NEW DELHI, May 18: A Parliamentary panel today slammed the Defence Ministry for its “discriminative” policies in granting permanent commission to women and accused it of turning a blind eye to its recommendations on inducting more females in armed forces.
In its report on ‘Women in Armed Forces’ tabled today, the Committee on Empowerment of Women said it “fails to understand the negativism” when it comes to employing more women in the three Services.
“The Committee takes strong objection to the way their recommendation is brushed aside without attaching importance that it needs to be given…. The tone and tenor of the reply of the Government clearly communicates the nonchalant attitude towards the concerns of the Committee.
“We fail to understand the negativism when it comes to employing more women in the armed forces and reiterate their earlier recommendation to enhance intake of women in various branches of armed forces,” the report said.
On its recommendations for opening more branches for Permanent Commission to women, the Committee said, “Defence Ministry has turned a blind eye to this recommendation by sticking to their earlier stand that women officers would be considered only in specific branches.”
The report stated that Committee’s suggestions to explore possibility of having more women officers in branches such as Military police, Army Postal Service and General Service have been dismissed with a grim reply by the Ministry.
“It is extremely disturbing to note that Ministry has not even bothered to try even exploring a single other option for women officers and instead relied heavily on the existing discriminative policies,” it said.
The Committee reiterated that it strongly believed in the inner strength of women in upholding the pride of the nation and protecting its territorial integrity and asked the Ministry to grant permanent commission in more branches.
The Committee said it was “more than surprised” on the rejection of its recommendation of giving pension to lady officers retiring after 14 years of Service saying “we take serious objections to the overall approach of the Ministry which seems to be totally biased and self righteous leaving no scope for anyone else’s suggestions.”
The Committee said the “arrogance and indifference” on the issue could be seen on the pension issue when it stated that SSC officers were entitled for pension and war disability pension only in event of acquiring disability of 20 per cent or more. (PTI)
Par panel slams ‘negativism’ over inducting women in Services
Govt doc cleared of rape charges due to victim’s suicide
NEW DELHI, May 18: A 60-year-old doctor accused of raping a widow employed at Delhi Government’s ayurvedic hospital has been discharged by a court here as the victim had committed suicide two months after the alleged incident.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Bhat discharged Dr Nand Kishore, presently an assistant project director at Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Ayurvedic Charak Sansthan in West Delhi, from the offence of raping the 25-year-old woman.
The court discharged the doctor saying the victim cannot depose in the case as she had committed suicide two months after reporting the matter to the police.
“Infirmities could have been cured by the unimpeachable testimony of the prosecutrix in court. But as she is no more, even if the case is put to trial, the victim cannot be brought to testify as she has already left for the heavenly abode. She would have been the star witness for the prosecution.
“Her evidence was the substantive piece of evidence and that alone carried weight. Other documentary as well as oral evidence, which would be led by the prosecution, would only be of corroborative nature,” ASJ Bhat said.
“What seems to be more intriguing is that victim did not subject herself to the medical examination (after complaining of the incident),” the court noted.
The widow had in March 2011 accused the doctor of raping her. The widow, having a five-year-old son was employed as a class IV employee in the hospital for past seven months.
“After 15 to 20 days of getting the said job, the accused called her to his office and asked her about the death of her husband, her family and also made comments about her beauty,” the woman had stated in her complaint.
The woman had stated that on that day the doctor called her to his office and raped her while assuring her a permanent job.
She said it was only after few months that she realised she was being sexually abused and that is when she got suspicious that her job would not be regularised.
The woman had committed suicide on May 18, 2011 after her statement was recorded before the concerned magistrate. The accused doctor came to be arrested on May 20, 2011.
The court, however, said, “Even if the infirmities in the prosecution case, as pointed out herein above, are ignored, still I find that it will only be a futile exercise to put the accused on trial in this case.”
It said since the victim, who invariably is the main witness in cases relating to sexual offence, is not available for her deposition, it will be impossible for the prosecution to prove the charges against the accused and the trial would mean only sheer wastage of time and expense.
