Indian Latest News

I said Saudi Arabia an 'interlocutor' not 'mediator': Tharoor

RIYADH: Following controversy over his remarks that Saudi Arabia can be a "valuable interlocutor" between India and Pakistan, MoS for external affairs Shashi Tharoor quickly clarified he did not mean Riyadh should be a mediator.

PMO sources told Times Now that Tharoor’s remarks have “embarrassed” the government.

In comments that raised eyebrows in Indian political circles, Tharoor had said, "We feel that Saudi Arabia of course has a long and close relationship with Pakistan but that makes Saudi Arabia even a more valuable interlocutor for us." Tharoor is currently accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a three-day visit to the oil-rich kingdom.

"When we tell them about our experience, Saudi Arabia listens as somebody who is not in anyway an enemy of Pakistan but rather is a friend of Pakistan and therefore I am sure will listen with sympathy and concern to a matter of this nature," he said when asked by reporters what kind of cooperation did he expect from Riyadh considering its close relations with Islamabad.

Just hours after making the remarks, the minister - who earlier also hit headlines for his controversial statements on social networking site Twitter on the government's austerity measures and immigration policy -- retracted them.

"No chance of my saying Saudi Arabia should be a mediator. Never said that or anything like it," Tharoor said.

Tharoor also issued a 'clarification' on Twitter. "If I speak to u, u are my interlocutor! I mentioned the Saudis as OUR interlocutors, ie the people we are here to speak to. Some misinterpretn," he said.

“Good day of mtgs, marred in some Indian media by misunderstanding of word "interlocutor". An interlocutor is someone u spk to, nothing more," he added.

Tharoor's remarks were condemned by BJP as "utterly irresponsible". The BJP will seek a clarification from Prime Minister in Parliament, party spokesman Ravishankar Prasad said in New Delhi. CPI also said the remarks were irresponsible.

No third party role in India-Pakistan ties: Congress, BJP

NEW DELHI/RIYADH: The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday made it clear that there was no scope for a third party in India-Pakistan relations.

Commenting on minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor's remarks on Saudi Arabia's potential as an interlocutor in India's ties with Pakistan, a source close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi said, "India's position on no to third party mediation in India-Pakistan issues is unchanged. There is no change in the Congress position."

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi termed Tharoor's remarks "unusual" and reiterated India's known stand that no third party can intervene in issues between India and Pakistan.

Tharoor, who is with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Riyadh, said, "We feel Saudi Arabia has a long and close relationship with Pakistan and that makes Saudi Arabia a more valuable interlocutor to us."

He was asked if India would seek Saudi support to influence Pakistan to address Indian concerns over terrorism emanating from Pakistani territory.

As a mini storm erupted over Tharoor's remarks, he clarified that India's desire to seek Riyadh's support on terrorism related issues with Islamabad did not mean giving it the role of a mediator in India-Pakistan disputes.

He said he had never used the word mediation or mediator while talking about a possible Saudi role.

"No chance of my saying Saudi Arabia should be a mediator... Never said that or anything like it," Tharoor said a couple of hours after the media publicised his earlier remarks.

India is firmly opposed to any third party role in its relations with Pakistan.

Pak will have to fight war if India doesn't talk: JuD chief

ISLAMABAD: Notwithstanding the recent Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level meeting for which India took initiative, JuD chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed has said Pakistan will have to "fight a war at all costs" if New Delhi is not prepared to hold talks.

"India wants war... If India is not prepared to hold talks, Pakistan will have to fight a war at all costs," Saeed said in an interview to a news channel.

Asked about India's accusations about his involvement in planning and carrying out the Mumbai attacks, Saeed replied: "Let India prove it in any court, I will be ready to accept everything."

To another question on whether people should go to Kashmir for 'jehad' against India, he said there was "no doubt" in his mind that this should be done.

He also said he had no doubt that the Pakistan government is "cowardly."

Saeed's comments came days after the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan held talks in New Delhi on February 25, the first official parleys between the two sides since the Mumbai attacks.

Though there was no breakthrough in the talks, the world community welcomed the development in the hope that it would lead to normalisation of ties between the two countries.

The JuD chief's face was not shown during the interview and he was filmed over his shoulder from the back. He said he did not wish to be filmed as it was not allowed by 'Shariah' or Islamic law.

Saeed, also the founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, was placed under house arrest in Lahore in December 2008 after the JuD was declared a terrorist group by the UN Security Council in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.

He was freed after about six months on the orders of the Lahore High Court.

The Pakistan government challenged his release in the Supreme Court, but no hearing has been held in the matter for several months after the case was adjourned for various reasons.

Several members of the LeT - including its operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, a former aide of Saeed - are currently being tried by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi for their alleged role in planning and facilitating the Mumbai attacks.

This case too has been affected by controversy and delays.

3 Idiots best film; Big B, Vidya best actors at Filmfare

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan bagged the Best Actor and Actress award for their performances in 'Paa' while '3 Idiots' scooped six trophies including best film at the 55th Filmfare awards.

The year 2009's biggest blockbuster '3Idiots' won best director award for Rajkumar Hirani, who also picked up the best story trophy with Abhijat Joshi at the ceremony held here on Saturday. Hirani also won best Screenplay Award with Vidhu Vinod Chopra for the Aamir Khan starrer. The duo also bagged the Best Dialogue Award for the film.

Bachchan and his family skipped awards function to protest against a news report about Aishwarya Rai's health in a tabloid owned by the same publication as Filmfare last week. The Bachchans have sent a legal notice to the paper asking for retraction and apology. In Big B's absence, Vidya collected Bachchan's best actor award.

Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor and noted music composer Khayyam were honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Boman Irani and Kalki Koechlin won the Best Supporting Actor and Actress for '3 Idiots' and 'Dev D' respectively.

Among the popular category, Oscar-winning music composer, A R Rahman, won the best music award for 'Delhi-6', making it the 25th black lady on his award-shelf. 'Aaj Din Chaddya...' from 'Love Aaj Kal' fetched Irshad Kamil the Best Lyrics award.

In the Critics' Awards category, Nandita Das won the best director trophy for 'Firaaq' while Ranbir Kapoor and Mahie Gill bagged the best actor and actress award for their performances in 'Wake Up Sid' and 'Dev D' respectively.

Centre rushes 1,200 paramilitary personnel to Punjab, Haryana

New Delhi: The Centre on Sunday rushed about 1,200 paramilitary personnel to Punjab and Haryana, hit by violence following filing of a fresh murder case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

“We have sent central paramilitary forces, 12 companies to Punjab and Haryana to take care of the situation. Strict instructions have been given to the state governments to take severe action against those breaking law and order”, Union Home Secretary G K Pillai told reporters here. He said the Home Minister P Chidambaram is aware of the development. “We have also kept Prime Minister Manmohan Singh informed," Pillai said.

Resenting the filing of a murder case against the Dera Sacha Sauda head by the CBI, sect supporters last evening went on a rampage setting ablaze four trains and around 37 vehicles, including 27 buses, and vandalising property in several places in the two states.

Business News

ICICI emerges biggest recruiter at IIM-A

Ahmedabad: ICICI Bank emerged as the biggest recruiter during the third cluster of cohort based final placements at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) here, by offering over 10 jobs to the students.

The interviews for the third cluster continued throughout the day yesterday. The companies from various sectors like banking services, financial advisory services and credit rating agencies took part in the placements, a member of the IIM-A placement committee said.

"ICICI Bank was the largest recruiter on campus giving a double-digit number of offers, while, regular recruiters such as ICRA, KPMG, Essar Group and Philips offered jobs to the IIM-A students in finance, consulting, sales and marketing fields," he said.

"The new process once again ensured a smooth experience for both students and recruiters. Seamlessness prevailed despite a large number of recruiters visiting the campus this weekend," the Media Coordinator for the Placement Committee, Mansi Chitalia said.

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Final placements at IIM-A this year is based on cohort based system. As per this process companies offering similar roles, profiles, salaries and locations are grouped into individual cohorts who converge at campus on weekends and discuss roles on offer with students before recruiting them.

India, Saudi Arabia set to sign 10 pacts on cooperation

Riyadh: India and Saudi Arabia on Sunday finalised 10 pacts, including an Extradition Treaty and agreements in the economic sphere for signing during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ongoing visit to this oil-rich country.

Singh, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia in 28 years, will meet King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud later in the evening and hold wide-ranging talks on issues ranging from cooperation in various areas, situation in Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism.

Singh has expressed keenness to impart ‘strategic character’ to India-Saudi Arabia ties and the agreements are expected to give a major fillip to the relations. The Prime Minister's long overdue visit to the Kingdom comes four years after King Abdullah visited India.

During the three-day visit, the two sides will sign 10 pacts including Extradition Treaty, Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners and Agreement on setting up Joint Investment Fund. Singh and King Abdullah will also hold talks on opening ‘new frontiers’ of cooperation in various areas including security and defence.

India's concerns over 'safe havens' of al-Qaeda and Taliban along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border will be also discussed during the talks between Singh and King Abdullah.

6.38 lakh jobs created in Oct-Dec Q

New Delhi: In a clear indication of the revival of the economy, the Government has revealed that 6.38 lakh jobs were created in the October-December quarter last year.

During this period, employment increased in almost all sectors except the transport sector which saw a marginal decline, according to the Labour Bureau under the Labour and Employment Ministry. It said 91 per cent of the jobs created were in export units, which bore the brunt of the economic crisis, thus signalling an imminent turnaround.

