Tag: National

Mail News Service
New Delhi, Mar 29: According to news reports in national media, the police is discriminating Indians with Mongoloid features in order to control the Tibetan protest in the wake of the BRICS summit.
Such racial profiling of Indian citizens is tragic and uncalled for. North East India Image Managers (NEIim) lodged strong protest against such racial discrimination and would like to appeal to authorities and political brass to take note of the situation and take appropriate measures.
It said, “We, the people of North East India, are proud to be Indians and we will ensure all possible help to maintain law and order and help the authorities in this regard. But please help us being concerned citizens not harassed ones. We strongly believe that law & order can be maintained without racial profiling of citizens of this country. The law & order authority of the country itself adopting such tactics of racial bias sets a dangerous precedence which threatens the basic foundation of unity in diversity of this great nation.
As per the reports, the Police wanted to see passports of Indian citizens from North Eastern India for roaming in the national capital. It is a fundamental right of the citizens of India to roam around in any part of the country, let alone the National Capital Territory. It is highly unfortunate that after 65 of years of independence still our socio-political system has not been able to accept people with mongoloid features as Indians. We hereby appeal to the government to take impactful socio-economic measures to bring a change to this mindset.”

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/stop-racial-profiling-of-citizens-from-north-east/

Mail News Service
New Delhi, Mar 28: Certain quarters in the media in recent days have highlighted the expenses incurred on the State visits of the President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil to some of the countries abroad. These reports also compare the number of visits undertaken by the current President with those of her predecessors.
The rising global profile of India on account of its dynamic economy, strategic importance, democratic governance and ancient civilisational links has led to enhanced engagements with countries across the world. As part of these engagements, it is necessary for the President of India to visit various countries to deepen bilateral cooperation. For example, the President‘s visit to Latin American countries emphasized the growing importance attached to this region, where a Presidential visit had not taken place for almost a decade. Other visits were occasioned by special events. Many countries had to be visited since those countries had been pressing for a visit at the level of Head of State like Indonesia, Cyprus, Laos, Cambodia and Mongolia. Some of the countries which the President visited such as Syria, Tajikistan and Spain saw the first ever visit by an Indian President.
Comparison of the number of foreign visits undertaken and countries visited by various Presidents is potentially misleading as the frequency of such visits do not follow a fixed normative pattern. Such visits are undertaken on the basis of standing invitations received from countries abroad and after the need to undertake such a visit has been appraised and recommended by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister‘s Office. The number of countries visited by various Presidents have varied. For instance, Dr. Kalam visited 17 countries, Shri Narayanan visited 13 countries, Shri Venkataraman visited 21 countries and Shri V.V. Giri visited 22 countries during their tenure.
While undertaking visits abroad, the President is accompanied by an Official Delegation comprising of Ministers, Members of Parliament and senior functionaries of the Government besides supporting and security staff constituting part of the Accompanying Delegation. All Presidents have been accompanied by family members and Presidential Guests besides media contingent. The composition of delegation during the time of President Patil has also been on the same pattern as followed in the past and, therefore, to say that President Patil was “mostly” accompanied by family members is a distortion of facts.
Therefore, comparison of foreign visits undertaken by various Presidents is potentially misleading. These visits are undertaken after careful appraisal and recommendation by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister‘s Office.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/growing-global-profile-requires-more-engagement-with-nations-through-state-visits/

Mail News Service
Imphal, Mar 27: The Government of India has taken various measures to provide monetary and non monetary incentives to attract skilled medical and para medical professionals to work in rural areas. These include:
1. Monetary incentives under NRHM for both regular, adhoc and contractual staff posted in hard to reach and difficult areas.
2. The Central Government in consultation with the Medical Council of India, has made the following amendments to its PG Medical Education Regulations to encourage doctors to serve in rural areas :
i. 50 % reservation in PG Diploma courses for Medical Officers in the Government service who served for at least three consecutive years in remote and difficult areas ;
ii. Incentive at rate of 10 % of the marks obtained for each year in service in remote or difficult areas upto the maximum of 30 % of the marks obtained in the entrance test for admissions in PG Medical course.
3. Improved accommodation for healthcare personnel has been provided through NRHM at many rural facilities. Also health facilities have been upgraded and better equipped.
This information was given by Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad in reply to a question on shortage of medical and paramedical staff in the rural areas in Rajya Sabha today.
Augmentation of human resource is one of the thrust areas under National Rural Health Mission [NRHM]. 2914 Specialists, 8722 Doctors, 10995 AYUSH Doctors, 33411 Staff Nurses, 69662 ANMs, 14529 Para Medics and 3894 AYUSH Para Medics have been engaged on contractual basis to increase the availability in the rural areas. Various reasons attributed for shortage include non availability of requisite number of doctors and paramedics, shortage of medical colleges and training institutes and unwillingness on the part of doctors to work in rural areas.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/incentives-to-work-in-rural-areas/

