
4. Get Lucky - Daft Punk ft
Pharrel Williams
5. Move - Little Mix
6. Need U (100%) - Duke
Dumont ft A*M*E
7. You Make Me - Avicii
8. Feel My Rhythm - Viralites
9. Timber - Pitbull ft Ke$ha
10. Applause - Lady Gaga
Two
men
with
progressive blindness have
partially regained their vision
after taking part in the first
clinical trial of a certain
gene therapy. The men
were among six patients
to have experimental
treatment for a rare,
inherited, disorder called
choroideremia, which
steadily
destroys
eyesight and leaves
people blind in middle
age.
After therapy to correct
a faulty gene, the men could
read two to four more lines
on an optician’s sight chart, a
dramatic improvement that
has held since the doctors
treated them.
Writing in The Lancet,
doctors maintain that further
trials are as effective, the team
could apply for approval for
the therapy in the next five
years. Some other forms of
blindness could be treated in
a similar way.
Choroideremia is caused
by a faulty gene, called CHM,
on the X chromosome. The
disease mostly affects men
because they have only one
copy of the X chromosome.
Women have two copies of
the X chromosome, so a
healthy version of the
gene on one chromosome
can largely make up for
any defects on the other.
The therapy uses a
genetically modified virus
to smuggle healthy copies
of the CHM gene into
light-sensitive cells in the
retina and supporting
tissue called retinal pigment
epithelium. Surgeons injected
modified virus particles behind
the retinas of the patients in
an operation that could be
completed in an hour under
general anaesthetic.
Majority of Indians prone to malaria Why oral polio vaccination must for India-bound Pakistanis
A majority of Indians are
susceptible to malaria while
certain tribal groups in the
country have resistance to the
disease, thanks to mutations in
a single gene that determine an
individual’s proneness or
resistivity.
A new study carried out
by scientists from the CSIRCentre for Cellular and
Molecular Biology (CCMB)
and the Institute of Tropical
Medicine, Germany, found
that variations in the gene,
MBL2, were responsible either
for protecting against the
disease or making an individual
susceptible.
The study done by
Aditya Nath Jha et al, was
published in the January
2014 issue of Infection and
Immunity, an American
journal. Pointing out that
malaria was one of the major
causes for morbidity and
mortality in tropical and subtropical countries, it was
noted in the study that an
estimated 1.24 million deaths
were caused by the disease in
2010, mostly in Africa.
Mentioning about the
pathogenesis of malaria, it
observed that the severity
depends on the complex
interplay between host genetic
make-up, the parasite’s
virulence, its
transmission
dynamics as
well as host
i m m u n e
responses.
Apart from
malaria,
M B L 2
g e n e t i c
variations were earlier
associated with various
infectious diseases like
leishmaniasis,
leprosy,
schistosomiasis,
trypanosomiasis, HIV and
auto-immune diseases.
Dr. Thangaraj, senior
scientist at CCMB said
MBL2 was a pathogen
recognizing molecule and
usually binds to the surface of
glycoconjugate, one of the
proteins on the surface of
pathogens. In the case of
malaria, it adheres to the
malarial parasite and activates
the body’s defence mechanism.
“This gene is a pathogen
receptor molecule and has a lot
of functions in immunity. For
the first time, we have looked
at its role in malaria in Indian
population,”
he said. The
scientists
conducted a
DNA analysis
of the entire
MBL2 gene
in 434 malaria
patients from
regions that
were endemic to the disease.
Additionally, 830 individuals
from 32 socially, linguistically
and geographically diverse
endogamous
Indian
populations were investigated
for distribution of MBL2
variations. The study found
that around 20 per cent of
severe malaria patients carried
structural variants of the gene.
The frequency of variations
was three times more when
compared to the control
subjects.
Interestingly,
the
scientists found a combination
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of variants that give protection
against malaria in some tribal
groups such as Gonds and
Subba. Both the groups had
high level of MBL2 and also
the structural variants that
offer protection. Other groups
such as Lambadis, Rajgonds,
Puma and Sherpas had higher
frequency of MBL2*Y
mutation which made them
susceptible to the disease.
Dr. Thangaraj said this
was the first evidence to
show that some population
had naturally selected gene
variants to protect against
malaria. It could be true of
other infectious diseases too.
Apparently that population
at some time was exposed to
malaria
and
they
subsequently developed
genes resistant to the disease
through the process of
natural selection. With the
CCMB Director, Ch. Mohan
Rao emphasising on the need
for taking up sociallyrelevant research, this study
is a step in that direction and
could help in future in
developing drugs.
With no cases of polio
being reported for three
consecutive years, India will be
declared as polio-free by the
WHO on February 11 when
random samples tested by the
global health body turns out to
be negative for polio. On
February 24, 2012 WHO
removed India from the list of
countries with active, endemic,
wild polio transmission. The
last case of polio was reported
in 2011 from West Bengal;
there were 42 case of polio in
2010 and 741 in 2009.
With no polio case for
three years, the focus is to
ensure that no cases come up
in future. It therefore comes as
no
surprise
that
the
government has put in place a
new policy that requires every
Pakistani travelling to India
after January 30, 2014 to
compulsorily receive oral polio
vaccination “at least six weeks
prior to departure to India.”
The rule applies to both
children and adults. “The step
is being taken to safeguard
India's polio-free status
attained after sustained efforts
and investment,” the Indian
High Commission (embassy)
in Islamabad was quoted as
saying by a news agency.
“Evidence of polio vaccination
will be requested for entry into
India.”
The new
policy
is
applicable to
anyone who
travels to India
from
all
countries where
polio
is
endemic
or
where polio cases have been
reported. Pakistan continues to
be a polio-endemic country.
According to Dr. T. Jacob
John, a virologist and former
professor of CMC Vellore,
the rationale behind this
policy is to reduce the
chances of an individual
coming from a polio-endemic
country from spreading the
virus here. Though a person,
be it child or adult, is
healthy, he may still be a
carrier of the polio virus and
can shed (and hence spread)
the virus when in India.
