Nitish initiates Jan Adalat in Patna

     Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held a 'Jan Adalat' here on Thursday to listen to the grievances of the people. Thousands of people, with various problems reached the residence of Kumar. "People come with different complaints. The moment we understand their complaints, we immediately call the concerned officials and send those people to them. For example, there is the problem of disabled people or there are other development related issues, which we take up promptly", said Kumar. The Jan Adalat was held in keeping with his promise to make the administration more responsible to people's aspirations. The Chief Minister has planned to hold the Jan Adalats in all 38 districts of the State, involving open trials for the victims as he reportedly felt that such open trial would also enable the people in general to overcome the fear psychosis related with the names of these dreaded criminals. Kumar announced that he will hold Jan Adalat, twice a week. However, time will decide to what extent he will prove successful in solving peoples' problems.

Helpline for disabled launched in Capital (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: A 24-hour helpline to provide information related to disabilities has been inaugurated and become operational here on Thursday. Inaugurating the Disability Line, the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Meira Kumar expressed hope that it will bridge the gap due to lack of awareness among persons with disabilities and the community and thus facilitate meaningful rehabilitation of the disabled. The Disability Line which is based on Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) will facilitate easy access to information regarding disabilities to people and enable them to avail the services in their neighbourhood. This service will provide information round the clock on diagnosis, treatment, counselling, education, employment, Government schemes and facilities related to all disabilities. The Disability Line is one of the biggest IVRS in the world in terms of the volume of information with varied channels of information dissemination. The information is available in Hindi and English and can be accessed by dialing 29825094 or 29825095 or 29825096. It can also be availed through SMS and E-Mail and Fax on demand. The Disability Line in Delhi is the second such facility in the country. The first Disability Line is functional in Maharashtra - Goa Telecom Circle since September 19, 2005. As per the 2001 Census, 2.19 crore persons suffer from disabilities.

Arjun, others take oath as RS members (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: The Union Human Resource Development Minister and Congress party leader, Arjun Singh, along with two other leaders, took oath as members of the Rajya Sabha here today. Besides Singh, another Congress leader Raashid Alvi and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Kumar Ramniklal Rupani also took the oath of office, which was administered by the Vice President and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in his Parliament House chamber. Singh, 75, entering the Rajya Sabha for the second term, was re- elected from Madhya Pradesh while Alvi, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, was re-elected from Andhra Pradesh. Rupani, entering the Upper House for the first time, was elected from Gujarat.

PM to inaugurate Hannover Fair (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the Hannover Technology Fair in Germany on April 24, along with the German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel. The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Kamal Nath and the Science Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal would also be present on this occasion. The Fair, which is widely recognised as the world's largest and most important technology event, is the single biggest brand- building exercise for Indian manufacturing, engineering and related technologies. At Hannover, India will organize a business event on each day of the fair for which it has taken 11,500 sqm of space, the largest ever by a Partner Country. Nearly 320 Indian companies, including Bharat Forge, Reliance, Ashok Leyland and other organisations, large as well as Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and five State Governments are participating in the fair representing various sectors including automotive, energy, engineering services, research and development, subcontracting, digital processes, micro technology and science and technology (satellite technology, innovations).

50 dead as bus plunges into pond in Asom  (Go To Top)
by Peter Alex Todd

     Guwahati: At least 50 people are feared to have died in Sarupeta in the Barpeta District of Asom when a bus carrying a marriage party plunged into a pond. The incident took place on Wednesday night when the bus hired by the groom's family was making its trip from Sarbhog-Roha to Sarupeta and was just three kilometres away from the brides place. 65 people were in the bus, including women and children. The rescued people have been brought to Guwahati Medical College for treatment. A relative of the groom, Dhiren Kalita who is presently undergoing treatment in the hospital said: "A TATA Sumo car was leading us through the narrow zig-zag lane and the bus driver thought that he could make it through, but the bus skidded off the road and rolled into the pond". Khitish Kalita, the groom who has sustained head injuries said: "I managed to escape and I do not know what happened to rest of my relatives". A relative of Khitish have lost eleven members in the accident, including children and women.