Mail News Service
New Delhi, Mar 26: The Ministry of Women and Child Development has prepared two Bills to protect children and women from sexual abuse and exploitation. These are the ‘The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011’ and ‘The Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010’.
The objectives of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011, are to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment, pornography. It provides for establishment of Special Courts for trial of such offences keeping the best interest of the child as of paramount importance at every stage of the judicial process. The Bill also incorporates detailed child-friendly procedures for reporting and trial of cases. The Bill has been reviewed by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development. The Committee received several suggestions from Civil Society Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations and experts, and these were forwarded to Ministry of Women and Child Development. The Committee presented its report on 21st December, 2011, which includes several recommendations for amendment to the Bill.
Whereas ‘The Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010’ provides protection to all women, irrespective of her age or employment status, whether in the organized or unorganized sectors, and covers a client, customer, apprentice, daily wage worker, student/research scholar and patient in a hospital. The Bill defines “sexual harassment at the workplace” in a comprehensive manner, in keeping with the definition laid down in the Vishaka judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court, and broadens it further to cover the promise or threat to a woman’s employment prospects or creation of hostile work environment, which is equally detrimental to her equality rights.
The Bill has also been reviewed by the Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development. The Committee presented its report on 8th December 2011. It has made wide ranging recommendations on various provisions of the Bill and has suggested that the Bill may be passed after incorporating their recommendations regarding title of the Bill, issue of gender neutrality, inclusion of domestic workers, definition of employer, sexual harassment, concept of victimisation and complaint of sexual harassment etc.
The Ministry reviewed the reports submitted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on both the Bills and made necessary changes based on the recommendations. The amendments to the Bills have been circulated to the concerned Ministries/Departments for comments.
This was stated by the Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Krishna Tirath in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/bills-to-protect-children-and-women/

New Delhi , Mar 25 (ANI): When the alleged coal scandal rocked the nation a couple of days ago, forcing the Congress-led UPA Government to go on the defensive and give a clarification, a similar scam appears to have taken root in Congress-ruled Arunachal Pradesh.
The CAG report titled ‘Performance Audit of Coal Block Allocations’ has reportedly charged the Central Government with extending “undue benefits” of nearly Rs.10.67 lakh crore to commercial entities while allotting 155 coal acreages without auction during the period of 2004-09.
While Arunachal cannot match the national coal scam figures, but reports have emerged of illegal coal mining taking place in the state’s Namchik Open cast coal mine at Kharsang in Changlang district regularly.
Recently, the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP) had alleged that both the Arunachal Pradesh Mineral Development and Trading Corporation (APMDTC) and the Tinsukia-based National Mining Company Private Limited (NMCL) were guilty of malpractices and manipulation.
In a press release, ABAVP joint secretary Talo Mugli has sought the intervention of the Arunachal Pradesh Government in following a proper tendering process before awarding mining contracts and signing marketing deeds, as published in local dailies.
The APMDTC authorities had awarded the contract by manipulation with the connivance of the then ministry and officials, Mugli claimed, and further accused the corporation of manipulating the expiry date of the contract on 4th April 2006 after the expiry of a five year term to extend it further.
Mugli, who claims to have documents to support his charge, alleged: “There has been maneuvering with the coal prices of different grades.
The grade of coal and rates for sale of coal as per the specific grade is fixed by the APM DTC which are: Grade A-@Rs.1470, Grade B @Rs.1200 & Grade C @Rs.1100 and this includes the extraction charges as well as commission is @Rs.150/tonne.”
“However, the NMCL is marketing and selling coal through the railway and road transport network at a rate of about Rs.4000 to Rs.8000 per tonne for different grades of coal. The NMCL has been showing the different grades of coal with the connivance of the APMDTC and as such there is manipulation with the grading of coal, with the sole purpose of making higher profits,” he adds.
If ‘Coal deal scandals robs India of billions’, will it rob Arunachal off in millions – is a million dollar question, who will reply?
In addition, who would provide answers to how many metric tonnes of black diamond have been extracted so far from the Namchik coalfield in Changlang?
And the royalty/revenue it generated for the state exchequer? Some questions that remain unanswered require answers in the larger public interest

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/could-there-be-a-coal-scam-taking-place-in-arunachal-also/

