Vasundhara Raje elected Rajasthan BJP head

Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje was Saturday elected unopposed as the leader of the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after a gap of one-and-half years. While making the formal announcement at a meeting of party legislators here, senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu made it clear that the appointment was keeping in view the next assembly elections. "We will definitely return to power," Naidu said. Two independent legislators - Ranveer Pahalwan from Malpura in Tonk district and Jeevaram Choudhry from Sanchore in Jalore district - also extended their support to Raje.
Raje lashed out at the Ashok Gehlot government, saying the corruption in the state had crossed limits during the Congress rule. "I have been accused of corruption, but why does Gehlot keep going to Mumbai so frequently," she asked. Raje had been asked to resign from the post by the party high command after the BJP was routed in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state.

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Union Budget 2011-2012 Highlights - Live 28 Feb

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is set to present his sixth national budget on Monday, with people hoping for measures that will help them brave high prices and industry expecting steps that would spur demand and reduce tax burden. The jury is still divided whether the budget would veer towards an anti-inflation approach or be pro-growth. But everybody agrees that the finance minister is going to have to walk a tight-rope to get the right mix of both.
Union Budget 2011-2012 Highlights - Live 28 Feb 2011
* NET MKT BORROWING AT Rs. 3.43 LAKH CR IN FY'12
* TAX SOPS OF Rs. 20,000 FOR INVESTMENT IN INFRA BONDS
* 15% TAX ON DIVIDEND RECEIVED FROM FOREIGN SUBSIDIARY
* MAT TO BE LEVIED ON DEVELOPERS OF SEZ AS WELL FROM FY'12
* TAX EXEMPTION FOR PEOPLE ABOVE 80 YRS HIKED TO Rs. 5 LAKH
* SURCHARGE ON DOMESTIC COMPANIES CUT TO 5% FROM 7.5%
* MAT RATE HIKED TO 18.5% VS 18%
* PLANNING A NEW TAX CATEGORY FOR VERY SENIOR CITIZENS
* TAX EXEMPTION FOR GENERAL CATEGORY RAISED TO Rs. 1.8 LAKH
* REVENUE DEFICIT SEEN AT 1.8% IN FY'12
* REVENUE DEFICIT SEEN AT 2.3% IN FY'11
* FY'12 FISCAL DEFICIT SEEN AT 4.6% OF GDP
* FY'11 FISCAL DEFICIT TARGET REVISED TO 5.1%
* PLANNED EXPENDITURE UP 18.3% (YOY) AT Rs. 14.41 LAKH CR
* NET TAX RECEIPTS FOR FY'12 SEEN AT Rs. 6.64 LAKH CR
* GROSS TAX RECEIPTS FOR FY'12 SEEN AT Rs. 9.32 LAKH CR
* NON TAX REVENUE FOR FY'12 SEEN AT Rs. 1.25 LAKH CR
* TOTAL EXPENDITURE UP 13.4% AT Rs. 12.57 LAKH CR
* ALLOCATED Rs. 69199 CR FOR DEFENCE CAPEX IN FY'12
* Rs. 8000 CRORE FOR NORTHEAST INDIA
* Rs. 8000 CRORE FOR DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR
* OLD AGE PENSION FOR PEOPLE OVER 80 YRS HIKED TO Rs. 500/MONTH
* NATIONAL MISSION ON HYBRID VEHICLES TO BE STARTED
* PROPOSE Rs. 5000 CR FOR TAKEOUT FINANCING SCHEME
* PROPOSE A 5 FOLD STRATEGY TO DEAL WITH BLACK MONEY
* TO EXTEND INFRA TAX BREAKS FOR THE FERTILISER SECTOR
* CLOSE TO FINALISING NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY BILL
* PLAN Rs. 1.6 LAKH CR SPENDING FOR SOCIAL SECTOR PROJECTS
* TO BRING BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY TO ALL VILLAGES
* ALLOCATION FOR BHARAT NIRMAN RAISED TO Rs. 58000 CR
* NREGA WAGE RATE INDEXED TO CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
* SCHEDULED TRIBES ALLOCATION RAISED TO Rs. 2.44 LAKH CR
* ALLOCATION FOR EDUCATION RAISED TO Rs. 52057 CR
* PLANNED ALLOCATION FOR HEALTHCARE UP 20% TO Rs. 27,600 CR
* IIFCL'S FY'12 DISBURSEMENT TARGET AT Rs. 25,000 CR
* SPEND ON INFRA SECTOR TO BE HIKED BY 23%
* GOVT AGENCIES CAN RAISE Rs. 30,000 CR FROM TAX FREE BONDS
* COLD STORAGE TO BE BOUGHT UNDER AMBIT OF INFRA SECTOR
* FURTHER SUBVENTION OF 3% FOR REPAYING FARM LOANS ON TIME
* INTEREST SUBVENTION FOR FARM LOANS AT 7% TO CONTINUE
* FII LIMIT IN INFRA SECTOR CORP BONDS RAISED TO $25 BN
* TO SIMPLIFY SERVICE TAX REFUND PROCESS
* MFG SHARE IN GDP TO RISE TO 25% OVER NEXT 10 YEARS
* TO SET UP 15 MORE MEGA FOOD PARKS
* RBI TO BRING OUT GUIDELINES ON NEW BANKING LICENCES
* Rs. 6000 CR TO ENABLE BANKS TO MAINTAIN 8% TIER 1 CAPITAL
* TO MOVE INSURANCE, PENSION AND BANKING BILLS IN PARLIAMENT
* TO INFUSE Rs. 500 CR IN REGIONAL RURAL BANKS
* ROLLOUT OF DTC TO BE EFFECTIVE FROM APRIL 1, 2012
* TO SET UP INDIA MICROFINANCE EQUITY FUND WITH Rs. 100 CR
* PROPOSE TO GIVE Rs. 3000 CR TO NABARD
* TO GIVE Rs. 5000 CR TO SIDBI TO REFINANCE SMALL FIRMS
* LIBERALISE INTEREST SUBVENTION OF HOME LOAN UP TO Rs. 15 LAKH
* TO ENHANCE FUNDS UNDER RURAL HOUSING FUND TO Rs. 30,000 CR
* MORTGAGE RISK GUARANTEE FUND FOR HOME LOANS TO POOR
* HAVE HIKED PRIORITY HOME LOAN LIMIT TO Rs. 25 LAKH
* TO GIVE PSU BANKS Rs. 20157 CR TO RAISE TIER 1 CAPITAL
* NEW COMPANIES BILL TO BE INTRODUCED IN THE CURRENT SESSION
* MINORITIES' LOAN TARGET UP AT 15% OF PRIORITY LOANS
* ALLOCATION FOR FARM DEVELOPMENT HIKED TO Rs. 7860 CR
* DISCUSSIONS ON TO FURTHER LIBERALISE THE FDI POLICY
* GOVT TO MAINTAIN MOMENTUM OF DIVESTMENT
* GOVT TO MOVE TOWARD DIRECT SUBSIDY TO PEOPLE LIVING BPL
* DIRECT CASH SUBSIDY ON KEROSENE, FERTILISERS FOR BPL
* EXTENDING NBS TO COVER UREA UNDER CONSIDERATION
* PREPARATION OF GST ROLLOUT IN FINAL STAGES
* MUST REVISIT EXACT CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE
* TO INTRODUCE GST BILL AMENDMENTS IN THIS SESSION
* AIM FOR FISCAL DEFICIT OF 3% BY FY'14
* GST AND DTC REFORMS TO MODERATE RATES AND SIMPLIFY NORMS
* PROPOSE INTRODUCING PUBLIC DEBT MGMT OF INDIA BILL
* EXPECT RBI MEASURES TO MODERATE INFLATION
* EXPECT CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT TO COME DOWN NEXT YEAR
* EXPECT INFLATION TO COME DOWN NEXT YEAR
* CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT STILL A CONCERN
* HUGE PRICE GAP IN WHOLESALE & RETAIL NOT ACCEPTABLE
* PRICES OF KEY AGRI COMMODITIES HAVE DECLINED
* ECONOMY RESILIENT TO EXTERNAL AND LOCAL SHOCKS
* EXPECT AGRI SECTOR TO GROW AT 5.4% IN FY'11
* GDP ESTIMATED TO GROW 8.6% IN FY'11 IN REAL TERMS
* SIMPLIFYING TAXATION, TRADE AND TARIFFS PROCEDURES
* MUST ADDRESS STRUCTURAL CONCERNS ON INFLATION MGMT
* NEED TO FIGHT CORRUPTION ON ALL FRONTS
* NEED TO BALANCE SUPPLY AND DEMAND COMPONENTS
* NEED TO BALANCE SUPPLY AND DEMAND COMPONENTS
* NEED TO TACKLE SUPPLY SIDE ISSUES IN AGRICULTURE
* REVIVAL IN PRIVATE INVESTMENT SHOULD BE SUSTAINABLE
* FOOD INFLATION REMAINS A CONCERN
* GOVERNANCE PRACTICE REMAINS A PRIORITY
* PRIORITIES REMAIN GROWTH, PUBLIC DELIVERY
* FY'11 FISCAL CONSOLIDATION IMPRESSIVE
* SERVICE GROWING IN DOUBLE DIGITS
* INDUSTRY REGAINING ITS MOMENTUM
* PRANAB MUKHERJEE PRESENTS THE UNION BUDGET 2011
* GOVT SHOULD TAKE MEASURES TO PROMOTE FDI IN ALL SECTORS
* SOME AMOUNT OF LIQUIDITY INFUSION IS POSSIBLE
* REDUCING FISCAL, INFRA DEFICIT CRUCIAL
* MEASURES TO CONTAIN INFLATION ARE VERY CRUCIAL
* EXPECT MEASURES FOR FINANCIAL SAVINGS
* EXPECT VOLATILITY ON FII FLOWS TO CONTINUE
* COMMITTED TO PROVIDING CHEAPER COOKING FUEL
* NEED TO PLUG PDS SLIPPAGES TO EXPAND COVERAGE
* INITIALLY LICENCES SHOULD BE GIVEN TO NBFCS, MFIS
* GIVE TWO KINDS OF BANK LICENCES
* EXPECT VOLATLITY ON FII FLOWS TO CONTINUE
* SLOWDOWN IN FDI PARTLY OFFSET BY FII FLOWS
* BUREAUCRACY IMPEDING FDI FLOWS
* STRONG GROWTH IN EXPORTS AT 29.5% FOR APRIL-DECEMBER
* DEVELOPMENTS IN MID-EAST, EUROPE NEED TO BE WATCHED
* URGENT NEED TO EXPAND STORAGE SPACE, FACILITIES
* NEED TO REVIEW GRAIN RELEASE
* FAVOURS SMART CARDS FOR KEROSENE, FERTILISER SUBSIDY
* SMART CARD, COUPON TO HELP TARGET FOOD SUBSIDIES BETTER
* BETTER SUBSIDY TARGETING FOR BETTER FISCAL MGMT
* ANTI-INFLATIONARY STANCE WARRANTED
* FOOD PRICES, DEMAND PRESSURE TO SHAPE INFLATION OUTLOOK
* RISE IN PURCHASING POWER LEADING TO INFLATION UPTREND
* SIGNS OF FOOD, FUEL PRICE INCREASES SPILLING OVER
* SHARP RISE IN FOOD PRICES A CAUSE OF CONCERN
* EXPENDITURE GROWS AT 11.2% FOR FIRST NINE MONTHS
* REVENUE RECEIPTS GREW BY 50% FOR FIRST NINE MONTHS
* NON TAX REVENUES GREW BY 136.4% FOR FIRST NINE MONTHS
* GROSS TAX REVENUES GREW BY 26.8% FOR FIRST NINE MONTHS
* NEED EXPENDITURE REFORMS TO REACH PROJECTED DEFICIT
* PROSPECT OF REVENUE LED FISCAL CONSOLIDATION
* FY'11 REV DEFICIT EXPECTED TO BE AT 3.5% OF GDP
* FY'11 FISC DEFICIT EXPECTED TO BE AT 4.8% OF GDP
* EFFICIENT TAXATION BY A NEW GST
* IMPROVING NREGA BY FOCUSSING ON PERMANENT ASSET
* SECOND GREEN REVOLUTION IN AGRI
* NEED TO STREAMLINE LAND ACQUISITION, ENV CLEARANCES
* PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL SECTORS
* PLAN TO INCREASE DIESEL PRICES IN A STAGGERED MANNER
* GOVT TO CAP AUTO FUEL PRICES IF CRUDE OIL SPURTS
* CURRENT ACCOUNT GAP TO MODERATE ON HIGHER EXPORTS
* FY'11 FISCAL GAP SEEN AT 4.8% ON HIGHER GDP BASE
* INFLATION TO MODERATE ON FISCAL, MONETARY STEPS
* INFLATION REMAINS A DARK CLOUD FOR THE ECONOMY
* ECONOMY TO GROW BY 8.75% - 9.25% IN FY'12
* GOVT TO CAP AUTO FUEL PRICES IF CRUDE OIL SPURTS
* PLAN TO INCREASE DIESEL PRICES IN STAGGERED MANNER
* COMMITTED TO COOKING FUEL AT AFFORDABLE PRICE
* FAVOURS SMART CARDS ALSO FOR KEROSENE, FERTILISER SUBSIDY
* NEED TO PLUG PDS SLIPPAGES TO EXPAND IMPROVE COVERAGE
* SMART CARD, COUPONS TO HELP TARGET FOOD SUBSIDY BETTER
* ECONOMY TO GROW AT 8.75%-9.25% FOR FY’12
* FY’11 REVENUE GAP SEEN 3.8% OF GDP
* PROSPECTS OF REVENUE-LED FISCAL CONSOLIDATION
* BETTER SUBSIDY TARGETING IMPROVING FISCAL MANAGEMENT
* BUREAUCRACY IMPEDING FDI INFLOWS
* NEED PERSISTENT ANTI-INFLATION MONETARY STANCE
* INFLATION SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE COMFORT LEVEL
* NEED TO BE VIGILANT AGAINST DEMAND SIDE PRESSURES
* LIQUIDITY MGMT MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR RBI
* DIRECT TAX CODE PROPOSED TO BE LAUNCHED APRIL 2012
* FY’11 FISCAL GAP SEEN 4.8% ON HIGHER GDP BASE

