ROSAIAH ,presents tax-free Rs 1,13,660 crore budget

With Andhra Pradesh economy showing signs of recovery after being impacted by the global economic slowdown, Chief Minister and Finance Minister K Rosaiah today presented a Rs 1,13,660 crore tax-free budget, continuing the Congress Government's focus on development and welfare, the twin-engines for putting the state on right track of growth.Presenting the budget estimates to the State Assembly for the 16th time and for the first time as Chief Minister, Mr Rosaiah, in the backdrop of stir for and against division of the state, exhorted one and all to sink differences and join hands to bring back the state on the right track of economic growth to emerge once again as a model for others toemulate.Estimating revenue for 2010-11 at Rs 1,13,675 crore, including state share in revenue of Rs 62,702 crore, Mr Rosaiah proposed an expenditure of Rs 73,347 crore under non-plan and Rs 40,313 crore under plan.Talking to reporters after presenting the budget, Mr Rosaiah, expressing satisfaction over presenting a ''reasonable budget'' in the wake of global economic slowdown, said the Budget had reasonable allocation for various sectors with focus on welfare and development activities to achieve economic growth with equity. With the 13th Finance Commission recommendations on devolution of Central Taxes and Fiscal Deficit limits to be followed by states yet to be announced by the Centre, the state government had decided to curtail Fiscal Deficit to Rs 12,983 crore (2.97 per cent of GSDP) during 2010-11 as against Rs 14,282 crore (3.60 per cent of GSDP) during 2009-10 in the wake of the Centre permitting four per cent fiscal deficit last year.Earmarking Rs 3,000 crore for subsidising the Rs two-a-kg rice scheme and Rs 4,500 crore for providing free power to peasants for seven hours to energise farm pumpsets, Mr Rosaiah provided lion's share of Rs 15,011 crore for the irrigation sector. ======================================================

Congress pulls out of all-party panel on Telangana

The struggle for a separate Telangana state Friday received a setback with Congress leaders from the region deciding to walk out of the all-party Joint Action Committee (JAC) and chalk out their own course of action.

A meeting of Congress ministers, parliamentarians and state legislators from the Telangana region decided to form the Telangana Congress Action Committee.“We were so far working with the JAC, but from today (Friday) we will have our own action committee to organise programmes at various levels,” Congress legislator and former minister Jana Reddy told reporters here.The party leaders were unhappy with the JAC for directing all elected representatives from the region to resign over the terms of reference of the Srikrishna Committee formed by the central government to look into the Telangana state issue.They also took exception to JAC activists laying siege to their houses to pressurise them to resign.So far, only 15 out of 110 legislators from Telangana have submitted their resignations and assembly Speaker N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has accepted resignations of 12 of them, including all 10 of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).Only two of the 50 Congress legislators from Telangana submitted their papers. The Congress central leadership is trying to convince both of them to withdraw their resignations.While the Congress leaders have refused to resign, those from opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) sent their papers to JAC convenor M. Kodandaram to build pressure on the ruling party.The meeting of Congress leaders also decided to request the central leadership to reduce the tenure of the Srikrishna panel. It asked for the panel’s report by Sep 30 instead of Dec 31.Meanwhile, Kodandaram reiterated that only the resignations of elected representatives could force the central government to initiate the process of formation of Telangana state as per its Dec 9 statement, which said the process for a separate Telangana state will be initiated soon.He said the Srikrishna Committee would be of no use as its terms of reference were not favourable for the formation of Telangana state.He said the JAC would intensify the movement for separate state and would announce its future course of action in a couple of days,  (thanks to way2online)
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Shri Salman Khurshid to Inaugurate a Conference on the occasion of International Mother Language Day tomorrow