Has Benazir struck a deal with Govt  
to sideline Nawaz?  (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: Former Pakistan premier and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto is learnt to have struck a secret deal with her country's government, and subsequently dumped her plans to meet her political foe, former PM and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif in London. The two were expected to meet sometime this month in order to strengthen the call to restore democracy in Pakistan, along with other like-minded political parties. Quoting sources, the Online news agency reported that "certain powerful government authorities" were unhappy with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) and wanted to be rid of the PML-Q and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). These authorities, therefore, contacted Benazir asking her to sever her relations with the PML-N, the sources added. The report further said that during a recent meeting with a high- level PPP delegation in London Nawaz had expressed concern over Benazir's secret deal with the government, and stressed that the PPP must discard the deal and announce its allegiance with the PML-N to launch a joint anti-government campaign. According to unidentified sources, the Pakistan government was "tilted towards the PPP" to weaken the PML-N, and that Benazir wanted to win the next general elections, slated to be held in 2007, with a heavy mandate.

Sensex scales 12,000 mark (Go To Top)

      Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) scaled yet another milestone on Thursday, as the benchmark index crossed 12,000-points mark for the first time in history. The Sensex closed 143.57 points up at a new record closing high of 12,039.55, after surging to a new life-time high of 12,053.74 in the intraday trade. The benchmark index took just 19 trading sessions to cover the journey from the 11,000-point mark to reach the 12,000-point mark. The Sensex had reached 11,000 points mark on March 21, 2006. The Sensex had made history on February 6, 2006 when it first breached the 10,000- points mark. In the broader markets, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty closed 1.1 percent or 37.65 points higher at 3,573.50, after surging to a new all-time high of 3,578.35 in the intraday trade. Index heavyweight RIL was the biggest gainer on the Sensex with a jump of more than eight per cent, while contributing the most in pushing the benchmark Sensex to a new peak above the 12,000-point mark. Tata Steel, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Satyam Computer, Grasim Industries, ONGC, ITC and Bajaj Auto were the other top gainers on the Sensex. Reliance zoomed over eight percent or Rs 74 to Rs 995. Tata Steel and Hindalco were up over five percent each at Rs 644 and Rs 216, respectively. However, NTPC, HDFC, Hero Honda, Ranbaxy, TCS, Cipla and Wipro closed in the red. NTPC closed 2.5 percent lower at Rs 139 level. The company reported a 1.73 per cent fall in net profit for 2005- 06. On Thursday 15 Sensex scrips closed in the positive territory while other 15 Sensex scrips closed in the red.

Reliance Petroleum IPO oversubscribed (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: Initial Public Offerings (IPO) of Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Petroleum Limited, which opened on April 13 has been subscribed 30.9 times. Against the company's plan to raise Rs 2565 crore at the lower end of the price band and Rs 2790 crore at upper end of the price band, RPL's total booking orders today crossed Rs 80,000 crore. The quota for Qualified Institutional Buyers was subscribed by 38 times, that of High Networth Individuals by 12 times and retail investors by 6.8 times. The IPO for 45 crore equity shares of RPL, which is building a 580,000 barrels per day refinery adjacent to Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) existing 660,000 bpd refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat, closed today. RPL had fixed a price band of Rs 57-62 for the IPO, which comprises of 135 crore shares of which Reliance Industries would subscribe to 90 crore shares and the balance would be offered to the public. Sixty per cent of the shares on offer have been reserved for QIBs, while 4.5 crore shares have been blocked for non- institutional investors. Retail investors can get a maximum of 13.5 crore shares. The RPL shares are expected to be listed on the stock exchanges between May 5 and 10.

Indian cricketers return from Abu Dhabi (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: The Indian cricket team, led by Rahul Dravid, arrived this morning from Abu Dhabi after squaring the two-match one-day international series against Pakistan. India beat Pakistan by 51 runs to win the second one-dayer on Wednesday. Chasing 270 for victory, Pakistan were bundled out for 218 in just 45.2 overs against some splendid bowling by Irfan Pathan and Ramesh Powar. Also accompanying the team was coach Greg Chappell, who will sit with Dravid and the National Selection Committee later in the day to choose the one-day team for the forthcoming tour of West Indies that begins on May 18. Dravid and a few other players of the squad will play in a one- day match on Friday for the benefit of former Test opener K Jayantilal and fast bowler Karsan Ghavri.

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