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Central University, Rajasthan Recruitment 2011 for Various Post

Central University of Rajasthan(Established by an Act of Parliament), City Road, Kishangarh – 305802 Distt. Ajmer (Rajasthan) invites Online applications in the prescribed format from the eligible candidates for the following 91 positions to be filled:

Job Post Details:
1. Teaching Positions (Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors) in the following Schools: School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computational Sciences/ School of Humanities and Languages/ School of Chemical Sciences and Pharmacy/ School of Engineering and Technology/ School of Commerce and Management/ School of Social Sciences
2. Finance Officer
3. Controller of Examination
4. Librarian
5. Deputy Registrar
6. Internal Audit Officer (only on deputation)
7. Executive Engineer
8. Assistant Librarian
9. Assistant Registrar
10. Public Relation Officer
11. Section Officer
12. Private Secretary
13. Personal Assistant
14. Assistant
15. Technical Assistant
16. Semi Professional Assistant
17. Upper Division Clerk
18. Laboratory Assistant
19. Lower Division Clerk
20. Caretaker
21. Driver
22. Cook
23. Library Attendant
24. Laboratory Attendant
25. Peon/ Office Attendant
26. Hindi Officer
27. Hindi Translator
28. Hindi Typist
Application Fee : The Demand Draft of Rs. 300/- in favour of “Central University of Rajasthan” and should be payable at Jaipur. SC / ST / (PWD) or (PH) candidates and in-service candidates of the Central University for Rajasthan are exempted from fee.
How to Apply : Apply Online at Central University of Rajasthan website only upto 01/04/2011. Take its two printouts. Keep one for your record and the other one is to be signed and sent to The Registrar, Central University of Rajasthan, City Road, Kishangarh-305802, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India by Speed Post only on or before 08/04/2011.
For Job advertisement visit www.jobkhabar.com

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Sadhvi Pragya Thakur arrested in Sunil Joshi murder case

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case, has been placed under arrest by Madhya Pradesh Police in connection with the murder of Sunil Joshi, a suspect in the Samjhauta Express blast case who was killed at Dewas in December 2007. "The MP police moved an application in the special MCOCA court here, and after taking the court's permission they placed Sadhvi under arrest in the Sunil Joshi murder case," said Rohini Salian, Special public prosecutor.
Pragya Singh, main accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case in Maharashtra, has been undergoing treatment in J J hospital here. The team of MP police went there yesterday and arrested her, sources said. "It is just a formal arrest. She would be taken to MP after they make transportation arrangements," said Pragya's lawyer advocate Ganesh Sovani. Joshi, a suspect in the Samjhauta Express blast case, was shot dead in Dewas in Madhya Pradesh on December 29,2007. Sixty-eight people were killed when bombs went off in two coaches of Samjhauta Express, running between Delhi and Lahore, around midnight on February 18, 2007 at Diwana near Panipat, 80 km north of Delhi.

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Rajasthan CM appreciate Mamata Banerjee for Rail Budget

Congress leaders appreciated the Rail Budget 2011-12 presented by Mamata Banerjee on Friday, the state BJP termed it non-directional and disappointing. Calling it a common man's budget, chief minister Ashok Gehlot thanked Mamata for 15 new trains for the state. "It is a big thing that fares have not been increased, which will have a direct impact on lakhs of travellers. For the state, the new trains would be appreciated by the local travellers,'' he said. Gehlot appreciated the fact that the rail minister had included the Ratlam-Banswara-Dungarpur rail line in the budget, for which he had personally talked to her during his recent trip to Delhi. Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje said Mamata's budget revolved around West Bengal. "Other states including Rajasthan have been ignored as not enough sops have been announced for them.
State BJP president Arun Chaturvedi called the budget disappointing and said 15 new trains for the country's largest state were not enough. "There are several areas in the state which are yet do not have a rail network and it is sad that little has been done to connect those,'' said Chaturvedi, alleging that Mamata had announced sops mainly for West Bengal ignoring other states. Party's spokesperson Jyoti Kiran called it a non-budget, one without any direction. "There is no clear indication of any visible income-expenditure pattern. What is the point of announcing 16 new projects when a 109 developmental projects are already pending?'' she said, adding that the state is disappointed with the budget as its share is insufficient. "There was a need to announce more passenger trains,'' she said.

