The fate of 48,000 Delhi students who appeared for the Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Exam (IIT-JEE) got decided with its results being declared on Wednesday. Of the, 1,400 Delhi region candidates cleared the IIT-JEE.
Only 7,200 students from across the country have been selected on the basis of the entrance exam that took place on April 8 for the 4,000 seats in the seven IITs across the country — Delhi, Madras, Mumbai, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Guwahati and Roorkee. IIT- Delhi has 553 seats. Now theyll have to clear the counselling rounds.
The 1,400 Delhi region students will now go through a counselling process to be held between June 18-26. This number is second only to that of Mumbai from where 2,235 students have been selected.
More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
DLF Spends a Fifth of IPO Funds on Delhi Property
DLF Ltd., Indias biggest developer by market value, is spending almost a fifth of the money it raised in an initial share sale two months ago on a single property in the nations capital, New Delhi.
The company, controlled by billionaire Kushal Pal Singh, has agreed to acquire 38 acres (15.37 hectares) of land in the capital for 16.75 billion rupees ($405 million), the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. DLF raised $2.22 billion in the share sale in June.
New Delhi is to host the next Commonwealth Games in 2010, which has spurred demand for property as the government prepares new stadiums for the events, accommodation for the athletes and hotels for visitors. Economic growth of more than 9 percent a year is also fueling demand for offices and malls in the worlds second-fastest growing major economy.
More : bloomberg.com
Delhi region scores high in iit-jee
The fate of 48,000 Delhi students who appeared for the Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Exam (IIT-JEE) got decided with its results being declared on Wednesday. Of the, 1,400 Delhi region candidates cleared the IIT-JEE.
Only 7,200 students from across the country have been selected on the basis of the entrance exam that took place on April 8 for the 4,000 seats in the seven IITs across the country — Delhi, Madras, Mumbai, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Guwahati and Roorkee. IIT- Delhi has 553 seats. Now theyll have to clear the counselling rounds.
The 1,400 Delhi region students will now go through a counselling process to be held between June 18-26. This number is second only to that of Mumbai from where 2,235 students have been selected.
More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Buses, autos fleecing Delhi commuters warned
The Delhi government has held out a strong warning against private buses, autos and taxis that are charging from commuters the new fares that have been announced but not officially implemented yet.
The State Transport Authority (STA), which oversees Delhis public transport network, said owners of buses, autos and taxis fleecing commuters would be fined at least Rs.600 or have their vehicles impounded if complaints are made against them.
We have not issued any notification on the revised price structure. Charging extra before the notification is illegal and action can be taken against offenders, STA Secretary S.S. Sidhu told IANS.
More : indianmuslims.info
Delhi region scores high in iit-jee
The fate of 48,000 Delhi students who appeared for the Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Exam (IIT-JEE) got decided with its results being declared on Wednesday. Of the, 1,400 Delhi region candidates cleared the IIT-JEE.
Only 7,200 students from across the country have been selected on the basis of the entrance exam that took place on April 8 for the 4,000 seats in the seven IITs across the country — Delhi, Madras, Mumbai, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Guwahati and Roorkee. IIT- Delhi has 553 seats. Now theyll have to clear the counselling rounds.
The 1,400 Delhi region students will now go through a counselling process to be held between June 18-26. This number is second only to that of Mumbai from where 2,235 students have been selected.
More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
DCGI seizes heart stent stocks from J&J distributor in Delhi
Following Johnson & Johnsons (J&J) announcement that it will withdraw Conor Medsystems heart stent from the Indian market after the product failed to complete clinical trials in the US, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has raided the US drug giants distributors office in New Delhi on Thursday.
We have inspected Interventional Technologies office in New Delhi and seized all existing stocks of the heart stent, Indias drug controller general M Venkateswarlu told ET.
When contacted, a J&J spokesperson said that the company was unaware of the development. Interventional Technologies, the companys distributor in India .
More : therapeuticsdaily.com
Housewife jumps off 8th floor, dies
A 48-year-old housewife allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the eighth floor of a multi-storeyed apartment complex in Dwarka on Friday morning. The victim, Surinder Walia, has left behind a suicide note which reportedly mentions that she was depressed after her daughters in-laws started demanding dowry and harassing her daughter immediately after the marriage.