“Out of the total increase of 6.38 lakh jobs during the period, 5.80 lakh jobs were added in the export units. The IT/BPO units alone added 4.87 lakh jobs within the export units”, a senior official in the Ministry said. The bureau arrived at the figures after conducting an employment survey covering 2,953 units of eight selected sectors across 11 states and union territories.

The survey was the fifth in the series, the first one being conducted in the October-December quarter in 2008 immediately after the onset of the global meltdown to assess the impact of recession on the job market. The previous survey conducted between July and September, 2009 showed a 4.97 lakh increase in job creation.

Sports News

India-Pak to clash in high voltage opener

New Delhi: Emotions will run high when India, after a tumultuous build-up, will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a potential humdinger of the hockey World Cup, which gets underway amid watertight security here on Sunday.

India will have to leave behind the controversies that marred their run up to the high profile FIH tournament and put up a united front as stakes are high for the home team after the Olympic debacle. Their eight Olympic gold notwithstanding, India have not won a major international title since their 1975 World Cup triumph in Kuala Lumpur.

Indian hockey has gone down considerably since then, evident from their result in the last couple of years. After finishing a lowly 11th out of 12 teams in the last World Cup at Monchengladbach, Germany fours years ago, Indian hockey plunged to a new low in 2008 by missing out on an Olympic berth for the first time in 80 years.

After all these lows, this mega event brings with it an opportunity of a lifetime for Indian hockey to regain its lost glory in front of countrymen. But achieving it is no mean task for the Rajpal Singh-led side and the first two matches Pakistan and Australia carry a lot of significance since result of these encounters would decide their fate in the tournament.

The match also gives Rajpal and his men an opportunity to avenge their 3-6 defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the semifinal of the Champions Challenge I tournament in Salta, Argentina.

The much-anticipated game carries a lot of importance for both the teams not only in the context of sporting ties between the two countries but also on the diplomatic front. And expectedly emotions will run high in both the camps as for the first time after 26/11 Mumbai carnage, the two countries will be meeting each other on Indian soil.

City stun Chelsea as Bridge gets revenge on Terry

Wayne Bridge got his revenge on John Terry as Manchester City dented nine-man Chelsea's title challenge with a stunning 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge. While Chelsea stumbled, third placed Arsenal closed the gap to three points with a dramatic 3-1 win yesterday at 10-man Stoke which was marred by a serious injury to Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

After snubbing Terry's offer of a handshake during the pre-match greeting between the teams, Bridge -- who this week quit England duty as a result of Terry's alleged affair with his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel played his part as City handed Chelsea their first home defeat in 38 games. Frank Lampard put the Premier League leaders ahead in the 42nd minute but Carlos Tevez equalised in first half stoppage-time following mistakes from Terry and goalkeeper Hilario.

Craig Bellamy struck for the visitors in the 51st minute with a shot from a tight angle that Hilario should have saved. Tevez scored his second from the penalty spot after Juliano Belletti was sent off for fouling Gareth Barry in the 76th minute, then Michael Ballack was dismissed in the closing stages.

Bellamy rubbed salt into Chelsea's wounds with the fourth in the 87th minute before Lampard's 90th-minute penalty reduced the deficit. Chelsea remain just one point ahead of Manchester United, while City go above Tottenham into fourth place.

Latest News of India

FM revises tax slabs to give more money to consumers

NEW DELHI: The 2010-11 general budget today provided considerable relief to income tax payers by raising the slabs at two levels but hiked the central excise duty on non-petroleum products across the board from 8 to 10 per cent and the basic duty on crude and petroleum products besides effecting a one-rupee increase per litre on petrol and diesel.

The basic threshold limit for income tax exemption will remain at Rs 1.60 lakh. Under the new proposal, 10 per cent tax will be levied between Rs 1,60,001 and Rs 5,00,000, 20 per cent on incomes between Rs 5,00,001 and Rs 8,00,000 and 30 per cent above Rs 8,00,000.

The present income tax slabs and rates are 10 per cent for income between Rs 1,60,001 and Rs 3,00,000, 20 per cent for income between Rs 3,00,001 and Rs 5,00,000 and 30 per cent for income above Rs 5,00,001.

Proportionately, similar changes have been made in the taxes related to women and senior citizens aged above 65 years.

Mukherjee also gave another relief to individual tax payers by raising the existing limit of Rs 1,00,000 on tax savings by an additional amount of Rs 20,000 for investments in long-term infrastructure bonds.

Contributions to Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) have also been allowed as deductions within the overall ceiling for tax rebate besides contributions to health insurance schemes which are currently allowed as deductions under the Income Tax Act.

The entire opposition walked out of the Lok Sabha during the presentation of budget by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, dubbing it "highly inflationary" as he partially rolled back the stimulus by hiking the ad velorum component of excise duty on large cars and multi-utility vehicles by two per cent to 22 per cent.

The budget also raised the specific rates of duty on portland cement and cement clinker. The basic duty of 5 per cent on crude petroleum, 7.5 per cent on diesel and petrol and 10 per cent on other refined products is being enhanced.

The central excise duty on petrol and diesel is being enhanced by Re one per litre.

The proposals relating to customs and central excise are estimated to result in a net revenue gain of Rs 43,500 crore for the year. The proposals for service tax, in which government plans to bring in some more services, will result in a net revenue gain of Rs 3000 crore for the year.

While direct tax proposals are expected to result in a loss of Rs 26,000 crore for the year, those relating to indirect tax are estimated to result in a net revenue gain of Rs 46,500 crore.

Taking into account the concessions and measures to mobilise additional resources, the overall revenue gain is estimated to be Rs 20,500 crore for the year.

The budget also proposed a hike in defence expenditure from Rs 1,41,703 crore to Rs 1,47,344 crore, including Rs 60,000 for capital expenditure.

In the Budget Estimates for 2010-11, gross tax receipts are estimated at Rs 7,46,651 crore while the non-tax revenue receipts are estimated at Rs 1,48,118 crore.

Total expenditure is placed at Rs 11,08,749 crore, which is an increase of 8.6 per cent over the total expenditure in Budget Estimates of 2009-10. The plan and non-plan expenditures in Budget Estimates in 2010-11 are estimated at Rs 3,73,092 crore and Rs 7,35,657 crore respectively.

The fiscal deficit for 2010-11 has been pegged at 5.5 per cent and the rolling targets for 2011-12 and 2012-13 have been pegged at 4.8 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.

The fiscal deficit of 5.5 per cent of GDP in 2010-11 works out to Rs 3,81,408 crore. Taking into account various other financing items for fiscal deficit, the actual net borrowing of the government in 2010-11 would be of the order of Rs 3,45,010 crore.

In direct taxes, the Finance Minister proposed to reduce the current surcharge of 10 per cent on domestic companies to 7.5 per cent but at the same time raised the rate of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) from 15 per cent to 18 per cent of book profits.

In indirect taxes, Mukherjee made structural changes in the excise duty on cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos, coupled with some increase in rates. He also proposed to enhance excise duty on all non-smoking tobacco such as scented tobacco, snuff and chewing tobacco.

In addition, he proposed to introduce a compounded levy scheme for chewing tobacco and branded unmanufactured tobacco based on the capacity of pouch-making machines.

Attempting to pay focused attention to agriculture and related sectors, the Finance Minister proposed to provide project import status with a concessional import duty of 5 per cent for setting up mechanised handling systems and pallet-racking systems in mandis and warehouses for foodgrain and sugar as well as full exemption from service tax for installation and commissioning of such equipment.

A similar status on customs duty with full exemption from service tax will also be extended to initial setting up and expansion of cold storage, cold room and processing units for such produce.

Extending his goodies in excise duties in certain sectors, he gave full exemption to toy balloons and reduction in basic customs duty on long pepper, asafoetida and excise duty on goods covered under Medicinal and Toilet Preparations Act.

The Service Tax net is being expanded to include domestic and international air journeys of all classes, health check-up undertaken by hospitals for employees of business entities and health services provided under health insurance schemes offered by insurance companies.

Budget highlights

NEW DELHI: Highlights of 2010-11 budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in parliament Friday:

-- Clean energy cess of Rs.50 per tonne on coal produced in India

-- Concessional duty of 4 percent for solar power rickshaw developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

-- Concessional customs duty of 5 percent for cable TV operators for importing equipment

-- Toys fully exempt from central excise duty

-- Service sector tax retained at 10 percent to aid the introduction of GST; more services to be taxed

-- Accredited news agencies exempt from service tax

-- Net revenue gain Rs.22,500 crore

-- Taxes on large cars and SUVs increased 2 percent to 22 percent

-- Basic duty of 5 percent on crude oil restored

-- Tax on cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco increased

-- Rs. 26,000 crore revenue loss due to reduction of direct taxes

-- Partial roll back of reduction in central excise duty

-- Income up to Rs.1.6 lakh per year exempt from income tax; up to Rs.5 lakh to be taxed at 10 percent; income of Rs.5-8 lakh to be taxed at 20 percent and income above Rs.8 lakh to be taxed at 30 percent

-- IT returns forms for individual tax payers to be further simplified

-- Expenditure in 2010-11 estimated at 11,l8,749 crore

-- Fiscal deficit estimated at 5.5 percent in 2010-11; an improvement of 1 percent over 2009-10

-- Two more centralised tax processing centres to be set up in addition to the one at Bangalore

-- National Social Security Fund created for workers in unorganised sector with allocation of Rs.1,000 crore

-- Government to give Rs.1,000 for each National Pension Scheme account opened by workers in the unorganised sector

-- Exclusive skill development programme for the textile sector

-- Fifty percent hike in allocation for schemes for women and child development

-- Rs.4,500 crore allocated for ministry of social justice and empowerment, a hike of 80 percent

-- Rs.2,600 crore allocated for ministry of minorities affairs

-- Rs.1,900 crore for Unique Identification Authority of India

-- Rs.147,344 crore allocated for defence

-- 2,000 youth to be recruited in central paramilitary forces

-- Draft Food Security Bill prepared and will be put in the public domain

-- Allocation on primary education raised from Rs.26,800 crore to Rs.31,300 crore

-- Banking facilities to be provided to all habitations with a population of 2,000 and more

-- Rs.66,100 crore allocated for rural development in 2010-11; Rs.40,100 crore for National Rural Employment Scheme; RS.48,000 crore for Bharat Nirman

-- Rs.1,270 crore allocated for Rajiv Awas Yojana for slum dwellers, up from Rs.150 crore, an increase of 700 percent with the aim of creating a slum free India.

