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NEWS NOIDA/DELHI 12 THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 FROM PAGE ONE Tackling of tiger poaching has paid off, says official Meena Menon NEW DELHI: The tiger population had increased in Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Additional Director and head of the National Tiger Conservation Authority Rajesh Gopal told journalists on Tuesday. Y.V. Jhala, one of the principal investigators of the report, said this was only a summary and a detailed report would be ready by March-end. Assessment was in progress in the Simlipal and Satpuda tiger reserves. The population had increased at the rate of six per cent per annum in India from 2006 while the world Pak. denies move to ban JuD Suhasini Haidar NEW DELHI: Pakistani Interior Ministry sources have denied any move to ban the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), headed by Hafiz Saeed, and other terror organisations, but said the groups were on the “watch list.” Media reports had said Pakistan had assured the U.S. of a crackdown on the banned organisation as President Barack Obama is visiting India. The reports, which were officially denied by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.S. Jalil Abbas Jilani on Tuesday, said the U.S. had warned Pakistan against any terror activity during Mr. Obama’s visit to India, and Secretary of State John Kerry had received assurances on a crackdown on all terror groups, including the JuD. lost 97 per cent tigers in the last 50 years in 13 countries, Dr. Jhala said. The main reasons for this increase were effective tackling of poaching, and the positive attitude of the wildlife services. “We were in for a huge surprise as we didn’t expect the numbers to be above 1,800 or 1,900,” said Dr. Jhala. While 1,540 tigers were actually photographed, the rest were estimated based on this. However, for long term survival, the movement of tigers was essential and corridors between forests would be the next conservation goal, he added. The priority should now change to landscape scale management, he added. Indian government sources told The Hindu they had not been informed by the Pakistani government of any move to ban the JuD, and expected that the extremist group, which had gone silent after the Peshawar school massacre, would be “back in business.” “The JuD was slightly on the defensive post-Peshawar,” said an official. “The cartoons issue has provided them an opportunity [to resurface].” Saeed has called for a series of protests across Pakistan for Friday that will culminate in the “million march” in Karachi on January 25. The “million march”, JuD organisers say, will bring in a crowd bigger than the JuD’s Lahore rally on December 4 of more than a lakh. India criticised the Lahore rally, calling it “mainstreaming of terror.” In an interview to The Hindu last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had called upon the Pakistan government to “take necessary and corrective measures in accordance with the UNSC’s designated terrorist counter-terrorism policies.” Mr. Ban was referring to Saeed’s public appearances as he and the JuD are on the U.N. global terrorist lists, banned as affiliates of al- Qaeda, as well as designated Foreign Terrorist Entities by the U.S. In the past week, the U.S. State Department “welcomed” reports that Pakistan planned to ban the JuD and 11 other groups, including the Haqqani network. Urbanisation reducing inequality: World Bank report Puja Mehra NEW DELHI: A World Bank report has found that between 2004-05 and 2009-10, 15 per cent of India’s population, or 40 per cent of the poor, moved above the poverty line. In the same period, a sizeable portion of the poor and the vulnerable — over 9 per cent of the total population or about 11 per cent of the poor and vulnerable — moved into the middle class. However, over 9 per cent of the total population, or about 14 per cent of the nonpoor group, slipped back into poverty, revealing the greater risks faced by the vulnerable and even the middle class than in other countries, the report, “Addressing inequality in South Asia,” said. The third finding of the report that challenges the conventional understanding of inequality in India, said Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India, is that urbanisation is reducing inequality, not increasing it. Mr. Ruhl said the policy takeaways from the report for Prime Minister Narendra Modi included “strive for universal health and sanitation; leverage the opportunity for urbanisation; and create jobs for all and build skills not just through technical training but also with servicing the population with primary and secondary education and nutrition.” Registration of Odia migrant workers begins in Telengana Staff Reporter BERHAMPUR: The registration of migrant construction workers working outside Odisha has been initiated by Odisha Building & Other Construction Workers’ Board (OBOCWB) in Telangana. It may be noted Odisha is the only State in the country to have decided to provide welfare benefits to Odia migrant construction labourers working in other States at par with the workers in Odisha. The process of