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Bharat Teerth Trains in Budget 2011-12

Bharat Teerth Trains in Budget 2011-12: Bharat Teerth Trains connecting places of tourist importance will be run on following circuits. The detailed itineraries of services will be advertised by the Railways from time to time
i) Howrah-Gaya-Agra-Mathura-Vrindavan-New Delhi-Haridwar-Varanasi-Howrah
ii) Howrah-Chennai-Puducherry-Madurai-Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari-Bangalore-Mysore-Chennai-Howrah
iii) Howrah-Vizag-Hyderabad-Araku-Howrah
iv) Howrah – Varanasi – Jammu Tawi-Amritsar-Haridwar-Mathura-Vrindavan-Allahabad-Howrah
iv) Howrah-Ajmer-Udaipur-Jodhpur-Bikaner-Jaipur-Howrah
v) Mumbai-Pune-Tirupati-Kancheepuram-Rameshwaram-Madurai-Kanyakumari-Pune-Mumbai
vi) Pune-Jaipur-Nathdwara-Ranakpur-Jaipur-Mathura-Agra-Haridwar-Amritsar-Jammu Tawi-Pune
vii) Pune-Ratnagiri-Goa-Bangalore-Mysore-Tirupati-Pune
viii) Ahmedabad-Puri-Kolkata-Gangasagar-Varanasi-Allahabad-Indore-Omkareshwar-Ujjain-Ahmedabad
ix)Bhopal-Dwarka-Somnath-Udaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur-Jaipur-Mathura-Vrindavan-Amritsar-Jammu Tawi-Bhopal
x) Bhopal-Tirupati-Kanchipuram-Rameshwaram-Madurai-Kanyakumari-Trivandrum-Cochin-Bhopal
xi) Madurai-Chennai-Kopargaon-Mantralayam-Chennai-Madurai
xii) Madurai-Erode-Pune-Ujjain-Veraval-Nasik-Hyderabad-Chennai-Madurai
xiii) Madurai-Chennai-Jaipur-Delhi-Mathura-Vrindavan-Allahabad-Varanasi-Gaya-Chennai-Madurai
xiv) Madurai – Varanasi – Gaya – Patna Sahib-Allahabad-Haridwar-Chandigarh-Kurukshetra-Amritsar-Delhi-Madurai
xv) Madurai-Mysore-Goa-Mumbai-Aurangabad-Hyderabad-Madurai

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Rail Budget 2011: Extension of trains

Extension of trains in Rail Budget 2011-12
1. 7001/7002 Secunderabad-Manmad Express to Shirdi (Bi-weekly)
2. 7205/7206 Kakinada-Manmad Express to Shirdi (Weekly)3. 1405/1406 Kakinada-Manmad Express to Shirdi (Bi-weekly)
4. 7207/7208 Vijaywada-Manmad Express to Shirdi (Weekly)
5. 6341/6342 Thiruvanthapuram-Ernakulam Express to Guruvayur (Daily)
6. 7639/7640 Kacheguda-Nanded Express to Akola (Daily)
7. 2187/2188 Mumbai CST-Jabalpur Express to Allahabad (Bi-weekly)
8. 2235/2236 New Delhi-Guwahati Rajdhani Express to Dibrugarh
9. 2777/2778 Yesvantpur-Kochuveli Express to Hubli (Weekly)
10. 2831/2832 Bhubaneswer-Hatia Express to Dhanbad (Tri-weekly)
11. 8425/8426 Puri-Raipur Express to Durg
12. 8447/8448 Bhubaneswar-Koraput Express to Jagdalpur
13. 209/210 Puri-Dhenkanal Passenger to Talcher Road (Daily)
14. 1629 Sangali-Miraj to Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Kolhapur)
15. 1610 Miraj-Pune to Chhatrapati Sahu Maharaj Terminus (Kolhapur) (Daily)
16. 1551/1552 Pune-Daund to Baramati (Daily)
17. 531A/532A Parli-Nizamabad Passenger to Pandharpur
18. 623/624 Mangalore-Kannur Passenger to Kozhikode
19. 353/354 Dharwar-Gadag Passenger to Solapur
20. 1704 Chirmiri-Damoh Passenger to Sagour
21. 1703A Damoh-Katni Passenger to Sagour

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New Duronto Trains in Budget 2011

New Duronto Trains in Budget 2011:
1. Yeshwantpur (Bangalore) – Delhi (AC) (Weekly) Duronto Express
2. Mumbai-Secunderabad AC (Bi-weekly) Duronto Express
3. Pune-Howrah AC (Bi-weekly) Duronto Express
4. Mumbai-Ernakulam AC (Bi-weekly) Duronto Express
5. Indore-Mumbai AC (Bi-weekly) Duronto Express
6. Jaipur-Mumbai AC (Bi-weekly) Duronto Express
7. Chandigarh-Amritsar Duronto Express
8. Chennai-Coimbatore Duronto Express
9. Puri-Howrah Duronto Express
10. Howrah-Digha Duronto Express

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New Trains in Rail Budget 2011

New Trains and Track in Rail Budget 2011
*Indore - Tirunelveli Express (weekly via. Trivandrum)
*New Delhi - Panipat AC Express (daily)
*Howrah - Malyaduthirai Express (tri weekly)
*Howrah - Rameshwaram Express (5 days a week)
*Secunderabad - Indore Express (bi weekly via. Nagpur)
*Secunderabad - Jabalpur Express (bi weekly via. Nagpur)
*Hajur Sahib Nanded - Okha Express (weekly via. Nagpur)
*Digha - Jammu Super Express (daily)
*Sealdah - Dehradun Express (bi weekly via. Agra)
*Howrah - Salem Express (weekly)
*Jodhpur - Ernakulam Express (bi weekly)
*Jodhpur - Howrah AC Express (daily via. Nagpur - Bhopal)
*Howrah - Jaisalmer Express (bi weekly)
*Howrah - Somnath Express (4 days a week)
*Dhanbad - Hubli Express (bi weekly via. Allahabad)
*Howrah - Nagarcoil Express (weekly via. Bhopal - Katni)
*Howrah - Firozpur Express (bi weekly)
*Ranchi - Ernakulam Express (weekly)
*Rewa - Mumbai Express (bi weekly)
*Howrah - Indore AC Duronto (bi weekly)
*Howrah - Guwahati AC Duronto (bi weekly)
*Howrah - Lucknow AC Duronto (weekly)
*Jaipur - Lucknow AC Duronto (tri weekly)
*Jaipur - Bhopal AC Duronto (tri weekly)
*Chennai - Mumbai CST Duronto (weekly)
*Mumbai CST - Ranchi Duronto Express (weekly)
*New Delhi - Vasco Duronto (weekly)
*New Delhi - Habibganj Bhopal Duronto Express (tri weekly)
*Kanyakumari - Machilipatnam Express (weekly)
*Howrah - Kochuveli AC Express (tri weekly)
*Ferozpur - Puri Express (5 days a week)
*Chandigarh - Jabalpur Express (bi weekly)
*Bikaner - Gaya Express (weekly)
*Asansol - Jaipur Express (daily)
*Nagpur - Kolhapur AC Express (daily)
*Miraj - Salem Express (daily via. Hubli)
*Malda Town - Amritsar Express (tri weekly via. Bhopal)
*Trivandrum - Mangalore Express (daily)
*Ernakulam - Dehradun Express (tri weekly)
*Bikaner - Gorakhpur Express (daily)
*Howrah - Bareily Express (daily)
*Ranchi - Pune Express (tri weekly)
*Tirunelveli - Pune Express (4 days a week)
*Guwahati - Machilipatnam Express (bi weekly)
*Digha - Dehradun Express (daily)
*Jammutawi - Vizag Express (tri weekly via. Warangal)
*Pune - Mysore AC Express (daily)
*Pune - Udaipur Express (tri weekly)
*Ajmer - Palampur Intercity Express (daily)
*Bhopal - Damoh Intercity Express (daily)
*Chandigarh - Jaynagar Express (bi weekly)
*Amritsar - Malayaduthirai Express (weekly)
*Indore - Durg Express (daily via. Raipur - Bilaspur - Katni - Bina)
*Indore - Bangalore Express (bi weekly)
*Mumbai - Surat Intercity Express (daily via. Manmad)
*Vasco - Gorakhpur Express (bi weekly)
*Alipurduar - Shriganga Nagar Express (weekly)
*Alipurduar - Madgaon Express (bi weekly)
*Alipurduar - Amritsar Express (weekly)
*Sitamarhi - Valsad Express (weekly via. Manmad)
*Mumbai Central - Rameshwaram Express (tri weekly)
*Chandigarh - Mumbai Express (4 days a week via. Surat - Ajmer - Jaipur - Ambala)
*Jaipur - Somnath Express (daily)
*Bhopal - Ranchi Express (weekly)
*Jabalpur - Dehradun Express (tri weekly)
*Bhopal - Bilaspur Express (daily via. Nagpur)
*Tirupati - Coimbatore Express (5 days a week)
*Vizag - Alipurduar Express (daily via. Howrah)
*Puri - Mumbai Central AC Express (bi weekly)
*Kanpur - Gaya Intercity Express (daily)
*Barbil - Vizag Intercity Express
*Kakinada - Udhampur Express (weekly)
*Dehradun - Asansol AC Express (tri weekly)
*Indore - Pune AC Express (bi weekly via. Bhopal)
*Gorakhpur - Pune AC Express (weekly)
*Patna - Howrah Shatabdi Express (5 days a week)
*Guwahati - Howrah Shatabdi Express (bi weekly)
*Indore - Bhopal Jan Shatabdi Express (daily)
*Muzaffarpur - Jodhpur Express (weekly)
*Rameshwaram - Una Express (weekly)
*Chennai - Ahmedabad AC Express (tri weekly)
*Varanasi - Kolhapur Express (daily)
*Sainagar Shirdi - Guwahati Express (tri weekly)
*Sainagar Shirdi - Jaipur Express (tri weekly)
*Sainagar Shirdi - Tirunelveli Express (weekly)
*Tirupati - Hubli Intercity Express (daily)
*Ajmer - Vishakhapatnam Express (weekly)
*Asansol - Trivandrum Express (tri weekly)
*Howrah - Durg Sheonath Express (daily)
*Gwalior - Pune Express (weekly)
*Chhindwara - New Delhi Express (tri weekly)
*Chhindwara - Rewa Express (daily via. Jabalpur)

A list of passenger train services have been identified in between :
*Bhopal - Saugor
*Varanasi - Agra
*Howrah - Barbil
*Patna - Ranchi
*Danapur - Gorakhpur
*Danapur - Bilaspur
*Mumbai - Pune
*Kolhapur - Pune
*Ahmedabad - Bhuj
*Tirunelvelli - Salem
*Hubli - Ernakulam
*Jammutawi - Una via. Amritsar
*Vadodara - Jaipur
*Samastipur - Gorakhpur
*Chengannur - Chennai via. Salem
*Yeswantpur - Nagarcoil

Rail Budget 2011 live highlights

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Rail Budget 2011 for Rajasthan

