1. Price : Rs.2 Page : 8RNI No. : MAHENG/2011/38665
INDIA'S LOCAL NEWSPAPER
Vol.:3 Issue:09 Monday, 2ndSept to 8th Sept 2013
Page .......2
PM inaugrates National Media Centre,
says credibility is media’s currency
Page .......3
Mumbai gang-rape: Press Council panel
begins work
Page .......8
Sonia unveils Delhi food scheme
Inside
INDIA'S LOCAL NEWSPAPER
JODHPUR: Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, accused of
sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at his ashram here, was behind
bars on Monday after he was remanded in 14-day judicial custody by
a local court. Wearing a white dhoti and kurta and a red cap, the
controversial 72-year-oldAsaram was produced amid tight security
before the district and sessions court where the magistrate Manoj
Kumar ordered to send him to judicial custody till September 15.
The counsel forAsaram, meanwhile, moved an application for bail
and hearing on the plea is expected on Tuesday.Asaram was brought
to the court in a police bus escorted by a police vehicle. He was
remanded in one-day police custody on Sunday after being grilled
for four hours. The religious preacher remained in the court for about
15 minutes before he was taken to central jail of Jodhpur near
Mohanpura bridge in a convoy of police vehicles after the court order.
He was lodged in Barrack No. 1. During the hearing, defence counsel
pleaded that proper medical attention and care be given forAsaram
in the Jail. To this, the prosecution assured the court that all required
assistance will be given. Police said it did not seek extension of
police remand as their course of initial investigation and questioning
was over. "Our investigation was complete so we did not seek for
Visit u at www.indialocal9.blogspot.in Email-indialocal9@gmail.com
ASARAMSENT
TOJODHPUR
CENTRALJAIL
TOMOVEBAILPLEAONTUESDAY
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extension of the police custody. The accused has cooperated with
us," DCPAjay Lamba told reporters after the hearing. "Our case is
very strong and we have vital evidences against the accused. We are
moving in the right direction. We will file chargesheet in the case
soon?, he added. After the hearing, some people who had gathered
outside the court shouted slogans welcoming its order.Asaram was
arrestedamidhighdramaontheinterveningnightofSaturday-Sunday
in Indore and was brought here yesterday for interrogation. Asked
about reports thatAsaram was suffering from a neurological disorder,
the DCP said, "It has been proved to be a lie. His son can say what he
wants to say.We can't comment on anybody's statement." "Ateam of
doctors said he is perfectly OK. He is mentally and physically fit,"
Lamba said, adding the accused is also taking food whenever served.
Asaram had cleared a potency test conducted on him on Sunday at
the SN Medical college here. He was also taken to his ManaiAshram,
about 30km from Jodhpur, where the girl was allegedly sexually
assaulted. Police had conducted a physical verification and tried to
recreate the scene of crime. Asaram's arrest followed an FIR filed
by the girl alleging she was sexually assaulted by him at his ashram.
He has denied the charges.

2. PAGE 2INDIALOCALMonday, 2ndSept to 8th Sept 2013
Editorial
Following is the text of the Prime Minister, Dr.
Manmohan Singh’s statement in the Lok Sabha, on
the current economic situation in the country:
“The movement of the exchange rate of the
IndianRupeerecentlyhasbeenamatterofconcern.
TheRupeehasdepreciatedsharplyagainstthedollar
since the last week of May. There are
concerns, and justifiably so, of the
impact this would have on our
economy.
What triggered the sharp
and sudden depreciation was
the markets’ reaction to
certain unexpected external
developments. On May 22,
2013,theUSFederalReserve
Bank indicated that it would
soon ‘taper’ its quantitative
easing as the US economy
was recovering. This led to a
reversal of capital flows to
emerging economies which are
now sharply pulling down not just
theRupee,butalsotheBrazilianReal,
the Turkish Lira, the Indonesian
Rupiah, the South African Rand and
many other currencies.
WhileglobalfactorssuchastensionsoverSyria
and the prospect of U.S. Federal Reserve tapering
itspolicyofquantitativeeasinghavecausedgeneral
weaknessesinemergingmarketcurrencies,therupee
has been especially hit because of our large current
account deficit and some other domestic factors.
Weintendtoacttoreducethecurrentaccountdeficit
and bring about an improvement in
the functioning of our economy. In
2010-11andtheyearspriortoit,our
current account deficit was more
modest and financing it was not
difficult, even in the crisis year of
2008-09.Sincethen,therehasbeen
a deterioration, mainly on account
ofhugeimportsofgold,highercosts
ofcrudeoilimportsandrecently,of
coal. On the export side, weak
demand in our major markets has
kept our exports from growing.
Exports have been further hit by a
collapse in iron ore exports. Taken
together, these factors have made
our current account deficit unsustainably large.
Clearly we need to reduce our appetite for gold,
economise in the use of petroleum products and
take steps to increase our exports.
We have taken measures to reduce the current
account deficit. The Finance Minister has indicated
thatitwillbebelow$70billionthisyear,andwewill
take all
p o s s i b l e
steps to
ensure that
outcome.
These are
a l r e a d y
s h o w i n g
results with
a declining
trade deficit
in both June
and July.
T h e
Government
is confident
that we will
Falling rupee :challenges and
opportunities for India
The unprecedented slide of rupee poses challenges as well
asopportunitiesforIndia,theInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF)
has said.
"The current situation presents a challenge, obviously, to the
governmentofIndia,butalsoanopportunityforthegovernment
tocontinueinitspolicyeffortsonavarietyoffronts,"IMFspokes-
person Gerry Rice said.
"I wouldn't want to speculate on any support or program
needs," he said when asked on the speculation about India com-
ing to the IMF, possibly selling its gold reserves to the IMF to
prop up its currency.
"But maybe just stepping back on the situation in India, the
combinationoflargefiscalandcurrentaccountdeficits,highand
persistentinflation,sizableunhedgedcorporateforeignborrow-
ingandrelianceonportfolioinflowsarelongstandingvulnerabili-
ties that have now been elevated as global liquidity conditions
tighten, and this clearly has affected market confidence," Rice
said in response to a question.
The US India Business Council (USIBC) President Ron
Somers emphasised on taking steps to restore investors' confi-
dence. "Bold leadership that continues to open India's economy
andwhichadvancesreformswillhelpstaunchtherupees'slide,"
Somersinformed.
Lifting FDI caps in Insurance should be the highest priority,
whileresistingprotectionistmeasures-suchasforcedmanufac-
turingandbackslidingonIntellectualPropertyprotection-iscru-
cial.
Demonstrating such leadership will go a long way towards
restoringinvestorsentiment,"Somerssaid.
Refraining to comment on the Food Security Bill, Somers
saidratherthandiscussingthemeritsortiming,itisnowessential
to welcome organised retail into the country such that MNCs
may help achieve the Bill's efficient implementation and very
purpose-tofacilitateinclusivegrowth. OntheLandAcquisition
Bill, he said, certainly, the existing law dating back to 1894 re-
quiresmodernisation.
"However, my hope is that the outcome does not discourage
investment in the essential sector of infrastructure. Both invest-
ment and infrastructure are the need of the hour," Somers said.
