Odisha suffers loss of Rs 159.

96 cr in port projects: CAG The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed out that the stat e lost Rs 159.96 crore because of lacunae in resources and revenue sharing arran gement of port projects in PPP mode. "The government suffered a loss of Rs 159.96 crore due to deficiencies in Conces sion Agreements (CA) with different port developers. The projects were largely a warded through MoU route instead of competitive bidding," the CAG said in its re port on general and social sector for the year 2011-2012. The report tabled in the State Assembly today, said the CAG's performance audit noticed several deficiencies in policy formulation, implementation, institutiona l arrangements, design and enforcement of CA and revenue model in port projects in the state. The audit was carried in five minor port projects opalpur and Subarnarekha. Astarang, Chudamani, Dhamra, G

"Though four out of the five port projects with project cost of each exceeding R s 500 crore were taken up and CA were executed, approval of High Level Clearance Authority was not obtained, that too when private promoters were selected in th ree cases through MoU route," the report said. The report, however, said that out of five port projects, in only one case (Gopa lpur) private promoters was selected on competitive bidding route. The port poli cy permits adoption of International Competitive bidding route or MoU route for selection of private developers, it said. "In case of Gopalpur port, a developer with no experience in infrastructure sect or was selected and revenue sharing was accepted at 0 to 7.5 per cent which was below the reserve percentage of 5 to 8 per cent," the report said. The CAG also noted that there was delay in completion of projects due to delay i n getting environmental clearance. In case of Dhamra port, the commencement date was fixed after 13 months of the d ue date on the ground of delay in handing over the acquired land, it said. "Due to delay in execution of Dhamra port, the government was deprived of revenu e share of Rs 99.26 crore," the CAG report said adding concession period of thre e ports were allowed to be 34 years against the recommended 30 years in Model Co ncession Agreement (MCA). This apart, contrary to provisions of CA, major partners exited during the lockin period selling their share to other partners and other companies, the CAG sai d. Sating that independent engineers were not engaged to oversee drawing and design s as well as quality parameters, the CAG report said financial and operational a uditors were also not engaged by the government to validate the gross revenue ge nerated and government's revenue share calculated by the port authorities. Escrow account was not maintained by the developers of Dhamra Port while such pr ovision was not even included in the CA of other ports, the report said. The CAG observed that despite provision in the CA for allowing inspection to gov ernment whenever required during construction and operation stages, yet develope rs of Dhamra Port did not allow joint inspection of the port premises by the gov ernment representative and audit.

Interestingly, fixation of tariff was left to the developers at Dhamra Port and tariffs fixed were found to be 153 to 799 per cent higher than that prescribed b y Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP). There was absolutely no monitoring of the project, it said. // CAG tells OilMin not to clear RIL KG D6 capex The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has asked Oil Ministry not to approve any of Reliance Industries (RIL) investment plans for the flagging KG-D6 gas field unless the company gives it unfettered access to audit its spendings. In a strongly worded letter, the CAG referred to media reports about the ministr y giving nod to RIL s annual capex for KG-D6 that have been pending for past three years, to advise the ministry not to approve any investment except those of emer gent nature . It is well within the knowledge of the ministry that any increase in capital expe nditure is likely to have significant adverse impact on government s financial int erests, CAG wrote to the oil secretary on November 9. Sources, however, said contrary to reports, the ministry is yet to sign on resol utions approving capital expenditure on the KG-D6 block for 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 fiscal pending resolution of CAG audit of spending on the block. The mi nistry wants RIL to give CAG unfettered access to account books as a condition. // 'Women self-help groups can bring peace, development to J-K' Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh today said peace and developm ent could be ushered in Jammu and Kashmir through women self-help groups. He was speaking at a function at the Chief Minister's camp office here on the oc casion of signing of MoU between AP's Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty, and the State Rural Livelihood Missions of Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana under t he National Rural Livelihood Mission. A press release from the CMO said the Union Minister hailed this initiative whic h could ensure peace and development, particularly in J&K. Ramesh also said issues such as trafficking of women and sanitation had to be de alt with in a big way. SERP has entered into MoUs with the SRLMs for a three-year period under the NRLM partnership framework. SERP will provide Community Resource Persons (CRP) support to Haryana and J&K. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said the SHG movement in AP had won world-wid e acclaim, and promised full support to the partner states in building SHGs ther e. SERP has been identified as a National Resource Organisation for providing suppo rt in social mobilisation and institution-building. It trains and provides Commu nity Resource Person support to the identified states. So far, SERP has entered into MoUs with Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. It will soon sign an MoU with Punjab.

