Nov/22/2011

Rupee falls to record low

The Indian rupee depreciated by 35 paise to a lifetime low of Rs. 52.50 per US dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange on Tuesday on sustained demand for the American currency from banks and importers.

Dollar gains against other currencies overseas also put pressure on the Indian rupee.

The domestic currency had tumbled by 81 paise to close at a nearly 33-month low of Rs. 52.15/16 per dollar in the previous session on sustained dollar demand from banks and importers in the backdrop of an eight-session losing streak in the stock market and a deepening euro-debt crisis.

RWH systems soon in all temples in TN

Rain water harvesting systems would be incorporated in all temples in Tamil Nadu so that they would be recharged in the ongoing monsoon, according to a top official of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.

Al the encroachments on channels which traditionally supply water to the tanks would also be removed, HR & CE Commissioner J Chandrakumar said.

Speaking to reporters after inspecting the Teppakulam Mariamman tank here on Monday evening, he said orders had been given to block new channels. There are plans to lay a separate pipeline to bring Vaigai river water to Teppakulam tank in the temple in collaboration with Madurai Corporation, he said.

Mr. Chandrakumar inspected various HR & CE projects underway at Meenakshi temple, Tirupparankundram and Alagarkoil temples after which he visited Virudhunagar and Sivaganga districts and held a review meeting with officials to assess progress of various projects.

He was satisfied with progress of work in Madurai and said 60 per cent of the eco-park work at Tirupparankundram is over and the remaining work would be completed in three months.

The Tourism Department funded park Rs. 3.87 crore project involves establishing a musical fountain, landscaping, an open-air theatre, waiting halls and car parking.

Efforts are on to remove encroachments from a channel in Nilaiyur, which supplies water to Subramania Swamy Temple Teppam at Tirupparankundram after which it would receive copious water supply, he said.

U.P. House votes for split

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Monday moved a resolution in the Vidhan Sabha for splitting the State into Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Avadh Pradesh and Pashchim Pradesh and it was passed by voice vote amid pandemonium. The House was adjourned sine die within 20 minutes after the winter session began.

The resolution went through as members of the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party stormed the well. The adjournment stunned the two parties, as they had served a no-confidence notice against the government and demanded a discussion. Nor was there any discussion on the resolution, though it was supported by the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

Before the resolution was moved, a vote-on-account for the first four months of 2012-13 was passed by voice vote. The winter session was to have lasted for two days, and the decision of the Business Advisory Committee was read out by Speaker Sukhdev Rajbhar. However, after the vote-on-account and the resolution were passed, he adjourned the House sine die at 12.35 p.m.

Barring five minutes after the House assembled, the entire question hour was lost. When the House re-assembled at 12.20 p.m. for zero hour, the rest of the proceedings were concluded in 15 minutes, before the curtains were down on the session, possibly the last of the 15th Vidhan Sabha.

U.P. to send resolution to Centre soon

The Central government was being asked to reorganise Uttar Pradesh into Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Avadh Pradesh and Pashchim Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati said while reading out the resolution in the Vidhan Sabha on the issue. She defended her move saying her government had fulfilled its responsibility in people's interest.

After the resolution was passed, Parliamentary Affairs and Finance Minister Lalji Verma urged the Speaker that the passage of the vote-on-account be taken as a vote of confidence in the government. This, too, was passed by a voice vote

Ms. Mayawati later told journalists that the resolution would soon be sent to the Centre. She rejected the Opposition charge that the decision was an election stunt.

She parried a question whether the division would form her Bahujan Samajwadi Party's agenda for the Assembly elections due next year. She said the reorganisation was necessary for development.

The House got off to a stormy start when it assembled for question hour, with Samajwadi Party members demanding the dismissal of the government and BJP members trooping into the well.

While the BJP said it had no confidence in the government, the Samajwadi Party said the government was in a minority.

As bedlam prevailed, the Speaker adjourned the House till 12.20 p.m.

The commotion continued when the session resumed after question hour, before the House was adjourned.

Talking to journalists, Leader of the Opposition Shivpal Singh Yadav accused the government of violating the Constitution as the no-confidence motion was not put up for discussion.

“In a minority”

He said the government was in a minority and the people did not want any division of the State.

He later led a Samajwadi Party delegation to Governor B.L. Joshi and demanded that a special session of the Assembly be conve

After Prime Ministers’ meeting, China plays down differences with India

"There is no power in the world that can prevent the development of bilateral relations," China says following Friday’s meeting in Bali

Following Friday’s meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Bali, China has called for closer economic cooperation and better ties with India, playing down recent differences over the South China Sea and the border dispute that have strained the relationship.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday appeared to suggest differences with India had been driven by third parties, echoing recent editorials in the State media that have blamed the United States for sowing discord between China its neighbours and attempting to "contain" China.