registration of Odia migrant workers through OBOCWB camps in other States started in January. A team of OBOCWB led by its chairman Subash Singh had held camps in Telangana from January 2 to 16 to register Odia migrant labourers working there. They visited Rangareddy, Karimnagar and Nalgonda districts of Telangana and registered 1,531 Odia migrant construction workers. Speaking to newsmen on Tuesday, Mr. Singh said they have decided to hold similar camps in other States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Delhi, Kerala to register Odia migrant construction workers. “From the next financial year, we will start registering these migrant workers when they travel outside the State,” he added. WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK REPORT India to beat China in growth in 2016: IMF “India will grow at 6.3% in 2015, up from 5.8% in 2014” Puja Mehra NEW DELHI: Before the launch of a key World Bank report on inequality in South Asia, Martin Rama, the World Bank’s Chief Economist for South Asia region, spoke exclusively to The Hindu. The report finds that substantial levels of social mobility exist in India. Just as there is the popular notion of the American dream, is there an Indian dream too? We were impressed by the comparison between India and Bangladesh, two countries where we could conduct this survey, and the United States and Vietnam, which we chose as two countries that are seen in some ways as lands of opportunity. In that respect, the levels of social mobility in India are very encouraging. But there are also nuances; while the rates of moving out of poverty across the four countries are strictly comparable, in Not yet decided on joining BJP, says Dinesh Trivedi Suvojit Bagchi KOLKATA: If one goes by what a politician says, then perhaps it is a matter of time before Lok Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi leaves the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to take up “a role to serve the country” assigned by the Prime Minister. “Why me, I think every one should serve the country… it is not opportunism, but one should not lose the opportunity to serve one’s country,” Mr Trivedi said and added that the TMC is “creating roadblocks” for the developmental programmes of the BJP-led government. He also admitted that he is “in touch” with the BJP, which is now the main rival of the TMC in West Bengal. On being asked whether he would leave the TMC to join the BJP, Mr Trivedi said that NEW DELHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected India to grow at 6.5 per cent in 2016, overtaking China whose growth was forecast to slow down to 6.3 per cent. In its World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday, the IMF forecast that India would grow at 6.3 per cent in 2015, up from 5.8 per cent in 2014. China’s 2014 growth rate was 7.4 per cent. In another forecast released on Tuesday, the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (U.N. WESP) report predicted a smart recovery for India in 2015. It pegged its 2015 India growth forecast lower than the IMF’s — at 5.9 per cent. At 6.3 per cent, the UN WESP’s 2016 India growth forecast is, however, closer to that of the IMF. The IMF said global growth would receive a boost from lower oil prices. But this boost was projected to be more than offset by negative factors such as investment weakness, as adjustment to diminished expectations about mediumterm growth continues in many advanced and emerging market economies. It cut its global growth projection for 2015 to 3.5 per terms of moving into the middle class, the United States and Vietnam still do better, and the risk of falling into poverty is also substantially higher in South Asia. That raises the question — what kinds of jobs will increase this resilience. Additionally, the report finds he had “not decided” yet. “Whatever I do, (I) will do with dignity,” said the TMC MP. However, he also described the usual speculation of media as “myopic”. “Let us not be myopic...nothing may happen. I only say that the time has come to unleash the potential of the country under Mr Modi,” said the key founding member of the TMC. Speculation is escalating in Bengal’s media since Mr Trivedi’s comment in north-western Gujarat’s Kutch district, while sharing the stage with Prime Minister’s older brother, Somabhai Modi. Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “good work”, Mr Trivedi said that TMC is “unnecessarily engaging” itself in confrontation with the BJP as Bengal is losing opportunities to grow. Reportedly, the rift between cent and for 2016 to 3.7 per cent, to show a downward revision of 0.3 per cent relative to its October 2014 forecast. The revision reflects a reassessment of prospects in China, Russia, the Euro area and Japan as well as weaker activity in some major oil exporters because of the sharp drop in oil prices, it said in the World Economic Outlook. The U.S. is the only major economy whose growth projections have been raised. In India, the growth forecast is broadly unchanged as weaker external demand is offset by the boost from lower oil prices and a pick-up in industrial and investment that social mobility was greater for