MeanwhilewritingforTheNewYorkTimes,SimonJohnson,
former IMF chief economist, said the rupee is able to depreciate
withouttoomuchdrama,andthisbyitselfshould,overtime,help
to reduce imports and increase exports. Weakening confidence
in the Indian economy has been compounded by some policy
confusion in recent months, which has further encouraged do-
mestic residents to move funds out of the country, Johnson said.
The former IMF economist said there is political pressure to
keep the economy growing ahead of elections in early 2014.
"So we should not expect fiscal policy to tighten. And if the
FederalReservedoesindeedtightenmonetarypolicyintheUnited
States currently referred to as "tapering" its purchase of bonds
thatwilltendtopushupinterestratesandislikelytoattractmore
capital out of emerging markets," he said.
Johnson said when a country like India faces crisis, for
domestic reasons but also perhaps because of what is hap-
pening in the United States, capital tends to flow out of that
country and toward safe havens (like the United States).
According to The Wall Street Journal, the rupee's steep
decline is fuelling inflation and posing a threat to public fi-
nances as the cost of oil, fertiliser and other critical imports
in rupee terms rises. "Everything depends on whether the
rupee stays at these levels or it bounces back," D K Joshi,
chief economist at ratings and research firm Crisil, said.If it
stays at these levels, it will lead to a lot of trouble from
many directions.
PM’sstatementonthecurrent
economicsituationinthecountry
beabletolowerourcurrentaccount
deficit to $70 billion. Our medium
term objective is to reduce the
current account deficit to 2.5% of
ourGDP.Ourshorttermobjective
is to finance the current account
deficit in an orderly
fashion. We will
make every
effort to
maintain a macro economic
framework friendly to foreign
capital inflows to enable orderly
financing of the current account
deficit.
Coming back to the effects
of the Rupee depreciation, we
must realise that part of this
depreciation was merely a needed
adjustment. Inflation in India has
been much higher than in the
advanced countries. Therefore, it is
naturalthattherehastobeacorrection
intheexchangeratetoaccountforthis
difference.Tosomeextent,depreciation
can be good for the economy as this
will help to increase our export
competitiveness and discourage imports.
There are many sectors which are regaining
competitivenessinexportmarketsasaresultofthefallinthe
exchangerate.Overthenextfewmonths,Iexpecttheeffects
of this to be felt more strongly, both in exports and in the
financial position of exporting sectors. This in itself would
correct the current account deficit to some extent.
However, foreign exchange
markets have a notorious history of
overshooting. Unfortunately this is
whatishappeningnotonlyinrelation
totheRupeebutalsoothercurrencies.
The RBI and Government have
taken a number of steps to stabilize
therupee.Somemeasureshavegiven
rise to doubts in some quarters that
capital controls are on the horizon. I
would like to assure the House and
theworldatlarge,thattheGovernment
is not contemplating any such
measures. The last two decades have
seen India grow as an open economy
andwehavebenefittedfromit.There
is no question of reversing these policies just because there
is some turbulence in capital and currency markets. The
suddendeclineintheexchangerateiscertainlyashock,but
we will address this through other measures, not through
capitalcontrolsorbyreversingtheprocessofreforms.The
Finance Minister has clarified this matter at length, and I
take this
opportunity to
reaffirm our
position.
Ultimately, the
valueoftherupeeis
determined by the
fundamentalsofour
economy.Whilewe
havetakenanumber
of actions to
strengthen those
fundamentals, we
intend to do more.
Growth has
slowed down in
recent quarters.
THE RUPEE HAS
D E P R E C I A T E D
SHARPLY AGAINST
THE DOLLAR SINCE
THE LAST WEEK OF
MAY.THEREARECON-
CERNS, AND JUSTIFI-
ABLY SO, OF THE IM-
PACT THIS WOULD
HAVE ON OUR
ECONOMY.
The easy
reforms of the past have
been done. We have the
more difficult reforms to do
such as reduction of subsidies,
insurance and pension sector
reforms, eliminating bureaucratic
redtapeandimplementingGoods
and Services Tax. These are not
low hanging fruit and they
need active political
consensus.
RAHUL
TULI
What triggered the sharp and
sudden depreciation was the
markets’ reaction to certain
unexpectedexternaldevelopments.
On May 22, 2013, the US Federal
Reserve Bank indicated that it
would soon ‘taper’ its quantitative
easing as the US economy was
recovering. This led to a reversal of
capital flows to emerging
economies which are now sharply
pulling down not just the Rupee,
but also the Brazilian Real, the
Turkish Lira, the Indonesian
Rupiah,theSouthAfricanRandand
many other currencies.
There are many
sectors which are
regaining
competitiveness in
export markets as a
result of the fall in the
exchange rate. Over the
next few months, I
expect the effects of this
to be felt more strongly,
both in exports and in
the financial position of
exporting sectors. This
in itself would correct
the current account
deficit to some extent.

3. PAGE 3INDIALOCALMonday, 2ndSept to 8th Sept 2013
BMC collects Rs.8L as fine
for littering in July-August
Mumbai (AU NEWS NETWORK) :The BMC collected almost Rs.8
lakh fine for littering from Mumbaikars living in Matunga-Sion and
Borivali in July and August. Most were caught throwing away
cigarette butts and spitting.
State for lowering senior citizen age to 60
Mumbai (AU NEWS NETWORK) :The state government has
proposed to bring the age of senior citizens down from 65years to 60
years. This will mean 30 lakh more people under the senior citizen
category, taking the total number of beneficiaries to 1.30 crore.
Memorial to late Shiv Sena
chief gets civic body's nod
Mumbai (AU NEWS NETWORK) : The Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) has given its nod for a memorial to late Shiv Sena
Chief Bal Thackeray at Shivaji Park, at the same spot where a makeshift
memorial stands now.
BMC set to demolish illegal
alterations to Grand Hyatt
Mumbai (AU NEWS NETWORK) : More than a month after notices
were served for illegal alterations made to five star hotel Grand Hyatt,
Santacruz, the civic body is set to demolish the changes today.
Govt. will distribute 35 kg food grains to cardholders who were
eligible under the scheme. Wheat will be distributed at Rs.2 per kg,
rice at Rs.3 per kg and jowar at Re.1/- per kg
Anil Deshmukh, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies
Om Puri says Nandita
wanted to gift maid a phone
Mumbai (AU NEWS NET-
WORK) : Actor Om Puri told the
sessions court on Wednesday
that the alteration between him
and his estranged wife Nandita
started after she insisted on gift-
ing an expensive mobile phone to
the maid's daughter. Puri alleged
that he had refused to do so, fol-
lowing which an argument en-
sured on August 21. Nandita
wanted to gift the girl as she had
tied a rakhi on her son's wrist.
A sessions court on Wednes-
day adjourned the anticipatory
bail hearing of Puri to Friday.The
actor was granted interim relief
until then. Puri filed an applica-
tion in the court on Tuesday, af-
ter Nandita filed an assault case
against him with the Versova po-
lice. Nandita also filed an inter-
vention application in the court.
Both Puri and Nandita were
present in court on Wednesday.
The Versova police booked
Puri under Sections 324 (volun-
tarily causing hurt by dangerous
weapons or means) 506 (criminal
intimidation) and 504 (intentional
insult to provoke breach of the
peace) of the Indian Penal Code.
No evidence that former Thane
Commissioner was corrupt :ACB
(AU NEWS NETWORK) :The Anti Corruption Bureau today
informed the Bombay High Court it had conducted a probe into
allegations of corruption against Maharashtra bureaucrat R.A.