-- Forty-six percent of plan allocations in 2010-11 will be for infrastructure development

-- Coal Regulatory Authority to be set up to benchmark standards of performance

-- Allocation for new and renewable energy sector increased 61 percent from Rs.620 crore to Rs.1,000 crore in 2010-11

-- National Clean Energy Fund to be established

-- Rs.200 crore allocated as special package for Goa to prevent erosion and increase green cover

-- Government committed to growth of SEZs

-- Four-pronged strategy for growth of agricultural sector

-- Rs.200 crore to be provided in 2010-11 for climate-resilient agricultural initiative

-- Involvement of private sector in grain storage to continue for another two years

-- In view of drought and floods, debt repayment period extended to June 2010

-- Five more mega food processing projects in addition to 10 existing ones

-- FDI flows in April-December 2009 $20.9 billion

-- FDI policy to be made more user-friendly with one comprehensive document

-- Apex level financial stability council to be set up for banking sector

-- Indian Banking Association to give additional licences to private players

-- Provision for further capital for regional rural banks

-- Roadmap for reducing public debt in six months

-- Implementation of direct tax code from April 2011

-- Government actively engaged in finalising structure of general sales tax regime; hopes to implement it from April 2011

-- New fertiliser policy from April 2010; will lead to improved productively and more income for farmers

-- Economy stabilised in first quarter of 2009-10; strong rebound in second quarter; overall growth at 7.2 and could be higher when Q3 and Q4 are taken into account

-- Export figures for January encouraging

-- Hope to breach 10 percent growth mark in not too distant future

-- Government set in motion steps to bring down food inflation

-- Need to review stimulus package; need to make growth more broad-based

-- India has weathered global economic crisis well; Indian economy in far better position than it was a year ago. In 2009 Indian economy faced grave uncertainty; delay in southwest monsoon had undermined agricultural production

-- First challenge now is to quickly revert to 9 percent growth and then aim for double digit growth; need to make recovery more broadbased

-- Second challenge is to make growth more inclusive; have to strengthen food security

-- Third challenge is to overcome weakness in government's public delivery mechanism; a long way to go in this

Mere 4% hike in defence budget

New Delhi: The government allocated Rs 1,47,344 crore towards defence in 2010-11 budget, a paltry 4 per cent increase from last year's Rs 1,41,703 crore.

Of the allocation provided, Rs 60,000 crore would go for capital expenditure, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said presenting the Budget for 2010-11 in the Lok Sabha.

The four per cent increase in real terms would amount to only Rs 5,641 crore.

Last year, the government had provided a steep hike of about 34 per cent for the defence working out to an increase of Rs 36,103 crore.

Mukherjee, however, said considering the importance of defence of the country, more funds would be provided on the basis of requirements in the future.

The defence allocation continues to hover over 2.5 per cent of the GDP, though there have been suggestions to increase it substantially in view of the prevailing security situation.

Cigarettes, TVs, ACs and cars go dearer

New Delhi: Pay more for cars, fuel, TVs, ACs, cigarettes,Car, fuel, AC, TV, gold and silver jewellery, cigarettes and other tobacco products will cost more in the new fiscal with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee proposing a hike in duties and change in tax structure on these items in the Budget for 2010-11.

As part of a partial withdrawal of stimulus measures, given the recovery seen in the economy, Mukherjee announced hiking excise duty on non-oil products to 10 per cent from 8 per cent across all sectors.

Within minutes, car manufacturers announced that they would hike prices while government officials said that petrol and diesel would cost Rs 2.67 and Rs 2.58 more per litre, respectively, from midnight tonight.

Perhaps, Mukherjee wanted to create more demand by giving more tax concessions and provide more money in consumers' hand so that they buy more and boost the industry and economy.

Prices of consumer durables and electronic items are set to go up, although mobile handsets made in India and accessories will see price cuts with the government providing exemption in customs duty on import of key components.

The Finance Minister also increased excise on petrol and diesel by Re one per litre, following which duty on branded petrol will now be Rs 15.5 per litre and that of branded diesel will be 5.75 per litre. Non-branded petrol will attract duty of 14.35 per litre and that of diesel will be 4.60 per litre.

At least nine Indians killed in Kabul suicide attacks

At least nine Indians were among 16 people killed as Taliban suicide bombers carried out a string of attacks in the heart of Kabul, in yet another incident targeting Indian interests in Afghanistan.

The bombers struck at a number of guest houses, particularly at Park Residence, rented out by the Indian embassy for its staffers and those linked to India's developmental work in Afghanistan.

Describing it as a "heinous terrorist attack," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said as per the preliminary information provided by Afghan Government officials, "up to nine Indians... have lost their lives".

"A few Indians have been injured, most of whom are reported to be out of danger. Arrangements are being made for their adequate and expeditious treatment, if necessary, by evacuating them to India," he said in a statement.

The Indians, who died in the incident included embassy staffers from consulates in Herat and Kandahar, a member of a medical mission and Government officials, embassy sources said without giving their identity or breakup.

They said 12 Indians were also injured in the attack which also killed an Italian diplomat, a French tourist and a number of policemen.

This is the fourth attack targeted at Indians in Kabul since July 2008 when 60 people, including four Indian embassy officials, were killed in a massive car bomb attack on the embassy building.

India and Afghanistan had pointed the finger at Pakistan for the July 2008 attack on the embassy, with reports suggesting that the Haqqani network had carried out the strike.

Strongly condemning the attack, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said it would not be allowed to hurt Afghan-Indian relations. "Attacks on Indian citizens will not affect relations between India and Afghanistan," he said.

In a statement, Karzai said he "strongly condemns" the terrorist attacks that occurred targeting two guesthouses in central Kabul where most of the guests were Indians.

Krishna termed the attacks as "barbaric" and a matter of "deep concern" and said they were clearly aimed against the people of India and Afghanistan.

"These are the handiwork of those who are desperate to undermine the friendship between India and Afghanistan, and do not wish to see a strong, democratic and pluralistic Afghanistan," he said.

Kasaif, an employee of the Indian embassy staying at the guest-house said the attack came in the early morning. "We locked our rooms and stayed inside as the premises was rocked by gunfire," he said.

Business News

Union Budget 2010: Winners and losers

India needs to review public spending and improve its fiscal position, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday, kicking-off the presentation of his budget for the fiscal year that starts on April 1.

Following are the major sectors that are likely to gain or lose from the proposals of the budget:

WINNERS:

* Construction and engineering companies such as Larsen & Toubro, GMR Infrastructure, Jaiprakash Associates and Gammon Infra on proposal to invest 1.73 trillion rupees ($7.4 billion) on infrastructure in 2010/11.

The capital good index was up 1.8 per cent by 0804 GMT, in line with the rise in the broader market.

* Real estate firms such as DLF, Unitech and Sobha Developers after the budget proposed to give developers tax deductions on existing projects and relaxed norms for built-up area. The sector index was up 4.8 per cent.

* Drugmakers such as Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Cipla and Biocon after weighted deduction on in-house research and development expenses was proposed to be raised to 200 per cent from 150 per cent now.

* Hospitality services providers such as Indian Hotels, EIH and Taj GVK Hotels on proposal to allow firms setting up new two-star and above hotels to claim investment-linked tax deduction.

* State-run bank shares such as State Bank of India, Andhra Bank, Canara Bank and Bank of India on proposal to provide 165 billion rupees ($3.6 billion) for recapitalisation. The sector index was up 3.3 per cent.

* Education service providers such as Educomp Solutions, NITT and Aptech after the budget increased allocation to the education sector to 1.38 trillion rupees in the union budget.

LOSERS:

* Outsourcers such as Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro on no mention of extension of a tax holiday scheme for software firms in the budget speech. The tax break ends in March 2011. The sector index was flat in a firm market.

* Cigarette makers such as ITC after the budget proposed to raise excise duty on tobacco products. Shares in ITC was down 3.6 per cent, after having fallen as much as 4 per cent earlier.

Fuel prices to rise by up to Rs 2.67/litre

New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices will go up by Rs 2.67 a litre and Rs 2.58 per litre, respectively, after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday raised customs and excise duties on the two, virtually putting the Kirit Parikh Committee report on fuel price in cold storage.