backward castes When we look at the role of caste and tribe, first is in terms of opportunity — whether being from a backward caste or tribe matters for your access to education and health. The answer is yes, but it’s not the only factor. Then when we look at the mobility part, the news is mixed but generally positive. For older generations, people from lower castes and tribes tended to have lower occupational mobility than other groups; in recent years they have slightly more mobility than other groups, and that is encouraging news. This is not to say that jobs fully trump caste, but it is one of the few things that can really offset disadvantages. You have talked of the problems with redistributive measures, especially subsidies. Given that India is re-evaluating its food, fertilizer and fuel subsidies, what is your message on Mr Trivedi and TMC’s top management is increasing by the day and the former Railway Minister pulled no punches in criticising “the negative politics” of the TMC in West Bengal. On Tuesday, he went further. “It is time for mature politics in Bengal. But what are we doing (in Bengal),” he asked and added, “We are engaged in politics of violence and even in colleges, bombs are hurled during elections.” “The State is creating roadblocks to all developmental activities. Narendra Modi is doing very good work and tremendous positive energy has been generated. It is time to engage (with the Prime Minister) and grow together through some mature politics, but we are missing the opportunity,” the TMC M.P. from Barrackpore told The Hindu. activity after policy reforms by the Narendra Modi government, the IMF said. “India could overtake China, but it must be taken note of that China has grown at high growth rates of 9 per cent to 10 per cent over decades and it is a much larger economy and India will have to work to sustain high growth rates over a period of time to be an engine of global growth,” said Nagesh Kumar, the head of UN WESP, South and South-West Asia Office. He said there was no way other than the Centre to increase its public spending on infrastructure to take India on to a sustainable high growth path. “Jobs can offset the disadvantages of caste” Rukmini S NEW DELHI: Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices and satellite images would be used by intelligence and security agencies to keep a constant watch on the movements of U.S. President Barack Obama’s convoy during his visit. It is learnt that a dedicated joint control room consisting of senior Indian and U.S. security officials has been set up to monitor the security arrangements for Mr. Obama. A part of ITC Maurya, where the U.S. President will stay, has been converted into a control room. As a precautionary measure, agencies may block public access to online GPS maps of about a dozen places in Delhi, Martin Rama, Chief Economist of World Bank for South Asia region, interacts with The Hindu in New Delhi on Tuesday. — PHOTO: PRASHANT NAKWE what works? On the big picture, there is an approach to inequality that one could summarise as tax and redistribution. When you look at developing countries, that approach has many difficulties to be implemented. One of the things that characterises South Asia is low tax revenue and that’s not because taxes are structured differently — it’s because there is a lot of evasion, a lot of avoidance. And then, a lot of the tax revenue goes into subsidies. South Asia has remarkable social protection programmes — one should not throw the baby out with the bath water. But the issue is that in the name of inequality or poverty alleviation, some subsidies are regressive by design. This doesn’t mean that subsidies should be abolished — they should be well-targeted, they should be structured with Aadhaar cards or other mechanisms that can minimise leakage. (For full interview ,visit http://thne.ws/1AHRZin) GPS tracking devices to monitor Obama convoy Devesh K. Pandey which Mr. Obama is scheduled to visit. GPS maps of all venues have been designed to keep track of his movement. However, no drones will be deployed for aerial surveillance. U.S. sleuths have brought along antisabotage scanners to sanitise the venues in coordination with their Indian counterparts. Cyber security experts have been engaged for surveillance of suspicious online activity. Mr. Obama will use his own vehicle ‘The Beast.’ “His will be a larger cavalcade with over two dozen vehicles,” said an official. Following several rounds of meetings, it has been decided that on Republic Day, Mr. Obama will not accompany President Pranab Mukherjee to the parade venue, but will arrive in his 18-foot long Presidential car with Mr. Mukherjee’s cavalcade. “In 2007, as the chief guest at the Republic Day parade, the then Russian President Vladimir Putin had also used his own vehicle,” said the official. The entire city will be turned into a no-fly zone, allowing only the flypast of Indian Air Force aircraft. ‘The Beast’ is an explosionproof heavily armoured vehicle fitted with a night vision system. It is a virtual shield capable of withstanding biochemical attacks and has its own oxygen supply mechanism. The seven-seater vehicle functions as