Latest News India

I-T department to probe Mayawati's cash garland

NEW DELHI: The huge garland that Mayawati wore at a public rally caused the disruption of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday even as the estimated value of the currency notes of which it was made varied from Rs 21 lakhs to Rs 15 crore.

The Income Tax department also stepped in and decided to probe the source of the money for the garland of Rs 1,000 notes presented to Uttar Pradesh chief minister at a rally in Lucknow on Monday. The department will probe the funding and ownership of currency notes, sources said.

The Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) supremo came under sharp attack inside and outside Parliament after the "multi crore" currency garland triggered an outrage fuelling demands by Opposition for a central probe into the source of money.

As Mayawati's rally to mark the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) silver jubilee rocked the Lok Sabha which had to adjourned for the day several hours ahead of schedule, Congress said the Centre should look into the "organised loot" in Uttar Pradesh. The Samajwadi party, which also backed Congress' demand for a central probe, has already demanded a CBI inquiry. BJP also backed the demand for a probe

After the BSP supremo came in the eye of a fresh controversy, Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh wryly said Mayawati is "no more a Dalit ke beti but Daulat ke beti"(no more a daughter of Dalit but a moneyed daughter), referring to the garland of 1,000 rupee currency notes presented to her.

"Mayawati is no longer the woman representing the common man. She is playing in lakhs and crores (of rupees)," he said.

"We appeal to the government to take cognizance of Mayawati's rally and the garland presented to her. It should be inquired into," he added.

BJP's Rajnath Singh said the state machinery has been misused by the ruling BSP for the lavish celebrations and it should be looked into. Going on the defensive, BSP general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui rejected speculation that value of the notes in the garland ran into crores of rupees, saying it the money totalled only "Rs 21 lakhs".

"The talk of crores of rupees is not true," he said, adding that the garland was presented by Lucknow district BSP unit by contributing small amounts of money. The garland is in the custody of Mayawati, he said. In the Lok Sabha, the SP and Congress members created ruckus since noon, forcing two adjournments till 2pm. When similar scenes were witnessed again, Deputy Speaker Karia Munda adjourned the House for recess till April 12.

In the din after the Zeor Hour, Congress and SP members were heard saying the garland was estimated to be worth between Rs 10 crore and Rs 15 crore. Coming to the defence of Mayawati, BSP MP Vijay Bahadur Singh said, "If I garland you then what is your mistake in it? People are ready to even sacrifice their lives for Mayawati, so what can we do about this? This is their dedication towards their leader," he said.

Maya plays ‘victim’ to 4 lakh gallery

LUCKNOW: Felicitated by her fawning party workers from different parts of the country, BSP supremo Mayawati, addressing a rally of a staggering four lakh people here on Monday, accused the Congress of using money, media and mafia to create hurdles for her and exhorted partymen to prepare for the battle against the ‘‘anti-poor and anti-Dalit policies of the UPA government’’.

The rally marked the 76th birth anniversary of BSP founder Kanshi Ram as well as 25 years of the party. The fact that much of her tirade was directed against the Congress made it plain that that’s where she expects the most serious threat to BSP from. The crowd was nowhere close to 20 lakh as claimed by party leaders, but Maya looked visibly pleased to see such a large number of her votaries. She did not specify how Congress was using mafia against her but said the UPA government misused the CBI to fabricate cases against her. ‘‘False stories are being planted against me and the BSP,’’ she said.

She spared none. Apart from the Opposition parties, she attacked the media, the Election Commission, the judiciary, the corporate houses as well as Baba Ramdev, saying all of these held caste biases. Every litany invited a huge round of applause from the crowd. Many people heard her speech from loud-speakers imported for the occasion. But, there were tense moments when a swarm of honey bees descended in front of the dais and threatened to move towards Maya. Nervous officers waited with baited breaths and sighed with relief as the bees disappeared after 15-20 minutes.

Maya attacked the Election Commission for accepting the Opposition’s objection on installation of elephant statues in Dalit memorials. ‘‘I am accused of promoting my party’s election symbol, but one must see that the trunk of elephant in statues is pointing upward in ‘welcome gesture’ whereas BSP’s election symbol the trunk of elephant is down,’’ she said.

‘‘By that logic, the election symbol of SP should be seized as my government distributed cycles to girls under a welfare scheme. Similarly, Congress’s ‘hand’ should be banned as people, including politicians, wave hands in greeting,’’ she said.

Maya also appeared unhappy over stay orders on government projects on Dalit icons by the courts on petitions filed by her rivals. ‘‘Fingers will be pointed at the judiciary if the principle of equality is not applied on all political parties,’’ she said.

Maya arrived at Rama Bai Rally Sthal under heavy security. She described Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Dalit homes as drama and added, ‘‘Even the women’s reservation bill is anti-poor as it doesn’t have any provision for Dalit, Muslim, Backward and financially weak upper caste. Congress is giving credit to Sonia Gandhi for women’s reservation but it was Babsaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar who gave equal status to women in the Constitution.’’

Baba Ramdev may launch political party

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev plans to launch his own party though he says he won't fight elections. Baba Ramdev said he wants to 'cleanse' the system. The yoga guru would field candidates in all Lok Sabha constituencies.

Ramdev, who was in Ghaziabad on March 15th to participate in a school function, targeted the UPA government for not keeping the prices of essential commodities in check and alleged: "The intention of the government is very much doubtful towards poors and farmers".

"No doubt Manmohan Singh is a good economist and he understands perfectly the growth rate, but he does not understand the economics of Dal-Roti (cereals and bread)," he told reporters.

He said common men eats bread and not the growth rate, which has no role in the life of those who live below poverty line.

The yoga guru said that he will field candidates in the 2014 general elections but not yet decided on his own candidature. He advocated reforms in the administrative system of the country.

Ramdev has already launched Bharat Swabhiman campaign with an aim to end corrupt practices, bring back the Indian black money and use it for the development of the nation besides changing the system that has been continuing since the British period, among others.

Varun, Smriti named BJP Secys; Raje is new Gen Secy

New Delhi: Three months after he took over reigns of the party, BJP President Nitin Gadkari pn Tuesday brought in a mix of youth, experience and women in his team of office bearers inducting heavyweights like Vasundhara Raje and Ravishankar Prasad and hardliners like Varun Gandhi and Vinay Katiyar.

Gadkari, who was considered as an RSS choice when he replaced Rajnath Singh, has also given positions to some leaders said to be close to the sangh parivar founthead.

Among them are Bhagat Singh Koshiyari (Vice President), Murlidhar Rao (Secretary) and Tarun Vijay, who was Editor of RSS mouthpiece "Organiser", as spokesperson.

Prominent Muslim face and three-time MP Shahnawaz Hussain, who was widely tipped to become a General Secretary, has been appointed as Spokesperson while Najma Heptullah has been retained as Vice President.

Raje, former Rajasthan Chief Minister who was unseated as Leader of the Opposition after the Lok Sabha debacle, and Prasad, now the Chief Spokesperson, have been new General Secretaries.

Gandhi, who landed himself in controversy for his hate speeches during the Lok Sabha elections, has now been inducted as one of the 15 Secretaries while Katiyar, a former

General Secretary, has become one of the 11 Vice Presidents.

L K Advani-loyalist Ananth Kumar, Vijay Goyal and Thavarchand Gehlot, have been retained as General Secretaries while former Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda, Dharmendra Pradhan, Narendrasingh Tomar and Jagat Prakash Nadda are the new General Secretaries.

RSS points persons Ram Lal (General Secretary- Organisation), V Satish and Saudan Singh (Joint General Secretaries - Organisation) have been retained.

No scaling down of Afghan operations: Rao

Washington: India, which is engaged in extensive humanitarian and development work in Afghanistan, on Tuesday ruled out scaling down its operations there despite the recent terror attack on its nationals in Kabul and asked the global community to stay the course in the war-torn country.

"We are not scaling down our operations in Afghanistan, we are taking all necessary security measures to safeguard Indian lives there," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said at the Woodrow Wilson Centre.

Terming the February 26 terror strike in Kabul as a "barbaric attack against Indians engaged in humanitarian and development work in Afghanistan", she said it was carried out by those who do not wish any other future for Afghanistan "except one that suits their sinister ambitions."

The attack, which left seven Indians dead, was aimed at forcing New Delhi out of Afghanistan, Rao, who is in the US on a six-day visit, said.

"International community should understand that such attempts, if unchecked, would only embolden the same forces that held sway in Afghanistan in the 1990s and caused the tragedy of 9/11," Rao said.

She also said that there could not be a distinction between a good Taliban and bad Taliban. Rao said there was "no quick solution" to the Af-Pak situation and it is "important for international community, in its own interest, to stay the present course for as long as it was necessary."

The deteriorating situation in Afghanistan remains the foremost security-related challenge, Rao said addressing the prestigious Centre.