Rajeev and prima facie did not find any evidence against him.
A division bench of Justice P.V. Hardas was hearing a petition
filed by Pratap Sarnaik, MLA from Ovala constituency of Thane
district, alleging there was large scale corruption in renovation
of office premises of the civic body's town development de-
partment during the tenure of Rajeev, then the TMC commis-
sioner.
Shakti Mills gang rape
3 accused have criminal past
VijayJadhav
Past Crime Theft | A resident of Dhobi Ghat, he
allegedly trespassed into railway property behind
Shakti Mills and stole pieces of heavy metal besides
nuts and bolts meant for repairing tracks. The
Agripada police arrested him in 2012 and booked
him. He was released on bail after his brother gave
surety. Officers said the trial in the case is yet to
begin.
Section 380 of Indian Penal Code
Max penalty | Seven years
Qasim Shaikh
Past Crime Four Theft and Robbery Cases | In
one case in 2011, Qasim allegedly nicked a
businessman's mobile. In another, he allegedly stole
metal pieces from railway property after trying two
railway employees with belts. The cases are un-
der the jurisdiction of Agripada and Byculla po-
lice. Officers said the trails in these are yet to be-
gin.
Sections 380 and 397 of Indian Penal Code
Max Penalty Seven years
JuvenileAccused
Past Crime Theft | He allegedly sneaked into
the railway yard in Mahalaxmi and stole iron pieces
worth Rs.2,000. TheAgripada police arrested him
after a scrap dealer mentioned his name and
booked him in 2011. He got bail after a month in
prison. The case is pending in a juvenile court.
Section 380 of Indian Penal Code.
Max penalty Seven years
(AU NEWS NETWORK) :
A woman journalist going to Isolated places will be given protec-
tion from the local police station.
RR Patil, home minister
Home Minister Patil is not competent enough to handle the Home
portfolio efficiently … women (should) come forward to present a
garland of bangles to him.
RajThackeray, MNS chief
Women should not be allowed to venture out alone … women
should not dress in short clothes and make up. Women are like gold,
if left exposed they will be looted.
AbuAsimAzmi,Samajwadi Party leader.
Navi Mumbai property prices
Nodes
Palm Beach Road
Vashi
Nerul
CBD
Koparkhairane
Airoli
Ghansoli
Kharghar
Panvel
Ulwe
2011
12500-13000
12500
7500-8000
6000-7000
5500-6500
6000-7000
5000-6000
4000-5000
3500-4250
2500-3000
2012
14000-16000
15000
8500-9500
7000-8500
7000-7500
7000-8500
6000-6750
5500-6500
4500-5250
3000-4000
2013
15000-20000
18000
10000-12000
9000-10000
8500-11000
7000-8600
6500-8000
6500-8000
5000-6500
3800-5500
(Rates Rs. per square feet)
No. of Hospials in
Navi Mumbai
-Private hospitals registered with NMMC | 180
-Private hospitals not registered with NMMC | 4
-Civic hospitals | 5
-Allopathic dispensaries | 158
-Ayurvedic dispensaries | 351
-Homeopathic dispensaries | 144
-Paediatricians | 75
-Gynaecologists | 83
-NMMC dispensaries | 20
-NMMC mobile dispensaries | 2
-Private dispensaries | 797
-Private nursing homes | 76
Civic Hospitals
Residents and corporators are crying foul over the delays in the
completion, and escalations in the costs, of three 150 bed civic hospi-
tals, NMMC additional city engineer Surendra Patil said the civic
work in Nerul and Belapur hospitals will be completed by the year's
end whileAiroli hospital will be finished by January 2014.
HCseekslistofdouble
allotteesofflatsfrom
CM'squota
Mumbai: The Bombay High
Court asked the Maharashtra
government on Thursday to fur-
nish a list of those who have been
allotted houses from Chief
Minister's discretionary quota for
more than once or to other mem-
bers of their family. A bench
headed by Justice P V Hardas
asked the State and Urban Devel-
opment Department to provide
such a list by September 20 and
adjourned a PIL until then, filed
by former journalist Ketan
Tirodkar, challenging multiple or
double allotment of flats.
MNS announces three
candidates for 2014
Lok Sabha polls
Mumbai:Jumpinginthe2014
poll wagon early, the Maharashtra
Navirman Sena (MNS) on Thurs-
day announced three candidates
for next year’s General Elections.
The MNS, led by Raj
Thackeray, at a meeting today
finalised the three names. As per
the party, Bala Nandgaonkar will
contest the South Mumbai seat
whileAditya Shirodkar will stand
from Mumbai South Central.
Shivajirao Nalawade, on the other
hand, will fight from Northeast
Mumbai.

4. PAGE 4INDIALOCALMonday, 2ndSept to 8th Sept 2013
There's a shot in
Satyagraha - a rainbow
glimmering for a second
between jets of water
pounding protestors -
SATYAGRAHA
which typifies this film.Vi-
brantly layered,
Satyagraha weaves to-
gether urban legends of
corruption, encompassing
corporate lobbyists to
murdered engineers. It
features slices of histories,
Chauri Chaura, Mandal,
Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal
Andolan. It takes a real is-
sue - corruption - to reel
life, movingly fusing fact
with fiction, leading to a
security guard accompa-
nying a politico at its
screening to sing out
aloud, "Aam aadmi kitna
aam, Raghupati Raghav
Raja Ram..."
Retired teacher Dwarka
Anand (Bachchan) is an
idealistic man. His engi-
neer son Akhilesh's buddy
Manav (Devgn) is an am-
bitious capitalist. Manav
cherishes his friend - who
suddenly dies. Minister
Balram Singh (Bajpai) an-
nounces compensation
which Akhilesh's wife
Sumitra (Rao) cannot get
despite daily applications
before government babus.
Incensed, Dwarka slaps
an arrogant official and
gets imprisoned. Manav
starts a campaign to free
him, using social media,
roping in wannabe-
bahubali Arjun Singh
(Rampal) and journalist
Yasmin (Kapoor). As
hopeful students, hungry
labourers and angry
middle class citizens join,
politicians panic. Will
their moves derail the
movement?
Devgn is
Satyagraha's strong body
while Amitabh - gaunt in
grief, moving in fortitude
- is its soul. And Bajpai is
its glittering, malevolent
cloak, delivering a satiny
performance hair-raising
in its perfection.
Bachchan voices the
movie's philosophy -
"Janta sarkaar ki malik hai.
Malik nirdesh deta hai.
Maang nahin karta." But
what is the best way to
give such nirdesh? Sym-
bolic protest? Violent re-
volt? Or a longer, harder
route?
Satyagraha grapples
with this dilemma. More
philosophical than fiery, it
adorns reality with gloss
and loss. Dwarka touch-
ing the earth where his
son fell brings tears while
Prasoon Joshi's wonderful
lyrics - "Uthkar karne hain
kuch kaam, Raghupati
Raghav Raja Ram" - bring
hope.
Satyagraha deserves
an extra half-star for cap-
turing corruption from
root to branch - a govern-
ment babu complains,
"Yahan toh table ka bhi
bhaada dena padta hai".
Showing true Satyagraha
has no short-cuts, it also
shows solutions glimmer-
ing ahead, as ephemeral,
yet powerful as a rainbow
cleansing the dust.