The victim, along with her husband Jaspal Walia, used to stay in Celestial Heights apartments in Sector 2 in Dwarka. Walias family said that their daughter Amrita got married to Gaurav Manchanda on April 28 this year. The suicide note was reportedly found by her husband in their bedroom.
Surinder was immediately rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. We have ordered inquest proceedings into the incident and any action will be taken only after Amritas statement, said deputy commissioner of police (south-west) Ravindra Yadav.
More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Suicide bid near Premier’s home
Commandos guarding Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went on alert yesterday after a man fed up with his wife shot himself near the premiers residence, police said.
Police initially suspected a shoot-out had taken place after the man turned up at the prime ministers residence with a gunshot wound to his chest and asked for medical treatment.
But now we have found a hand-written suicide note in which the man has admitted shooting himself, New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said, adding a pistol was also found in the mans car.
More : gulf-daily-news.com
Crackdown on quacks operating in the Capital
In a major crackdown on quacks operating in the city, the Delhi Medical Council recently issued notices to 16 fake doctors asking them to close down their medical clinics. These doctors have been running a flourishing medical business in the city without a medical degree.
Copies of the letter issued to the quacks have also been sent to the area Deputy Commissioners of Police, Station House Officers and the Chief District Medical Officers to keep them updated of the situation.
According to an unofficial estimate, there are around 40,000 quacks operating in the city and despite sustained efforts by the DMC to curb the menace the problem persists.
More : hindu.com
No-confidence motion against Delhi govt defeated
As expected, the no-confidence motion against the Sheila Dikshit Government was defeated on Wednesday by voice-vote amid a din by BJP legislators in Delhi Assembly.
BJP MLAs, instead of participating in the voting, entered into the well of the House, demanding Dikshits resignation on the sealing issue and disrupting the proceedings.
The motion was defeated by voice-vote and Speaker Chaudhary Prem Singh, who was irked by the commotion, adjourned the House for a while.
It was for the first time in the history of the Delhi Assembly that the debate on a no-confidence motion has stretched for almost three days, with BJP biting the dust on the last day of the discussion.
As soon as the proceedings started, the Opposition started shouting slogans against the Chief Minister for giving statements on sealing issue to media outside the House.
We are discussing the matter in the House and the Chief Minister has no moral right to give statement outside the House, said the leader of the Opposition Jagdish Mukhi.
Accusing the Delhi Government of ignoring the plight of traders facing sealing of their shops, the BJP MLAs shouted anti-government slogans and entered into the well of the House. They demanded that Dikshit resign on moral grounds for her failure to give relief to the traders.
Chhattisgarh, Delhi in final
Chhattisgarh and Delhi set up the summit clash after upsetting Western Railway and Kerala respectively in womens semifinals of the 22nd Federation Cup basketball tournament at J.R.D. Tata Sports Complex here on Wednesday.
Chhattisgarh beat Western Railway 66-45.
In the other match, Delhi toppled last years finalist Kerala 79-66 to move into the final.
WR struggles
Defending champion Western Railway had to struggle to steal points as Chhattisgarh dominated the match with accurate netting and surged ahead to lead the first quarter 38-21.
International Lincy Joseph and Sheeza Mathew of Western Railway started mounting pressure on the rival citadel and stole some quick points to reduce the margin.
However, its moves were proved short-lived as Chhattisgarh cagers Anju Lakra (15) and Bharti Netam (14) retaliated to maintain the lead.
Kerala goes down
In the other semifinal encounter a formidable Kerala went down fighting to Delhi.
Delhi, led by Asha Hegde, started on a confident note and led the first quarter 22-13 with brilliant pass game and accurate shooting.
However, Kerala women gained rhythm in the second quarter to reduce the margin.
At one stage, Kerala came tantalisingly closer to equalise the score (40-41) after a superb three pointer by Seena Joseph.