The Indian government is in the process of building a well-protected chancery-cum-living quarters in Kabul, which will house over 500 Indians within its safe confines. The construction is on in full swing on a piece of land in Kabul that India had bought in 1963 in the diplomatic area.

Boom-barriers, refurbished walls to withstand impact of a bomb blast and infra-red CCTV cameras among others would also be put into place, while ITBP commandos would provide round-the-clock security to the buildings within the area. About 4,000 Indians are engaged in reconstruction projects in health, power, roads and social sector across Afghanistan.

Business News

'No obstacles seen to Zain-Bharti deal'

Kuwait : Kuwaiti telecom Zain and India's Bharti Airtel have faced no obstacles in due diligence and expect the $9 billion deal to close on time, a Kuwaiti newspaper said on Tuesday.

‘Daily al-Rai’, quoting unnamed sources familiar with the deal, said both firms were keen on closing the sale of Zain's African assets to Bharti on March 25 as scheduled.

"We are progressing with due diligence step by step and there are no obstacles so far. Each of Zain and Bharti are keen to finalize the transaction according to the preset timetable," according to a person quoted by the newspaper.

The paper said due diligence had been done on the majority of Zain's African assets in major countries and only procedural steps, which are unlikely to change the final report, remain.

The newspaper quoted sources as saying Bharti, India's largest telecoms firm, is expected to name the final bank consortium on the deal.

Bharti's exclusive talks with Zain run until March 25, and follow two failed attempts by the Indian firm to tie-up with South Africa's MTN, Africa's biggest telecoms firm.

Bharti is looking at a mix of dollar and rupee funding to finance the Zain deal, sources told Reuters last month.

No plan to take over state banks: SBI

New Delhi : There is no proposal for government-run State Bank of India to take over any other state bank, a minister of state for Finance said on Tuesday.

"... at present there is no proposal before the government for merger of any nationalised bank with the State Bank of India, Namo Narain Meena said in a written reply to a lawmaker's question in parliament.

He said the government would not push for mergers between banks but would support any proposal from the boards of the banks.

State Bank, India's largest lender, has said it plans to absorb its six associate banks but has met with union and political opposition. It is in the process of absorbing unlisted State Bank of Indore.

Sensex closes up 1.35 pct

Mumbai: Indian shares provisionally closed 1.35 percent higher on Tuesday, fuelled by a rally in Reliance Industries, and helped by gains in world equities.

The 30-share BSE index provisionally ended up 231.91 points at 17,396.90, with 23 components gaining.

The 50-share NSE index provisionally closed up 1.4 percent at 5,202.05 points.

Sports News

Tiger Woods to return to golf at the Masters

WASHINGTON (Florida): Tiger Woods will return to competitive golf next month to play in the Augusta Masters, he said in a statement on his website Tuesday.

"The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta," he said on his website.

The world's number one golfer put his game on hold in the wake of a major sex scandal which erupted at the end of last year.

"I have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy and I am continuing my treatment," Woods added. "Although I'm returning to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life."

The Masters starts on April 8.

RCB beat Kings XI Punjab by 8 wickets

Bangalore: Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in an Indian Premier League match.

Brief score:

Kings XI Punjab: 203 for 3 in 20 overs (Ravi Bopara 77, Manvinder Bisla 75, Mahela Jayawardene 26 not out; Dale Steyn 1/36).

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 204 for 2 in 18.5 overs

(Jacques Kallis not out 89, Robin Uthappa 51).

Six Indian boxers in C'wealth C'ship finals

New Delhi: Hockey-player-turned-boxer Amandeep Singh (49kg) out-punched Malaysian M Redzuan while Jai Bhagwan (60kg) didn't even step inside the ring to make the finals as a record six Indians assured themselves of at least a silver in the fifth Commonwealth Championships here on Tuesday.

Good news started trickling in early in the day for India when Asian Championship silver medallist Jai got a walkover into the finals after his English opponent Danny Philips was found medically unfit in the weigh-in this morning. Jai will face Bahamian Valention Knowles in the final tomorrow.

The man who did go to the ring did not disappoint the home fans either. Amandeep, a gold medallist from the January South Asian Games in Dhaka, thrashed Malaysian M Redzuan 7-1 in a lopsided bout to enter the final. He will now face Kenya's Peter Mungai, who notched up a 7-0 win over Botswana's Bathusi Mogajane.

With world number one Vijender Singh (75kg), Asian champion Suranjoy Singh (52kg), World Cup bronze medalist Dinesh Kumar (81kg) and Asian bronze medallist Paramjeet Samota already through to the finals, the Indian team is in contention for lifting the team championship as well.

In the only bout to feature a local favourite today, Amandeep fought from long range to get past his opponent, who was aggressive throughout. A few jabs earned Amandeep a crucial 3-0 lead in the opening round and though he couldn't add to the tally in the next three minutes, the Indian ensured that none of his opponent's wild swings could get to him.

"My opponent was slightly slow and that helped my cause," the 23-year-old Punjab boxer said after the bout. In the final three minutes, Amandeep landed a couple of powerful hooks to increase the lead, adding to Redzuan's frustration, who was penalised two points for bending excessively.

"The plan was to take a good lead in the opening round and guard that. We wanted to be safer in the second round because a tall boxer like Amandeep is an easy prey for wild swings by shorter boxers. So he likes to fight from long range," said national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu. "Amandeep is again facing a southpaw in the final tomorrow," he added.

Amandeep, who quit hockey to take up a boxing career a few years ago, beat world junior champion Thokchom Nanao Singh in the trials for the event last month. Amandeep said sparring with Nanao has helped improve his skills.

"Training with Nanao helps because he is also a southpaw," he said.

Looking ahead at tomorrow's final, Sandhu said the performance of his wards has surpassed his expectations "But finals are not going to be a cakewalk. They are tough but hopefully our boys will do well. They are very motivated," he said.

Meanwhile, Englishman Ian Weaver, who beat Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar in the 56kg quarterfinals, eked out another shocker by ousting Olympic bronze medalist Bruno Julie of Malaysia from the event.

Baby-faced Weaver, a 20-year-old participating in his first senior international tournament, defeated Julie 12-3. The swift-moving Englishman scored with his precise jabs and forced Julie, who likes to fight with an open guard, to cover up with his aggressive approach.

Latest News India

Pune blast probe: Top cop blames German bakery staff

PUNE: A month after a blast in Pune killed 17 people, city police commissioner Satyapal Singh on Saturday charged the staff of the German Bakery and its customers with "utter negligence" and said the bag with the bomb had been lying unnoticed for over 90 minutes.

"It was not a few minutes or 10-15 minutes, more than one-and-half hours and yet nobody bothered to notice it... This is sheer carelessness on the part of the people," he said, addressing a rally of over 1,000 students at the Azad campus here. The event was organised by the Sakal Social Foundation.

According to Singh, the presence of the bag was also brought to the notice of the cashier by some customers of the bakery, but he was "too busy" in his work to even take note of it or bother to inform the police.

"Barely 20 minutes later, the bomb exploded there. I am sure that if the German Bakery staff and its patrons had exercised more awareness, the blast could have been prevented and so many innocent lives could have been saved," Singh said.

The pre-Valentine's Day blast on Feb 13 in Koregaon Park killed 17 people, including five foreign nationals. Despite the multi-pronged investigations by several state and central agencies, the investigators seem to have drawn a blank in the motives behind the blast or its perpetrators.

State Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) chief K.P. Raghuvanshi said the investigations are progressing and they hope to crack the case soon.

"We are examining it from all possible angles, nothing is being ruled out. But I will not speculate on whom we suspect. As soon as we are through, it (details) shall be made public," Raghuvanshi said.

So far, over 100 suspects have been questioned and allowed to go.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Pune residents, including foreigners and students from scores of colleges participated in 'nirbhayta', or fearless, rallies in different parts of the city here Saturday. The people paid homage to those killed in the blast and took a pledge not to be cowed down by terror threats.

Don't want to waste time if the meet is 'fruitless': Qureshi

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday said he would address American concerns about the Lashker-e-Toiba during an upcoming visit to the US, a day after lawmakers asked the Obama administration to put more pressure on Islamabad to crack down on the LeT.

Qureshi said he would be willing to provide "any explanation sought" by American authorities. "They have a Congressional committee which discussed (this issue) and people expressed their views. They can do that, you can't impose restrictions on anyone. But I will be visiting the US in the near future and I will engage Congressmen and Senators. I will present our views to them," Qureshi said in response to a question during an interaction with reporters in his hometown of Multan.

Gary Ackerman, chairman of the US House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, yesterday described the Pakistan-based terror outfit LeT as a "group of savages" that ought to be crushed.

He said the LeT was "both tolerated by and connected to the Pakistani military".

