NEW DELHI: Noting that both state and non-state actors are engaged in the "business" of terrorism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday saidregular Intelligence reports had warned of "imminent attacks" in the country and security forces needed to be prepared to meet any challenge.
Addressing the top commanders of three Services here, he also said that the situation in India's immediate neighbourhood had worsened, apparently referring to the developments in Pakistan which he did not spell out.
He referred to last year's Mumbai attacks and the terror strike at the Indian embassy in Kabul earlier this month, which he said was "yet another grim reminder of the forces" that India is pitted against.
"There are both state and non-state actors involved in the business of terrorism. India is a democracy and an open society and is, therefore, sometimes highly vulnerable," Singh said.
He pointed out that there has been no major terrorist attack in India since the 'horrific' Mumbai attacks but said "there are regular Intelligence reports of imminent attacks in the country. This is a matter of deep concern and there is no room for complacency".
Chidambaram to Maoists: Give up violence, come for talks
New Delhi: Union Home Minister P Chidambaram offered an olive branch to Maoists saying that Government will be willing to start dialogue process with them if they abjure violence.
"If the CPI (Maoist) will make a statement and call a halt to violence, Government would be willing to start a process through which the State Government concerned and the Central Government can hold talks with them on any issue that concerns them and the people they claim to represent," he said in a letter to former Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray.
Chidambaram was replying to a statement made by Ray and some eminent persons on the Maoist menace recently.
"I sincerely will prevail upon the CPI(Maoist) to abjure violence," he said in the letter, copies of which were sent to Justice Rajinder Sachar, prof Rajni Kothari, Kuldip Nayyar, Aruna Rai and K G Kannabiran.
He said the only hurdle to holding talks with the CPI (Maoist) is the violence that "stalks the areas in which they operate".
He drew attention of these eminent persons to the statements made by various Maoist leaders especially Muppala Laxman Rao (Ganapathy) and Mallojula Koteshwar Rao (Kishenji), justifying violence and armed struggle.
Chidambaram pointed out in his letter that in 2009 alone CPI (Maoist) caused 183 violent attacks on economic targets including railway tracks, telephone towers, power plants, mines, school buildings and panchayat bhavans.
Students don't need 80% for taking IIT exam: Sibal
NEW DELHI: Retracting from his stand about raising the cut-off percentage for appearing in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) entrance exam, union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said that scoring high would not be a prerequisite.
"Any reports indicating that students would need to score above 80 percent for appearing in the joint entrance exams are baseless," Sibal told reporters.
Sibal had Monday stressed that the IIT admission procedures "should give more weightage to Class 12 exam marks," as well as consider raising the existing eligibility from 60 percent to 80 to 85 percent for students to appear in the IIT Joint Entrance Examination.
The minister made the comments while chairing a meeting of the IIT Council here.
The minister on Tuesday said reports of an HRD ministry proposal for a new system under which only high-scoring class 12 students will be allowed to sit for the entrance exams to professional courses were baseless because only the IITs can decide admission criteria.
At the IIT Council meeting, the minister said he also wanted to get rid of professional coaching for medical and engineering exams.
Two blasts rock Islamabad university, 7 dead
ISLAMABAD: On fourth day of the military operation in the lawless tribal region of South Waziristan, two bomb blasts went off at a university in Islamabad on Tuesday that left seven people dead and nearly 30 injured, officials said.
Eyewitnesses and police officials said that one attacker struck at a women’s cafeteria of the International Islamic university campus while another bomber blew himself up at the law department of the university.
The blast at the cafeteria left bits of flesh splattered on the floor with shattered window panes. The second attack took place in the Islamic law department. At least 29 injured have been shifted to the nearby PIMS hospital in the federal capital where several of them are said to be in critical condition. The injured included 14 girls and four of them are said to be in serious condition. The International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) has more than 12,000 students, nearly half of them women. Students from around the world attend the university, with most taking Islamic studies.
Interior minister Rehman Malik said that six people were killed — two suicide bombers, two men and two women while a senior police official Rana Akmar Hayat told the media that seven people were killed and 29 injured.