New Delhi: Is India most corrupt country
New Delhi: Is India most corrupt country
Financing of elections and winning of voters through all kinds of fair and dubious means is believed to be at the root of corruption- Lalit Sethi
Is India really the worlds most corrupt country as a recent international report would have us believe or is that corruption is too open in public dealings, especially at the day to day level and only greased palms moves files or gets the work done? Every day new rules are framed to make life difficult for the citizen as the Right to Information Act, which has completed a year of operation, has failed to make headway or bring about transparency. Perhaps, there were great expectations from the RTI and it is too soon to expect results. In any case, most citizens, educated or not, would find it difficult to engage in the hassles of running up to the designated officials or the Chief Information Commissioner to seek redress of their grievances.
Some non-governmental organizations have set out to help the people in trying to get their work done from official agencies and they claim a degree of success in their efforts, but the law leaves the private sector or non-governmental sector out of its purview. Those agencies are covered by the consumer courts, which are again flooded with complaints. There is no doubt that the situation is indeed complex. Yet there is no doubt that the RTI was regarded as a harbinger of transparency for the good of the common man. When it will truly happen, time will tell.
The President has noted that Rashtrapati Bhavan is receiving applications by the thousand for all kinds of information and his staff may well be at their wits end forwarding them to the relevant authorities. That speaks for open governance and a degree of public awareness. The Prime Minister took enormous interest in Parliament when the Bill on the right to information was being debated and he appeared to promise the people of India the proverbial moon. He set great hopes on an open society. Whether his hopes and dreams have been realized is not known, but he has spoken of caution that professional middlemen may be out to grab the opportunity to serve their own ends by using some simple and unaware people.
But the fact remains that Indian officials will soon learn to cover their tracks to deny information to the seekers of it. The wrongdoers will also learn to devise secret modes, which cannot be easily uncovered. This is perhaps happening in the First World or the advanced countries. Indians will not be slow to learn the tricks of the trade.
Delhi will have better roads
Delhi will have better roads
The Delhi government Wednesday announced a Rs.14.3 billion ($315 million) plan to improve the condition of over 1,500 kilometres of roads in the Indian capital.
Around 1,524 kilometres of roads will be strengthened and widened in a phased manner over the next three years, officials said.
The ring road, outer ring road, national highways touching the capital and other roads having heavy traffic would be upgraded with polymer-modified bitumen whereas resurfacing would be done with recycling technology, they said.
Around the City Delhi-Gurgaon metro to start by June 2010
Delhi-Gurgaon metro to start by June 2010
The Haryana Government on Wednesday said that the 14.5-km Metro railway line between Qutub Minar and Sushant Lok linking the Capital with Gurgaon would be operational by June 2010 before the start of the Commonwealth Games.
Talking to media persons after the project was cleared by the Group of Minister, Shakuntala Jakhu, Secretary, Town & Country Planning, Haryana, told media persons here that the Haryana Government would spend Rs.
688 crore on construction of the metro linkage and the process of identifying and acquiring land has already been undertaken.
The metro plan has been initiated on a war footing to provide faster connectivity between Delhi and Gurgaon, and being a Government body we are committed to providing better facilities for our States residents, she said.
Delhi tops metros in RTI compliance
Delhi tops metros in RTI compliance
Delhi tops the six metro cities in complying with the Duty to Publish (DTP) clause of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
By putting 65 per cent of the information required in the public domain, the national capital is way ahead of the other metropolises with Chennai coming a distant second, followed closely by Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
Kolkata was consistently found to be the least transparent local government, disclosing an average of seven per cent of the information required.
These details were released by the Centre for Civil Society (CCS) here on Thursday after preparing a report card on RTI Compliance of Six Metros. Primarily, the CCS prepared a DTP Index — based on Section 4 of the Act — to assess compliance of government departments in these six metros in five public services: local government, public health, sanitation, bus transport and water supply.
Jal Board tops the list
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) topped the list of 33 agencies surveyed.
While DJB mad e available 89 per cent of the information required, MCD put 76 per cent of the information required in the public domain.
In Delhis case, its performance was dragged down by the Delhi Transport Corporation, which published only 19 per cent of the information required.
