New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) The Group of Ministers Friday directed all the agencies involved in Commonwealth Games projects to hand over Games venues to the Organising Committee by Aug 31.
The GoM, headed by Union Development Minister Jaipal Reddy, met here Friday and also directed that the testing of various equipment for the mega event will commence Sep 1.
Speaking to reporters, Reddy said the focus of the meeting was on technology networks. “Prasar Bharati, MTNL, TCIL have to get their act together before the equipment is set up at the sites.”
It was also decided that the archery finals will now be held at the Yamuna Sports Complex and not at India Gate.
Sources said, the police had raised the problem of security and traffic as the reasons for shifting the venue.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna, Sports Minister M.S. Gill, Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar besides officials took part in the meeting.
The ministry sources said the officials stressed that deadlines will be met.
Shillong, Aug 20 (IANS) The Meghalaya government Friday appointed S.P. Rajkhowa, a retired judge of the Guwahati High Court, to probe last year’s Shillong jailbreak, an official said.
Chief Secretary W.M.S. Pariat said Justice Rajkhowa would take over charge soon.
The judicial inquiry was left mid-way by Justice (retd) D. Biswas, who took up a new assignment of the Assam government on April 10, just months before the commission was to submit its report to the government.
“Everything depends on Justice Rajkhowa, whether he takes over from where Justice Biswas left or if he would start a fresh probe. But if he (Justice Rajkhowa) feels the inquiry should be from the beginning, the government would accept it,” he said.
Seven people, including two undertrials, escaped from the Shillong jail May 31 last year. Most of them were caught again while Fullmoon Dhar, the ringleader, was gunned down by police in the Jaintia Hills.
The commission constituted by the previous D.D. Lapang-led government July 23 last year, was asked to complete the probe, including an alleged politician-criminal nexus, and submit its findings to the government by May 31.
Several social groups under the banner ‘Steering Committee Against Murder of Democracy (SCAMoD)’, pressurised the government to probe the incident.
On Thursday, SCAMoD threatened to agitate if a new judge was not appointed soon and claimed Justice Biswas’ sudden resignation was due to vested interest.
Chief Minster Mukul Sangma assured that necessary clauses would be incorporated during appointment of the new judge so that he/she completes the probe and doesn’t leave mid-way like Justice Biswas.
In March, two undertrial prisoners who had appeared before the Biswas Commission, claimed that Dhar, the ringleader who is now dead, was in touch with a “Congress Lok Sabha candidate” before he escaped from prison.
Synsharlang Thongni and Khrawborlang Marbaniang were two undertrials who, along with Dhar and four others, escaped from the Shillong jail.
A Congress district council member from Jaintia Hills, Thomas Nongtdu, is also alleged to have financed the jailbreak.
Jerusalem, Aug 20 (DPA) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Friday an invitation to begin direct peace talks with the Palestinians, a statement issued by the prime minister’s office said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the Middle East Quartet of the US, Russia, the UN and the EU, issued the invitation separately Friday, after weeks of wrangling over between Israelis, Palestinians and mediators over the terms of the proposed negotiations.
The Israeli response, which referred only to the invitation issued by Clinton in Washington, said Netanyahu “expressed satisfaction” at the US clarification that the talks would be conducted without preconditions. The talks are due to begin Sep 2.
“Achieving peace is a difficult challenge but a possible one,” the statement quoted Netanyahu as saying. “We approach the talks with a genuine will to reach a peace agreement between the two peoples, while safeguarding Israel’s national interests, first and foremost security.”
The last incarnation of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, begun at the end of 2007, was suspended in late 2008 as Israel headed into an election campaign.
Negotiations between the sides were not renewed until indirect talks began in spring this year, with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell shuttling the short distance between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Dambulla, Aug 20 (IANS) The fourth One-Day International (ODI) match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka of the tri-nation One-day International (ODI) series again had to be abandoned due to heavy rains here Friday.
The match was shifted to Friday, the reserve day, after incessant rains immediately after the toss made play impossible Thursday. The teams will now share points.
Under overcast conditions in the morning, New Zealand won the toss and decided to field. The match proceeded without any hiccups till the 43.4th over before the skies opened up.
The covers had to be brought in with Sri Lanka at 203 for three, with Mahela Jayawardene batting on 59 off 72 balls and Chamara Silva on 41 off 57 balls.
Earlier, Tillakaratne Dilshan gave a quick start to the hosts with his 52-ball 44 with skipper Kumar Sangakarra chipping in with 40 runs off 59 balls.
For New Zealand, Scott Styris took two wickets for 36 in 10 overs and Daryl Tuffey one for 51 in eight overs.
