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| 70 ultras
killed, 741 apprehended by Army IMPHAL, Dec 19: The Army killed seventy extremists and apprehended......more
CVC clamouring to PUNE, Dec 19: The Central Vigilance Commission...more
Centre trying to bail CHENNAI, Dec 19: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi ....more GUWAHATI,
Dec 19: Police
today recovered another powerful ...more |
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Davinder Singh appointed PPYC chief NEW DELHI, Dec 19: Davinder Singh (Babbu) was today appointed president of Punjab Pradesh...more Seminar held on ‘film MUMBAI, Dec 19: The expected entry of Overseas Insurance Companies into India could force....more Liberalisation has CALCUTTA,
Dec 19: The West
Bengal Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu, today said that
economic....more PANAJI, Dec 19: Various functions, cultural programmes were organised in Goa today to mark....more Decline in Naxalite NEW DELHI, Dec 19: Naxalite activities in Andhra Pradesh have come down considerably due....more Jang for closer AMRITSAR,
Dec 19: The
Chinese Ambassador to India, Mr Zhao Jang has called for
closer cooperation....more |
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70 ultras killed, 741 apprehended by Army IMPHAL, Dec 19: The Army killed seventy extremists and apprehended 741 in 1998 in Manipur, according to 57 Mountain Division GoC Major General Arvind Sharma. The GoC told newspersons here today that 295 different kinds of weapons were also seized from the militants during the year. Mentioning the losses to the security forces, Major General Sharma disclosed that 27 security personnel were killed and 23 wounded. He said the Army had no interest other than helping the State Government in suppressing insurgency and promoting the process of peace and development for the people of Manipur. The G-o-C also said that the Army had conducted a search operation in the house of Mr O J Sing, president of Manipur Peoples Party (MPP), on December 6 and seized one unlicenced. Point 15 single barrel gun and 15 photographs of underground camps in Myanmar. (UNI) |
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CVC clamouring to obtain rights PUNE, Dec 19: The Central Vigilance Commission, a statutory body empowered to exercise superintendence over Central Government Ministries and Corporations, is clamouring to obtain rights which would authorise it to confiscate ill-gotten wealth. Making a strong case for obtaining such rights, Central Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal said that the provision would go a long way in curbing corruption. Mr Vittal addressed the concluding session at a seminar on "frauds in banks related to cheques, drafts and remittances" organised by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) here yesterday. Mr Vittal said a preliminary draft on the subject had been prepared by the Law Commission — which, of course, has not not been released. He stressed that the existing "system" itself was responsible for fostering corruption. In this regard, Mr Vittal was skeptical about the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) which, he said, was a veiled way of protecting tax evaders. According to Mr Vittal, there were five reasons which were responsible for breeding corruption — scarcity of goods and services, outdated rules and regulations, lack of transparency, existence of safety cushions for corrupt people, and a tendency of corrupt people to protect their corrupt counterparts which he described as "casteism". The CVC said that all rules and regulations be reviewed periodically, every five or ten years, to upcheck on their relevance under the changed circumstances and be renewed or replaced by new rules as the prevalent situation demands. Mr Vittal felt that the prevailing system offers a lot of cushions of safety to the wrong-doer who could prevent the inquiries against him. The CVC, he said, has sought to remove the safety measures in case of departmental inquiries at least by entailing that all departmental inquiries be completed within six months with no more than two adjournments. A large number of bank frauds can be prevented if the banks undertake computerisation the CVC said. Moreover, the CVC had also directed the banks to report willful default of Rs 25 lakh and above to the Reserve Bank of India which would then circulate the information to all other banks so that the banks could be alert against the defaulter. The CVC, which has superintendence powers over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has lamented that the CBI has turned into a "crippled organisation" with almost 30 per cent of the posts lying vacant. There are around 1,800 cases in the investigation stage before the CBI which has been pending from two to twelve years while the investigating agency has around 5,300 cases in the prosecution stage which have been pending for periods ranging from two to 35 years, Mr Vittal pointed out. Mr Vittal was of the opinion that the CBI should have a separate division altogether to deal with economic offences. (UNI) Centre trying to bail out Jaya, alleges TN CM CHENNAI, Dec 19: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today charged the BJP-led Government with trying to bail out AIADMK chief Jayalalitha from corruption cases by taking a stand favourable to her in the Supreme Court. The Centre, which had justified in Madras High Court, the State Government’s action in setting up three Special Courts to try cases against Jayalalitha and others, had ‘suddenly’ changed its stand by contending that it alone had the powers to transfer