In response to another question about the normalisation of ties with India, Qureshi said he was willing to hold talks with his Indian counterpart if such a meeting resulted in a tangible outcome.

"I have no objection to meeting (my Indian counterpart) but what is the purpose of such a meeting? If something comes out of the meeting, I am ready to meet him. I am ready to go there (for a meeting)," he said.

"If nothing will be achieved by such a meeting, I don't want to waste my time. I have no desire for a photo opportunity," Qureshi added.

"I sincerely want an end to tensions affecting ties and I sincerely want the resumption of the composite dialogue. I sincerely want an improvement in ties so that we can live like good neighbours," he said.

India and Pakistan have disputes and they had "decided on a mechanism to resolve these disputes", he said.

"We should move forward on this. We may not be able to solve them immediately but we can make progress. There are many issues on which there are bright chances of progress if there is political will and sincerity but I am not in favour of sitting for the sake of sitting and talks for the sake of talks," Qureshi said.

Deeply disappointed at Pak statement alleging Indian hand in Lahore blasts: India

NEW DELHI: "Deeply disappointed" over the charges by Pakistan regarding its involvement in blasts, India on Saturday said it was unfortunate that by repeating such "unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations" that country puts strain on the bilateral relationship.

"Unequivocally" condemning the allegations, India rejected charges of any involvement in such acts or activities and said Pakistan should "concentrate on dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism directed against India and adversely impacting on Pakistan itself".

India "unequivocally condemns the series of bomb blasts in Lahore on March 12, 2010 which claimed the lives of scores of people, including innocent civilians, and injured many more, among them women and children. Our condolences go out to the families of those killed by these acts of terrorism," external affairs ministry said in a statement.

"At the same time, government is deeply disappointed by statements emanating from Pakistan alleging an Indian hand in yesterday's attacks in Lahore, and other terrorist acts and disturbances elsewhere in Pakistan.

"We categorically reject, once again, the allegations of India's involvement in such acts or activities. Government has reiterated on several occasions, and at the highest level, that India has no interest in destabilising Pakistan."

Lalu ready to get marshalled out over Women's Bill

Patna: Toughening his stand against Women's Reservation Bill, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad said he would not get bowed down to any pressure and would continue fighting against the present form of the bill.

"Let them get me marshalled out using military or any other force in the Lok Sabha, I will fight against any attempts to get the bill passed in Lok Sabha in its present form," Prasad said while addressing the activists of the Muslim Khwatin Morcha here.

"We want that the bill should facilitate reservation for minorities, NREGA workers and other backward class women who deserve justice," he said adding he would take the battle to its "logical conclusion".

After a hue and cry raised over the present form of the bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed to hold consultations on the issue with political parties, Prasad said.

He alleged that the Congress and BJP were trying to bring the bill in the Lok Sabha for "ulterior intentions" which would be fought with full vigour and strength.

Prasad also indicated that the Congress' recalcitrance over tabling the bill might lead to an early elections and asked his partymen to remain prepared for mid-term polls.

Business News

Sensex surges by 172 points

Mumbai: The market looked in a consolidation mode on lack of buying by foreign funds in select counters pushing up the benchmark Sensex by another 172 points to close at 17,166.62.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) injected Rs 4,346.01 crore during the week, as per the provisional data issued by the NSE.

The 30-share BSE benchmark resumed higher at 17,034.92 and hovered in a range of 17,244.54 and 17,027.92 before ending on Friday at 17,166.62, a net rise of 172.13 points, or 1.01 per cent, from its last weekend's close.

Banking shares shot up sharply after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee moved the State Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2010, allowing "reduction of shareholding of the Central Government from 55 per cent to 51 per cent consisting of the equity shares of the issued capital."

Credit growth rose by 15.5 per cent at Rs 31.78 lakh crore for the fortnight ended February 26, 2010, raising expectations that it could breach the Reserve Bank's projection of 16 per cent growth by March-end. The credit growth also boosted the market sentiment.

The country's Index of Industrial Production IIP grew by a robust 16.7 per cent in January led by a good show from the manufacturing sector.

Investment destinations: India in top 3

Washington: India is among the world's top three preferred investment destination, but equity caps limit the size of potential inflows, according to a Columbia University report.

The report cited liberalisation in FDI policy and several economic sectors, a globally competitive workforce, and rapid GDP and market growth as the main drivers of foreign investment in India.

Yet, it said equity caps limit the size of potential new inflows and national security concerns might prompt more oversight of FDI approval processes.

According to the 15-page report 'Inward FDI in India and its policy context' India is also the 13th largest in terms of foreign investment inflows, which have risen 15-fold since 2000.

The report said while investors initially concentrated on manufacturing, power and telecommunications, they now focus on services.

Among other visible trends, firms in developed countries dominated investment in the 1990s, but in the past decade developing country investors have also become significant, it said.

A third of the post-2000 inflow is invested around Mumbai, a manufacturing hub, and one-fifth around Delhi, a services hub.

M&M inaugurates new plant at Chakan

New Delhi: Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra inaugurated its Rs 5,000-crore new manufacturing plant at Chakan (Maharashtra) that will enable the company to produce its entire range of products under one roof.

The 700-acre facility will have an initial annual installed capacity of three lakh units and will manufacture products ranging from the 0.75-tonne Maxximo to the 49-tonne Mahindra Navistar truck and the sports utility vehicle (SUV) range it plans to launch in the US.

"The plant has been envisioned as the hub of innovation and technology for the Mahindra Group, with several new products, including our new SUV and pick-up line rolling out from here," Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) President (Automotive Sector) Pawan Goenka said in a statement.

He said the Chakan facility incorporates flexible features, which will allow the company to respond rapidly to changing customer needs.

The company has invested Rs 2,500 crore in the first phase of construction of the plant for a capacity of three lakh units, which will be scaled up to Rs 5,000 crore.

The plant was inaugurated in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and M&M Vice Chairman and MD Anand Mahindra.

Sports News

Pathan's ton goes in vain as Mumbai win cliffhanger

MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians survived a brutal assault by Yusuf Pathan, who struck a belligerent 37-ball century, to record a thrilling four-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in their opening match of the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

Yusuf slammed an astonishing nine sixes and eight fours while making exactly 100 runs to bring the Royals on the doorstep of a victory after Mumbai Indians made 212 for six. But after his dismissal, the Royals were stopped in their tracks.

Yusuf was run out brilliantly by R Satish whom he had treated with utter disdain during his superb 107-run partnership with the unheralded Paras Dogra (41 off 29 balls) for the fifth wicket to raise visions of a great come-from-behind victory.

But the marauder from Baroda was run out in the first ball of the 18th over and the rest of the batting order could not provide the finishing touch.

Needing 12 runs in the last over bowled by Lasith Malinga, the Royals ended at 208 for seven after losing Dogra and Amit Uniyal in the first two balls.

Dmitry Mascarenhas and captain Shane Warne could not complete the job.

Earlier fine half centuries from Ambati Rayudu (55) and Saurabh Tiwary (53) following a sound start piloted Mumbai Indians to their highest-ever IPL total.

Guntur-born Rayudu, an ICL returnee, cracked 55 in 33 balls studded with 6 fours and 2 sixes while Jamshedpur-born Saurabh Tiwary slammed a breezy 53 in the same number of balls, embellished with 4 fours and two sixes.

The fourth wicket duo put on 110 runs in only 63 balls to lift Mumbai Indians from 70 for three to 180 for four.

The duo's late order hitting, after the rollicking start given by openers Sanath Jayasuriya (23) and skipper Sachin Tendulkar (17) helped the home team end up with a 200-plus total amidst carnival atmosphere inside the famed Brabourne Stadium.

Left-handed Sri Lanka veteran Jayasuriya set the scorching run-scoring pace by lofting Dmitri Mascarenhas for three fours in the first over, two of them lofted shots in his typical fashion over covers.

The Royals commenced their chase to overhaul the record Mumbai Indians score on the wrong foot as they lost opener Swapnil Asnodkar in the second ball without facing a ball due to a misunderstanding with Graeme Smith.

Smith, who had to return home early at the end of the Test series against India after a finger injury, looked in good touch and was especially severe on Zaheer Khan by thumping the left arm pace bowler for three fours in his second over, two of them to the straight field.

Smith and wicket keeper Naman Ojha took the score to 38 when the latter departed caught in the deep off the first ball from left arm spinner Murtuza Ali for 12.

Netherlands beat England 4-3, finish third

New Delhi: The Netherlands scripted a remarkable come-from-behind victory to win the hockey World Cup bronze medal by defeating England 4-3 in a thrilling match here on Saturday.

The Dutch, who were trailing 1-3 at the breather made a remarkable comeback by pumping in three goals in the second session to win their second bronze medal in the World Cup history.

The three-time champions had already won two silver earlier and with today's bronze was their seventh World Cup medal. This is also their first podium finish after their third place in 2002 when they beat South Korea in the bronze medal match.

