Indigenously developed ‘Pinaka’ rockets were successfully test-fired, on the second consecutive day today, from a multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) by an armament establishment from a base in Odisha.
“Three rounds of Pinaka rockets were successfully tested today from the base at Chandipur, about 15 km from here, while three rounds had been fired yesterday,” defence sources said.
On January 30 and 31, this year, seven rounds of ‘Pinaka’ rockets were tested from the same base.
‘Pinaka’, which has undergone several tough tests since 1995, has already been inducted into the armed forces.
The trial was conducted by personnel from Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune unit at Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) firing point-2 at Chandipur, the sources said.
“The MBRL, capable of acting as a force-multiplier, has been developed to supplement artillery guns,” a defence official said.
‘Pinaka’ is an area weapon system with a range of 40 km. The quick reaction time and high rate of fire of the system gives an edge to the army during a low-intensity conflict situation, he said.
The unguided rocket system is meant to neutralise large areas with rapid salvos. ‘Pinaka’ system can fire a salvo of 12 rockets in 44 seconds, the sources said, adding that the battery of six launchers can neutralise at a time a target area of 3.9 sq km.
The system’s capability to incorporate several types of warheads makes it deadly for the enemy as it can even destroy solid structures and bunkers. (PTI)
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 1: Sub Inspector in J&K Armed Police, Bawa Ditta, who attained the age of superannuation yesterday, was accorded a warm and gracious farewell at Armed Police Headquarters, here.
Additional DGP Armed/ L&O, K Rajendra Kumar, handed over a cheque of Rs 50, 000 as retirement gift to the retiree officer.
Lauding the services rendered by the outgoing SI, the Additional DGP and A Untoo, Staff Officer to ADGP Armed/ L&O, wished him a happy post retirement life.
A farewell function was also organized today by the employees of the Family Welfare MCH and Immunization Department to accord a warm farewell to the outgoing Director, Family Welfare, Dr Kuldeep Kesar, who retired today on attaining the age of superannuation.
Deputy Chief Medical Officers, Surveillance Medical Officer and other officials of the Department, who were present appreciated the services rendered by Kuldeep Kesar and wished him a happy and prosperous post retirement life.
A farewell party was also hosted by the employees of J&K Audit and Inspection Finance Department, Jammu in favour of Director, J&K Audit and Inspections, Manzoor Ahmad Geelani, who attained the age of superannuation today.
All the speakers lauded the 34 years services rendered by the Director in J&K Accounts Cadre and wished him a happy post retirement life.
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 1: Minister for Urban Development and Urban Local Bodies, Nawang Rigzin Jora today visited Warehouse – Nehru market and took stock of the condition of the lanes, drains and other civic facilities in the area.
The Minister was accompanied by Vice Chairperson, Jammu Development Authority, Sarita Chauhan, Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), Kuldeep Khajuria, President, Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Y V Sharma, senior officers of JDA, JMC and other representatives of Chamber of Commerce & Industries.
Describing the place as the nerve centre of the Jammu city trade, Mr Jora directed the JDA officers to take immediate steps to improve sanitation conditions, lanes and drains in the area. He also asked the Jammu Municipal Corporation authorities to make arrangements for lifting of garbage and other waste materials on regular basis.
He asked the concerned agencies to take immediate steps in this regard so that the traders and people coming to the area may not face any inconvenience. He said, spread over an area of 207 kanals of land, the area is biggest business centre of Jammu city where thousands of trucks are being unloaded daily to transport merchandise to other parts of the State, adding that it needs immediate attention from the concerned agencies. He also called for construction of toilets and urinals in the area for the convenience of traders and customers.
Interacting with the shopkeepers and representatives of Chamber of Commerce & Industries, the Minister assured that their genuine demands especially better sanitation, repair of lanes and drains will be addressed on priority and added that the Government was committed to develop the Jammu City on modern lines. He said that warehouse has to be developed with adequate facilities.
Earlier, the President of Chamber of Commerce put forth various demands including handing over of ownership rights to the shopkeepers. He said that warehouse has provided employment to about 10,000 persons and was a source of Rs 250 crore to Rs 300 crore revenue for the Government in terms of income tax, tool tax and VAT etc. He said that warehouse have 130 shops while, Nehru market 268 and both markets are run by 500 traders. He also said that Jammu- Kathua Bus service is also being operated from the complex and it should be relocated to some other place.