Customs duty on petrol and diesel were hiked to 7.5 per cent from 2.5 per cent while excise duty was raised by Re one a litre to Rs 14.35 and Rs 4.60 per litre on non-branded (normal) petrol and diesel respectively.

The incidence of customs and excise duty would result in petrol prices going up by Rs 2.67 a litre in Delhi and diesel by Rs 2.58 per litre with effect from midnight tonight.

Petrol, in Delhi currently costs Rs 44.72 a litre and diesel Rs 32.92 per litre.

Mukherjee also imposed 5 per cent import duty on crude (currently nil), a move that would impact refiners like Reliance Industries and Essar Oil with their input cost going up.

Reliance Industries' 33 million tons a year refinery catering to domestic market would alone have to bear Rs 5,100 crore because of higher rates. Its other 29 million tons unit is only for exports and does not pay customs duty.

The rates hike virtually put the Parikh report on fuel pricing reforms in cold storage as implementing the expert group report on freeing petrol and diesel prices would mean a further Rs 4.94 a litre increase in petrol and Rs 3.20 per litre hike in diesel rates.

Sports News

We have improved in avoiding last-gasp goals: Rajpal

New Delhi: India has improved a lot in sorting out the old malaise of conceding last-minute goals and it would help the home side in reaching the semifinals of the hockey World Cup starting on Sunday, captain Rajpal Singh said on Friday.

"It (conceding last-gasp goals) has to do with the mental aspect. We have worked on this aspect and I think we are improving," he said after the pre-tournament press conference here.

"Instead of the opposition putting pressure on us at the closing stages of a match we have started scoring. We scored last-gasp goal at Salta (Argentina) during the Champions Challenge I late last year," he added.

Rajpal said his side's target would be to reach the semifinals and hoped from there they can win the title.

"Our target is to reach the semifinals and see from there what happens. Once you reach the semifinals it will be anybody's game (to lift the title). We have prepared very well and we are focused," he said.

Asked if the pressure of expectation would weigh down his side, Rajpal said, "It (pressure) is good. It will give us motivation to do well in front of home crowd. If we do well and at least reach the semifinals it will give a big boost to Indian hockey."

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Tendulkar rewrites history, hits first double ton in ODIs

New Delhi: Milestone man Sachin Tendulkar re-wrote the record books on Wednesday, hammering the first double century in the history of one-day cricket to add another feather to his well-adorned cap.

The capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium witnessed history on Wednesday as Tendulkar, statistically the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, pushed a Charl Langeveldt delivery through the off-side and ran a single to achieve a feat which no other cricketer has achieved.

One Day International cricket, since its 1971 inception, had to wait nearly four decades to see a batsman score 200. The previous best mark was shared by Zimbabwean Charles Coventry (194 not out) and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar (194).

As the crowd erupted with unbridled joy, Tendulkar, tired but composed, took off his helmet, looked skyward, closed his eyes to offer a silent prayer.

His captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni came down from the striker's end to shake hands and hug him. And as Tendulkar set on his way back to the pavilion after the completion of the Indian innings, a tumultuous celebration greeted him.

The crowd gave him a standing ovation as the entire stadium erupted in euphoria while his teammates were simply ecstatic as they clapped and hugged each other, basking in the glory of their senior teammates.

Tendulkar batted like a man with a mission today and the South African bowlers simply had no clue where to bowl. Once he crossed the 150-mark, the crowd anticipated something special and Tendulkar did not let them down.

A six off Roelof van der Merwe took him past Kapil Dev's 175 not out and in the next over, he hit Jacques Kallis for a four to equal his previous best of 186 not out that had come against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1999.

The crowd got restless as Tendulkar approached the

194-run mark and a couple off Wayne Parnell saw him eclipse it.

His teammates and spectators were on the edge of their seat with a double century round the corner but with Dhoni going berserk at the striker's end and facing most of the deliveries; it was an agonising wait for all.

Dhoni took singles off the final deliveries of the

47th-49th overs and Tendulkar finally took strike with four balls left in the innings. The first ball he received from Langeveldt was steered past point and Tendulkar ran for a single to remain unbeaten after an unforgettable unbeaten 200 that came off just 147 balls with 25 fours and three sixes in it.

It was yet another milestone for the man, who has some 30,000 international runs under his belt, including 93 centuries (47 in Tests and 46 in ODIs).

President, PM congratulate Sachin for first double ton in ODIs

New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday congratulated Sachin Tendulkar for becoming the first cricketer to score a double ton in one-day internationals and said the "master batsman" has climbed the "Mt Everest of the game".

"Sachin Tendulkar has yet again re-written the record books of cricket, by climbing yet another Mt Everest of the game," Patil said in a message. She said in setting a new benchmark for the highest score by a batsman in one-day internationals as well as in notching up a double century, "the master batsman has set stiff targets" for future generation of cricketers to break.

Terming it a "magnificent achievement", the Prime Minister said that Sachin has led by "example and that all Indians are proud of his achievement". Singh wished him many more glorious years in his cricketing career.

36-year-old Tendulkar today created history by becoming the first cricketer to score a double century in one-day internationals with a breath-taking unbeaten 200 to steer India to a massive 401 for three against South Africa in the second cricket ODI in Gwalior.

Tendulkar a role model for world cricket: Pak players

Karachi: Former and present Pakistani players on Wednesday paid rich tribute to Sachin Tendulkar for becoming the first batsman in the history of the game to score a double hundred in one-dayers and said he is the perfect "role model" for any cricketer.

"For any cricketer he is the perfect role model. The great thing about him is that he has been outstanding in both Tests and ODIs. As a Pakistani player, I know how much value we have always put on his wicket," right-handed batsman Shoaib Malik said about the batting maestro.

Former skipper and wicketkeeper Rashid Latif said the feat was no surprise to him as it was only a matter of time for Tendulkar to achieve it.

"I always expected him to be the first one to score 200 in ODIs, but I was surprised that he took so long," Latif said.

Another former captain Aamir Sohail said, "The rule is simple when you give respect to the game, then only the game will give you respect."

Batting great Javed Miandad said he had always asked Pakistani cricketers to admire Tendulkar for his down to earth attitude, hard work and passion.

"Records are there to be broken but it makes you happy when someone like Tendulkar does it. I think he thoroughly deserves this record and many more in days to come," he said.

J&K: Militant emerges alive from debris, kills jawan before being shot dead

SRINAGAR: A militant, believed to have been killed in the gunbattle at Chinkipora in Sopore, emerged alive from the debris on Wednesday and began firing on security personnel searching for the bodies of slain ultras, killing a jawan but was shot dead in retaliatory fire.

The militant, who is yet to be identified, was killed as the security forces fired back after he began firing indiscriminately injuring a jawan who later died at a hospital, official sources said.

Earlier, body of a militant was recovered from the rubbles of three houses that were destroyed in the gunbattle yesterday.

"Body of an unidentified militant and a weapon was recovered from the debris of the houses earlier today", police sources said.

Terming the heap of rubble at the the scene of the encounter as huge, they said it may take days even for the machines to remove it.

The operation to retrieve the bodies of the militants, who were said to have been killed in the day-long gunbattle yesterday, resumed this morning.

Three armymen, including a captain, were killed in the gunbattle with the militants hiding in three houses at Chinkipora, 55 kms from here, yesterday.

The deceased ary personnel were identified as Captain Davinder Singh Jass, Naik Selva Kumar and Paratrooper Imtiyaz Ahmad Thokar of first Para.

Besides, a civilian identified as Ramiaz Ahmad Malla, who was hit by a stray bullet while being evacuated from the scene, is being treated at a hospital in Srinagar.

Concessions for passengers in Mamata's rail budget

NEW DELHI: The Railway Budget for 2010-11 on Wednesday proposed no increase in passenger fares and freight rates while reducing the tariff by Rs 100 per wagon in transportation of foodgrains, kerosene and fertilisers to tackle the price rise.

The budget, presented by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Lok Sabha, also proposed to reduce the maximum limit of service charge on e-booking of tickets to Rs 10 for sleeper class and Rs 20 for AC class. The present maximum charge is Rs 15 and Rs 40 respectively.

This is the seventh year in a row that passenger fares have not been raised.

Announcing a slew of concessions for passengers, Banerjee proposed free travel for cancer patients going for treatment in three-tier AC and sleeper class and continuance of concessions for students of madrassas and journalists.

The minister said 101 new suburban services will be introduced in Mumbai and more services will be launched in Kolkata and Chennai.

A special train 'Sanskriti Express' to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore will run across the country and also to Bangladesh.

Special tourist trains called 'Bharat Teerth' will be started on 16 routes while six long-distance non-stop Duronto Express and four short-distance Duronto day trains will be introduced, the railway minister said.

Referring to hardships faced by people because of the high food prices, Banerjee said, "I understand their distress. Despite Railways' own tight resource position I announce reduction of Rs 100 per wagon in freight charges for foodgrains for domestic use and kerosene. This is a small gesture to express our concern."

While ladies special trains would be renamed 'Matribhoomi Specials', three unreserved trains named 'Karambhoomi specials' would be introduced along with new weekly express service 'Janmabhoomi Express' between Ahmedabad and Udhampur.

New services to be introduced include 54 trains, 28 new passenger services, nine MEMU and eight DEMU services. The routes of 21 trains will be extended and the frequency of 12 trains increased.

