Statesman (India) articles from February 2010

Statesman (India) archives from February 2010

Briefs.
February 27, 2010... Files missingKOLKATA, 26 FEB: The state agriculture department will lodge a complaint with police after eight important files were reported to be missing from its directorate office at the Writers Buildings. SNSTrain services affectedKOLKATA, 26...

Charu Chandra College suffers as CU delays governing body polls.
February 27, 2010... Arunima GhoshKOLKATA, 26 Feb: Administrative work at Charu Chandra College is being affected because it has not elected its Governing Body (GB) yet. According to protocol, Calcutta University (CU) is supposed to send the names of two external...

Mixed bag of reactions from the aam aadmi.
February 27, 2010... KOLKATA 26 FEB: The Union Budget has drawn reactions, spread across a varied spectrum, from people belonging to different socio-economic stratas. The city voiced its opinion to the mixed bag the Budget had to offer this year.Mr Manik Roy, an...

Pranabs constituency unhappy.
February 27, 2010... Statesman News Service BEHRAMPORE, 26 FEB: Despite allocation of sums, in todays Budget, to address some typical problems of Murshidabad district like floods and river erosions, the Union finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee could hardly win...

City fears bus and taxi fare hike.
February 27, 2010... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 26 Feb: Taxi and bus fares in the city are likely to go up following an increase in the excise duty on petrol and diesel in the Budget today. The bus and taxi operators said that a rise in the petrol and diesel...

EFR camps should be shifted to protected places: Narayanan.
February 27, 2010... Statesman News ServiceMaoists targeted Sarenga I-C, not CPM leader BANKURA, 26 FEB: Maoists had targeted not the CPI-M leader Mr Tarakeshwar Patra but the inspector-in-charge of Sarenga police station Rabilochan Mitra, according to the...

Adani Enterprises MD arrested for custom duty evasion.
February 27, 2010... Press Trust of IndiaAHMEDABAD/MUMBAI, 27 Feb: CBI has arrested Mr Rajesh Adani, managing director of Adani Enterprises, a part of the Rs 26,000 crore Adani group, on charges of evasion of customs duty to the tune of Rs 80 lakh. CBI arrested...

edits.
February 27, 2010... Happy HoliBut who will reform the reforms? THE growth-driven happy colours of Holi splashed across Mr Pranab Mukherjees performance on Friday ~ preceded by an Economic Survey cheering the prospects of a near 10 per cent growth for 2011-12 ~...

special article.
February 27, 2010... Beheading the SikhsPak Talibans Historic Blunder; Rajinder PuriTHE Pakistan Talibanoperating in the tribal area bordering Afghanistan captured two Sikhs, compelled them to convert to Islam, and on their refusal, beheaded them. After that they...

MLA shoots kin, then self.
February 27, 2010... Patna, 26 Feb: A JD-U legislator ~ Abhay Singh ~ committed suicide after shooting his wife and six-month-old daughter at his official residence here late last night reportedly over a family feud. Abhay Singh, son of Bihars food and civil...

Husain accepts Qatar offer.
February 27, 2010... DUBAI, 26 FEB: MF Husain, revered by many as India's Picasso, would no longer be an Indian, his son said today, confirming that he had accepted Qatar's offer to confer its nationality on him.Husain, who has been living in self-imposed exile for...

Briefs.
February 27, 2010... Bail deniedMumbai, 26 Feb: A local court today rejected the bail application of Nooriya Haveliwala, arrested last month for mowing down two persons allegedly under the influence of alcohol.;PTIVaradarajanCHENNAI, 26 FEB: DMK president and Tamil...

Foreign secy-level talks encouraging.
February 27, 2010... SNS & PTI NEW DELHI, 26 FEB:The external affairs minister, Mr SMKrishna, today described the foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan held here yesterday as an encouraging step. In a statement tabled in Parliament today, the...

