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Pak has not Excelsior Defence Correspondent NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Pakistan has not manufactured the "most modern"......more
Fine for airlines NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Home Minister L K Advani today introduced in Rajya Sabha a bill to impose....more India, US to hold NEW DELHI, Dec 23: India and US have agreed to hold the next round of their discussions on....more
Laloo’s remand PATNA,
Dec 23: The
Special Court today extended by another two weeks the
judicial....more |
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Kant suggests
debate on serials which affects young minds NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Rajya Sabha Chairman Krishan Kant today suggested...more
SGPC to stage historic AMRITSAR, Dec 23: The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) will organise...more BAREILLY, Dec 23: Kaka Joginder Singh alias Dhartipakar, who contested a record over three....more Kanshi rules PATNA,
Dec 23: Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Kanshi Ram has ruled out the
possibility of his party...more NEW DELHI, Dec 23: A Congress member in the Rajya Sabha today gave a privilege notice against ....more Superfast train NEW DELHI, Dec 23: A new superfast train between Horwah and Mumbai will be...more |
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Pak has not manufactured most modern missile: George Excelsior Defence Correspondent NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Pakistan has not manufactured the "most modern" missile in the Indian sub -continent so far, the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. "No", was the Defence Minister’s reply when Mr Janeshwar Misra wanted to know, during Question Hour, if it was a fact that Pakistan had made the most modern missile of this subcontinent. On New Delhi’s plans with regard to missile development, Mr George Fernandes informed the House that missiles developed under Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) use state-of-the-art technologies and give performance as per the mission requirements. Did Washington, during the Indo-US talks, insist on knowing the locations of India’s nuclear weapons ? Replying to this question by Mr Sanjay Nirupam, Mr Fernandes stated that the deployment or movement of Indian defence assets "is an exclusive and sovereign right" of the Government into which no outside interference is allowed. Stating that both India and the United States had agreed to meet again for the next round of discussions in the second half of next month, Mr Fernandes made it plain that the talks would b e conducted on the basis of the comprehensive proposals that India had put forward on disarmament and non-proliferation matters, New Delhi’s moratorium on explosive nuclear tests, willingness to discuss converting this moratorium into a de jure obligation, India’s offer to enter into constructive negotiations on the FMCT and reaffirming Delhi’s policies on stringent control on export of sensitive technologies. Has India taken cognisance of the reported threat from Pakistan that it has the military ability to completely destroy many Indian cities within 15 minutes ? Replying to this question by Mr Onkar Singh Lakhawat, Mr George Fernandes remarked: "Except for media reports, there is no report indicating this threat". The Defence Minister,at the same time, made it clear that all developments having a bearing on India’s national security "are constantly monitored and all necessary steps are taken, from time to time, to maintain appropriate defence preparedness". In his reply to a question by Ms Kamla Sinha, Mr Fernandes admitted that some stretches of the Kargil road in Ladakh were exposed to Pakistani fire. And with a view to meeting any eventuality, local by-passes and walls , Mr Fernandes pointed out, had been planned along these stretches where Pak fire is effective. While part of the work has since been completed, the movement of supply convoys and other vehicular traffic on Srinagar-Leh highway is regulated by the Army to avoid any mishap. According to the Defence Minister, a major by-pass along Dras-Umbala-Sankhu-Kargil has been planned, and 6 km have already been completed. He informed the House that the Indian Army responds appropriately to any firing initiated by Pakistan. Enemy weapon system, he said, were suppressed and neutralised by effective fire from Indian guns. On the US pressure on Indo-Russian cooperation, the Defence Minister said in reply to a question by Mr Govindrao Adik that the Government had seen reports in the media to the effect that the US Government sought to put pressure on Russia not to extend nuclear cooperation to India. Mr Fernandes said that as far as agreements on nuclear technology with Russia were concerned, there had been no impact of the reported US pressure. The Defence Minister said , while answering a question by Dr D Venkateshwar Rao, that there were 182 incidents of exchange of fire on the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), 1822 incidents on the Line of Control (LoC) and 175 incidents on the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir during the six month period from June to November this year. On Indian side, 611 persons were reportedly killed or wounded. Mr Fernandes said that 273 security personnel and 116 civilians were wounded. There were three incidents of unprovoked firing from Pakistan Rangers on the border in Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, in which one BSF personnel was killed and two others were injured. The Indian Army, Mr Fernandes reiterated, "responds appropriately to any firing initiated by Pakistan. Further, with a view to protecting the civilian population, the civil administration , he added, provided shelters and bunkers and various schemes. |