Other new projects include preliminary engineering-cum- traffic survey for north-south, east-west, east-south and south-south dedicated freight corridors.

Six high-speed passenger train corridors have been identified to be executed through public-private partnership mode and a national high-speed rail authority will be set up for planning, implementing and monitoring these projects.

The financial performance in 2009-10 shows that the loading target of 882 million tonnes is likely to be surpassed by eight million tonnes.

Gross traffic receipts for 2009-10 have been kept at Rs 88,356 crore -- an increase of 10.7 per cent. The full impact of sixth pay commission has been fully absorbed within the railway resources and the current dividend liability will be fully discharged. Annual plan has been kept at Rs 40,284 crore, Banerjee said.

Earlier, Mamata started her speech in the Lok Sabha saying, "Our objective is inclusive growth," adding that her main consideration in this year's budget was social responsibility rather than mere commercial viability of projects.

"We have set our goals in the Vision 2020 document and we will achieve it," the minister said, referring to the document unveiled in December that has targeted making over 30,000 km of routes into double or multiple lines against 18,000 km today.

"It is a fact that administrative and procedural delays discourage potential investors. We will need to overcome this. I am setting up a special task force for this," she said.

"Special structure will be created for the new business model," she said. "But we will not privatise our railways. Indian Railways will remain with the government."

At the same time, she also asked the private sector to refrain from what she called "typical negative approach" while dealing with the Indian Railways. "I am sorry to say this, this mindset has to change."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee were among those in the house, presided over by Speaker Meira Kumar.

This was Banerjee's fourth budget of her career as railway minister and the second for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in its second straight term after being voted back to office in May last year.

According to Banerjee, 117 out of the 120 new trains promised in her last budget will be flagged off by March 31, within a matter of seven months, which was a commendable effort.

Seeking to give safety issues due consideration, the minister said there were a few cases of unfortunate accidents in the past and said these would be prevented by adopting the highest level of technology and manpower training.

"Within five years, we will have 13,000 out of unmanned level crossings manned - 3,000 this fiscal and 1,000 in the coming fiscal," she said, referring to the high number of accidents at such crossroads.

The budget came against the backdrop of the share of Indian Railways in the movement of goods, vis a vis truckers, falling from 24.07 percent in 2001-02 to 20.89 percent in 2008-09 and further to 19.32 percent in the first 10 months of this fiscal.

Indian Railways runs the world's second largest network under a single management with a network of 64,099 route km to ferry 18.9 million passengers on 7,000 trains daily from 6,906 stations. It also runs 4,000 freight trains to carry 850 million tonnes of cargo.

Business News

New Delhi: Indian Railways will earn a profit of Rs 951 crore in 2009-10, down 93 per cent from the 2007-08 level.

While the 2009-10 Railway Budget presented in July last year projected profits at Rs 2,642.26 crore, the estimate has been revised downwards by 64 per cent to Rs 951.03 crore.

For the next fiscal, the budget estimates a profit of Rs 3,173.09 crore.

India's largest employer that employs 14 lakh people had registered a record profit of Rs 13,431.09 crore in 2007-08.

From FY'08 to FY'10, the fall in profit is 93 per cent, as per the Railway Budget presented in Parliament on Wednesday.

Profits had started showing a decline even in 2008-09, when it come down to Rs 4,456.78 crore. Year-over-year the fall in profit is about 79 per cent.

Gross traffic receipts have consistently risen since fiscal 1951-52, the year from which the statement showed financial figures for the Indian Railways.

The revised estimates puts gross traffic receipts at Rs 88,355.91 crore for 2009-10, and the budgetary estimate for the next fiscal's gross traffic receipts is Rs 94,764.95 crore, the Railway Budget paper said.

India Inc pleased with rail budget

New Delhi: India Inc welcomed the Railway Budget for sparing freight and passenger fares from any hike and said that it also provided opportunities for private sector to participate in the world's fifth largest transport network.

"I think it provides for much bigger involvement of the private sector...it is welcome," FICCI President Harsh Pati Singhania said.

Assocham described it as "people and industry friendly" since there is no increase in passenger and freight rates.

Presenting the Railway Budget for 2010-11, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee asked business houses to build partnerships with Railways that employs about 14 lakh people.

A special task force will be set up for early clearance of projects, Banerjee said, adding that Railways will start six water bottling plants in places like Ambala, Farakka, Nasik, Thiruvananthapuram and Amethi to provide clean and cheap drinking water to passengers.

Railways would also develop 10 automobile hubs, she said.

CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said: "It is our belief that this would give the right signals to investors in India and abroad to look at Indian Railways in a new light."

However, Assocham President Swati Piramal said: "A clear roadmap for seeking private partnership in railways for it's modernisation and expansion should have been rolled out."

Federation of Indian Mineral Industry Secretary General R K Sharma too termed the Budget as "positive".

Mamata woos corporates, rules out privatisation

New Delhi: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday presented the Railway Budget 2010-11 in the Parliament, saying that her ministry has come out with ''Vision 2020'' to modernise the railway network.

"I prefer social responsibility to economic responsibility, she said.

Banerjee said, the railways need to catch up with the advanced western nations, adding that the policy guidelines would be made easier and hassle-free.

Railways will not be privatized, she said, adding that in the next five years the whole country would be connected by rail.

Banerjee called on the India Inc to build partnership with the Railways.

The minister announced that the exams for the recruitment in Railway would be conducted in the regional languages as well, adding that English, Hindi, Urdu and other regional languages will be used for Railway entrance exams.

Banerjee said that we have kept our earlier promises and out of 120 trains that were proposed by our ministry, 107 trains were started on time.

She announced that six-bottling points would be set for manufacture of water that will be supplied, adding that the food that is provided to the passengers has also improved over the years.

Village panchayats, hospitals and court would have a e-ticket counter proposed Banerjee, adding that a railway counter would also be set up at the office of the District Magistrate.

Railway is all determined to ensure safety measures, she claimed adding that a ''chowkidaar'' would be placed at every railway crossing in the next five years.

Indian Railways to introduce double-decker trains

New Delhi: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced that the Indian Railway would introduce double-decker train-sets as a pilot project.

Presenting the Railway Budget for the year 2010-2011 in the parliament here, Banerjee said: “Double-decker train-sets matching the best in global standards will be introduced in two trains each from Delhi and Kolkata as a pilot project.”

Declaring that passenger amenities are a very high priority of the Government, she said that a number of initiatives are being taken for this purpose. “Modern trolleys at all important stations with uniformed attendants will be introduced to assist senior citizens and women passengers for carrying their luggage,” Banerjee said.

The Railway Budget also proposed to initiate SMS updates of reservation status and movements of wagons to freight customers. Mobile vans for issuing e-tickets will be extended to government medical college hospitals, court complexes, University campus, IT hubs, IITs and IIMs.

Banerjee also announced that railway reservation ticket centres would also be opened at district headquarters and village panchayats to give more facility to common man.

In order to bring more transparency in freight business, Banerjee announced RFID technology will be introduced for tracking of wagons, allotment of the rakes would be accessible through the web.

Highlighting efforts being made for safety and security of the passenger, Banerjee said the railway is developing crashworthy coaches and locomotives and will provide automatic fire and smoke detection system in 20 pairs of long-distance trains as pilot project.

She announced that manning of further 1,000 level crossing will be taken up during the budget year and added that in coming five years, all the unmanned level crossing will be manned. To assure full security to women passengers, Banerjee announced that formation of 12 companies of women Railway Protection Force (RPF), named “Mahila Vahini.”

Indian Latest News

HRD ministry mulling second shifts in varsities and colleges

NEW DELHI: The idea of starting second shifts in existing universities and colleges is doing the rounds in government circles.

A roundtable on higher education, set up by HRD ministry, today discussed about such a measure which is aimed at utilising fully the facilities that remain unused after the class hours.

The committee, chaired by HRD minister Kapil Sibal, explored the possibilities whether facilities could be used for second shifts in the existing institutions.

There are about 480 universities and nearly 20,000 colleges in the country. Facilities at majority of these institutions remain unutilised in the evening hour.

The roundtable also discussed about uniform accounting standards to be followed by educational institutions. The educational institutions are following different accounting standards at present.

It discussed about freedom for faculty to go outside the system for development and enhancement.

The members of the roundtable include UGC Chairman Sukhadeo Thorat and CSIR Director General Samir Brahmachari.

'Sibal has agreed to make changes in new rules'

KOCHI: A national body of unaided professional educational institutions today said Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had agreed to make certain changes to the rules and regulations recently introduced by the ministry in the private self-fianancing educational sector in the country.

The Minister gave the assurance to a 15-member delegation of the Federation of Associations of Managements of Unaided Professional Educational Institutions in India when it met him in New Delhi recently, federation President President Dr G P C Nair claimed in a statement here.

The new rules had stipulated that only M.Tech holders can be appointed as lecturers in colleges instead of B.Tech and only PhD holders can be appointed as Associate Professors and Professors. The Minister had assured that this clause will not be implemented for three years when it was pointed out that M.Tech and PhD holders were in shortage, the release stated.

On a requset from the delgation, the Minister has extended the last date for submission of student data by colleges up to March 7. The delegation also brought to the Minister's attention the incident of imprisonment of certain college authorities in cases connected with pledging of college property in banks for loan.