New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) Bowing to demands from the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the cabinet Friday approved changes in the draft civil nuclear liability bill to include tripling the accident compensation cap to Rs.1,500 crore and cleared the ambiguity about the liability of suppliers.
The approved changes have brightened the prospects of the Civil Liability of Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, getting passed in the ongoing monsoon session of parliament to remove the last hurdle in the way of resuming atomic commerce between India and foreign suppliers.
The cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Friday approved recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, which examined the bill for nearly two months and tabled its report two days ago.
The copy of the bill is with the Lok Sabha secretariat and it is likely to be taken up in the house Wednesday, Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan told reporters here after the cabinet meeting.
With the BJP and some Left parties creating an uproar in parliament Thursday about the confusion surrounding the suppliers’ liability, Chavan said the government has accepted the demand for reworking a key clause in the bill that critics contended made it easy for suppliers to escape their liability in case of a nuclear accident.
“We got a note of strong opposition from the BJP over clauses 17(a) and 17(b) and we have accepted their position. We are getting very large support across party lines and I hope we will be able to pass the legislation,” Chavan said.
BJP leaders, who had earlier backed the amendments proposed by the parliamentary panel, claimed that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had changed the text agreed to by both the parties.
The word “and” was inserted between clauses 17(a) and 17(b) in its original text that amounted to diluting the suppliers’ liability.
The BJP had pointed out that the insertion of the word “and” between the two clauses made the draft legislation biased in favour of the supplier, mainly the foreign companies, an euphemism for the potential American suppliers who were averse to accepting liability obligations.
Chavan rejected allegations that the bill is designed to benefit any particular country. “Some have expressed apprehensions that this bill was designed to address or benefit a particular country,” he said. “It’s totally wrong. I deny it emphatically,” he said while underlining the need for building a “political consensus” on the bill which seeks to compensate victims in case of an accident.
The suppliers will now be liable if the nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of latent or patent defect, supply of sub-standard material, defective equipment or services or from the gross negligence on the part of the supplier of the material, equipment or services.
The panel’s report makes it clear that the operator should have a written contract with the suppliers providing for the right of recourse and says that an operator must compensate victims first and then settle liability with the supplier.
The 31-member parliamentary standing committee had tabled its report in both houses of parliament Wednesday. The panel recommended that while the government may increase the compensation cap, it should not decrease it under any circumstance. It also recommended doubling the period for victims’ claims to 20 years.
The bill also provides for the appointment of a Claims Commissioner and a Nuclear Damage Claims Commission to dispose off claims within three months.
Chavan said 18 official amendments have been made to strengthen the bill. “Another feature added to the bill is that the government can notify for no insurance required for a nuclear plant operated by a public sector enterprise and in that case it will be the government’s responsibility to pay the compensation,” he said.
The minister said that India is in talks with four companies from France, Russia and Japan for buying nuclear reactors. He said the government stands firm that the private sector will not be allowed to operate nuclear reactors in the country, but they can be minority partners.
Replying to a question on India joining the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC), he said: “There is no compulsion for India to join the CSC and we will see later if it is required.”
“Joining the CSC will provide India access to international funds and moreover it’s a UN convention by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which India helped to draft,” he said.
Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh), Aug 20 (IANS) Seven drug peddlers, who operated in various states, were arrested with morphine and opium worth Rs.1 crore in this Uttar Pradesh’s district Friday, police said.
The seven men were arrested following a joint operation carried out by the Special Operation Group (SOG) and the Barabanki district police.
“Of the seven arrested, two hail from Bihar, one is a native of West Bengal while the remaining four are residents of Uttar Pradesh,” district police chief Navneet Rana told reporters in the town, some 35 km from Lucknow.
“The seven are being interrogated to nab their other gang members involved in the illegal trade, particularly the eastern regions of the state,” he added.
According to police, the seven used to supply drugs to their clients in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi.
New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) Terming the water resources ministry’s response “casual”, a parliamentary panel Friday hoped it would “ensure full utilisation of allotted funds”.
In its action taken report tabled in both houses of parliament Friday, the standing committee on the water resources ministry pointed out the plan expenditure of the ministry dropped to 73 percent in 2008-09 from 83 percent in the year before.
The committee had “desired proper assessment of requirement of funds so as to avoid idle parking of allocated funds,” the report said. However, the ministry’s response that “necessary instructions have been issued to the concerned organisation is casual”, it added.
The committee said that as on April 1, utilisation certificates worth Rs.2.22 crore from 65 institutions and autonomous bodies and Rs 38.38 crore from 25 state governments were outstanding.
