मुफ्त तो छोड़िए, केजरी-राज में बूंद-बूंद पानी को तरसे दिल्लीवाले

दिल्ली चुनाव के दौरान अरविंद केजरीवाल ने मुफ्त
बिजली-पानी का वादा कर दिल्लीवालों से खूब वोट बटोरे और दिल्ली
में अपनी सरकार बना ली, लेकिन सरकार बनाने के बाद से केजरीवाल
सरकार अपने वादों को पूरा करने में नाकामियाब रही है। केजरीवाल
सरकार ने दिल्लीवालों को 20 हजार लीटर मुफ्त पानी का वादा
किया, हलांकि उन्होंने इसकी घोषणा भी कर ली, लेकिन दिल्ली की
कड़वी सच्चाई ये ही कई इलाकों में लोग पानी की बूंद-बूंद के लिए तरस रहे
हैं।
एक सर्वे के मुताबिक दिल्ली के करीब 32 फीसदी इलाकों में पानी की
पाइप पहुंची ही नहीं है। ऐसे में केजरीवाल के 20 हजार लीटर मुफ्त पानी
का तो सवाल ही नहीं उठता। जिन इलाको में पानी की पाईप नहीं
पहुंची है वहां के लोग टैंकरों पर निर्भर है।

ऐसे में ईस्ट दिल्ली में सुंदर नगरी, सीमापुरी, कालिंदी कॉलोनी, वेलकम
कॉलोनी, हर्ष विहार, चांद बाग, जनता कॉलोनी और नॉर्थ और वेस्ट
दिल्ली में भलसावा, नंद नगरी, साउथ और वेस्ट दिल्ली में भरत विहार,
द्वारका शामिल है।

इन इलाकों में पानी की किल्लत अभी से शुरु हो गई है। ऐसे में जबकि मई-जून
की प्रचंड गर्मी अबी बाकी है तो उस वक्त यहां के हालात क्या होंगे,
इसका अंजादा लगाया जा सकता है। इन इलाकों के लोगों की अपील है
कि उन्हेंकेजरीवाल सरकार की मुफ्त पानी चाहिए बल्कि सरकार उनसे
पैसा लेकर पानी की सप्लाई के लिए जरुरी व्यवस्था करे।लोग आने वाली
गर्मी में पानी की भारी किल्लत को लेकर अबी से परेशान है।

Section 66 A of IT Act unconstitutional, Supreme Court rules

The section gives police powers to arrest people for posting “offensive content” online

The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down Section 66 A of the Information and Technology Act, which allows police to arrest people for posting “offensive content” on the internet.

The court, however, allowed the government to block websites if their content had the potential to create communal disturbance, social disorder or affect India's relationship with other countries.

The bench said the public's right to know is directly affected by Section 66 A and the Section clearly affects the right to freedom of speech and expression enshrined under the Constitution of India.

Further, the court said Section 66 A was unconstitutional because it failed two major tests - the clear and present danger test and the tendency to create public disorder test. The court also found the language used in the Section vague and nebulous saying it doesn't properly define words like 'offensive' or even 'persistent'.

The court said it can't go by government assurances that the Section won't be misused as any assurance would not bind on successive governments. Section 66 A it said, would have to be judged on its own merits.

The court said there is a difference between discussion, advocacy and incitement. Discussion & advocacy, no matter if annoying to some people, has to be allowed, it said.

A bench of justices J. Chelameswar and R.F. Nariman had on 26 February reserved its judgement on one of the most controversial issues regarding the freedom of expression that the court has had to deal with in recent times. The verdict was reserved after the government concluded its arguments contending that section 66A of the Information Technology Act cannot be declared unconstitutional merely because of the possibility of its “abuse”.

The government said it did not want to curtail the freedom of speech and expression but contended that the cyber space could not be allowed to remain unregulated. During hearing however, the court had found several issues with the wording of the law. In particular, it said that terms like ‘grossly offensive’ and ‘of menacing character’, used to classify content as illegal, were vague expressions and these words were likely to be misunderstood and abused.

The first PIL on the issue was filed in 2012 by a law student Shreya Singhal, who sought amendment in Section 66A of the Act, after two girls — Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan — were arrested in Palghar in Thane district as one of them posted a comment against the shutdown in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s death and the other ‘liked’ it. The apex court had on 16 May 2013, come out with an advisory that a person, accused of posting objectionable comments on social networking sites, cannot be arrested without police getting permission from senior officers like the IG or the DCP.

Sahara gets 3 more months to raise bail money

The Supreme Court on Monday granted three more months to the Sahara group to sell its offshore properties to raise the Rs 10,000 crore required to secure the release of its chief Subrata Roy on bail. The court said it was satisfied with the company’s latest proposal and would allow it to proceed further.

It also extended its earlier order allowing Mr. Roy and two other directors of the company to use the conference room in Tihar jail to hold negotiations with potential buyers of three luxury hotels — Dream Downtown, The Plaza (both in New York) and Grosvenor House (London).

Mr. Roy has been in jail since March last year after the company failed to repay over Rs 20,000 crore to its depositors. The apex court had asked him to pay Rs. 10,000 crore to get bail, of which Rs 5,000 crore should be paid in cash and the remaining in bank guarantees. Since then Sahara has made several failed attempts to raise the bail money.

Appearing for Sahara, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told a bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur that the company had received a line of credit worth € 900 million from Spain’s BBVA bank, which it would use to repay a loan it had taken from the Bank of China to buy the three hotels. About Rs. 5000 crore which had to be deposited as bank guarantee would be generated from HSBC bank.

“Prima facie, we are satisfied that the proposal appears to be a serious effort and we allow it to pursue it further,” the court said. It also granted Sahara permission to sell 10 more properties across the country.

In an earlier hearing on March 13, the apex court had given the company a final chance to clinch the deals to raise Rs. 10,000 crore, noting that two earlier negotiations had to be aborted.

Kamal Haasan welcomes Supreme Court order on Section 66A

Veteran cinema star Kamal Haasan today welcomed the Supreme Court's order striking down Section 66A of the IT Act, saying technology's growth cannot be stopped.

"I feel information technology's growth should not be stopped, cannot be stopped," he said here.

In a landmark judgement, a Supreme Court bench of Justices J Chelameswar and R F Nariman had termed liberty of thought and expression as "cardinal" and said that "The public's right to know is directly affected by section 66A of the Information Technology Act."

Addressing reporters ahead of the release of his much-anticipated film 'Uthamavillain' next month, Haasan also took potshots at the Pahlaj Nihalani-led Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for imposing a set of guidelines and restrictions.

Such guidelines 'stifle' freedom of expression of the movie maker, said the actor-producer.

Talking about 'Uthamavillain,' directed by actor Ramesh Aravind and which has a good star cast, including Dadasaheb Phalke recipient, the late K Balachander, Haasan said that it was close to his heart since his mentor had played a role in it.

To a question on reviving his mega-budget 'Marudanayakam', he said some of his friends were holding discussions with him in this regard and that he had suggested that it be made in English since it is an 'international cinema.'

5 best ways to save tax at the last minute

Invest in ELSS

Equity-linked savings scheme ( ELSS) funds do not require recurring payments. You do not have to pay in subsequent years if you realise that the fund does not suit your needs. Moreover, you can easily invest online if you are KYC-compliant.

All you need to do is visit websites that track mutual funds. Identify the fund with the help of ratings given and log on to the selected fund house's portal to invest.

You will have to register on the site by providing the information asked for and click on the 'invest online' link. Next, select the scheme identified, choose its direct plan version and pay. The acknowledgement will serve as proof of investment.