Report card
The Bangalore and Chennai Municipal Corporations publish 62 per cent of required information while Kolkatas municipality, water supply and health departments share the bottom spot fulfilling only five per cent of their DTP.
A similar report card prepared on RTI compliance of States concluded that Indian public authorities fail the RTI exam.
Test case
Using the education ministries of all States as a test case, the CCS study found the average DTP Index score to be 29 per cent.
Only 12 States and Union Territories have released over 35 per cent of the information required and Rajasthan — home of the RTI movement — was among the States at the bottom with a score of 11 per cent.
Other prominent failures were West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, putting up only five per cent of the information required.
Delhi University to conduct field trials of transgenic mustard
Delhi University to conduct field trials of transgenic mustard
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Delhi University to conduct limited field trials of its transgenic mustard crop.
Making field trials of transgenic mustard an exceptional case, the apex court said its previous months interim verdict of not allowing further field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops till further orders, still holds good.
The bench consisting of chief justice YK Sabharwal, justice CK Thakkar and justice Altamesh Kabir took up the writ petition filed by Aruna Rodrigues and others, seeking a moratorium on GM crops.
It also deliberated on an appeal by Delhi University, which said if field trials of GM mustard crops were not allowed in the current season, they would have to wait until next year, as mustard crop can only be grown in winter.
The apex court bench, thus, making an exception, allowed field trials of GM mustard in an area of 200 sq metre, subject to implementation of biosafety protocols.
Speaking to FE, the counsel for Rodrigues and others, Prashant Bhushan said, We had suggested to the government to co-opt five independent experts in the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), which includes the founder-director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and vice chairman of National Knowledge Commission, Pushpa M Bhargava and noted civil rights activist, Vandana Shiva.
When the counsel for the government objected, the court asked him to file a written objection and suggest names of other independent experts. Bhushan further said, I raised objection to CD Mayee continuing as GEAC co-chairperson as he is on the board of the ISAAA, a US-based body funded by multinational biotech companies for propogation of transgenic technology. I also raised objection to the breeder of GM mustard, Deepak Pental continuing as chairman of the GEAC sub-committe.
He said the court recognised this conflict of interests and asked the government to enquire if any other GEAC members were directly or indirectly funded by biotech companies.
Delhi Govt to consider including RTI in school curriculum
Delhi Govt to consider including RTI in school curriculum
The Delhi Government will consider including the Right to Information Act in the school curriculum, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said on Thursday.
She was responding to a suggestion from Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah at a prize distribution ceremony of an essay competition for school students.
Expressing satisfaction that the message of the act had reached the common man, she said it was an important tool in the hands of the people and had changed the mindset of the administrative machinery.
The RTI will also go a long way in empowering and strengthening the democratic system. It has been able to curb corruption. The days of working behind curtains are over and people expect more transparency and accountability, Dikshit said.
The Chief Minister said that with more public awareness of the Act, it was bound to lead to corresponding improvement in the functioning of the government.
She reminded that Delhi was the first state in the country to enact its own RTI Act in 2001.
Habibullah, who urged the Delhi Government to integrate the two acts, IE Central and Delhi RTI Acts, said the society should debate which information should not be disclosed.
Former Union Home Secretary Padmanabhaiah exhorted NGOs to render constructive cooperation in making the act more purposeful.
The first three positions in the competition were secured by girls from schools located in slums and rural colonies.
No fresh case reported, 5 samples sent to Delhi
No fresh case reported, 5 samples sent to Delhi
THOUGH NO fresh confirmed case of dengue was reported on Sunday, the State Health Department sent blood samples of five suspected patients – three from Bhopal and two from Indore — to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi, for confirmation.
Patients with symptoms of viral infection, including malaria and dengue, continue to pour in at private and government hospitals, though not many cases are being confirmed.
The condition of woman from Seoni Malwa, who was admitted to the City-based National Hospital and tested positive for dengue – continues to be critical. Another woman, tested positive at another private hospital, is showing signs of recovery, hospital authorities said. Two samples from suspected patients done through the Rapid Card Test at the Hamidia Hospital tested negative.