corruption cases to special courts, he said. In a strongly worded statement here he said ‘double standards’ by preaching against corruption on one hand and on the other trying to rescue Jayalalitha against whom the courts have found prima facie cases. The Centre’s stand only indicated that it would not hesitate to save favoured persons even if they were ‘prima facie’ found by courts to have indulged in corruption, he said. The new turn of events had exposed the Vajpayee Ministry which on the one hand has been proclaiming that the policy of BJP is to eradicate corruption and on the other hand has come out in the open to rescue Jayalalitha group, which is involved in corruption cases, he charged. On a petition by Jayalalitha challenging the Madras High Court order for setting up of Special Courts, Attorney General Soli Sorabjee on Thursday argued in the Supreme Court that the State Government had no powers to transfer corruption cases against her to the Special Courts. Stating that the real ulterior motive of the BJP Government is now known to everybody, Karunanidhi posed a set of questions to be answered by the Union Government. Questioning the Centre’s necessity to assert its power on allocation of corruption cases to special courts at this juncture, the Chief Minister said it should not be forgotten that the Centre had been requesting the State Government to appoint special Judges to try cases investigated by the CBI. Citing examples, he said such notifications setting up Special Courts were issued by the State Government in 1983, 1995 and 1997 in various cases on the request of the Centre. For reasons best known to itself, now the BJP-led coalition wants to meddle with cases filed by the state police and Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), Karunanidhi charged. (PTI) |
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GUWAHATI, Dec 19: Police today recovered another powerful unexploded bomb fitted in an ambassador car at the parking complex in front of the State Secretariat and ministerial office at Janata Bhawan at Dispur here, the site of yesterday’s blast. The bomb was detected after people informed the police. The anti-bomb squad was immediately called and the bomb defused, sources said. Security measures were further tightened in and around the complex and vigorous investigations launched to nab the militants involved in planting the car bomb, sources said. Meanwhile, senior police officials today confirmed that suspected Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT) were involved in yesterday’s car bomb explosion. A militant, who was in the car, was also killed. They said the explosives were being transported to some other place when the explosion occurred. It was not targetted at Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, they added. Investigation was on and no arrest had so far been made, they added. (UNI) |
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Davinder Singh appointed PPYC chief NEW DELHI, Dec 19: Davinder Singh (Babbu) was today appointed president of Punjab Pradesh Youth Congress (PPYC). Singh, who was earlier Vice-President of PPYC, was named by Youth Congress chief Manish Tiwari to succeed Jasbi Inh Gill, a party release said. (PTI) |
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Seminar held on ‘film finance and insurance’ MUMBAI, Dec 19: The expected entry of Overseas Insurance Companies into India could force the domestic insurance sector to spread its area of operation to the film industry as well, according to top industrialists associated with movie-making. In the present situation where film-making is being given the status of an industry, thereby facilitating financial help from banks, insurance sector too will have to follow suit, experts at a conference on "film finance and insurance" here felt. The seminar was jointly organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Film Federation of India (FFI) last evening. FFI president K C Jain said it was "unfortunate" that the General Insurance Corporation had not yet given a thought on the aspect of giving cover to the film industry. "It is disgusting that neither a film-in-making nor its end-product is insurable today," he noted, adding that the domestic insurance sector "cannot afford to remain a closed field for long along with foreign insurance companies". He said film industry experts had deliberated on the issue in detail with insurance company officials to arrive at a consensus so that the risk factor in the sector could be covered. "Our business is as risky as any other business and there is no harm in extending credit and insurance facilities to films," he noted. An expert from U.K’s Denton Hall, Ken Dearsley, informed the gathering about the various financing and insurance schemes existing in the Western world. He elaborated about the types of finances and the insurance schemes that are being followed by film giants like Walt Disney Co, and News Corp, which owns the twentieth century fox. A detailed note on insurance for the film industry by Uttara Vaid, senior deputy general manager of Tata Aig Risk Management Services (P) Ltd, was also circulated to the members who attended the conference. The note said that film industry in abroad operated on the lines of a corporate structure, answerable to the shareholders and had been opting for insurance to combat losses ever since the era of silent movies. The absence of corporatisation in film sector was felt at the conference. To raise the debt from capital markets, film producers need to be a limited liability company. (UNI) |
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