Mail News Service
New Delhi, Mar 21 : The Central Bureau of Investigation has today arrested four more accused persons namely an ex-MLC, Maharashtra; Major General(Retd.), the then GOC, M&G Area; another Major General(Retd), the then GOC, M&G Area and the then Collector, Mumbai, presently working as Secretary(Expenditure), Deptt. Of Finance in Govt. of Maharashtra in an ongoing investigation relating to Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society case, Mumbai. One of the Major Generals(Retd.) was arrested from Hyderabad and is in transit to Mumbai.
All the arrested accused will be produced tomorrow before the Special Judge, CBI Cases, Mumbai.
CBI has yesterday arrested three accused i.e. the then President of Adarsh Housing Society; the then Defence Estate Officer & Secretary of Adarsh Housing Society and the then Dy.Secretary, Urban Development Department of Maharashtra Govt(UDD), Mumbai in this case.
They were produced today before the Special Judge, CBI, Mumbai and were remanded to Police Custody till 31.03.2012.
A case was registered by CBI on 29.01.2011 against 13 accused persons including certain public servants and unknown persons U/s 120(B), r/w 420, 468, 471 of IPC and U/s 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the PC Act, 1988 in the matter of Adarsh Society after completion of Preliminary Enquiry. It was alleged that the accused persons in conspiracy with certain Defence Service Officers; Officials of Govt. of Maharashtra and others got allotted a plot of land at Colaba in favour of Adarsh Co-operative Group Housing Society which was in the possession of Army since long and constructed a 31 storeyed building in total violation of prescribed norms.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/cbi-arrests-four-persons-3/

Mail News Service
New Delhi, Mar 21 : There are reports of Bangladeshi nationals having settled in India without valid travel documents. As entry of such Bangaladeshi nationals into the country is clandestine and surreptitious, it is not possible to have a correct estimate of such illegal immigrants living in the country. A number of Bangladeshi nationals who have entered into the country on valid travel documents have been found to be overstaying. As per information available, 28,667 Bangladeshi nationals were found to be overstaying as on 31st December,
2010. Police authorities in the Stats/ Union Territories and other law enforcement agencies are aware of the issues of illegal immigration and they maintain a strict vigil on the activities of such Bangladeshi nationals. A number of initiatives have been taken by the Government to prevent/curb infiltration across the border from Bangladesh, which also include:-
(i) Effective domination of the border by carrying out round the clock surveillance of the borders by Border Security Force.
(ii) Construction of border fencing, roads and floodlighting.
(iii) Setting up of more Border Out Posts (BOPs) along Indo-Bangladesh border.
(iv) Induction of hi-tech surveillance equipment including night navigation devices.
Central Government is vested with powers to deport a foreign national under section 3(2)© of the Foreigners Act, 1946. These powers to identify and deport illegally staying foreign nationals, including Bangladeshi nationals, have also been delegated to the State Governments/ UT Administrations. Detection and deportation of such illegal immigrants is a continuous process. A revised procedure for detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants was communicated to the State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations in November, 2009, which was partially modified in February, 2011. The procedure includes sending back then and there, the illegal immigrants who are intercepted at the border while entering India unauthorisedly.
This was stated by Shri Mullappally Ramachandran, Minister of State of Home Affairs in written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/steps-taken-to-stop-illegal-immigration-from-bangladesh/

New Delhi, Mar 20 : The Interpol Wing of CBI has got five fugitives arrested through Rajasthan Police on Interpol Red Notices issued against them. The fugitives were wanted in the Gold Sukh Scam case registered with the Rajasthan Police.
The Interpol Wing of CBI (NCB-India) followed up with NCB-Bangkok and further with NCB-Hanoi requesting them to trace and arrest the fugitives.
The Interpol Wing of CBI (NCB-India) actively kept minute-to-minute track with NCB-Hanoi and provided all required information promptly in respect of these five fugitives, which resulted in their arrest and successful deportation from Vietnam to India yesterday.
Earlier the Interpol Red Notices were issued on the request of Rajasthan Police against the said accused persons through Interpol Secretariat General (IPSG), France.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has today arrested three accused persons namely the then President of Adarsh Housing Society; the then Defence Estate Officer & Secretary of Adarsh Housing Society and the then Dy. Secretary, Urban Development Department of Maharashtra Govt. (UDD), Mumbai in an ongoing investigation relating to Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society case, Mumbai. CBI had earlier arrested one more accused of this case who an Ex-MLC of Maharashtra alongwith three others in a separate bribery case earlier this month.
A case was registered by CBI on 29.01.2011 against 13 accused persons including certain public servants and unknown persons U/s 120(B), r/w 420, 468, 471 of IPC and U/s 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the PC Act, 1988 in the matter of Adarsh Society after completion of Preliminary Enquiry.
It was alleged that the accused persons in conspiracy with certain Defence Service Officers; Officials of Govt. of Maharashtra and others got allotted a plot of land at Colaba in favour of Adarsh Co-operative Group Housing Society which was in the possession of Army since long and constructed a 31 storeyed building in total violation of prescribed norms.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/cbi-interpol-nabs-five-mail-news-service/

Mail News Service
New Delhi, Mar 20 : The Government of India through its youth based flagship organisation Nehru Yuva Kendra
Sangathan has initiated a Pilot project namely Youth Employability Skill (YES) Project with the objective to enhance the employability of youth by running a variety of employable skill based training courses through recognized Vocational Training Providers (VTPs) for rural youth and youth club members in the States of North Eastern Region. This was stated by Shri Ajay Maken, Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs & Sports, in the Lok Sabha today, in a written reply to a question by Shri Ramen Deka and Kabindra Purkayastha.