Demanding the expansion of the warehouse on modern lines so that more people could be accommodated, he said that more shops should be constructed by the Jammu Development Authority on the vacant land adjacent to complex. He said that thousands of truck loads are dispatched to Srinagar, Leh and Kargil markets from this place.
Responding to the demand of ownership rights, Mr Jora said that he will take up the matter with concerned agencies under rules and regulations. However, he assured immediate renovation of lanes, drains and sanitation in and around the area. He also directed the concerned for immediate repair of the approach road to the Nehru market Block-D, which presently is in dilapidated condition.
The members also demanded early completion and opening of Warehouse-Balicharan to Kunjwani Chowk road to facilitate smooth movement of heavy transport goods vehicles leaving and coming to the area.
India skipper Sunil Chhetri, who had struck a hat-trick in the final when India won the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, stressed on the importance of not resting on past laurels and said he is focussed on leading the team’s campaign in the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers.
Ahead of the opener against Chinese Taipei here tomorrow, Chhetri said the team would take no outfit lightly in the competition in its bid to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup finals in Maldives.
“I just hope that I can live up to the expectations. As a player, it never comes to my mind as to which tournament or match I am playing. I have always had one aim – to do well for my country. This is a very important tournament for us and we, as a team, will give everything we have,” Chhetri told www.The-aiff.Com.
“Chinese Taipei and Myanmar are very good teams especially Myanmar, as they are playing at home. But first things first, and at the moment, we are concentrating on our first match against Chinese Taipei. We need to take one match at a time,” he said.
India have been clubbed with hosts Myanmar, Chinese Taipei and Guam in Group A. They play Chinese Taipei in their first match followed by games against Guam and hosts Myanmar on March 4 and March 6 respectively.
Twenty countries have been divided into five groups of four with the quartet playing against each other in a one-round league in a centralised venue. The five group winners and two best second-placed teams will join host nation Maldives at the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup finals.
India’s second highest scorer with 38 goals behind Bhaichung Bhutia’s 42, Chhetri said he was happy with his signing for I-league club Churchill Brothers on loan, but admitted the responsibility has come with an added pressure.
“It’s good but at the same time, it’s an added pressure. There will be expectations as we are in contention to win the I-League this season. I have played two matches for them and am looking forward to joining them after the campaign in the AFC Challenge Cup 2014,” he said. (PTI)
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 1: President Chamber of Commerce & Industry Jammu, Y V Sharma has termed the Union budget, presented yesterday, as a fine balancing act in which the Finance Minister has tried to address almost all the important sectors of economy within his financial constraints.
The Finance Minister has not given a populists budget and has tried to keep the economy on rails, Mr Sharma said that the budget addresses the problems of three main sections of the society, namely Women, Youth and the Poor.
Admitting that the Chamber was expecting certain concessions to Industry in J&K State, Mr Sharma said that the CCI would approach the Finance Minister with their demands. The State Government has also sent a similar note to the Finance Minister which is likely to be put up before him very soon, he added.
On the other hand, All J&K Low Paid Government Employees Federation has dubbed the Union budget as jugglery of figures and window dressing merely to hoodwink the people.
In a statement, the Federation president Abdul Majid Khan said that the globalization and pro-rich economic reforms were hitting the working class and toiling masses of the country. Income tax exemption limit should have been raised taking into consideration the rise in price index to provide some relief to tax payers at the lower rung, he added.
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 1: Minister for Urban Development, Nawang Rigzin Jora today said that construction of sewerage system in Jammu city is likely to be completed by March next year.
In a written reply to the question of MLA West, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, the Minister said that the Comprehensive Sewerage Scheme, Phase-I, Division A of Greater Jammu under Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) component of JNNURM was taken up on February 2008 at an approved cost of Rs 129.23 crore and an expenditure of Rs 3369 lakh has been incurred till January 31, 2013. “The expected date of completion of this project is March 31, 2014”, he added.
The Union Ministry of Urban Development has sanctioned a Comprehensive Sewerage Scheme for Left Out Areas of Greater Jammu for an amount of Rs 2032.02 lakh under UIG Sub-Mission-I of JNNURM and the first installment of ACA of Rs 457.20 lakh has been released by Union Government, he said, adding the execution of this project has been assigned to M/s NBCC Ltd, which has yet not allotted works to local Piece Level Workers for part execution of the work as per the policy of the Corporation.
