Excelsior... Nation

26 Indian scribes to visit PoK from November 22

NEW DELHI, Nov 11: A group of 26 Indian journalists will visit Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and northern areas of Gilgit and Baltistan from . .....more

26 Indian scribes to visit
PoK from November 22

NEW DELHI, Nov 11: A group of 26 Indian journalists will visit Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and northern areas of Gilgit and Baltistan from November 22 as part of media exchange programme under which 16 Pakistani......more

Sugar industry welcomes
Govt's decision on SMP

NEW DELHI, Nov 11: The sugar industry today welcomed the Government’s decision of fixing the Statutory Minimum. ....more

Chidambaram announces
yet another round of
banking reforms

NEW DELHI, Nov 11: In a bid to carry forward far-reaching banking reforms, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today announced a slew of legislations.....more

HC grants anticipatory
bail to Nafisa’s fiance

MUMBAI, Nov 11: Asking him to surrender his passport, the Bombay High Court today granted anticipatory bail to city businessman Gautam Khanduja, who was fearing arrest in a case registered......more

‘Punjab ready to implement VAT from April one’

CHANDIGARH, Nov 11: Punjab is fully prepared and equipped for smooth transition towards Value Added Taxation (VAT) system from April 1 according to State Finance Commissioner Mukul Joshi.......more

Chief of Defence
Staff to be appointed:
Krishnaswami

NEW DELHI, Nov 11: The Chairman of Chiefs of Staffs Committee, S Krishnaswamy, today said the country could go ahead with the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as the mechanism for creating the system has been laid down and there would not be any turf war between......more

26 Indian scribes to visit PoK from November 22

They will also take part in a regional conference on "media and reconciliation in south Asia" at Lahore on November 20 and 21.

The conference and the return visit is sponsored by South Asian free Media Association (SAFMA). More than 250 journalists would participate in the Lahore conference.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is likely to address the conference which will also be attended by Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.

The 26-member Indian media delegation comprises Vinod Kumar Sharma (SAFMA Secretary General - Indian chapter and associate editor, The Hindustan Times), Dileep Padgaonkar (SAFMA vice-president and consulting editor, The Times Of India), Prem Shankar Jha (columnist), Raj Chengappa (managing editor, India Today), Fayaz Ahmed Kaloo (editor, Greater Kashmir), Pushp Saraf (advisor, Excelsior group), Ved Bhasin (chairman, Kashmir Times group of publications), Ghulam Mohammad Sofi (editor, Srinagar Times), Tahir Mohiuddin (editor, Chattan), V Sudarshan (senior analyst, outlook), Phillips A J (associate edior, The Tribune), Zafar Meraj (editor, The Kashmir Monitor), Manu Srivatsa (president, Jammu Press Club), Bashir Manzar (editor, Kashmir Images), Indrajit Hazra (The Hindustan Times), Suhail Kazmi (editor, Taskeen), Binoo Joshi (The Pioneer), Ashwani Kumar (Aaj Tak), Shujaat Bukhari (The Hindu), Saleem Pandit (The Times of India), Yousuf Jameel (The Asian Age), Satish Verma (Rashtriya Sahara), Syed Sultan Ahmed Geelani also known as Sultan Shaheen (columnist), Nidhi Razdan (NDTV), Sumir Kaul (PTI) and Aurangzeb Naqshbandi (UNI).

The media exchange, the first of its type in 57 years, is intended to provide an opportunity to mediapersons to assess for themselves the situation on the two sides.

The 26-member delegation will visit besides Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Mirpur, Mangla, Muzaffarabad, Neelam Valley, Chakothi and Muree. The team will return on November 29.

SAFMA secretary general Imtiyaz Alam, who led the Pakistani media delegation on its visit to India, expressed the hope that this cross-Kashmir exchange between journalists would help them understand the Kashmir situation better.

Mr Alam said SAFMA believed that all misconceptions will be removed and there would be an opportunity to understand each other better with regular exchange programmes.

India granted visas to the Pakistani journalists less than two weeks after Foreign Ministers of the two countries met in New Delhi and said they would try to ease visa restrictions for reporters.

The decision was taken a few days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf met in New York in September last week.

India’s move indicated a major shift in its long-standing policy of keeping the state out of bounds for media personnel from across the border.

While India imposes no restriction on journalists from other countries visiting Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani journalists have not had access to the State. Pakistan alows non-Indian foreign journalists to visit PoK only if they get a no objection certificate from the Interior Ministry.

The last time Indian journalists were allowed into PoK since 1964 was during the wedding of JKLF chief Amanullah Khan’s daughter and the son of assassinated Hurriyat leader Abdul Ghani Lone in 2000. (UNI)

26 Indian scribes to visit PoK from November 22

They will also take part in a regional conference on "media and reconciliation in south Asia" at Lahore on November 20 and 21.

The conference and the return visit is sponsored by South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA). More than 250 journalists would participate in the Lahore conference.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is likely to address the conference which will also be attended by Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.