PM's special envoy on climate change Shyam Saran to quit

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister's special envoy on climate change, Shyam Saran, is quitting the job.

Official sources said Saran, who was first appointed as special envoy on the Indo-US nuclear deal and later on climate change, would leave the Prime Minister's office on Mar 14.

"Saran will be leaving the office on Mar 14," a PMO source said.

However, no reasons were given for his decision which comes more than a fortnight after another foreign service official, Shiv Shankar Menon, was appointed the National Security Adviser.

Both were Foreign Secretaries and had retired. While Menon retired late last year, Saran had retired three years before that.

While Menon was given the rank of Minister of State following his appointment as NSA, there were reports last week that Saran would also get a similar status.

Ghandy met Prachanda, knew of Induwar's killing: Police chargesheet

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Friday filed a chargesheet against arrested Maoist ideologue Kobad Ghandy, saying he had met Nepal Maoist chief Prachanda abroad and knew about the abduction and killing of Jharkhand cop Francis Induwar.

The chargesheet running into over 35 pages was filed before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja. In it, the special cell of Delhi Police stated that Ghandy was involved in anti-national activities and was in Delhi to set up a base for Maoist activities before his arrest in September last year.

Police informed the court about several of his foreign trips to countries like Germany, Belgium and Nepal, where he met Prachanda, to discuss the activities of his organisation, the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).

According to the chargesheet, Ghandy said in his disclosure statement that he is an active central committee member and politburo member of his group and was underground in Delhi for the past three years. He also had knowledge about the abduction and killing of Jharkhand police officer Induwar last year.

Police told the court that during interrogation, Ghandy proved he was one of the main pillars of the CPI-Maoist and a think thank for the outfit.

Police also mentioned that Ghandy did not cooperate with the investigating officer, kept complaining about his ill-health and did not disclose any material facts about his associates and the illegal activities of his banned outfit.

After this, police had to demand a narco test, which was later stayed by the high court.

Ghandy disclosed that the organisation had assigned codes to various front groups to maintain secrecy, police said.

The court will take cognizance of this chargesheet March 4.

In December last year, Baweja granted police 90 more days to file a chargesheet against Ghandy after dismissing his statutory bail application.

Under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, the investigating agency has to complete the probe within 90 days in the case of severe offences. But the court, using its discretion, empowered police to extend the period of Ghandy's detention.

Ghandy has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after his arrest Sep 20 last year.

Business News

Surat gang rape case: All 3 accused get life term

Surat: A local court here on Friday awarded life sentence to the three accused in the infamous July 2009 Surat gang rape case that had rocked the city.

A Principal and Sessions Judge held the three accused in the infamous gang rape case and sentenced life imprisonment to the accused Sahid Syeed, Tariq Syeed and Abu Bakr Ismail.

The trio raped 17-year old class 12th schoolgirl around 5 a.m. on July 12, 2009 while she was on her way to the tuition. She was picked up by the accused in their car posing as police officials, who then raped her in the vehicle shocking the conscience of the people of the city.

The accused had also recorded the rape on their mobile phones. The three were however, arrested within hours of the incident.

The chargesheet in the case was filed on July 24, 2009. The hearing was scheduled on day-to-day basis.

The accused Shahid and Tariq are sons of police officials.

The city was on boil after the incident and circulation of MMS. There were protests in the city after the gang rape of a 17-year-old minor girl.

The court has completed the hearing time in record time and announced the verdict within a year of incident setting an example for others.

Budget 2010: PMEAC for hike in duties

New Delhi: Ahead of the Budget, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) made a case for a partial roll back of stimulus by way of raising excise duties and reducing expenditure - which would automatically help reduce the fiscal deficit.

"There is a case for adjustment of duties...adjustments are possible both on the revenue side and the expenditure side in order to bring down fiscal deficit," PMEAC Chairman C Rangarajan said after releasing the Review of the Economy 2009-10.

The Review said the economy would grow by over 7.2 per cent during the current fiscal and exceed 8 per cent in the next.

PMEAC member Govinda Rao said, "Partially, we need to roll back and if you partially roll back, you need to unify (excise duty and service tax rates)."

A uniform excise and service tax rates would imply raising of excise duty to 10 per cent. It is also possible that both rates may be raised to 12 per cent.

"There is one possibility that you unify both the rates at 10 per cent. There is another possibility... that both be raised to 12 per cent," Rao said.

As part of the stimulus package given to the industry to combat the impact of the global financial crisis, the government, in two tranches, reduced the excise duty from 14 per cent to 8 per cent and service tax from 12 per cent to 10 per cent.

Rao, however, clarified that he is not making any suggestion to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and it was up to him to take a call in the Budget.

India will compete with US and China: Intertek

New Delhi: Dr. Jochen P. Zoller is the President of the Global Food Service division, Intertek. Intertek provides testing, inspection and certification of products, and a range of other services, operating a global network of laboratories and offices with over 22,000 people in more than 100 countries. In a short talk, Zoller tells Ashok Kumar more about plans of Intertek for India.

How big is the Indian market in terms of food quality certification?

It is relatively small at present, but, in the next five years India will take a global place competing with US, Chinese and European markets.

How do the food brands gain mileage with the certification?

Certification has two distinct advantages. Firstly, it facilitates the trade beyond the local markets to sell products. Secondly, it helps the company to develop the right understanding. To sum it up, it is the end to the process of ascertaining quality.

Ads by Google ISO Certification ISO certification in 10 Days We share Our expertisewww.tcmservices.netIntertek Testing Lab Analytical Testing Laboratories Materials and Products Analysiswww.intertek.comSensory Evaluation The Custom Market Research & Sensory Analysis Companywww.Tragon.com

Does the certification scheme for food quality, vary from country to country?

Standards are all the same. From the point of implementation, variations may occur from the basic levels to the upgraded levels.

Tell us the fundamentals adhered by you while certifying a food brand?

Classical food safety is the fundamental idea, followed by quality of the food, company quality (in terms of environmental responsibility) and last but not the least, the health and safety standards.

Tell us about your some being clients, in India?

Nestle, Coke and Walmart are illustrious among the major clients we handle in India.

Worldwide, our customers include leading brands such as Shell, Canon, McDonalds, BP, IKEA, Nike, ExxonMobil, LG, GAP Inc, Valero, Ericsson, Wal-Mart, ChevronTexaco, The Home Depot Inc, Marks & Spencer and Levi Strauss.

Sports News

India strikes gold at Commonwealth Shooting C'ship

New Delhi: Shooters Gagan Narang and P T Raghunath brought glory to the country on the first day of the Commonwealth Shooting Championship by winning the gold medal in the men's 10-meter air rifle pairs event at the Dr Karni Singh shooting range in New Delhi on Friday.

Narang and Raghunath scored 599 points and 594 points respectively to win the gold on the first day of the event.

Women shooters also joined the party as they won the gold in the 25-meter sports pistol woman pairs.

The Indian duo of Virat Singh and Bapu Vanjare won a silver in the men''s 50 meter free pistol pairs.

Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra has been ruled out of the 11-day Commonwealth Shooting Championship, as he did not attend the trials.

Jaipur curators predict high-scoring opening ODI

Jaipur: With a batting-friendly wicket on offer, a high scoring encounter is on the card when India takes on South Africa in the first cricket one-dayer at the Sawai Man Singh stadium here on Sunday.

If the curators of the ground -- Ashok Joshi and Taposh Chattejee -- are to be believed, they have made a batting beauty for the opener which will set the tone for the three-match series.

"There is no doubt that it would be a fine batting wicket. People come to watch runs in ODIs and we won't disappoint them," Joshi said.

Fellow curator Chatterjee said the surface looks in great shape and would be ideal for strokeplay.

"We have kept grass on the wicket and underneath too 0which will help in binding the soil. We had watered it adequately and we are rolling it to help it dry.

"A little bit of evaporation and rolling pulls out the moisture from underneath. It makes the surface which means the ball will come on to the bat," he said.

Indian Latest News

Diplomatic talks not composite dialogue: India to Pak

NEW DELHI: A week ahead of the Indo-Pak Foreign Secretaries' meeting, India on Wednesday said these parleys should not be "mistaken" for resumption of the composite dialogue as these were "exploratory" talks.

Asserting that the composite dialogue was "suspended", foreign minister S M Krishna said, "Let the nation not be under mistaken inference that composite dialogue is being renewed... The issue that we raised remained to be addressed by Pakistan with a degree of seriousness."

The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet on February 25 in New Delhi with the government here maintaining that the focus of the talks will be terrorism.

"These are exploratory talks. All that I am saying is that we are going to concentrate on terror which is emanating from Pakistan and the terror activities and terror infrastructure which is there which is yet to be dismantled.

"So our concern, our core concern is going to be terror," Krishna told TV channels.

On Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and other jehadi leaders freely addressing rallies against India, Krishna said, "It is the way the Pakistan functions. The government perhaps is not capable of restraining these jehadis from continuing with their vituperative statements against India, showing their hostility openly against India."

The minister also emphasised the need to have talks, saying, "... in order to carry forward the core issue as far as India is concerned about terror and terror driven activities emanating from Pakistan, we thought that it is necessary to engage Pakistan in this very critical area of terror."

Fawning over Pak military, US undermines New Delhi talks

WASHINGTON: India may be wasting its time and energy engaging Pakistan’s civilian set-up in the upcoming talks on February 25, going by the way Washington is primarily dealing with the country’s military and intelligence leadership in Rawalpindi and leaving Islamabad’s democratically-elected government in the lurch over sensitive parleys on terrorism.