About the Master Plan, the Minister said, “the first Master Plan of Jammu City was prepared for the period 1974-1994. Thereafter, Master Plan 2021 was notified in the year 2004 for planned development for 20 years and is presently operational”, adding “now the Jammu Master Plan-2021 is under process of revision for planned development up to 2031”.
“The local area limits of Jammu Master Plan 1974-94 covered 143.52 square kilometer while as the Jammu Master Plan 2021 has a local area limit of 250 square kilometer and proposed coverage under Draft Revised Jammu Master Plan 2031 is 530 square kilometer”, the Minister informed the House, adding “Jammu city has experienced fast population growth due to unprecedented migration from Valley in the year 1990-91 and other parts of State and in the absence of land pool/bulk acquisition of land, actual development could not materialize as conceived in Master Plan as a result the city is now under severe pressure for residential and commercial areas”, the Minister said.
The Finance Ministry today sought to assure worried investors saying their concerns on Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) for claiming treaty benefits will be ‘suitably’ addressed during discussion on Finance Bill in Parliament.
“Since a concern has been expressed about the language of sub-section (5) of Section 90 (of I-T Act), this concern will be addressed suitably when the Finance Bill is taken up for consideration,” the Ministry said in a statement.
Concerns are being expressed that the provision regarding the TRC would make it difficult for investors routing their funds from low-tax countries like Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore to avail the benefits of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).
The Ministry said nothing new has been done with regards to TRC and Finance Minister P Chidambaram would clarify the government’s position during debate on the Finance Bill.
The Finance Bill 2013 proposed to “amend Sections 90 and 90A in order to provide that submission of a tax residency certificate is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for claiming benefits under the agreements referred to in sections 90 and 90A”.
As per this, a person holding TRC will also have to be the beneficial owner to claim benefits under DTAA “as TRC is necessary, but not sufficient condition for availing benefits”.
The statement said, with respect to investments from Mauritius, the circular 789 “continues to be in force, pending ongoing discussions between India and Mauritius”. (PTI)
Clarifying that it had no hand in accessing the call detail records of Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, the Government today said it viewed the issue as a matter of concern and would carry out a detailed investigation.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said, in a statement, ”I want to clarify that the Government is not tapping the phone of any MP. The constable who was trying to access the call detail records of Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley was working for a private agency.
”It is also a matter of concern for us that the CDRs of Mr Jaitley were being accessed. The Government has taken it very seriously and will investigate in detail,” he said.
He, however, refused to give a time frame for the completion of the probe.
”Such an investigation is a serious investigation. The police have to go into details. We will complete it as early as possible. However, it is not possible to give a time limit,” Mr Shinde said in response to a demand by BJP members that he give a time frame for the completion of the probe.
Mr Shinde said permission for accessing CDRs of any person is given by the Home Secretary.
”As per provisions, only the Home Secretary is the competent authority to allow interception of phone records.
”The Government has taken it very seriously that CDRs of an MP, in this case the LOP, is being accessed,” Mr Shinde said in reply to clarifications sought by members on his statement.
He said the Government would seriously consider the suggestions by members that any permission for accessing the CDRs of MPs be given only by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Earlier, the entire opposition, including the BJP, the JD(U), the BSP, the Samajwadi party, the AIADMK and the All India Trinamool Congress raised concern over the accessing the CDRs of Mr Jaitley.
Deputy Leader of the BJP Ravi Shankar Prasad said it was shocking that a constable in the ACP’s office in New Delhi was able to access CDRs of several persons for the past several months without the knowledge of his superiors.
Wondering if this was a case of a private body being used for political purposes, Mr Prasad said, “Such a massive operation could not have been done without backing at the Government level. The Home Minister must explain.”
Ms Maya Singh of the BJP said the telephone of Mr Jaitley was being tapped for long.
“Till date, we have not been able to find the people behind this telephone tapping,” she said and demanded that a probe be conbducted to find out the people behind this conspiracy.
Mr Piyush Goyal (BJP) said the matter had serious implications and demanded that a list of telephone numbers of MPs be given to telepohone companies to be considered as privileged.
Expression serious concern on the issue, Mr Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party said it should be investigated phone records of which persons were being sought by the Constable who has been arrested by the police for trying to access CDRs of Mr Jaitley.
Dr V Maitreyan of the AIADMK said the names of persons whose phone tapping have been authorised by the Home Ministry should be revealed.
”We demand a full fledged inquiry into the matter,” he said.