The 26-member Indian media delegation comprises Vinod Kumar Sharma (SAFMA Secretary General - Indian chapter and associate editor, The Hindustan Times), Dileep Padgaonkar (SAFMA vice-president and consulting editor, The Times Of India), Prem Shankar Jha (columnist), Raj Chengappa (managing editor, India Today), Fayaz Ahmed Kaloo (editor, Greater Kashmir), Pushp Saraf (Daily Excelsior), Ved Bhasin (chairman, Kashmir Times group of publications), Ghulam Mohammad Sofi (editor, Srinagar Times), Tahir Mohiuddin (editor, Chattan), V Sudarshan (senior analyst, Outlook), Phillips A J (associate edior, The Tribune), Zafar Meraj (editor, The Kashmir Monitor), Manu Srivatsa (president, Jammu Press Club), Bashir Manzar (editor, Kashmir Images), Indrajit Hazra (The Hindustan Times), Suhail Kazmi (editor, Taskeen), Binoo Joshi (The Pioneer), Ashwani Kumar (Aaj Tak), Shujaat Bukhari (The Hindu), Saleem Pandit (The Times of India), Yousuf Jameel (The Asian Age), Satish Verma (Rashtriya Sahara), Syed Sultan Ahmed Geelani also known as Sultan Shaheen (columnist), Nidhi Razdan (NDTV), Sumir Kaul (PTI) and Aurangzeb Naqshbandi (UNI).

The media exchange, the first of its type in 57 years, is intended to provide an opportunity to mediapersons to assess for themselves the situation on the two sides.

The 26-member delegation will visit besides Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Mirpur, Mangla, Muzaffarabad, Neelam Valley, Chakothi and Muree. The team will return on November 29.

Mr Alam said SAFMA believed that all misconceptions will be removed and there would be an opportunity to understand each other better with regular exchange programmes.

India granted visas to the Pakistani journalists less than two weeks after Foreign Ministers of the two countries met in New Delhi and said they would try to ease visa restrictions for reporters.

The decision was taken a few days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf met in New York in September last week.

India’s move indicated a major shift in its long-standing policy of keeping the state out of bounds for media personnel from across the border.

Sugar industry welcomes Govt's decision on SMP

NEW DELHI, Nov 11: The sugar industry today welcomed the Government’s decision of fixing the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) of sugarcane linked to the recovery rates at Rs 74.50 up by Rs 1.50 a quintal for the entire country, for the current sugar season 2004-05.

However, the farmer leaders demanding a higher SMP opposed taking into account the average sugar recovery rate instead of a peak one and doing away with the past practice of rounding off the fraction of recovery rate.

The new SMP is also linked to a basic recovery of 8.5 per cent subject to a premium of Rs 0.80 per every 0.1 per cent point increase in recovery above that level. (UNI)

Chidambaram announces yet another
round of banking reforms

NEW DELHI, Nov 11: In a bid to carry forward far-reaching banking reforms, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today announced a slew of legislations would be brought in during the winter session of Parliament, including amendments to the NCP Act and regulation of credit information companies.

He also threatened to bring in a legislation on lenders’ liability if the banks did not adhere to the reserve bank’s "fair practices" code on keeping privacy of information about the borrowers.

"Certain amendments to the securitisation and reconstruction of financial assets and enforcement of security interest act have been necessitated. The bill has been finalised and we hope to effect the amendments speedily," Chidambaram said addressing the bankers’ conference `Bancon’.

The proposed amendments were aimed at dissuading borrowers from adopting "dilatory" tactics and enabling creditors to effect speedy recovery, he said.

"Along with the strengthening of Sarfaesi Act, we propose to bring credit information companies regulation bill in the winter sesssion of Parliament," he said.

Asserting that information was vital to credit quality, Chidambaram said it would not only do away with the hassles for the borrowers but also help banks in speedy appraisals.

"A well-established credit information system will also minimise financial frauds, which can become problematic for certain kinds of loans, especially home loans," he said.

In order to improve credit climate, the minister said "we propose to bring about a law to provide legal sanctions for collection, sharing and regulated dissemination of credit information."

Elaborating on lenders’ liability, Chidambaram feared banks may "intrude" upon citizens’ privacy and said there was an equal obligation to ensure proper customer service.

He said many of the borrowers, especially self-help groups and those seeking pmry, were not informed about the interest rate being charged.

In many countries, banks are mandated by law to respect the rights and interests of lenders, depositors and the other customers. There is a demand for similar law in India, the Finance Minister said.

The Supreme Court in a judgement in Sarfaesi Act made a reference to lenders’s liability. Thus far we have tried to achieve stakeholders’ interest by a guideline. The Reserve Bank has circulated a fair practice code, Chidambaram said.

"I am not sure how far it is adhered to. And I think the bank managements should review the position. If Indian banks have to become global players, they will have to respect the fair practice code.

"If they fail to show sufficient concerns to customers, there will soon be a clamour for enacting a law. It may be difficult to deny such a demand indefinitely," he said.

He also said domestic banks must consolidate to become globally competitive as in the case of manufacturing sector. However, mergers should be based on synergies and not merely creating bank behemoths.