“Seven people, including two suicide bombers were killed in the twin-attacks while 29 got injured. Among the dead is one female”, Rana said at the scene of the attack.
“Within seconds, the attacks occurred one after another. There were 3,000 and 4,000 students on the campus at the time of the attacks”, said Shandana Butt, a third year law student who saw the attack at cafetaria.
TV footage showed women stained in blood being carried out by security officials and fellow students from the cafeteria building.
Security at educational establishments had been tightened in response to the recent campaign of violence by militants. In the run-up to the offensive, militants attacked a police station in Peshawar, a United Nations office and the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and three different police facilities in Lahore on the same day.
Before the launch of army operation in Waziristan, it was feared that militants would retaliate by attacking civilians to create panic.
The government knee-jerk reaction was to shut down educational institutions in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and several other cities for one week. Pakistani forces launched a ground offensive on Saturday to drive out the Taliban and al-Qaida militants from their bases in a tribal region of South Waziristan.
To win support of the tribal people, the Army chief Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, on Monday, wrote an open letter to the Mehsud tribes of Waziristan, saying: “The operation in South Waziristan was not meant to target the brave and patriotic Mehsud tribes, but aimed at ridding them of the elements who had destroyed peace in the region.”
“The target of the operation were Uzbek terrorists, foreign elements and local militants”, Kiyani said.
The US and other western allies would be uncomfortable over the tactical compromises that Pakistan made with two other Taliban groups in the region controlled by Wana-based Maulvi Nazir, in South Waziristan, and Miramshah-based Hafiz Gul Bahadur, in North Waziristan.
Both Taliban groups were blamed for carrying out significant numbers attacks on Nato and US forces across the border in Afghanistan.
Growing Indo-US ties unnerving China: Expert
Washington: The deepening of strategic relationship between India and the US has unnerved China, an eminent American scholar said, arguing that Beijing's four-decade-old policy of dealing with New Delhi on their own terms has gone haywire.
Participating in a panel discussion on "China 2025" organised on Monday by the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations, Evan Feigenbaum, its Senior Fellow for East, Central and South Asia, said Beijing is increasingly becoming concerned about the growing Indo-US relationship.
"Since 1962, the Chinese strategists have basically decided that they can deal with India on their own terms. But when you introduce the United States into that equation, it introduces all kinds of uncertainties into Chinese planning," he said.
Feigenbaum noted that for China, India has so far been a second, if not a third tier security priority.
Voicing a similar opinion another eminent scholar said that in a unipolar Asia, where China is the dominant power, it is India, which to some extent balances the power of Beijing.
"Asia without active participation of the US is not multipolar, it is unipolar with China as the dominant power, possibly balanced to some extent by India," Princeton University's Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Aaron Friedberg said in the discussion.
Commenting on the effect of Indo-US economic relationship on China, Feigenbaum said, "The United States is still India's number one trading partner. But in goods, China's now number one. So there is enormous amount of strategic mistrust on both sides."
He noted, China is increasingly moving to the centre of India's defence planning, replacing Pakistan. The world is in for a "period of India-China tension" he said adding, "There are things that are ratcheting up on the border a little bit, but I think broadly tamped down within limits that are set by the political leaderships on both sides."
Indian Business News
Reliance gas dispute like war between two nations: SC
NEW DELHI: The dispute over natural gas from Krishna-Godavari basin is not a fight between two companies, but one between two brothers, Mukesh and Anil Ambani, the Supreme Court observed on Tuesday, as it commenced hearing the high-profile legal battle.
"It's like two countries, where there is no fight between their people," observed the three-member bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice P. Sathasivam.
"The fight is between the two persons, who are heading the country. But the fight has percolated down to the people," the bench added, while hearing the arguments by senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries.
During the two-hour hearing, the bench also said the battle was personal in nature.
The court also asked the media to exercise restraint and said the observations by the justices were only intended to elicit the views of the contending counsels and should not be construed as an expression of their views.
The arguments by Reliance Industries counsel remained inconclusive and will resume Wednesday.