State ministers K Jana Reddy, V Sunita Laxma Reddy, Chief Secretary Minnie Mathe w and other senior officials were present on the occasion. // Civic body chief survives 1st Rajasthan recall vote Ashok Jain, the chairman of the Mangrol Nagar Palika in Baran district, on Frida y won the first right to recall vote in Rajasthan. Mangrol had voted Wednesday on a no-confidence motion passed by the municipal bo ard against Jain, elected as an Independent in November 2009, and, as the result s showed, decided to keep him in the job. Of the 10,998 people who cast their ballot the total electorate numbered 16,735 as many as 7,243 voted against the motion while 3,755 supported it. The victory has assured Jain at least two more years in the job; a no-confidence motion can t be initiated against him before that. Jain said the win showed the p eople always supported him and the exercise was a conspiracy by Congress members of the municipal board to settle personal scores with him. Rajasthan is the third state after Madhya Pradesh and Punjab to hold a right to recall vote. The provision for such a vote was introduced into the Rajasthan Mun icipalities Act in March 2011. The board 17 of whose 20 members had voted for the motion against him had accuse d Jain of high-handedness and inefficiency and said he had failed to deliver and disappointed the people. // 6 Army personnel killed, 1 missing as avalanche strikes Siachen Dec 16, 8:54 PM In Jammu and Kashmir, six Indian Army personnel were killed and one is missing w hen a massive avalanche struck the Siachen Glacier early today. A rescue operati on is underway to trace the missing. Talking to AIR, Army PRO, Lt Colonel J.S. Brar said that the tragedy occurred in Sub-sector Hanif of the glacier around 6 AM this morning when troops were movin g between posts at 19,000 feet height. // Nation pays homage to 1971 war heroes Dec 16, 8:55 PM Nation paid homage on Vijay Diwas today to its valiant heroes who made the supre me sacrifice in the 1971 war with Pakistan. The day marks India s victory in the 1 3-day war with Pakistan, that resulted in the Liberation of Bangladesh. In the n ational capital, Defence Minister A K Antony led the nation in remembering the w ar heroes along with the three Service Chiefs. Wreaths were laid at the Amar Jaw an Jyothi at the India Gate in New Delhi and a two-minute silence was observed t o mark the solemn occasion. Meanwhile, the Defence Minister A K Antony told newsmen that the government will take up Captain Saurabh Kalia's case with Pakistan. He made the statement after paying tribute to the martyrs of 1971 wars. The Defence minister said India Gate is the right place to build a national war memorial. He also said a Group of Ministers set up by Prime Minister and the thr ee Services chiefs have agreed to set up the war memorial at the India Gate.