Tax benefit: Exemptions up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C

Taxability on maturity: Exempt



Buy online term policies

Term insurance offers a large cover at a minuscule cost. Online term plans are also cheaper than physical term products. The buying process is simple and requires an hour. As the online process does away with the need for an agent, no part of your premium is directed towards commissions.

Check the insurer's claim settlement record. To buy, visit the selected life insurer's portal and furnish personal information, nominee details, income level and so on. The process is completed with payment of premium, unless you have to undergo medical tests. The premium receipt will suffice to claim tax deductions.

Tax benefit: Exemptions up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C

Taxability on maturity: Exempt



Secure your health online

Several companies and aggregators facilitate purchase of health insurance policies online. Cases which do not require pre-policy medical check-up can be bought online in an hour. Typically, insuranceseekers under 45 without any adverse health history do not need to go through medical tests.

However, it's best to buy a health cover now to ensure that the entire process is completed before March 31 as those over 45 will have to wait till the policy is issued post-medical tests.

Tax benefit: Deductions up to Rs 15,000 under Section 80D (Rs 20,000 for senior citizens)

Taxability on maturity: NA



Invest in a tax-saver deposits

A popular instrument, it is simple to invest in one if you are registered for Internet banking. All you have to do is open a five-year tax-saver fixed deposit by transferring funds from your savings account. The FD receipt mailed to your account will serve as proof for claiming tax benefits.

However, not all banks allow customers to open a tax-saver FD online, even though the facility is enabled for regular FDs.

Tax benefit: Exemptions up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C

Taxability on maturity: Interest earned is taxable



Opt for PPF and NPS

PPF is best-suited for those with a low risk appetite. You can open a PPF account with online facilities through some banks, but you will have to submit your application form and KYC proof in person at a branch. Subsequently, you can transfer funds online through your linked savings bank account.

From the next financial year, NPS will offer an additional tax break of up to Rs 50,000. Opening of the account still entails cumbersome paperwork and visits to points of presence authorised by the Pension Funds Regulatory and Development Authority.

Tax benefit: Exemptions up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C

Taxability on maturity: PPF Exempt; NPS Taxable

coal and mining Bills in the Rajya Sabha

Coal and power minister Piyush Goyal wrote a long Facebook post over the weekend, thanking the individual Opposition leaders and parties who supported the coal and mining Bills in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling coalition doesn't have a majority.

What he didn't, however, write about was the behind-the-scenes drama to split the Opposition and isolate the Congress and Left parties.

"Though we had spoken to all the leaders from our side, we could not be certain that they would actually vote for the bills," said Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. "We were worried till the last moment about how they would vote."

ET spoke to several BJP leaders, ministers and Opposition members to piece together the government's strategy, essentially driven by Rajya Sabha leader Arun Jaitley. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did his bit by speaking informally to Opposition leaders such as Naveen Patnaik, Mamata Banerjee, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati.

As part of a well-planned strategy, Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Goyal, NS Tomar, Naqvi and Jaitley reached out to "amenable" Opposition parties, holding secret meetings and through phone calls.

"We knew it would be difficult to get the Congress and Left parties on board, so we focused on the others including Biju Janata Dal, Trinamool, AIADMK, NCP, JD(U), SP and BSP," said a minister. "We talked to them separately, trying to impress upon them the benefits of the two bills ... for the states, and how it will bring in more transparency."

Jaitley, Goyal and Tomar met BJD leader and Odisha Chief Minister Patnaik at Odisha Bhavan during his visit to the Capital on March 9.

The PM had already spoken to Patnaik the previous night. They tried convincing Patnaik about supporting the coal, mines and land bills, said a BJD leader.

"The CM agreed to support only the coal bill initially since they accepted some of the suggestions made by him. Patnaik also made four suggestions regarding the land bill to which the BJP leaders responded positively. We had our differences over the mining bill though."

The BJD was opposed to the clause that allowed automatic lease extension of captive and non-captive merchant mines, whose lease validity had lapsed. "The matter was settled after deliberations with the Centre's team when they agreed to extend validity of mines only on the basis of the state government's recommendation," he added.

It was more or less the same strategy with the Trinamool. Modi had a meeting with Banerjee on March 9.

This was followed up by Goyal meeting her and Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien. In January, Jaitley had spoken to Banerjee in Kolkata.

"We held a series of meetings with Jaitley and Goyal. We suggested some amendments and they accepted them," O'Brien said. The clincher was a clause that allowed e-auctioning. "In Bengal, we have seen an 87% rise in revenues after e-auctions," he added.

Though the government had given up on the Congress, Naidu is believed to have reached out to Ghulam Nabi Azad but failed to get him on board. However, he was successful in convincing NCP chief Sharad Pawar to go with the government.

Modi's gesture of attending the prewedding ceremony of Mulayam Singh Yadav's grand-nephew had broken the ice between the two leaders.

A senior BJP leader said breaking the Opposition unity had become very critical. "The wakeup call for the government was when the Opposition forced an amendment to the Motion of Thanks over the President's address in Rajya Sabha. It was then the government decided that no stone would be left unturned to break the Opposition unity."

How a rising dollar is creating trouble for emerging economies

In India, it is a leading electric utility, Jaiprakash Power Ventures, selling off facilities and negotiating with lenders to avoid a default, having increasing its debts thirtyfold in six years.

In China, it is one of the country's largest real estate developers, the Kaisa Group, threatening to pay only 2.4 cents on the dollar to its creditors in the face of corruption investigations and a mass resignation of executives, leaving countless would-be Chinese home buyers stuck in the middle of a multibillion dollar standoff.

And in Brazil, a wave of bankruptcies among sugar producers has been driven not just by falling sugar prices, but also by debts that they owe in United States dollars, which are becoming more expensive practically by the day compared with the Brazilian currency.


These are all parts of the same story: The soaring value of the American dollar is rippling across the globe. As it rises, it is threatening emerging economies where companies have taken on trillions' worth of dollar-based debt in recent years. The dollar rally has been driven by decisions by the Federal Reserve, which begins a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. In fact, anticipation of the Fed meeting, where officials are expected to signal that interest rate increases could be near, has driven the dollar even higher in the last couple of weeks.

In effect, as Fed policy makers sit around a mahogany table in Washington to try to guide the United States economy toward prosperity, their actions are having outsize, often unpredictable impacts across the globe, owing to the dollar's central role in the global financial system.
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Years of low-interest-rate policies from the Fed have encouraged companies in these fast-growing economies to borrow dollars because they could do it more cheaply than if they took out loans in their local currencies, like the Indian rupee or Brazilian real. So they did: By September 2014 there were $9.2 trillion of such dollar loans outside the United States, up 50 percent since 2009, according to the Bank for International Settlements.

As Raghuram Rajan, the Reserve Bank of India's governor, put it earlier this year in an interview with Bloomberg Television, "Borrowing in dollars is like playing Russian roulette, especially if you're borrowing relatively short term." Much of the time it will work out fine, but when the value of the dollar rises, suddenly companies find that they need more of their local currency to pay back the dollars that have since gained in value.
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And rise the dollar has. Since the Federal Reserve signaled in summer 2013 that it would wind down its "quantitative easing" policy of buying billions of dollars in bonds using newly created money — that the gusher of dollars flowing into the global financial system would come to an end, in other words — the dollar is up 25 percent against a basket of commonly used international currencies.

"Now that the dollar has strengthened and rates are on the rise, it presents a risk and a challenge to many emerging markets in that their debts have become more onerous, more burdensome," said Hung Tran, an executive managing director at the Institute of International Finance, an association of global banks. "The challenge for authorities in emerging market countries is to understand to what degree their corporate sector is naked or exposed."