(PIB NEWS) Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister for Minority Affairs, will inaugurate a Conference on the occasion of International Mother Language Day here tomorrow. The Conference has been organized by the Commissioner Linguistic Minorities (CLM) with a view to encourage multilingualism and to facilitate mother languages as medium of instruction. The Conference will discuss and suggest: (i) Action Plan for developing Mother Languages as medium of instruction in all primary schools of the country. (ii) The steps for funding by the Central/State Governments for implementation of safeguards for linguistic minorities. (iii) A Communication and Media Policy to make linguistic minorities aware of their rights/ safeguards. The Census Commissioner & Registrar General of India; Chairpersons/ Directors from UGC, NCERT, SCERTs, CIIL-Mysore, Tribal Research Institutes; Resource Persons and officers from the Central Government, the Education Secretaries/Nodal Officers from the States/UTs and the Delegates of Linguistic Minorities Associations representing different languages from all over India are expected to participate in the Conference. The International Mother Language Day is being observed on 21st February since 2000, to foster unity and harmony while ensuring linguistic and cultural diversity to flower and prosper. It was so proclaimed by UNESCO’s General Conference in November, 1999.
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12th National Conference of Chairpersons of State Public Service Commissions begins

(PIB NEWS) The Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan today called for new initiatives for a more efficient, accountable, responsive and transparent governance in the country. “If a public servant does not have fire in the belly to make a change, and motivation for public service, he cannot be an agent of change. Dedication and willingness to serve the people is as important as professional competence”, he said. He was addressing the inaugural session of the two-day 12th National Conference of Chairpersons of State Public Service Commissions, here. Shri Chavan said that the civil services have to attune themselves to the climate of change and help to translate developmental programmes into viable statutes and effective administrative acts. “They must accept the totality of the Indian heritage and function without any parochial, linguistic, religious, caste or class prejudice. The overall efficiency in the civil services is reflected in the social, economic, and political justice and equality of status and opportunity, which are cherished in the preamble of our Constitution. The Public Service Commissions immensely contribute in these noble values by their recommendations to the Government in molding the civil services”, he said. Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman, Union Public Service Commission and National Chairman of the Conference, Prof. D. P. Agrawal said that selecting the right person for the right task is the only way to build a strong, prosperous and just nation and it is the job of the Public Service Commissions to make it happen. “In order to enable us to discharge our constitutional obligations in full measure, it is imperative that we review our methods and procedures to meet the new challenges and adapt ourselves to the new environment of technological advancement”, he said. Prof. Agrawal said that the National Conferences of Chairpersons of State PSCs have been instrumental in improving the functioning of State PSCs. “The Conference has provided a platform for brainstorming and discussions on matters relating to methods of recruitment, personnel policies, conduct of examination, etc.”, he informed. He lauded the efforts of the Standing Committee of the National Conference in bringing out a ‘Compendium of Best Practices’ of the State PSCs, Rules of Procedure, Model Code of Conduct and a compilation of Court judgments that have a bearing on the functions of State PSCs, ======================================================

Vice President Inaugurates a Conference on ‘Islam & Oriental Religions’

(PIB NEWS) The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the inter-faith dialogue has emerged as a prominent civil society initiative between nations and groups in the post-Cold War world, amidst the “Clash of Civilisations” debate and the raging ethnic and religious conflicts in various parts of the globe. Delivering inaugural address at a conference titled “An International Dialogue between Islam and Oriental Religions” here today he has said that the “The Alliance of Civilizations” initiative under United Nations auspices connects people and organizations devoted to promoting dialogue among political, religious, media and civil society leaders, particularly between Muslim and Western societies. Other such dialogue frameworks include the Cordoba Initiative on improving Muslim-West relations, the Madrid Dialogue Conference that was a Saudi-Spanish effort, the Assisi interfaith work of the late Pope John Paul II and the Common Word initiative of Muslim scholars. The Vice President emphasised on the need to go beyond tolerance; the imperative for religious concord in a framework of equality is evident and compelling. This would be achieved only through a sustained, candid and uninterrupted dialogue without a syndrome of superiority or inferiority and with the objective of locating common values conducive to the maintenance of ethical standards essential for social harmony and furtherance of common objectives. The process of locating these values would bring forth other commonalities. Experience over time of shared public space and national common resources in everyday interaction, and mechanisms that blur boundaries through management of differences, would assist the process.
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