Dutch captain Teun de Nooijer, who was outstanding in the field today, scored in his last World Cup match and equaled Pakistani Akhtar Rasool's record of most number of World Cup medals -- four -- having won one gold, one silver and one bronze earlier.

Rasool has won three gold and one silver. Teun de Nooijer (22nd), Taeke Taekema (48th), Klaas Vermeulen (56th) and Rogier Hofman (67th) scored for the Dutch. With today's goal -- his eighth -- star drag-flicker Taekema became the tournament top scorer.

He also became the joint second top scorer in the history of the World Cup with 21 goals, the same number as that of countrymate and current team manager Ties Kruize.

For England, who were playing in a World Cup medal match for the second time -- after their silver finish in 1986 at home-- Ashley Jackson struck twice (30th, 34th) while Alastair Brogdon scored the other goal in the 23rd minute.

Saina creates history in All England Badminton Championship

LONDON: Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to reach the semi-finals of the All England Super Series badminton championship when she defeated German Juliane Schenk in straight games in the quarter-finals.

The world number seven Indian beat Juliane 21-8, 21-14 in just 27 minutes to set up a tough semi-final clash with former world number one Tine Rasmussen of Denmark at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Rasmussen beat world champion and sixth seed Lan Lu 16-21, 23-21, 21-11 in the first quarter-final.

"It is a fantastic victory," said former All England champion and national chief coach Pullela Gopi Chand.

Asked about the semi-final match to be played late on Saturday, Gopi Chand said Saina should have an edge, even though the Indian has a 0-2 record against Rasmussen.

"Saina is a much improved player than last year. She has been working on her strokes. She has the edge over Rasmussen," said Gopi Chand.

The Hyderabadi sensation had beaten Judith Meulendijks of the Netherlands and Korean Seung Hee Bae in the first two rounds before getting past Juliane in the quarter-finals.

Indian Latest News

Reopen graft cases against Zardari: Pak Supreme Court

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday directed the country's anti-corruption watchdog to reopen graft cases against Asif Ali Zardari and 8,000 others that were quashed under the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance, a move likely to further weaken his hold on the presidency.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Javed Iqbal directed the National Accountability of Bureau to implement its verdict to reopen cases that were quashed under the National Reconciliation Ordinance, promulgated by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2007. The bench also directed the bureau to protect all records related to NRO cases.

The bench also expressed its dissatisfaction at a report submitted by NAB on the reopening of cases. NAB was directed by the judges to submit a report regarding the appointment of prosecutors for these cases.

Justice Iqbal remarked that whatever was decided by the apex court "must be implemented in letter and spirit". He said all institutions are bound to implement the apex court's orders under constitutional provisions.

Noting that certain media reports had claimed that efforts were being made to tamper with the records of NRO-related cases, damage evidence and replace certain records. He directed authorities to protect these records.

Obey our law or face consequences: China to Google

BEIJING: Hardening its stance, China on Friday said that world's leading search engine Google must obey its rules or "face the consequences" giving no indication whether it was ready to reach a compromise in the dispute over hacking.

It said the US internet company was welcome to stay and expand its business in China but at the same time it will have to face the consequence if it insists on doing things that violates China's laws and regulations.

"It is irresponsible and unfriendly if Google insists in doing something that goes against China's laws and regulations, and it will have to bear the consequence for doing so," said Li Yizhong, Chinese Minister of Industry and Information technology.

"Whether to withdraw from China or continue to stay is up to them," Yizhong told a press conference called to give details of China's talks with the company.

The Chinese top internet regulator's comments came a day after Google asserted that it was firm in its stance not to allow censorship of its web content in China.

"We are currently reviewing our business operations in China as we no longer feel comfortable censoring our search results in that country," Nicole Wong, Vice President of Google had said to an US Congressional committee.

"If Google decides to stay in China, we welcome and it will help boost the development of the country's Internet industry," Yizhong said.

Suicide blasts in Lahore kill 45

Lahore:Suicide bombers targeting the Pakistani military killed at least 45 people in Lahore on Friday, officials said, in a challenge to government assertions that crackdowns have weakened Taliban insurgents.

Two suicide bombers attacked within the span of 15 to 20 seconds and they were on foot, provincial police chief Tariq Saleem Dogar told reporters.

The dead in the attack, the bloodiest this year, in a military neighbourhood of the city near the border with India included nine soldiers, military officials said. Almost 100 were wounded.

Pakistani authorities have said security crackdowns have weakened al Qaeda-linked Taliban militants fighting to topple the U.S.-backed government.

But the Taliban have renewed pressure on unpopular President Asif Ali Zardari, who faces calls from opponents to hand over his strongest powers to the prime minister.

If that does not happen, Pakistan could face new political turmoil while being pressed to defeat the Taliban.

There have been five blasts this week alone, including a car bomb suicide attack on a police intelligence building in Lahore on Monday that killed 13 people, and a shooting and bombing at a U.S.-based aid agency that killed 6 in the northwest.

Aside from facing a stubborn insurgency at home, Pakistan is also under heavy American pressure to open a new front and go after Afghan Taliban militants in border sanctuaries, a move that would tax its stretched military.

While Taliban bases have been smashed in government offensives in militant strongholds such as South Waziristan, fighters have a history of melting away to rugged areas which are hard for the military to penetrate.

The militant network is not substantially or reasonably damaged and they are still capable of striking, said analyst Khadim Hussain.

Soldiers cordoned off the site of Friday's blasts and were not allowing anyone to approach a photographer said. Troops were deployed on the rooftops of houses. An army helicopter was flying over the area.

Rescue workers with stretchers rushed towards the blast site.

Police official Mohammad Shafiq told reporters the heads of both attackers had been found. Suicide bombers often strap explosives to their bodies and the blasts take off their heads.

Pakistani markets have mostly shrugged off violence, which has spread from militant strongholds in the northwest near the Afghan border to major cities. But Friday's blast had an impact on trading, dealers said.

The market entered the negative zone only because of the bomb blasts in Lahore and it is likely that investors will be more cautious now, ahead of the weekend, due to security fears, said Sajid Bhanji, a dealer at brokers' Arif Habib Ltd.

However, the main KSE index later recovered and was trading 1.4 percent higher.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi condemned the blasts in a statement, vowing terrorism will never be allowed to succeed in its nefarious designs.

Business News

Sensex ends flat, at 7-week high

Mumbai: Stock markets turned edgy on Friday with the benchmark Sensex closing with a marginal 1.34-point drop after a volatile session, as an impressive industrial growth coupled with high inflation rate fuelled fear of imminent hike in lending rates.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share index settled at the 7-week high level of 17,166.62 points, down 0.01 per cent or 1.34 points.

Despite the decline, the market managed to scale its highest level since January 20 as stocks rallied in early trade on expectations of good industrial production figures.

In the intra-day trade, it rose to as high as 17,244.54 a new 52-week peak, but pared some of the gains on profit booking in blue-chips like HDFC Bank, Infosys, HUL and L&T.

The National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty index closed 0.07 per cent or four points higher at 5,137 points.

"The good IIP figure failed to boost market sentiment and pulled it down from intra-day high level. There is very low volume which is not supporting the gains at higher end," Unicon Financial Intermediaries CEO G Nagpal said.

This is the third straight week of gain posted by the key index. The market traded in a narrow range but managed to move 172.13 points up this week.

India's factory production grew 16.7 per cent in January on robust manufacturing activity, lending optimism of a faster economic recovery, which analysts said would prompt the central bank to adopt monetary tightening.

5 IIM-C students get offer of more than Rs 1 cr

Kolkata: Five students of the Indian Institute Management, Calcutta, (IIM-C) have received international offers of above Rs 1 crore each.

Declining to divulge the highest international offer, that is believed to be as high as Rs 1.6 crore, IIM-C head placement Prafulla Agnihotri today said that "five international offers above Rs one crore were received."

Agnihotri said the highest domestic offer was Rs 75 lakh, which was higher by Rs 15 lakh than last year's and the average domestic package was higher at Rs 15.32 lakh from Rs 12.70 lakh in 2008-09.

Finance and consulting ruled the roost with placement being secured by 36 per cent of the total students, he said.

Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Nomura, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Scotland, Temasek Holdings, Accenture, Oliver Wyman, McKinsey & Co, A.T Kearney, ITC, Godrej, Johnson & Johnson were the recruiting companies.

He said that the placement process would be reviewed from next summer to accommodate a larger number of students.

"With increase in number of students from the next batch to 462 from 278, we have to take a relook at the placement process to cope with the increased pressure," he said.

Govt aims at GST rollout by April 2011

The Centre said it will persuade states to reach a consensus on the Goods and Services Tax so that it can be implemented from April 1 next year.