No laughing matter, literally!
February 27, 2010... RC RajamaniNEW DELHI, 26 FEB: Budget presentation is no laughing matter and the finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, made it literally so in the Lok Sabha today with his long winding speech delivered with a deadpan expression.It raised no...

Rs 9,588 cr for civil aviation.
February 27, 2010... NEW DELHI, 26 FEB: As part of Air Indias financial restructuring process, the government has made a provision of Rs 1,200 crore equity infusion for the national carrier in the next fiscal.The loss-making carrier will soon receive Rs 800 crore as...

Miniscule rise in Defence allocation.
February 27, 2010... Sri Krishna NEW DELHI, 26 FEB:The increase in Defence expenditure for the current year was a mere 3.98 per cent compared to 34 per cent last year. However, as the finance minister, Mr PranabMukherjee,pointed out, this raise to Rs 1,47,344 crore...

FM ups allocation for health sector.
February 27, 2010... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, 26 FEB:According due priority to the health of the nation, the finance minister, Mr PranabMukherjee,allocated Rs2,700 crore more funds to the sector. The plan allocation for the health ministry has been raised...

Budget 2010 lacks anti-inflationary steps.
February 27, 2010... Abhijit SenIn his second avatar as finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee has certainly built up an enviable track record. At a time when countries such as Iceland, Portugal, Greece and even Dubai have faced serious financial crisis, India has...

Opp walkout over petro price hike.
February 27, 2010... SNS & PTINew Delhi, 26 FEB: The proposed changes in duties related to petroleum products in the Budget stirred a hornet's nest today with the entire Opposition staging a walkout from the Lok Sabha and warning that they will not allow...

Tourism gains, culture suffers.
February 27, 2010... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, 26 FEB:With an allocation of Rs91 crore more than the amount allocated in the current fiscal year, Indias tourism sector got a boost even as the culture ministry suffered a setback. While the budgetary...

Move to encourage digitalisation.
February 27, 2010... Mathuresh Paul KOLKATA, 26 FEB: To spur growth in the film industry, the Union finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee has made provisions in the 2010-11 Union Budget to encourage digitalisation. The industry has been facing difficulties in...

Social sector spending upped substantially.
February 27, 2010... NEW DELHI, 26 FEB:For achieving inclusive growth, the government has increased its spending on the social sector by allocating Rs1,37,674 crore, representing 37 per cent of the total outlay to be spent on social sector programmes. As the...

MEA gets more, home ministry loses out.
February 27, 2010... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, 26 FEB: The budget of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) has been raised to Rs6,375 crore, up by Rs43 crore from last year when the budget allocation had been Rs6,333 crore. The budget includes plan outlay...

India sends aircraft to Kabul to bring back bodies.
February 27, 2010... Indo-Asian News ServiceNEW DELHI, 27 FEB: A special aircraft was sent to Kabul today to bring back the bodies of nine Indians, including two major-rank army officers, who were killed in terror attacks in the Afghan capital.Taliban bombers...

Class 11 girl raped by three classmates.
February 27, 2010... Indo-Asian News Service LUCKNOW, 27 FEB: A Class 11 girl was allegedly raped at gunpoint by three of her classmates in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district, police said today. The suspects are at large.Residents of Hilwari village in Baghpat, some...

Briefs.
February 27, 2010... Files missingKOLKATA, 26 FEB: The state agriculture department will lodge a complaint with police as eight important files were reported to be missing from its directorate office at the Writers Buildings.SNSTrain services hitKOLKATA, 26 FEB:...

Husains here to paint the town red.
February 27, 2010... Statesman News ServiceA silk screen print is like a silk route that satisfies people's need for works of art. As a gallery in Kolkata recalls, these words of India's most famous painter, whose name is now in the throes of yet another debate over...

Three killed, two injured in five road accidents.
February 27, 2010... KOLKATA, 26 FEB: Three persons, including two women, were killed and two were critically injured, in five different accidents that occurred in and around the city today.Police said, a 50-year-old unidentified woman was hit by a truck near West...