Companies in emerging markets that are primarily exporters might be O.K. After all, their revenue is in dollars, and so it should keep pace with rising debt service obligations. But for those focused domestically, like real estate developers or electric utilities, a more expensive dollar can make it much more costly to service debts. Money coming in is in a local currency like the Indian rupee or the Malaysian ringgit, and it suddenly takes a lot more of them to pay debts owed in dollars.
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Hyun Song Shin, who heads research at the Bank for International Settlements, argues that a rising dollar has an effect of tightening the supply of money across the global economy. A Malaysian company doing business with a South Korean company will frequently carry out transactions in dollars, not ringgits or won. Dollars will now be available on more stringent terms. Clearly, decisions made by Janet Yellen, the Fed chairwoman, and her colleagues in Washington can have a big effect on transactions even when no American companies are involved.

In some economists' ears, that creates echoes of the crises that crushed East Asian economies in the late 1990s and Latin American economies in the early 2000s. In those cases, there was also a currency mismatch that sent the economies of South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Argentina into a tailspin.

The biggest difference this time around is that private companies, not governments, have incurred debt in a currency not their own. What is likely to follow are bankruptcies, layoffs and cost-cutting for individual companies that borrowed too aggressively. A vicious cycle of economic collapse and government austerity measures is harder to imagine.

And indeed, the rising dollar and falling emerging-market currencies cut both ways for the economies in question. Even as companies that gorged on dollar debt run into trouble, falling currency values make exporters more competitive on global markets. The International Monetary Fund projects that emerging economies worldwide will grow 4.3 percent this year, compared with 2.4 percent for the advanced economies.

In a wide-ranging speech last fall wrestling with the global impact of Federal Reserve policy, Stanley Fischer, the vice chairman of the Fed (and former governor of the Bank of Israel, where he grappled with powerful spillover effects from the Fed's actions firsthand), discussed the risks emerging markets faced as rising interest rates in the United States drove up the dollar.

"It does not seem that the overall risks to global financial stability are unusually elevated at this time, and they are very likely substantially less than they were going into the financial crisis," Mr. Fischer argued. "Nevertheless, it could be that some more vulnerable economies, including those that pursue overly rigid exchange rate policies, may find the road to normalization somewhat bumpier."

This, he said, makes clear communication about the Fed's intentions all the more important. With the central bank's meeting this week and the day of tighter money in the United States inching ever closer, the multitrillion-dollar question for the global economy is, Just how many of these companies will ride out the bumps, and how many more will crash?

Oil drops as Saudi output nears record, China demand worries drag

Oil prices dropped on Tuesday after activity in China's factory sector fell to an 11-month low and as Saudi Arabia said its production was close to an all-time high.

The flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dipped to 49.2 in March, below the 50-point level that separates growth in activity from a contraction on a monthly basis, stoking worries over the strength of the world's No.2 economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a reading of 50.6.

"Considering that the preliminary PMI figures for major crude importers turned out much lower than estimates ... we expect both WTI and Brent to end-off today lower," Singapore-based Phillip Futures said on Tuesday.

The PMI drop in China followed an overnight report that Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer, was now pumping around 10 million barrels of crude oil per day, a near all-time high and some 350,000 bpd above the figure Saudi Arabia gave to OPEC for its February output.

"The market was under pressure early in the trading day after comments from Saudi Arabia that it was producing almost 10 million barrels per day," ANZ bank said on Tuesday.

Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were trading down 42 cents at $55.50 a barrel at 1.25am ET. US WTI crude CLc1 dropped 57 cents to $46.88 a barrel.

Worries over slowing growth in China's economy as well as high production have contributed to a global surplus in oil supplies.

"We expect crude prices to be pressured once again by the weight of some 2 million barrels per day of oversupply in Q2 2015," energy consultancy FGE said in a note on Tuesday.

The refinery sector has benefited from cheap oil, which has improved margins for oil products such as diesel or jet fuel.

"A sharp decline in crude prices over late 2014 and into January 2015, followed by an extraordinarily cold February (in the United States and parts of Europe), has meant good times for refiners," FGE said, but it added that high refinery margins were unlikely to last.

"In H2 2015, we see an oversupplied products market even as crude prices begin to recover. Refinery margins will adjust downwards."

Defence ministry sounds fresh red alert on web spying

India's defence establishment has sounded a fresh red
alert over the need to ensure physical as well as cyber security of
classified information in light of ever-increasing espionage attempts by
foreign intelligence
agencies, especially from China and Pakistan.
Citing "inputs" from the home ministry and elsewhere, the defence
ministry has directed the armed forces and other organizations working
under it to strictly implement the fresh security measures to prevent
any classified matter from being leaked.
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"Defence personnel, especially those serving in lower formations, privy
to sensitive information relating to organization/matters pertaining to
the armed forces continue to be targets of foreign intelligence
espionage efforts/agents," said the MoD directive, issued on March 12.
Some of the security instructions deal with monitoring of photocopying
machines, police verification of all staff employed on "an outsourced
basis", restricted access to divisions dealing with confidential matters,
close watch on suspicious conduct, caller ID spoofing and the like.

But the bulk of them are connected to cyber-security and computer-
usage norms. They range from strict access control and proper
firewalls to "air gap" between secure and insecure networks and curbs
on use of digital storage devices.
"There have been cases of data being leaked through the use of pen-
drives, removable hard disks and CDs. Moreover, Chinese hackers
have also broken into military networks through worm-infected USB
devices to exfiltrate information," said an official.
Interestingly, in its publication 'The Science of Military Strategy' this
month, China for the first time has admitted its People's Liberation
Army has specialized cyber warfare units. While both China and
Pakistan have been bolstering their capability to wage war in the
virtual arena, the former has made it a top military priority. "China
regularly hacks into sensitive computer networks of countries like
India, US, the UK and Germany," said a senior officer.
"China has at least a couple of hacker brigades, apart from over
30,000 computer professionals in its militia. It also has civilian teams
empowered to undertake similar intelligence and computer network
attacks," he added.

Targeted cyber attacks can hobble, and even destroy, strategic
networks and energy grids, financial and communication info-
structures of an adversary. Iran, for instance, learnt this the hard way
when the Stuxnet software "worm" crippled its nuclear programme five
years ago.
But even as countries sharpen their cyber-weapons, India continues to
drag its feet in setting up a tri-Service Cyber Command, which was
proposed along with an Aerospace and Special Operations Commands
by the chiefs of the staff committee a couple of years ago.

160 Bhagat Singh files lie in oblivion in Lahore

CHANDIGARH: Even more than eight decades after Bhagat Singh and
his comrades' martyrdom, an important bunch of files related to their
trial in the Lahore Conspiracy Case are lying in oblivion in Lahore
.
More than 160 files titled 'Crown vs Sukh Dev, Lahore Conspiracy Case
1929-1931' are lying behind closed lockers in the Punjab Archives in
Lahore, Pakistan. According to sources, no international scholar on
Bhagat Singh so far has been allowed to access them.

Amarjit Chandan, London-based poet and independent researcher on
Bhagat Singh, who has tried to access those files numerous times in
the past said that these files are of immense historical importance as
they are from a special tribunal, which was formed for Bhagat Singh
and his comrades' trial. "I myself went to the Lahore Archives and
there are many academics who have tried to access the files. I was
shown just one file and my request was turned down to take a copy of
the catalogue of the collection," he said.
"Nobody had any knowledge of the papers until I went there and found
out in December 2010 about these files. A high official there showed
me one or two files, including the catalogue after much persuasion, but
did not allow me to take copy or photograph the catalogue at least,"
said Chandan.
Chandan also approached Tahir Kamran, Allama Iqbal Visiting
Professor, Centre of South Asian Studies Cambridge University. "He
promised to get a copy of the catalogue, but the officials are now
being difficult with him too," he said. Following that Chanadan also
approached a few politicians and a senior civil servant in Lahore but of
no avail.
Many years ago, Prof Harish Puri, a political scientist who has written
several books on India's freedom struggle, also sought permission to
see them. "They denied me permission to even go through the index,"
he says. Even as he did not want to speculate about the content, he
said that it could have documents related to evidence in the case as
that was not transferred here.