"It shall be the endeavour of the Government of India to persuade the state governments and the empowered committee of state finance ministers to reach a consensus so that the GST can be introduced with effect from April 1, 2011," Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He said the implications of the goods and services tax, which will replace most of the indirect taxes at the central and the state level, can be assessed only after the basic design is finalised.

A joint working group comprising officers of the central government, state governments and the Empowered Committee of States Finance Ministers has been constituted to prepare the draft of the constitutional amendments, central GST legislation, model state GST legislation and related rules.

GST implementation has been deferred from its earlier date of April 1, 2010.

Empowered Committee of state finance ministers (EC) has prepared and released the first discussion paper on the Goods and Services Tax in India in November 2009.

Sports News

India finish disappointing eighth in hockey World Cup

NEW DELHI: India's disastrous hockey World Cup campaign ended with a 2-4 defeat against Argentina as the hosts finished a lowly eighth in the mega-event on Friday.

Argentina, meanwhile, registered their second seventh place finish in the tournament since 1994 when they defeated Korea on penalty strokes.

The Argentines started their campaign in World Cup with three straight defeats but bounced back strongly with three consecutive wins, including Friday's victory.

The eighth place finish can be seen as a marked improvement for the Indians who were 11th in the last edition of the tournament in Monchengladbach, Germany.

India could dig out only one victory against Pakistan in their first encounter and lost four and drew one out of the six matches they played in the tournament.

Incidentally, it was against the same opponents that India lost 2-3 in the ninth-12th classification match in Monchengladbach.

For Argentina Martin Lucas Villa (43rd minute, 45th) scored two goals, while Tomas Innocente Argento (28th) and Facundo Callioni (46th) scored one each in the seventh-eighth place classification match.

The Indians reduced the margin through Sandeep Singh (42nd) and Shivendra Singh (49th) at the floodlit Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

With this win, the Argentines have also extended their win-loss record against India in the World Cup. In the eight matches played between the two sides, Argentina have won five, lost two and one game ended in no result.

India started the match on an aggressive note but lacked finishing touches inside the Argentine Dee.

The Indians controlled the game for most part of the opening half and had the greater share of ball possession. They opted for long balls but the forwards were not up to the mark to transform them into goals.

India persistent pressure resulted in two penalty corners in the first half but on both the occasions ace drag-flicker Sandeep could not find the back of the Argentine net.

In contrast Argentina's attack on the Indian goal was far and few, mostly on counter attacks.

Veteran Prabhjot Singh failed to make any impression yet again and was seen engaging in an altercation with the disappointed spectators. He even showed his middle finger to the crowd, out of frustration.

Gurwinder Singh Chandi got a fantastic opportunity to give his side lead in the 17th minute but his shot from a Arjun Halappa pass went slightly wide of the Argentine goal.

Inspite of the persistent pressure, it was Argentina who scored first against the run of the mill in the 28th minute.

All the hard work from the Indians in the first half changed in the blink of an eye when Argento scored to go into the breather with a 1-0 lead.

The script was similar after the change of ends as the home team kept on the pressure on the Argentine defence with constant raids.

The Indians finally got the sought-after equaliser in the 42nd minute through a penalty stroke from Sandeep after the on-field umpires decision was upheld by video umpire.

Poor defence and unforced errors in the mid-field marred India's day yet again as the home team conceded three soft goals with a span of four minutes to the disappointment of the cheering crowd.

Lucas Villa scored two goals within two minutes - first from their first short corner and then a field goal to draw curtains on the home team's shoddy campaign in the tournament.

As if that was not enough, Callioni made it 4-1 two minutes later through a field goal to sum up yet another disappointing day for Indian hockey.

Three minutes later, Singh pulled one back for the hosts from a counter-attack to raise some hopes of a late fight back but that was not to be.

Legacy of IPL II victory will spur our title quest: Gilchrist

Deccan Chargers skipper and former Australian star Adam Gilchrist insists his team has much to live up to after rising from the bottom in the Indian Premier League’s first season to be the champions in the second.

Gilchrist also said the relationships developed in 2009 will be the foundation of what they achieve this year.

“We've got a great bond that is a legacy of last year's victory. It's certainly something that will be an asset for us,” 'The Age' quoted Gilchrist, as having told the Deccan Chronicle.

The 38-year-old further said the he is looking forward to utilizing the young talents recruited for this season in the form of West Indian all-rounder Kemar Roach and Australian batsman Mitchell Marsh.

“We are very excited about the new players. I am looking forward to playing positive and entertaining cricket again,” Gilchrist said.

“We've made up for the loss of Fidel Edwards with the inclusion of Kemar Roach - he was very impressive during West Indies'' series in Australia. Then there is young Mitchell Marsh, an exciting talent, a hard-hitting batsman and a good bowler,” he added.

A significant handicap to Deccan Chargers will be the decision to change its home ground in Hyderabad due to separatist violence in the region, although Gilchrist is unperturbed.

Latest News of India

Modi summoned in Gujarat riots probe; resign, says Cong

AHMEDABAD/GANDHINAGAR: The 2002 Gujarat riots returned to haunt Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday when a Supreme Court-appointed investigation team summoned him for questioning on March 21. The Congress immediately asked him to step down.

According to Special Investigation Team (SIT) chief R.K. Raghavan, the move to question Modi follows an order from the Supreme Court on April 27 last year.

That followed a petition from Zakia Jaffri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jaffri who was killed in the riots, and advocate-activist Teesta Setalvad on the wider conspiracy surrounding the 2002 communal frenzy.

That petition had named Modi, who was chief minister when widespread violence directed at the Muslim community broke out in February 2002 after the burning of a train at Godhra that left 59 Hindus dead. The violence, which raged intermittently for weeks, left hundreds dead.

The Supreme Court bench had referred the petition from Jaffri and Setalvad to the SIT with directions to look into it.

Rights activists and Modi critics have consistently argued that the violence could not have gone on the way it did in Gujarat in 2002, but for a tacit green signal from the highest in the administration.

The SIT summons led the Congress to demand that Modi should step down as the chief minister.

Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said: "What has happened today should have actually happened many, many years ago. A chief minister of Gujarat and his government presided over the worst massacre of minorities that independent India has witnessed in the last 62 yuears.

"It is perhaps for the first time that a sitting chief minister has been summoned to appear before a SIT on mass murder. It would be appropriate that he should step down before appearing before the SIT."

But Tiwari quickly added that "it would be too much to expect" from Modi to do so.

Eight years after the post-Godhra riots, Modi suffered the ignominy of being the first-ever chief minister of any state to be called for questioning in connection with a criminal complaint after he and his administration were accused of aiding and abetting riots in one area here.

SIT chief Raghavan dismissed as hypothetical a question whether Modi is legally bound to appear before the SIT.

Zakia in her 100-page complaint alleged conspiracy by Modi and 62 others, including his Cabinet colleagues, senior police officials and senior bureaucrats.

Gordhan Zadaphia, Ashok Bhatt, P C Pande, who were the home minister, health minister and the city police commissioner at the time of the riots were also named in the complaint.

There was no immediate reaction from Modi or the state government.

"I hope that justice will be given to us... It has been a long journey. I am very happy that Modi has been summoned," Zakia said.

Raghavan said the SIT will submit its report to the Supreme Court on its investigation into some of the riot cases by the end of April.

He was evasive whether the SIT probe will come to an end once Modi responds to the summons. "Possibly yes, not necessarily," he said.

"We have examined a number of witnesses who have given evidence and levelled allegations against Modi as well. We have to post that evidence to Modi...We are giving a chance to him to respond to the allegations and get responses."

Raghavan said the SIT has "almost come to the end of the inquiry".

"So we have naturally to ask Modi as to what he thinks of the information we have collected," he added.

SIT has already recorded statements of number of persons named in Zakia's complaint which include, Zadafia, BJP leader I K Jadeja, former IPS officer R B Sreekumar, social activist Teesta Setalvad, IG Shivanand Jha, some senior police officers and political leaders.

The Supreme court had in April last year asked the SIT to look into the complaint of Zakia.

The SIT which was constituted by the apex court to investigate the Godhra train carnage case and eight other post-Godhra riot cases, was directed by the SC to examine a complaint by Jaffery and submit report in three months.

In July last year, the Gujarat High Court dismissed a petition challenging the probe by SIT against Modi and 62 others for their role during the 2002 riots.

Former BJP MLA Kalu Malivad (one of the 62 people named in the complaint) had filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court demanding a stay on investigations by the SIT with regard to Zakia's complaint.

The High Court had dismissed the petition saying as the SIT is directly working under the supervision of the Supreme Court no relief can be granted in this matter and dismissed the petition.

India 'close friend' but Pak 'conjoined twin', says Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: In a delicate balancing act, President Hamid Karzai on Thursday described India as a "close friend" while referring to Pakistan and Afghanistan as "conjoined twins."