AIR correspondent reports, the armed forces have been demanding a war memorial i n the national capital to honour soldiers who made supreme sacrifice for the cou ntry. Bangladesh is celebrating the 42nd Victory Day today to mark the historic triump h of the Indian army and Mukti Bahini over the Pakistan armed forces on December 16th 1971. It was on this day in 1971 that the Pakistan Army General AAK Niazi along with 93,000 soldiers surrendered unconditionally to Lt. General Jagjit Sin gh Aurora of the Indian army at the historic Race Course Maidan now called Suhar awady Udayan in Dhaka. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led the nation in paying tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War by placing wreaths at the National Memorial at Savar early in the morning. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheik h Hasina also later took salute at the Victory Day parade at the National Parade Square as President Zillur Rahman had to leave for London to undergo medical tr eatment. Traditionally, the Bangladesh President takes salute at the Victory Day parade. Contingents of Freedom fighters, army, navy, air force and different pa ramilitary and police forces of Bangladesh participated in the parade. In his st atement issued on the occasion of Victory Day, Bangladesh President Zillur Rehma n called upon the people of the country, irrespective of their party affiliation s to work together to transform Bangladesh into a middle income country by 2021. In her statement issued on the occasion of Victory day, Bangladesh Prime Minist er Sheikh Hasina said the government is committed to holding the trial of war cr iminals and urged the people to resist the conspiracy of the Jamaat -Shibir coho rts to undermine the rule of law, human rights and democracy in their bid to obs truct the trial. Political parties and socio-cultural organisations are organizi ng a variety of programmes throughout the day in different parts of the country to celebrate Victory Day. // Stage set for final phase of Gujarat elections tomorrow Dec 16, 9:0 PM In Gujarat stage is set for the final phase of assembly elections. A total of 95 constituencies spread over 12 districts of Ahmedabad, Kachchh, Banaskantha, Pat an, Mahesana, Sabarkantha, Anand, Kheda, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara and state c apital Gandhinagar from North, Central and Kachchh regions will go for polls. Elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair polling. A total of 23 thousand 318 polling stations have been set up in all 95 poll boun d constituencies for tomorrow s voting. Of them over 14 thousand polling centers h ave been identified as critical. In addition to the general observers deployed b y the Commission above 72 hundred micro observers are also being deployed at pol ling centers to keep an eye on poll process. Digital and video cameras have been placed at critical polling centers. Senior police officers from other states ha ve been deployed by the Election Commission as police observer in all sensitive districts. In several sensitive constituencies the election authorities have ordered for vi deo trailing of candidates. In today's repolling 75 to 80 per cent votes were cast in a number of assembly c onstituencies. The State Election Commission sources said that maximum polling o f 80 per cent was reported at Jam Jodhpur and above 78 per cent at Bhavnagar rur al constituencies. // Body of nurse Jacintha reaches Udupi Dec 16 The body of Indian origin nurse Jacintha Saldanha who committed suicide in King

Edward hospital in London reached Udupi today at 2.40 p.m. The body was flown by a special charter plane from London and has reached Mangalore via Mumbai. From there the body was transported to Manipal KMC hospital mortuary. A close relativ e of the family said, her last rites will be performed tomorrow at 12 noon. // Rawat urges engineers to increase availability of water Dec 16 Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat today urged the engineering fraternity to find innovative ways and means to increase availability of water and promote its conservation. Addressing the valedictory session of 27th National Engineering C ongress in New Delhi, Mr. Rawat said as the availability of fresh water is fixed and demands are increasing with growth of population, larger production of wate r can only be sustained if available water resources are harnessed in a sustaina ble manner. He said lack of coordination between its competing use and absence o f regulation has aggravated the problem of ground water. The minister also calle d for concerted efforts for de-siltation and restoration of lakes, reservoirs an d tanks through treatment of their catchment areas. // Security at airports, seaports to be strengthened Dec 16 India will strengthen security at airports, seaports and border check posts by i nstalling modern radiation detection equipment next year to monitor the exports of beach sand minerals. Head of the Public Awareness Division of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) Swapn esh Kumar Malhotra said in New Delhi that the design of radiation detection equi pment has been checked for its efficacy in monitoring the radioactivity in beach sand minerals. He said the equipment has been manufactured by Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) and progressive deliveries to sea ports are expected from 2013 onwards. He said one of the additional technical measures being considered includes the a utomatic transmission of data from the RDE to a centralised facility. Malhotra said DAE has already taken initiatives, along with Director General For eign Trade and Customs Authorities, to maintain a strict vigil at exit points an d strengthen sampling mechanism for monitoring the beach sand minerals in export consignments. // Census Info India Software to be launched tomorrow Dec 16 The specially developed Census Info India Software will be launched in New Delhi tomorrow. The software is an innovative and flexible database technology used f or the dissemination of population and housing Census results. It has been devel oped by the United Nations Statistics Division, in partnership with UNICEF and U NFPA, to help countries disseminate their census results at any relevant geograp hical level.This powerful data dissemination tool will not only reduce the burde n of statistical drudgery, but also make using census data an enjoyable experien ce. // Death toll due to Typhoon Bopha crosses 1000 in Philippines