The court also said that no other witness cited by the prosecution in the chargesheet has witnessed the alleged sexual encounters between the accused and the complainant.
“In my opinion, it is highly unlikely that the trial, if conducted, would result in the conviction of the accused. Even if the material on record remains unrebutted and is taken on its face value, still conviction would not be the result,” the court said, while discharging the accused doctor.
The judge also noted that it did not find any concrete evidence regarding the sexual potency of the accused.
“The accused being about 60 years of age and suffering from diabetes for long, it is necessary to get prima facie satisfaction about his sexual potency, before charges for committing rape can be framed against him.”
The court also pointed out discrepancies in the complaint and said, “I also find the contents of the complaint of the victim confusing and not very clear. On one hand, she claims to have been sexually abused by the accused for the past several months and at the same time she states that one day, accused called her to his office and committed rape upon her.” (PTI)
Army aviation excellently trained to fight odds: Lt Gen Nath
NASHIK, May 18: Lt Gen K Surendra Nath of Combat Army Training Aviation School (CATS) today said Army aviation is the lifeline of Army in difficult working conditions of border and North-East areas, but their training was outstanding and helped them combat all odds.
Congratulating the batch of 30 Army aviators of serial 17, who passed out from the school today, Lt Gen Nath, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, GOC-in-C ARTRAC, told young aviators that their flying skills would always be tested in their career and they should discharge their duty with precision and sincerity.
He presented all the 30 officers with Army aviation wings.
On the occasion, Army officers and pilots demonstrated their techniques of facing enemies in battle fields, carrying of gun and dropping of soldiers.
During the 17-week course at CATS, the officers are put through rigorous trainingand are tested progressively in flying and aviation subjects. At the end of training, the officers who stand out to are awarded trophies to acknowledge their achievements.
The ‘Cheetah’, ‘Chetak’ and ‘Dhruv’ helicopters took part in an air show carried out by the aviators of army aviation base at Nashik.
CATS, located at Gandhinagar about 3 kms from Nashik, is the only institute that trains helicopter pilots for Army. (PTI)
Don’t present misleading ads of tariff plans: TRAI to telcos
NEW DELHI, May 18: Telecom regulator TRAI has asked operators not to present misleading advertisements of their tariff plans, while directing them to show recurring charges to consumers under single head.
“No tariff plan should be offered, presented, marketed or advertised in a manner that is likely to mislead the subscribers,” TRAI said in its Consumers’ Handbook on Telecommunications.
All monthly fixed recurring charges, which are compulsory for a subscriber, should be shown under one head, it added.
“The service providers also have to publish all the tariff plans in prescribed formats in at least one regional language and one English newspaper at an interval not more than six months,” the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in the handbook.
Besides, telecom operators can’t increase tariffs of subscriber plans for six months from the enrolment date but they are free to reduce call rates at the same time, sectoral regulator TRAI today said.
“A tariff plan once offered by an access provider shall be available to a subscriber for a minimum period of six months from the date of enrolment of the subscriber to that tariff plan,” TRAI said.
However, for any tariff plan, the operator is free to reduce tariffs at any time but “no tariff item in a tariff plan can be increased by the service provider,” it added.
The move gives the subscribers the freedom to change plans during the six month period and the operator is mandated to accept the request and implement it.
“The subscriber shall be free to choose any other tariff plan, even during the said six months period. All requests for change of plan shall be accepted and implemented immediately or from the next billing cycle,” Trai added. (PTI)
SBI Q4 profit surges to Rs 4,050.27 cr
NEW DELHI, May 18: Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) today posted net profit of Rs 4,050.27 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2012, against just Rs 20.88 crore recorded in Q4 of the previous fiscal.
SBI profits had taken a big hit in Q4 of 2010-11 on account of higher provisioning for bad loans and increased tax outgo.
Total income of the bank rose to Rs 33,959.54 crore in the quarter against Rs 26,536.84 crore in the same quarter a year ago, SBI said in a filing on the BSE.
The SBI Board has proposed a dividend of 350 per cent or Rs 35 per share on the face value of Rs 10 for 2011-12.