“Children and adults can
get infected with wild polio
virus. Though they may not
suffer from the illness, they
can shed the virus,” Dr. John
said. “Immunity may not
prevent infection, but disease
is prevented by
immunity.”
So oral
polio vaccination
given to people
prior
to
departure
to
India
boosts
their immunity
and cuts the risk of virus
transmission. The reason for
giving oral polio vaccination
six weeks prior to departure
is that it provides sufficient
time for immune system to
get boosted. “Infected
children are known to shed
the virus for weeks, and
infected immune adults shed
for a shorter period of time,”
he said.
Unlike the polio
injection that uses inactive
(dead) polio virus as antigens,
the oral polio vaccine uses
live, attenuated (weakened)
virus. While it takes a longer
time to boost immunity with
polio injection, oral polio
vaccine boosts the immunity
very quickly. “This is because
each drop of the oral polio
vaccine contains millions of
viruses,’ Dr. John said. Oral
polio vaccine is also preferred
as it is commonly used and is
easy to administer. Adults can
get infected Contrary to
common perception, adults
can also get affected by polio.
This typically happens when
they have neither received
polio vaccination nor been
naturally infected with polio
virus before. These are naïve
people whose immune system
has never been exposed to
the polio virus before, and as
a result, the immune system
has never been primed or
boosted.
Such people when
infected with wild polio virus
later in life can suffer from
paralytic polio. “Such naïve
people are seen in the
developed countries where
they have never been exposed
to polio virus,” said Dr. John.
Great Mangla Times
VIBSUN
CAREER & TECHNO LIFE STYLE
Panchkula, January 2014
Page 6
First exoplanet found around sun-like star ‘UCC gave me an
Astronomers have
discovered an exoplanet
orbiting a star much like the
sun, the European Southern
Observatory (ESO), located in
Chile’s northern desert, said.
Three planets orbiting
stars have been discovered in
the cluster Messier 67, which
contains about 500 stars.
The cluster lies about
2,500 light years away in the
constellation of Cancer, where
one of the planets orbits a star
very similar to our sun, the
ESO said in a statement on
Wednesday.
“The first planet (of the
three) proved to be orbiting a
remarkable star. It is one of
the most similar solar twins
identified so far and is almost
identical to the sun. It is the
first solar twin in a cluster
that has been found to have a
planet,” said the statement.
An exoplanet is defined
as the planet that orbits stars
outside our Solar System.
Despite the fact that
more than 1,000 exoplanets
have been detected outside the
solar system, very few planets
have been found so far inside
star clusters. The results were
supplemented
with
observations from several other
observatories around the world.
“The team carefully monitored
88 selected stars in Messier 67
over a period of six years to
look for the tiny telltale
motions of the stars toward
and away from the earth that
reveal the presence of orbiting
planets,” said Anna Brucalassi,
the lead author of the study.
“In the Messier 67 star
cluster, the stars are all about
the same age and composition
as the sun. This makes it a
perfect laboratory to study
how many planets form in
such a crowded environment,”
added Brucalassi, who works
at the Max Planck Institute for
Extraterrestrial Physics in
Garching, Germany.
The ESO operates three
sites in the Atacama desert,
500 km north of Chile’s
capital Santiago.
spotted easily. Enrol with
your college/university
placement committee to stay
connected.
You must know what’s
on offer. Make a list of
potential employers after
carefully assessing your
potential, interest, aptitude
and job profile that is likely
to be offered. This will
simplify the process for you.
After zeroing in on potential
recruiters, write down what
they expect from you and
make an assessment as to
whether you have what they
want from you. Do not be
choosy, be flexible yet firm
in your thoughts. Learn to
understand the offer being
made. Analyse all pros and
cons and also compare job
offers in case there is more
than one. Do not lay too
much
stress
on
the
remuneration. Also take into
consideration factors such as
job role, flexi-timings,
opportunities for growth etc.
Remember that the way
you present yourselves will
matter a lot... in a lot of
cases, the first impression
that you can make on your
employer is likely to be the
last. Also keep in mind that
your academic performance is
important and is related to
the job that you actually get.
The mix of steady academic
scores, subject knowledge
and good communication and
interpersonal skills can lead
to a good campus placement
and a rewarding career.
The British Council is
offering IELTS Scholarship
Award to study undergraduate
or postgraduate programmes
at a recognised education
institution in an Englishspeaking country. Indian
students are eligible for this
scholarship. The British
Council IELTS Scholarship
Award was launched with the
objective of supporting Indian
students intending to study in
an English-speaking country.
The scholarship will
award eight IELTS candidates
`3 lakh each towards the cost
of tuition fees. To be eligible
for the IELTS scholarship,
you must be a resident and
citizen of India; must have
taken the IELTS test with the
ECoG, a centre where brain
activity is recorded directly
from patients implanted with
specialised electrodes placed
directly inside and on the
surface of the brain while the
patients are performing
sensory and cognitive tasks.
Here, the researchers
examined brain functions of
patients suffering from
epilepsy by using methods
that coincided with their
medical treatment. The
researchers tested the parts of
the brain that were used
during speech. Here, the
study’s subjects were asked
to repeat two “non-words”
— “kig” and “pob.” Using
non-words as a prompt to
gauge neurological activity, the
researchers were able to
isolate speech from language.
An analysis of brain
activity as patients engaged in
speech tasks showed that
both sides of the brain were
used — that is, speech is, in
fact, bi-lateral. “Now that we
have greater insights into the
connection between the brain
and speech, we can begin to
develop new ways to aid
those trying to regain the
ability to speak after a stroke
or injuries resulting in brain
damage,” said Pesaran.“With
this greater understanding of
the speech process, we can
retool rehabilitation methods
in ways that isolate speech
recovery and that don’t
involve language,” Pesaran
said.
MANGLA BROS.
(AN ISO 9001:2008 Certified
Company)
opportunity to grow’ SOLAR GEYSERS
After scoring 95.6% in
graduation with an all India
rank of 779, I was nowhere. I
was getting admission to an
institute of technology, that
was not even -recognised.
