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Centre not to intervene in Vaiko's arrest: Fernandes
Vellore, July 19 (ANI): Defence Minister George Fernandes arrived here on Friday morning, met MDMK chief Vaiko for over an hour at the central jail here and ruled out Centre's intervention on his arrest under Pota. "Vaiko is a revolutionary. I have seen reports of his speech, which do not warrant his (Vaiko) arrest", he told reporters. On amendments to Pota, he said, "not immediately." Fernandes arrived here from New Delhi to meet Vaiko arrested under Pota for making a pro-LTTE speech at a public meeting at Thirumangalam near Madurai on June 29. (ANI) Wipro posts Rs 1.63 billion net profit
Bangalore, July 19 (ANI): Indian software services giant Wipro Ltd. posted on Friday a 1.63 billion rupees consolidated net profit for April-June, below expectations, on greater-than- expected revenue growth. Revenue totalled 9.3 billion rupees. Previous quarter and previous year comparisons were not immediately available. Net profit was forecast at 2.17 billion rupees and revenue at 8.85 billion rupees in a poll of 10 brokerages released last week. "Revenue from continuing operations for the quarters grew year on year by about 19 per cent to Rs 930 crores which is an equivalent of 9.3 billion rupees and profit before interest. And tax from continuing operations grew by 6 percent year on year to Rs 220 crores an equivalent of 2.2 billion rupees," Wipro chairman Azim Premji told reporters. Analysts say the net profit is far lower than expected despite sales surpassing company's estimates. Wipro, India's largest software firm by market value at roughly 6 billion dollars, has been hit by the loss of business from battered telecom equipment makers like Nortel and Alcatel. Wipro said it took a charge of 389 million rupees in the quarter for its discontinued Internet Services Provider business. "Decrease in returns on cash surplus and a higher average tax rate because of some changes in law as applicable to software companies resulted in profit after tax being low by six per cent year on year at Rs 200 crores or Rs 2 billion. The profit after tax after loss on discontinued ISP (Internet Service Prividers) operations and ISP business for the quarter ended June 30 was Rs 160 crores or Rs 1.6 billion," said Premji. Wipro said it is buying a further 66 percent stake in IT-enabled services provider Spectramind for 83 million dollars. That will take its total holding in the call services and back- office services provider to 90 percent. It is the biggest acquisition yet in the booming Indian IT- enabled services industry. "Looking ahead for the quarter ending September 2002, we expect revenues from IT services to be approximately 135 million dollars, including revenue from health care and life science. Revenue from Spectramind is estimated at Rs 8 million for the quarter ending September 2002. The aquisition of stake is expected to be completed by July 2002 for spectramind," said Premji. Wipro on Thursday announced it had acquired 100 percent of GE Medical Systems Information Technologies, which provides healthcare related services in India and the Middle East, for 5.7 million dollars. "The consideration for the transaction is 5.73 million dollars. As an integral part of this transaction, Wipro is also acquiring all the related intellectual properties, these are related to hospital informtion systems which are owned by GE medical systems USA," said D. A. Parsanna, Vice Chairman of Wipro and Chief Operation Officer of Wipro Healthcare and Life Science. Leading global and Indian companies are investing in the Indian IT-enabled services industry, which is the fastest growing segment of India's IT industry, and has become a crucial part of the nation's economy in little more than a decade.(ANI) Early elections round the corner in Gujarat
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to top Ahmedabad, July 19 (ANI): The government of riot-ravaged Gujarat on Friday recommended the dissolution of the state legislature, paving the way for early elections. State Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is accused by critics of turning a blind eye to the killing of Muslims during the country's worst religious violence in over a decade, met governor Sunder Singh Bhandari resigned and made the request to dissolve the assembly. The state legislature's term expires in March 2003. Opposition parties have criticised the move to hold early elections saying the state government, which belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party, wants to exploit the religious divide following the Hindu-Muslim violence. More than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed in clashes since a Muslim mob firebombed a train killing 59 Hindu pilgrims in late February. Human rights groups, however, say more than 2,500 people were killed. Even after four months of riots, thousands of people, mainly Muslims are still crammed in unhygienic conditions in makeshift camps all across the state. Streets of Gujarat witnessed mayhem for more than two months and curfew was imposed in several cities in the state. Whole neighbourhoods were burnt to the ground, businesses attacked and shops damaged in the fury of the violence. Survivors of the violence have accused police in Gujarat of failing to protect victims, and in some cases, encouraging Hindu mobs to attack Muslim establishments. The strife had plunged the federal coalition into its worst political crisis since it took power in 1999 with opposition groups and some allies saying it has failed to do enough to stop the clashes. In April, the embattled BJP had sought to win over its secular coalition partners by deferring plans for early elections. Analysts say the BJP is determined to hold on to Gujarat, one of its last strongholds after a string of electoral debacles in assembly elections earlier this year.(ANI)