Rail Budget 2011 for Rajasthan: Rajasthan gets following new Trains in Budget 2011-12 for various part of states. Following is list of new trains in Rajasthan.
* Rajasthan gets Jodhpur- New Delhi Duronto Express.
* Bikaner-Delhi Intercity express via ratangarh
* Jodhpur-Hisar fast passenger
* Ahmedabadad- Varanasi via ajmer
* Nimach-Chittorgarh fast passenger
* Shatabdi Train for Jaipur-Agra
* Jaipur-Chandigarh Garib rath express extended to Ajmer
*Jodhpur - Ernakulam Express (bi weekly)
*Jodhpur - Howrah AC Express (daily via. Nagpur - Bhopal)
*Howrah - Jaisalmer Express (bi weekly)
*Jaipur - Lucknow AC Duronto (tri weekly)
*Jaipur - Bhopal AC Duronto (tri weekly)
*Bikaner - Gaya Express (weekly)
*Bikaner - Gorakhpur Express (daily)
*Pune - Udaipur Express (tri weekly)
*Ajmer - Palampur Intercity Express (daily)
*Chandigarh - Mumbai Express (4 days a week via. Surat - Ajmer - Jaipur - Ambala)
*Jaipur - Somnath Express (daily)
*Muzaffarpur - Jodhpur Express (weekly)
*Sainagar Shirdi - Jaipur Express (tri weekly)
*Ajmer - Vishakhapatnam Express (weekly)
*Vadodara - Jaipur
Related News: New Trains in Rail Budget 2011-12

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Rail Budget 2011 live highlights

The Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee to present the Rail Budget today (25 February 2011) in Parliament on Friday on 12:00 PM today.
Rail Budget 2011-12 live highlights:
• No hike in passenger fare and freight rates.
• Highest ever Plan outlay of Rs. 57, 630 crore proposed for Railways.
• Rs. 9,583 crore provided for new lines.
• 1300 km new lines, 867 km doubling of lines and 1017 km gauge conversion targeted in 2011-12.
• 56 new Express Trains, 3 new Shatabdis and 9 Duronto trains to be introduced.
• AC Double Decker services on Jaipur-Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai routes.
• New Super AC Class to be introduced.
• A new portal for e-ticketing to be launched shortly. Booking charges will be cheaper with a charge of only Rs. 10 for AC classes and Rs.5 for others.
• Pan-India multi-purpose smart card "Go India" to be introduced.
• 236 more stations to be upgraded as Adarsh Stations.
• 47 additional suburban services in Mumbai and 50 new suburban services proposed for Kolkata.
• Two new passenger terminals in Kerala and one each in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal proposed.
• Feasibility study to raise speed of passenger trains to 160-200 kmph to be undertaken.
• A special package of two new trains and two projects for the States managing trouble free run of trains through out the year.
• Anti Collision Devise (ACD) sanctioned to cover 8 zonal railways.
• GPS Based Fog Safe Device to be deployed.
• All unmanned level crossing upto 3000 to be eliminated.
• All India Security Help line on a single number set up.
• All state capitals in the North-East except Sikkim to be connected by Rail in next seven years.
• A Bridge Factory in J & K and a state-of-art Institute for Tunnel and Bridge Engineering is proposed at Jammu.
• A Diesel Locomotive Centre will be set-up in Manipur.
• A Centre of Excellence in Software at Darjeeling proposed under the aegis of CRIS.
• Rail Industrial Parks at Jellingham and New Bongaigaon proposed.
• Additional mechanized laundry units to be set up at Nagpur, Chandhigarh and Bhopal.
• 700 MW gas-based power plant to be set up at Thakurli in Maharashtra.
• 18,000 Wagons to be procured during 2011-12.
• A scheme for socially desirable projects, "Pradhan Mantri Rail Vikas Yojana" with Non-lapsable fund proposed.
• 10,000 shelter units proposed for track side dwellers in Mumbai, Sealdah, Siliguri, Tiruchirapalli on pilot basis.
• Concession to physically handicapped persons to be extended on Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains.
• Concession of 50% to press correspondents with family increased to twice a year.
• Senior Citizens concession to be hiked from 30 % to 40 %.
• Medical facilities extended to dependent parents of the Railway employees.
• Scholarship for Girl child of Group-D railway employees increased to Rs.1200 per month.
• 20 additional hostels for children of railway employees to be set up.
• Recruitment for 1.75 lakh vacancies of Group C and D including to fill up backlog of SC/ST initiated, 16,000 ex-servicemen to be inducted by March 2011.
• A separate sports cadre to be created.
• 2011-12 declared "Year of Green Energy" for Railways.
• Freight loading of 993 MT and passenger growth of 6.4 % estimated for 2011-12.
• Gross Traffic Receipts at Rs.1,06,239 crore, exceeding one lakh crore mark for the first time estimated.
• Ordinary Working Expenses assessed at Rs. 73,650 crore.

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Jaipur Metro Rail Project's foundation stone laid by Kamal Nath

The foundation stone for the over 9-km-long first phase of Jaipur Metro Rail project was laid Thursday by Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, who also announced clearance for its second phase. Work on the 24-km-long second phase from Ambabari to Sitapura, at an investment of nearly Rs.7,000 crore, will start by the end of this year, he said. "The chief minister (Ashok Gehlot) met me recently in Delhi and requested me to approve the second phase and again today he asked me to clear the project. I took the request as an order from my old friend and my ministry gives approval to second phase today (Thursday) and I hope the work will start by the end of this year," said Kamal Nath. During the ceremony held in Mansarovar area of the city, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) managing director E. Sreedharan said the first phase with 9.25 km of track will be complete by 2013.
Sreedharan said that in terms of time in completing the work on the first phase, the Jaipur Metro was poised to set a world record. "After Dubai, Jaipur Metro’s first phase will be completed in the shortest period of time," he said. Gehlot, who was the chief guest, said that the Jaipur Metro will prove to be a big step in state capital's development. The project will cost Rs.1,250 crore, he added. "The opposition is criticising us for spending a huge sum of money, but they are not realising the fact Jaipur is growing at a fast pace," he said. He said that there is no death of funds, but investing with wisdom and vision is the key. "We will invest in such a manner that benefits reach the common man," he added.

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Rajasthan HC notice to govt over Jal Mahal

Rajasthan High Court today issued a show cause notice to state authorities on alleged illegal leasing out of Mansagar lake and Jal Mahal located in the middle of it, for construction of a hotel. A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Arun Mishra and Justice R S Rathore issued the notice to the state Chief Secretary, senior officials of Jaipur Development Authority and other government functionaries on a PIL filed by an NGO alleging that the lake and monument had been leased out illegally for the construction of a seven-star hotel. It was brought to the notice of the court that the heritage old building of Jal Mahal is a key monument of Jaipur situated in the midst of Mansagar lake. "Both the lake and the Jalmahal were previously declared protected monument on September 23, 1965 and subsequently due to ulterior reasons the same were denotified on November 18, 1971.
Both the lake and Jalmahal were then handed over to Jaipur Municipal corportation (JMC) and now a major portion of the lake has been parted with for the construction of a seven star hotel which is illegal," alleges the petition. The KGK consortium has illegally obtained the tender and the water bodies cannot be alineated by the state government, the PIL said. "The lake is a water reserve and the cannot be leased out under the law. Further it was mandatory for the JMC to have taken a resolution in general house before parting with a property under its possession by way of lease or otherwise which was not done in this case," said Ajay Kumar Jain counsel for Dharohar Bachao Samiti, the NGO which has filed the petition.
Citing an earlier high court order that the catchment areas of lakes and water reserves in Rajasthan should be restored, the PIL said, in case of Jalmahal the proposed construction for over 55,000 sq mtrs using lake water will not only squeez the available catchment area but also cause adverse effect on the ecology and heritage look of the site.

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Bikaner Youth Congress leader shot dead

President of the Bikaner unit of Youth Congress Ramkishan Siyag, 35, was shot dead by four men here Thursday morning, police said. Siyag sustained three bullet injuries on his head, back and stomach and died on the spot. "He (Siyag) was talking to some people outside a shop in Gangashahar when four men came in a Bolero car, thrashed the shop owner and started firing at Siyag," said a senior police officer. "At least six rounds were fired. Three bullets pierced Siyag's body and he collapsed," the police officer said.
Police suspect the involvement of land or liquor mafia. Barricades have been put on the exit routes of the district and the police have launched a massive manhunt to nab the culprits. State president of the Youth Congress Pavan Godara condemned the incident and demanded that the guilty be punished.

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Jain Muni Vishva Jyoti Sagar passed away

Digambar Jain monk Vishva Jyoti Sagar (93) died in a road accident in Nangaliya village on Wednesday. Two other monks were also injured in the incident. This accident happens between the way of Bhinder and Adinda. Jain community was in mourning after hearing the heaven resort of the monk.
Muni's funeral will be happened on Thursday at Dhyan Dungari of Bhinder. In this accident Muni Vishvajeet sagar and Muni Vishvalokesh Maharaj was injured. According to police Monk was passing from Adinda to Bhinder. Near Nangaliya village the lorry of monk were unbalanced in the valley and go into the pit, monk was fell down from the lorry and died on the spot.

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Ghana tiger sent to Sariska

A tiger which strayed out from the Ranthambhore reserve and was staying in the Keoladev National Park, Bharatpur, for some months, was sent to the Sariska tiger sanctuary in Alwar district tonight. The feline, T-7, was tranquilised and caught from Kaladhar area in the bird sanctuary this afternoon and later sent to Sariska for release in a huge open enclosure for the time being.
In a bid to revive tiger population in the reserve from where that was wipe-out by poachers about six years ago, a rare translocation project has been taken up in mid-2008 and since then two tigers and three tigresses had been air-lifted to Sariska from Ranthambhore tiger project area in Sawai Madhopur district. However, one of the two tigers, translocated from Ranthambhore, was killed by villagers in the reserve in November last year.