“The ministry, however, preferred to remain studiously silent on fixing of a time-frame and introducing a penalty clause in case of delays. The committee deprecates such a perfunctory approach,” the report said.
The committee also criticised the ministry’s delay in holding a workshop on a national water policy.
Drawing attention to the “looming threat of climate change and grave scarcity of water in future”, the committee said “the casual approach of the ministry is too apparent since no time-frame has been set for holding such a workshop”.
The committee also asked the ministry to “to impress upon the state governments to complete the pending projects of restoration of water bodies at the earliest”.
Gandhinagar, Aug 20 (IANS) Gopinath Pillai, the father of Pranesh Pillai alias Javed Sheikh who was killed in an alleged staged shootout, has filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court seeking a review of its order transferring the probe in the Ishrat Jahan case to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing some of the 2002 riot cases.
Pillai was one of the three people killed along with Ishrat in a police shootout in June 2004.
A division bench of Justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari had on Aug 12 ordered transfer of probe to the Supreme Court-appointed SIT.
They had also rejected the plea of Gopinath Pillai and Ishrat’s mother Shamima Kausar, for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry in the case.
In the petition, Pillai has sought review of court’s Aug 12 order and demanded a CBI inquiry in the case.
The court found no material on record to conclude malafide in the shootout and turned down the plea for a CBI probe. It however felt the need for further investigations.
Mumbai-based Ishrat was killed in a shootout along with Javed and two others. The Gujarat police at the time claimed that Ishrat and three others were LeT operatives on a mission to kill Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Chennai, Aug 20 (IANS) The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Friday said the issue of offering cashless treatment under health insurance policies issued by the four government-owned general insurers “is getting resolved”.
“The issue is getting resolved. There are more hospitals in the network of government owned insurers – over 400 – as compared to around 300 prior to the dispute,” IRDA Chairman J. Hari Narayan told reporters here.
He was here to launch the country’s first health cum life insurance product introduced by the city-based Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd partnering with private life insurer Shriram Life Insurance Company Ltd.
The four government-owned non life insurers had earlier delisted major hospital chains from offering cashless hospitalisation facility for their health insurance policy holders on the ground that the hospitals are over charging the patients.
Asked whether it is time to have a regulator for the healthcare sector, he said: “A parliamentary standing committee had earlier recommended in favour of a regulator for the health care sector.”
Meanwhile, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said none of the major super speciality hospitals have signed with the Raksha TPA (third party administrator).
On Aug 12, CII members held a meeting with Raksha in Delhi. The hospitals in Delhi have worked out the packaged rates for 42 procedures and submitted to the TPA.
According to CII statement issued in New Delhi, its members are waiting for a response from the insurers and the TPA.
Once cashless is restored in the empanelled hospitals, in the second phase, hospitals and insurers along with other stakeholders of the health insurance ecosystem and the competent authority would work on a classification of hospitals, which would be agreeable to all.
Shivinder M. Singh, managing director, Fortis Healthcare said “There will always be a differential in the levels of care and services provided by hospitals for a single type of illness. This differential is a function of structures, processes and outcomes. A scientific analysis of all these parameters is essential to grade hospitals.”
According to Sanjeev Bagai, CEO, Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, it is essential that a comprehensive exercise be undertaken of grading hospitals based on their infrastructure, clinical expertise, technology base, clinical outcomes, competency of para-clinical man power, accreditation and standards of care is done.
“This grading or categorisation of hospitals should then translate into pricing of procedures in each grade. Premature conceptualisation or inference of this complex process, must be avoided,” he said.
Ahmedabad, Aug 20 (IANS) A designated CBI court Friday granted the plea of former Gujarat minister Amit Shah, a prime accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh staged shootout case, to appear before it through video-conferencing.
The court also extended his judicial custody till Sep 3, when the video-conferencing would take place.
Shah had applied through jail seeking the court’s permission to appear before it through video-conferencing due to security concerns.
The court however initially rejected his plea in “the interest of justice”, but extended his judicial custody.
Later it was brought to the court’s notice that the
video-conferencing facility was available at the court premises and he was granted permission to appear through this.
Shah was sent to judicial custody till Aug 21 and had to appear before the court on that date. But mentioning “security reasons” in his plea, Shah sought to appear from jail.
Judge A.Y. Dave accepted the submissions and allowed him to appear through video-conferencing on Sep 3.
Shah was arrested by the CBI on July 25 in connection with infamous Sohrabuddin staged shootout case and faces charges of murder, distorting evidence and extortion, among others.
Sohrabuddin Sheikh was killed Nov 26, 2005, by Gujarat Police near Ahmedabad in a staged shootout.