a control room for the U.S. President to remain in touch with the Pentagon and senior U.S. government functionaries through video-conferencing or encrypted satellite phone communications. It is fitted with emergency medical equipment and has a bank of his blood type. The vehicle’s fuel tank, with a special foam coating, is armourplated and its doors have eightinch-thick armour plating. The car’s five-inch-thick windows are bulletproof. Its driver undergoes special week-long training at a secret service academy. For security reasons, the government may close the Yamuna Expressway connecting Delhi to Agra to facilitate Mr. Obama’s visit to the Taj Mahal. “We are yet to take a final decision in this regard. However, for VVIP movements, there always has to be an arrangement for alternative routes,” the official added. Atrocities can’t stop BJP, Amit Shah tells Trinamool Soumya Das BARDHAMAN: Accusing the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of committing atrocities against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, party president Amit Shah cautioned Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday that if Trinamool wanted confrontation, BJP workers were ready for it. This comes in the backdrop of the increasing number of clashes between workers of the two parties in West Bengal. Addressing party workers at Bara Nilpur in Bardhaman district, Mr. Shah urged BJP workers not to get intimidated by TMC’s atrocities, but to work with the masses. Pointing out the BJP’s recent electoral success in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jammu and Strategy to convert ordinances into law Smita Gupta NEW DELHI: As the countdown to Parliament’s budget session, likely to start in the third week of February, begins, senior Central Ministers met here on Tuesday to strategise on ensuring that the slew of ordinances issued by the government are converted into law. This comes a day after President Pranab Mukherjee cautioned the Modi government on its excessive use of ordinances, in the wake of strident Opposition criticism that this was an attempt to bypass Parliament and, even some voices of dissent from within the Union Cabinet. A top government source told The Hindu: “The focus of today’s meeting was: since the Opposition is pursuing the ordinance issue so aggressively, let’s not be caught out on procedural issues.” If the government is conscious of the need to deal with the negative publicity its eight ordinances have received, it is equally concerned that if some of the key ordinances do not become law within the mandatory six weeks from the start of the budget session, the situation could ‘Pakistan court ignored evidence given by India’ Rashmi Rajput MUMBAI: The Mumbai Police have conveyed to the Ministry of External Affairs that the Pakistani court which granted bail to Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi — the alleged 26/ 11 mastermind and top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander — in the ongoing Mumbai attacks trial in Pakistan, has apparently not taken into consideration the evidence they BJP president Amit Shah at a rally in Bardhaman in West Bengal on Tuesday. — PHOTO: PTI Kashmir, he said, “The BJP will form the next government in Bengal.” Referring to the alleged assault on a woman, said to be a relative of a BJP worker, by officials of Birbhum district police, Mr. Shah said, pose a problem. This is because no ordinance can be re-promulgated in the middle of a session and a budget session typically runs for roughly two-anda-half months with a break. The ordinances that received the maximum attention at the meeting were the Coal Mines Ordinance and the Insurance Ordinance, in that order. But Coal Secretary Anil Swarup — present at the meeting along with his counterparts from other Ministries — is reported to have assured the government that his department would be able to complete a substantial part of the work for which the ordinance was issued. The Coal Ministry, for instance, is confident that it will be able to have some alternative in place by March 23 for the 42 functioning coal blocks where mining was cancelled by the Supreme Court, so that the flow of coal does not stop. (These were part of the 204 blocks in which mining was cancelled by the apex court — mining has not begun in the others). In addition, the Ministry will have the time to auction another 32 blocks not in the SC list. submitted, The Hindu has learnt. Responding to a letter from the MEA on the Pakistan court’s bail order, the police have said they can make only a prima facie determination on the merits of the court’s action as they are not privy to the Indian court report on the cross examination of four Indian witnesses by the Pakistani Judicial Commission which visited Mumbai twice. “The Indian court had submitted its report in a sealed envelope and we therefore are not privy to what the court had opined. However, we have studied the order by the Pakistani court at length and it nowhere makes a mention of the evidence sent by the Indian court,” a senior police officer told The Hindu. In March 2012, the eightmember Pakistani Commission visited India and examined four