Dec 16 In Philippines, the death toll due to Typhoon Bopha that had struck southern par t of the Island on 4th December has crossed 1000. Several hundred people are als o still missing following the mishap. The latest report of the Philippines Natio nal Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council, released today said that 65 bodies have been recovered in the last 24 hours to take the death toll to 1020. The death toll is likely to further increase with more than 844 people reported to be missing while another 2622 people have been injured. More than 27800 peopl e are still living in the relief camp. The southern island of MINDANOA is the wo rst hit with Typhoon Bopha having triggered off landslides and floods damaging m ore than one and a half lakh homes partially or totally and destroying agricultu ral crop and public infrastructure worth nearly 7 billion Pesos. // Maldives signs defence agreement with China Dec 16 Maldives Defence Ministry has announced signing of a defence agreement with Chin a. In a statement issued today, Maldives National Defence Force said that the ag reement between the two countries was signed at a meeting between Defence Minist er Mohamed Nazim and his Chinese counterpart General Liang Guanglie in Beijing. Although details of the agreement are not available, it is understood that China would provide Maldives assistance to develop its military. Maldives Defence Ministry says that during his visit, Nazim visited the Chinese National Defence University to discuss securing education opportunities and tour ed the People s Liberation Army Naval Submarine Academy as well as the PLA Navy s No rth Fleet. // Gunmen launches second attack in Peshawar Dec 16 In Pakistan, gunmen this morning launched a second major attack in Peshawar afte r Saturday's night raid at Peshawar Airport in which at least nine people includ ing five militants and three civilians were killed. Heavy gun fire is being exch anged between the security forces and militants who have besieged an under const ruction house in Pawa Gai area, which is located close to Peshawar Airport. Acco rding to reports, a police man has been killed in the attack, while an insurgent was also killed in the encounter. Police sources said that four terrorists are still in the house who have heavy weapons including hand grenades and mortar she lls. According to ARY News, SP Operations said that security forces have cordone d off the area and the operation would be completed soon. // Palestinian camp bombed by Syrian warplanes, say Opposition Dec 16 Syrian opposition activists say government warplanes have bombed a Palestinian c amp on the southern outskirts of the capital, Damascus, killing at least eight p eople. The activists today said the air strike was the first of its kind on the Yarmouk refugee camp since forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad began suppr essing a popular uprising in March 2011. Elsewhere, Syrian rebels claimed to hav e seized a military academy near the northern city of Aleppo after fighting with government troops. There was no independent confirmation of the casualties at Y armouk or the fighting at the military academy because Syria bars independent jo urnalists from reporting freely. // Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman submits resignation Dec 16 Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman today submitted his resignation after several days of indecision over leaving his post due to an indictment by the st