Due to hefty fees and a large
amount of -donations,
entering a renowned Indian
institute became impossible.
That’s why I decided to study
abroad. I wanted to get into
research and development,
and there is no place better
than Ireland. I did masters in
biotechnology
from
University College Cork
(UCC). The modules ranged
from genetic -engineering,
plant genetic engineering, -biopharmaceuticals, functional
foods for health, analytical
chemistry, molecular microbial
biotechnology, bioprocess, cell
and molecular biology giving a
broader career opportunity at
the end of the course.
5 things you must do during
campus placements
IELTS Scholarship
Campus hiring is a big
platform for students to get
noticed in the job market
and is a great addition to
their job or internship
search. Most aspirants
follow methods such as
conducting online research
and reviewing job websites
to boost their chances of
landing a good job. Here are
a few things freshers must
keep in mind during campus
placements.
Campus
placement drives allow you
to connect with employers
and
industry
experts
directly. Employers conduct
information sessions to
educate candidates about the
various career options
available and also to ensure
that talented candidates are
TM
British Council recently;
must have a minimum overall
IELTS band score of 6.0;
must produce a valid letter of
acceptance/offer letter from a
recognised
education
institution that accepts IELTS
as part of its admissions
criteria and must have begun
an
undergraduate
or
postgraduate programme
outside India in the 2013
academic year.
Online applications
must be submitted by January
2014. Candidates can visit
http://www.britishcouncil.in/
exam/ielts/scholarships for
further details.
The modules were
taught with the mix of theory
and practical experience.
Guest lecturers from industry
and
site
visits
to
pharmaceutical plants were
also part of the curriculum.
After the first semester,
the university helped me in
getting a placement in Teagasc
Crops Research Centre, a
government research institute
for the agri-food sector. Since
it was an unpaid internship,
my course director -professor
Justin McCarthy -sanctioned a
250 euros per month stipend
to support my living expense.
Besides getting -high-quality
education, -studying in Ireland
is very cost -effective. I paid
13,800 euros and got a
-scholarship of 5,000 euros.
Cost of living is much cheaper
as compared to Bangalore and
Mumbai. In Ireland, a well
furnished double bed room
with all appliances in place
costs as much as a minuscule
flat in Mumbai with a single
bed. For internet, electricity
and other bills I paid 400
euros every month.
This
research
-experience helped me to
obtain a fully funded PhD
scholarship
in
plant
biotechnology. In addition to
my academic studies, I was
also an Indian student
ambassador for UCC. This
enabled me to travel to
various universities in Dublin
and I was awarded a
certificate from the Irish
Education minister, Ruairi
Quinn. One of the most
inspiring moments during my
stay in Ireland was when I
met the president of Ireland.
91 90419 01665, 91 98142 40880
Four-year degree has
its advantages too
While there is strong
opposition to FYUP, a
section of students is happy
with what is being offered.
“FYUP allows students
from one discipline to learn
about the other. For instance,
a history student gets to
understand some concepts in
science and likewise, a
commerce student can learn
about arts. It exposes us to a
broad set of subjects/
disciplines through the
foundation courses and will
also help students develop an
interest in one of the subjects
they study. This will help a
student who wishes to pursue
higher studies in that
discipline,” says Saloni Jain, a
history student at Gargi
College.
The best part of
FYUP,
says
Sankalp
Choudhary of Khalsa College,
is that one can get a diploma
after spending two years in
college, a bachelor’s degree
after three years and a
bachelor’s with honours after
four years. “With the
curriculum becoming simple,
we can pursue other extracurricular activities as well,”
says Choudhary.
Some
principals are also optimistic
that once the second semester
ends, the availability of
infrastructure and courses will
improve.
“The University Grants
Commission will have to give
extra grants to make the
additional subjects stronger in
these colleges,” says PC Jain,
principal, Shri Ram College of
Commerce. FYUP will also
give students a chance to
study abroad. “It is based on
the US model of education
and is interdisciplinary. It
gives us a chance to explore
more than what we could
have in a three-year degree,”
adds Choudhary.
Other advantages of
FYUP, say students, is that a
foundation year will have
several interesting courses
including
information
technology,
business
entrepreneurship
and
management, and environment
and public health. “All the
foundation courses that are
part of this programme are
compulsory, irrespective of
the discipline the student is
pursuing. This will ensure
holistic learning and will help
students tackle real-life
situations. The final year
focuses on discipline-related
courses and assignments,
enabling students to specialise
in a particular subject, says a
senior faculty member.
FYUP in trouble : students,
Speech means using both sides of our brain teachers push for change
We use both sides of
our brain for speech,
according to a new study that
could rewrite therapies for
those who have lost the
ability to speak after a stroke.
“Our findings upend what has
been universally accepted in
the scientific community —
that we use only one side of
our brains for speech,” said
Bijan Pesaran, an associate
professor in New York
University’s Centre for
Neural Science and the
study’s senior author.
“In addition, now that
we have a firmer understanding
of how speech is generated, our
work toward finding remedies
for speech afflictions is much
better informed,” Pesaran said.
Scientific community has largely
believed that both speech and
language are lateralised that is,
we use only one side of our
brains for speech, which
involves listening and
speaking, and language, which
involves constructing and
understanding sentences.
However,
the
conclusions pertaining to
speech generally stem from
studies that rely on indirect
measurements of brain
activity, raising questions
about characterising speech as
lateralised. To address this
matter, the researchers
directly examined the
connection between speech
and the neurological process.
Specifically, the study relied
on data collected at NYU
It created headlines
when it was introduced last
year. After one semester,
Delhi University’s Four-Year
Undergraduate Programme
(FYUP) is being criticised by
a major section of students
and teachers.
They are demanding a
rollback of the new academic
structure of the university’s
undergraduate degree.
The stir has been supported
by the Akhil Bhartiya
Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)
too, which conducted a
college-to-college campaign
last week. ‘Courses too basic’
Several students say that the
FYUP is not delivering what
it promised.