The skill training is being provided by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) through its partner agency. The pilot project has been successfully completed in the State of Manipur and Meghalaya under which 138 youth have been imparted training of three months duration in Rural Retail Sales & Marketing with Information Technology and Personality Development.
The Minister further stated that the training under YES Project is being organized at temporarily opened training centres by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the training partner. The training centres are at Guwahati, Silchar & Jorhat (Assam), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Imphal(Manipur), Shilong (Meghalaya), Aizawl(Mizoram), Agartala(Tripura), Dimapur (Nagaland) and Gangtok(Sikkim). Out of 138 youth of North- Eastern Region trained under the pilot project, 118 youth have been offered job placements in different service sectors.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/skill-development-of-youth/

Shillong, March 19 NNN: Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma tabled the Rs 3535 crore budget proposals on the floor of the house on Monday. Sangma said the proposed budget for the year 2012-13 will close with fiscal deficit of Rs 382 crores, which is around 2.o6 % of GSDP and a reduction of Rs 37 crores from the fiscal deficit envisaged in the 2011-12 budget.
The estimated total receipts in 2011 -12 were Rs 6207 crore of which the revenue recipts were rs 5602 crores and capital recipts of Rs 605 crores.
According to the chief minister, this exclude the borrowings and other liabilities, where the total receipts stood ar Rs 5624 crore. The Chief Minister in charge of finance forsee a total receipts for 2012-13 at Rs 7618 crores-an increase of Rs1411 crore or at 22.7 % over the current year.
He stated, “The revenue receipts are estimated art Rs 6975 crore and capital receipts at Rs 643 crore. Excluding borrowings and other liabilities, the total receipts in 2012-13 are estimated to be Rs 6999 crore”.
After estimating the plan expenditure including centrally sponsored schemes, central sectors schemes, NEC and NLCPR for the year 2012-2013, the Chief Minister expected the plan expenditure to touch Rs 4413 crore,an increase of 29% over the current year estimate of Rs 3430 crore.
Sangma went adding that “inclusive of these schemes, an outlay of Rs 747 crore for education, Rs 744 crore for PWD,Rs 723 crore for agriculture aand allied sectors,Rs 301 crore for PHE, Rs 290 crore for power,Rs 282 crore for C7Rd and Rs 228 crore for health was also proposed under the plan expenditure”.
The total non-plan expenditure for 2012-13 has been estimated at Rs 3189 crores ,the amount is expected to go down to payment of interest amounting to rs 336 crores, pension to Rs 226 crores and salary payment amounting to Rs 1840 crores. The Chief Minister also proposed a non plan budget of Rs 506 crores to education,Rs 350 crores to Police and Rs 297 crore for PWD,Rs 228 crore for agriculture and allied sectors and Rs 170 crore for health.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/meghalaya-budget-presented/

AIZAWL, March 19NNN: The Study Group of the Mizoram Liqour Total Prohibition Act, 1995, after studying the act for a year submitted its report today to JH.Rothuama, minister of Excise and Narcotics. Mentionably, the MLTP Act Study Group was formed under the chairmanship of H.Raltawna (IAS Rtd) consisting of 18 members on January, 2011. The Study Group had a meeting 5 times.
The Study Group said that MLTP Act, 1995 was good enough but not successful in prohibiting and to stop all activities relating to liquor. As per the record of Health Department, cases of liver diseases continue to increase and addicted to alcohol cases are still rampant in spite of the existence of this act.
According to the Mizoram University (MZU) findings , more NGOs said that this act was not successful, but, more NGOs wanted not to cancel the MLTP Act, said the Study Group in its report. Cases of depression and stress are numrous among the addicted families reported by the MZU findings. Further, the Study Group reported that if the MLTP Act 1995 is to be continued, Excise & Narcotics Department needs to be upgraded and amendment of MLTP Act is also required.
It can be noted that after the Mizoram Liquor Total Prohibition Act was passed in the year 1995, the state government had prohibited sale, possession and consumption of any kind of liquor in the state. As there have been various incidents of breaching the law, the state government had formed Mizoram Study Group of MLTP Act to study the failures and success of the Act. The Study Group had asked various organisations about their opinions in connection with the implementation of MLTP Act.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/mizoram-liquor-prohibition-act-reviewed/

