Mamata high Budget on populism with eye on elections

The Mamata Banerjee’s Rail Budget 2011 surprises for packing no surprise. The Railways is severely cash-strapped, but many new projects have been announced and there have been no Useful for Didi has her eyes fixed firmly on the West Bengal elections and in fact, in a world where nothing really gets cheaper, there is a decrease in ticket booking charges - Rs. 10 for AC class, Rs. 5 for sleeper.

There is also a new metro coach factory in Singur and four other projects, please note West Bengal. And 15 new suburban trains and 34 new Metro services for Kolkata. No surprises again that the Opposition was duly up in arms at the mention of Kolkata and West Bengal.

She has also announced nine new Duronto trains, three new Shatabdis and 56 new express trains.  The run of 33 trains will be extended and the frequency of 17 will be increased. Mumbai gets 47 new suburban train services. In Chennai, nine more services. Two additional services on the Delhi-Ghaziabad sections and new services for Hyderabad, Patna and other centres have been announced. Mamata was at pains to point out that these were not places in West Bengal.

The Railway Minister’s Budget claims there is a focus on rail safety, which the opposition has soundly thrashed as just not enough. Among other measures Mamata has promised to do away with all unmanned crossings in Financial Year 2012. And will install anti-collision devises to cover eight of the 17 railway zones in the country.

Another consumer focused measure is the announcement of a multipurpose Go-India smartcard to buy tickets.

So much for the applause. The difficult part of Mamata’s Budget is the financials. At the receiving end of much flak for the Railways’ poor fiscal state, Mamata admitted that the “Railways is going through a financially difficult phase.”

Mamata Banerjee has said that the financial health is likely to revive in FY12. Railway earnings are set to top Rs1 lakh crore mark in FY12. The FY’12 total working expenses are seen at Rs. 96,400 crore and the operating ratio is pegged at 91.1 per cent. A high operating ratio means low profitability for the Railways.

The Rail Minister said her strategy was two pronged – Rapid growth of 8 to 9% along with an “acute sense of social responsibility.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had few words to say in reaction to the Rail Budget. He described it as a “common man's budget,”and lauded his minister for announcing “increased investment in critical areas of infrastructure.”

Indian Dashing batsman Sehwag hits first World Cup century

Virender Sehwag

India's opener Virender Sehwag hit the first century of the 2011 World Cup on Saturday in the opening match against Bangladesh.

Sehwag, 32, reached his 14th one-day international century off 94 balls to set the platform for a big total put in to bat in the day-night game at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka.

The dashing opener played a typically attacking innings, racing to his half-century with a six that sailed over the long-on boundary into the packed stands.


He reached the three-figure mark with a single to the mid-wicket against off spinner Mohammad Mahmudullah. It was his first century against Bangladesh and second in World Cups.

Sehwag's attacking to made light of the dismissal of his more accomplished opening partner Sachin Tendulkar, who was run-out after a crazy mix-up in the middle, for 28.

Sehwag is one of the most devastating openers in the world with more than 7,000 runs in one-day internationals scored at a strike rate of over 100.

His record in Tests is no less impressive, having aggregated 7,694 runs from 87 matches at an average of 53.43.

Before the start of the World Cup, Sehwag had revealed his secret desire to bat out the entire 50 overs.

I think I have never played 50 overs in one-day cricket. The maximum I have played is 43 or 44 overs.

"But this time, I will try to bat 50 overs and give a good start to the team. I have been unsuccessfully trying this for the past 10 years, but the effort is still on."

Tata Motors announces foray into motorsport

Leveraging on the growing popularity of motorsports in India, the countrys largest automobile company, Tata Motors, today announced its foray into the world of racing by launching the Tata Motors.

As part of this new initiative, which works as a platform for steering the companys participation in motorsports and allied activities, the Tata Motors will field a team of two Tata Safaris and two Xenon XT cars to participate in the forthcoming Desert Storm Rally, beginning on February 22 from Ahmedabad.

The team from Tata group will later on participate in other motorsports events in India such as the Raid De Himalayas in their quest to become a regular on the racing circuit.

Tata safari

With best in class technologies in our product range, we will now be able to showcase these technologies through Tata Motors Full Throttle. The platform will help the company in organising activities in the area of motorsports including development and testing, said R Ramakrishnan, vice president, Commercial Passenger Car Business Unit, Tata Motors.

The participants from Tata Motors in the Desert Storm Rally are all experienced drivers with enough experience of racing in India behind them. We are confident of a good show in the rally as well as other racing events to be organised later,Ramakrishnan added.

Deepika Padukone & Rajinikanth To Work Together In Raana

   

According to sources, Deepika Padukone will be playing the lead role opposite superstar Rajinikanth in the movie Raana.

Deepika is said to be very keen to work with Rajinikanth and for that she is trying to adjust the dates so that she has time to work in this movie. The movie will be directed by KS Ravi Kumar and it will be produced by Rajinikanth’s daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth.

Raana

Part of the movie will be shot in the historical period and there is a buzz that the movie has a very interesting plot. It is reported that Soundarya has confirmed about Deepika playing the lead female role.