“There are too many
foundation courses and very
few discipline courses in
FYUP which is not doing us
any good as we are not
learning anything new. In four
years, I will be studying just
18 discipline courses as
compared to 27 in the threeyear degree. Moreover, FYUP
was meant to offer us the
freedom to choose our own
subjects, but this is not
happening. The level of
foundation courses is too
basic and equivalent to what
we learnt in high school,”
says Paras Jain, a first-year
BCom (hons) student at the
College of Vocational Studies.
He adds,“We were
asked to write an essay on
the Delhi Metro and were
asked questions based on
square root, which we learnt
in school. Our lectures also
start at 11.45am and end at
4.20pm during which there
are only two lectures for the
main subjects, which are taken
by the same set of teachers
who teach the second-year
and third-year students.”
There has not been a single
lecture for the course on
Integrating Mind, Body and
Heart in the first semester in
his college, Jain adds.
Other students also
stress that the projects given as
part of these foundation
courses are “not realistic and
are very basic in nature.” Jyoti
Sharma, a first-year student
says, “We just have to do an
internet search, compile
everything, take printouts and
submit it. There is no
application or room to learn.”
Teachers unhappy :
Several students had similar
stories to share as they got
together at various colleges
and at the arts faculty last
week, protesting against the
FYUP. Many ad hoc and
language teachers are worried
too. “Everyone’s likely to do
well as evaluation of the
foundation courses is entirely
internal.
FYUP
was
introduced in a great hurry
without consulting the
teachers. There was no audit
on the infrastructure and the
structure is radically different
with a whole lot of
programmes being scrapped.
“Every student is forced
to do a specialisation in one
programme
and
an
overwhelming importance is
given to the foundation
courses. The private and
foreign university system has
been
imitated
while
implementing it and the
current semester system and
proposal to bring in the credit
transfer method is an example
of that,” says Nandita Narain,
president, Delhi University
Teachers’
Association
(DUTA).
DUTA recently collected
feedback on FYUP from
students. As per the feedback
received from Miranda House,
Shri Ram College of
Commerce and St Stephen’s
College, nearly all students feel
that the FYUP is failing to
make productive use of their
time. As a result, 91% students
in Miranda House prefer to
revert to the three-year
programme while 90%
students in SRCC feel the
same. ABVP and DUTA have
written to education minister
Manish Sisodia to meet for a
discussion. “We visited several
colleges to consult students
and will be intensifying our
protest over the next few
days,” says Saket Bahuguna,
state secretary, ABVP.
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SPORTS AND NEWS
Great Mangla Times
Panchkula, January 2014
Page 7
‘Bhim Award Distribution Function’
Ajay Gupta
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
Haryana Governor Mr.
Jagannath Pahadia said that
Haryana is the first State in
the country where the players
winning medal in Olympics
and other international sports
competition are honoured with
highest cash awards. More
than 13,000 players of the
State have so far been
benefitted with a cash award of
Rs. 64 crore since the year
2006.
Mr. Pahadia conferred
Bhim Award upon 17 sports
persons in recognition of their
outstanding performances in
various sports disciplines.
Mr. Pahadia also honoured
four Arjuna Awardees and two
Dhayanchand Awardees. Mr.
Pahadia gave away cash award
of Rs. 1.15 crore to the sports
persons, who were honoured.
Those players who
have been awarded with the
Bhim Award included Kavita
Chahal of Bhiwani in boxing,
Rajender of Kurukshetra in
wrestling, Seema Antil of
Sonipat in Athletics, Sube
Singh of Panchkula in
Volleyball, Harpreet Singh of
Karnal in Shooting, Prashant
Karmakar of Bhiwani in
swimming, Geeta of Bhiwani
in wrestling, Dilbagh Singh of
Bhiwani in boxing, Anisha
Sayyad of Faridabad in
Shooting, Mr Manjeet Nandal
of
Rohtak
in
Judo,
Bhartender
Singh
of
Kurukshetra in Athletics,
Sandeep Singh of Kurukshetra
in hockey, Milanpreet of Sirsa
in Roller skating, Ritu Rani of
Kurukshetra in hockey, Amit
Saroha of Sonipat and
Lakshmi of Faridabad in
Paralympics and Keshav
Malik, a physically challenged
player of Rohtak. Each
player has been honored with
a cash award of Rs. five lakh,
a shield and a citation.
Similarly, those Arjuna
award winners who have been
awarded included Kavita
Chahal in boxing, , Neha Rathi
in wrestling, Amit Saroha in
Paralympics, and Dharmender
Dalal in wrestling. Among the
Dhayanchand Awardees, who
have
been
honoured
included Girraj Singh and Anil
Maan for their outstanding
performance in Paralympics
and wrestling respectively. All
these six players have been
honoured with a cash prize of
Rs. five lakh each.
HSBTE-CIDC
diploma program
Ajay Gupta
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
Haryana State Board of
Technical Education has
clarified that three years
diploma
in
electrical
engineering or electronics and
communication engineering
under HSBTE-CIDC diploma
programme is applicable for
government employment or
promotions as per the service
rule or recruitment rule of the
employing agency. The CIDC
diploma is jointly awarded by
HSBTE and CIDC as per
memorandum of understanding
between CIDC and Haryana
Government; hence the
diploma is approved by
HSBTE. Once the diploma is
of HSBTE, it automatically
stands recognized by HSBTE.
CMA celebrates 47th ”Foundation Day”
Ajay Gupta
Master Kunal Gupta awarded with a Trophy 'TAARE ZAMEEN PAR'
A Science Quiz by The SKY School, Sector 21, Panchkula. Photo : Neetu Gupta
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
Chandigarh Management
Association (CMA) celebrated
its 47th Foundation Day today
at PHD Chamber, Sector 31,
Chandigarh. On this occasion,
workshops namely “Growing
Talent through New Model of
Higher Education” by S.
Gurmeet Singh, Chairman of
Baba Farid Group of
Institutions, Bathinda and on
“How to control Stress” by
Col. Gursewak Singh were
also organised. Mr. A K
Gandhi, President, CMA
presided over the event.