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Fine for airlines bringing passengers without documents NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Home Minister L K Advani today introduced in Rajya Sabha a bill to impose a penalty of Rs one lakh on airlines or ships for every non-bonafide passenger brought to India by them through neglect in checking travel documents such as the passport. Explaining the need for the legislation, the statement of objects and reasons of the bill pointed out that a large number of passengers came to India without any valid documents in recent years. Airlines do not exercise proper check of travel documents of foreigners coming to India at the time of commencement of the journey, it said, adding it caused unnecessary burden on the Government as well as harassment to passengers. To tackle this problem, it is necessary to impose a statutory obligation on the carriers to properly scrutinise travel documents before bringing people to India, the statement said. It is proposed to impose a penalty of Rs one lakh per person on the carrier who fails to perform the statutory obligation imposed on it under the proposed legislation, it said. (PTI) India, US to hold talks on next month NEW DELHI, Dec 23: India and US have agreed to hold the next round of their discussions on defence-related matters in the second half of January, 1999, Defence Minister George Fernandes informed the Rajya Sabha today. The talks would be conducted on the basis of comprehensive proposals that India had put forward on disarmament and non-proliferation, the country’s unilateral moratorium on explosive nuclear tests, conversion of the moratorium into de jure obligation, FMCT and stringent control on export of sensitive technologies, the minister said in a written reply. Indo-Russia: India and Russia have signed an agreement on bilateral military-technical cooperation until 2010 during the visit of Russian Premier to India from December 20-22, Fernandes said in reply to another question. The agreement provides for a mechanism for implementing and monitoring the long-term programme of military technical cooperation between the two countries. US: Centre is constantly monitoring reports of us exerting pressure on Russia not to extend nuclear cooperation to India, Fernandes informed the House. However, there was no impact of the reported pressure on Indo-Russian agreements on nuclear technology, he added. (PTI) |
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Laloo’s remand extended till Jan 7 PATNA, Dec 23: The Special Court today extended by another two weeks the judicial remand of RJD president Laloo Prasad Yadav when he was produced before it in a conspiracy angle case of the fodder scam. The designated CBI Judge, S K Lal, asked the jail authorities to produce Yadav before him on January 7. The court also extended till January 7 judicial remand of the former Bihar ministers, Chandradeo Prasad Verma, Vidyasagar Nishad, RJD MLA R K Rana and the suspended BJP MLA, Dhruva Bhagat. The case relates to fradulent withdrawal of over Rs 97 lakh from Deoghar treasury by officials of the state Animal Husbandry Department through ‘forged and fake’ bills. Earlier, Yadav, who is in judicial custody since October 28, urged the court to direct the CBI to make available to him all the relevant documents relied upon by the investigating agency for his prosecution in the case. The Apex Court is to decide the prayer of the RJD president for bail in the case on January 5. Senior IAS officials, Mahesh Prasad, Beck Julius and K Armugam, besides former Income Tax Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi, A C Choudhury, were also produced before the court in the case. Former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, who has already secured regular bail in the case could not appear inthe court as he was away in Delhi. He, however, was represented by his counsel. (PTI) |
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SGPC to stage historic plays on Guru Gobind Singh AMRITSAR, Dec 23: The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) will organise seminars, debates, and stage historic plays on Guru Gobin Singh, as part of the Khalsa tricentenary celebrations next year. The SGPC had already taken the decision to conduct religious functions and marches during the week-long celebrations beginning April eight at Anandpur Sahib. Committee president Gurcharan Singh Tohra said here that one of the main objectives of the celebrations would be to install the spirit of ‘amrit’ (baptism) among the Sikhs. Akal Takht Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh had earlier announced an elaborate schedule of programmes to be hosted in the main cities of Punjab in march to motivate the Sikhs to partake of the ‘amrit’. Noted scholars will hold discussions on Guru Gobind Singh, the founder of the ‘Khalsa Panth’, during the second week of April at Anandpur Sahib. "This is intended to make people more aware of the Guru’s philosophy and teachings," SGPC chief Gurucharan Singh Mr Tohra said in a release yesterday. The SGPC chief said a Committee had been formed to conduct a world conference titled ‘Sikh women’ at Anandpur Sahib on April ten. SGPC member Kiranjot Kaur would head this Committee. Likewise, another Committee has been formed to select the plays to be staged about the historic and religious aspects of the Sikh history and culture through the periods at the birth place of the Khalsa. This Committee will be led by SGPC member Gardeep Singh. Congress(I) leader Jagmeet Singh Brar heading the Tricentenary Celebrations Committee of his party will meet the Akal Takht Jathedar here tomorrow to extend an invitation to participate in the celebrations chalked out by the Congress. (UNI) |
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Kant suggests debate on serials
which affects NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Rajya Sabha Chairman Krishan Kant today suggested a full-fledged debate on serials and advertisements on television which affect young minds a the house expressed concern over the number of deaths of children trying to enact the character of Shaktiman serial. Kant said he was equally concerned over the matter as it had affected a large number of households and added the house could have a thorough discussion on the subject in the next session. Raising the matter through a special mention, Janeshwar Mishra (SP) drew the attention of the Government towards the loss of lives of children due to imitation of the activities of Shaktiman, a character in the popular serial. Mishra said while some children jumped from the roof, others set fire to themselves, and wondered how the Censor Board could pass such a serial. Supporting him, CPI-M member Chandrakala Pandey said young minds was being affected by such serials and advertisements which showed daredevil activities. Venkaiah Naidu (BJP) said too much of violence, sex and vulgarity was polluting young minds while Urmilaben Patel (Cong) said such serials and ads should not be telecast. (PTI) |
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