Funeral procession of Andhra student taken to assembly

The last wish of a student who committed suicide over the delay in formation of a separate Telangana state was fulfilled when his funeral procession was allowed to be taken to Gun Park near the Andhra Pradesh state assembly here.Amid tight security, the body of Sai Kumar, a second year B. Tech student of Osmania University, was brought to Gun Park Tuesday night to enable supporters of the Telangana movement to pay their last respects. Sai Kumar's body was later taken to his native village Kodad in Nalgonda district where the last rites will be performed Wednesday. The student hanged himself in his hostel room Tuesday to protest the delay in carving out a Telangana state. In his suicide note, he expressed the wish that his body be taken in a procession to the assembly. The suicide triggered fresh tension in Osmania University, the nerve centre of the ongoing Telangana movement, as students clashed with police at Gandhi Hospital when the latter did not allow them to take the body to assembly. Some students were injured when police used batons. It was late on Tuesday that the State Human Rights Commission on a petition by the Joint Action Committee of students directed police to allow the funeral procession to Gun Park at 11 p.m. The students then brought the body to Telangana Martyrs' Memorial. M.Kodandaram, convener of all-party Joint Action Committee, and leaders of pro-Telangana groups offered their respects to Sai Kumar. The students raised slogans against political parties and elected representatives. This was the third suicide for Telangana on the Osmania University campus. On Feb 20, a student of Class 12 immolated himself at the main entrance of the university to protest the delay in formation of Telangana state. He resorted to the extreme step in full public view during a protest by university students. In January, a MCA (master of computer applications) student set himself on fire in the university campus. His burnt body was found on Jan 19. Parties fighting for separate Telangana state claimed that over 300 students and youth have committed suicide in the region since protests began in November last year. However, there is no confirmation of this claim.
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First time after NTR's death son meets stepmother

N.Balakrishna, Telugu film actor and son of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR), Wednesday sprang a surprise when he called on his step-mother Lakshmi Parvathi.For the first time after his father's death 14 years ago, Balakrishna drove to her residence in Banjara Hills here and spent more than an hour with her. Parvathi told reporters she was happy that her son came to her house. "I am very happy. I can't describe my feelings in words," she said, describing the visit as a courtesy call. "I came to see my mother and will continue to come," said the popular actor, who was once seen as the successor of his legendary father. "Balaiah (as the actor is popularly known) became emotional while recalling the last days of his father and told me that the 'past is past. Let us do something good in his memory'. I assured him of my support," Parvathi said. Balakrishna's visit has created a flutter in political circles here though Parvathi, who went into political oblivion after NTR's death, claimed that politics was not discussed. It is believed that Balakrishna discussed with Parvathi a property dispute pending between the two in a court. NTR, a popular Telugu actor, had launched Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982 and created history by coming to power in the state within nine months. A few months before returning to power with a landslide majority in 1994, NTR married Parvathi, a college lecturer who came close to him while writing his biography. However, the second marriage annoyed his family which alleged that Parvathi had an overriding influence in party and government affairs. NTR's son-in-law N. Chandrababu Naidu led a revolt against him to become chief minister in August 1995. In January, 1996, NTR died a broken man. Interestingly, Balakrishna's daughter married Naidu's only son Lokesh two years ago. The actor also campaigned for TDP in last year's elections.
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Women’s bill will impact caste struggle in India: Experts

By encouraging women’s participation in politics, the historic bill to reserve 33 percent of seats for them in parliament and the legislatures will impact the country’s political scenario, the patriarchal system and the caste struggle in rural India, experts say.Bibhu Mahapatra, consultant of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project on Legal Empowerment, said: “The 73rd constitutional amendment, passed in 1992, gave constitutional recognition to local self governance and reserved 33 percent seats in panchayats for women. This encouraged lakhs of women to enter public life by giving more opportunities to them.”“The Women’s Reservation Bill will have a similar impact. It will also impact the caste struggle. Today, there are questions asked about who is more marginalised within the Dalit community and that is because more women are in the forefront in politics,” Mahapatra said.The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha after a lot of furore Tuesday. The Lok Sabha, which has seen protests on the issue for the last three days, is expected to pass the bill before it takes a three-week break beginning March 16.Said Kamal Mitra Shenoy, a sociologist at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU): “In the beginning, there may not be much impact on the caste struggle because the more dominant will field their candidates into the political arena.”“But with time, women will definitely be empowered because of the bill as it will have its effect on patriarchy and change the gender dynamics. You won’t just have the wives and daughters of political leaders being fielded,” he maintained.Shenoy said the idea of a quota within quota – that is, reservation for women from backward classes within the women’s reservation – will not do any good.“There is no reservation for other backward classes (OBCs) in parliament, yet there is a lot of OBC representation there. So, reservation within reservation is not really needed,” he explained.Mahapatra said the bill will also encourage political parties to re-invent themselves.“It will have a stimulating effect on the political parties. Parties like the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have very little women’s representation, but now they will have to rope in more women,” he said.Ranjan Sharma, a Delhi-based sociologist, said: “More women would also mean that there will be a sobering effect on parliament. You will most probably not have so much hooliganism. Similarly, it will have a civilising effect on the political parties.”While Shenoy said the actual effect of the bill will be seen after 15 years, Mahapatra opined: “In the next elections, the predictions and calculations will be different because we will not just take into account the SC/ST vote banks, but may be also the inclinations of the women segment.”
(way2online)
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Sonia meets Mamata, seeks assurance on women’s bill vote

Ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi met Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday and sought an assurance that her Trinamool Congress will vote for the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, Congress sources said.The meeting at Gandhi’s 10 Janpath official residence that Congress sources described as “cordial and positive” comes in the wake of Trinamool Congress MPs abstaining from voting for the bill in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday.“The meeting was cordial and the outcome was positive,” a senior Congress leader, who was present at the meeting, said.Gandhi had expressed surprise at Banerjee’s last-minute objections to the bill.The Congress president said she had been told by a minister who sat next to Banerjee at the last cabinet meeting that she was very “enthusiastic” about the bill.
The Trinamool Congress, with 19 MPs in the Lok Sabha and two in the Rajya Sabha, is the largest ally of the UPA government. The party’s stand could be crucial in ensuring that the bill sails through the Lok Sabha, which is the next hurdle for the legislation to become a law.The Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday. The bill, which seeks to set aside for women 181 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha and 1,370 of the 4,109 seats in the 28 state assemblies, is expected to be tabled in the Lok Sabha next week.It is being opposed by parties that mainly have their support base in the Hindi heartland of northern India, but enjoys majority support from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left parties. (thanks to way2online)
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Lok Sabha adjourned as Yadav trio protest women’s bill

The Lok Sabha was adjourned Wednesday after Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, Janata Dal-United’s Sharad Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Lalu Prasad staged noisy protests against the women’s reservation bill being passed in the Rajya Sabha after seven MPs were forcefully evicted.Leading other protesting MPs, the Yadav trio marched towards’s the speaker’s podium, raising slogans against the government. Speaker Meira Kumar then adjourned the house till noon.The MPs accused the government of using marshals to forcefully evict suspended seven Rajya Sabha MPs — SP’s Kamal Akhtar, Veerpal Singh Yadav, Amir Alam Khan and Nand Kishore Yadav, JD-U’s Ejaz Ali, Lok Janshakti Party’s Sabir Ali and RJD’s Subhash Prasad Yadav — to pass the women’s quota bill in the house Tuesday.The bill seeks to reserve 33 percent seats for women in parliament and state legislatures.The protesting MPs said the Lok Sabha would not be allowed to function until the Rajya Sabha revoked the suspension of their colleagues.They also raised slogans demanding quota for Muslims, Dalits and other backward castes within the reservation for women.The Trinamool Congress, the second largest constituent in the Congress-led ruling alliance that opposed the bill in the present form, however, did not join the protesters.Lok Sabha is expected to pass the bill before it takes a three-week break March 16.The divide in the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) over the women’s quota bill came to the fore once again Wednesday as only one JD-U MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lallan’ joined Sharad Yadav in the protests.The JD-U MPs had supported the legislation in the Rajya Sabha.  (WAY2ONLINE)
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Dayanidhi Maran inaugurates Jute Festival

The Union Minister of Textiles, Shri Dayanidhi Maran inaugurating the ‘Jute Festival’, organized by the Jute Manufactures Development Council (JMDC), in New Delhi on March 10, 2010. The Minister of State for Textiles, Smt. Panabaka Lakshmi is also seen.
(Photo by No.CNR-30754)
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(PIB NEWS) With a view to increase awareness of Jute products among consumers Thiru. Dayanidhi Maran, Union Textiles Minister inaugurated a Jute Festival at the Dilli Haat, here today. The Festival is being organized by Jute Manufactures Development Council (JMDC). On the occasion, Tmt. Panabaaka Lakshmi, Minister of State for Textiles and Tmt. Rita Menon , Secretary, Textiles were also present. During the four day Festival, 20 Jute units from across India will exhibit their products. To improve the public perception of jute and change its branding among customers, a fashion show of jute apparel and accessories “Earth Couture” was organised and the renowned vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan also performed “Songs for the Earth”. The show and the festival brought home to the audience of Delhi the truth behind the message “Surprisingly Jute”.
The Ministry of Textiles under the leadership of Thiru. Dayanidhi Maran has launched a new initiative to revive the jute industry. The Jute Technology Mission addresses issues of agricultural improvements, research & development of new products, modernisation of mills, introduction of new technology and skill upgradation. At the same time, the Ministry has empowered the Jute Manufactures Development Council to promote diversified jute products that reduce the industry’s dependence on sacking and hessian. This initiative includes not only promotion of new technical applications such as jute geo-textiles and composites but also aggressive marketing of jute lifestyle products both within the country and in international markets. It is encouraging that value-added JDP account for nearly 30% of India’s jute exports (total about Rs. 1100 crore) even though they form less than 8% of jute goods production in India. In the domestic market, the banning of non-biodegradable packaging in many areas has driven the demand for eco-friendly jute. Jute, the golden fibre, is the raw material for one of India’s oldest industries. The first jute mill started production in Bengal in 1856. After more than 150 years, the jute industry is now challenged by competition from alternative materials, by the recession in the international markets and by low awareness among consumers of the versatile, eco-friendly nature of jute fabric itself. Yet this industry still provides a livelihood to more than 250,000 mill workers and more than 4 million farmers’ families. It is a golden bond with the Earth, Its use is a statement about ecological awareness as it is a fully bio-degradable and eco-friendly fibre. It comes from the earth, it helps the earth and once its life is done it merges back into the earth.