Dr. Anshu Kataria, Past
President,
CMA
and
Chairman, Aryans Group of
Colleges; Mr. J S Nayyar,
Secretary General, CMA; Mr.
Tex Trends India- 2014
Photo : Neetu Gupta
P K Verma, Dr. Manoj
Sharma, Mr. Gurdip Singh
Deep, Mr. Charanjit Singh,
Brig. S S Sawhney, Mr.
Deepak K Dhingra; Mr.
Rakesh Bhan etc. were also
present on the occasion.
S. Gurmeet Singh
having multifarious experience
in the Education sector, very
well justified his subject that
new model of higher
education
was
indeed
instrumental in growing talent
in our country. The views
presented by him were
simple but effective. Col.
Gursewak
Singh,
a distinguished consultant on
Stress Management, specialist
in marital counseling and
qualified Gemologist with his
excellent skill, talked to the
audience in a natural way
which was understandable
without any effort. He
explained techniques for
relaxing the mind with the
ultimate goal of keeping the
stress away.
Nargis Fakhri adds glam to HIL start
Ajay Gupta
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
The first match of the
Hockey India League (HIL)
started amidst glamour at the
newly built stadium of
Mohali this evening. The
opening match was played
between Jaypee Punjab
Warriors
and
Delhi
Waveriders.
Earlier,
Bollywood actress Nargis
Fakhri’s performance and
fireworks captivated the
audience. The power-packed
performance by both the
teams added to the hysteria.
In the opening game of
the 2014 HIL, Delhi
Waveriders defeated the team
of Jaypee Punjab Warriors.
Last year, the local team
suffered a 2-1 defeat. This
year, the margin extended to
3-1. Ace drag flicker Sandeep
Singh failed to turn the
fortunes in the team’s favour.
He failed to convert three
penalty corners into a goal.
Earlier, the match
started on a perfect note with
both the teams building
pressure on each other. Facing
the absence of its senior
player, former Indian Hockey
Team skipper Ignace Tirkey,
the Punjab side fumbled in
early minutes. Later, the team
recovered well. The half-line
kept calm and supplied some
good passes to the strikers
but they failed to sneak into
the rival’s defence. Taking full
advantage of regular misses,
the Delhi side pressurised the
rivals’ defence and started
coming up with sharp
attacks.
Using its wingers, the
Delhi side scored its first goal
through Talwinder Singh in
the 29th minute. Later, the
Punjab side collected its
shortcomings and started
disturbing Delhi’s defence line
with long passes. In the 34th
minute, the team levelled the
score through Yousuf Affan.
After sealing the first half at
1-1, the Delhi side made a
strong comeback. Regular
penetration in the Punjab’s
arena led them to post two
lead goals. Jason Wilson
scored both goals, one each in
47th minute and 68th minute,
respectively. All goals were
scored as field goals.
The Jaypee Punjab
Warriors team will play its
second match against Dabur
Mumbai Magicians at the
newly built hockey stadium
of Mohali on Sunday at 8
pm. Being a holiday, the host
team is expecting a good
crowd. The Mumbai side will
play its first match of the
tournament.
After the first HIL
match, Bharti Airtel Limited
awarded the winner of the
Airtel Golden Goal Contest
with a cheque of Rs 10,000.
In Saturday’s match, Ravinder
Pal, Gurdaspur, Jaideep Singh,
Gurdaspur, Gurjant Singh,
Amritsar, Gurpreet Singh,
Amritsar, and Harkirat Singh,
Amritsar, won the prize. In
every match, five spectators
will get an opportunity to
participate in the contest.
Pargat Singh, former
Indian hockey team captain
and sitting MLA, unveiled
the trophy of the 2014 HIL
in Mohali. However, the local
residents felt that the
organisers could have
approached
three-time
Olympics medallist Balbir
Singh (senior), who is a living
hockey legend.
IRENA Maps Out Path to Double the Global Share of Renewable Energy : H.E. The Honourable Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime
Minister of Australia, discussing the “REmap 2030” report at IRENA’s FT Question Time in Abu Dhabi
The Union Minister of
Textiles Dr. K S Rao
inaugurated and declared open
the 4th edition of Tex-Trends
India – 2014 in Pragati
Maidan (ITPO), in the
presence of Smt. Panabaka
Lakshmi, Minister of State for
Textiles, Smt. Zohra Chatterji,
Secretary (Textiles), Mr.
Virender Uppal, Chairman
AEPC, Mr. Sudhir Sekhri,
Chairman EP (AEPC), senior
officials of Ministry of
Te x t i l e s , F i n a n c e a n d
Commerce, Chairmen &
Executive Directors of the
participating
Councils;
Ambassadors of Foreign
Missions in India; buyers &
buying agents.
“It is indeed heartening
to know that garment exports
have been sustainably growing
at the rate of 15% since the
last nine months. Apparel
exports have grown at the rate
of over 15% during AprilDecember, 2013. The data for
the month of December 201314 shows apparel exports was
to the tune of USD 1244
million registering an increase
of 17.4 per cent against the
corresponding month of last
financial year. Cumulative
export in for April-December
2013-14 has increased by 16.3
per cent over the same period
of previous FY and reached to
USD 10555.”
The Minister raised
concern on the macroeconomic
risks facing the Indian
economy which have increased
during the last six months,
mainly on the dimensions of
sliding domestic growth, rising
input cost and slowdown in
manufacturing
and
employment
generation.
Chairman AEPC Mr. Uppal
asked to provide more
concessions by raising the limit
of 5 to 10 % and from 10 to
20 % for small and medium
industries respectively. Apparel
sector alone engages around
11.2 million workers and
contributes almost 50 % of
the entire textiles exports, it
has the latent potential to
absorb more people, therefore
focusing on this sector is
extremely important.