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Last 2 days for Jodhpur housing board flats

The residents of Jodhpur city can apply for the 247 houses to be built under the Kudi and Chaupasani housing board schemes till Friday. The allotment of the houses will be done as per the norms of the self finance scheme. Additional Commissioner O P Ojha said that 120 houses falling in the A and B category of the Middle Income Group (MIG) will be built in Kudi area. A two room flat in the area is likely cost somewhere between Rs 11 lakh and Rs 13 lakh.
Similarly, 127 two-room flats are being constructed in the 10-storey Marwad Apartment in Sector 14 of the Chaupasani Housing Board. The rate of each flat here has been fixed at Rs 18 lakh. According to Ojha, the allotment process will be completed by April. The applicants for the scheme need to submit a certain amount at the time of the registration and the remaining can be given on three-month installment basis.

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Teenager Gangraped in Jaipur

A teenager was allegedly gangraped by four people for several days in Jaipur, police said on Tuesday. In a complaint to police, the 15-year old girl said that a cab driver known to her had told her to meet him at Peetal factory area in Jaipur on February 4. When she reached there, the driver and three others took her to a hotel and raped her repeatedly, she alleged. On February six, they took her to Ajmer where she was gangraped in a hotel, the girl alleged in the complaint.
Two days later, she said, they dropped her in the city. The girl told her parents about the incident and an FIR was lodged in Ranipark Police Station on Tuesday. Police said they were investigating.

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Pana Choudhary wins bronze

Rajasthan's Pana Choudhary wins bronze medal in 34th National games being held in ranchi. Kerala win gold, Manipur silver while rajasthan's pana choudhary manage to win bronze in this individual competition. This is 11th medal for rajasthan in National games with 4 Gold, 1 Silver, 6 Bronze.

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Naxals released Abducted Collector in Orissa

After being held hostage for seven days, Malkangiri district collector R V Krishna and a junior engineer were released by Maoists on Tuesday night hours after the Orissa government conceded the remaining six of their 14 demands. Naxal ideologue Varavara Rao told that the Maoists handed over Krishna, the 30-year-old IIT graduate-turned IAS officer, and Pabitra Majhi to "four sarpanchs" in Govindpally forests, about 150 km from Malkangiri. However, there was no official confirmation that the two officials were set free. Jay Panda, a ruling BJD MP, said, "The information that I have is that both the collector and the engineer have been released." "We welcome the development," he said. Celebrations broke out outside the residence of Krishna in Malkangiri, about 650 km from Bhubaneswar, as news of the release of the hugely popular officer trickled in. Both Krishna and Majhi were reported to be on their way home to Malkangiri late on Tuesday night.

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Planning Commission approve Rs. 27,500 Crore for Rajasthan

The Planning Commission has approved Rs. 27,500 crore outlay for the Annual Plan of Rajasthan for the year 2011-12. So far it is the largest annual plan for the state till now. This annual plan is Rs 3500 crore more than the annual plan of Rs. 24,000 crore approved by the Planning Commission for the year 2010-11. The draft of annual plan was finalized after the discussion between Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Rajasthan Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot at Yojna Bhawan in New Delhi on Tuesday evening.
The Energy Sector has been accorded top priority in the Annual Plan 2011-12. The second priority has been given to Social and Community Services in the plan. The proposed plan expenditure amount for these sectors is 44 and 30 percent respectively. During the meeting with the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot said Energy sector had been accorded top priority in the annual plan 2010-11 also, but the state government is facing difficulty in achieving the targets because coal blocks not allocated by the centre. He said due to this it is likely that Rs. 3700 crore would be less spent in the plan. Shri Gehot said for the allocation of coal blocks requests have been made time to time to the Prime Minister, Union Coal Minister and Union Minister for Environment along with the Planning Commission. He said the Govt. of India has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to discuss the issue and we hope that with the recommendation of the GoM further action would be taken regarding allocation of coal blocks.
The Chief Minister said by increasing amount for Education, Health, Drinking Water, Urban Development & Housing, SC/ST, Woman & Child Development the state government allocated 1/3 of the annual plan under these heads and we hope that the likely expenditure under the annual plan 2010-11 to remain Rs. 22,000 crore. He said the approved outlay of State's Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) by Planning Commission is Rs 71,732 crore. Against this outlay, an amount of ` 95,000 crore is expected to be spent during the Eleventh Five year Plan which is more than the target. Discussing the financial management of the state Shri Gehlot said Rajasthan completes the eligibility conditions for loan wavering for the year 2008-09. He said keeping this in view the Centre should rethink regarding Rs. 308 crore recovered by the Centre in the end of the year 2009-10.
Mentioning drinking water as the biggest challenge for Rajasthan Shri Gehlot said around 34,000 villages and dhanis are having problem regarding safe drinking water. He said the desert districts of Rajasthan especially Jodhpur, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Pali, Jalore, Churu and Nagaur having average rainfall between 100 to 200 MM and these areas are having saline water. He said the state witness's drought in every two year and the drought like situation continue for years. In these conditions ground water and surface water problem persists and the availability of water remains uncertain. He said out 249 blocks 198 blocks are in dark zone in Rajasthan. Around 66 percent area of the state is desert and due to the less density of population in this area the cost for schemes increases much.
The Chief Minister said to deal with the drinking water problem and for the villages and dhanis facing drinking water the state requires more than Rs. 37, 000 crore. He said to manage such a huge amount is not in the capacity of the state government. He said the state government had made request to the Govt. of India to give special status to Rajasthan from the drinking water point of view but it was not accepted. He said the state government has approved 67 big drinking water projects worth Rs. 12,500 crore and work is in progress.
Shri Gehlot said to achieve the target set by the Govt. of India to avail safe drinking water in villages and dhanis by 2012 is not possible. He said in the previous year also the state government had made request to the Planning Commission that if the Govt. of India provides minimum of Rs. 5000 crore in the next 4-5 years and the remaining amount provided in the state budget it is likely to achieve the target by 2015-16. Constitute Team of Experts and Provide Special Assistance Package Shri Gehlot requested the Planning Commission that if it was not possible to give the status of special state to Rajasthan, than keeping in view the peculiar circumstances of the state special assistance package like Punjab, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir and Bihar should be provided to the state. He suggested that if Government of India did not agree to the policy of providing drinking water from surface sources to the villages and 'dhanis' of the state than a team of National experts be constituted so that it could provide right technical guidance and drinking water be made available to the villages grappling with the problem of drinking water.
He requested that top priority should be given in sanctioning externally aided projects of the state. Along with this he also requested that provision of giving 90 percent subsidy be made for irrigation projects in desert areas as being given in drought prone areas presently. Similarly he requested that 80 percent Central assistance be provided for drip irrigation and cold wave and hail storm be included in the category of 11 calamities listed in National Calamity Fund.
Request for Laying down Ratlam-Banswara-Dungarpur Rail Line Referring to the power projects Shri Gehlot said that the state would produce additional power of 3150 megawatts by the end of 11th Five Year Plan, which would be about 175 percent more as compared to the target. He requested that state should be provided coal linkages and coal blocks along with environmental clearances and said that no railway line was available for transportation of coal in the tribal dominated Banswara district.
He informed that there was a possibility of the sanction of nuclear power plant in the district in the future. He said that the State Government had given consent to provide Rs. 1200 crores for laying down Ratlam-Banswara via Dungarpur railline. He requested the Planning Commission that they should cooperate in getting sanction for this railway line so that alround development of tribal areas could take place. He also informed about the lignite based power projects in Barmer and Bikaner district of the state. Demand to Include other cities under JNNURM Expressing gratitude to the Government of India for providing approval for starting the work of Jaipur Metro, Shri Gehlot requested that all the citities with the population of more than five lakh in the state should be included under the JNNURM. He informed that Jaipur, Ajmer and Pushkar was included under the scheme presently. The Chief Minister said that with the view to develop infrastructure and to attract private investment the Rajasthan infrastructure development Act was being introduced. Similarly an ordinance have been enforced from the month of January this year in order to strengthen single window system.
He said that 40 percent area of Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor was passing through Rajasthan. He said that special area have been identified for running various industrial and business activities around the corridor and development work in these areas had been started. Shri Gehlot said the state government is committed for providing sensitive, transparent and accountable administration and paying special attention towards the areas of social security. He said Keeping public welfare programmes on top priority the efforts are being made for the upliftment of the common man and the positive results are being witnessed of these efforts. The Chief Secretary Shri S.Ahmed, Additional Chief Secretary Finance, Shri C.K.Mathew, Additional Chief Secretary and Principal Residential Commissioner Shri Rajeev Sharma, Principal Secretary Planning Shri D.B.Gupta, Principal Secretary to CM Shri Shrimat Pandey and other senior officers were present on the occasion.

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Rajasthan CM Gehlot's son 'linked' to land mafia

An anonymous pamphlet has landed Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son, Vaibhav, in a controversy. The pamphlet has alleged that Vaibhav is protecting the accused in land scams and has demanded that call details of his mobile phone should be recovered to ascertain his links with “land mafia” and an inquiry conducted. After a heated exchange in the state Assembly last Friday over this issue, Speaker Deepender Singh Shekhawat asked Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal to inquire into it. Sources in the Speaker’s office clarified that Shekhawat has asked Dhariwal to look into the origin of the pamphlet, which bore no name of the printer, and not into the allegations made in it. The Speaker expunged all charges made against the CM’s son on the floor of the House. BJP MLA Vasudev Devnani had earlier brought the pamphlet in the House drawing loud protests from the Treasury Benches who argued that since Vaibhav was not a member of the House, the matter could not be discussed.
Source: Indian Express
Related Post: About Vaibhav Gehlot

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Lok Kala Mandal Festival 2011 started

60th foundation day celebrations of Lok Kala Mandal will starts from today evening with colorful presentations. this festival will continue till 27 February. Colorful presentation will starts today at evening 7 pm on the stage of the Lok Kala Mandal. Many theatrical plays will be presented for the general public.
About Lok Kala Mandal: Bhartiya Lok Kala Museum is one of the most famous museums of Udaipur, exhibiting the brilliant collection of folk articles of Rajasthan. This rare compilation varies from typical rural-dresses, ornaments, puppets, masks, dolls, folk musical instruments, folk deities and paintings. The museum is comfortably located in the building of Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal near Chetak Circle in Udaipur city.

