Nirmal Om newsline

Montek: Fiscal deficit is burgeoning plan exp accordingly Union Budgets of total outlays is Rs 1665297 Cr of which non plan budget is order Rs 1109975 Cr and plan budget scores to Rs 555322Cr and the fiscal deficit amounts to the order of plan is rs 542499 Cr. Thus Planning Commission rightly  said it would have been little irresponsible for it to pester government for allocating more funds for Plan expenditure when fiscal deficit is burgeoning.   "I think it will be little irresponsible for the Planning Commission to start pestering on a Plan in a period when the fiscal deficit has to be brought under control," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told reporters in a post-Budget interaction in New Delhi on Friday. He further said that if the government was allowed to run with a high fiscal deficit, it would have been a crisis. "... and frankly if we all...

Sangma to be sworn in as 23rd CM of Meghalaya Sangma to be sworn in as 23rd CM of Meghalaya on 5th March Mukul Sangma, who steered the Congress to retain power in Meghalaya, met Governor R S Mooshahary on Friday to formally stake claim to form the govt and will be sworn as the 23rd CM of the state on 5th March. "Tentative day that has been indicated is on Tuesday," 47-year-old Sangma, who is set to become chief minister for a second straight term, said after meeting Mooshahary in Shillong on Friday. Though Congress fell two seats short of an absolute majority winning 29, Sangma has been given support by eight Independents and 2 NCP MLAs and is comfortably placed to form the government with the strength of the part...

·          Tripura Election Watch (TEW) has analysed affidavits of all 60 newly elected MLAs of Tripura 2013 Assembly Elections. Out of the 60 newly elected MLAs, 49 are from CPI(M), 10 are from INC and 1 is from CPI. Financial: ·          Crorepati MLAs : Out of these 60 MLAs, 8 (or 13%) are crorepatis . In 2008, there were 5% crorepati MLAs (3 out of 60 MLAs in 2008). ·          Average Assets: The Average Asset per MLA in Tripura Assembly Elections 2013 is Rs. 53.61 lakhs . In 2008 Tripura Assembly Elections for the 60 MLAs analysed the average asset per MLA was Rs. 29.98 Lakhs . ·          Party-wise Average Assets : Among major parties, the average asset per MLA for CPI(M) is Rs. 27.59 lakhs and for INC is Rs. 1.83 crores . In 2008 the average asset per MLA for CPI(M) was Rs. 14.86 Lakhs and for INC it was Rs...

Myanmar: UN aid reaches people in conflict-affected Kachin area A UNHCR-supported camp for internally displaced people near Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state. Photo: UNHCR/A. Kirchhof 1 March 2013 – United Nations and international agencies for the first time in more than a year delivered badly-needed aid to hundreds of people in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state following a cease-fire and a de-escalation of violence, while warning of poor living conditions in communal shelters. “A 10-vehicle convoy brought relief items for 400 displaced families, equivalent to some 2,000 individuals,” a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency ( UNHCR ), Adrian Edwards, told journalists today in Geneva. The team, including UNCHR, World Food Programme ( WFP ), UN Children’s Agency ( UNICEF ) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance ( OCHA ), travelled between 17 and 21 February to Hpakant area, west of the Kachin state capi...

Dr.K.Chiranjeevi proposal to extend Visa-on-arrivals to 16 countries March 2, 2013 Union Tourism Minister Dr.K.Chiranjeevi has met Union Home Minister Sri Sushil Kumar Shinde today and submitted a proposal to extend Visa-on-arrivals to 16 countries.           The Ministry of Tourism strongly felt that the “Tourist Visa – on – Arrival (TVOA)” facility for those countries, which are potential source markets to India and where there have been no security related issues in the past or likely to be in future can be taken up under this scheme. Accordingly, the Ministry of Home Affairs accepted the proposal of the Ministry of Tourism and introduced “Tourist Visa – on – Arrival (TVOA)”   scheme for the tourists from five countries viz. Singapore, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Japan & Finland on a pilot basis for a period of one year w.e.f. 01 st January 2010.      ...

Vijitha Bandara clinches 8 th NCR Cup trophy 1 st March, New Delhi: Gannon Dunkerley 8 th NCR Cup has seen a Sri Lankan winner second time in a row as Vijitha Bandara ran away with the trophy on the final day at the Delhi Golf Club. N Thangaraja who has turned professional now, won the trophy last year. Bandara shot four-over 76 for the total of 293 in windy conditions to lift the trophy. India’s Prince Kajotia who has joined Indian Navy recently, returned with the career best finish after shooting three-over 295 as a runner up. India born Thai Samarth Dwivedi ended the day with 3 rd position as he scored 300 while coming from behind another Indian Lakhan Singh WAS tied for fourth place along with Amit Kumar at 303. Bandara started the day with a birdie on 1 st and was one-over after front nine. After taking a lot of pressure on himself, 24-year-old Bandara dropped two shots and made a double bogey on 10 th . Number one on Sri Lanka amateur circuit, Bandara got confused...