Dr. Rao in his speech
underlined, “I am very happy
that the 4th Tex Trends India
is expected to do brisk
business. I would urge AEPC
to target more buyers from the
countries where markets have
not been tapped so far. I
would also appeal to all
exhibitors to innovate and bring
more new styles in garments
so that the interests of our
buyers remain with us.” Smt.
Chatterji, Secretary Textiles, in
her address informed that,
“Not only have the traditional
market such as USA & EU
grown but, the non- traditional
markets also have grown
during April-September 2013.
EU is the top most RMG
export destination of India
with US $ 2794.1 million,
followed by USA where
exports from India were to the
tune of US$ 1642.5 million,
West Asia is the third largest
regional apparel export
destination of India with US$
1270.8 million, India’s exports
to Africa was to the tune of
US $ 311.3 million. It is
important
for
us
to
understand the opportunities
available and its importance to
fulfill our needs which can
help us realize the true
potential of the apparel
exports in India.” She further
observed, Tex Trends India
2014, will showcase futuristic
fashions reflected in fine
apparel and accessories for
women, men and children with
an exhaustive range of casualwear, formal-wear, party-wear
and
sports-wear.
The
exhibition promises to be a
vivid display of designs made
from different kinds of fabric
such as cotton, silk, linen,
wool, denim, synthetic fibers
and their blends. Nearly 400
reputed Export Houses of
India will be a part of this
grand exhibition.
Mr. Uppal in his
welcome address stated that,
“Tex Trends India 2014,
featuring over 380 exhibitorsdisplaying diverse range of
products from the entire length
and breadth of the country.
3264 global buyers and 442
buying agents have already
registered for the Fair. In the
joint efforts with Ministry of
Textiles, the idea of holding
Tex Trends is to showcase
and leverage our strengths and
complements our efforts to
create India’s garment &
textiles from fiber to fashion.
The entire value chain has
been brought under the ambit
by organizing Tex Trends.
Fiber, Fabric, Fashion,
accessories, etc will be brought
under the single platform for
manufacturer, traders &
exporters. It will act as an
exclusive rostrum for brand
promotion, networking and
business opportunity for
national and international
textile industries to show its
visibility of the entire textile
Industry.
This edition of TexTrends India - 2014 would be
one of the Asia’s largest textile
shows covering Apparel,
Fashion Jewellery and
Accessories; Home Furnishing,
Yarns, Threads & Fabrics, Silk,
Synthetic, Rayon and Cotton
textiles & Jute garments, etc.
All India Inter University
Boxing Championship 2013-14
Ajay Gupta
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
All
India
Inter
University Boxing (Women)
Championship 2013-14 being
organised by Banaras Hindu
University, Varanasi.
In women Category,
Kurukshetra University wins
the title for the first time in
the history of Boxing
(Women) Championship
with 3 Gold Medals, 2 Silver
Medals & 3 Bronze Medals.
In Men Category,
Punjab University wins the
title &
Kurukshetra
University remains at Third
Position
in
the
Championship.
From Page 1
Pkl. Punjab: Gurdev Singh
Sahota, Adgp, Jalandhar,
standards
and Harpal Singh, Inspector,
recommended practices of the Mansa.
International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO),’’ the Mashelkar, Iyengar...
joint statement said.
Keki N Daruwala. Dr
However, it was quite Narendra Achyut Dabholkar,
clear that the two countries rationalist
and
antiwere still not able to resolve superstition crusader, who
their differences over civil was killed in April 2013, is
nuclear cooperation despite also on the list along with
marathon talks over nearly fashion designer Wendell
four years. The joint Rodricks, cricketer Yuvraj
statement said the Prime Singh, woman cricketerMinisters
expressed turned-commentator Anjum
satisfaction over the progress Chopra, actors Paresh Rawal
in talks and directed officials and Vidya Balan. Woman
to exert further efforts squash player Deepika
towards early conclusion of Pallikal, mountaineer Mamtaa
the agreement. Abe stressed Sodha of Haryana and
the importance of bringing the kabbadi player Sunil Dabas
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test- from the same states will also
Ban Treaty (CTBT) into get the Padma Shri.
force at an early date while
Manmohan Singh reiterated
registered already, See
India’s commitment to
unilateral moratorium on the distributors in the cluster
further nuclear testing. The and their star rating in terms
refill
delivery
eight agreements signed of
between the nations are in the performance, Select the
areas of tourism, science and distributor of their choice
technology, harmonising from the cluster and submit
standards and enhancing request, The consumer will
energy efficiency in telecom receive an email confirming
the registration and advising
towers.
details of further procedure,
776 security...
In case of Intra-Company
Sanjay
Yadav portability request, i.e.,
Constable, Mukesh Kumar within the same company, the
Bunkar
(Posthumously) LPG consumer has to visit
Constable, Sibo Prasad only the new distributor with
Panigrahi Constable, Trilok a copy of the email and get
Nath Singh Dy. Commandant, enrolled. In case of InterBirju Kumar Constable.
Company transfer, i.e.
President’s
Police between two different Oil
Medal for Distinguished companies, since the LPG
Service NCT of Delhi: equipment is not compatible
Sandeep
Goel
Joint across companies, the
Commissioner Of Police, consumer will have to visit
Central Range Phq New the current distributor and
Delhi, Tajender Singh Luthra, surrender the cylinder and
Joint Commissioner Of pressure regulator, collect the
Police, South Western Range refund/transfer documents and
Phq New Delhi, Priya Mitra then approach the distributor
Kaushik,
Assistant of his/her choice for
Commissioner Of Police, Phq reconnection by paying the
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same deposit as earlier. No
Haryana: Parminder Transfer fee or additional
Rai, Director General Of security deposit will be
Police, Svb (H) Panchkula, charged for transfer of
Muhammad Akil, Inspector connection
under
the
General Of Police, L&O(H) portability scheme.
No N-deal but...
LPG Connection...