New Delhi, Mar 17 (ANI): Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, who is in the eye of a storm of his own party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), ever since he presented the Railway Budget for 2012-13, on Saturday said that he did not want to be seen as running away from his job, and added that he was ready to step down from his post provided Mamata Banerjee wrote to him asking for his resignation.
Trivedi said the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, who is the head of the government, had not asked him to step down from his post.
“Sudip Bandyopadhyay has gone on record on floor of the Lok Sabha that Trinamool Congress has not asked for my resignation. Neither the Prime Minister of India has asked for my resignation. He (Prime Minister) is the captain of the team. And I personally don’t understand what is happening. But till time, the matter is absolutely clear, so I have suggested that I do not want to take any verbal thing because for me Parliament has more sanctity than somebody’s telephone,” said Trivedi.
“So, I have suggested let Mamataji give me a letter so that there is no confusion. Because tomorrow I don’t want to say ‘we told in Parliament that we are not asking for Dinesh Trivedi’s resignation’. Honorable Prime Minister of India, who is the captain of the team, has not even suggested to me all. So, I must carry on my constitutional duty. I don’t want to be seen running away from the budget, which I have presented,” he added.
Trivedi further said the Railway Budget presented by him was appreciated throughout the country.
“I don’t want to work in confusion because I am a responsible minister and I have a constitutional authority.
I have just presented a Railway Budget, which the entire country has appreciated, the Members of Parliament cutting across party lines they have appreciated,” said Trivedi.
“So, I have to carry out my duty as the Railway Minister. I have to go and participate and reply to the debate on the budget, which is slated for Monday. So, I am going the office for that preparation,” he added.
Trinamool Congress Chief Whip Kalyan Banerjee, who had a telephonic conversation with Trivedi earlier, asked him to resign from the Railway Minister’s post and make a gracious exit and not wait to be sacked.
Trivedi had earlier on Friday refused to comment on the condemnation resolution moved by the TMC against him, saying he had no idea about it.
Trivedi, however, said he had immense faith in the people of the country, who appreciated him for his outstanding commitment.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee had earlier demanded that Trivedi be sacked for snapping an eight-year populist trend to not raise passenger train fares. She demanded that another TMC leader Mukul Roy, who is presently the Minister of State for Shipping, be appointed as the Railway Minister

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/trivedi-ready-to-quit-but-wants-mamatas-written-letter/

Dimapur, Mar 16 NNN: The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) said today that the students’ body has started framing modalities to identify illegal immigrants in Nagaland.
Once identified, these illegal immigrants will be deported to their respective countries, according to the NSF.
NSF president Kelhouneizo Yhome said maximum number of crimes are committed by these illegal immigrants in Nagaland. Yhome then said most of the illegal immigrants are from Bangladesh and Pakistan.
On March 10 the NSF had discussed the matter with the non-local organisations and sought their support in framing the modalities for identifying the illegal immigrants.
It is worth noting that last month, the NSF chief had stated that there have been thousands and thousands of illegal immigrants in Nagaland who fled their own countries and settling in Nagaland. “Majority of the illegal immigrants in Nagaland are from Bangladesh,” according to the NSF chief. He had also said even the government of India has found it difficult to detect these illegal immigrants in India. Yhome said through certain mechanism in collaboration with the non-Naga organisations these illegal immigrants will be detected and be driven out from Nagaland.
It can be noted that in the Nagaland commercial hub Dimapur large number of illegal immigrants are said to have been concentrated. These illegal immigrants first infiltrated to Assam from Bangladesh through the porous border region. In search of work and business these immigrants in turn come to Dimapur. These immigrants mostly engage in labour work and other manual activities. This has been going on for years and now these immigrants are doing brisk business in Dimapur. They construct their dwellings and farm in lands owned by Nagas by paying tax.
The rising criminal activities carried out by these illegal immigrants has prompted the Naga Students Federation (NSF) to weed them out from Nagaland .

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/nsf-to-check-influx-of-immigrants/

Dimapur, Mar 16 NNN: The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) said today that the students’ body has started framing modalities to identify illegal immigrants in Nagaland.
Once identified, these illegal immigrants will be deported to their respective countries, according to the NSF.
NSF president Kelhouneizo Yhome said maximum number of crimes are committed by these illegal immigrants in Nagaland. Yhome then said most of the illegal immigrants are from Bangladesh and Pakistan.
On March 10 the NSF had discussed the matter with the non-local organisations and sought their support in framing the modalities for identifying the illegal immigrants.
It is worth noting that last month, the NSF chief had stated that there have been thousands and thousands of illegal immigrants in Nagaland who fled their own countries and settling in Nagaland. “Majority of the illegal immigrants in Nagaland are from Bangladesh,” according to the NSF chief. He had also said even the government of India has found it difficult to detect these illegal immigrants in India. Yhome said through certain mechanism in collaboration with the non-Naga organisations these illegal immigrants will be detected and be driven out from Nagaland.
It can be noted that in the Nagaland commercial hub Dimapur large number of illegal immigrants are said to have been concentrated. These illegal immigrants first infiltrated to Assam from Bangladesh through the porous border region. In search of work and business these immigrants in turn come to Dimapur. These immigrants mostly engage in labour work and other manual activities. This has been going on for years and now these immigrants are doing brisk business in Dimapur. They construct their dwellings and farm in lands owned by Nagas by paying tax.
The rising criminal activities carried out by these illegal immigrants has prompted the Naga Students Federation (NSF) to weed them out from Nagaland .

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/nsf-to-check-influx-of-immigrants/

Following is the text of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s interview after the Union Budget 2012-13:

Question – There was a decline in our GDP growth. It is now 6.9% – that was a wake-up call. Hopefully we’re now awake. What do you see in the budget as a response to the wake-up call?