President Obama’s solution for resolving the sequester March 2, 2013 Friday, March 1, 2013   Starting today, our government will need to grapple with a set of arbitrary budget cuts that will hurt the economy, make life harder for middle-class families, and threaten our national security. That’s what Washington means when it talks about the sequester. Not everyone will feel the consequences of these cuts immediately, but if sequestration is allowed to continue, it will make life more difficult for Americans all across the country. That’s a fact that no one disputes. And the reason we are here is because some members of Congress have made a choice to prioritize these cuts over closing tax loopholes for the wealthy. But there is still time for them to make a different choice and undo this manufactured crisis. Today, President Obama discussed this situation and answered questions from the press. “This is not a win fo...

Spielberg to head up Cannes festival jury March 1, 2013 Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg head this year’s Cannes Film Festival jury, the organisers announced Thursday. Spielberg, 66, will head up the Cannes jury that runs between May 15 and May 26 this year. He has presented several films at the festival. His work cuts across a broad spectrum “between entertainment films and serious reflections on history, racism and the human condition,” Cannes festival organisers said in a statement. Thierry Fremaux, of the festival’s organising committee, said of Spielberg that “his films, but also his wide-ranging commitment make him, year after year, the equal of the greatest Hollywoods filmmakers.”We are proud to welcome him.” Media agencies

Obama : Passage of the Violence Against Women Act March 1, 2013 President on the House Passage of the Violence Against Women Act I was pleased to see the House of Representatives come together and vote to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act.  Over more than two decades, this law has saved countless lives and transformed the way we treat victims of abuse. Today’s vote will go even further by continuing to reduce domestic violence, improving how we treat victims of rape, and extending protections to Native American women and members of the LGBT community.  The bill also reauthorizes the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, providing critical support for both international and domestic victims of trafficking and helping ensure traffickers are brought to justice.  I want to thank leaders from both parties – especially Leader Pelosi, Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Senator Leahy – for everything they’ve done to ...

M6.9 - 85km SE of Ozernovskiy, Russia 2013-02-28 14:05:51 UTC General 20 km 20 mi 50.934°N, 157.340°E Depth: 52.5km (32.6mi) Event Time 2013-02-28 14:05:51 UTC 2013-03-01 00:05:51 UTC+10:00 at epicenter 2013-02-28 19:35:51 UTC+05:30 system time Location 50.934°N 157.339°E depth=52.5km (32.6mi) Nearby Cities 85km (53mi) SE of Ozernovskiy, Russia 233km (145mi) SSW of Vilyuchinsk, Russia 251km (156mi) SSW of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia 260km (162mi) SSW of Yelizovo, Russia 2205km (1370mi) NE of Tokyo, Japan

Aam Aadmi Party’s Response to Union Budget 2013 Date: 28.3.2013 Aam Aadmi of the country has reasons to feel disappointed, if not cheated, with the Union Budget 2013-14 presented by the ruling coalition that came to power in his name. All over the country, cutting across gender, regions, sectors, classes and the urban/rural divide, the aam aadami faces a crisis of economic opportunity and livelihood. She has suffered from a long period of high inflation, especially in food items. She has long suffered from growth that did not deliver more jobs, a decline in growth now threatens to cut down on existing livelihood opportunities. All the basic amenities that a citizen can expect from democratic governance – public provisions for heath, education and social security – are beyond the reach of the Aam Aadami. Rampant corruption from top to the bottom eats into whatever little could trickle down to them. The Union Budget presented by the Finance Minister is a clever attempt to mi...

Thailand signs peace agreement with rebel February 28, 2013 Thailand signs peace agreement with rebel group,Yingluck Shinwatra visiting Malaysia by sagarmedia on February 28, 2013 Thailand  authority  signed a peace agreement with an insurgent group as a big step toward resolving the decades-old insurgency and violence in the border region.National Security Council (NSC) secretary general Paradorn Pattanatabutr revealed to Thai media on Thursday while he was in Malaysia that the Thai authority on Thursday has signed an agreement called “General consensus dialogue process for peace” with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) Coordinate, one of the leading insurgent group in the restive southern Thailand with the help by Malaysian authority who facilitated the meeting with the insurgents. The agreement is considered the first step as to show recognition from each side and show good wills for future agreement to resolve the pr...

MYTHS AND REALITIES OF UNION BUDGET 2013-14 Myth: The Budget has rapidly increased spending on Aam Aadmi: Reality:  The Actual Expenditure (See RE 2012-13) in key sectors and Ministries is estimated to be either below or only marginally above actual expenditure of last year (See Actual 2011-12) Sl no.   Actual: 2011-12 (Rs in crores) BE: 2012-13 (Rs in crores) RE: 2012-13 (Rs in crores) 1 Plan Size 508,596 651,000 556,000 2 Capital Expenditure 158,580 204,816 167,753   Sectoral Allocation       3 Social Sector Spending 135,480 178,906 158,339 4 Agriculture and Allied Activities 16194 17692 15971 5 Rural Development 47471 50729 43704 ...