US recognition of Pakistan’s military as the real power behind the civilian façade has been evident for some time, with American interlocutors, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, spending more time with the army brass in Rawalpindi than with the civilian leadership in Islamabad. But it has become glaringly evident this past week when Islamabad was left largely clueless about a CIA-ISI move to engage the Taliban in a move dressed up as the ''capture'' of Taliban No.2, Mullah Birather, in a joint operation.

While Washington was agog with the story of Birather’s ''capture'' and its consequences for Taliban and the US war in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s civilian leadership was caught flatfooted by the developments. The country’s interior minister Rehman Malik revealed the government’s ignorance when he insisted there had been no such operation, even as analysts in Washington were taking stock of the development.

''If the New York Times gives information, it is not a divine truth, it can be wrong. We have joint intelligence sharing and no joint investigation, nor joint raids,'' Malik told reporters about the story first reported by the US paper. ''We are a sovereign state and hence will not allow anybody to come and do any operation. And we will not allow that. So this (report) is propaganda,'' he added.

But US officials, while declining to go into details of the alleged ''capture'' citing ''sensitive intelligence matters,'' appeared pleased with the breakthrough they hope will lead to a convenient exit from Afghanistan. Birather’s ''capture'' was credited by some to Pakistan’s army chief Pervez Ashraf Kiyani’s desire to ensure a key role of his country in the any attempt to mediate with the Taliban.

While details of how and why Birather was ''captured'' in Karachi are still murky, regional experts are already suggesting that the story is just a cover for Pakistan facilitating US contacts with the Taliban or interposing itself in US-Taliban engagement. Pakistani intelligence agencies have known his whereabouts for a long time, according to Taliban expert Ahmed Rashid.

Others are suggesting that the military-ISI combine has ''sacrificed'' Birather to the Americans to win Washington’s trust and secure for itself a role in Afghanistan. ''I think their realization of what was happening within their own country and the threat that it posed also played a big part in changing their actions,'' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said cryptically, indicating the Pakistanis had brought in Birather to reflect a change in policy.

Still others believe US agencies had cornered Birather in Karachi and the joint operation story is just a cover-up to save Pakistan from embarrassment, while some are of the view that the US and/or Pakistan have engaged Birather for a long time and the capture story was drummed up after news of the secret parlays leaked.

No matter which explanation is correct, it shows Pakistan's civilian dispensation in poor light. In fact, locked in a confrontation with the country’s judiciary, the civilian quartet of President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and interior minister Malik have ceded foreign policy to the country’s pugnacious military. This raises the question as to how seriously India should take the upcoming foreign secretary level talks on February 25, an engagement that is credited to Washington’s persuasive hand.

While the Islamabad quartet has largely acted as stooges for Rawalpindi brass, which cracks the whip whenever the four step out of line, US recognition of the military’s primacy appears to have undermined not just Pakistan’s civilian government, but also this engagement with New Delhi. During her last visit to the country, Hillary Clinton spent three hours with General Kayani, for more than any of her engagements with the civilian leadership. The attention did not go unnoticed. Other US interlocutors have also invariably called on Kiyani.

Meanwhile, Birather’s presence in Karachi has also focused attention on the gradual dispersal of extremist elements from the region’s badlands, now under the scrutiny of drones and other US ''eyes in the sky,'' to Pakistan’s urban centers, home to the India-centric jihadi crowd. Last week, the much-wanted extremist Hakimullah Mehsud was reported to have died in Multan in Southern Punjab, where he was reportedly brought for treatment for injuries suffered in a drone attack. ISI elements, possibly renegades, are thought to facilitate such movements into urban centers as US pressure on the border regions make it unsafe for terrorists. Pakistan’s civilian government appears to have little control over all this and Washington keeping Islamabad in the dark over its dealing with the Army-ISI isn’t helping.

West Bengal govt admits it was warned of Naxal attack

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government on Wednesday admitted it had some intelligence warnings that Maoists were "assembling" in the area around Shilda police camp which was attacked in the biggest offensive by Naxals in the state.

The admission by the government came a day after an outraged Centre slammed the Left Front government expressing dismay at the "unprofessional, incompetent, untrained and inadequate" response of the state police force to the Maoist attack on Monday evening.

24 jawans of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) were killed in the deadliest-ever strike by Naxals on their camp at Shilda in West Midnapore district.

The state government also ordered an inquiry into the incident and said "action" would be taken against senior officers if they were found wanting.

"It is not a clear case of intelligence failure. There was intelligence report that the Maoists were assembling in the area, though there was no specific information that they may attack the EFR camp," West Bengal Home secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters after a high level meeting which reviewed the situation in the wake of the attack.

Asked why no step was taken when the government had in its possession the intelligence report, Sen said the report had come to its hand at 2 PM only, a bare three hours before the attack and it had taken time for the information to percolate down to the lower level.

Refuting the charges by the Centre that the EFR did not have proper training to combat the Maoists, he said, "It is not correct. They are a highly motivated, disciplined and well-trained force."

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed when bodies of all the 24 EFR jawans were handed over to their relatives this morning at Salua camp of the para-military forces near Jhargram for last rites.

'84 riots case: Sajjan facing imminent arrest

New Delhi: Giving no relief, a Delhi Court on Wednesday issued non-bailable warrant against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases opening the possibility of his arrest by CBI ahead of anticipatory bail plea to be heard on Thursday in the High Court.

Taking exception to his non-appearance before the court after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him relief, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Lokesh Kumar Sharma said that he was ‘duty-bound’ to appear before him.

“The accused was called to appear before the court but he choses to challenge before superior court and rightly do but he could not get any relief. He was duty bound to honour the court's order," the ACMM said.

“Position as it is that there is neither any state nor the accused has been able to keep any interim protection from the superior court. Mere pendency of the bail application in the absence of any specific order from the superior court could not ipso-facto constitute a valid ground for granting exemption," the court said.

CBI's special prosecutor and senior advocate R S Cheema opposed the application of Kumar's counsel for his client's exemption from personal appearance in the court.

He submitted that allowing such a plea would be tantamount to granting relief to the accused, which, for the time being, has not been allowed by the High Court. Scores of Sikhs staged a demonstration outside the Karkardooma court in the afternoon and demanded capital punishment against Kumar.

Earlier in the day, the High Court deferred till Thursday hearing on the anticipatory bail plea of Kumar, 64, in the case. Kumar, a former MP from outer Delhi, has approached the High Court against trial court's order, which had on February 15 refused to grant him anticipatory bail.

Today's latest news

SRK regrets MNIK controversy, clarifies it is not to Shiv Sena

MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan apologised for the controversy over the release of his film "My Name Is Khan" but made it clear the regret is not directed to Shiv Sena which threatened to halt the screening of his picture in this Bollywood heartland.

"i thank u all for this..apologise for giving stress over the last few days...& now truly know the meaning of being humbled.lov u all so much (sic)," tweeted the 44-year-old star shortly after several multiplexes who were initially reluctant went ahead with the screening of the keenly awaited film here.

Shah Rukh also said he was "humbled and overwhelmed" after the response from the public for his film.

In a bid to clarify that his regret in a tweet is not construed as directed at the Shiv Sena who have demanded that the superstar apologise for his remarks favouring inclusion of Pakistani players in IPL, Shah Rukh posted another message on the micro blogging website Twitter to say his apology is for his fans and no one else.

"whoa.. just hearing some media reports. just so that all know...wot i say here is for my fans across the world. thats all (sic)", wrote Kahn who has 1,31,435 followers on the website.

"i am humbled by this show of love & kindness. so dont know wot else to say. overwhelmed & promise will make india proud with my hard work. yipppeee !!!! ...in my work or words, i wholeheartedly regret...and i love u very very very very much. thank u thank u thank u," Khan tweeted after MNIK ran to full houses in Mumbai and elsewhere in the country.

"i realise today...i am just a film hero...u all in the theatres r the real deal. god feel so loved & humbled. hats off to all heroes," the actor added.

MNIK tickets go for 1,000 euros each at Berlin fest

BERLIN: The online tickets for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘My Name is Khan’ were sold out in five seconds here.

People who phoned the Berlinale authorities five minutes after ticketing opened were told they were way too late.

The film’s tickets were auctioned on e-Bay for 1,000 euros (about Rs 60,000) each.

Fans had not slept all night to keep their places in the queue despite the minus temperature in Berlin. Those who arrived at 6 am were in tears.

Jenny Watkinson, assigned the ‘Shah Rukh Khan department’ in the International Relations office of Dieter Kosslick, Berlin film festival director, says, “I’ve never seen anything like it. This year it’s expected to be even bigger than in 2008 (during ‘Om Shanti Om’). The online tickets for ‘My Name is Khan’ were sold out in five seconds.”

The film premieres in Berlin on Friday with a red carpet at the prestigious Berlinale Palast theatre on Potsdamer Platz. Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Karan Johar are in Berlin for the premiere.

Obama targets outsourcers again, labels them tax evaders

WASHINGTON: American president Barack Obama has once again targeted American companies having their operations in India to save taxes back home and called such businesses tax evaders.

"If you are a business here, entirely located in the US, and investing in the US, and hiring workers in the US, you are paying a 35 per cent rate," Obama said in an interview to the business magazine Bloomberg Business Week.