CU delay hits college work.
February 27, 2010... Arunima GhoshKOLKATA, 26 Feb: Administrative work at Charu Chandra College is being affected because it has not elected its Governing Body (GB) yet. According to protocol, Calcutta University (CU) is supposed to send the names of two external...

Cops resent colleagues bid to secure prize postings.
February 27, 2010... ;Statesman News Service BANKURA, 26 FEB: The subordinates of the inspector-in-charge of Sarenga who was killed yesterday, as well as other policemen posted at various police stations across the Bankura-Junglemahal corridor alleged that a section...

EFR camps should be shifted to protected places: Narayanan.
February 27, 2010... Statesman News ServiceSALUA,26 FEB: TheGovernor, Mr MK Narayanan,today said EFRcamps should be shifted to protected places. He visited the headquarters of EFR's West Midnaporeunit here this morning. Mr Narayananspoke to senior police officers,...

Bus and taxi fare hike likely.
February 27, 2010... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 26 Feb: Taxi and bus fares in the city are likely to go up following an increase in the excise duty on petrol and diesel announced in the Budget today. The bus and taxi operators said that a rise in the petrol and...

Briefs.
February 27, 2010... Governor visit SALUA,26 FEB: TheGovernor, Mr MK Narayanan,on a visit to the EFR's Midnapore(West)headquarters today said EFRcamps should be shifted to protected places. snsHusain nationalityDUBAI, 26 Feb: MF Husain, who has been living in...

9 Indians among 17 killed in Kabul blasts.
February 27, 2010... Press Trust of IndiaKABUL/NEW DELHI, 26 FEB: Targeting Indians yet again, Taliban today carried out coordinated suicide attacks at two hotels in Kabul killing upto nine Indians, including two Major rank Army officers, evoking sharp reaction from...

Pranab takes middle path.
February 27, 2010... ;RC RajamaniNEW DELHI, 26 FEB: In what is largely seen as a balancing act the finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, today gave the nation a Budget that sought to please the most vocal section ~ the middle class ~ through income-tax relief but...

Pune terror blast toll climbs to 17.
February 27, 2010... Indo-Asian News ServicePUNE, 27 FEB: The toll in the 13 February German Bakery blast has risen to 17 with a 23-year-old woman from Ambala succumbing to her injuries, police said. Her body was handed over to her relatives today afternoon.Aditi...

White House aide quits over Manmohan dinner crash.
February 27, 2010... Press Trust of India WASHINGTON, 27 FEB: In a demonstration of accountability, White House social secretary Ms Desiree Rogers, under fire since two wannabe reality TV stars crashed President Barack Obama's first state dinner for Prime Minister...

Karzai calls PM, promises full probe.
February 27, 2010... Press Trust of IndiaNEW DELHI, 27 Feb: In the wake of the terror attack in Kabul, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today requested Afghan President Hamid Karzai to ensure full protection for Indians in Afghanistan. Dr Singh made the request when...

Pervaded by darkness, peopled by outsiders.
February 27, 2010... All the imagery for the characters indicates some type of mental weirdness that everybody goes through in this adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic, says Gill PringleTim Burton looked bewildered when he was treated to a rock star's welcome as...

Feeling of alienation is worrying.
February 27, 2010... Ved Prakash Marwah, who had served as Delhi Police chief and director general of the National Security Guard, was also Governor of three states, Manipur, Mizoram and Jharkhand. He worked as an adviser to two Governors, in Jammu & Kashmir and...

Briefs.
February 27, 2010... Lee includedBrett Lee, who recently retired from Tests, was on Friday picked for Australia's 30-member preliminary squad for the World Twenty20 championship in the West Indies.;AgenciesChandhokKarun Chandhok is set to make his Formula One debut...

Not in the pink.
February 27, 2010... KOLKATA, 26 FEB: Before tomorrow's Calcutta Football League derby between East Bengal and Mohammedan SC at the Salt Lake stadium, both the teams are suffering from injuries woes. While Mohammedan's Edu did not attend the practice session today...