In remarks apparently aimed at assuaging Pakistan's concerns about the Indian presence in Afghanistan, Karzai said his country would never allow its soil to be used for activities directed against any of its neighbours.

"India is a close friend of Afghanistan but Pakistan is a twin brother of Afghanistan. We are more than twins, we are conjoined twins. There is no separation, there cannot be a separation," he said in response to a question during a joint news conference with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

At the same time, Karzai, who was here on a two-day visit, made it clear that India and Afghanistan have "very close friendly relations."

Noting that he had provided details of the cooperation between the two countries to Gilani, Karzai said: "India has gone out of its way to help Afghanistan with reconstruction and to offer Afghan youth education in India."

"Afghanistan will not allow its territory to be used against any one of our neighbours, in particular against Pakistan. And we hope the same will reflect towards Afghanistan that Pakistani territory will not be used against Afghanistan," Karzai said.

Pakistan's top leadership, including Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, have often spoken of concerns related to India's presence in Afghanistan.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has alleged that Indian elements were directing terror attacks on Pakistan from Afghanistan.

However, Karzai said Afghanistan would act "if there is any information of any country, not only India, using Afghan territory against a neighbour."

He also said Pakistan should be aware that there cannot be peace and stability within its territory "without a stable and peaceful Afghanistan."

"The bottom line is that Afghanistan does not want any proxy wars on its territory. It does not want a proxy war between India and Pakistan (or) between Iran and the US.

"It does not want any big or small country, neighbour or far, to engage in any activity against another nation in Afghanistan," Karzai said.

In response to a question, Gilani acknowledged that he and Karzai had discussed Afghanistan's demand for the handing over of senior Afghan-Taliban leaders recently arrested in Pakistan, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy of Taliban chief Mullah Muhammad Omar.

Gilani said Pakistan is yet to decide on Afghanistan's demand. "We have our own judiciary and they are quite active. We are looking into the (matter) and consulting legal experts too. We will sit with them and discuss about it and get back to (Karzai)," Gilani said.

Pakistan's offer to train the Afghan army and police was discussed during the Afghan President's meeting with his counterpart Asif Ali Zardari yesterday, Karzai said.

"There were a range of offers made to Afghanistan, some of which are new to us, some of which our Defence Minister already had information about. We will continue to talk about these issues," he said.

Karzai said Afghanistan had accepted some of Pakistan's offers for military cooperation, including the "supply of ammunition and some equipment."

He said there would be more detailed discussions between the two governments on "further steps."

The Afghan President, who was visiting Pakistan for the first time since his re-election, said while replying to a question on the reconciliation process in his country that the "Taliban are really a factor in the whole of the region."

The Taliban's role in the process of reintegration and reconciliation in Afghanistan was discussed with the Pakistani leadership, Karzai said.

The two sides also discussed the "extremely significant role" of Saudi Arabia in this process, he said.

Karzai said he had informed the Pakistani leaders about the details of Afghanistan's request to Saudi Arabia to "participate in facilitating peace and stability" in the country and the region.

Besides Zardari and Gilani, Karzai met the powerful army chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani

Sarkozy asks wife Bruni to end holiday with lover: Report

LONDON: Miffed at the rumours of her reported extra-marital affair, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is said to have asked his wife Carla Bruni to cut short her holiday in Thailand with her alleged lover, a British newspaper reported on Thursday.

Sarkozy has reportedly chartered a plane to ensure that Bruni came home, 'The Sun' reported.

According to reports, Bruni, 43, was holidaying in Thailand with Benjamin Biolay, a mop-haired pop star six years her junior. The pair are old friends.

Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve yesterday reported that Bruni's holiday "was cut short by Nicolas Sarkozy himself".

"The president chartered a plane to bring his wife back to Paris," the Sun quoted the newspaper as saying.

It also said that Bruni has been living with the singer since her return to Paris.

It is rumoured that Sarkozy, 55, is having his own fling with Environment Minister Chantal Jouanno and their romance started when she comforted him while Bruni was in Thailand.

A spokesman for Jouanno, meanwhile, said she was "scandalised by this rumour".

Earlier, French newspaper Journal du Dimanche reported: "The presidential marriage is breathing its last."

Sarkozy and Bruni married in early 2008 after a three-month romance.

Meanwhile, Elysee Palace has confirmed that Bruni "will not be travelling to Britain" along with Sarkozy during his visit to the country on Friday.

Govt to consult all before bringing Women's Bill in LS

The stand-off over Women's Reservation Bill ended on Thursday with government announcing that the proposed legislation would be brought in the Lok Sabha only after consultations with all sections.

The breakthrough came after SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD leader Lalu Prasad and JD(U) President Sharad Yadav, the three strong opponents of the bill, met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and DMK leader T R Baalu also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, "some sort of assurance was sought on the progress of the Constitution Amendment Bill (Women's Reservation Bill) before bringing it to the Lok Sabha. Government will complete the process of consultations with all concerned," Mukherjee said in a statement in the Lok Sabha after his discussions.

"I think, this assurance would assuage the feelings of all members and the business would be conducted smoothly," he said, when the House re-assembled after two adjournments on the issue.

The stand-off over the bill prevented normal functioning of the Lok Sabha for the last four days as those opposed to it have been disrupting the House. "I would like to inform members that it has been agreed to conduct smooth business of the House for the remaining period," Mukherjee said. "I would request colleagues to help the Chair to conduct normal business," he said.

The statement by the Leader of the House came at 2 PM after two adjournments following uproar over the bill. Normalcy was restored soon after and discussion on General Budget, which had got delayed because of acrimony, was taken up.

Earlier, after his meeting with Mukherjee, Sharad Yadav said the government had assured those opposing the bill that all sections of the House will be consulted before bringing the measure in Lok Sabha.

Switzerland ready to help India on black money issue

Switzerland has changed its attitude on tax havens and is ready to give assistance to India on the issue of black money stashed in its banks, a former lawmaker has said.

"Under international pressure, Switzerland has changed its attitude concerning tax havens and is ready to give assistance in this regard to India," said Rudolf Strahm, a former MP who held the post of Federal Price Regulator till recently.

India and Switzerland are currently renegotiating the bilateral double taxation treaty, which would help the Indian authorities to seek details of Indians who have secret Swiss bank accounts.

While there is no official figure on the huge amounts of unaccounted money kept in Swiss banks, a petition moved by former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani and others claims that the amount involved is around Rs 70 lakh crore.

The Swiss government has already signed about 20 bilateral agreements with 20 countries on double taxation, Strahm said.

"There is a process of change of attitude in Switzerland concerning this capital from abroad," Strahm, a former MP of ruling Social Democratic Party who is on a visit to India, said.

Strahm said the Swiss government has declared that it will give official assistance to countries on the issue of tax evasions.

"We are prepared for discussions with other countries on the issue. It is up to those countries to negotiate with the Swiss government," Strahm said.

"I think the tax havens in Switzerland will change and will be corrected. In the last two years, we have very strong philosophy inside the government towards the question of tax evasions," he said.

Strahm is on 11-day visit to India during which he proposes to highlight the advantages of the vocational education and training programmes in Switzerland which have immensely helped meeting its industry requirements.

He said the Gujarat government has evinced interest in adopting such vocational education model which combines education and practical training.

Asked about black money in Swiss banks from this country, he said India too can enter into an agreement with Switzerland on double taxation.

Business News

Swiss data theft affects 24,000 A/cs: HSBC

Geneva: HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, said a theft of data by a former employee affected up to 24,000 Swiss client accounts, dealing a hefty blow to the reputation of its private bank.

The bank had previously said "less than 10 clients" were affected after Herve Falciani -- a former HSBC computer specialist -- stole client data from the bank which he handed over to French tax authorities.

"The theft, which was perpetrated by a former IT employee about three years ago, involves approximately 15,000 existing clients who had accounts with the bank in Switzerland before October 2006," HSBC said in a statement.

On top of that, up to 9,000 accounts that had been closed in the past were affected. These accounts often were not big enough to be eligible for private banking services, the bank said. It has 100,000 clients in Switzerland.

HSBC shares were down 0.4 per cent at 1034 GMT, just underperforming the European banking sector .SX7P.

The controversy comes at a sensitive time for the secretive sector -- which serves rich clients -- with countries sometimes using stolen client data to chase tax evaders, a practice one Swiss lawmaker has likened to bank robbery.

Swiss banking giant UBS has seen billions of Swiss francs of client money gush from its wealth management operations amid repeated blows to its reputation from a high-profile US tax case and massive writedowns that forced it to accept a government bailout in the crisis.

Germany's Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, raised the bar in the fight against tax evasion further last month, saying Berlin was prepared to pay for stolen data on potential tax cheats at an unnamed Swiss bank.