Kalki publicly apologizes
to designerduo onTwitter!
The verbal spat be-
tween Kalki Koechlin
and designer duo Ridhhi
and Sidhhi has been go-
ing out of control, as re-
ported in the media.
Kalki was appar-
ently upset with Riddhi
and Siddhi Mapxencar
after they allegedly
called her mentally dis-
turbed. As per sources,
the designers were up-
set with Kalki because
she was the
showstopper for them
at the Glamour Style
Week 2013 and Kalki
was allegedly more in-
terested in giving media
bytes than walking the
ramp. Post the debacle,
Kalki has taken to mi-
cro blogging site Twit-
ter and posted a series
of tweets stating her
opinion. Kalki's Twitter
h a n d l e
(@kalkikanmani) reads,
"i did not walk away
from the
r a m p . o r g a n i s e r s
whisked me off and
took me to a press area
where i was doing in-
terviews praising the
designers!"
"dear riddhi siddhi, i
PUBLICLY apologise
for for putting your
name up, if you had
nothing to do with these
lies, peace be with you."
"DP designers, thank
you for helping me get
the facts out, for talk-
ing to be personally and
for being so gracious
about the whole matter'.
"unfortunately no
body has come forward
to PERSONALLY
apologise to me for in-
sulting me with lies". It
remains to be seen if
Riddhi and Siddhi will
accept the apology.
(AU NEWS NETWORK)
Katrina Kaif finally talks about bikini pictures...
Katrina Kaif's bikini pictures holidaying
with alleged boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor cre-
ated quite a stir a while back.
Katrina was perturbed by the media's in-
tervention and openly wrote a letter to the
media stating her displeasure and request-
ing privacy. In an interview with Rajeev
Masand, Kats opened up about the Spain
episode and reportedly said in the interview
that she understood that a celebrity's life
was under public gaze however, she re-
quested on having some private space.
She further added that she's been sup-
portive towards the media when it comes
to red carpet events, press conferences
and interviews, but she has her own
opinion, whether the paparazzi agrees or
not.
Ranbir Kapoor has be-
come one of the most
sought-after actors in
Bollywood after delivering
back to back hits like
Rockstar, Barfi! and Yeh
Jawaani Hai Deewani.
Ranbir
Kapoor's
'Besharam'
sold for Rs
80 crores!
The actor's next release
'Besharam' has already
grabbed eyeballs and has
become one of the most
anticipated movies of this
year. Reportedly, the film
has been sold for a whop-
ping 80 crore. Lehren, a
video news magazine,
states that 80 crore is just
the beginning profit for
'Besharam' with the theatri-
cal rights sold out. Now,
satellite rights are yet to be
known. Ranbir Kapoor's
starrer 'Besharam' is set to
release on 2nd Oct, 2013.

5. PAGE 5INDIALOCALMonday, 2ndSept to 8th Sept 2013
TOP
BUSINESS
NEWS
In matters of eco-
nomicsandfinance,his-
tory repeats itself, be-
cause we don't learn
from history.
D Subbarao
PC offers 10 pt reforms agenda
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday said the Indian
economy needed deeper reforms but political differences would have
to be overcome for them to work and bring about a recovery from the
low growth rate and high current account deficit.
Let us not fool ourselves. There is simply no agreement now on
what we will do, Chidambaram said in the Lok Sabha as he proposed a
10 point programme and insisted that Parliament must point to the
direction in which the country's economy should move.
PC's prescription
1. Revive manufacturing
2. Promote exports
3. Boost
4. Contain fiscal deficit and current account deficit
5. Increase capital expenditure by PSUs
6. Recapitalization of public sector banks
7. Resolve issues on coal supply
8. Deal with iron ore import ban
9. Environmental clearances
10. Remove land acquisition related hurdles.
Housing prices begin to fall
The rising interest rates, liquidity tightening in the banking sys-
tem and slowing down of economy have badly affected the real estate
sector.As the demand for residential real estate has softened, its prices
across the markets in India have started showing a declining trend.
According to National Housing Bank residential index, the prices
have shown a declining trend in 22 out of 26 cities in the April-June
2013 quarter compared to the January-March quarter.
City Fall in Property Price (%)
Hyderabad 4.6
Kolkata 4.1
Patna 3.3
Chennai 2.3
Delhi 1.5
Bengaluru 0.9
Pune 0.9
Mumbai 0.5
Trademark requests rising 12% annually
The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks under
the commerce ministry has received over 1.94 lakh applications from
industries for registering their trademarks last fiscal and the number is
growing at 12% annually.
There are leaders whom I
have respected all through my
life. But something has hap-
pened that has diffused this lead-
ership.
RatanTata
Nissan Motors' willingness
to question conventional think-
ing and to drive progress is what
sets us apart.
CarlosGhosn,CEO,Nissan,
while announcing driverless cars
Strike hits production at
JLR car plants in UK
London : Production at Tata
Motors owned Jaquar Land Rover
(JLR) plants in Britain was hit on
Wednesday due to industrial ac-
tion by supply chain workers over
a pay dispute. Workers from the
union Unite had voted in favour
of 30 minute walkouts at the start
of each shift.
India lacks leadership, direction : RatanTata
On Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Leadership
New Delhi : India has lost
the confidence of the world and
the country did not have a lead-
ership that is leading from the
front, former chairman of the
Tata Group Ratan Tata has said.
The comments were made
by Tata in an interview with
CNN-IBN's Rajdeep Sardesai
on the channel's Leadertalk
programme.
A leader must assert himself.
He has held country's esteem
high but at recent times we have
lost that esteem. We have lost
the confidence of the world. We
have been slow to recognize
that in the government.Tata said
when asked about Prime Min-
ister Manmohan Singh's silence
on investors losing confidence.
Tata, who is also the chief
adviser to the board of Air Asia
India, said, "The government
has issued policy which the
vested interests, quite often in
private sector, have changed,
delayed or manipulated that
policy. If the policies imple-
mented as those are written, it
would good for the country.
There are leaders who I have
respected all through my life for
their public life. But something
has happened that has diffused
this leadership. We don't have
leadership that we have been
talking about, that is leading
from the front, he said.
We should have one view …
the team has been pulling in dif-
ferent directions; allies are pull-
ing in different directions, he
said on pressure groups within
the government.
Talking about Singh's lead-
ership, Tata said. The issue is
has the leadership team stood
together and worked together
to lead the country forward.
Perhaps, the team has not lead-
ing in one direction; it was pull-
ing in different direction. States
are pulling in one direction, al-
lies are pulling in different di-
rection, many heads of the port-
folios in the government are
pulling in different directions.
We are not any longer looking
ourselves as one India.
On Gujarat chief minister
Narendra Modi's leadership, he
said, I think in Gujarat he has
proven his leadership and he has
moved Gujarat into a position
of prominence. I am not in a
position to gaze what he would
do in a country.
Aleader must assert himself.We have been slow to rec-
ognizethatinthegovernment.
On Policy Paralysis
The government has issued policy which the vested in-
terests, quite often in private ector, have changed, delayed
ormanipulated.
On Narendra Modi
IthinkinGujarathehasprovenhisleadershipandhehas
moved Gujarat into a position of prominence. I am not in a
position to gaze what he would do in a country.