ate attorney general on charges of breach of trust and fraud. Israeli Attorney G eneral Yehuda Weinstein announced on Thursday that he will indict Lieberman over an affair in 2008 in which he promoted former ambassador to Belarus, Ze'ev BenArye, in exchange for confidential information from the latter regarding police interrogation against him in Belarus. He was also suspected of receiving million s of dollars from private businessmen via front companies while he served for Kn esset (parliament) and the cabinet between 2001 and 2008. Lieberman, who heads t he Yisrael Beiteinu party, a major Likud- led coalition partner, said stepping d own would leave him more time for activities before the elections, and meeting w ith regional party figures. // Israel allows export of 7 trucks of agri products from Gaza Strip Dec 16 Israel today allowed the export of seven trucks of agricultural products from th e Gaza Strip. A Palestinian liaison officer on Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaz a and Israel, said the produce will go to Europe, mainly the Netherlands, which finances planting projects in Palestine. Hamas, the Islamic movement that contro ls Gaza, said the advanced phases of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire envisage li fting Israeli curbs on Gaza's export and import. Export was strictly banned when Israel imposed a near-total closure on Gaza when Hamas wrested control of the t erritory in 2007.Israel lifted the ban on import while gradually allowing export since 2010, following an international outcry against its attack on a Gaza-boun d Turkish aid flotilla, in which nine Turks were killed. // Nuclear experts meet in Japan calls for better nuclear safety Dec 16 Ministers and nuclear experts from around the world are meeting in Japan to dema nd better nuclear safety. The call follows last year's Fukushima disaster. Deleg ates from around 120 countries and international organizations are attending the conference on nuclear safety in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. The event which opened yesterday has been organized jointly by Japan's government and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The first day focused on the lessons from th e accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant and each country's effort to protect t heir nuclear reactors. The delegates finalized a statement stressing the importa nce of putting measures in place to prevent a major nuclear accident. The statem ent also recommends effective, independent regulatory organizations to oversee t he safety of nuclear plants. It urges the international community to cooperate i n strengthening nuclear safety. Fukushima Prefecture earlier signed a memorandum with the IAEA calling for the setting up of an international center in Fukushim a to train people for a nuclear disaster. The IAEA agreed to support the prefect ure's efforts to decontaminate local communities and monitor the health of local residents. The meeting ends tomorrow. // Storm Evan expected to pass north of Fiji today Dec 16 Tropical storm Evan is expected to pass just north of Fiji today with winds gust ing up to 230 kilometers per hour. The Fiji Meteorological Service has said that it is intensifying and may increase from a category four to a category five cyc lone by tomorrow afternoon. Winds have already strengthened on the northern isla nd of Vanua Levu, forcing Pacific Sun to cancel its remaining flights today in a nd out of the resort town of Savusavu, Tourism Fiji said. The storm is set to di srupt flights between New Zealand and the Pacific nation. Air Pacific has cancel led four flights between Nadi and Suva and Auckland on Monday. The cyclone is al so disrupting flights between Australia and Fiji tomorrow, with several reschedu led for Tuesday, cancelled, or to be advised. Earlier, Cyclone Evan killed at le ast four people in Samoa as it ripped through houses, knocked down power poles a nd trees, and caused flooding. Thousands of people are homeless and staying in e

mergency shelters set up in schools, hospitals and sports facilities. Meanwhile, the death toll from a typhoon that devastated mountainous and coastal towns in the southern Philippines with ferocious winds and flash floods this mo nth has risen to more than 1,000 and could still rise sharply. Civil defence chi ef Benito Ramos today said Typhoon Bopha killed 1,020 people, mostly on the sout hern island of Mindanao, where floods and landslides caused major damage on Dece mber 4. Ramos said a total of 844 people remain missing, about half of them fish ermen who ventured out to sea before Bopha hit, adding he feared many of the mis sing were dead. The official said the storm has also caused massive damage to in frastructure and agriculture, destroying large tracts of coconut and banana tree s. // Japan Elections: Conservative opposition sweeps to power Dec 16 Japanese media say the conservative opposition has swept to power in today's par liamentary elections, returning former prime minister Shinzo Abe to power. Repor ts said the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which once dominated Japanese politi cs, will again hold power after three years of center-left rule. According to th e reports, the LDP and its coalition partner New Komeito may secure enough seats to hold a two-thirds majority in the powerful lower house, enough to override t he upper house. Although incumbent Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has apparently led his party to a crushing defeat, he is projected to hold onto his seat in par liament. Analysts say the LDP win will bring in a government promising a tough s tance with China over territorial disputes in the Pacific, and government backin g for a pro-nuclear energy policy, despite Japan's 2011 nuclear catastrophe. // Referendum result in Egypt to be declared after 2nd stage of voting Dec 16 In Egypt, the counting of votes for the first round of referendum over the new c onstitution has come to a close after the huge turnout yesterday. The Higher Ele ctions Commission has said that the result of the referendum would be announced after the second stage of the voting next Saturday. Although the official result s will be declared later, the Islamist parties led by Muslim Brotherhood have cl aimed that voters have given a mandate for the new constitution in this round. T hey said that the huge turnout of voters reflects their faith in the constitutio n and democracy. The umbrella opposition has expressed concerns that the unoffic ial claims of a victory by the Islamists may influence the outcome of referendum in the second round which is scheduled on December 22. The opposition led by Na tional Salvation Front has alleged that the ruling Muslim Brotherhood tried to r ig the outcome of the referendum. It cited a number of poll violations like unse aled ballot papers, coercion by Muslim Brotherhood members into voting for the c harter and the absence of judges to monitor the referendum in support of its cla im. // Haryana: 7 killed, 9 injured in fog-related mishap Dec 16 In Haryana, seven persons were killed and nine injured when the vehicle they wer e travelling in collided with a mini-truck on Hisar-Chandigarh National Highway this morning. Police said, the accident occurred near Dhakal village in Narwana sub-division o f Jind district. The dead included four men, two women and a child. They said that the area where the accident occurred was blanketed by fog and visibility was low. //

