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| Haryana Govt to bring down area under paddy CHANDIGARH, May 17: Haryana Government has decided to bring down the area under paddy by a ............more CAG faults conception, JAIPUR, May 17: Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found fault with the way the.....more JPC says scam-related NEW DELHI, May 17: Mutual funds such as unit trust of India and Morgan Stanley can be examined ....more Forget dieting - get back MADRID, May 17: Just a few years ago, it would have sounded like the weight watchers nightmare....more |
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Malaysian firms
eyeing Indian port privatization KUALA LUMPUR, May 17: Malaysian companies are planning to bid for a stake in the privatization .....more Iraq’s rejection not NEW DELHI, May 17: Government said today the recent rejection of wheat consignment by Iraq......more
NEW DELHI, May 17: Gold prices zoomed on the bullion market today on sustained brisk buying by stockists ...more |
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CAG
faults conception, execution of Assembly JAIPUR, May 17: Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found fault with the way the Rs 121.22 crore project for the new Rajasthan Assembly building has been conceived and executed resulting in avoidable expenditure. Due to improper drawing and design of the Assembly hall, an extra expenditure of Rs 13.79 lakhs was incurred on increasing the hall’s height, CAG said in its latest report. Raising doubts about the reliability of decisions taken by the appropriate authority, the report said the proposal for effecting economy in construction cost by changing specification of Jodhpur stone block masonry, besides Kangura and Jali, could not be implemented because the department reported that the contractor had already procured the stone material as per original agreement. Government would have saved Rs.52.96 lakhs if the Chief Engineer (project) had taken the decision of modification or changes at the initial stage, it said. The Government suffered a loss of Rs 1.5 crore in the purchase of 4798.565 metric tonne of corrosion-resistant steel for the building without testing for corrosion properties, the CAG said. More than 19292 cubic metre earth was transported for filling purposes from outside the site for the building at a cost of Rs.20.93 lakhs even as more than 25048 cubic metre earth was available at the site, it said. The Public Works Department (PWD) paid an additional Rs.10.13 lakh for transportation and filling the earth using incorrect rate analysis, the report added. About the improper drawing and design of the building, CAG rejected the Government’s stand that "it was a case of continuous thinking and improvised perception". The reply, cag said, was not tenable as the height of the old Assembly hall was 43 feet at the Centre and 39 feet six inches at the periphery. The height of new house at 28 feet six inches was very much on the lower side. It was later increased to 41 feet. The report observed that technical estimate for heating, ventilation and air conditioning work did not include provision for winter heating. In such a prestigious building, non-adoption of both systems of air cooling and air heating indicate failure of planning that would involve an additional recurring expenditure in providing heaters, it added. The report also commented on purchase of several equipment much prior to their requirement, blocking Rs.2.09 crore and extra payment of Rs 1.01 crore due to the delay in payment of cost of land to the Jaipur Development Authority. (PTI) |
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JPC says
scam-related activities of mutual NEW DELHI, May 17: Mutual funds such as unit trust of India and Morgan Stanley can be examined by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the stock market scam to determine their scam-related activities even though mutual funds are not specifically mentioned as part of the terms of reference of the JPC, its Chairman, Prakash Mani Tripathi, said here today. "Though mutual funds, in general, are not part of the terms of reference of the JPC, however, buying or other functions of any of such companies like Unit Trust of India or Morgan Stanley that impact stock exchange (during scam period) can be inquired into," Tripathi told reporters at the end of the fourth-day of the technical briefing. He said the JPC would not be going to the general functions of the mutual funds but any activities that it felt is connected with stock exchanges before or during scam period could be looked into. Tripathi also said the market regulator Securities and Exchanges Board of India told the JPC that it did not have enough powers to regulate. The JPC would continue its technical briefing on may 29 and 30 before moving onto the second stage of discussions from the second week of June to decide on those who need to be called for examination. Giving details on today’s technical briefing, Tripathi said SEBI led by its Chairman D R Mehta gave an insight into the role and functions of the regulations and provisions of companies act. This, he said, was followed by a briefing by the National Stock Exchange Managing Director designate, Ravi Narayanan. It was told at the JPC that the NSE was set up to enable people from far-flung areas to access the stock exchange. The Mumbai Stock Exchange officials also explained in detail the functions of the bourse, he said. To a query on whether the JPC would not get outdated due to the new developments such as measures taken for preventing price rigging and market manipulations, Tripathi said the earlier JPC set up in 1994 had taken stringent action against many officers and others. He said the present JPC would primarily look into those guilty and would suggest punishment. (PTI) |