AverageAnnual
Growth of the
Manufacturing
Sector During the
11th FiveYear Plan
As against an average an-
nual growth of 9.8% targeted in
the 11th Five Year Plan, the
manufacturing Sector has aver-
aged a growth of 7.7% per an-
num during the Plan Period. Giv-
ing this information in written
reply to a question in the Lok
Sabha, Shri Praful Patel, Minis-
ter of Heavy Industries & Public
Enterprises, said that the decline
in manufacturing growth has
been on account of moderation
in demand, both domestic and
external, hardening of interest
rates, slowdown in consumption
expenditure, especially in inter-
est-rate sensitive commodities,
subdued business confidence
and global economic uncer-
tainty.
Regarding targets set for the
12thFiveYearPlan,ShriPatelin-
formed the House that manufac-
turing growth rate of 10 per cent
is one of the core set of
monitorable indicators in 12th
FiveYear Plan.
Denotificationof6SEZsprojectsThe government has ap-
proved denotification of six spe-
cial economic zones, SEZs,
projects, including one textile
sector and five IT SEZs. The de-
cision was taken at a meeting of
Board ofApproval, BoA, headed
by Commerce Secretary SR Rao
on Friday.
Economic decelera-
tion on expected lines:
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission on
Friday said the deceleration in
economic growth in the first quar-
ter was on expected lines and it
may improve in the second half of
the fiscal. "Well, we were aware
that the growth rate has been slow-
ing down. We never felt that in
the first quarter there was much
sign of an improvement...And it's
in the second half of the year that
we might see an improvement,"
Planning Commission Deputy
Chairman Montek Singh
Ahluwalia said reacting to the first
quarter GDP figures for 2013-14.
India's economic growth in
the April-June quarter of the cur-
rent fiscal dipped to 4.4 per cent,
the slowest pace in at least four
years, dragged down by a con-
traction in manufacturing and
mining. The economy grew at 5.4
per cent over the same period of
2012-13. He said the government
in the last two three months has
initiated lots to measures to revive
investment, however, their impact
will take some time to be felt. "So
therefore we were aware that the
growth rate in the current year is
going to be poor than was pre-
dicted when the budget was for-
mulated some time in January...But
I didn't expect to see any strong
performance in the first quarter,"
he added. Pointing towards weak
performance by the manufactur-
ing sector, Ahluwalia said high
levels of investment is required to
give the economy an stimulus and
the government has set up the
Cabinet Committee on Investment
to thrust it.
An official release said, the
BoA also considered four new
proposals for establishing SEZ
with a total investment of over
6,451 crore rupees. It said, out of
the four, only two proposals were
cleared, while the other two were
deferred for the next meeting
pending certain clarifications.
RBI allows premature encashment of 8% Savings Taxable Bonds
The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, has permitted premature
encashment of 8 per cent Savings (Taxable) Bonds for individual
investors who are 60 years and above. In a press release in Mumbai,
RBI said the facility would be available after a minimum lock-in period
of three years from the date of issue. In case of joint holders, any one
of the holders should fulfill the conditions of eligibility. It however
clarified that partial encashment of amount invested on a single appli-
cation will not be permitted.

6. PAGE 6INDIALOCALMonday, 2ndSept to 8th Sept 2013
India's most wanted terrorist, IM founderYasin Bhatkal held
For 9 attacks, 548 deaths in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jaipur,Ahmedabad
Was based in Nepal as fake Unani Doctor
Name :Ahmed Siddibapa @Yasin Bhatkal
Aliases : Mohammad Zarrar @Ahmed @ Imran @Asif @ Shahrukh
Address : R/o. 938, S.M. Zarrar Manzil, Jail Road, Maqdum Colony, PS Bhatkal, Karnataka.
Parentage : S/o. Mohd. Zarrar
DateofBirth:15.01.1983
Price on his head : In Jan. 2013, Maharashtra ATS announced a reward Rs.10 lakh for info on him
Indian Mujahideen terrorist forced out of a Gulf country, arrested on Indo-Nepal border
Howwashenabbed?
IB, RAW and other agencies picked up Bhatkal from Pokhara, Nepal, IB was tracking his calls for
almost six months. Special teams were camping in Bihar's Darbhanga for some following IB RAW leads.
Nabbed while crossing border with another IM Terrorist, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi. Earlier,
Bhatkal had slipped through police dragnet 6 times in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and
Karnataka including escaping from Batla House.
The Bonus Catch
Asadullah Akhtar, aka Haddi Bhatkal's right hand man. Born in Azamgarh in 1987. Pharma graduate
from Integral University, Lucknow. Nicknamed Haddi as father was orthopaedic doctor.
Investigation Agency (NIA) and
Bihar police in the early hours of
Thursday.
His arrest culminated a nerve
wracking Intelligence Bureau led
operation that had gathered
steam over the past week.
Bhatkal, named for the coastal
Karnataka town where a decade
to become the IM's executioner
in chief, playing a key role in
blasts across India that killed
scores.
Sources said that in his
interrogation by the NIA at
Motihari, Bhatkal admitted his
part in explosions in Pune in 2010
and 2012 and the Mumbai triple
blasts of 2011 but denied any
hand in the Bodh Gaya attacks
this year.
New Delhi / Patna (AU NEWS
NETWORK) : Indian Mujahideen
(IM) lynchpinYasin Bhatkal, one
of the country's most wanted
men, was trapped in a house in
Pokhara in Nepal by local cops
and whisked away into the
waiting arms of the National
WHO IS YASIN BHATKAL
Ahmed Zarar Siddhibappa (alias Shahrukh/Imran/Asif/Ahmed)
was born in Bhatkal town near Mangalore in Karnataka on January 15,
1983. Studied till Class 10 but could not pass matriculation. Later took
admissioninanIslamicinstitutiontobecomeanAalim(Arabicgraduate)
Not related to Riyaz and Iqbal Bhatkal (two other top IM leaders) who
are said to be in Pak. Yasin and the Bhatkal brother were neighbours.
Can speak Hindi, Kannada, Urdu and local language Nawayati Was
the only IM top shot still operating from India. Was on NIA's most
wanted list.
Route to Terrorism
Moved to Pune in late teens Stayed with close friend and Unani
practitioner turned Islamist Riyaz Shahbandri (Riyaz Bhatkal)
Shahbandri teamed up with Abdul Subhan Qureshi and Sadiq
Israr Sheikh Yasin became overall in charge of group By 2004, the
group wanted its own identity, separate from Pakistan's terror groups.
Port town Bhatkal became centre of IM ops Riyaz's brother Iqbal
Shahbandri (Iqbal Bhatkal) and Bhatkal based cleric Shabbir Gangoli
held ideological classes. Emails claiming responsibility for attacks
sent from IM ID Yasin stayed below security radar; limited mobile
phone use, no email, known to move location every few weeks, spoke
to chosen few. Single minded about recruiting newbies to terror
network.
SlipperyCustomer
Went to Dubai in 2005 for a job and stayed a year. Left his father's
place after a personal dispute with him. Has not been in touch with
his family since 2006 In 2007, participated in a training session of IM
cadre at Karnataka Came to Mumbai the next year In 2009, went to
Kolkata and was arrested. Let off after sloppy probe Seen with an IM
member in Chennai in 2010 In 2011, he traveled to Delhi, Bihar, Nepal
and Mumbai before the Mumbai triple blasts. Went underground
after this till his arrest. Intelligent, monitored changes in police tactics,
stayed one step ahead.