PM – Right now, the challenge before the country is to accelerate the tempo of economic growth, at the same time to ensure that we do not slip on our obligations to moderate the price-rise. And I do believe, both these tasks the Finance Minister has tackled, and tackled well.

Question – What do you think there is in the budget that promises to help, shall we say, with inflation?

PM – Well. The biggest single thing that fiscal policy can do in controlling inflation is by controlling the fiscal deficit. Fiscal deficit in the current year, has turned out to be as high as 5.9%. The Finance Minister has promised to bring it down to 5.1% of GDP. If that happens, that would be a material contribution to stabilizing the price level; also reducing the extent of crowding-out, that invariably follows if government borrowing goes haywire.

Question – One reason why fiscal deficit went out of control, was that global prices of fuel and fertilizer increased. Apparently the subsidy bill will come down from 2.4% of GDP to 1.9%. How is this to be done?

PM – The Finance Minister has pointed to the need to control subsidies. He has also said that he would bring the subsidies to less than 1.7% of the GDP in the next three years. Now, that is obviously a task which would, I think, require the government to put forward an effective programme for adjusting the prices of petroleum products, and adjusting other relevant prices. So we have to bite the bullet. There is no other way in which you can reduce subsidies.

Question – Sir, that is a very courageous statement. Mamata Banerjee seemed to be very worried about any rise in the prices of these commodities. Has she been consulted ? Is she on board?

PM – Well I think these are compulsions of managing a coalition. There will be difficulties. There have been difficulties. But ultimately, if the government is to govern, it must have a sustainable strategy for managing the economy. I sincerely hope, when the time comes to take relevant important decisions which are tough, we will consult all our allies and take them on board.

Question – There is a proposal for extending Aadhar. There have been controversies also. Is it settled that Aadhar is to be the main platform on which the budget is to distribute benefits to the people of India?

PM – Well. I think the Finance Minister has made that quite clear. That the report of the Aadhar Committee, bringing 40 crores additional numbers, that has been accepted. And therefore, I think, there may be controversies, and there are controversies in this sort of thing all over the world. But we have I think, begun well, and we will use the modern technological devices to cut out wastage and leakages in the delivery mechanism for various public-sector services.

Question – On fertilizers, there has been nutrient based subsidy for phosphates and potassium. Will this be extended to urea?

PM -Well. There is general agreement that we should have a nutrient-based subsidy for all the three. But it was deliberately felt that at a time when international prices of urea were increasing, it would, I think, be wise to go slowly in moving towards a nutrient based subsidy, and decontrolling urea as well. So, I think, it is a question of timing. But there are compulsions that require that the government will have to take sensible decisions, even though, I think, they may not be very popular.

Question – In the past three years, what were the biggest achievements, and biggest disappointments of UPA-2.

PM – The biggest achievement was that we were able to protect the growth rate of the economy much better than most other countries. That even though our growth rate this year will be low, compared with the past. Even then, it is something which is very favorable when we see what is happening in the rest of the world. We are still in the league of front-runners, in the growth movement, and, the fact that we were able to protect the growth rate. That in the year 2008-2009, the growth rate fell to 6.5%, but it reverted to 8.4% next year, 8.4 even after that. This year again it has slipped, but the challenge is to get it back to the path of 8 and 9 percent. And that is the task that this government has set for itself.

Question – So what is the slogan from this budget, that the government can take to the next state elections and general elections?

PM -I think the budget is an important instrument of macro-economic policy, and faster, equitable, sustainable, and more inclusive growth is the objective of all the economic policies that our government under our leadership has put before the country. That is the challenge – How we ensure that the economy moves on to a faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth path.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/pms-interview-on-the-union-budget-2012-13/

· Budget identifies five objectives relating to growth recovery, private investment, supply bottlenecks, malnutrition and governance matters

· GDP growth to be 7.6 per cent (+ 0.25 percent) during 2012-13

· Amendment to the FRBM Act proposed as part of Finance Bill. New concepts of “Effective Revenue Deficit” and “Medium Term Expenditure Framework” introduced

· Central subsidies to be kept under 2 per cent of GDP; to be further brought down to 1.75 per cent of GDP over the next 3 years.

· Proposed: Mobile based fertilizer management system; LPG transparency portal; scaling up and rolling out of Aadhar enabled payment for government schemes in at least 50 districts.