Also, anti-aedes operation was launched in 1,200 villages of the State with high aedes density on Sunday morning, Health Commissioner Rajesh Rajora told the Hindustan Times. Preparations are over for platelet separation at the blood banks of medical colleges of Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur. Soon arrangements will be made at the Medical College, Rewa, and in district hospitals in seven other towns, he said.
The surveillance has been stepped up, Rajora said, adding the State Control Room at IEC Bureau on the JP Hospital premises is functioning round-the-clock. The private hospitals and nursing homes have been directed to immediately provide information on any suspected case to the control room.
DIVISIONAL MEETING: A review meeting of the eight districts under Bhopal division was held on Sunday in the State capital for reviewing the implementation of an action plan on mosquito-related diseases, including dengue, chikungunya and malaria. The Chief Medical Officers, civil surgeons and District Malaria Officers from Bhopal, Hoshangabad, Raisen, Vidisha, Sehore, Betul, Rajgarh and Harda attended the meeting.
C&C Constructions Ltd to remodel a Delhi road
C&C Constructions Ltd to remodel a Delhi road
Delhiites will soon be able to witness a high-capacity bus system road between Delhi Gate and Ambedkar Nagar to enable high-capacity buses to ply comfortably. This road will be constructed by C & C Constructions Limited (C&C), which has been engaged by the Delhi Government to construct this stretch of 15 kms. The uniqueness of this project will be the remodeling of the road to segregate vehicles like rickshaws, bicycles, two-wheelers and cars to enable better movement of traffic. The foundation stone for the project was laid on October 4, 2006.
The Company is engaged in construction of highways and airport runway projects and has now ventured into Urban Infrastructure, said Mr. G.S. Johar, Chairman, C & C Constructions, It is a matter of pride that this contract was awarded to us. At the same time we are confident of our expertise and experience to execute road projects. We have handled road projects in various states in India and overseas in Afghanistan.
The project with a cost of approximately Rs.129 crores is slated to be completed within a time frame of 15 months. Bus bays and bus shelters are proposed to be at the centre of the road near almost all the major junctions. This system is very pedestrian friendly and will increase the carrying capacity of the corridor and would be integral with other modes of transport, Mr. Johar added.
C & C will undertake this project through a 50:50 JV with B. Seeniah & Co. (Projects), Hyderabad (BSC).
IIT students protest against quota in New Delhi
IIT students protest against quota in New Delhi
Hundreds of students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) staged a protest march on Sunday in New Delhi against quotas in education. Faculties and alumni of New Delhi IIT also joined the protest.
The students carried placards that asked the government not to divide students on the basis of castes and pleaded for fair play.
We dont want the students to be divided on the basis of caste. We want to help students of all communities, no problem about that. But where is this vote politics going to lead this country? Certainly, India will not prosper with this kind of vote politics. This will have to be checked at some place, we cannot allow this to go on, said Ankush Gupta, an IIT student.
The students squatted on the road as police barricades stopped them from proceeding towards the president house.
The UPA Government has proposed 27 percent reservation for socially backward caste students in medical and engineering colleges including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the IITs.
The move when implemented would take the total quota of reserved seat to 49.5 percent.
The Oversight Committee, headed by M Veerappa Moily, has said that a Rs 17,200 crore package would be needed to put in place the necessary infrastructure to implement the OBC quota in higher educational institutions.
The committee also has proposed to set up three new Indian Institute of Management (IIMs).
The financial package would be required to expand 54 percent of seats, in a staggered manner, in the educational institutes, so that the implementation of the 27 percent reservation for the Other Backward Class (OBC) students does not affect the number of seats for the general category ones.
The package would be required to be dispersed very urgently as the Committee desires to implement the quota as early as 2007-08 academic session. The Oversight Committee has also called for reviewing the implementation of the reservation policy every five and ten years.
However, it did not make any reference on the controversial issue of the creamy layer among the OBC quota and has left it to the Government.
Different political parties within the ruling UPA have not achieved any coherence on this issue. While DMK, RJD and LJP have demanded not to add the creamy layer restriction on the OBC quota, Left parties on the other hand has called for implementing quota with the creamy layer tag.