REGIONAL NEWS
Great Mangla Times
Panchkula, January 2014
Page 8
‘HUM HONGE KAAMYAAB’ by Agni-IV missile successfully test fired
Singing CM Kejriwal
Correspondent
Great Mangla Times
Correspondent
Great Mangla Times
New Delhi
Ending speeches on an
impassioned note seems to
have become the signature
style of Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal. He chose to
end his address on the eve of
Republic Day by singing
some lines from Lata
Mangeshkar’s ‘Hum honge
kaamyaab
(we
shall
overcome)’.
“Hum honge kamyab,
hum honge kamyab ek din,
ho ho mann main hai
vishwas, poora hai vishwas,
hum honge kamyab ek din,”
he sang amid loud cheers
during
Republic
Day
celebrations at Chattrasal
Stadium in North Delhi.
Kejriwal had on the day of
his swearing-in as Chief
Minister ended his maiden
speech by singing a song of
brotherhood. "Insaan se
insaan ka ho bhaichara, yehi
hai paigam hamara,” sang
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal takes the salute during the state level Republic Day
function at Chhatrasal Stadium, in New Delhi
Kejriwal on January 28 giving
a message to unite people
against injustice.
Kejriwal, who is fond
of singing and has been
known to break into a song
on several occasions during
his many anti-corruption
campaigns in the capital,
seeks to strike a chord
with the masses. He is
perhaps the country’s first
Chief Minister to have
adopted a musical manner
of addressing the people.
Though Kejriwal unfailingly
carries his ‘aam aadmi’
label in approach and
outlook, he was ensured
high-security cover by
some top notch Delhi
Police officers. Ironically, it
is the same force against
which he recently protested
outside Rail Bhawan
demanding the suspension
of some officers.
Samjhauta blasts : Panel may go to
Pak to record statement of injured
Correspondent
Great Mangla Times
Chandigarh
The Special National
Investigation Agency (NIA)
Court in Panchkula will start
examining — from February
24 — the Pakistani nationals
who were injured in the
Samjhauta Express blasts in
2007.
“Witnesses will either
be
summoned
or
a
commission will be set up
that will go to Pakistan to
record their statement,” said a
senior NIA official.
The Special NIA Court
US, India start talks on
diplomatic immunity
Agency
Great Mangla Times
Washington
India and the US are
holding
preliminary
discussions to resolve their
differing interpretations of
diplomatic immunity as they
look to mend ties damaged by
the row over American
treatment of an Indian
diplomat who was arrested
and strip-searched in New
York, India's ambassador said.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,
India's new envoy in
Washington, said yesterday
his priority is to raise the
“morale” of a relationship that
remains fundamentally good
despite the spat over
Devyani Khobragade, who
was expelled from the US this
month after she was indicted
on accusations of exploiting
her housekeeper.
“As you would say in
the markets, the fundamentals
are good, it's the sentiment
that needs improving,"
Jaishankar said in an interview.
The US and India have forged
closer economic and defence
ties in the past decade, but
relations took a tumble
because of Indian outrage over
the treatment of Khobragade,
who was the nation's deputy
consul general in New York.
Key to the dispute was
Washington and Delhi's
differing inter-pretations of
what type of immunity was
due to Khobragade. US officials
argued that as a consular
official, she was immune from
prosecution
from
acts
performed in the exercise of
consular functions, and not full
diplomatic immunity.
Jaishankar said while
that's the rule for foreign
diplomats in the US, he
questioned
whether
Washington expects its
diplomats abroad to be
treated in kind. He said India
had issued new identity cards
for US consular officials to
specify that their diplomatic
immunity does not cover
"serious crimes".
had framed charges
against
swami
Aseemanand and
three co-accused
for
murder,
sedition and under
various
other
Sections for the
blasts that killed
68 persons.
Out of the
299 witnesses in
the case, many of
them
are
Pakistanis
or
Indian residents
who
are
the
relatives of the
Pakistani nationals
killed in the blasts.
Sources in the NIA said
that they would first record
the statement of the relatives
of the injured or dead
passengers who stay in India.
Another official said,
“As it will be difficult for
around 20 Pakistani nationals
to come to India to give
evidence, talks are on to send
a commission to Pakistan to
get their versions recorded.”
Over 20 persons —
relatives of the dead or
injured — are also in the list
of witnesses. They are
residents of Mewat in
Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh, Bhopal and Srinagar.
In the early hours of
February 19, 2007, as many
as 68 persons, mostly
Pakistanis, were killed in the
blasts that rocked the
Samjhauta Express.
The train was going
from Delhi to Attari, the last
station on the Indian side. The
passengers were to board the
train to Lahore the next day.
The blasts took place in two
coaches at Diwana village near
Panipat.
PADMA AWARDEE FOR 2014
KAMAL HAASAN
VIDYA BALAN
YUVRAJ SINGH
LEANDER PAES
Balasore (Odisha)
India’s
nuclear
deterrence programme received
a boost on Monday when its
Agni-IV, a surface-to-surface
missile with a range of about
4,000 km, was successfully
test-fired from the Wheeler
Island, off the Odisha coast.
The Agni-IV is a strategic
missile which can carry a
nuclear warhead weighing one
tonne. The Defence Research
and
Development
Organisation (DRDO), which
developed the missile, did the
test-firing. This was the third
success in a row for Agni-IV.
Its first success came in
November 2011 and the
second in Sepetmber 2012.
Avinash
Chander,
Scientific Advisor to the
Defence Minister and DRDO
Director-General, said “the
mission went off perfectly
well” with Agni-IV reaching a
height of about 850 km and
achieving its full range of
4,000 km. The success
“opens a new missile ready
for induction” into the Army,
he said.
A team from the Army
“participated in the launch
and was involved in all
preparations for the launch,”
he added. The missile would
be handed over to the user
now and its serial production
would start. Mr. Chander said
the success had ramped up
the nation's “deterrence to a
higher level of preparedness
and effectiveness.” The
missile was fired from a roadmobile launcher. This meant it
“can be moved anywhere in
the country and this is its
main strength.” Radar stations
at Port Blair, Chandipur,
Balasore and Pardip tracked
the missile’s entire trajectory
including the terminal event,
that is, the detonation of the
warhead.