HSBC said in December that an ex-employee had stolen data from its Swiss private bank's headquarters in 2006 and 2007, but said to the best of its knowledge fewer than 10 clients were involved.

HSBC "unreservedly apologized" to clients for the threat to their privacy on Thursday, but said Swiss authorities said they will not support the use of the stolen data to answer requests from foreign authorities about tax issues.

Falciani is also reported to have attempted to sell the data to Germany for 2.5 million euros ($3.39 million), which tax investigators there estimated could rake in 100 million euros for German coffers.

Alexandre Zeller, CEO of HSBC's private bank in Switzerland, said Falciani transferred data onto a computer other than the one the bank issued him and fled to neighboring France while under investigation.

Data theft risk was endemic to the business, Zeller said, adding that the bank had already added protection against this with USB keys and other technologies.

"We will always have new threats and we always have to invest more to ensure the IT security is all it can be," Zeller said. "At the end of the day, whatever you do, the human factor will remain. Private banking is a business of trust."

The stolen client information is limited to accounts in Switzerland, excluding ex-HSBC Guyerzeller accounts.

RBI can't help govt on record borrowing

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India cannot buy back government bonds through open market operations (OMO) to help manage record federal borrowing in 2010/11, a central bank deputy governor said on Thursday.

"We could do OMO in a situation where economy was slowing down and inflation was on a decline. We can't use this channel to create liquidity now," Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn said.

India is budgeted to borrow a gross 4.57 trillion rupees ($100 billion) in 2010/11, up from 4.51 trillion rupees in the current fiscal year, and Gokarn had earlier on Thursday said the borrowing is unlikely to be a huge challenge.

Food inflation eases to 17.81 pct

New Delhi:The food price index rose 17.81 per cent in the 12 months to Feb. 27, while the fuel price index was up 11.38 per cent, the government said on Thursday.

The rise in the food price index was marginally lower than an annual rise of 17.87 per cent in the previous week.

India's primary articles price index was up 15.08 per cent year-on-year as on Feb. 27.

India's annual wholesale price inflation picked up to 8.56 per cent in January, compared with 7.31 per cent last December.

Sports News

Germany beat England 4-1 in semis, on course of WC hat-trick

New Delhi: Olympic champions Germany are on course of a historic hat-trick of World Cup titles as they scored a facile 4-1 victory over England in a high-voltage semifinal match here on Thursday.

Germany, who won 2002 and 2006 World Cups, were the dominant side in the clash of two European powerhouses and they made England play a catch-up game by taking a 3-1 lead by the half time.

For the Germans, who were unbeaten so far in the tournament, Jean Marco Montag (sixth minute), Oliver Korn (11th), Martin Haner (31st) and Linus Butt (60th) scored while European champions England pulled one back through Richard Smith in the 19th minute.

Germany dominated the first half with more scoring chances and by forcing four penalty corners. Matthias Witthaus was impressive upfront, making several dangerous runs into the England striking circle.

England, who were playing in their only second semifinal in a World Cup after 1986 at home, got just one penalty corner in the first half.
England tried to come back after the breather and they had more attacks with James Tindall making some fine moves inside the opposition striking circle though it was the Germans who scored the only goal of the second session.

The double defending champions will take on the winner of the other semifinal match between Australia and the Netherlands.

Germany took lead in the sixth minute with Jean Marco Montag's drag-flick hitting the roof of the net as England goalkeeper James Fair just got his stick at the ball.

Germany made it 2-0 with a terrific goal five minutes later. Oliver Korn deflected the ball into England goal from close range off a hard hit from outside the striking circle.

England pulled one back in the 19th minute from their first penalty corner with Richard Smith cleanly pushing the ball to the right of German goalkeeper Tim Jessulat.

Three minutes after the England goal, Matthias Witthaus almost made it 3-1 but his shot off the rebound of a drag-flick from Jan-Marco Mnotag was saved by goalkeeper James Fair.

Germany then produced a fine variation in their penalty corner conversion and made it 3-1 three minutes from the breather from their fourth penalty corner. Martin Haner flicked the ball high up into the England net.

England made several attacks in the second session but failed to give the finishing touches.

On the other hand, Germany scored from the only penalty corner they got in the second session. Linus Butt slammed a rebound off a penalty corner by his captain Maximillian Muller in the 60th minute into the England net.

England could have reduced the margin in the 65th minute but Alastair Wilson's shot from close range was blocked by Germany goalkeeper Tim Jessulat.

IPL 3 seeks to rediscover season 1 magic

Forced to shift tent to South Africa due to security fears last year, the Indian Premier League returns to the country promising a heady mix of cricket and entertainment with last season laggards Kolkata Knight Riders taking on defending champions Deccan Chargers in the tournament opener here tomorrow.

The opening ceremony preceding the first match at the D Y Patil Stadium will see top international performers Lionel Ritchie, UB40 and Bjorn Agan, besides Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, give a rocking start to the 45-day event.

A spectacular fireworks display is to follow after which the debris from the field would be cleared to set the stage for the opening clash between the no. 1 and no. 8 teams of the second edition.

Day two of the IPL will see two legends of the game crossing swords with each other at the famous Brabourne Stadium in South Mumbai. The Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians would kick off their campaign to make up for indifferent displays in the first two seasons against 2008 winners Rajasthan Royals captained by Australian Shane Warne.

As was the case in the first two seasons, some international stars, busy with their international commitments for their home countries, would be missing from action in the initial stages of the tournament.

Those teams would have to use the other players in their roster intelligently to pick up points and gain early momentum in the race to the top. In IPL 3, the players have the added incentive of the players' auction ahead of IPL 4 to look up to as most of them would go under the hammer for the next season that would see an additional two teams in action.

The players would be aware that a top class display in this season would increase their demand from the IPL franchises at the auction and fetch higher prices. This time around, three more centers have been added to witness IPL action Ahmedabad, Cuttack and Dharamsala while Deccan Chargers will not play their seven home matches strictly at home in Hyderabad but in Navi Mumbai, Nagpur and Cuttack.

The 2.5-minute strategic breaks would be another important factor with both the fielding and batting sides given specific overs to take them. The bowling side captain can opt to take them anytime between overs 6 and 8, while the batting team skipper has a wider time frame to decide between the 11th and 16th overs. This short period in the fast-paced game provides not only some rest for the players but also gives the teams' an opportunity to rework their strategies as per the situations. The opening clash under lights will see Adam Gilchrist, the retired Australia wicket keeper-batsman, revisit the venue that he lit up with his pyrotechnics two years ago.

Latest News of India

India not to wind-up Kabul mission

NEW DELHI: India is looking at various options including scaling down operations of its missions in Afghanistan in the wake of terror attacks on Indians there.

Government is also planning to put all the Indians working in projects like power and road together to ensure their safety, reliable government sources said today.

This follows an assessment made by National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon's visit to Kabul last week in the wake of terror attack on Feb 26 on guest houses frequented by Indians in which seven Indians were killed.

Apart from the embassy in Kabul, Indian has consulates in Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad.

The sources said that an advisory may also be issued asking all Indians in Afghanistan to return home.

They recalled that the operations of the Indian medical mission has already been put on hold after the Feb 26 attack in which the hand of Pakistan based LeT operatives is suspected.

Taliban terrorists, with backing from Pakistan's ISI, had targeted the Indian embassy twice in the past. On July 7, 2008, 60 people, including four Indians--one IFS official and a brigadier-ranked official were killed in the attack, while on Oct 8 last year, four ITBP jawans were among those injured.

Regret and return, govt to suspended MPs

NEW DELHI: Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Wednesday indicated that the government could bring a motion to revoke suspension of seven Rajya Sabha members if they expressed regret over their behaviour to Chairman Hamid Ansari.

"It (the suspension) was a well-considered action as they (the members) had insulted dignity of the house. The minimum thing is to go the chairman," Bansal told reporters here.

He said the members should at least realize their mistake.

The minister said the house had not taken action against the members with any sense of elation and it was "a bitter medicine".

He indicated that the government would be willing to consider the demand of opposition for revoking the suspension of the members if they apologized to the chairman.

"All of us have to work in a spirit of cooperation," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left on Wednesday supported demand of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for withdrawing suspension of the seven members.

The MPs suspended for unruly behaviour were Kamal Akhtar, Veerpal Singh Yadav, Amir Alam Khan and Nand Kishore Yadav (all SP), Ejaz Ali (Janata Dal-United), Sabir Ali (Lok Janshakti Party) and Subhash Prasad Yadav (RJD).

The MPs had to be forcibly removed from the house Tuesday before the debate on the women's reservation bill.

On Monday, these MPs created pandemonium near chairman's podium after he instructed the law minister to move the bill for consideration.