Chandan said it was very important that the government of India
intervened in this matter. "The task of getting copies from the Lahore
Archives will have to be taken up by the government of India at the
highest level," he said.
"A comprehensive inventory of Bhagat Singh's records at Archives
would be a benefit not just to academics but also to enthusiasts and
local historians in Lahore, where there is a growing interest in the city's
historic relationship with revolutionary politics," says Christopher
Moffat, who has just done a PhD on the revolutionary at Cambridge
University.
Bhagat Singh's nephew, Prof Jagmohan too feels that while Pakistani
authorities has been denying the files calling them 'sensitive', the
documents must be brought into public domain.

Hyderabad Funds case: UK court tells Pakistan to pay India £1,50,000

LONDON: In a setback to Pakistan, a court in United Kingdom directed
it to pay 1,50,000 pounds to India as legal fees in the 67-year-old
Hyderabad Funds case involving the Nizam's money while terming
Pakistan's behaviour as "unreasonable".
Holding that Pakistan has no "sovereign immunity" in the case, the
judge ordered the Pakistan high commissioner here to pay the legal
costs incurred by the other respondents in the case relating to the
'Hyderabad Funds' which is currently valued at 35 million pounds.

It is understood that the legal costs of the respondents — the
Government of India, the National Westminster Bank & the Nizam's
heirs Mukkaram Jah & Muffakham Jah — are approximately 4,00,000
pounds.
The immunity waiver under the verdict, which has opened the doors for
India to recover the frozen funds through legal process, is irrevocable.
It is also reliably understood that the Indian government and the heirs
of Nizam were holding consultations on the subject.
This case, known as the 'Hyderabad Funds Case', relates to transfer of
10,07,940 pounds and 9 Shillings to a London bank account in the
name of the High Commissioner in the UK for the then newly formed
state of Pakistan, Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola, at the Westminster Bank
(now Natwest) in 1948.
The money was transferred by an agent who appeared to be acting on
behalf of the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad.

Following the partition in 1947, and the formation of the independent
sovereign states of India and Pakistan, the numerous princely states
within the sub-continent were permitted by the UK to elect to join
either of the two new states, or to remain independent.
The Nizam chose to remain independent. However, on September 18,
1948, Hyderabad was annexed to India.
On September 20, 1948 the money was transferred to Rahimtoola by
the agent.
Another chance for India to get money via legal route
On September 27, 1948, the Nizam sought to reverse the transfer of
money claiming that it had been made without his authority.
The Bank was unwilling to comply with the Nizam's request without
the agreement of the account holder. Such consent was not
forthcoming, and for a number of years matters remained unresolved.
As the successor state to the Nizam's State of Hyderabad, India has
all along sought its claim over the money maintaining that it was State
monies and not Nizam's private monies.

However, stuck in a legal battle with no hope of a resolution since
1960, the Indian cabinet had approved efforts to pursue an out-of-
court settlement with Pakistan and Nizam's heirs to recover the funds.
The cabinet had also given its approval to the negotiating strategy in
the matter.
With no state immunity for Pakistan over the funds, India has once
again got the chance to get the money through the legal process.
According to the Indian government, the ruling of the British High
Court of Justice or the English High Court means that the dispute over
the ownership of funds can now once again be decided through the
legal route, without Islamabad being able to block such proceedings by
invoking its immunity.

India Inc gifts Rs 1k cr to PM’s Swachh plan

Responding to PM Narendra Modi's call, India Inc has
jumped onto the Swachh Bharat bandwagon earmarking over Rs 1,000
crore towards the clean India project, analysts' estimates show.
Major corporate houses such as L&T, DLF, Vedanta, Bharti, TCS,
Ambuja Cements, Toyota Kirloskar, Maruti, Tata Motors, Coca Cola,
Dabur, Reciktt Benckiser, Aditya Birla Group, Adani, Biocon, Infosys,
TVS and many others have joined the effort by committing budgets for
projects linked to Swachh Bharat.
These projects vary from building toilets in distant villages, running
workshops to bring in behavioral changes, waste management to water
hygiene and sanitation.
While most of these projects are funded under their corporate social
responsibility (CSR) heads, there are also some that are partly funded
through CSR or are designed as public private partnerships.
Experts say the initiative serves a dual purpose for corporates. While it
helps fulfill the 2% mandatory investment in CSR, it may also fetch
brownie points from the government.
"As soon as PM called for the campaign, the initial responses were to
take up the broom and there were a number of companies who urged
their employees in this campaign," says Santhosh Jayaram, technical
director, sustainability advisory, KPMG.
However, gradually many companies have institutionalized it by
designing specific projects and budgets to implement them.
For instance, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Bharti Foundation,
an arm of Bharti Enterprises, have both committed Rs 100 crore each
as part of their CSR initiatives to construct toilets in schools. While
TCS plans to finance hygienic sanitation facilities for girl students
across 10,000 schools in the country, Bharti has adopted Ludhiana
and is working with government to make the district open defecation
free.
Though most companies are still focused on building toilets, there are
also a few who have chosen waste management, water sanitation and
other innovative projects, says Sudhir Singh, partner,
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). DLF, for instance, has launched a
flagship waste management programme in villages surrounding
Gurgaon. Under the project, funded under CSR, the company has
created a waste treatment plant and waste collection infrastructure.
The facilities have been handed over to village panchayats, which sell
compost in the market to generate income.
"Cleanliness is the responsibility of all of us, not just the government.
DLF Foundation's contribution to Clean Haryana Campaign is an
attempt to address the issue which is becoming a major challenge for
the country," DLF Foundation CEO Rajender Singh said.
Experts working in the area of sanitation say there is still a lot that
needs to be done to turn the campaign into a success story.
"Commitments are mostly restricted to asset building exercise. To
make Swachh Bharat a success story, there is need to bring
sustainability," says Neeraj Jain, CEO, WaterAid, an international
organization working for water sanitation and hygiene.
According to Jain, the investment needs to be channelized to bring in a
holistic change. Apart from construction of toilets, bringing about
behavioral changes, technology intervention, community development
as well as monitoring mechanism are key challenges that need to be
addressed.
However, experts are hopeful that a corporate push on this agenda
might address these issues.
Reckitt Benckiser, which sells Dettol, Harpic and Lizol, has also
pledged Rs 100 crore for the cleanliness drive. The company's
programme is mainly focused on personal hygiene.
Apart from private firms, public sector companies are also nudged into
making significant investments in such projects. Most public sector
companies like Coal India, ONGC, OIL, IOC and GAIL have earmarked
funds for projects aligned with the idea of Swachch Bharat Abhiyan.
Given that companies' contributions to government's Swachh Bharat
fund do not account as CSR, which is to be undertaken in local area of
operation, spending in projects that are inclined with sanitation or
cleanliness has emerged as a preferred option among many.
"Swachh Bharat has given a good direction for corporates to align their
CSR policies with a national agenda and it was the main reason for
such a good response," Jayaram said.
Of late, corporate affairs ministry has set up a committee to look into
the monitoring aspects of CSR.