Asked whether the
missile had a dummy warhead
in this flight, Mr. Chander
said it carried “the entire
warhead minus the nuclear
part.” Ravi Gupta, Director,
Public Interface, DRDO, said
the launch took place at 10.52
a.m. and the flight lasted
about 20 minutes. The
missile’s terminal event took
place over the Indian Ocean.
Agni-IV is a two-stage
missile. It weighs 17 tonnes
and is 20 metres long. Senior
officers from the Odisha
Government watched the
launch from the Wheeler
Island.
“The state-of-the-art
Ring Laser Gyros based high
accuracy INS (INS) and
Micro Navigation System
(MINGS) complementing
each other in redundant mode
have been incorporated into
the missile system in
guidance mode,” DRDO
sources
said.
The
sophisticated missile is lighter
in weight and has two stages
of solid propulsion. The
payload, with a re-entry heat
shield
can
withstand
temperature of more than
3000 degree Celsius, a
defence scientist said.
Ad war : Now, Congress calls BJP a copycat
Correspondent
Great Mangla Times
New Delhi
The war of words
between the BJP and the
Congress over the ownership
of an advertisement slogan “Main nahi, hum (We, not
I)” with the latter accusing
the former of stealing its
original
thought
and
ideology.
Though yesterday the
BJP accused the Congress of
using the slogan that was
originally used by Narendra
Modi in 2011, the Congress
claimed that the slogan was
actually in circulation even in
2010 and had been used on
Congress platforms much
before Modi used it.
“Our corporator in
Indore had used this slogan
during a function he had
organised on December 13,
2010, to celebrate his victory
in the corporation elections.
The BJP has a habit of lying
all the time. While the BJP is
struggling to surface from the
highly individualistic politics
of its own PM candidate
Narendra Modi, the Congress
has always propagated the
idea
of
“we
and
inclusiveness” through its
deeds and actions. The
slogan on which the BJP is
claiming a copyright was
earlier used by Congress
workers on a Congress
platform and it is closer to
our ideology than to the
BJP’s,” Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza said.
Although in some
print ads the slogan in
question has been dropped
after the controversy
e r u p t e d y e s t e r d a y, O z a
insisted that there were no
plans to pull the ad or the
slogan
off
air
or
circulation. “Why would
we do that? It is our
slogan. We devised it first.
We can even name original
designer of the campaign
for the benefit of the BJP,
which was saying until
yesterday that intelligence
is required even to copy
an idea,” Oza said.
GSLV propels India into exclusive club
India joined the big
league of space powers, when
its mega launcher, the
Geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle or GSLV-D5,
powered by sophisticated
rocket technology, including
for the first time an
indigenously built state-ofthe-art cryogenic booster,
successfully blasted off from
the Shriharikota (SHAR)
launch pad in coastal Andhra
Pradesh.
A textbook launch and
a proud moment
The
49.13-metre tall GSLV D5
rocket with an indigenous
cryogenic engine and stage
blasted off at 4.18 pm from
the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre and injected the 1,982kg GSAT-14 communication
satellite into the intended
orbit after 17.13 minutes flight
With this launch, ISRO
became the sixth space agency
in the world after US, Russia,
Japan, China and France to
have tasted success with an
indigenous cryogenic engine
Launching a GSLV with
an indigenous cryogenic
engine has been a major
challenge for ISRO since 2001
after multiple unsuccessful
attempts
GSLV
D5's
scheduled launch on August
19 last year was called off at
the 11th hour after a fuel leak
GSAT-14 would join
the group of India's nine
operational geostationary
satellites. The primary
objective of this mission is to
augment the in-orbit capacity
of extended C and Ku-band
transponders and provide a
platform for new experiments
The towering rocket,
which lifted off against the
backdrop of a hazy sky,
injected a heavyweight
communication satellite,
GSAT-14 in orbit 213 km
above the Earth over
Indonesia with what scientists
described as “textbook”
precision. In doing so, India
became self-reliant in the
zenith of rocketing technology
that would enable the country
to progressively propel
satellites twice the weight of
its current capability.
Inside the Master
Control Centre, MCC, in
SHAR as space scientists
cheered and hugged each
other, a smiling Dr K.
Radhakrishnan, Chairman,
Indian Space Research
Organisation
(ISRO),
announced soon after the
successful launch, “Team
ISRO has done it. It is a
major achievement and signals
a coming of age and maturity
of India’s space rocket
technology. It is the
culmination of a 20-year
development effort that began
in 1992. We have repaid our
debt to the country.”
Though this was the
eighth of the launches in the
GSLV series, it was only for
the second time that the
indigenous cryogenic upper
stage rocket was being tested.
The first flight in 2010 ended
in a failure.
Cryogenic rockets use
super-cooled liquid fuels of
hydrogen and oxygen that are
stored in temperatures at
minus180 degrees Celsius or
even colder than those found
in Antarctica. As compared to
solid and earth-storable liquid
propellants, cryogenic rockets
are considered far more
efficient providing more thrust
for every kilogramme of
propellant used, enabling
ISRO to carry heavier
satellites of between 2 and 4tonne class.
After Russia, under US
pressure, reneged from a
contract in 1992 to help India
develop the cryogenic rocket
technology, ISRO embarked
on the difficult path of
indigenously developing it.
The engine used in the current
flight was 20 years in the
making. Meanwhile, Russia
agreed to partially fulfil its
commitment by supplying
India with six fully assembled
cryogenic engines so that the
GSLV series could be initiated.
The GSLV-D5 was all
set to be tested on August
19 last year, but the launch
was aborted when a little
over an hour before its
scheduled blast-off, the
second stage liquid fuel
rocket developed cracks
resulting in the propellant
spraying itself over the lower
stages of the 14-storey tall,
three-stage space vehicle.
ISRO scientists worked
round the clock to refurbish
the two lower stages and
ready GSLV-D5 for the
January launch. GSLV
Mission Director K Sivan,
said, “It was a wonderful
flight and we have given
wings
to
GSLV
by
indigenously developing a
cryogenic engine.”
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