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Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) Phase-I

In this phase, the Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) will procure 10 trains. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) chief project manager Lalit Meghnani said on Tuesday, “Like Delhi Metro, Jaipur too will start with four coaches and switch to six coaches later as the traffic increases. According to thumb rule for one km one train should run.” The decision to start the train with four coaches was made after analysing the traffic statics and estimation of commuters expected at various metro stations. Meghnani added, “We have proposed 10 trains which include one spare train in case if one breaks down.” For the passenger convenience two tracks will be laid with trains running every seven minutes. However, at the peak hour the gap will be reduced to every five minutes. Though the tenders for the trains are not yet out, according to DMRC officials the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, which was successfully launched in the first phase in various cities, will be bought.
The trains in other Metro cities are equipped with this device which, a DMRC official claims, “makes the system very safe and devoid of human error.” He explained, the system applies brakes if the driver fails to respond to these warnings. It takes into account the speed and position of the train relative to the end of its 'movement authority' in issuing the warnings and applying the brakes. It’s also reliable as the display time is fixed in the control room of different trains. If one train gets delayed, the time in another automatically gets adjusted.

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Delhi Metro Airport Express line to open on Feb 23

The Capital will join a select few cities in the world to have a high-speed link to the airport with Delhi Metro's most sensitive line likely to start commercial operations from Wednesday, finally bringing the IGI airport closer to the city. If all goes well and CISF completes its deployment process by Monday, the 23-km Airport Metro Express that connects the city’s shopping hub of Connaught Place with the new swanky Terminal-3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport will be opened to the public on Wednesday. However, a formal inauguration of the high-speed link, the first Metro corridor in the country to come up on the Public-Private-Partnership mode, is likely to take place later with sources indicating that high-profile dignitaries will be invited for the function.
Both Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL) -- the Reliance Infra-led consortium that will run the corridor-- and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said they are hopeful that the Line will be beginning operations on Wednesday with four operational stations New Delhi, Shivaji Stadium, IGI Airport and Dwarka Sec-21. "We are hopeful that the Line will be operational from 23rd February. The CISF deployment is likely to be over anytime now. So in all probability the commercial operations will begin on Wednesday," a DAMEPL source said. Other two stations Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aero City are expected to be ready by the time the formal inauguration takes place, the sources said.
The Airport Metro promises take commuters from New Delhi to the IGI Airport in just 18 minutes in a plush environment. Trains on the Line are completely different from the existing Metro coaches and have been procured from CAF Spain, the firm which supplied trains to Heathrow and Hong Kong Metro Express Lines. Passengers will be able to check the flight status at all stations on the Airport Metro Line and will have comfortable seating arrangements on the train. While the Delhi Metro and the Government wanted the CISF to guard the line like any other Metro corridor in the city, the DAMEPL wanted its own private security men to handle the security.

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Chinkara case: HC allows Salman khan to travel abroad

Bollywood star Salman Khan Monday got a relief in the 1998 chinkara poaching case as the Jodhpur bench of the Rajasthan High Court allowed him to leave the country without informing it in advance. The court had imposed the restriction on him before granting bail in the case in 2007. Following that, the actor had to inform the court before leaving the country in connection with movie shootings abroad. "The court while hearing our application has exempted Salman from the necessity of giving information prior to leaving the country," said Hastimal Saraswat, advocate for Salman.
Salman and seven others were accused of killing a blackbuck and chinkara in two separate incidents. One of the animals was killed at Bhawad on the outskirts of Jodhpur Sep 26, 1998, and the other at Ghoda Farms Sep 28, 1998. At that time, they were shooting for the film "Hum Sath Sath Hain". Salman moved the high court in August 2007 appealing against a chief judicial magistrate's order in April 2006 that sentenced him to five years' rigorous imprisonment in connection with the poaching case. The actor had to spend a week behind bars after he was granted bail by the high court. Before the court released him on bail, it had asked the actor to give it prior information before leaving the country.

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PM announces JPC on 2G spectrum scam

The Prime Minister has announced that his government will set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to study the 2G spectrum scam. In Parliament today, he said, "On account of the controversy relating to allocation of 2G spectrum, the winter session of Parliament was lost. Our country can ill-afford this...in paralyzing Parliament, we all do disservice to those who have elected us." Adding that his government had failed to convince the Opposition that a JPC was not needed, Dr Manmohan Singh said, "It is in these special circumstances that our government agrees to a JPC...we are a functioning democracy and must try to resolve our difference is the spirit of collaboration not competition." Dr Singh stressed that he believed that the inquiry into the scam was being comprehensively handled by different agencies like the CBI whose investigation into the scam is being supervised by the Supreme Court. The PM said that a report by Justice Shivraj Patil had also been completed and shared with investigating officials. And that Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is already questioning officials involved with the mobile licenses that were allocated in 2008.

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Telangana bandh hits Normal Life in AP

Normal life came to a standstill in parts of Andhra Pradesh Tuesday as a 48-hour shutdown began to demand a bill in parliament for the formation of a separate Telangana state. Transport services in Hyderabad and nine other districts of the Telangana region were paralysed while shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed. Buses of state-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) could not come out of the depots since early Tuesday as the shutdown called by Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) evoked a total response across the region.
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other pro-Telangana parties and groups are participating in the strike while the Communist Party of India (CPI) is backing it. TRS activists took out rallies in different parts of Medak, Nizamabad, Warangal and Karimnagar districts to force the closure of shops. Police arrested TRS legislator Harish Rao in Secunderbad when he was leading a motorcycle rally.

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Rajasthan's annual plan to be approved today

The Planning Commission will approve Rajasthan's annual plan for fiscal 2011-12 at its meeting in New Delhi today. The annual plan will be discussed and finalised at the meeting between the Commission and officials of the State Government. While Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia would lead the Commission team, state team of officials would be headed by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, an official spokesman said here today. Chief Secretary S Ahmad, Additional Chief Secretary(Finance) CK Mathew and Planning Secretary DB Gupta would also participate in the meeting. Last year, the Commission had approved the current annual plan (2010-11) of Rs 24,044 crore.

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Amarnath Yatra 2011 from June 29

Annual pilgrimage to Holy Cave Shrine of Amarnath Ji in South Kashmir Himalayas would start on June 29 and will conclude on August 13 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan and Shravana Purnima. A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.
The Shrine Board also decided to enhance Heli capacity for the pilgrims during this year’s yatra and reduced one way fare from Pahalgam to Panjtarni from last year’s Rs. 3,800 to Rs.3,495 this year per adult passenger and from Rs. 1,900 to Rs. 1,745 for children in the age group of two to 12 years. The Board also decided to carry forward the Group Insurance Cover to Yatris, Ponywallahs, labourers, Dandiwallahs and Ponies which was started last year. It was decided to enhance the amount of Insurance Cover for the ponies from Rs. 20,000/- in 2010 to Rs. 25,000/- this year, for the benefit of the ponywallahs who loose their animals in accidents during the Yatra.

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Hema Malini files nomination for RS from Karnataka

Veteran actress Hema Malini today filed her nomination papers as the BJP candidate for the March three Rajya Sabha election from Karnataka. Accompanied by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and the party's state unit president K S Eshwarappa, she filed the nomination before Returning Officer, S B Patil, at Vidhana Soudha, the State secretariat. Going by the BJP's strength in the Legislative Assembly, Hema Malini is sure to get elected.
The bye-election to the seat was necessitated following the death of former Union Minister M Rajasekhara Murthy. The winning candidate's term would end on April two next year. Hema Malini's surprise choice for the seat has reportedly led to dissatisfaction among a section of BJP in the State, as she is seen as an "outsider".

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Small cities to be covered under FM radio

President Pratibha Patil today said that the government proposes to extend the coverage of private FM radio services to small cities with a population of at least one lakh. In her address to both Houses of the Parliament, Patil said, a total of 806 new FM radio channels in 283 cities are proposed to be set up. "My government proposes to extend the coverage of private FM radio services to all cities with a population of one lakh and above," she said. The President also said that the government proposes to give incentives to future FM radio operations in Jammu and Kashmir, the North Eastern States and island territories. The extension of radio services would be done through the phase III expansion and a Group of Ministers has finalised an e-auction model for its roll out.

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Delhi Police ask Geelani not to leave capital

Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who has been booked for purportedly giving "hate speeches" at a seminar in New Delhi last year, has been asked by the Delhi Police not to leave the capital till further orders. Police sources said, Geelani has been asked to join investigations in connection with the 'hate speech' case. Police personnel have been posted outside his South Delhi residence to keep a tab on his movements and people who visit him.
Delhi Police had in November registered a case under Sections 124 A (sedition), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 153 B (imputations, assertions, prejudicial to national integration) against Geelani and others including author Arundathi Roy. The police action came after a Delhi court ordered the police to register the FIR against the Hurriyat leader and others for allegedly making anti-India statements.

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Schools hike Fee, Parents submit memorandum to CM

Parents associations have braced up and are ready to train guns against the exorbitant annual fees charged by private schools with legal aids. The Abhibhawak Sangharsh Samiti (ASA) has asked the state government to take legal action against private schools where annual fee has been raised flouting the state government norms declared on June 1, 2009. On Sunday, the representatives of ASA submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot seeking government action against the exorbitant fee hike. The samiti has also planned to launch a state wide campaign against the fee hike. "If the government is not able to control the school's activities, we will launch a state wide movement and seek legal action to stop the undue exploitation of parents," said Rajeev Gupta, president, Abhibhavak Sangharsh Samiti. "We have requested the CM to initiate action against private schools who are trying to take advantage of parents at large. The administration has almost failed to keep a tab on the activities of such schools," he added.
Schools can raise the annual fee by 7 per cent every year as per directives issue by the government on June 2009. "Some schools are, however, raising the fee by almost 50 per cent for the session 2011-12. Besides the schools have also neglected the directives related to prospectus fee, admission fee and caution money that has left many parents disgruntled," added Gupta.