DRDO RESEARCH COMPLETE CARE OF VITILIGO (SAFED DAAG)

But online leucoderma treatment medicine.
Key Features
Type : Herbal Supplements
Size : 4 x 40 gms
Goal : Cure disorder of skin
Veg/Non Veg : Veg
Serving Size : Apply gently on the spots of leucoderma once or twice
a day
Supplement Type : Natural herbs
Quantity : 4 x 40 gms

US, Allies Conduct Air Strikes in Syria and Iraq Against Islamic State

WASHINGTON:
The United States and its coalition allies staged three air strikes
against Islamic State militants in Syria and seven in Iraq since
early Friday, the Combined Joint Task Force overseeing the
operations said in a statement on Saturday.
All three air strikes in Syria targeted Islamic State fighting positions
near Kobani.
In Iraq, the strikes hit targets near Mosul, Kirkuk and Ramadi,
among other locations, the statement said.

Cong support to insurance bill at cost of opposition unity, party MP says

Congress MP Bhalchandra Mungekar says the party's
decision to support the government on insurance reforms has hit the
opposition unity, with the Left and regional outfits wondering if the
lead anti-BJP player was unreliable.
A day after the coal and mines bills bared the divisions in the non-BJP
axis, Mungekar pointed to Congress decision to offer unqualified
support to the government's insurance reforms to caution the party. "It
was indeed puzzling. The opposition may have felt that Congress and
BJP can at times come together. This is not good for opposition
unity," he told TOI.
A section of Congress has lobbied the leadership against blocking the
bills authored by UPA, like insurance, even if the BJP had played the
spoiler then.
But Mungekar disagrees. "Our bills are no more our bills and if we want
to support them, we should coordinate with the opposition and
convince them why we are doing so. Otherwise, the opposition parties
may ask why they should be taken for a ride," he warned, adding,
"While supporting insurance, Congress might have considered its moral
responsibility which is not necessarily so ... the opposition parties
were certainly aggrieved."
Congress suffered a blow when allied regional parties backed the
government on mines-coal bills, appearing to pull out of the opposition
coalition that was firming up during the budget session. According to
the political buzz, when Congress confronted the dissenters, Trinamool
Congress shot back asking about Congress' volte face on the
insurance bill.
However, Mungekar said the coal-mines bills was not a sign of fraying
opposition unity as the regional parties backed the government in the
hope of funds that would accrue to states from the auction of mines.
A Rajya Sabha MP and former planning commission member,
Mungekar said the silver lining for the opposition was the persisting
commonality of purpose on land acquisition bill. "Congress should
develop on this good gesture of other parties. In view of grave political
situation, Congress at every point of time, as the single-largest party in
both Houses, must constantly ensure the unity of the opposition," he
said.
Besides the land bill, Mungekar said "a more effective rallying point" for
the opposition is the "polluted social atmosphere due to divisive
politics of RSS".

Sunanda Pushkar murder probe: SIT to interrogate Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar

Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi on Saturday confirmed
that Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar will be interrogated in the Sunanda
Pushkar's murder probe.
"Mehr Tarar is a relevant witness and the SIT has realized need to
speak to her. We are examining how exactly they can proceed in the
matter," said Bassi.
Earlier on Friday, the Delhi police had rubbished reports suggesting
that they have approached the Pakistan High Commission regarding
the questioning of Tarar.
"We haven't established any contact with the Pakistan High
Commission regarding the questioning of Mehr Tarar, these reports are
untrue," Bassi had said.
"She [Mehr Tarar] will be called for examination when necessary," he
added.
Sunanda was found dead in the five-star Leela Hotel in Delhi on
January 17, 2014.
She was married to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor for a little less
than four years. Before her death, Sunanda had publicly accused
Tharoor of having an affair with Tarar.
Sunanda's death was initially debated as a possible suicide for
months, but a murder theory began to be considered seriously after
doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
maintained that her demise was unnatural.

Colorado girl tried to poison mom twice for taking iPhone: Police

DENVER: Police on Friday arrested a 12-year-old Colorado girl accused
of trying to kill her mother twice by poisoning her with bleach for
taking away her iPhone, authorities said.
Boulder County Sheriff's Commander Heidi Prentup said in a statement
that the mother drank the caustic fluid on one of the two attempts,
which both happened within a week this month.
On March 2, the girl poured bleach into a breakfast smoothie that she
had prepared for her mother, Prentup said.
"Mom noticed an odor of bleach in the drink and thought her daughter
had cleaned the glass prior to making the beverage and did not rinse
all the bleach out," the police statement said.
The woman, who was not named by the authorities, was treated at a
local hospital and released.
Four days later, the girl allegedly poured bleach into a water carafe her
mother kept in her bedroom. When the woman smelt bleach, she
became suspicious and confronted her daughter.
"This is when she learned her daughter had developed the plan to kill
her for taking away her iPhone," police said.
Prentup said the mother reported the girl to police, and that
investigators then gathered enough evidence to take her into custody.
The girl was taken to a juvenile detention facility on Friday where is
being held pending the filing of charges.

Sierra Leone president orders three-day national lockdown against Ebola

Heath workers collect samples from the body of a person suspected to
have died from the Ebola virus, as it lies on the street covered in
leaves in Freetown, Sierra Leone. In a delay that some say may have
cost lives, the World Health Organization resisted calling the Ebola
outbreak in West Africa a public health emergency until the summer of
2014, two months after staff raised the possibility and long after a
senior manager called for a drastic change in strategy. (Photo: AP)
Sierra Leone : Sierra Leone's President Ernest Koromo ordered the
country's entire population Saturday to keep to their homes on March
27-29 in a bid to stem the spread of the deadly Ebola epidemic.
"All Sierra Leoneans must stay at home for three days," he announced,
expanding a previous order from the authorities for a lockdown in the
capital Freetown and northern areas of the country.

Samba attack an attempt by militants to raise their low morale: Manohar Parrikar

The two back-to-back terror attacks in Jammu is an
attempt by the militants to boost their morale, which has come down
due to the Army operations, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today
said.
"When the morale of the opponents are down, they make such
attempts to boost it," Parrikar said replying to questions about the
attack by militants in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.
Stating that the International Border has many "nallas", he said at
times it is difficult to man the area completely.
The IB comes under the purview of the BSF.
Giving figures, Parrikar said that about 26 militants have been killed
this year by the Army with only one loss from its side.
He said this proves that the Army was doing better and that
intelligence has also improved.
Terror had again struck Jammu today where militants opened fire at an
army camp on Jammu-Pathankot Highway in Samba district.
Parrikar said the two terrorists have been killed.
Yesterday, 'fidayeen' militants in army fatigues had stormed a police
station in Jammu's Kathua, killing three security personnel and two
civilians, and leaving 11 others including Deputy SP wounded.
Two militants were also killed in the gun battle.

Sierra Leone president orders three-day national lockdown against Ebola

Heath workers collect samples from the body of a person suspected to
have died from the Ebola virus, as it lies on the street covered in
leaves in Freetown, Sierra Leone. In a delay that some say may have
cost lives, the World Health Organization resisted calling the Ebola
outbreak in West Africa a public health emergency until the summer of
2014, two months after staff raised the possibility and long after a
senior manager called for a drastic change in strategy. (Photo: AP)
Sierra Leone : Sierra Leone's President Ernest Koromo ordered the
country's entire population Saturday to keep to their homes on March
27-29 in a bid to stem the spread of the deadly Ebola epidemic.
"All Sierra Leoneans must stay at home for three days," he announced,
expanding a previous order from the authorities for a lockdown in the
capital Freetown and northern areas of the country.