Hisfamily
-Mother Rehana and father Zarar Siddibapa stay in Makhdoom
colony in Bhatkal Village. -Younger sister and brother,Abdus Samad,
26, stay with them. -While on the run in Nov. 2011, he married 21 year
old Zaheda Mohammed Irshad in Okhla on the outskirts of Delhi
TerrorResume
Yasin Bhatkal is an accused or linked to the following blast cases
Oct.29,2005|Paharganj,SarojiNagar,GopalNagarinDelhi|Killed
62
March 7, 2006 | Sankat Mochan temple, Kashi Vishwanath temple
inVaranasi(unexploded)|Killed28
July 11, 2006 | Serial blasts on Mumbai's local trains | Killed : 187
Nov. 24, 2006 | Faizabad, Lucknow andVaranasi courts
May 25, 2007 | Gorakhpur market
Aug.25,2007| LumbiniParkandGokulChatinHyderabad|Killed:42
May 23, 2008 | Jaipur | Killed 80
July 24, 2008 | Bangalore | Killed 2
July 25, 2008 | Ahmedabad serial explosions | Killed 56
July 26, 2008 | Surat (bombs defused)
Sept. 13, 2008 | Delhi serial blasts | Killed 30
Feb. 13, 2010 | Pune German Bakery bomb blasts | Killed 17
April 17, 2010 | 3 blasts at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy stadium
July13,2011| OperaHouse,ZaveriBazarandDadarinMumbai|Killed
27
Feb. 21, 2013 : Twin blasts in Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad | Killed 17
Role in Blasts
-In most blasts, he is believed to be the bomb planter
-In Mumbai's triple blasts, he arranged finance,
explosives, made the bomb and executed the
operation. He did not plant the bomb, say police.
Boost for Prosecution
Yasin is supposed to be the brain of IM in India. His
arrest can help unearth the larger conspiracy, gather
first hand information on the IM-LeT connection, the
channel for receiving money, the recruitment
procedure, and the safe houses of IM
TheIndianMujahideen
-IM started as a loose collaboration of jihadi elements
drawn from the Students Islamic Movement of India
-Initially financed by Bihar ganglordAmir Raza Khan
through organized crime
-IM is the Indian proxy of Pakistan based Lashkar-e-
Taiba, its core group of young men trained in Lashkar
camps
-Unleashed terror in urban centres with well over 40
bomb attacks
-Over 70 of operatives arrested, not top leaders.Yasin
Bhatkal is the first leader in the net
-IM backed by Pak's ISI to project to the world that
Islamic terrorism in India is indigenous
TheIMWeb
Link to SIM | Core group from fringe, radicalized
elements of SIMI It helps with funding, implementing
plans.
Link to Let | IM operatives trained in camps of Pak's
Let, led by Hafiz Saeed
Link to Huji | Huji uses IM operatives in attacks
Link to Tunda | Leads 'revealed' by Tunda
reportedly helped close arrest.
Link toAl-Qaida | In an online message,Al-Qaida
commander Sai'd al-Masri, believed to have died in
a US missile attack, lauded IM's German Bakery
attack saying the "India operation was against a
Jewish locale and close to 20 Jews were killed".
LinktoDawoodIbrahim|Financingthroughhawala.
In 2012, IB sources said IM raised about Rs.45 crore
through arms smuggling, fake currency, hawala,
extortions and diverting political funds.
Kolkata cops arrested Yasin Bhatkal in a theft case
in 2009 and clicked this photograph. He managed
to convince them that he was the son of a North
Kolkata businessman and walked free
IM's top terrorists yet to be arrested
The Bhatkal Brothers | Operational commander
Riyaz Shahbandri and top ideologue Iqbal
Shahbandri fled to safe haven Karachi
The Liaison Man | Abdul Subhan Qureshi
Ganglord financer | Bihar'sAmir Raza Khan
From Azamgarh | Mirza Shadab Beg, Shahnawaz
Alam and Md 'Bada' Sajid;
From UP | Aziz Khan, co-conspirator in Hyd
bombings withAsadullah (arrested with Yasin)
From Maharashtra | Zulfikar Fayyaz 'Kagazi' and
Rahil sheikh . (AU NEWS NETWORK)
(AU NEWS NETWORK) The
controversial godman -Asaram - will
be questioned by Jodhpur police soon
on the allegations of sexually
assaulting a minor girl.
DCP Jodhpur Ajay Pal
Lamba told the media that
Jodhpur police are in
Indore to question him at
his ashram there. He said,
they have received report
thatAsaram has undergone
a check up and he has been
found medically fit for questioning.
Asaram's son Narayan Sai says,
Asaram is not evading the police and
is recuperating at his ashram in Indore
from illness. He said in Indore that
Asaram Sexual assault case
crime against women will not be tolerated- Soni
the talk about running away from
police is rubbish. He said Assaram
will go to Jodhpur once there is
improvement in his condition or if
there is a need.
Flaying the attack
on media persons
allegedly by
supporters ofAsaram
Congress general
secretary Ambika
Soni said the religious
preacher should
surrender himself before law. She said
crime against women will not be
tolerated. Whosoever faces such
allegations will be dealt with
according to the law.
IndiatogiveRs
5,000craidtoBhutan
(AU NEWS NETWORK) India
today announced an aid of 5,000 crore
rupees to Bhutan which includes
economic stimulus package of 500
crore rupees. The decision was
announced after talks between Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and his
Bhutanese counterpart Tshering
Tobgay in New Delhi. Tobgay is on a
six - day visit to India.According to a
joint statement issued after the talks,
the two countries agreed to work
together to further strengthen bilateral
relations. India also reiterated its
commitment to install additional
10,000 Mega Watt of power
generating capacity in Bhutan. The
two sides expressed satisfaction at the
progress in three ongoing projects.

7. PAGE 7INDIALOCALMonday, 2ndSept to 8th Sept 2013
NASA detects
water on moon
surface from
Chandrayaandata
Washington : Based on
valuable data collected by
India's Chandrayaan mis-
sion, a NASA funded lunar
research has yielded evi-
dence of water locked in
mineral grains on the sur-
face of the moon from an
unknown source deep be-
neath the surface. the find-
ings, published in Nature
Geoscience journal, repre-
sent the first detection of
this form of water from lu-
nar orbit.
Germany's Ex. Prez
to face trail over
favours scandal
Berlin : Germany's
former president Christia
Wulff, who resigned amid a
scandal last year, will face
court on charges of accept-
ing a favour while in office,
justice officials said on
Tuesday. Wulff, 54, who
was Germany's youngest
president and served less
than two years in the largely
ceremonialjob,willbecome
the country's first former
head of state to answer
charges in court.
Apple's iPad
charger explodes
Apple's products seem
to be ticking bombs as in
the latest incidence of
charger explosion, 34 year
old Tim Gillooley from
Cheshire, Britain suffered a
huge electric shock when
his daughter's iPad charger
burst in his hand while un-
plugging.
Malala awarded
top dutch peace
prize for children
Pakistani teenager
MalalaYousafzai, a propo-
nent of girls' education who
survived a Taliban assassi-
nationattemptlastyear,will
be presented with the In-
ternational Children's Peace
Prize next month in the
Netherlands.