It has not yet been finalised but, according to the buzz, the shooting of the movie will begin by March.

Agra to run for world peace on Valentine's Day

Agra to run for world peace on Valentine's Day

While many across the world get mushy on Valentine's Day, some 15,000 people in Agra -- the city which boasts of the monument to love Taj Mahal -- will be running for world peace on Feb 14.

Former Miss World Diana Hayden will flag off the Agra Half Marathon at Eklavya Stadium early Monday.

"The response is exciting and unprecedented. Thousand of students from more than a dozen schools are joining the half marathon. Some 200 Indian Air Force officers will also run along with doctors, policemen and politicians," Vishwas Sharan Srivastav of C-Impact Agra Half Marathon said.

Regional sports officer Ajay Kumar Sethi said teams from Allahabad, Kanpur, Lucknow and Gorakhpur will also join the run.

District authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the safe conduct of the half marathon which, according to them, will hype the Taj Mahotsav beginning Feb 18.

2G Scam: Supreme Court Wants Names Of 2G Beneficiaries By March 1

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to show the names of beneficiaries (by March 1) before filing the chargesheet. The bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said, “Tell us who are the beneficiaries and conspirators before filing the chargesheet. We will scrutinize the chargesheet.”

The CBI also assured to chargesheet former minister A Raja and his close aides including his private secretary R K Chandolia, Siddharth Behura and DB group chief Shahid Balwa before March 31. The chargesheet would be filed for alleged corruption valuing Rs. 1,76,000 crore when allotting spectrum licenses

Further, the court had asked the CBI to investigate the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) functions and processes from 2003.

Slamming the procedures followed in the allotment of 2G spectrum licenses, the Supreme Court questioned why Finance Ministry officials were not consulted before taking any decision.

“This is the starting point. The exclusion of Secretary, Ministry of Finance, at the most crucial stage and why four important persons who really mattered were excluded must be probed,” the Court said.

The Court also remarked that top authorities of companies including ‘Managing Directors were not summoned.’

Now, political parties must submit accounts, rotate auditors

To make polls transparent and fair, the Election Commission has accepted a report by the accounting regulator that calls for tough norms and radical changes in the way political parties prepare their accounts.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has recommended that all political parties in the country must prepare financial statements and submit audited accounts “within six months of the end of a financial year to the Election Commission”. “The regulator has said political parties must compulsorily publish their accounts in news dailies — national parties should get it published in English newspapers while regional parties in vernacular languages”, ICAI President Amarjit Chopra told The Indian Express.

The accounting regulator has also suggested that while auditors of political parties should be appointed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, there should be a rotation of auditors at least after every three years to usher in transparency in statements. Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi has already tasked the I-T department to formulate an action plan for monitoring illegal cash flow during the upcoming polls in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

CRPF jawan shoots national-level Kabaddi player

In a shocking incident in Bihar, a CRPF jawan shot dead a national-level female Kabaddi player after she refused to share her mobile number.

21-year-old Manisha Devi, who played for the Railways, was on her way back home from Patna's Moin-ul-Haq stadium after practice.

The CRPF jawan Jaswant Singh, who is also posted at the stadium, accosted her and had a heated exchanged of words as she refused to share her mobile number.

The jawan, in an inebriated state, then fired as many as seventeen rounds from his AK-47 at her before turning the gun on himself.
The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead. A passer-by also sustained injuries during the firing.

The CRPF jawan, meanwhile, was admitted to the Patna Medical College and Hospital and his condition is stated to be critical.

An FIR has been registered against the CRPF jawan under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Railway Ministry has directed the sports Railway Board to rush to Patna to provide all possible help to the bereaved family. The Ministry has also instructed the Railways to provide all possible help in bringing the deceased's parents from Himachal Pradesh.

Manisha was posted as a clerk at the Danapur divisional office of the Eastern Central railway and was supposed to leave for Ranchi tomorrow to participate in the National Games.

 FDA Restrictions on Cigarette Advertising Near Schools

Research Says Impact of FDA Restrictions on Cigarette Advertising Near Schools Less Than Tobacco Industry ProjectsWhen the FDA proposed new rules restricting outdoor tobacco advertising near schools and playgrounds in 2009, the tobacco industry argued that such rules would lead to a near complete ban on tobacco advertising in urban areas. An article in the March 2011 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that the effect of these rules would be less severe than the industry contends.

"It is critical to point out one subtle, but important difference between the analysis that the tobacco industry conducted and the analysis presented here," commented lead investigator Douglas A. Luke, PhD, Professor, Center for Tobacco Policy Research, Washington University, St. Louis. "Their analyses focused on the percentage of land area off-limits to tobacco advertising. In this study the number and proportion of retailers affected were calculated, not the land percentage. The number of retailers affected, not the land area is the more appropriate metric to use when making policy decisions. First, the 'real-world' regulatory impact is felt by people and businesses, not by land.

Second, tobacco retailers are clustered in commercial zones and showing that a high percentage of all land is unavailable for advertising under outdoor advertising bans overstates the impact of the policy. A key question is not what percentage of land is off-limits under an advertising ban, but rather, what is the additional or incremental impact of an advertising ban given existing zoning regulations."