IAS officer DK Ravi lost money in realty business

Mother Gowramma and father Kariappa (R) at a protest demanding
probe into the death of IAS DK Ravi in Bengaluru (Photo: PTI)
Bengaluru : The late IAS officer D.K. Ravi, who was found hanging in
his flat on Monday evening, wanted to venture out into the real estate
business and had formed ‘R and H Developers’ with his friend Suresh
as a partner.
The firm was floated when he was serving as the Kolar Deputy
Commissioner.
CID sources told Deccan Chronicle that the company had struck some
deals and registered large tracts of land in Suresh’s name. Around 35
acres of land was purchased at Bangarpet area.
They had plans of getting all the required sanctions from sanctioning
authorities and developing the land into a layout.
Mr Ravi also had a joint account operational with Suresh at the
Yelahanka branch of State Bank of Mysore.
But Mr Ravi’s dreams of forming layout were dashed when
Suresh allegedly deceived him and made him bear large part of the
losses.
Police protection sought for Ravi’s parents
Fearing a threat to the lives of IAS officer D.K. Ravi’s kin, and to the
grave of the officer, a local resident on Friday petitioned the director
general of police (DGP) for round-the-clock protection and to take
preventive action against Kunigal legislator D. Nagarajaiah who could
harm the aged couple.
In a complaint submitted to Mr Omprakash, Mr M.N. Shivanna Gowda
has stated that he was anxious about the safety of Mr Kariyappa and
Mrs Gowramma, parents of Mr Ravi, who were “forcefully” brought
from Doddakoppalu to Bengaluru by Mr Nagarajaiah to protest against
the state government on March 18.
“Now, rumours are rife that workers of JD(S) could harm the couple in
an effort to embarrass the state government for refusing to hand over
the case of mysterious death of Mr Ravi to the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI),” his complaint states.
The complaint, a copy of which was made available to Deccan
Chronicle, requested the DGP to register a case against Mr Nagarajaiah
and instruct police officers concerned to take appropriate action.
This complaint was lodged hours after Mrs Gowramma was
hospitalised in Huliyurudurga and his aunt Padmamma passed away
while being rushed to a hospital in Bengaluru on Friday.

Milos Raonic defeats Rafael Nadal in quarter-finals at Indian Wells Canadian takes another step in impressive career

Milos Raonic defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the BNP
Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. on Friday night.
The match went the distance, with Raonic, a native of Thornhill, Ont.,
prevailing 4-6, 7-6, 7-5 to earn his first career victory over Nadal in six
tries.
"I'm about as happy as I can be," said Raonic, who has improved his
showing at this desert venue with successive appearances. "I'm
delighted and very fortunate.
"But there is a day of work tomorrow and I have to prepare for that. I
need to keep up the momentum."
Raonic fired 18 aces and hit 48 winners to 25 winners for Nadal, who
had 22 unforced errors.
They dueled in the second-set tiebreaker, when Nadal held three match
points but he committed errors on two of them and Raonic smashed a
winner on the other.
Raonic had plenty of chances in the tiebreaker, too, finally converting
on his fifth set point when Nadal netted a shot.
Neither gave an inch in the third, staying on serve until the 11th game.
That's when Raonic earned the only break of the set, hitting a shot on
the baseline that Nadal chased down but sent a backhand long.
Raonic dropped just one point on his serve in the final game, winning
on another backhand error by Nadal, who lost to a Canadian player for
the first time in nine career matches.
Nadal's defeat prevented Djokovic, Federer, the Spaniard and Murray —
the world's top four-ranked players — from reaching the semifinals at
the same tournament since the 2012 Australian Open.
Raonic, the sixth seed, moves on to face second-seeded Roger Federer
in the semifinals.
Earlier Friday, Federer beat Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-0, keeping alive his
bid of winning an unprecedented fifth title in the desert.
Federer improved to 15-1 this year and earned his first straight-set win
over Berdych since 2011 in Paris and just his second 6-0 set ever in
19 career matches against the Czech.
"I was really able to utilize the court much more, play more angles,
play with variation, spin and slice. I did that very well," Federer said.
"Because I was serving well and moving well, so maybe there is not
going to be that many chances for him on the return."
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic will meet fourth-seeded Andy Murray in
the other men's semifinal on Saturday.
Pospisil advances to doubles final
In doubles, Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil and American partner Jack
Sock, the Wimbledon champions, reached the final by beating Poland's
Marcin Matkowski and Serb Nenad Zimonjic— former partner of
Toronto's Daniel Nestor— 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 (match tiebreak).
The pair will play for the title against Italians Fabio Fognini and Simone
Bolelli.
Serena Williams bows out
Serena Williams has withdrawn from her semifinal at the BNP Paribas
Open because of a right knee injury.
The world's top-ranked player was set to play third-seeded Simona
Halep in the second semifinal Friday night. She was expected to
address the crowd on-court after the first semifinal between Jelena
Jankovic and Sabine Lisicki.

House of Lords commits Government to spend billions on international development Despite ongoing row over Britain's failure to commit to spending two per cent of GDP on defence, peers approve plans to enshrine foreign aid spending in law

Peers approved a new law committing the Government to spending
billions on international development Photo: PA
By Peter Dominiczak, Political Editor
3:46PM GMT 09 Mar 2015
Britain will be forced to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on
foreign aid after peers approved a new law committing the Government
to spending billions on international development every year.
Despite an ongoing row over Britain's failure to commit to spending
two per cent of GDP on defence, the House of Lords, backed by the
Lib Dems and Labour, has approved plans to enshrine foreign aid
spending in law.
Tory MPs condemned the move. Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley,
said: “It is idiotic and unjustifiable to be spending more and more
money on overseas aid when we are still borrowing so much money
and have to make savings at home.
“Putting it into law is gesture politics of the worst kind and no self-
respecting Conservative could ever believe in being judged simply on
the amount of money you spend on something."
Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, hailed the move and criticised
Conservatives over the ongoing dispute about defence spending.
He said: "‘But I would say, particularly to the Conservative Party who
seem to be generating most of the noise around the money that might
need to be set aside for defence in the future – you cannot provide the
British people with adequately-resourced police forces, or adequately-
resourced military forces if you take this ideological approach to
reducing the amount of money that goes into public spending as a
proportion of GDP, for no economic reason at all, just for ideological
reasons.”
It comes after a report by the respected Royal United Services Institute
warned that defence budgets may be slashed by 10 per cent during
the next parliament, shrinking personnel for the three Armed Forces by
as many as 42,000.
Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children said: “This historic
decision will save millions of lives across the world.
"The British people should be proud of its commitment to continue our
country’s impressive legacy in helping the world’s poor.”