Iran to name
first female ambas-
sador
Tehran : Iran plans to
appoint a woman ambassa-
dor and a spokeswoman for
the foreign ministry for the
first time in the Islamic
republic's history, Iranian
media reports said Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif "wants to employ
women for two post; as
spokesperson and to lead
an embassy, current minis-
try spokesman Abbas
Araqchi said.
Floods in north-
east China kill at
least 80
More than 80 people
have been killed and tens
of thousands have fled their
homes after the worst
floods to hit northeast
China in more than a de-
cade, state media said on
Tuesday.At least 20 people
died in Jilin province and
239,000 residents were
evacuated after persistent
rain "brought chaos" to 56
counties. Xinhua news
agency reported.
Chinese
general's son on
trial for gang rape
The son of a Chinese
general went on trial
Wednesday over his in-
volvement in an alleged
gang rape, state media said,
in a case that sparked pub-
lic outrage. The family
have reportedly argued the
incident was a case of pros-
titution, rather than rape. It
was not clear how long the
trial would last.
Bomb at-
tacks kill at
least 71 in
Iraq
Baghdad : At least 71
people were killed and 201
wounded in a series of
bombings and other attacks
across Baghdad on
MadonnanamedhighestearningCeleb
The pop diva, whose recent album 'MDNA' was a flop, has
topped Forbes' highest earning celebrities list for 2013.
Madonna $125m
Steven Spielberg $100mn
SimonCowell $95mn
ELJames $95mn
Howard Stern $95mn
James Patterson $91mn
GlennBeck $90mn
Michael Bay $82mn
Jerry Bruckheimer$80mn
Lady Gaga $80mn
Bo hints at love affair between wife, ex-top cop
Chinese prosecutors on Monday demanded
severe punishment for ousted top politician Bo
Xilai as his graft trial came to an end at the Jinan
court.At the end of the five day hear-
ing, the court said the verdict would
come at a later date.
Bo was a rising star in China's
leadership circles when his career
was stopped short last year by a
murder scandal in which his wife, Gu
Kailai, was convicted of poisoning a
British businessman, Neil Heywood, who had
been a family friend. On Monday, Bo's parting
shot came in the form of an allegation that the
police chief of Chongqing city, Wang Lijun, had an
affair with Gu. He cited it as the reason why the
police chief tried to suppress investigation into the
murder,andlaterfledtotheUSCon-
sulate in Chengdu for shelter.
China watches feel the govern-
ment had set limits on what issues
Bo, the former Communist chief of
Chongqing, could speak on in the
court and he focused on defend-
ing his case instead of making po-
litical capital out of the open trial. The court has
been releasing a blow by blow account of the trial.
Wednesday, police and
medical sources said. The
interior Ministry decided the
attacks as "terrorist explo-
sions" but said the number
of people killed was only 20,
with 213 wounded.
Most babies
make Facebook
debut within an
hour of their birth
London : Two third of
newborns make their de-
but on FB within an hour
of their birth, research re-
veals, 62% of parents up-
loaded the photos them-
selves, with other family
members (22%) and
friends (16%) also in-
volved. The most popular
outlets were Facebook
(77%), Instagram (48%)
and Flickr (32%).
Melbourne most liveable city
The Best
1. Melbourne
2. Vienna
3. Vancouver
4. Toronto
5. Calgary
6. Adelaide
7. Sydney
8. Helsinki
9. Perth
10. Auckland
The Worst
1. Damascus
2. Dhaka
3. Port Moresby
4. Lagos
5. Harare
6. Algiers
7. Karachi
8. Tripoli
9. Douala
10. Tehran
Melbourne has once again been named the best
city in the world to live, according to the latest
EconomistIntelligenceUnit(EIU)GlobalLiveabil-
ity Survey. This is the third consecutive year that
the Victorian capital has been at the top of the
influential index, since taking the title from
Vancouver after a run of almost a decade. Before
this, Melbourne had consistently been in the top
three positions of the 140 cities listed, a statement
said. No Indian city has been ranked in this list.
The EIU's Liveabiilty Ranking, part of the World-
wide Cost of Living Survey, assesses living condi-
tions in 140 cities around the world by assigning a
rating across five broad categories of stability,
healthcare, culture and environment, education and
infrastructure. Melbourne scores highly in all of
the EIU's criteria and achieves perfect scores in
the areas of healthcare, education and infrastruc-
ture. This comes just weeks after the Monocle
magazine named Melbourne's quality of life the
second best in the world - rising from fifth place in
2012.
NY police designate
mosques as terror groups
New York : The New
York Police Department
(NYPD) has secretly la-
belled entire mosques as
terrorism organisations.
The designation has
allowed police to use in-
formation to record ser-
mons and spy on imams,
often without specific
evidence of criminal
wrongdoing. Since 9/11
attacks, the NYPD has
opened at least a dozen
"terrorism enterprise in-
vestigations" (TEI) into
mosques. The TEI is a
police tool intended to
help investigate terrorist
cells. Designating an en-
tire mosque as a terrorism
enterprise means that any-
one who attends prayer ser-
vices is a potential subject
of the investigation and fair
game for surveillance. Many
TEIs stretch for years, allow-
ing surveillance to continue
even though the NYPD has
never criminally charged a
mosque or Islamic organi-
zation with operating as a
terrorism enterprise. The
NYPD declined to com-
ment.
Three militants killed in suspected
US drone attack in Pakistan
Officials in Pakistan say at least three militants have
been killed in a suspected US
drone attack. The incident took
place in NorthWaziristan, close
to the Afghan border. The area
is considered as a stronghold
of Taliban. US drone attacks in
Pakistan have led to serious
tensions between the two governments. Pakistan yester-
day said it will formally lodge its protest on drone attacks
in the UN General Assembly session next month.
UNrightschiefslamsSriLankafor
turningincreasinglyauthoritarian
UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay today
slammed the Sri Lankan government for becoming more
authoritarian and rejected charges of bias. Speaking at a
press conference in Colombo at the end of her week long
fact-finding tour, Pillay listed the issues that the UN body
has with Sri Lankan government and asked for immediate
settingupofacredibleNationalinvestigationonwarcrimes.
Pillay said that not only the war time disappearances and
atrocities need to be investigated, more recent charges of
Human Rights abuses must also be addressed.
My underwear is 50 years old
China's fallen communist party leader
Bo Xilai, who is accused of leading a lav-
ish lifestyle, on Monday said he is a simple
man and was wearing a 50 year old under-
wear. The Communist Party leader, while
attempting to counter the charges of pros-
ecution over his family's luxury lifestyle,
said even at the trial he wore the under-
wear given by his mother about fifty years
back. Bo denounced both his wife, Gu
Kailai,ascrazyandhisformerpolicechief,
Wang Lijun, as dishonest.
(Wang) was secretly in love with Gu
Kailai, Bo told court.
33 Taliban insurgents killed inAfghan operations
Thirty three armed Taliban insurgents were killed and
16 others arrested in joint clearance operations byAfghan
and the NATO-led coalition forces in various provinces of
Afghanistan during the past 24 hours.Awritten statement
issued by the Afghan Interior Ministry in Kabul today
said the operations were carried out in Helmand, Ghazni,
Logar, Maidan Wardak, Parwan, Herat and Paktika prov-
inces and 13 insurgents were also wounded in the opera-
tions. Some ammunition was also confiscated from the
insurgents. Afghan police defused a landmine planted by
the insurgents in Laghman province.