"There is no power in the world that can prevent the development of bilateral relations between the two countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin said at a briefing on Monday.

Friday’s meeting between Dr. Singh and Mr. Wen, he said, had seen both countries agree to a “consensus” to push forward ties, particularly in the economic domain.

They had also agreed to create “create favourable conditions for the free flow of commodities, technology, finance and services,” as well as encourage enterprises to invest more in projects across the border.

Dr. Singh told Mr. Wen India was “ready to work with China to implement various consensuses,” and viewed the strategic cooperative partnership as “beneficial to the benefit of both countries,” Mr. Liu said.

Recent differences between both countries also found mention in Friday’s meeting, including the South China Sea issue and the long-running boundary dispute, over which both countries will hold the fifteenth round of negotiations in New Delhi next week.

South China Sea issue

Mr. Wen had reiterated, both during last week’s summit and in talks with Dr. Singh, that China was opposed to the involvement of countries “not directly involved” in the dispute.

India, however, had stressed that the cooperation between ONGC Videsh and Vietnam, which is among at least ten countries that, along with China, have competing claims, was purely commercial.

Asked how discussions on ONGC's on-going cooperation with Vietnam transpired during Friday's meeting between the leaders, Mr. Liu said: “We don’t hope to see outside forces involved in the South China Sea dispute, and do not want to see foreign companies engage in activities that will undermine China’s sovereignty and rights and interests.”

China "not isolated"

At last week's East Asia Summit, China had also voiced its opposition to discussing the dispute over the South China Sea, over which it claims “indisputable sovereignty”, saying that unlike its neighbours, it favoured negotiating on a bilateral basis with the countries involved.

China was eventually forced to soften its stand, and agree to some discussions with the 17 other leaders present. According to the State-run Xinhua news agency, Mr. Wen had said he “did not want to discuss this issue at the summit.” "However, leaders of some countries mentioned China on the issue,” he reportedly said. “It’s impolite not to make a return for what one receives. So, I am willing to reiterate China’s stance.”

Asked if China had found itself isolated over its position, Mr. Liu said: “I do not agree with the term 'isolation' that you used. In general, the meeting centred on the theme of cooperation, development and solidarity, and has yielded practical results.”

"On the South China Sea, Premier Wen’s statement is clear,” he said. “That is, the East Asia Summit is not an appropriate venue for discussion of South China Sea issue.”

"China’s position on this,” he added, “is clear and consistent. That is, the dispute should be solved between countries directly concerned through friendly consultation and negotiation. Outside intervention, or bringing the issue to a multilateral forum, will only complicate the issue and will not help resolve the issue.”

Hat-trick for Anisa Sayyed

Anisa Sayyed retained her mighty hold on the 25m Sports Pistol for women, winning her third National title in a row at the 55th national championships on Monday.

The burly Pune shooter, representing Haryana, entered the final with a 10-point lead over her closest rival and drove home the psychological advantage. The champion was far out in front with 781.1 points (581 qualifying, 201.1 final) and is eyeing one quota place remaining at the 2012 Asian shooting championships in Qatar, the last chance for Indian Olympic hopefuls.

India's quota place winner in the event for London 2012, Maharashtra's Rahi Sarnobat, fired her way to a superb 203.7 final round, but the deficit in qualifying forced her to be satisfied with second place in 774.7 points total (571, 203.7).

Annuraj Singh came into her own in the 20-shot final, spread over four rounds of five shots each, firing a high of 52.5 in the third, but the gap between her and the leader was beyond reach and secured third spot in 768.4 (561, 201.4).

Two shooters were disqualified for weapon-handling in the qualifying stage.

Technique and precision

Anisa talked about working on technique and precision in the days ahead.

“I have been working on technical changes in consultation with coach Jaspal Rana (noted India shooter) and trying out those in the pressure of a final was one of our targets. This performance shows more work needs to be done,” said the Pune woman, the CWG 2010 gold winner in sports pistol.

Coach Rana was at hand for a quick word with his ward after the final results were announced. Anisa said: “Rahi has gained one quota place, one more is at stake and my focus is geared towards getting there.”

The Commonwealth Games 2010 champion is aware of the steep mountain to climb, since Rahi's World Cup high this year at Fort Benning, USA, came following a hard-earned 789.7 for the bronze (582, 207.7). She moved to World No.11 and remains the nation's best, despite the silver behind Anisa.