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ICICI Ex-employees dupe customers Rs 9.3 lakh

Three Ex-employees of an insurance company duped a customer of around Rs 9.30 lakhs. The case came to light when the costumer contacted the company for his insurance policy. The accused are ex-employees of ICICI Prudential, the insurance company that they duped. Amit Jain, a resident of Delhi, got an insurance policy from ICICI Prudential and paid a premium of Rs 2 lakh per year, starting from 2005. The three accused, Rahul Jain, Sunil Lekhi, Jatinder Kumar; acted as brothers of Amit Jain and got more than 9 lakh rupees from ICICI Prudential. The three first called up the insurance company and changed the basic address and phone numbers for the policy. They posed as Amit Jain’s brother and got the address changed to Chandigarh. They even got a duplicate policy saying that the original policy was lost. The three miscreants were able to dupe the insurance company. It was only recently that Amit Jain contacted the company for his policy. State Manager of ICICI Prudential Ravinder Singh filed a complaint with police on discovering that the costumer had been duped along with the company. Police are investigating the case.

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MTV Roadies 8 Winner - Anchal Khurana

MTV Roadies 8 Winner is Anchal Khurana from Delhi. Today (18th June 20110 when results was announced in final episode held on Saturday. there was lot of rumors but finally Aanchal wins Roadies Season 8.
The list of MTV Roadies contestants are:
Chandigarh auditions
1. Anamika Dutta - Voted Out on June 2011
2. Mohit Saggar - ROADIES 8 FINALIST
3. Rahul Sheoran - Voted out on Roadies 8 Episode 2 =>; VOTED IN on 14 May 2011 =>Voted Out on 28 May 2011
Delhi auditions
4. Renne Dhyani - Voted out of Roadies 8 in Episode 7

5. Anchal Khurana - WINS ROADIES 8

6. Suchit Vikram Singh- ROADIES 8 FINALIST

7. Avtar Nischal - Voted out on Roadies 8 Episode 3
Kolkata Auditions
8. Prachi Aggarwal - Voted out on 16th April 2011
Ahmedabad auditions
9. Chandni Joshi - Voted out on 23rd April 2011
Pune auditions

10. Puja Banerjee - ROADIES 8 FINALIST

11. Suraj(real name Nagesh) - Voted out on 7th May 2011
Bangalore auditions
12. Devendra Singh - Voted out of Roadies 8 in Episode 5
13. Vibhor Sharma - Voted out of Roadies 8 on 30th April 2011

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Hailstorm and rain hits Rajasthan

Hailstorm and rains lashed many places in Rajasthan, including the state capital last evening. Hailstorm accompanied by high velocity winds struck the Pink City and adjoining areas last evening. Later intermittent showers continued till late night. Besides, hailstorm also hit many places including Bikaner, Dausa, Tonk and Karauli. Rains, were reported from a number of places in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Kota divisions, the Met officesaid here today. The hailstorm damaged crops at some places, a weather official said. ''Similar weather conditions and hailstorm is likely to prevail at some places during next two days or so,'' he added.

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Bombay High Court upholds Kasab's death penalty

The Bombay High Court on Monday confirmed the death penalty to 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab, terming the case as rarest of rare and holding there was "no scope of reform" of the convict. "There is no scope of reform or rehabilitation of the convicted accused. It is a rarest of rare case and the court cannot be more confident than it is today that death penalty must be given," a division bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and R V More observed, upholding the death sentence to 24-year-old Kasab. "Aapko saza-e-maut yeh adalat barkarar karti hai. Aap Supreme Court mein appeal zari kar sakte hain (Your death sentence is upheld. You can appeal before the Supreme Court," Justice Desai told a bearded Kasab, clad in a spotless white kurta and sporting a grin, through video conferencing.
The court upheld Kasab's conviction on all charges including multiple murders, conspiracy and waging war against the nation. The confirmation comes nine months after the lone 26/11 terrorist captured alive was ordered to be sent to the gallows by the trial court on 6th May, last year. The court, however, dismissed the Maharashtra government's petition against the acquittal of two Indians Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, accused of aiding the commission of the crime. "We are with the trial court's observation that there is no corroboration of evidence to prove i

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West Bengal CM Buddhadeb rejects Gorkhaland demand

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday reasserted that the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha's demand for a separate Gorkhaland unacceptable and ruled out bringing the Dooars and the Terai under any new administrative arrangement for the Darjeeling hills. His remarks came at a time when the GJM leadership has intensified attempts to take its agitation from the Darjeeling hills to the Dooars and the Terai in the north Bengal plains. At an event held at Phansidewa near Siliguri, Mr. Bhattacharjee said: “The time has come for the [political] leaders in Darjeeling to realise that clamouring for Gorkhaland will yield nothing. It is not acceptable — either to the State or the Centre. It is not realistic; it is not possible.”
He was also critical of the GJM's plans to take the agitation to the north Bengal plains, which the authorities fear could inflame ethnic passions, given the large presence of tribals in the Dooars. “They [the GJM] are trying at times to take it [their movement] from the hills to the Dooars, the Terai and even Siliguri…They will never get this region,” the Chief Minister said, cautioning against attempts to stir up trouble in these areas. Urging the GJM leadership to give up its statehood demand and stop its agitation, Mr. Bhattacharjee asked: “Who is gaining from this? The hotels [in the hills] are closed. After a few days, there could emerge a situation in which the people of Darjeeling will not get anything to eat.” Unless the agitation was withdrawn, he said, there could be no dialogue to end the impasse in the region.

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RTU to launch education portal

The Rajasthan Technical University will launch an education website. "Students will get access to quality study material from IIT's and NIT's faculty on all subjects/branches. Experts will also be roped in to highlight special issues," said RP Yadav, vice-chancellor, RTU. The site will have a question bank and students can also post their queries which will be answered by the faculty of RTU. Students will also get access to research work for reference published in reputed journals. Poor results apparently provoked the authorities to take this move. Around 59% students could not clear the first semester indicating the standard of teaching in the institute. Affiliated colleges will have to open accounts for each student on the website.
In order to introduce transparency in colleges, RTU has asked its affiliated colleges to upload the resume of their teachers on their sites. "Colleges can also highlight achievements of their teachers and students. It will bring transparency in the system besides encourage the colleges to offer better facilities," added Yadav.

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Patrika Chief Gulab Kothari wins IOUF Peace Award

Intercultural Open University Foundation (IOUF), US, has conferred 2011-IOUF Peace Award up on Rajasthan Patrika Group Editor-in-Chief Dr Gulab Kothari for his tireless efforts to further the cause of World Peace. The Award has been given to Dr Kothari in recognition to his exceptional and tireless works to enrich community relationship, promote-strengthen, unity, human rights and raising global consciousness for world peace.
The award was presented to Dr Kothari here today during the concluding ceremony in the international conference on universal wellness through meditation, yoga and holistic health, by the IOUF representative Ezekiel Isaac Malekar. Another US based organisation --The Institute of Spiritual Sciences, Kent WA, also lauded Dr Kothari's works and books written by him on Vedanta to give insight and value to the importance of these eternal teachings of the ages.

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NGO Vaagdhara gets special status from UN body

A Rajasthan NGO, Vaagdhara, which works for the empowerment of impoverished and vulnerable groups in the state, is among 17 from across the world to be granted special consultative status by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The Banswara-based Vaagdhara, established in 1986-87, is one of three from India to be given the honour. The status recognises an NGO's expertise in certain areas of work and these can submit written statements and petitions to the UN. The other two Indian NGOs to get the new status at a session of ECOSOC's Committee on Voluntary Organisations at the UN headquarters in New York earlier this month are the Tamil Christian Broadcasting Network and the Serve Train Educate People's Society.
Vaagdhara works to create capacity-building opportunities among farmers, tribal populations, women and children in southern Rajasthan. Vaagdhara secretary Jayesh Joshi said that the NGO - working in the tribal-dominated Vaagar region comprising Banswara, Dungarpur, Udaipur, Pratapgarh and Chittaurgarh districts - was human and technological resource for the well-being of rural communities. The NGO has taken up work for natural resource management, community health and education, lift irrigation, check-dam construction and gender development in the region. One of the major interventions by Vaagdhara during the past year has been the Make Trade Fair Campaign, though which it has apprised thousands of farmers of the "monopolistic, unfair and dominating policies" being implemented on the pretext of globalisation.

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Jennifer Lopez to judge reality show - X-Factor

If rumors are anything to go by then Hollywood hottie Jennifer Lopez may be signed up to judge a reality show in India. Jennifer Lopez may star as a guest judge on the music reality show ‘X-Factor’. `X-Factor` is a musical reality show in the UK, and the desi version is all set to hit the Indian screens as well. Speculations are rife that JLo would be judging the desi version of ‘X-Factor’. However, sources at the channel have not confirmed the news yet. With the ever-rising popularity of reality shows in India, it`s highly possible that the pop star makes an appearance on the show. Hottie Pamela Anderson has shown the way, JLO can follow suit!

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Rain in Rajasthan, hailstorm damage crops

The unseasonal rain dashed the hopes of farmers in the state who were expecting bumper Rabi crop. The rain has damaged crops in many parts of the state. Complaints of crop damage have been pouring in from many villages of Bundi and other districts. Heavy rain coupled with hailstorms lashed Bundi district last night damaging crops of wheat, mustard, coriander and lentil. Hailstorm lashed several villages, including Sukhpura, Gothera, Mandi, Bhagwanipura, Tokera, Panch ki Bawari of Hindoli sub-division last evening following which standing crop was damaged, Mandi village sarpanch Bhuribai said. Similarly, damage to the extent of 60-70% is feared by the evening spell in Kalayanpura, Sadara, Fathapura, Jaitpur, Talwas, Suri, Karwar, Jhakmund and dozen other villages in the Nainwa sub-division. Jaipur reported 6.8 mm of rain while Sikar reported the highest rain of 28 mm followed by Pilani at 10.3 mm. Ajmer and Kota also reported rain of 9.2 and 8.9 mm, respectively by Wednesday morning.