Jung in gold rush.
February 27, 2010... NEW DELHI, 26 FEB: Samaresh Jung (in photo) won two more gold medals while Gagan Narang and Joydeep Karmakar combined to break a meet record as India continued to rule the roost in the Commonwealth Championships here today. Samaresh, having...

Baljit denied ticket.
February 27, 2010... NEW DELHI, 26 FEB: An eye injury has robbed him of a chance to play in the hockey World Cup and goalkeeper Baljit Singh (in photo) says not getting a ticket to watch his team-mates in action has deepened his sadness. Baljit's career came to a...

As Sehwag saw it.
February 27, 2010... ;Press Trust of IndiaNEW DELHI, 26 FEB: A superstition had kept Virender Sehwag (in photo) from cheering Sachin Tendulkar on during the greater part of his Gwalior innings but once the maestro reached 190, he began applauding him for all his...

Aemilia for St. Leger.
February 27, 2010... ;Statesman News ServiceKOLKATA, 26 FEB: Just three runners in the fray for the Calcutta St. Leger tomorrow is not in keeping with the trend of packed fields this year. But 2,800m contest for this classic had always seen small fields. This year...

Kamran among Cup 30 despite match-fixing allegation.
February 27, 2010... ;AgenciesKARACHI, 26 FEB: Who says cricket's corruption stories have long been over? Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal is under investigation for suspected match-fixing, a leading newspaper reported here today. The Pakistan Cricket...

Team India aim at clean sweep.
February 27, 2010... ;Press Trust of IndiaAHMEDABAD, 26 FEB: The series as well as the number two spot in International Cricket Council rankings in their grasp, India will try for a clean sweep while South Africa have nothing but pride to play for in the third and...

Weary Palestine threatens to quit two-state stance.
February 27, 2010... Jerusalem, 26 Feb: With the West Asia peace process in limbo, the Palestinian Authority has threatened to withdraw from the 1993 Oslo Accords that envision a two-state solution, and instead strive for a bi-national state encompassing most of the...

Briefs.
February 27, 2010... PrisonersMoscow, 26 Feb: Russia could release 45,000 people imprisoned in the country since the second world war and grant amnesty to 300,000 convicts to mark the 65th anniversary of its Victory Day on 9 May, Russian Association of Lawyers said....

Sarkozy admits Frances role in Rwandan genocide.
February 27, 2010... John LichfieldPARIS, 26 FEB: President Nicolas Sarkozy admitted yesterday that French "errors" had contributed to the Rwandan genocide which killed an estimated 800,000 people in 1994. On the first visit by a French leader to Rwanda for 25...

Four killed, 26 injured in suicide attack on Pak police station.
February 27, 2010... Press Trust of IndiaPESHAWAR, 27 FEB: At least four people, including a local mayor, were killed and 26 others injured when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden truck into a police station in northwest Pakistan today, the latest in a...

White House confirms nuclear summit in April.
February 27, 2010... Press Trust of IndiaWASHINGTON, 27 FEB: US President Barack Obama will host a two-day summit on nuclear security beginning 12 April, during which key global leaders including Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh are likely to get together to discuss...

8.8-magnitude earthquake hits central Chile.
February 27, 2010... Associate Press SANTIAGO, 27 FEB: A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile early today shaking the capital for a minute and a half, setting off a tsunami and killing at least six people. Buildings collapsed and phone lines and...

Bride-to-be commits suicide.
February 27, 2010... Statesman News ServiceBEHRAMPORE, 26 FEB: Shrija Roy, a post-graduate student (MA, Bengali) of Behrampore Girls College, committed suicide last night at her residence at Ghatbandar area of Behrampore in Murshidabad. Roy family members alleged...

Doctors for 800 gram panchayats.
February 26, 2010... Statesman News ServiceKOLKATA,25 Feb:The state panchayatand rural development department has decided to recruit doctors for 800 gram panchayatsacross the state where there is no hospital or dispensary. State panchayatand rural development...