PopeFrancisnames
veterandiplomatVatican
SecretaryofState
Pope Francis has named
Archbishop Pietro Parolin, a
veteran diplomat, as his new
Secretary of State. This is seen
as his most significant ap-
pointment since he became
leader of the Roman Catholic
Church. He replaces Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone. The secre-
tary of state is the pope’s clos-
est collaborator, coordinating
the work of the entire Roman
Curia. He oversees the opera-
tion of the Vatican press and
newspaper and coordinates
the preparation and publica-
tion of papal documents.

8. PAGE 8INDIALOCALMonday, 2ndSept to 8th Sept 2013
If you want to make it BIG in
LIFE start reading
OWNED,PRINTED&PUBLISHEDBY:ARINDAM BANERJEE,AshiwiniCo.Op.Hsg.Soc.Flat No. B/008, Gr. Flr., First Lane, Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri (W),
MUMBAI-400058 Printed at Somani Printing Press, Sharma Ind. Estate, Goregaon (E), Mumbai-400072.Editorial Office : Shop No.2, MarbleArch, Shastri Nagar,
Andheri (W), Mumbai-400053. Mob. :9920205579-022-26365459 EDITOR:ARINDAM BANERJEE.AllDisputestobesettelledinAndheriCourtonly.
Sonia Gandhi Launches
‘Ahimsa Messenger’Programme
Smt. Gandhi: It is Necessary to change Mindset of
the Society
Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, UPA launched
the ‘Ahimsa Messenger’ Programme of the Ministry
of Women and Child Development, here today. The
event was presided over by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Min-
ister, Women and Child Development in the presence
ofShriV.KishoreChandraDeoMin-
ister, Panchayati Raj and Tribal Af-
fairs and Shri J. P.Agarwal, Member
of Parliament. Nearly 30,000 girls
from Delhi NCR who have benefit-
ted under the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme
for Empowerment of Adolescent
Girls or SABLA were present at the
event. Speaking at the launch func-
tion, Smt. Gandhi said that the
Ahimsa Messenger is directly re-
lated to the safety and empowerment
of women. They will spread awareness and knowl-
edge about for their legal rights and their economic
and social growth, their safety and dignity in the so-
ciety.TheAhimsa ‘doots’(messengers) will be trained
to empower them, she said. A unique feature of this
programme is that adolescent boys have also been
made an integral part of this programme, Smt. Gandhi
added. She said that first some women from the
Anganwadis will be trained to become Ahimsa mes-
sengers. Speaking about the empowerment of women,
she said that due to 50% reservation for women in the
Panchayats, lakhs of women have been able to make
their voice heard. She also said that where on the one
hand women are touching the pinnacle of suc-
cess in various fields, on the other hand she is
also suffering from being the victim of child mar-
riage, female foeticide, domestic violence, dowry
related deaths and sexual harassment. Smt. Gandhi
said that to deal with various forms of harassment
and violence against women, the Government has
enacted various laws such as the
Criminal Law (Amendment)
Act,2013, Prevention of Sexual
Harassment at Workplace Act,
2013 and Protection of Children
from Sexual OffencesAct, 2012.
She stated that the Food Bill will
provide nutritional security to
the pregnant women, lactating
mothers and small children.
Smt. Gandhi further stated
that women’s empowerment will
not come by only announcing policies or enact-
ing laws. It is also important that the laws and
policies get implemented effectively at the
grassroots level, she noted. It is necessary that
the mindset of the society needs to be changed,
Smt. Gandhi stated. Giving up conservative think-
ing and to accord equal status to women in the
society is a big challenge, she said. She further
added that a societal revolution is necessary to
bring about gender equality in the society, and it
is the responsibility of all women that the first
step for this should be started from our very
homes.
BombayHCrefusestorestorePILon
allotmentofplotstojudges'societies
Mumbai: The Bombay High
Court on Friday refused to restore
a public interest litigation which
alleged irregularities in the allot-
ment of land for two housing so-
cieties of judges in the suburban
Bandra-Kurla Complex. Former
journalist and activist Ketan
Tirodkar had sought restoration
of his PIL challenging allotment
of the plots for the proposed
Siddhant and Nyay Sagar societ-
ies. The Nyay Sagar plot was
meant to rehabilitate the persons
displaced due to public projects,
while the other plot was reserved
for a subordinate court building
and staff quarters. But these res-
ervations were lifted by the gov-
ernment while making the allot-
ment. The division bench of Chief
Justice Mohit Shah and Justice
RV More had dismissed
Tirodkar's PIL in October 2012 as
he failed to appear for the hear-
ing on several occasions. He then
filed an application seeking res-
toration of the PIL, but failed to
appear even this time. "The PIL
was dismissed due to the
petitioner's absence despite
given time on several occasions.
Even today the petitioner is not
present. Hence we do not feel the
need to entertain this applica-
tion," the court said.
A PIL on the same issue by
another activist, Nitin
Deshpande, was also dismissed
in November last year, with the
High Court observing that
Maharashtra government had fol-
lowed the required norms and
procedures in the allotment.
East Vidarbha gets
129 pc rains this year
Nagpur: The six districts in eastern Vidarbha region have
received sufficient rains at an overall average of 129 per cent.
From June 1 to Aug 28, the Nagpur division comprising six
districts recorded 1,521.87 mm rainfall against the average of
1,173.70 mm for a period from June 1 to Sep 30.
Gadchiroli district recorded the highest rainfall of 1,931.73
mm (1,354.78 mm average), followed by Gondia 1,708.60 mm
(1,349.61), Chandrapur 1,571.36 mm (1,142.07), Bhandara
1,561.77 mm (1,280.09), Nagpur 1,269.41 mm (994.95) and
Wardha 1,088.14 mm against the average rains of 920.71, offi-
cial sources said.
The figures are likely to increase as another month is still to
go during the current monsoon season, they added.
ShahRukhKhanaddstoDahi
Handi dhamaal in MumbaiMumbai:Chantsof‘AaleRe
Aala, Govinda Aala’ reverber-
ated across Mumbai on Thurs-
day as the city got together for
the dahi handi festival to cel-
ebrate Janamashtami, the birth
anniversary of Lord Krishna.
Though dahi handi is celebrated
across Maharashtra and many
other parts of the country, it is
in Mumbai and adjoining areas
likeThane that Govinda’s magic
charm is at its peak with huge
crowds expected at various
mandals to take part in the fes-
tivities. The dahi handi festival
is organised on the occasion of
Janmashtami, the birth of Lord
Krishna. About 500 mandals
from Mumbai and Thane ac-
tively celebrate this festival. The
festival is inspired by the mytho-
logical tale of Lord Krishna's
boy-hood trick of stealing but-
ter from a suspended earthen
pot. An earthen pot containing
amixtureofmilk,dryfruits,ghee
is hung around 20-30 feet high in
the air with the help of a rope.
'Govindas' form pyramids and
stand on top of one another at-
tempting to break the pot even as
their efforts are thwarted by water
splashed on them by those gath-
ered around. Over the years ex-
ceptionally after political patron-
age – the festival is being cel-
ebrated on a grand scale with ever
rising cash prizes for the winning
teams. Add to that the zing that is
created by the presence of
Bollywood personalities, dahi
handi has turned out to be a big
money spinner.