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Forget dieting - get back to bread, wine, olive oil MADRID, May 17: Just a few years ago, it would have sounded like the weight watchers nightmare: A diet based on olive oil, bread and wine. Yet now there is increasing evidence that the age-old ingredients of traditional mediterranean diet correspond to equally old needs of our body and, far from harmful and fattening, they are a boost to our health, say experts in Spain. Olive trees are believed to have grown on the shores of the mediterranean 8,000 years ago and olive oil has been used for cooking from humble huts to the tables of kings. Yet for a long time, olive oil had the reputation of being a low-class "rural" product which many people thought rich in cholesterol and fattening, the daily El Mundo reported. In the 1960s, the United States Army praised its benefits in a secret report on what soldiers should be eating to keep fit, but the advantages of olive oil became widely known only three decades later. Containing mono-saturated fatty acids, vitamin e, anti-oxidizers and other useful substances, olive oil helps to combat a number of diseases, Spanish researchers say. It prevents heart disease by keeping arteries free of sclerosis, strengthens the walls of blood vessels and muscle cells, and also acts against diabetes and cancers of the spine and those of the female breast. Scientists now know that Spanish grandmothers were right when they advised family members to take a spoonful of olive oil to counter practically any ailment. In the southern region of Andalusia, olives are still picked by hand by seasonal labourers who often first beat the trees with sticks to get the "pearls of the mediterranean" to fall on the ground. Donkey-powered old mills have given way to computer-operated oil presses, but olive oil still has the taste of the plant which a dove is said to have brought to noah after the biblical flood, and its use is increasingly spreading to northern europe where people are beginning to recognize the link between animal fats and the prevalence of heart disease. The world’s biggest producer of olive oil with around 220 million trees, spaniards live on average longer than their northern neighbours, something which is partly attributable to the healthy mediterranean diet. The traditional Andalusian breakfast consists of garlic, tomato and olive oil on top of a slice of white bread - another age-old food which has wrongly been shunned by dieters in industrialized countries. The ancient Egyptians are believed to have discovered the process of fermenting bread, and it still remains one of the cheapest and most versatile foods, said Carlos Fernandez, Director of a magazine called Bakers Panorama. Wheat is rich in iron, vitamins, calcium, carbohydrates as well as fibre which facilitates digestion and helps eliminate harmful substances from the organism, thus helping to prevent many of the same diseases as olive oil. Bread is not among the most fattening foods, yet its consumption declined from 134 kilogrammes per person annually in 1964 to only 55 kilogrammes in Spain, a trend which is now again being reversed. The benefits of bread are being rediscovered in many western countries, where cafes and fast food chains offer various types of sandwiches from French baguettes to Swedish crispbread. Modern humans still have much the same genes as their neolithic ancestors, whose diet basically consisted of grains, fruit, vegetables, roots, leaves, fish, seafood and some game, researchers say. The diet of stone-age humans bears a resemblance to the mediterranean diet which favours fish and seafood as well as a great variety of terrestial fruits and vegetables. "Bread, olives and wine are signs of civilisation," the ancient Romans reportedly said. So instead of counting calories, pour that olive oil liberally on your salad and grab a piece of bread. Crown your meal with a glass of red wine, another substance which has been shown to have health benefits such as preventing stroke and heart disease. (DPA) |