Hong Kong's third-world water management system in urgent need of repair

No other city in the world has consistently overestimated water
requirements so badly for over two decades.
Over the past several decades, Hong Kong's water supply and
wastewater management practices have been on an unsustainable
path. Poor planning, absence of sustained interest from its top
policymakers, an uninformed public, lack of regular media scrutiny and
a series of poor policy interventions have ensured that, today, it lags
behind nearly all cities of similar levels of economic development in its
management of water.
Hong Kong is a net water importer. Currently, 70-80 per cent is
imported from Guangdong's Dongjiang through multiple agreements.
The Audit Commission reported in 1999 that the planners had so badly
overestimated city water requirements in the 1989 agreement that
some 716 million cubic metres of water literally went down the drain,
which cost taxpayers, between 1994 and 1998, HK$1.7 billion.
Even after this sad performance, the next agreement was even worse.
The requirement was again another overestimate. Consequently,
between 2006 and 2012, the city had to pay for seven years of water
imports but in reality used only about six years of water. This over-
estimation cost the taxpayers another HK$2.8 billion.
As an adviser to 19 governments, I am not aware of a single city
anywhere in the world which has consistently overestimated water
requirements so badly for over two decades.
Not only has overestimation been a serious problem, but also no
serious policy measures were taken to manage domestic and industrial
water demands. At present, average water use in Hong Kong is about
220 litres per capita per day, a figure that is higher than in 2003. This
is bad management since in nearly all similar cities of the world, the
usage trends are generally declining because of better management
practices and increasing awareness of the people that water is a
scarce resource.
Accordingly, inhabitants of cities like Hamburg and Barcelona use
about half that of an average Hongkonger. In Singapore, per capita
water use has steadily come down in recent decades. It is now 152
litres per capita per day, which is still on the high side. An average
Hongkonger uses 45 per cent more.
One of the reasons for this very high usage is because water and
wastewater provisioning has been subsidised at higher levels with
each passing year. The water tariff has remained the same since 1995,
but costs of services have gone up steadily. This has resulted in some
ridiculous situations, like the city providing private bottled water
companies with highly subsidised water, which at the retail level is
being sold at over 1,000 times the cost of city water.
The present pricing structure means that a round 14 per cent of Hong
Kong residents do not pay for water and sewerage services. Each
household now receives completely free 12 cubic metres of water
every four months irrespective of their ability to pay. This is in contrast
to Singapore, where its national water agency, PUB, not only
completely recovers its costs but also makes a profit.
Furthermore, in Hong Kong, there have been no consistent attempts to
educate the citizens on the importance of water as a strategic
resource. This is again in sharp contrast to Singapore, where the
population is regularly made aware of the value of water. The
interactive permanent exhibitions of wastewater treatment and water
management at its NEWater Visitor Centre and Marina Barrage have
become major tourist destinations.
When compared to other Asian cities of similar levels of per capita
gross domestic product, like Singapore, Tokyo or Osaka, urban water
management in Hong Kong comes out very poorly. But even when
compared to some cities in developing countries, like Cambodia's
Phnom Penh, Hong Kong does not fare well.
For the past 15 years, the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority has
outclassed Hong Kong. Like in Hong Kong, Phnom Penh residents
receive clean water which can be drunk straight from the tap. Both the
poor and the rich pay for water at affordable prices, and no one
receives free water, as in Hong Kong.
Phnom Penh's water authority, a public-sector autonomous
corporation, has been consistently profitable for over a decade and
receives no subsidy. All its performance indicators have been
consistently better than Hong Kong's, with many of them better than in
London or Los Angeles. Its planning and execution have also
surpassed Hong Kong's. For example, Phnom Penh's bill collection
ratio is almost 100 per cent, and unaccounted-for losses from the
water system are about 6.5 per cent, compared to about 17 per cent in
Hong Kong.
The question the Hong Kong public and policymakers need to ask and
answer is: how did a third world city like Phnom Penh, which has
limited technical and administrative capacities, no private sector to
speak of, inadequate educational and management facilities and poor
governance practices, manage to leapfrog a world-class city like Hong
Kong so thoroughly in little over a decade?
Urban water management is not rocket science. There is no reason
why any city of more than 200,000 people cannot have a good water
system. It is high time for Hong Kong to do some serious soul-
searching and find solutions which can radically improve its present
urban water system.
Asit K. Biswas is the Distinguished Visiting Professor at Lee Kuan
Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. An
adviser to 19 countries, he received the Stockholm Water Prize,
equivalent to a Nobel Prize in the area of water, in 2006

Mikaela Shiffrin wins 3rd World Cup slalom crown Slovakia's Tina Maze closes in on overall title The Associated Press

Mikaela Shiffrin won the World Cup finals slalom title again, topping the
field at Meribel, France for her third consecutive slalom Crystal Globe.
Philippe Desmazes/AFP
Mikaela Shiffrin clinched her third straight World Cup slalom title in
style Saturday with a victory at the season-ending finals.
Shiffrin, the Olympic and two-time world slalom champion, beat her
only remaining challenger Frida Hansdotter of Sweden by 0.05
seconds to win her sixth race of the season and fifth in slalom.
The 20-year-old American had a commanding 90-point lead over
Hansdotter going into the race, but stayed true to her attacking style
rather than skiing safely to get into the points.
Canada's Erin Mielzynski moved up in the second run to place eighth,
while Marie-Michele Gagnon placed 17th.
"Frida has been pushing me hard all season, she's been skiing so fast
and I really had to give it my all in the second run to get the win
today, said Shiffrin, who finished 110 points clear of her rival. "When I
hit the flat section I had a good feeling, but knew I had to give it
everything I had if I wanted to win and luckily it worked out."
She raised the crystal globe aloft with her right as the crowd cheered.
Slovakia's Veronika Velez Zuzulova placed third and Slovenia's Tina
Maze was fourth, picking up valuable points in her quest for the overall
title.
She is 18 points ahead of defending champion Anna Fenninger, who is
not a slalom specialist and finished 23rd.
Hansdotter was 0.07 quicker than Shiffrin after the first run and led
the American looked set to win her second race of the season when
she led the American by 0.34 seconds at the final time split of the
second. However, she lost ground on the bottom section of the Roc
de Fer course.
The 31-year-old Maze, who competes in all five disciplines, finished
third in the slalom standings — 240 points adrift of Shiffrin.
The 25-year-old Fenninger has only one career top-20 finish in slalom,
but decided to race Saturday to try to gain a few vital points, although
she failed to score any.
The women's title will be decided in Sunday's giant slalom — and pits
world champion Fenninger against Olympic champion Maze.
Fenninger won the GS at last month's worlds, with Maze — the 2011
GS world champion — finishing fifth.
Fenninger is also trying to defend her GS crystal globe, and leads
countrywoman Eva-Maria Brem by 86 points ahead of Sunday's race.

A mystery case of ias death in cbi hands now

कर्नाटक सरकार ने IAS डीके रवि की मौत की जांच का मामला CBI को
सौंपने का फैसला किया।

Why slaughter of cow alloww in India

--- CONSTITUTION OF INDIA ---

ARTICLE 48: Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry

48.   Organisation  of  agriculture and animal husbandry.-  The  State
shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern
and  scientific  lines  and  shall,  in  particular,  take  steps  for
preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of
cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.

Location in Constitution: PART IV

Why slaughter of cow alloww in India

--- CONSTITUTION OF INDIA ---

ARTICLE 48: Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry

48.   Organisation  of  agriculture and animal husbandry.-  The  State
shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern
and  scientific  lines  and  shall,  in  particular,  take  steps  for
preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of
cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.

Location in Constitution: PART IV

वॉट्सऐप कॉलिंग फीचर ऑफिशली लॉन्च

वॉट्सऐप ने कॉलिंग फीचर को बड़ी ही खामोशी के साथ ऐंड्रॉयड यूजर्स
के लिए रोलआउट कर दिया है। यह फीचर देने वाला वर्शन अब सीधे
वॉट्सऐप की वेबसाइट और गूगल प्ले से भी पाया जा सकता है।
हालांकि आपको बता दें, कि गूगल प्ले पर अलग-अलग डिवाइसेज के लिए
अलग-अलग वर्शन मिलते हैं। इसलिए हो सकता है कि आपके फोन को वहां से
यह अपडेटेड वर्शन न मिले। लेकिन http://www.whatsapp.com/android/ से
आप इसका 2.12.7 वर्शन डाउनलोड कर सकते हैं। उसके आगे की प्रक्रिया
नीचे है:

इससे पहले भी वॉट्सऐप ने थोड़े-थोड़े वक्त के लिए यह अपडेट रिलीज़ किया
था, लेकिन इस बार कोई भी यूजर इस फीचर को ऐड कर सकता है।
कॉलिंग फीचर ऐक्टिवेट कैसे करें:
1. कॉलिंग फीचर ऐक्टिवेट करने के लिए लेटेस्ट वर्शन को आप यहां क्लिक
कर ( www.whatsapp.com ) डाउनलोड कर सकते हैं।
2. उसके बाद यह ऐप इन्स्टॉल कर लें। आपका पुराना वर्शन अपडेट हो
जाएगा।
3. अब आपके जिस दोस्त के पास वॉट्सऐप कॉलिंग फीचर ऐक्टिवेटेड है, वह
आपको वॉट्सऐप से कॉल करेगा और आप कॉल अक्सेप्ट कर लेंगे तो आपके
पास भी यह फीचर आ जाएगा। अगर आपके किसी दोस्त के पास यह
फीचर नहीं है, तो कॉलिंग फीचर पा चुके कुछ लोगों ने इस खबर के
कॉमेंट बॉक्स में अपने नंबर दिए हैं, इस फीचर के लिए उनसे भी रिक्वेस्ट
की जा सकती है। हमने पहले एक नंबर दिया था, लेकिन उस पर हजारों
रिक्वेस्ट आ गईं। इतने नंबरों पर कॉल कर पाना संभव नहीं था, इसलिए हमें
वह नंबर हटाना पड़ा। जिनकी रिक्वेस्ट आई हैं, हम उन पर कॉल करने की
कोशिश कर रहे हैं, लेकिन बहुत ज्यादा नंबर होने की वजह से काफी दिक्कतें
आ रही हैं। बेहतर होगा कि कॉलिंग फीचर पा चुके लोग अपने दोस्तों की
मदद करें।
4. कॉल खत्म होने के बाद यह फीचर खुद-ब-खुद ऐड हो जाएगा जिसके बाद
ये दो नई चीज़ें आपको वॉट्सऐप में देखने को मिलेंगी। अगर कॉल काटने के
बाद आपकी स्क्रीन पर ये फीचर न दिखें तो दो-तीन बार ऐप को री-
स्टार्ट करें। फिर भी न आए तो अपना फोन री-स्टार्ट करें। फीचर्स दिखने
लगेंगे।
इसकी टेस्टिंग करते वक्त
हमने पाया कि यह फीचर
ऐक्टिवेट हो जाने के बाद
किसी भी वॉट्सऐप
कॉन्टैक्ट को कॉल किया
जा सकता है। लेकिन
जिनके पास इस ऐप्लिकेशन
का लेटेस्ट वर्शन है, उन्हीं
के पास यह फीचर ऐक्टिवेट
होगा। बाकी सब को
सिर्फ कॉल्स जा सकती
हैं। जिनका वर्शन अपग्रेडेड
नहीं है उनके पास ऐसा
मेसेज आएगा।
इस बड़े फीचर के अलावा
वॉट्सऐप ने एक छोटा-सा
फीचर और ऐड किया है।
इसमें वह कॉन्टैक्ट लिस्ट में
कुछ ऐसे कॉन्टैक्ट्स सजेस्ट
कर रहा है जिन्हें आप
वॉट्सऐप जॉइन करने के
लिए इनवाइट कर सकते हैं।
हमें अभी तक इस ऐप से
जुड़ी किसी खास
दिक्कत का पता नहीं
चला है। एक-दो रीडर्स ने
शिकायत की है कि कॉल
करने पर उनका बैलंस कट रहा है। हमें लगता है कि उन्होंने वॉट्सऐप में पहले से
मौजूद कॉल बटन पर क्लिक किया है, जो आपको नॉर्मल डायलर में ले
जाता है।

वॉट्सऐप कॉलिंग फीचर ऑफिशली लॉन्च

वॉट्सऐप ने कॉलिंग फीचर को बड़ी ही खामोशी के साथ ऐंड्रॉयड यूजर्स
के लिए रोलआउट कर दिया है। यह फीचर देने वाला वर्शन अब सीधे
वॉट्सऐप की वेबसाइट और गूगल प्ले से भी पाया जा सकता है।
हालांकि आपको बता दें, कि गूगल प्ले पर अलग-अलग डिवाइसेज के लिए
अलग-अलग वर्शन मिलते हैं। इसलिए हो सकता है कि आपके फोन को वहां से
यह अपडेटेड वर्शन न मिले। लेकिन http://www.whatsapp.com/android/ से
आप इसका 2.12.7 वर्शन डाउनलोड कर सकते हैं। उसके आगे की प्रक्रिया
नीचे है:

इससे पहले भी वॉट्सऐप ने थोड़े-थोड़े वक्त के लिए यह अपडेट रिलीज़ किया
था, लेकिन इस बार कोई भी यूजर इस फीचर को ऐड कर सकता है।
कॉलिंग फीचर ऐक्टिवेट कैसे करें:
1. कॉलिंग फीचर ऐक्टिवेट करने के लिए लेटेस्ट वर्शन को आप यहां क्लिक
कर ( www.whatsapp.com ) डाउनलोड कर सकते हैं।
2. उसके बाद यह ऐप इन्स्टॉल कर लें। आपका पुराना वर्शन अपडेट हो
जाएगा।
3. अब आपके जिस दोस्त के पास वॉट्सऐप कॉलिंग फीचर ऐक्टिवेटेड है, वह
आपको वॉट्सऐप से कॉल करेगा और आप कॉल अक्सेप्ट कर लेंगे तो आपके
पास भी यह फीचर आ जाएगा। अगर आपके किसी दोस्त के पास यह
फीचर नहीं है, तो कॉलिंग फीचर पा चुके कुछ लोगों ने इस खबर के
कॉमेंट बॉक्स में अपने नंबर दिए हैं, इस फीचर के लिए उनसे भी रिक्वेस्ट
की जा सकती है। हमने पहले एक नंबर दिया था, लेकिन उस पर हजारों
रिक्वेस्ट आ गईं। इतने नंबरों पर कॉल कर पाना संभव नहीं था, इसलिए हमें
वह नंबर हटाना पड़ा। जिनकी रिक्वेस्ट आई हैं, हम उन पर कॉल करने की
कोशिश कर रहे हैं, लेकिन बहुत ज्यादा नंबर होने की वजह से काफी दिक्कतें
आ रही हैं। बेहतर होगा कि कॉलिंग फीचर पा चुके लोग अपने दोस्तों की
मदद करें।
4. कॉल खत्म होने के बाद यह फीचर खुद-ब-खुद ऐड हो जाएगा जिसके बाद
ये दो नई चीज़ें आपको वॉट्सऐप में देखने को मिलेंगी। अगर कॉल काटने के
बाद आपकी स्क्रीन पर ये फीचर न दिखें तो दो-तीन बार ऐप को री-
स्टार्ट करें। फिर भी न आए तो अपना फोन री-स्टार्ट करें। फीचर्स दिखने
लगेंगे।
इसकी टेस्टिंग करते वक्त
हमने पाया कि यह फीचर
ऐक्टिवेट हो जाने के बाद
किसी भी वॉट्सऐप
कॉन्टैक्ट को कॉल किया
जा सकता है। लेकिन
जिनके पास इस ऐप्लिकेशन
का लेटेस्ट वर्शन है, उन्हीं
के पास यह फीचर ऐक्टिवेट
होगा। बाकी सब को
सिर्फ कॉल्स जा सकती
हैं। जिनका वर्शन अपग्रेडेड
नहीं है उनके पास ऐसा
मेसेज आएगा।
इस बड़े फीचर के अलावा
वॉट्सऐप ने एक छोटा-सा
फीचर और ऐड किया है।
इसमें वह कॉन्टैक्ट लिस्ट में
कुछ ऐसे कॉन्टैक्ट्स सजेस्ट
कर रहा है जिन्हें आप
वॉट्सऐप जॉइन करने के
लिए इनवाइट कर सकते हैं।
हमें अभी तक इस ऐप से
जुड़ी किसी खास
दिक्कत का पता नहीं
चला है। एक-दो रीडर्स ने
शिकायत की है कि कॉल
करने पर उनका बैलंस कट रहा है। हमें लगता है कि उन्होंने वॉट्सऐप में पहले से
मौजूद कॉल बटन पर क्लिक किया है, जो आपको नॉर्मल डायलर में ले
जाता है।