At the crux of the dispute is the supply of natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin, awarded for exploration and harnessing to Reliance Industries, before a split in 2005 in the group founded by legendary industrialist, the late Dhirubhai Ambani.
Based on a family reorganisation pact, the Anil Ambani Group wants 28 million units of gas per day for 17 years at $2.34 per unit. But Reliance Industries says it can only sell it for $4.20 per unit, claiming this was the price approved by the government.
The Bombay High Court had upheld the claim by the younger brother Anil Ambani's group in a verdict delivered in June, which was challenged by Reliance Industries in the apex court.
The government, too, has joined the dispute as an interested party, saying gas was the property of the state and cannot be fought over by two rival corporate houses.
AI to fly all-economy planes on Gulf routes
Mumbai: As part of its route rationalization and cost-cutting measures, Air India plans to replace its twin -class aircraft with all-economy ones belonging to low-cost subsidiary Air India Express on few Gulf routes from this month end.
"As part of our route rationalisation plans some of the flights which are currently being operated by erstwhile Indian Airlines on sectors like Bahrain and Doha, will be operated by our low-cost subsidiary Air India Express," Air India sources said.
Airbus A320, which are currently being flown on these routes, would be replaced by planes with all-economy configuration flown by Air India Express, they said.
"There is a huge potential for economy class traffic on these routes. Replacing a full-service carrier with a budget carrier will definitely help us in enhancing our revenue," the sources said.
Air India has already effected these changes in its winter schedule starting from Sunday, they said.
Indian Sports News|Sports News
Sydney: Hampered by injuries to key players, the Australian cricket team took off for India to play a seven-match ODI series with skipper Ricky Ponting conceding that despite their Champions Trophy debacle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men would be hard to beat in home conditions.
"They will be particularly hard to beat in India, they always are. They definitely play a lot better at home than they do when they travel," Ponting told reporters before the Aussies boarded their flight to India yesterday. India crashed out of the Champions Trophy in the group stage itself.
Australia, on the other hand, are high on confidence after clinching their second successive Champions Trophy title. But Ponting said injuries to regular vice-captain Michael Clarke and batsman Callum Ferguson has disturbed the balance of the side and selection would be a major headache during the tour.
While Ferguson is out for a year with a knee injury, Clarke is battling a back problem but may join the squad in the later in the series.
"The selectors and myself are going to have a bit of thinking to do over the next few days as to what we do with the batting line-up," Ponting said.
To their relief Shaun Marsh is back in the team after recovering from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since April but it would be quite a task for him to strike form immediately and knock off in-form Tim Paine from the opening slot.
"Paine coming in has had a fair bit of success at the top of the order and given himself every opportunity to remain there," Poning said.
Gill meets Kalmadi, looks to solve crisis
Taking the first step towards brokering peace between the 2010 Organising Committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation, Sports Minister MS Gill on Tuesday met OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi to discuss the vexed issues that have hit the capital's preparation for the event.
Kalmadi came to Gill's residence this morning where the Sports Minister took stock of the progress of preparations and discussed the contentious issues that have the OC and the CGF at loggerheads.
"I met Mr Kalmadi today and had a long discussion on all the matters. I will be talking to (CGF Chief) Mr Mike Fennell on telephone and will have a meeting with him, (CGF CEO Mike) Hooper and Mr Kalmadi in London on October 28," Gill said after the meeting.
"I am confident that all issues will be resolved and everyone will work in unison to ensure a very good Commonwealth Games in Delhi next year," the minister added. The OC and the CGF seemed to have reached a deadlock over mainly two issues -- the necessity of a Technical Review Panel and Hooper's stay in Delhi.
Fennell, soon after the CGF general assembly earlier this month, made it clear that the organisers needed to pull up their socks and fast-track their preparations if the capital is to deliver on its commitment of putting on the best Commonwealth Games ever.
Fennell said the CGF had decided to set up a Technical Review Panel to monitor the progress, a suggestion that did not go down well with the OC with Kalmadi outrightly rejecting the idea.