Two ministers, US Congressman recommended Chatwal for Padma

NEW DELHI: Two Union Ministers and a prominent US Congressman recommended the name of controversial NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal for the prestigious Padma awards, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The four recommendations came from Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, member of US Congress Joseph Crowley and Dalis Adler, Staff Associate, Sub-Committee on the Middle East and South Asia under the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran told the House in reply to a query that as per guidelines regulating Padma award, nominations for it are open to all.

Besides inviting nominations from institutional sources like state and UT governments, central ministries, departments, institutes of excellence and Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan awardees, a large number of recommendations are also received from various other sources like Governors, Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, MPs, private institutions, bodies and individuals, he said.

All nominations and recommendations received are placed before the Padma Awards committee for its consideration. The committee scrutinises them and makes its recommendations to the competent authority for approval, Ramachandran said.

The selection of Chatwal for the Padma award had sparked a controversy following allegations that he was involved in financial irregularities, a charge denied by him.

Mulayam, Lalu not for no-trust motion 'as of now'

New Delhi: Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad, the two strong opponents of the Women's Reservation Bill, on Wednesday said they were "as of now" not considering the issue of bringing a no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, saying they did not have the numbers for it.

"Nothing as of now, we need to decide it among ourselves first and then only we can bring it (a no-confidence motion). We don't have enough MPs of our own," Mulayam, whose Samajwadi Party has 21 members in Lok Sabha, said.

On whether he was planning to carry out his threat to withdraw outside support to the UPA, the SP supremo said, "There is no question of meeting the President now." He did not elaborate.

On the issue of no-trust motion, Lalu Prasad, whose RJD has four members in the Lower House, said, "There is no such decision. It is wrong information."

"We have only four MPs and, therefore, where is the question of no-confidence motion," he said.

He, however, said that his party has sought a meeting with President Pratibha Patil but has not been allotted a time as yet.

Business News

Outsourcing deal pipeline improving: Infosys

Mumbai: Infosys Technologies, India's No. 2 software services exporter, is seeing a rise in outsourcing deal flows due to a recovery in the global economy, a top official said on Wednesday.

Pricing for its services was likely to remain stable, Kris Gopalakrishnan, chief executive officer, told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar.

Infosys and its rivals such as Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro had seen a sharp drop in demand for outsourcing services and pressure on prices a year ago, as recession crimped investments on IT services by their clients.

India sees PE exits worth $757 mn

Private equity (PE) players in India have offloaded stakes worth USD 757 million in the first two months of this year driven by a significant recovery in the stock markets and hopes of continuation of this trend, believe experts.

According to VCCEdge, the financial research platform of VCCircle, January 2010 saw 13 exits worth USD 282 million, while February witnessed as many as 10 worth USD 475 million.

"PE funds are under pressure to make some exits before they set out to raise new funds. They will continue to use every opportunity available to exit as long as they see a good return," VCCEdge Research Director Rohit Madan said.

On a similar note, Reliance Venture Asset Management CEO Harshal J Shah said, "I think this year will see the opening of the floodgates for exits, though only for the highly qualified ones, and those which have been waiting patiently in the wings for a long time now."

Shah further said the companies which were waiting in the pipeline might hit the markets this year.

"As the foundation for a strong global recovery builds up, perhaps led by India and China, the performance of the markets this year for such IPOs will also portend or forecast how successful that trend will be into the next year and beyond," Shah added.

According to SMC Capitals Equity Head Jagannadham Thunuguntla, "The strange part of 2009 recovery was that it was very strong in the secondary markets. However, the same enthusiasm couldn't be seen in the primary markets, that is IPOs. Hence, exits can definitely happen. Unless the enthusiasm returns in the primary markets, the PE/VC funds may find it difficult even to exit."

Not the right time for FPOs: Govt

New Delhi: The government is not considering selling equity in Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Petroleum Secretary S Sundareshan said on Wednesday.

"There is no serious consideration (on follow-on public offerings in IOC and ONGC) at this juncture," he said.

Both IOC and ONGC are not in favour of raising money through equity route as valuations are being impacted due to uncertain fuel pricing policy.

Also, market conditions were not right for FPOs. "(These are) not the correct market time for FPOs," he said.

Sports News

Younis, Yousuf banned for life

Karachi:Pakistan cricket was thrown into turmoil on Wednesday with the country's Board putting an end to the international careers of former captains Mohd Yousuf and Younus Khan besides imposing a one-year ban on Shoaib Malik in the wake of the team's disastrous tour of Australia.

Pakistan were whitewashed in all three formats of the game in Australia and the PCB had set up an inquiry committee headed by Wasim Bari to probe the reasons for the debacle.

As recommended by the committee, former captain Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were handed one-year bans.

The inquiry committee had recommended that Yousuf and

Younis should no longer be part of the national team in any format because of their bad influence on the team and that Malik and Rana be banned for 12 months and fined 2 million rupees each.

The Akmal brothers - Kamran and Umar - and Afridi have been put on probation for six months besides being fined between Rs 2-3 million for indiscipine on the tour, the PCB statement said.

The punishments are set to impact the composition of Pakistan's World Twenty20 Championship. The team is the defending champion in this format and the 15-man squad for the event is due to be out by the end of this month. According to sources, the report was discussed by the PCB chairman Ejaz Butt with the national selection committee on Monday as part of the selection process for the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.

"Apparently at the meeting, there were mixed reactions to the strong recommendations keeping in mind that upcoming Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies where Pakistan defends its title," the source stated.

The inquiry committee apparently had serious reservations over the attitude and commitment shown by Malik and Rana in Australia where they are accused of not cooperating with the management. He said the captain, coach and manager on the Australian tour had reported Malik and Rana for misbehaviour and not cooperating with the management a fact confirmed by some other players who appeared before the probe committee.

This is the first time in Pakistan cricket history that the Board has taken such strong disciplinary action against so many players at one time.

'Time to end Pak cricket's power culture'

Pakistan cricket fraternity on Wednesday reacted with surprise, anger and content to severe punishment handed out by the Board to half-a-dozen current players on disciplinary counts.

While former players like Inzamam-ul-Haq and Rashid Latif felt the Board's move would further hit the image of Pakistan cricket, the older generation players like Zaheer Abbas and Abdul Kadir were all support for the punishment.

The Board banned seniors Mohammed Yousuf and Younus Khan for life and handed one-year bans to Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in the wake of their flop show Down Under. Brothers Kamran and Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi were put under observation and imposed heavy fines.

"How can you treat senior players Yousuf and Younus like this? How can you ban them for life? If they were doing something wrong the board should have spoken and warned them first. You don't take such harsh decision at once," a fuming Inzamam asked.

Inzamam was baffled why the team management kept silence during the tour and came out with sever punishments now., "Why were Kamran and Umar not sent back from Australia? Why was Afridi not penalised in Australia by the team management? Why come out with such harsh decisions in one go which could badly damage the image of Pakistan cricket?."

Inzamam was also critical of the composition of the inquiry committee saying it was not an independent and unbiased body.

He also suggested players to knock the judicial doors, challenging the punishment, and was confident that aggrieved players would come out victorious.

"Younus I think has been treated unfairly for long now, what was his fault and yet he is banned for life. This is not the way to improve things in Pakistan cricket.

"If things were so wrong in Australia then what was the team management doing. I am getting a feeling that the board has taken these decisions to save themselves after the recent poor performances and controversies," he said.

However, former captain Zaheer Abbas, Abdul Qadir and Sarfaraz Nawaz, had a different view on the whole issue. "Obviously it is very disappointing and sad that senior players like Yousuf and Younus have been banned for life but the fact is this action of the board will help in improving the Pakistan cricket team's culture and performances," Abbas said.

"The players must realise whatever they are today are because of their country and the team. For too long these players' power culture have been allowed to fester and it is right time to remove them," he added.

"How can you have Yawar Saeed or Zakir Khan on the committee. Yawar was recently manager of the team?," he asked. Rashid Latif questioned the timing of the action and felt the Board may have done it to save its own skin.

India top revenue contributor, WC hugely successful: FIH

New Delhi: India contributed a major chunk of revenue earned by the International Hockey Federation and the ongoing World Cup here is commercially a huge success, the FIH said on Wednesday.

At the FIH media summit here, Marketing Manager of the world body Steven Morris revealed that India has been the top revenue contributor, mainly from television, while top hockey countries like Germany, Australia and Pakistan fared very poorly in this aspect.

"Most of FIH revenue comes from very few countries. India's contribution in revenue is more than 50 per cent than second-placed the Netherlands. Malaysia, Argentina and USA also contribute," Morris said.

"In countries like Pakistan, Spain, China, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, South Africa, Singapore and Middle East, it is difficult to sale hockey on television," he said. He said looking at the commercial success of the tournament; India would be an integral part of FIH's effort to lift the profile of hockey in the world.

"It is a challenge to administrators how to market hockey in India. Commercially, India is a huge market for hockey and the World Cup a huge success. India will have to be an integral part of any future FIH plans to lift the profile of the game," he said.