Mata Vaishno Devi yatra crosses one crore pilgrims Dec 16 In Jammu and Kashmir, the pilgrimage to the world famous cave shrine of Shri Mat a Vaishno Devi yesterday broke the previous record of 1 crore 1 lakh. This year s yatra figure so far has recorded an increase of 3000 over that of last year whic h is unprecedented. With a fortnight still crore 4 lakh. This is hno Deviji has crossed // Kashmir Valley remains left this year, the pilgrimage is expected to be around 1 the second year in a row that the pilgrimage to Mata Vais the 10 million figure. cut-off for 2nd day

Dec 15 The Kashmir Valley remained cut-off from rest of the country for the second cons ecutive day today. But improvement in weather has raised hopes of early restoration of traffic on t he Srinagar-Jammu national highway. According to Aamir Ali, coordinator of Natural Disaster Management Cell, the 294 -km arterial highway, the only all weather road link between the Valley and rest of the country, was closed on Friday following heavy snowfall on either side of the Pir Panjal range in south Kashmir. A spokesman of the MeT office said, Leh was the coldest place in the Kashmir div ision where mercury dipped to minus 10 deg C on Friday night while nearby Kargil district recorded a low of minus 6.2 deg C. // Lucknow bench of Allahabad HC asks CJ for a vigilance inquiry Dec 15 In Uttar Pradesh, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has asked the Ch ief Justice to institute a vigilance inquiry, if deemed proper, against Addition al Session Judge of Lucknow, Manoj Kumar Shukla, as to under what circumstances he had sent one Muharram Ali to jail in place of the real accused Raju Yadav. The court has asked the Chief Justice to fix the responsibility of the ADJ wheth er he was negligent and also take suitable actions. AIR Lucknow correspondent reports that the bench of Justice Abdul Mateen and Jus tice Devendra K Upadhyayay passed the orders against Additional Sessions Judge. It is pertinent to mention that one Muharram Ali was implicated in three cases a nd sent to jail, though he was not wanted in any case. On a habeas corpus petiti on, following the directives of the High Court, he was set free but only after s pending around 80 days in jail. // WHO clears India's vaccine industry to export vaccines across the world Dec 15 India's 19,000 crore rupee vaccine industry has been cleared by the World Health Organization (WHO) to export vaccines across the world. After a four-day audit, a 16-member multi-nation team headed by WHO officials informed Union Health Min ister Ghulam Nabi Azad that they are satisfied with the vaccine clearance proced ure adopted by the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) or the Drug Controller Ge neral's Office (DCGO).

Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr G N Singh said India has become the f irst country to pass the stringent indicators put in place by the WHO, in one sh ot. WHO has also assured India of their help in capacity building on drug regulation in the country. He said, the team has expressed total confidence in the quality of Indian vaccines being exported to all corners of the world. Major buyers and international procurement agencies like the Gates Foundation, C linton Foundation, UNICEF and GAVI, purchase vaccines in bulk meant for use acro ss the world only when such a WHO-led audit clears it. // Gurbani regains All India Ladies Golf title Dec 16 Rising golfer Gurbani Singh has regained the Usha All India Ladies Matchplay tit le after a gap of three years. Sixteen-year old Gurbani outplayed Gursimar Badwa l in the final of the National Championships in Kolkata today. The contest was t o be played over 36 holes, but ended in just 27. Gurbani emerged a victor by 10 & 9. By winning the title, Gurbani underlined her status as the top amateur in the co untry. Three years back, she had become the youngest to win the All India Ladies title for the first time. The Trophy for the Championships, which was being held for the 96th time, was gi ven away by Indian women's boxing legend and Olympic bronze-medallist M C Mary K om. // World Series Boxing: Afghanistan wins 2 bronze medals Dec 16 Afghanistan has won two bronze medals in the World Series Boxing tournament in K azakhstan yesterday. Afghan boxer Rezaye reached quarter finals of the tournamen t defeating his Chinese and Kazakh rivals in the qualifying rounds before he was defeated by another Kazakh boxer. In women s category Afghan female boxer Sadaf R ahimi received an honorary bronze medal for her performance in the tournament. // India bags Kabaddi World Cup in both Men's, Women's category Dec 16 India has won the 3rd World Cup Kabaddi Tournament for the third consecutive tim e in Men s category and second consective time in Women s category. Indian men thrah sed its arch rival Pakistan with a decisive margin of 59-22 points whereas, Indi an eves out scored Malaysia by 72-12. Both the finals were played at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Ludhiana. Indian men won the prize money of Two crore rupees and women won 51 lakh rupees. However, the prize money for women has been increased to One crore rupees from the next year. AIR Jalandhar Correspondent reports that with these wins by India, the curtains were drawn on this 15-daya kabaddi extravaganza played all over Punjab. Indian men registered a hat trick by dashing Pakistan to the ground in every asp ect. At the end of the first half, Indian men squad was leading with a point dif ference of 34-9. India s raider and stoppers showed an extraordinary sport in coll

ecting points for their country. Whereas, some of the Pakistan palyers tried the ir best but could not break the Chakravyuh of Indians and lost. Women s final was virtually a one sided show as Malaysian team was no match agains t Indian eves. In men categories, second and third prizes went to Pakistan and C anada and in women category, it went to Malaysia and Denmark, respectively. The cultural show having bollywood stars mesmerized the audience. // ASEAN-India car rally reaches Guwahati Dec 16 The participants of the ASEAN-India car rally have entered Guwahati this evening . Thousands of people gathered in Guwahati and other places of Assam to have a g limpse of the rally. A warm reception was given to all the participants in Guwah ati. A total of 125 participants have taken part in 33 cars which was begun on 2 6th of November in Indonesia. The rally covered eight thousand kilometers of eig ht countries over 22 days. The rally was jointly organized by the Ministry of Ex ternal Affairs, Government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry. Th e flag-down ceremony will be held tomorrow at Sarusajai stadium in presence of d ignitaries of the ASEAN countries. // Rawat urges engineers to increase availability of water Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat today urged the engineering fraternity to find innovative ways and means to increase availability of water and promote its conservation. Addressing the valedictory session of 27th National Engineering C ongress in New Delhi, Mr. Rawat said as the availability of fresh water is fixed and demands are increasing with growth of population, larger production of wate r can only be sustained if available water resources are harnessed in a sustaina ble manner. He said lack of coordination between its competing use and absence o f regulation has aggravated the problem of ground water. The minister also calle d for concerted efforts for de-siltation and restoration of lakes, reservoirs an d tanks through treatment of their catchment areas // Iran warns Turkey over deploying Patriot Missiles Iran has warned Turkey over the deployment of Patriot Missiles along the borders with Syria saying such a move can aggravate tensions among the neighboring coun tries. Iran s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi said the Patriot deployment was aimed at protecting Israel from Iranian missile attacks and to prevent Russian military from defending Syria. His remarks on Iran s State TV comes a day after Pentagon announced it will send t wo batteries of Patriot missiles and 400 troops to Turkey as part of a larger NA TO force to protect Turkish territory from potential Syrian missile attacks. In addition, Germany and the Netherlands are also sending two batteries of the P atriot missile system with 400 German and 360 Dutch troops to man them. It raise s the number of Patriot batteries being sent for Turkey to six. // China's longest high-speed railway to open Dec 26 The world's longest high-speed rail route, running from the Chinese capital Beij ing to Guangzhou in the south, will open on December 26. The China Daily newspap er said travelling at an average speed of 300 kilometres per hour, the line will