Mr Narendra Kumar Kashyap (BSP) said a policy should be devised to ensure that instances of phone tapping of Rajya Sabha MPs do not recur.
He also demanded that licence of private companies that conduct such operations be cancelled.
Mr Shivanand Tiwari (JD-U) wanted to know why it was not investigated by the authorities as to how the constable acquired so much wealth.
Mr D Raja of the CPI said it was a violation of the right to privacy of an individual.
Earlier, Mr Shinde said it was not a case of telephone tapping but that of accessing CDRs.
He said four people involved in obtaining the CDRs illegally have been arrested and interrogated.
”The court of law has remanded them to judicial custory,” he said.
Minister for Planning & Development, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, having a look at painting at Kala Kendra on Friday.
JAMMU, Mar 1: The pitiable maintenance of Kala Kendra came under heavy criticism from artists’ community as well as spectators, who rued the lack of basic amenities like electricity and water at the so-called State’s premier art complex touted to nurture and showcase creative expressions of visual and performing artists in the region and also a tourist destination in the winter capital.
The issue of lack of proper up-keeping of Kala Kendra was raised at the opening of three-day exhibition of Rajinder Pal Singh’s creative paintings before Minister of Planning and Development Ajay Sadhotra, who was the chief guest of the function, here today. Padamshree Balwant Thakur was the guest of honour while Sunil Verma, District Secretary of National Conference and President of Industries Udhampur, was the special invitee on the occasion.
The exhibition titled ‘Native Vibrations’ which has 20 canvasses on display is the first solo show of the young painter who hails from a remote village of Reasi district. The latest semi-abstract paintings of academically trained artist who has participated in many State and national exhibitions, camps—in total contrast to his initial works done in figurative idiom—are artistic renderings of the memories of images having roots in native folk expressions of paintings, dance and rituals along with sights that he confronts in day to day city life.
The works done in Acrylic medium are marked with application of abstract-expressionistic techniques such as dripping and throwing of paint where artist’s mind and gestural brush strokes work in unison to give form to free play of artistic imagination that appears as a symphony in golden, yellow, brown and red hues.
Referring to poor the maintenance of Kala Kendra, Ajay Sadohtra assured the artists that he would take up the matter with the minster of culture for an early redressal of the issues relating to Kala Kendra’s proper up-keep. He reiterated State Government’s commitment to provide conducive atmosphere and proper infrastructure for the development of art and culture in the State. Balwant Thakur and Sunil Verma also spoke on the occasion. Today’s function attended by number of artists, art students and lovers of art was conducted by Akram Khan.
Jailed former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and his aide Vikash Kumar Sinha were today granted bail by the Supreme Court for their alleged role in a money laundering case but will remain in prison in connection with bribery and other offences.
A Bench comprising justices H L Dattu and Ranjan Gogoi said the trial court hearing their case in Ranchi will fix the conditions for grant of bail.
However, Koda will remain in jail as he has not been granted bail in two other cases of alleged income tax evasion and bribery in the Rajiv Gandhi electrification project in Palamu and Dumka districts in Jharkhand.
The former Chief Minister was earlier granted bail by Jharkhand High Court in a disproportionate assets case and a bribery case relating to forest clearance.
Koda has been lodged in Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi where he has been confined since November 2009 for his alleged role in corruption and other cases.
While seeking bail, he had submitted that the Enforcement Directorate had made a statement in the trial court that the probe in the case was complete.
Koda had approached the apex court after his bail plea was rejected by the High Court.
He had also got bail earlier in a case of alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct during election.
On September 25, 2012 charges had been framed against Koda by a Jharkhand court pertaining to laundering of Rs 3,549.72 crore.
Koda has been accused by the ED of making illegal investments worth Rs 1,340 crore out of the total amount.
Anil Bastawade, a close associate of Koda, was deported in January from Indonesia to establish the link between them in connection with illegal accumulation of wealth.
A Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Bastawade was issued by CBI on the request of the ED which is probing charges of alleged money laundering against the 48-year-old businessman.
A RCN is the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant. It requests provisional arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradite them.
ED suspects Bastawade to have made alleged illegal investments in Dubai and other foreign locations on behalf of Koda and his other associates.
The agency has named him in its charge sheet and has underlined his role in purchasing properties in the UAE from criminal proceeds generated by alleged illegal activities during the tenure of Koda. (PTI)