· Rs. 30,000 crore to be raised through disinvestment

· Efforts to reach broadbased consensus on FDI in multi-brand retail

· Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme: to allow income tax deduction to retail investors on investing in equities

· Rs. 15,888 crore to be provided for capitalization of public sector banks and financial institutions

· A central “Know Your Customer” depository to be developed

· Swabhimaan: remaining habitations to be covered; to be extended to more habitations; ultra small branches to be set up in Swabhimaan habitations

· Investment in 12th Plan in infrastructure to go uptoRs. 50,00,000 crore; half of this is expected from private sector

· Tax Free Bonds of Rs. 60,000 crore to be allowed for financial infrastructure projects

· Allocation of Road Transport and Highways Ministry enhanced by 14 per cent to Rs. 25,360 crore

· Financial package of Rs. 3,884 crore for waiver of loans to handloom weavers and their cooperative societies; mega handloom clusters in Andhra, Jharkhand; weaver service centres in Mizoram, Nagaland and Jharkhand ; powerloom mega cluster in Maharashtra; Rs. 500 crore pilot schemes for geo-textiles in North-Eastern region

· Rs. 5,000 crore India Opportunities Venture Fund to help small enterprises

· Allocation to agriculture enhanced; RKVY gets Rs. 9,217 crore; BGREI gets Rs. 1,000 crore; Rs.2242 crore project to improve dairy productivity; Rs. 500 crore for coastal aquaculture

· Various other agricultural activities merged into 5 missions

· Target for agricultural credit raised to Rs. 5,75,000 crore

· Interest subvention for short-term crop loans to farmers at 7 per cent interest continues; additional 3 per cent for prompt paying farmers

· Rs. 200 crore for awards to incentivise agricultural research

· Provisions under rural housing fund increased to Rs. 4,000 crore from Rs. 3,000 crore

· Interest subvention of 1 percent on housing loans uptoRs. 15 lakh extended for one more year

· AIBP allocation raised by 13 per cent to Rs. 14,242 crore

· National Mission on Food Processing to be started in cooperation with State Governments

· Scheduled Caste Sub Plan allocation increases by 18 per cent to Rs. 37,113 crore; Tribal Sub Plan by 17.6 per cent to Rs. 21,710 crore

· Multi-sectoralprogramme to address maternal and child malnutrition in 200 high burden districts

· 58 per cent rise in allocation to ICDS, at Rs. 15,850 crore

· Rural drinking water and sanitation gets 27 per cent rise in allocation to Rs. 14,000 crore; PMGSY gets 20 per cent rise to Rs. 24,000 crore

· Projects covering length of 8800 km to be awarded under NHDP against 7,300 km during 2011-12

· RTE-SSA gets Rs. 25,555 crore allocation, showing an increase of 21 per cent; 6000 schools to be set up at block level as model schools in the 12th Plan; Credit Guarantee Fund to be set up for better flow of credit to students

· National Urban Health Mission is being launched

· 34 per cent increase in allocation to National Rural Livelihood Mission, to Rs. 3915 crore

· Rs. 1000 crore allocated for National Skill Development Fund

· Bharat Livelihood Foundation to be established to support livelihood interventions particularly in tribal areas

· Widow pension and disability pension raised from Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 per month

· Grant on death of primary breadwinner of a BPL family in the age group 18-64 years doubled to Rs. 20,000

· Defence services get Rs. 193407 crore; any further requirement to be met

· 4000 residential quarters to be constructed for Central Armed Police Forces

· UID-Aadhar to get adequate funds for enrolment of 40 crore persons, in addition to the 20 crore persons already enrolled

· White Paper on Black Money to be laid in the current session of Parliament

· Tax proposals mark progress in the direction of movement towards DTC and GST

· Income tax exemption limit raised from Rs.1,80,000 to Rs.2,00,000; upper limit of 20 per cent tax slab raised from Rs.8 lakh to Rs.10 lakh

· Interest from savings bank accounts deductible upto Rs.10,000; deduction of upto Rs.5,000 for preventive health check-up

· Senior citizens without business income exempt from advance tax

· Investment linked deduction of capital expenditure enhanced for certain businesses; new sectors eligible for investment linked deduction

· Turnover limit for compulsory tax audit for SMEs raised from Rs.60 lakh to Rs.1 crore

· STT on cash delivery reduced by 20 per cent to 0.1%

· General Anti Avoidance Rule being introduced to counter aggressive tax avoidance

· A number of measures proposed to deter generation and use of unaccounted money

· All services to attract service tax except those in the negative list

· Central Excise and Service Tax being harmonized

· Standard rate of excise duty raised from 10 per cent to 12 per cent; service tax rates raised from 10 per cent to 12 per cent; no change in peak customs duty of 10 per cent on non-agricultural goods

· Relief in indirect taxes to sectors under stress; agriculture, infrastructure, mining, railways, roads, civil aviation, manufacturing, health and nutrition, and environment get duty relief

· Certain cigarettes and bidis attract higher excise duty; large cars attract higher customs duty

· Excise imposed on unbranded jewellery also; measures to minimize impact on small artisans and goldsmiths; branded silver jewellery exempted from excise duty

· Net gain of Rs.41,440 crore due to taxation proposals

· Total expenditure budgeted at Rs. 14,90,925 crore; plan expenditure at Rs. 5,21,025 crore – 18 per cent higher than 2011-12 budget; non plan expenditure at Rs. 9,69,900 crore