For the entire fiscal ended March 2012, the net profit of the bank rose by 41.6 per cent at Rs 11,707.29 crore as compared to Rs 8264.52 crore an year ago.
Total income of the bank during the year rose Rs 1,20,872.90 crore against Rs 97,218.96 crore in the previous fiscal.
Shares of the bank was trading at Rs 1,913 a piece, up 3.6 per cent in the afternoon session on the BSE.
On consolidated basis, profit of SBI Group also rose by 44 per cent to Rs 15,343.1 crore for the year ended March 31, 2012 compared to Rs 10,684.95 crore a year ago.
During the year, total income of the group increased to Rs 1,77,032.82 crore against Rs 1,47,843.92 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011. (PTI)
No relief to bank loan defaulters: Govt
NEW DELHI, May 18: Ruling out any relief to bank loan defaulters owing Rs one crore and above, Government today said all efforts will be made to recover the dues from such companies and individuals.
Maintaining that the Government was under no pressure to waive loans of Rs one crore and above, Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said in Lok Sabha that no relief will be given to defaulters.
“Recovery is an on-going process. All loans will be recovered,” Meena said during Question Hour.
He said 2,492 account-holders owing Rs one crore and above had defaulted in 2010-11 and the total amount to be recovered is Rs 25,041 crore.
Meena said banks were required to monitor non-performing assets and take steps to bring them down through recovery and other channels. RBI also monitors the NPA levels in banks.
“This aspect is reviewed during Annual Financial Inspections and monitored on an ongoing basis through regulatory returns submitted by banks and periodical meetings with banks,” Meena said.
The banks are also advised by RBI from time to time to take effective measures to strengthen the credit appraisal and post-credit monitoring to arrest the incidence of fresh NPAs and adopt a more realistic approach to reduce the existing and chronic NPAs in all categories.
Banks resort to write-off only after exhausting all other possible avenues for recovery or when the asset coverage is not enough, Meena said. Rs 23,364.62 crore was written off in 2010-11. (PTI)
Facebook to be most valued US firm at debut on Nasdaq
NEW YORK, May 18: Facebook, world’s most popular social networking site, is all set to be the largest US company at its debut with market worth of USD 104 billion, more than companies like Amazon.Com, Disney and Kraft.
Facebook is aiming to raise USD 16 billion, pegging its value at USD 104 billion.
According to gloabl deal tracking firm Dealogic, Facebook will have the largest market value of any US company at the time of IPO, ahead of United Parcel Service (USD 60 billion – November 1999).
Facebook’s market worth would be “USD 81.2 billion on an undiluted basis and USD 104 billion on a fully diluted basis,” Dealogic said.
Globally, Facebook, would have the third highest market valuation for a company at the time of its IPO, behind Agricultural Bank of China (USD 133 billion) and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (USD 132 billion).
Facebook which priced its IPO at USD 38 per share—at the high end of the price band, would stand to mop up as much as USD 18.4 billion from the IPO, if extra shares reserved to cover additional demand are sold as part of the offering.
If the over allotment option is exercised in full, Facebook will become the second largest US IPO on record behind Visa’s USD 19 billion offering (2008) and the fifth largest IPO globally, Dealogic said.
Facebook’s USD 16 billion IPO tops the global internet related IPOs list, way ahead of Netherlands based World Online International NV’s USD 2.8 billion offering, Germany-based I Online International (USD 2.75 billion), Google’s USD 1.916 billion and Genuity Inc’s USD 1.913 billion, Dealogic said.
Facebook also tops the US listed Internet IPOs since 2011, with a valuation which is much ahead of Zynga Inc and Groupon Inc.
Facebook roped in financial giants like Morgan Stanley, J P Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank Securities to serve as book runners for the offering.
US listed IPOs total USD 29.1 billion in 2012 so far this year, up 19 per cent from USD 24.4 in the corresponding period a year ago.