Straw told of India's grave concerns Go to top New Delhi, July 19 (ANI): India said on Friday it would make no further concessions to ease tensions with Pakistan until Islamabad destroyed the bases of anti-Indian Islamic militants. India voiced its strong concerns to British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, visiting New Delhi for the third time in six months to push for peace talks to ease friction over disputed Kashmir, at the heart of a dispute that threatens to spark war. Straw on Friday met Indian leaders to push for peace talks with Pakistan over Kashmir, where dozens of people have died in mounting separatist bloodshed over the past week. Straw's peace mission has been given added urgency by the rising violence in Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan region that has brought India and Pakistan close to war in recent months. Straw met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's top security adviser Brajesh Mishra before talking with Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha and heading to Pakistan on Saturday. "Our concerns about the fact that there is still a significant amount of infiltration going on across the Line of Control were conveyed to the British side. As also our considered position that until infiltration stops and the infrastructure of terrorism is dismantled, we would not be in a position to spell out any further de-escalatory steps. And the British side expressed their understanding of this vision," foreign ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao told reporters. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring militants fighting its rule in Jammu and Kashmir. Islamabad denies this, but has vowed to stop militants slipping across the border. Last month, India reopened its skies to Pakistani flights after a six-month ban and pulled back warships patrolling near Pakistani waters to ease the military standoff. Rao said Britain and other countries shared India's concern on cross border terrorism from Pakistan which it has been dealing for more than a decade. Rao ruled out any immediate possibility of talks between the two countries. "Even if the international community may want the tensions to be reduced but I think there is a general expression of such opinion from time to time by various interlocutors of ours in the international community that they would like to see tension reduced, they would like to see dialogue resume. But we have made it very clear and I believe there is a understanding of the position that we have expressed that unless we see Paksitan take visible credible action to end infiltration and to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism and an atmosphere conducive either for resumption of dialogue or for taking appropriate de- escalatory measures will not be created," said Rao. Before arriving on his third visit to South Asia in six months, Straw had said in Hong Kong he would urge India and Pakistan to resume "a sustained dialogue" over Kashmir. India and Pakistan have massed a million men along their border since a bloody December raid on parliament that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatists. The nuclear powers came close to war in May after militants killed more than 30 people, mainly soldiers' families, in a raid on an Indian army camp in Kashmir. A frantic round of diplomatic lobbying, led by the United States helped ease tensions, although they remain high. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is also due to visit the subcontinent again this month on his latest tour to try to budge India and Pakistan towards peace. India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence over Kashmir, a fertile landlocked area about the size of Great Britain wedged high in the Himalayas between Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan.(ANI)
Sukh Ram moves Delhi HC against conviction
Go to top New Delhi, July 19 (ANI): Former communications minister and Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) chief Sukh Ram on Friday filed an appeal before the Delhi High Court challenging his conviction by a trial court in the telecom equipment purchase scam. The appeal sought setting aside the trial court judgement convicting him on corruption charges in the purchase of 3000 MARR (2/15) systems during his stint as minister in 1992-93. A lower court had sentenced Sukh Ram to three years rigorous imprisonment (RI) with a fine of Rs two lakhs for causing a loss of Rs 1.68 crore to the state exchequer by favouring a Hyderabad- based private company in the equipment purchase contract. Giving the judgement, the designated CBI Judge V.K. Jain said that besides Sukh Ram, Deputy Director General of Department of Telecom (DoT) Runu Ghosh and owner of the private company P. Rama Rao had criminally conspired to cause "wrongful loss to the government". The court had also sentenced Ghosh to one year's simple imprisonment. (ANI)
Amarnath piligrims leave Jammu, tight security all along Go to top Jammu, July 19 (ANI): Amid tight security, the first batch of about 2681 Amarnath pilgrims left Jammu in a fleet of 131 vehicles for the cave shrine situated in the southern part of Kashmir. Security has been beefed up for the month-long Amarnath yatra with police personnel and para-military troops deployed at the main camping sites, official sources said. Elaborate security arrangements have been made at Jammu and on the national highway upto Khanabal in Kashmir and onwards from Pahalgam upto the holy cave situated at a height of 3952 meters, the sources said, adding that security vehicles would escort the pilgrims during the journey. Two monitoring teams have been constituted with senior officers from various departments as members. The Additional Deputy Commissioner of Jammu will act as the nodal officer for on-the- spot assessment and inspection of the arrangements. Besides, ten information centres have been set up at various places including the MAM Stadium, railway station, Kunjwani airport, Lakhanpur, Udhampur, Batote, Ramban and Banihal- all in Jammu division. More than 97,853 people have registered for the yatra this year. Giving details of the arrangements, Jammu Inspector General of Police P.L. Gupta, said, "the entire route has been sanitised. Adequate deployment has been ensured so that the movement of yatris is conducted in a peaceful manner. I am pretty confident that the yatra will pass off in a peaceful manner". Police and para-military troops have also been deployed at main camping sites in Jammu, Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag, Panchtarni and the cave shrine. Similar arrangements have been made on Sonamarg-Baltal route. The pilgrims are in high spirits and quite enthusiastic about their trip. They say they are not scared of terrorists and are quite happy about the security arrangements made. "No, we are not scared. We have been coming here for the last 13 years. Arrangements are quite good here", said Sanjay Yadav, a pilgrim from Mumbai. Nathuram, a pilgrim from Madhya Pradesh, said, "We have been coming here every year. And we will keep on coming by the grace of God. People are not at all scared. But arrangements are not upto the mark. They have to be more systemic".(ANI) |