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Orissa collector RV Krishna kidnapped by Maoists

The District Collector of Orissa's Maoist-hit Malkangiri has been kidnapped by Maoists, who are demanding withdrawal of Central forces and release of jailed ultras. Malkangiri collector R V Krishna along with a junior engineer went missing on Wednesday evening when he was on a visit to the remote Chitrakonda area, a Maoist stronghold about 85 km from Malkangiri, to attend a camp for local development, SP Anirudh Singh said. There was no trace of the 30-year-old IAS officer after he went from the camp held at Badapada bordering Andhra Pradesh to see a culvert on a road nearby on a motorcycle along with two junior engineers and another person, Chitrakonda Tehsildar D Gopal Krishnan said. While the collector and a junior engineer remained untraced, two others reached Badapada late on Wednesday night with a letter, written by suspected Naxals, and handed it over to senior officials, he said.
In Delhi, Home Secretary G K Pillai said, "He (Krishna) was abducted by the Maoists and they sent the engineer back with a chit asking for... their so called demands. The state government and other officers are working on this". Strongly condemning the abduction, Pillai said, "I don't think there is any need for any operation to release him. I am sure that the local support that he has and the state government will be able to negotiate and get his release". "I think it will take some time because the area is quite cut-off but back channel efforts are underway and I think it will take a few days but we are quite confident of getting him back," he said. Singh said the collector is suspected to have been kept hostage by suspected ultras, but their exact position is being ascertained. The letter demanded withdrawal of Central forces from the district, halt to anti-Naxal operations and release of all red rebels lodged in jails, the SP said.

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Rajasthan Govt to bring new law for regulating ground water use

The Rajasthan government is contemplating move to enact new law for regulating exploitation of ground water and sought the Opposition parties' cooperation for getting the Bill passed. The announcement for bringing the Bill was made by Governor Shivraj Patil in his inaugural address in the House on the beginning of the Budget Session of the state Legislative Assembly today. The Governor said exploitation of ground water had been posed a serious concern as the water table in most parts of the state depleted very fast. Mr Patil said this situation was bound to impair development in the state and therefore, effective measures were needed to regulate the use of ground water.
He said the members from all parties should come forward to extend cooperation for enactment and due implementation of the new law. During his 86-minute address, Mr Patil elaborated on the state government's achievements and progress on its agenda of welfare-development focused transparent, responsible and accountable governance. The Governor also expressed satisfaction over general law and order situation and the government's move of delegation of powers to Panchayats in respect of five government departments. Barring mild interruption by CPM Group leader Amara Ram in the beginning and two BJP members -- Jaswant Yadav and Om Birla -- later, the Governor's speech was heard by the House in a peaceful and smooth manner.

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Sachin Tendulkar, Priyanka Chopra to promote Census 2011

Cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra will encourage people to be counted in Census 2011 when they appear in television spots. The television advertisements are part of a wider campaign that started on February 2 and will go upto February 28, the dates when the Population Enumeration Phase of the 15th Census will be held. "Sachin is an icon and is very popular as far as young persons are concerned, and if he is spreading a message then everybody would like to follow. He's a star in himself, so is Priyanka," Chinmoy Chakravorty, Consultant to Registrar General of India, said. The two icons are not brand ambassadors in the traditional sense, but they will spread the message that everyone should make themselves counted and cooperate with enumerators or the foot soldiers who will ask questions and collect data from households, he added.
The publicity campaign will be in 12 languages and has been built up with an approximate cost of Rs 38 crore for the second phase, Chakravorty said. "Priyanka and Sachin both will be requesting the people that they have been part of the exercise and requesting them (viewers) to participate," Suman Prashar, Consultant to RGI, said on the ads that will be telecast. Chopra will also be seen engaging female viewers to talk about what work they do and that in addition to other details will be used to gather genders details in the Census' result, something which is often "masked" by "biases", she added. "The enumerator should be given due importance and the questions they ask should be duly answered because Tendulkar has answered all the questions," Chakravorty said on what the purpose of the TV commercials is.

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RSRTC added 826 new buses

As many as 826 new buses of different make have been inducted in the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) fleet and process for inducting 299 more buses is in progress. This reference was made in Governor Shivraj V Patil's inaugural speech in the State Assembly here today. The new buses included 10 Super Luxury Mercedes Benz and 15 Volvo, 650 Leyland and 151 Tata buses. Process for procuring 299 Tata buses was on, the Governor told the House. Mr Patil also expressed happiness over expanding the roadways bus service to 248 more Gram Panchayats during the current fiscal.

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CBI questions Anil Ambani on dual tech, role in Swan Telecom

The CBI on Wednesday questioned ADAG chairman Anil Ambani amid allegations that his group received favours from former Telecom Minister A Raja in getting dual technology and a role for Reliance Telecom in promoting Swan Telecom. Ambani, 51, arrived at the CBI headquarters much ahead of the called time of 5 PM and waited at the reception before he was quizzed by the agency officials, CBI sources said. He did not speak to the media before entering the CBI headquarters for giving clarifications on the possible role of Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL), a subsidary of ADAG, in Swan. Swan Telecom, in which Tiger Traders Private Limited have 90.13 and RTL has 9.87 equity share capital, has been under the scanner over alleged diversion of funds to DMK-owned Kalaignar television. DB Realty group Managing Director Shahid Usman Balwa was arrested by the CBI earlier this month.
After the appearance of Ambani, the sources said other top brass of telecom companies including that of Tata Tele Services and Idea would be called for clarification. According to the CAG, four Companies including Reliance Communications Ltd were provided CDMA based mobile service under Unified Access Service licence. Based on the recommendations of TRAI, use of dual technology was permitted on October 17, 2007 and RCom is alleged to have applied even before the announcement of the policy. Reliance Communication Ltd. had complied with the requirements for permission to use dual technology on October 19 2007 itself by depositing the non refundable entry fee of Rs 1645 crore for 20 service areas through Reliance Infocomm Ltd. The CAG had said that acceptance of bank draft from Reliance Infocomm Ltd (third party) on behalf of Reliance Communications Ltd was not in order and showed the hurry through which entry fee was deposited.
In a statement, ADAG said, "during the course of his weekly visit to New Delhi, Ambani "met CBI officials today to clarify ongoing issues, relating to telecom matters for the years 2001 to 2010, and virtually every telecom operator in the country"

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Rajasthan Assembly pay tributes to Bhimsen Joshi, Karunakaran, Bali Ram Bhagat

The Rajasthan Assembly today paid rich tributes to Bharat Ratna Bhimsen Joshi, former Lok Sabha Speaker Bali Ram Bhagat, former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran and former Bengal Chief Minister Sidhartha Shankar Ray. Making obituary references on the inaugural day of the budget session of the Assembly here, Speaker Deependra Singh Shekhawat recalled great contributions made by doyan vocalist Bhimsen Joshi to art and music.
He also recalled former Lok Sabha Speaker Bali Ram Bhagat's services in different posts and positions, particularly as Governor of Rajasthan. Mr Sehkhawat also lauded works and services of stalwart politician former Kerala Chief Minister Karunakaran and former Haryana Governor Mahavir Prasad. The House also condoled death of 12 other dignitaries, including former Assembly speaker Gopal Singh Bhadrajun, former Deputy Speaker Heera Singh Chauhan and former Minister Narendra Singh Bhati. The House also prayed for the victims of the stampede at the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala.

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9.5% Intrest on PF - EPFO

The EPFO on Tuesday stuck to its decision that about 4.71 crore subscribers of the pension fund should get one per cent increase in interest on their deposits for 2010-11, pegging the rate of interest at 9.5 per cent. The Central Board of Trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) also decided not to invest in stock markets. After a two-hour meeting of the CBT, Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge expressed hope the finance ministry will shortly give its concurrence to the proposal. "I hope that after we answered all clarifications, they (Finance Ministry) will approve it (9.5 per cent interest rate for 2010-11)," he told reporters on the finance ministry's reservation on 9.5 per cent recommended by the Central Board of Trustees of Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in September last. "As far as 9.5 per cent interest (2010-11) is concerned, the Finance Ministry had sought some clarifications. Those clarifications have been sent by Labour Secretary to the Finance Ministry," Kharge added.
Downplaying the ongoing tussle between the two ministries over hiking the interest rates on PF deposits, Kharge said there was "no tussle between the two ministries over giving 9.5 per cent interest rate." "These are just consultations between the two ministries. They had certain queries and when we satisfy them. They will definitely approve it," Labour Secretary P C Chaturvedi later explained. Although CBT, which is headed by labour minister, had decided to give a higher return of 9.5 per cent on provident fund deposits for 2010-11, the Finance Ministry had expressed its opposition to the move. Following discovery of Rs 1,731.57 crore in suspense account, the EPFO trustees favoured raising the rate of interest on provident fund deposits to 9.5 per cent for its 4.71 crore subscribers from 8.5 per cent which is being paid by EPFO since 2005-06. The decision, however, did not find favour with the Finance Ministry which argued that there was no real surplus.

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Road accident kills 31 in Nagaur, Rajasthan

Road accident claim 31 life in Rajasthan's Nagaur District in a head-on collision between a pick-up van and a truck near Kuchera in Nagaur district of Rajasthan this afternoon, police said here. The ill-fated van was carrying pilgrims back home to Lavari in Jodhpur district after paying obeisance at Butati dham when it rammed into the truck, about four kms from Kuchera. While 21 people died on the spot, three of the injured succumbed later on, police sources said, adding that the deceased included 16 women, six girls and two men. The injured were admitted to a hospital in Kuchera from where they were referred to Nagaur and Jodhpur, the police added.

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