Technology IPOs account for USD 18.0 billion in 2012 YTD, behind Oil & Gas (USD 3.0 billion) and Finance (USD 2.2 billion), Dealogic said. (PTI)
India for quick resolution of EU sovereign debt crisis
UNITED NATIONS, May 18: Worried over slow global economic recovery, India has made a case for quick resolution of the sovereign debt problems of Europe to remove uncertainty in financial markets and promote investor confidence.
“Early resolution of the Eurozone crisis would remove much of the uncertainty which currently pervades financial markets and which affects investor sentiment adversely”, he said, while addressing a debate on ‘State of the World Economy and Finance in 2012’ at the UN General Assembly yesterday.
“The Eurozone is projected to experience a mild contraction in the current year with unemployment at very high levels. There are substantial downside risks if confidence is not restored. The US is in a better position but growth is still weak and unemployment, though declining, remains high,” he added.
Ahluwalia further said that fiscal and monetary policies by the US and EU to battle the effects of an economic recession are not showing results and are creating the danger of “policy fatigue”.
“Whatever be the correct balance on this issue, the fact that the policies are not showing results in terms of an early return to growth and a moderation in unemployment creates the danger of policy fatigue. This can lead to extreme turns in both politics and policy,” he said.
On fiscal policy front, he added, there were sharp differences on how to proceed and many distinguished economists have argued that fiscal austerity was actually the wrong medicine in the current circumstances.
Describing the lack of consensus among nations to deal with the global crisis as “disturbing”, Ahluwalia said, bold measures taken by monetary authorities in the US and Europe to counter recessionary tendencies have had some effect, but “serious doubts” persist on whether they can continue these policies.
Given that trade and commerce is the most important lubricant for development, Ahluwalia dubbed as “unfortunate” the languishing negotiations to complete the Doha round for opening of global trade.
He said early conclusion of global trade talks would send a major positive signal to the global community.
“The economic woes we face today cannot be overcome without the major developed countries taking the lead to stimulate economic growth. There is an urgent need for a farsighted leadership which can call for tough decisions while managing popular aspirations,” he added.
Ahluwalia also called for expediting the reform of the international financial to give more voice and representation to the emerging economies. (PTI)
Consumer price inflation for April rises at 10.36 pc
NEW DELHI, May 18: India’s inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 10.36 per cent in April 2012 as compared to 9.38 per cent for the previous month, official data said here today.
According to the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the inflation rates for rural and urban areas for April 2012 stood at 9.86 per cent and 11.10 per cent, respectively.
Inflation rate for rural and urban areas was at 8.70 per cent and 10.30 per cent, respectively, in the previous month.
Consumer price-based food inflation accelerated to 10.18 per cent in April from 8.22 per cent in February, driven by a rise in prices of vegetables, eggs and fish products.
The annual CPI was launched in February and measures retail prices in major food groups, fuel, clothing, housing and education across rural and urban India.
(UNI)
India can grow at 8-9 pc for 20 yrs: Monkek
UNITED NATIONS, May 18: India has the potential to grow at 8-9 per cent for the next two decades and a supportive global environment will help the country achieve this goal, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said.
Addressing a high level debate on ‘State of the World Economy and Finance in 2012’ at the United Nations General Assembly here yesterday, Ahluwalia said the Indian economy grew at an average rate of 9 per cent in the five years prior to the financial crisis of 2008.
The growth slowed down to just over 7 per cent following the crisis.
“We believe India has the potential to grow at rates between 8 or 9 per cent for the next twenty years and to do so in an inclusive manner,” Ahluwalia said.
“There are many challenges we have to face domestically to achieve this target but we believe we can do so,” he added.
Ahluwalia said India would be greatly helped if the global environment is supportive, and “we are willing to work with others to make it so”.
While the financial crisis slowed growth in developing nations, he said, it was satisfying to note that growth rates have remained more robust than many would have expected, particularly when expansion in the developed countries has been hit hard by the financial crisis.
“This ‘growth resilience’ reflects the fact that large numbers of developing countries now have stronger human and institutional capacities to grow. These economies are not delinked from industrialised countries; the links are strong, but they operate on a higher underlying growth potential,” he said. (PTI)