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Malaysian firms eyeing Indian port privatization KUALA LUMPUR, May 17: Malaysian companies are planning to bid for a stake in the privatization of several Indian ports such as in Tuticorin, Cochin, Colachel and Mumbai, news reports said today. The interest by Malaysian firms to invest in Indian ports follows the signing of a bilateral agreement between the two countries on the management of Indian sea ports, which was struck during the recent visit to malaysia by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Transport Minister Ling Liong Sik said Indian ports could act as feeder ports for Malaysia’s own ports as Indian exports heading for australia or the US. Could be trans-shipped in Malaysia. "If either port Klang or the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) is willing to cooperate with the privatization plans, the outcome can be good for the malaysian port industry," he was quoted as saying by the Business Times financial daily. Port Klang’s westport is owned 30 per cent by Hong Kong’s Hutchisson International terminals which operates 18 ports worldwide, while PTP in southern Johore state is owned 30 per cent by Maersk Sealand, the world’s largest shipping line. With their international partners, the two Malaysian ports could become the hub for containerised cargo from India to other parts of the world. Ling said India’s port containerisation level was only about 6 to 7 per cent, compared with malaysia’s 60 to 70 per cent. The daily said several malaysian port management firms were keen on participating in the Indian port sell-off. Northport, which operates the Klang container terminal and Klang port management, is interested in the privatization of the indira docks at Mumbai Port, while konsortium Logistik Berhad, which recently won a contract to operate two terminals at Jawarhal Nehru port, was eyeing the Kakinada deepwater port in Andhra Pradesh. The daily said the level of efficiency in Indian ports was wanting, as cargo took a long time to unload or load because of a lack of expertise and equipment as well as occasional strikes by dock workers. (DPA) |
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Iraq’s rejection not to hit foodgrains export drive NEW DELHI, May 17: Government said today the recent rejection of wheat consignment by Iraq would not hamper India’s foodgrains export drive, even as it sent a high-level delegation to Baghdad to examine the matter and suggest "corrective" steps, if necessary. "No, the rejection of wheat consignment will not affect the drive launched by India to export its surplus wheat and other commodities. We are following stringent norms to ensure good quality", Food Minister Shanta Kumar told PTI. Describing the rejection as an isolated case, he said the Government promptly swung into action and sent a team of officials this morning to Iraq to ascertain the circumstances leading to the episode. Kumar said the delegation, comprising senior officials of Food Ministry, Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State Trading Corporation (STC), would find out the exact reasons behind the incident in the light of similar rejection of wheat shipments by Iraq from Canada and Argentina. "The Government will take appropriate actions and corrective steps, if necessary, on the basis of the findings of the team to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in future as also to step up export of items like rice, corn and maize, besides wheat", he said. Since the same consignment rejected by Iraq was later found to be of good quality in Dubai and sold there, it would be improper to conclude that the quality of wheat was poor, he said, adding "the truth will be known once the delegation comes back". (PTI) |
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NEW DELHI, May 17: Gold prices zoomed on the bullion market today on sustained brisk buying by stockists influenced by a steep hike in its prices in the overseas market and registered another hefty gain of Rs 50 at Rs 4450. Silver also followed suit and shot up smartly on local buying against tight stocks position. Marketmen said a spectacular rise in gold value in international markets where it touched 273.65 US dollar an ounce level, boosted sentiment in domestic markets here. They said the rise was attributed to the federal open market committee’s decision to cut US interest rates by another 50 basic points on Tuesday. "The rate cut is a positive step and will attract funds looking for better performance into bullion," a bullion merchant said. The Bank of England forwarding 20 tons of gold on the block for auction against the previous 25 tons caused a tight stocks position and helped the prices to go up, he added. Standard gold and ornaments gained Rs.50 each at Rs.4450 and Rs.4300 per ten gram respectively. Sovereign also moved up further by Rs.25 at Rs.3800 per piece of eight gram. Silver ready shot up by Rs.93 at Rs.7313 per kilo and weekly-based delivery by Rs.105 at Rs.7335 per kilo on speculators buying. Silver coins held unchanged at Rs.10,900/11,100 per 100 pieces in scattered small deals. The following were today’s quotations: Silver ready 7313 and delivery 7335. Silver coins buyer 10,900 and seller 11,000 standard gold 4450, ornaments 4300 and sovereign 3800. (PTI) |
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