"To attain global aspirations and greater banking synergy, banks have to consolidate," he said, adding they have to look and behave globally as is the case with many indian giants like Telco, Infosys, Wipro and Ranbaxy. (PTI)

HC grants anticipatory bail to Nafisa’s fiance

Vacation Judge R S Mohite, hearing Khanduja’s plea, ordered that in the event of his arrest, he may be given bail on providing a surety of Rs 25,000. The court also restrained him from leaving the city without permission.

The court observed that the custodial interrogation of Khanduja was not required under the circumstances and also noted that he had disclosed everything about his past life to the deceased model.

While granting bail to Khanduja, the court observed that both Nafisa and Khanduja were "mature individuals".

Earlier, after the sessions court rejected his bail, the aggrieved Khanduja had moved the High Court afresh.

Nafisa committed suicide on July 29 and her father lodged a police complaint on September 30 against her fiance. Apprehending arrest, Khanduja moved the court for anticipatory bail.

Denying charges of abetting suicide of Nafisa, Khanduja pleaded that at the time of the incident, he was not with the deceased in her flat and added that Nafisa was accompanied by her close friend Poonam Malhotra and her trusted maid Durga.

Khanduja relied upon media reports to suggest that Durga had witnessed heated arguments between Nafisa and her mother before she committed suicide. Khanduja’s lawyer Dipesh Mehta pointed out media reports which quoted her parents as saying Khanduja was responsible for her suicide.

Khanduja said police had already recorded his statement and that he had cooperated in the probe. According to Nafisa’s parents, Khanduja’s refusal to marry Nafisa had apparently driven her to the extreme step.(PTI)

‘Punjab ready to implement VAT from April one’

CHANDIGARH, Nov 11: Punjab is fully prepared and equipped for smooth transition towards Value Added Taxation (VAT) system from April 1 according to State Finance Commissioner Mukul Joshi.

Speaking at an interactive session on Value Added Tax in Punjab’ organised by the Punjab Chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here yesterday, he said."We are in the process of reorganising the entire department of excise and taxation and have already imparted training to the employees to meet the requirements of the VAT system."

Mr Joshi also mentioned that the State Government would examine the concerns raised by various stakeholders-industry, traders, while finalising the VAT system.

VAT would bring in lot of transparency and efficiency in the taxation system and also would improve compliance and collections, Mr Joshi said.

He appreciated the role of CII in creating awareness amongst the industry and the trading community to support the implementation of VAT in the state. He also invited the industry representatives to interact with the senior official of the excise and taxation department for any suggestions or clarification with regard to the implementation of VAT.

Earlier, CII Punjab Council Chairman Manish Bagrodia stressed the need to achieve consensus on certain key issues of concern with an overall objective to ensure that vat did not hinder inter-state trade and allowed the development of a common uniform market.

"All the stakeholders should be taken into confidence for successful implementation of VAT," he said. (UNI)

Chief of Defence Staff to be appointed: Krishnaswami

"The groundwork for the creation of the post has been laid down and is functioning much more smoothly," Krishnaswamy said while delivering the foundation day lecture of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

He said the Army should now accept as inevitable a permanent role for it in fighting militancy.

Air Chief Marshal Krishnaswamy did not visualise any turf war between the three services over the post of CDS and said the integration, which got a fillip after the Kargil Committee report, was at its highest level now with excellent cohesion achieved in intelligence gathering and working out the budgeting of the three services.

He said India needed to get out of its neighbourhood obsession and the defence forces need to re-focus to emerge as a major regional power.

He said the Government had already taken steps towards this direction through the acquisition of ships and submarines to give navy a true blue water capability and enhancing the operational reach of the air force by induction of aerial tankers and AWACs.

The air chief said while nations in the west and most of Europe and Russia had settled their borders, "Southern Asia still has some problems with unsettled borders. To be fighting a war to resolve the border issue, according to the developed world, was no longer thinkable."

"It is considered primitive and dangerous since the war could spread and its effects would be most devastating," he said, pointing out that the use of nuclear weapons would also be seen as a threat to the world and civilisation as a whole.

Krishnaswami said the problem with Pakistan and the threat of war between the two countries had tired the nations of the world. "No one cares who is right or how we should resolve as long as we don’t war with each other."

Similarly, he said, India had unsettled borders with Bangladesh and China and soft borders with Nepal and Myanmar and added that this had led to greater concerns over the possibility of internal unrest spreading across the borders.

On terrorism, he said deployment of the Army for internal security had started as an exigency but is now accepted as a necessity despite expansion of paramilitary forces.

"We should now accept this formally as a defined role for the Army and for the forces in general. We are not here to reason why; But it is better that we accept it as inevitable and plan and train for the role," he said.

Pointing out that the Marxist-Maoist movement had the potential to threaten India’s internal security vertically down from Nepal to Andhra Pradesh, the Air Chief said there was a need to reorientate, equip and train to fight terrorism in all three planes — land, sea and air.

For the first time, he said the air force was optimised the support counter-insurgency operations. (PTI)