Briefs.
February 26, 2010... Show-cause New Delhi, 25 Feb: The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it has decided to issue show-cause notices to 44 universities as to why they should not be stripped of their deemed status after individually offering them sufficient...

Maoists pledge eye for an eye.
February 26, 2010... BiswabrataGoswami MIDNAPORE,25 FEB:Top Maoist leaders today pledged to kill policemen if their squad members were killed. They took part in a meeting at the Bhulageraforest to condole the death of LalmohanTudu,president of PCPAwho was killed in...

Police stations put on full alert in Purulia.
February 26, 2010... Nani Gopal PalBANDWAN (Purulia), 25 FEB: Out of 21 police stations in Purulia district, nine have been placed on high alert, after the Shilda (West Midnapore) massacre last week, which claimed the lives of 24 jawans of the Eastern Frontier...

Briefs.
February 26, 2010... Drug peddlers nabbedKOLKATA, 25 FEB: In a joint raid conducted by the Airport and the Madhyamgram police stations, two drug peddlers were arrested and 23 kilograms of marijuana (ganja) were seized from their residence near Birati More last...

Lack of clarity confuses examinees, again.
February 26, 2010... Statesman News Service KOLKATA, 25 FEB: The Second Language examination in Madhyamik passed off well today with few students complaining about the lack of clarity in a question in the English paper. In question number nine, students have been...

Minister prefers LF loyalty to dialogue.
February 26, 2010... Rajib Chatterjee KOLKATA, 25 FEB: The state fire and emergency services minister, Mr Pratim Chatterjee (see SNS photo), has turned down a proposal to play the role of Leader of the Opposition in a Bengali feature film. I had raised objections to...

Space, not budget, halts development in some government schools.
February 26, 2010... Arunima GhoshKOLKATA, 25 FEB: The authorities of some government schools in the city are unable to upgrade infrastructure facilities under the Centre-sponsored Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abiyan (RMSA) scheme due to space crunch.Since schools,...

Girl swallows needle, surgery gets it out.
February 26, 2010... KOLKATA 25 FEB: A team of surgeons at the Gastroenterology department of SSKM Hospital today conducted a critical surgery and removed a needle from the stomach of a six year old girl.The patient, Sohini Das (6), a resident of Naihati, was...

State-of-art blood bank to come up at New Town.
February 26, 2010... Sulagna Sengupta KOLKATA,25 FEB:National Aids Control Organisation (NACO)has decided to set up a state-of-art blood bank at New Townin Rajarhat. Such an effort has been taken for the first time in the state. The state government has identified a...

State poll panel bid to reduce false voters.
February 26, 2010... Abhishek LawKOLKATA, 25 Feb: In a bid to reduce names of false voters from the electoral rolls during the forthcoming municipal polls, the State Election Commission has asked all municipal returning officers (MROs) not to accept bulk...

3G services may begin from 1 Sept.
February 26, 2010... ;Press Trust of India NEW DELHI, 25 FEB: The government today said three private GSM players would be allowed to offer 3G mobile services across the nation, for which spectrum (radio waves) will be auctioned starting 9 April. However, in five...

Core sector grows 9.4%.
February 26, 2010... ;Press Trust of IndiaNEW DELHI, 25 FEB: Led by a good show in cement and steel, the six core sectors grew by a handsome 9.4 per cent in January, prompting economists to suggest the time was ripe for withdrawal of stimulus. However, batting for...

Double-digit growth forecast.
February 26, 2010... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, 25 FEB: Forecasting that the countrys GDP could grow to double digit, making India the fastest growing economy in the world by 2014, the Economic Survey 2009-10 has pitched for providing further stimulus for...

ICICI Bank ups deposit rates.
February 26, 2010... Press Trust of India MUMBAI, 25 FEB: The countrys largest private sector lender, ICICI Bank, today raised deposit rates with immediate effect by up to half-a-percentage point across different maturities, a move that hints at lending rates are...

