Singhvi called the judgment an indictment of BJP because it questioned the policy of first-come-first-served promulgated by NDA and castigated the ‘sanction for prosecution’ clause which the Centre had already removed in the Lokpal bill. “But BJP opposed the Lokpal bill,” he added.

Congress continued its efforts to draw a distinction between jailed former telecom minister A Raja and the government, saying the court order proved that a policy could not be blamed for an individual’s actions. “Raja is in jail because he is accused of changing the dates thrice to favour someone,” Singhvi said.

While the judgment has laid the blame at Raja’s doors, slamming him for ignoring the advice of the PM and the finance ministry, Congress exercised caution in adding caveats like “we are not calling him guilty” or saying “it was for courts to decide”.

The care about DMK is inspired by coalition compulsions since the Dravidian ally remains a big part of UPA and its continued support will determine if Congress can take on the volatile Trinamool Congress after the five assembly elections in March.

Singhvi rebuffed queries about why Congress stuck to the FCFS policy after coming to power, saying “you cannot be held guilty for following a policy”.

Article source: http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/fy/8at2EtY0WEG6v1k0/story01.htm

BJP leader Balbir Punj said, “This is a very serious development and particularly the way Air India was robbed and after that a serious allegation being made in a very respectable newspaper in Canada. The prime minister must immediately order a high level inquiry and take the nation into confidence as to what he is doing about this serious allegation.”

Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said a probe could not be ordered merely on the basis of a newspaper reports. “He (Patel) has denied doing any such thing. I have no information about this and he has told the prime minister that he is ready to face a probe. What else can be done? How can any report published in any newspaper lead to a probe? Something concrete has to be there,” he said.

Karigar is accused of paying bribes and also for being involved in a bid-rigging scheme in 2007 in a failed attempt to win contracts for computerized passenger face recognition biometrics system of Air India.

The case filed with the Royal Canadian Mountain Police against Karigar also includes the name of Hasan Gafoor, former Mumbai Police commissioner.

Meanwhile, the newspaper pointed out that there was no direct proof that Patel had accepted the bribe.

Article source: http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/fy/8at2EtY0WEG6t1k0/story01.htm

In March, 2005, the Central Vigilance Commission had forwarded a complaint alleging irregularities in issuance of insurance policies by NICL to a private telecom provider for coverage of default payments to CBI for discreet inquiry and report. The allegations were that during 2002-2004, NICL officials in connivance with officials of the private telecom firm signed two MoUs.

“Terms and conditions in the MoUs signed between NICL and the firm were in deviation from the standard policy and favourable to the party,” the source said.

On the basis of the said agreements, NICL issued two special contingency policies (SCPs) from the Kalyan division office of NICL in Mumbai. “During the enquiry it was found that the officials of Mumbai Regional office of NICL and Kalyan division office of NICL committed serious illegalities in connivance with officials of telecom provider which resulted into wrongful loss of Rs 273.12 crore,” he said.

After a discreet inquiry, CBI registered a regular case against several officials of NICL and the private telecom provider under different sections of IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act in December last year. During the investigation, it was found that the NICL while issuing both policies did not carry out risk analysis and absence of “application of mind” which caused huge loss, the source said.

Besides, NICL had also surrendered the basic right of the insurer to review and opt for cancellation of the policy in case negative trends are noticed. “In majority of

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Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has been exhorting Indian travellers to visit Canada. It’s not surprising that India is big on the Canadian Tourism Commission’s radar. According to media reports, Indian leisure travellers added C$82 million to the Canadian economy in 2009.

But Canada is opening its doors not just to Indian tourists but also to skilled workers. The Canada immigration story is gaining traction every passing day. “In 2012, Canada plans to admit between 2,40,000 and 2,65,000 new permanent residents.

We have maintained the immigration levels despite the recession because our economic growth will require a steady stream of new immigrants to meet labour market demands,” says Simon Cridland, spokesperson of the High Commission of Canada in Delhi.

And the stats on permanent residence in Canada are looking good. Between 2005 and 2010, economic applications for permanent residence from Indian citizens increased by 7%.