"However,if you are a multinational and you are investing in India, and your workforce is in India, and your plants and equipment are in India, but your headquarters are here, you are taking deductions on all the expenses in India, but you are keeping your profits outside the US; and that just doesn't seem entirely fair," he argued.

"The same is true where you have companies that have 90 per cent of their sales in the US, but are posting 90 per cent of their profits overseas. You get a sense there that the accountants have been busy," Obama said.

Home loans to be dearer; public sector banks to end teaser rate regime

MUMBAI: Home and auto loan customers will have to shell out more with several public sector banks including the State Bank, Punjab National Bank and Bank of India (BoI) deciding to end the concessional or limited period loan regime, popularly called teaser rates.

The public sector banks, which are offering low interest rates for the initial period of the loan to attract new customers, have decided not to extend the validity of their schemes beyond March. In certain cases, the schemes would be discontinued during the course of this month itself.

The country's largest lender State Bank chairman OP Bhatt had said recently that special home and auto loan schemes would continue only till the end of March. The SBI has been trying to attract more customers by offering home and auto loans as low as 8 per cent with a limited period offer.

As part of the special scheme under 'My home campaign,' the SBI has been offering home loans (up to Rs 5 lakh) at 8 per cent interest rate during the first five years of a 10-year loan.

For loans above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 50 lakh, the interest rate has been fixed at 8 per cent during the first year and 8.5 per cent during second and third years.

Bank of India executive director M Narendra said, "our scheme is valid till February. We may not continue the scheme post-February."

The scheme, he added, was launched for a limited period and the product has served the purpose.

Govt announces ToR on Telangana, TRS calls it betrayal

New Delhi: The high-level committee appointed by the Centre to go into the emotive issue of Telangana has also been asked to examine the option of a united Andhra Pradesh and given time till the end of the year to submit its report, prompting the proponents of the separate statehood to denounce it.

The seven-point terms of reference has mandated the committee headed by Justice (retd) B N Srikrishna to review the developments in Andhra Pradesh since its formation and their impact on the progress and development of the different regions of the state.

It will "examine the situation in the state of Andhra Pradesh with reference to the demand for a separate state of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh," the ToR said. The committee has been asked to submit its report by December 31 this year.

In Hyderabad, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, who has been spearheading the Telangana agitation, said, "The Centre has betrayed us once again". He directed all his party MPs, MLAs and MLCs to resign from their posts immediately in protest against the "betrayal".

The committee, constituted on February 3, will examine the impact of the recent developments in the state on the different sections of the people such as women, children, students, minorities, other backward classes, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

The committee includes Ranbir Singh, Abusaleh Shariff, Ravinder Kaur and former Home Secretary Vinod K Duggal as member-secretary.

Justice B N Srikrishna is a retired Judge of the Supreme Court. While Ranbir Singh is the Vice Chancellor of National Law University, Delhi, Abusaleh Shariff is the Senior Research Fellow at International Food Policy Research Institute, Delhi.

Ravinder Kaur is professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT, Delhi.

The terms of reference said the committee will "identify the key issues that must be addressed while considering the matter".

It said the panel "will consult all sections of the people, especially the political parties, on the aforesaid matters and elicit their views; to seek from the political parties and other organisations a range of solutions that would resolve the present difficult situation and promote the welfare of all sections of the people; to identify the optimal solutions for this purpose; and to recommend a plan of action and a road map".

The committee will consult other organisations of civil society such as industry, trade, trade unions, farmers' organisations, women's organisations and students' bodies on the specified matters and elicit their views with specific reference to the all round development of the different regions of the state and make any other suggestion or recommendation that the Committee may deem appropriate, the ToR said.

Both Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who were at a function together, said they would react after studying the ToR.

Business News

Maruti 800 sales to be discontinued in 13 cities

New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, has no plans to upgrade its lowest- priced Maruti 800 model to meet EURO IV emissions standards, Chairman R C Bhargava said on Friday.

Bhargava said sales of the model would be discontinued in 13 Indian cities from April.

Maruti is 54.2 per cent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp.

GSM subscriber base at 394.2 mn

New Delhi: The GSM operators together added 3.7 million new subscribers in January, taking the overall GSM subscriber base to 394.2 million with Bharti Airtel leading the front with 2.85 million.

Last month's GSM addition is marginally up from the December numbers when the operators had added 13.1 million.

Airtel is closely followed by Vodafone which added 2.7 new users, say the data released by GSM operators body COAI.

Total user base of Bharti Airtel soared to 121.7 million while that of Vodafone jumped to 94.14 million at the end of January.

Idea Cellular along with Spice Communications have added 2.27 million users taking it to a total 59.88 million, thus retaining its position as the third largest GSP operator.

However, BSNL is closing the gap with Idea. The state-run teleco has added 2.2 million new users last month taking its total subscriber base to 59.45 million.

Aircel has added 2 million new users, taking it user base to 33 million and MTNL added a mere 45,067 users taking its users base to 4.6 million.

The data do not contain the subscriber addition of TataDocomo, the GSM services of Tata Teleservices and Reliance Telecom.

New players like Uninor which launched services in seven circles across the country in December, has added 1.3 million new users last month.

Sports News

Vancouver: Cricket was cleared to pursue its bid to be included in future Games after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rubberstamped the sport's recognition on Thursday.

Cricket, powerboating and sports climbing became the latest sports to be officially recognised by the IOC, a status necessary before launching a bid to become part of the Olympic programme.

"The session gave definite recognition to the three federations," IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters.

The three sports can now bid to join the 2020 Olympics as the programme is always determined seven years in advance.

Golf and rugby were latest inclusions in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games when an IOC session voted them in last year.

The decision about new sports for the 2020 Games will be taken at the IOC session in Buenos Aires in 2013 where the host country will also be picked.

Series win more important than No 1 position: de Villiers

Kolkata: South Africa are just a draw shy of reclaiming the world number one spot in Test cricket, but middle-order batsman A B de Villiers on Friday said the visiting team would cherish a series win more than the ICC rankings. He said the Proteas have the momentum with them and were focused on winning the series.

"We are not too worried about ICC rankings. Obviously, it would be nice to be number one Test side in the world, but our focus is to win series in India. We are here to play good brand of cricket," de Villiers told reporters after team practice at the Eden Gardens here ahead of the second and final Test against India.

"We are obviously playing good cricket at the moment. We are evolving and trying to dominate world cricket, we are still working towards it. Cricket is all about momentum and confidence. We have come from Johannesburg Test win as well as in Nagpur and we have won two Tests in a row," he added.

De Villiers sought to ignore the controversy surrounding the Eden pitch which the BCCI, apparently, had wanted to be tailor-made to suit their spinners.

"There is a little bit of grass on the wicket at this moment. I am pretty sure they will take off the grass in the next 48 hours. But it is up to the groundsman to decide, we have got no control at all," said the right-hander.

Asked about the return of a fit-again VVS Laxman in his happy-hunting ground at the Eden Gardens, de Villiers said, "He is a class player. He has performed really well in the last few years. We have got our plans and we are going to stick to that.

"But, we are focusing on our game and on our strengths. We are not too worried about them (India). Obviously, they are a good side but we are not too worried about our opponents."

He, however, reckoned that India would come out with all guns blazing after the humiliating innings defeat in the first Test at Nagpur.

"It's going to be great challenge here at Eden Gardens and I am sure India will fight back. But our team spirit is great (following the win in Nagpur). We are really enjoying the mood in the camp. Our focus is to win a Test match in Eden Gardens," de Villiers said.

"We are sticking to our gameplan. There is no need to change when you are winning Test matches. The guys are playing pretty well and set at the momentum. We are focusing on our basics and our skills. We are pretty much ready to give the best shot."

Speaking highly of Eden Gardens, de Villiers said he was etching to play his first Test at the venue.

"It's an amazing experience to play cricket at Eden Gardens. It's one of the grounds that bring the best in you. MCG, Lord's, Eden Gardens come in one bracket. It is a special place to play Test cricket. My first Test here. The crowd here is too good and we are expecting a noisy match," he said.

On South Africa's interim coach Corrie van Zyl, who took over from Mickey Arhtur just before the series, de Villiers said, "It does not change much in the side. We still got the same gameplan and strategies. He has been very good in the first Test, we will see it here as well.

Modi gives ECB weeks time to alter county schedule

London:Refusing to change his stand, Champions League commissioner Lalit Modi has given England and Wales Cricket Board one weeks time to tweak its domestic schedule, failing which counties teams would miss out on a chance to play in this year's global Twenty20 event. Modi said it was the best he could offer ECB as the CLT20 is in no position to alter its dates.

"We need to know (ECB's decision) in the next week or so. If they don't come we will invite somebody else," Modi was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.

"The idea is they come and I hope it doesn't get to that eventuality. I understand counties can't go around the ECB's back and we will not invite anybody without their board's permission.

"We have given them the opportunity to change it (the county season) and there is nothing more we can do. We hope the counties change their minds and advance it by a week but the international calendar is very hard to alter," he said.

On Wednesday Modi revealed that the second edition of Champions League would be held from September 10-26 this year. But the ECB was quick to express its reservations over the scheduling of the tournament as it coincide with the final two rounds of the English County Championship, the semi-finals and final of the Pro40 League and the ODI Series between England and Pakistan.

The ECB subsequently took up the matter with Modi, but their request to rework the tournament schedule fell on deaf ears.