Indian witnesses to collect evidence in connection with Lakhvi and others facing trial in Pakistan. However, the report submitted by the panel was rejected by their court as the Commission members were not allowed to cross-examine the witnesses. Eventually, the two countries arrived on a consensus to allow the Indian witnesses to be cross-examined by the Judicial Commission. In September 2013, the Indian witnesses deposed before the Pakistani Commission during its second visit. The hearing took place at the Mumbai’s Esplanade court and the evidence was recorded by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate P.Y. Ladekar who later sent the same in a sealed envelope to the Pakistani court. The MEA in its letter had asked the Mumbai police to study the bail order of Lakhvi issued by an anti-terrorism court of Pakistan. Lakhvi and seven others, including Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum, were arrested in 2009 for planning, financing and executing the Mumbai attack. In December 2014, Lakhvi was released on bail. “Mamata Banerjee, you cannot stop BJP’s winning streak by committing atrocities.” He accused Ms. Banerjee of shielding her party leaders who were allegedly involved in the Saradha scam. Periyar Tiger Reserve wins NTCA award Meena Menon NEW DELHI: The Periyar Tiger Reserve, spread over 925 sq.km. in Kerala, bagged the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) biennial award on Tuesday for encouraging local public participation in managing the reserve. CM YK There are 75 communities living around the reserve, including tribal people who are dependent on eco-development programmes, said field director of the reserve Amit Mallick on Tuesday. The community-based eco-tourism activities helped visitors and there were night scouting programmes with the help of expert trackers as well. Tourism was supplemented by pepper growing and marketing which was a value addition. Now, self-help groups were involved in honey processing and other income-generating activities, Dr. Mallick said. ‘Hurdles to foreign investment will be cleared’ Parvathi Menon LONDON: Inviting British industry to invest in “happening” India, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pledged her government’s commitment to easing conditions for foreign companies in India. Speaking to U.K. and Indian businesspeople gathered at the 10th Joint Economic and Trade Committee meeting here on Monday, Ms. Sitharaman said that India with its 5 per cent growth rate remained a far more attractive investment destination than parts of Europe — including Germany — for British businesses, particularly given the Indian government’s recent drive to reform business rules. She pointed to the over 40 changes to the rules of the Companies Act 2013 (effective since April 2014) that her Ministry had brought in. To ensure measures were speedily implemented she said the government had used — and would continue to use — the ordinance route. ND-ND
NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 ‘Modi is my action hero’ Omar Rashid MUMBAI: As the political undertone of the newly constituted Censor Board of Film Certificate (CBFC) was apparent on Tuesday, there are serious concerns among artists in the film industry that the ideological ‘homogeneity’ of the current crop of members could undermine freedom of expression. They pointed out that the new chairman of the regulatory body Pahlaj Nihalani, a day after assuming position, unabashedly lavished praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi while openly flaunting his association with the BJP. Describing Mr. Modi as a visionary who believes in action, Mr. Nihalani said the PM was his “action hero.” “What's wrong in it? I’m proud to say I’m a BJP person. I believe in Mr. Modi and his leadership,” Mr. Nihalani responded to the allegations that the new board had a definitive BJP slant. A member of the BJP film cell, then headed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya when the Vajpayee government India, Pakistan had a solution for Kashmir in 2001: Kasuri Nirupama Subramanian Pahlaj Nihalani was in power, Mr. Nihalani, however, said he would strictly enforce the guidelines of the board and would work in a fair and transparent manner. Training his guns on the outgoing chairman Leela Samson for “unnecessarily creating a controversy” over her resignation last week, Mr. Nihalani said Ms. Samson cried injustice at the end of her tenure but barely took any initiative to improve the functioning of the board. It is a well known trend that successive governments pack the regulatory board with members considered sympathetic to it. ssHowever, critics have Book by Pakistan ex-minister to reveal details of secret talks CHENNAI: “Are you a hawk or a dove on India, Kasuri saheb?” Those were General Pervez Musharraf first words to the man he was going to appoint as his foreign minister in 2002 after that year’s general election in Pakistan cemented the military ruler’s 1999 coup and a controversially won presidency. Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri held the foreign affairs portfolio to the end of the Musharraf government in 2008, playing a leading role in the India-Pakistan peace process that formally began in 2003 with the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC). In a book to be published next month, the former minister is set to provide an insider account of those years, one of the most secretive and fascinating periods of India-Pakistan diplomacy, and also the best time in recent decades for bilateral relations. As the title of the book suggests, Neither Hawk Nor Dove was Mr. Kasuri’s response to the military ruler’s question. More exactly, the former foreign minister told The Hindu in an interview from Lahore, he has been “a great believer” in peaceful relations between the two countries “for decades, from even before the time I became a foreign minister.” Declining to divulge any specifics from the book as that would violate his contract with the publishers, Mr. Kasuri nonetheless said it would contain details that are “true” even if “it is going to make people angry.” “I have given the exact details that have never been revealed. I have given the background in which the peace process took place, and the context in which it happened,” said Mr. Kasuri. He is now a prominent member of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf party. He is in India this week to speak at the Jaipur Literature Festival which begins on Wednesday. Earlier accounts have suggested that robust backchannel diplomacy had helped the two sides arrive at a non-paper, a secret document outlining the contours of a political settlement on Kashmir. It was widely believed then that only five people in Pakistan were privy to the peace process. Mr. Kasuri, who is admittedly one of them, said his book would lay bare the details of that non-paper beyond the generally known ‘four-point formula.’ raised serious concerns over the political affiliations of the new CBFC members saying their ‘political homogeneity’ could lead to conservatism in line with the ideology of the RSS. Most of the nominated members of the new board are either direct members of the BJP, open sympathisers or considered ideologically close to the RSS. Mr. Nihalani is himself credited with the ‘Har Ghar Modi’ song in praise of Mr. Modi during the election campaign. Noted film critic Ajay Brahmatmaj said: “Any film that is perceived to be anti-BJP or anti-Hindu Rashtra or anti-nationalist could be censored. The party that stresses a ban on women wearing jeans and pubs on moral grounds may have the ideological inclination to be conservative.” A former member of the board, speaking to The Hindu on the condition of anonymity, said: “Some of the members are not just associated with the party but are RSS ideologues. There are strong fears that it might lead to ideological conservatism.” Rs. 1-crore award for villages attaining balanced sex ratio Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar CHANDIGARH: Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi announced a Rs. 1-crore award on Tuesday for any innovative village attaining a balanced sex ratio. At the inaugural session of a national thematic workshop on woman and child development in Panipat, Ms. Gandhi urged the State governments and the district commissioners and other officials to work together for the success of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save daughter, educate daughter) programme to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in that city on Thursday. Ms. Gandhi said the Prime Minister chose Haryana to launch the campaign as it was one of the States with a low female sex ratio. One hundred districts with a low female sex ratio were selected nationwide for the campaign, and 12 of them, including Panipat, were in Haryana. She said the campaign would aim to change the mindset of the people towards the girl child, calling for innovative solutions to ending violence and crime against women and the dowry system, the root cause of female foeticide. “The notion of Paraya Dhan must be discouraged to ensure that parents do not hesitate to have a girl child,” she said.The Minister said 70 per cent of the children affected by malnutrition in the country were “It will go beyond the four points. People will be able to understand what we did on the backchannel framework on Kashmir,” Mr. Kasuri said. That framework, Mr. Kasuri said, “is still the only workable solution. It took three years, so many drafts were exchanged. You can’t reinvent the wheel.” It was “pretty much finished, only one or two little things needed ironing out,” Mr. Kasuri said, and after that “we would have presented it to the governments, to the public, to the media.” There is a full chapter in the book on the Pakistan Army based on Mr. Kasuri’s five years of dealing with the country’s most powerful institution first hand. Dismissing suggestions that the Pakistan Army was not on board regarding the Musharraf-Vajpayee-initiated peace process, Mr. Kasuri said: “I have quoted secret cables to show that all the others in the Pakistan Army were fully on board… It will help understand the role played by the Army in that process.” The only way to break the impasse in the India-Pakistan relations, Mr. Kasuri said, was “to take forward the legacies of Pervez Musharraf and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.” Both, he said, had “travelled a long distance [in their thinking] to arrive at the wisdom that the only option is peace.” girls. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said his government would set up special funds at the district level for preparing schemes and programmes for the welfare of the girl child, from childhood to education. Expressing concern at the gender imbalance, he said: “The low sex ratio in the State is a cause for concern and a challenge, but the visit of the Prime Minister will inspire us to further improve the sex ratio.” Mr. Khattar warned of stern action to curb female foeticide, and cited the example of Jhajjar district, which had the overall lowest sex ratio of 782 at birth during 2011, but raised it to 901 last December. Greenpeace hails Delhi HC ruling Mohammed Iqbal NEW DELHI: Greenpeace India on Tuesday hailed the Delhi High Court decision directing the Centre to release foreign contributions that were frozen by the Ministry of Home Affairs in June last year. The NGO said the decision was a “victory for democracy and free speech” and recognition of the vital role NGOs play in a free society. The court observed that all NGOs were entitled to their views, and it could not be surmised that they were acting against national interest merely because they were not in consonance with the government’s views. The court also noted that the Home Ministry had stated in its reply that Greenpeace India could have access to all foreign funds except those of Greenpeace International, as the latter had been put on a watch list. But no material was placed on record against Greenpeace International. While the Central government’s standing counsel Jasmeet Singh opposed the arguments of Greenpeace India and contended that the Home Ministry had a problem I-T department notice to Greenpeace Meena Menon & Suhasini Haider Govt. sets a new record, opens 11.50 crore bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan Yojana Special Correspondent with the donor, petitioner Greenpeace International’s counsel Sanjay Parikh said the Ministry’s decision was never communicated to it. Counsel contended that Greenpeace India submitted a representation to the Centre in July last year asking for the relevant documents, but did not receive any reply. The NGO accused the Centre of abusing its powers under the FCRA Act. The Home Ministry had reportedly directed the Reserve Bank of India to get prior permission from its FCRA Department before clearing any foreign aid to NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday that the Guinness Book of World Records had recognised the achievements made under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the biggest financial inclusion initiative in the world. The records book gave a certificate on Tuesday stating that the “Most bank accounts opened in one week as part of the Financial Inclusion Campaign is 1,80,96,130 and was achieved by the Department of Financial Services, Government of India, from 23rd to 29th August, 2014.” By January 17, 2015 banks had opened 11.50 crore accounts, covering 99.74 per cent of the households that were outside the banking system against the original target of 7.5 crore accounts that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set for achieving by January 26, 2015. Addressing reporters, Mr. Jaitley said that out of the accounts opened, cumulatively, the deposits across the accounts totalled to Rs. 9,188 crore. The share of women account holders was about 51 per cent and 60 per cent of the accounts were in rural areas. Mr. Jaitley said Rupay cards had been issued to more than 10 crore beneficiaries who would get a benefit of personal accidental insurance of Rs. 1 lakh under the Yojana. In addition, a life insurance cover of Rs. 30,000 was also being provided to eligible beneficiaries. Haryana to create special fund for girls: Khattar PANIPAT: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said that special fund would be created at the district level for schemes and programmes for girls’ welfare right from their childhood to education. The schemes would aim at ensuring their education, marriage, construction of separate toilets and to eradicate malnutrition, Mr. Khattar said here addressing the inaugural session of two-day National Thematic Workshop on “Best Practices for Women and Child Development.” It has been organised as a part of ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ programme. Expressing concern over the gender imbalance, Mr. Khattar said that this problem is a country-wide issue. - PTI Greenpeace from Greenpeace International and Climate Works. The RBI clears such transactions on a case-to-case basis. Greenpeace India Executive Director Samit Aich said in a statement that the High Court’s decision was a “vindication of our work and the role that credible NGOs play in support of India’s development.” The court had upheld the legitimacy of the issues Greenpeace takes up in India, he said. “The Court’s decision has come at a crucial time when sections in the government seem determined to harass us NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry has asked the States to ensure facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of H1N1 infection (swine flu). Officials said the outbreak of the infection this time had not been as virulent as it was in 2009. The Centre had urged the States to create awareness of flu symptoms, preventive measures, diagnostic facilities and treatment. The health departments have been asked to ensure sanitation and hygiene in public places. High-risk groups, which include those with low immunity, non-communicable diseases such as diabetes or serious ailments, have been advised to take precautions and report to the nearest hospital or diagnostic centre in case of symptoms. Earlier this month, senior officials took stock of the prepa- NEW DELHI: Even as the Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the government to unblock contributions to Greenpeace, the NGO seems to have another battle on its hands. On March 31, 2014, Greenpeace India Society received a notice from the Income Tax department asking it to pay Rs 2.484 crore for the financial year 2010-11 and assessment year 2011-2012. Another notice for Rs. 1.49 crore was sent to Greenpeace Environmental Trust for the same period, adding up to Rs 3.794 crore in all. In response to questions from The Hindu, Greenpeace India executive director Samit Aich said the NGO was planning to contest the amount. “We have appealed to the appellate authority, but in the meantime we have agreed to pay 25 per cent of that amount… about Rs. 99.47 lakh. We believe that the Income tax demand is not rational and we are determined to contest that.” redness level to deal with H1N1. The Centre has asked the State governments to stock medicines and make arrangements for treatment. NATIONAL 13 Karat: ordinance route shows up government J.S. Ifthekhar HYDERABAD: The central committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has faulted the Narendra Modi government for bypassing Parliament and taking the ordinance route to increase foreign direct investment in the insurance sector by 49 per cent, opening up of the coal industry to private sector mining and diluting the Land Acquisition Act by adding amendments, taking away the right of farmers and landowners. “The ordinance route reveals the character of the Modi government,” General Secretary Prakash Karat told journalists here on Tuesday, after attending the second day’s session of the committee. The committee has taken strong note of the ‘right-wing offensive’ unleashed by the Bharatiya Janata Party after assuming power at the Centre. At the same time Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-led Hindutva forces are also trying to advance their communal agenda, it said. H1N1: States told to be ready Special Correspondent and other NGOs. We are glad the court ruled that the government’s actions had no basis in law. This is a strong signal from the judiciary that the government must cease its campaign of harassment of the civil society,” said Mr. Aich. The court’s decision has come shortly after Greenpeace India campaigner Priya Pillai was prevented from boarding her flight to London earlier this month. She was on her way to address British parliamentarians on the alleged legal and human rights violations in Mahan, where a coal mine is proposed to be established. 1 dead in Chennai A 53-year-old man died of complications from H1N1 viral infection (swine flu) in a government hospital here on Monday. Doctors at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital said P. Sreenivasan of Mannady in north Chennai had been admitted first to a private hospital in the city. On January 16, he was brought to the General Hospital. “He was in a bad shape when he came in, with pneumonia. We administered Tamiflu and gave him all necessary treatment and support,” a senior doctor said Bal Thackeray’s medical records given to court Vinaya Deshpande MUMBAI: A representative of Lilavati Hospital on Tuesday submitted the medical records of deceased Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray to the Bombay High Court. The records pertaining to Thackeray’s medical condition between November and December 2011 were submitted as per the court’s directions. The court was hearing the matter challenging the probate of Bal Thackeray’s will by his son and present Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray. Uddhav’s elder brother and Balasaheb’s estranged son Jaidev Thackeray has challenged the will on the CM YK ground that Balasaheb was of unsound mind while signing it. According to the will, Mr. Jaidev will not inherit anything from his father. On Tuesday, two volumes of medical records, running into 60 pages, were submitted to the court. Mr. Jaidev’s counsel Seema Sarnaik sought time to inspect the records. She said she would not be able to cross examine Dr. Jaleel Parkar, one of the attesting witnesses of the will, properly without studying the medical records. The court was to record Dr. Parkar's statement on Tuesday. But his examination was postponed till February 20, when the court is slated to hear the matter again. ND-ND
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