RISING NUMBERS
In the economic categories of immigration including skilled workers, Canadian experience class, entrepreneurs, self-employed, investors and provincial nominees; Indians were among the highest numbers of immigrants who moved to Canada in 2010. Overall, there were 30,252 Indians who gained PR status in Canada in 2010, a rise of over 4,000 over 2009. In terms of source country for immigrants, India was second only to the Philippines.

“For skilled Indian professionals, the economic categories are very attractive. Many Indians have done very well in this country as entrepreneurs, executives, academicians and in public life,” says

Article source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Skilled-Indian-workers-homing-in-on-Canada-country-ramps-up-its-economy/articleshow/11764167.cms

LUCKNOW: Handling election work is no less than a nightmare for Pawan. Despite being a visually impaired, the district administration has appointed him as a presiding officer for UP polls. A senior stenographer at the State Bank of India, Pawan terms the administration’s act as uncompassionate. “Even after having vision, they (administration officials) could not see our pain. Let them close their eyes for two minutes and then they will understand the gravity of the situation,” said Pawan.

At the recent training held at City Montessori School for people involved in election duty, Pawan felt he was made a laughing stock by the instructors and other officers on duty. And with Election Commission’s clear instructions for election officers (those on poll duty will not be assigned duty at a polling booth near his residence, official complex, and native place), it seems more of a hardship for him. “It’s troublesome commuting to far off places. But there is no one who cares,” he said.

Along with Pawan, there are two other specially-abled persons, Jitesh Kumar Ranjan who is blind, and Manish Jain, who is deaf and dumb, both of whom are class III employees at SBI.

“There was no special training given to us. We struggled while operating the electronic voting machines during the training programme,” lamented Jitesh. Hearing impaired Manish could neither understand nor communicate any instructions. For instructors too, it was also difficult to explain them the functioning of EVMs.

Inside their offices, the two visually impaired take

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“Inclement weather and cancellation of helicopter service has led to worry among people in Lahaul, considering that no emergency help would be available during this period,” Sanjeev Shashni, a resident of Sissu village, lamented. He rued that the government has no backup plan to tackle such situations. Another resident of Keylong, Sheru Bodh, said that it was unfortunate that they are totally dependent on the health of a flying machine in emergency situation. “Our hospitals do not have facilities and patients are needed to be airlifted to Kullu frequently. Winter is the time when illnesses knock at every door here,” he added.

A four-seater small chopper was hired for Friday and three sorties were scheduled between Kullu and Lahaul especially for staff supervising teacher’s eligibility test (TET on Sunday. But the sorties were cancelled due to inclement weather. Sources said the test could be postponed or cancelled if the staff does not reach Lahaul on time.

Kullu-Lahaul flight committee in-charge Roop Lal said the chopper had a critical problem in its rotor blades and they had to cancel all sorties. “It could take 3 or 4 more days for the chopper to be fit to carry passengers across the Rohtang pass. Once it reaches Kullu, flights would be operated regularly according to the schedule made by the general administrative department,” he said.

Article source: http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/fy/8at2EtY0WEM8k1k1/story01.htm

Khan “met” the villagers through a video conference at the local government school where his eponymous production house had set up the system for the purpose. He asked sarpanch Paramjit Singh and other residents about how they were able to do this when they stayed in a region known for its love for alcohol.

The talk lasted 20 minutes. He also asked women in the village about how they felt when the vend was closed in 2010.

Gurmail Kaur said most of the meagre earnings of her family were drowned in liquor consumption earlier and now, all of it was being utilized for food and fulfilling children’s educational requirements.

Paramjit said, “As Aamir himself contacted us, this would motivate others to follow in our footsteps.”

School teacher Renu was all praise for Aamir. Another teacher, Pushpa Vohra, said, “We told Aamir about the change in behaviour of many residents, who have now started attending parent-teacher meetings after they stopped consuming liquor.”

Aamir took notice of many Sangrur panchayats’ act after TOI started its “Brewing Trouble” series on excessive use of liquor in the state in late 2011.

“Aamir Khan’s production team reached Sangrur villages on October 22 to capture the tale of how panchayats acted. This would make for one episode in Aamir’s upcoming project,” said convener of the NGO, People for Transparency (PFT), Kamal Anand.

About 50 Sangrur panchayats used the provisions of Panchayati Raj Act to remove liquor vends from their areas. As part of that, they can ask state

Article source: http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/fy/8at2EtY0WEKyD1k1/story01.htm