BMW launches 330i & 320d.
February 26, 2010... Statesman News ServiceCHENNAI, 25 FEB: BMW India today formally announced the launch of its new BMW 320d Corporate edition (diesel) and the BMW 330i (petrol) in the BMW III series which were also simultaneously made available at all its dealers...

news of the edit page.
February 26, 2010... The Dutch Great Escape ~ With A Spoon ;Toby Green AMSTERDAM, 25 FEB:Tunnellingunder the prison walls has long been a favourite method of breaking out of jail, but now one female convict in the Netherlands has managed to gain her freedom by...

edits.
February 26, 2010... Well-beaten track But deviations will bear scrutiny IF Miss Mamata Banerjees career plans are on track, it is unlikely that the consequences of some of the grand schemes she has announced in the Rail Budget will visit her. If those plans...

special article.
February 26, 2010... Words and DeedsGood Intentions Need Sustaining ArchitectureAditi Roy GhatakIT would be churlish to say that there is no good intention in a government that has at least tried to implement out-of-the-box thinking around managing the economy. Yet,...

Congress downplays Ramesh outburst.
February 26, 2010... Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, 25 FEB:The Congress today downplayed its leader Mr JairamRameshsstartling comment yesterday that he was fighting a lonely battle in the Union Cabinet on major environmental issues of public concern and that his...

Change in political equations?
February 26, 2010... NEW DELHI, 25 FEB:The debate on price rise in the LokSabhatoday threw up some significant political messages from key non-BJP,non-Congress parties. The RJDchief, Mr LaluPrasad,warned of changing political equations mid-way while the...

BJP leaders hurt in lathicharge.
February 26, 2010... SNS & PTILUCKNOW/CHANDIGARH, 25 FEB: Bharatiya Janata Party workers clashed with police in UP and Chandigarh when their protest against the central government's failure to contain rising prices turned violent.In Uttar Pradesh police today...

Last budget placed by current NDA govt in Bihar.
February 26, 2010... Statesman News ServicePatna, 25 FEB: With Assembly elections due later this year, the Bihar government presented a revenue-surplus populous budget for the coming financial year in the state Assembly here today, giving tax rebates to the business...

CBI arrests post master general red-handed.
February 26, 2010... Mumbai, 25 FEB: The anti-corruption wing of CBI arrested the post master general (PMG) Manjeet Singh Bali of Maharashtra-Goa Circle while he was accepting Rs 2 crore in bribe late yesterday evening .The PMG had demanded Rs 2 crore consideration...

Nuclear scientist goes missing.
February 26, 2010... Indo-Asian News ServiceChennai, 25 Feb: Dr S Ananthanarayanan, a nuclear scientist, working in the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Tamil Nadu is missing since last week, police said today. "We got a complaint from his wife on...

Telangana: Srikrishna panel to consult parties from March.
February 26, 2010... New Delhi, 25 FEB: Justice Srikrishna Committee on Telangana today said it will start consultations with political parties and other stakeholders on the contentious statehood demand from the first week of March and hoped it would be able to find...

Indo-Pak foreign secy talks a futile exercise: BJP.
February 26, 2010... Press Trust of IndiaJammu, 25 FEB: Terming foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan in Delhi today as meaningless and and a futile exercise, BJP said it failed to understand why New Delhi should hold dialogue with the government...

'84 riots: Delhi HC grants bail to Sajjan Kumar.
February 26, 2010... Press Trust of IndiaNEW DELHI, 26 Feb: In a relief to Congress leader Mr Sajjan Kumar, Delhi High Court today granted anticipatory bail to the former MP and six others in 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases, saying the delay in deposition of witnesses...

Husain has accepted Qatari nationality offer: Son.
February 26, 2010... Press Trust of IndiaDUBAI, 26 Feb: Legendary artist MF Husain, who has been living in self-imposed exile for nearly four years following a spate of cases in India over his controversial paintings of Hindu goddesses, has accepted Qatar's offer to...