slash journey times linking Beijing in the north with the country's southern ec onomic hub from 22 hours to eight hours. The December opening means the 2,298-kilometre route, with 35 stops including ma jor cities, will be operational for China's Lunar New Year holiday period, in wh ich hundreds of millions of people travel across the country in the world's larg est annual migration. The paper said the specific date was chosen to commemorate the birth of Chinese leader Mao Zedong. China's high-speed rail network is booming. Established in 2007, it has quickly become the largest in the world, with 8,358 kilometres of track at the end of 20 10 and expected to almost double to 16,000 kilometres by 2020. // Women self help groups to get loans at concessional rate Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has said that the government is all set to provide loans to women self help groups at concessional rate of se ven per cent from April 1 next year. Addressing the national conference on community-based approaches for inclusive g rowth in Hyderabad, the Minister said, for another 150 districts, selected on pa rameters such as naxal-infested areas, tribal areas and other categories, intere st rate will be further slashed to four per cent. Mr. Ramesh said, the Self Help Groups could take the opportunity to act as franc hise for 'Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme' to ensure that the cash is reaching th e targeted beneficiaries. He said it is not a scheme where money is deposited in the accounts. It involves cash transfer and SHG women can utilise their network as banking correspondents for effective delivery of cash at the door steps. Currently, rates at which the loan is provided to Self Help Groups vary from state to state. // I&B Minister bats for stronger lobbying law in India Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has said, it is time t o enact a law on disclosing lobbying by politicians and corporates after allegat ions that Walmart had bribed its way into India. In an interview with a TV channel, Mr. Tewari said, time has come that we need t o put in place a statutory architecture which makes these declarations essential . He said, even legislators, members of Parliament and people in the executive, wh o have in the past or continue to represent a particular company or a group of c ompanies in their professional capacity, that interest must be declared even bef ore they participate in a debate. // Govt will help Indians seeking amnesty announced by UAE: Ravi Union Minister for Non Resident India Affairs Vayalar Ravi has said, government would take all steps to help the Indians, who wish to avail the amnesty announce d by the United Arab Emirates. Talking to newspersons in Kochi, Kerala on Saturday, Mr. Ravi said, he would hol d talks with Civil Aviation Minister on Monday in this regard. The Minister said, he had already written to Chief Ministers of various states t o provide all help to those wanting to return to India.

The United Arab Emirates had announced a two-month amnesty asking illegal reside nts to either leave the country without penalty or regularise their visas betwee n December 4 to February 3. Mr. Ravi said, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had responded favourably. Mr. Ravi said, he had read media reports about the human trafficking from airports in Kerala. Government was viewing the issue very seriously. The minister, who inaugurated the organising committee office of the 11th Pravas i Bharatiya Divas, said over 1500 delegates were expected to participate in the three-day event from January 7-9 next year. While Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the event on January 8, President Pranab Mukherjee will deliver the valedictory address on January 9. Ma uritius President, Rajkeshwur Purryag will be the chief guest at the event. // New land acquisition bill will benefit farmers says Agriculture Minister Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said that the norms of the proposed new la nd acquisition bill will benefit farmers and land owners in the country. He said in Mumbai that in the near future there will be rapid urbanization in th e country and more land will be needed to provide basic civic amenities to the p eople and the new land acquisition bill will prove to be beneficial to farmers a nd land owners. He said after the new land acquisition bill is passed in parliament, people affe cted due to land acquisition in the future will be eligible for compensation und er the new norms. The new land acquisition bill has already been approved by the Union Cabinet and will now go to Parliament for approval. // No misgivings with India, says Suu Kyi Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had a 40 minute meeting with the External affairs Minister Salman Kurshid in Yongon on Saturday. Later she said she has no misgivings with India. She said she would want India t o look at the situation in Myanmar, which is in transition from one form of gove rnance to another in a very practical way. She also spoke about the need to address basic social issues of education and he althcare. // Centre extends ban on ULFA, NDFB The union home ministry has extended the ban on United Liberation Front of Asom, ULFA and National Democratic Front of Bodoland, NDFB under the Unlawful Prevent ion Act untill further orders. In a gazette notification, the home ministry announced that all the factions of the ULFA and the NDFB are banned under Section three of the Unlawful Prevention Act. An Assam government press release says, the order will stay until further notifi cation. //