· Fiscal deficit targeted at 5.1 per cent of GDP, as against 5.9 per cent in revised estimates for 2011-12

· Central Government debt at 45.5 per cent of GDP as compared to Thirteenth Finance Commission target of 50.5 per cent

· Medium-term Expenditure Framework Statement to be introduced; will set forth 3-year rolling target for expenditure indicators

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/union-budget-2012-13-highlights/

New Delhi, Mar 15 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said that the Railway Budget for 2012-13 was now the property of the House, and vociferously told the opposition not to behave like “petulant children” in the matter concerning the reported resignation of Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi.
Mukherjee also assured the Lok Sabha that the Railway Budget proposals presented by Trivedi has not been junked.
“The Railway Budget is definitely owned by the government and approved by the Finance Ministry. Railway Budget is the property of the House. All members have the right to decide and what would be the shape of the Railway Budget. Don’t behave like petulant children, behave like political leaders,” Mukherjee said.
On Trivedi’s reported resignation, Mukherjee said: “As for the resignation of the Railways Minister, the Prime Minister has not received any resignation letter from the minister. The Railway Minister has not resigned. We have received a communication from the leader of the Trinamool Congress. It’s not unusual that we receive communication from alliance partners,” Mukherjee said.
“The Prime Minister has received a communication from the Trinamool Congress chairperson and it is under active consideration of the Prime Minister. When a decision is taken, the House will be communicated,” he added.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/pranab-asks-opposition-not-to-behave-like-petulant-children/

Mail News Service
New Delhi, Mar 15 : The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar has said that out of the total 1385 projects, sanctioned at cost of Rs. 11389.26 crore under the NLCPR scheme and special BTC package, 663 projects at a total cost of Rs. 3726.44 crore have been completed.
In a written reply in Rajya Sabha today he said, out of the remaining ongoing projects, in 425 projects completion has not been achieved on the target date These projects are at various stages of implementation. For the timely completion of these projects their progress is reviewed with the State Governments from time to time. To encourage the State Government for their expeditious completion, an incentive in terms of additional retention of Rs. 20.00 crore projects as per State choice, for the best performing State in terms of completion of projects have been introduced.
The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar has said that no charter demands highlighting the priority areas for development of north-eastern region during 1998-2004 was received from Chief Ministers of North East States by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
In a written reply in Rajya Sabha today he said, in order to mobilize financial resources for speedy implementation of the Shukla Commission recommendations relating to Basic Minimum Services (BMS) and infrastructure development of North east, a policy decision was taken to earmark at least 10% of the Plan Budget(s) of the Central Ministries/Departments for development of the North Eastern States. Government of India also created a Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) consisting of unspent balance of mandatory 10% of the budgetary allocation for NER. The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is the nodal Ministry for administration and management of NLCPR and also for matters relating to the planning, execution and monitoring of development schemes and projects of NER.
He said, as a result of the above policy initiatives, large amount of funds have been invested for the development of infrastructure in the NER (road, rail, power, power etc.), health, education & culture, employment generation, women & child development, backward area development etc. by the respective ministries.
Ghatowar said, the North Eastern Council (NEC) has been instrumental in setting in motion a new economic endeavour aimed at removing the basic handicaps that stood in the way of development of the region. The NEC Act was amended in 2002. The amended NEC Act provides that NEC will function as the Regional Planning Body for the North East and will formulate specific projects and schemes, which will benefit two or more States.
NEC was instrumental in the preparation of North Eastern Region Vision 2020, which provides the road-map, outlines the goals, identifies the challenges and suggests implementation strategies for various sectors for peace, prosperity and development of the North Eastern Region. It helps in formulation of an integrated plan for the development of the North Eastern Region.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/funds-for-development-of-north-eastern-region/

Mail News Service
New Delhi, Mar 15 : The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case on 14.03.2012 U/s 302 IPC relating to alleged killing of Shri Narender Kumar, IPS, SDPO, Banmore District Morena (MP) on the request of Madhya Pradesh Government, and further Notification from Govt. of India.
Narender Kumar, IPS was allegedly killed on 08.03.2012 while he was trying to intercept a tractor-trolley carrying the stones from illegal mining.
CBI took up the investigation of FIR No.49/2012 dated 08.03.2012 registered earlier at P.S. Banmore, District Morena (MP) and sent a team including CFSL officials, to the place of occurrence.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against an Assistant Garrison Engineer
(A Major Rank officer), MES, Umroi Cantonment (Assam) U/s 7 of P.C.Act, 1988 for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs.25,000/- from the complainant.
It was alleged in the complaint that the accused had demanded Rs.50,000/- as bribe for clearing of pending bills of the complainant and also for issuing fresh work order for maintenance works..
A trap was laid by the Guwahati Branch of CBI. The accused was caught red handed while demanding and accepting a bribe Rs.25,000/- as part payment of the demanded amount from the complainant.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/cbi-takes-up-investigation-in-connection-with-ips-officers-death/