11.8% Deaths due to road accidents in Andhra Pradesh,in the year 2007,

(PIB NEWS) Driver’s fault accounted for about 75 per cent of deaths caused by road accidents in the period 2004 to 2007. As per the information made available to the Rajya Sabha during the question hour by Shri Mahadeo Singh Khandela, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, while driver’s fault was responsible for 75.2 per cent accidents deaths in 2004, it accounted for 74.0 per cent in 2005, 73.3 per cent in 2006 and 75.1 per cent in 2007.

The Minister also informed the House that about 45-49 per cent deaths caused in road accidents were due to over speeding i.e. exceeding lawful speed limit of the driver. Over-speeding was the main reason for the death of 48.7 per cent (45,106 people) killed in road accidents in 2004, 46.7 per cent (44,346 people) in 2005, 45.5 per cent (48,123) in 2006 and 48.8 per cent (55,883) in 2007. As per the data available, the maximum number of accidental deaths in the year 2007 occurred in Andhra Pradesh (11.8 per cent of the total) followed by Tamil Nadu (10.5 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (10 per cent) and Maharashtra (9.8 per cent).
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Empowerment of Minority Women,

(PIB NEWS) The Government has formulated and approved a scheme for Leadership Development of Minority women. Inputs received, inter-alia, from National Commission for Women (NCW) were also taken into account by the Ministry of Minority Affairs while formulating the scheme. Giving this information in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Minority Affairs, informed the House that NCW had envisaged a scheme which would reach out to minority women and help them to assume leadership roles in accessing services, skills and opportunities for improving their lives and livelihood. The scheme was launched this year on 27th January.
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Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities,

(PIB NEWS) The Government has said that the Prime Minister’s New 15- Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities aims at enhancing opportunities for education, equitable share in economic activities and employment, improving the conditions of living of minorities and prevention and control of communal riots. Giving this information in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Minority Affairs, informed the House that the new programme envisages location of a certain proportion of development projects in minority concentration areas. It also provides that, wherever possible, 15% of targets and outlays under various schemes should be earmarked for minorities. Accordingly, State-wise and scheme-wise targets are fixed for benefits to minorities under various schemes included in the programme considered amenable to earmarking. Shri Khurshid informed the Lok Sabha that implementation of the 15- Point Programme is monitored at the State/UT and district levels by the State/ District level committees. At the Centre, the progress of implementation of the programme, monitored and reported by the various Ministries/ Departments concerned, is reviewed every quarter by the Ministry of Minority Affairs and on half yearly basis by a Committee of Secretaries and by the Cabinet.
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President of India Inaugurates ‘Exhibition of Innovations’ at President’s Estate

The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil inaugurating an ‘Exhibition of Innovations’, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhion March 10, 2010. The Minister of State of Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Prof. K.V. Thomas is also seen.                                                    (Photo by PIB No:CNR-30748)  

=======================================================                                  (PIB NEWS) The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil inaugurated an ‘Exhibition of Innovations’ in the President’s Estate of Rashtrapati Bhavan today. This is perhaps the first time ever that a Head of State anywhere, has hosted an exhibition of innovations. The showcasing of this exhibition is in consonance with the vision of the President and inspiration received by the nation, following the declaration of this decade as the ‘Decade of Innovation’. The President feels that the ‘business as usual’ approach will not do and there is a need for focusing on new ways of doing things in this decade. The event is therefore a lead taken by Rashtrapati Bhavan in this direction. The exhibition places before the public, innovations principally from grassroots innovators from unorganized sectors. The Exhibition will be open for viewing to the public from March 10 to 14 from 1000 hrs to 1700 hrs. Entry would be from Gate No. 35 of Rashtrapati Bhavan, situated near North Avenue. The President took a look at the various innovations on display and interacted with the innovators. She was keen that the exhibits should not remain merely displays, but efforts should be made to take the next steps forward. This would involve helping the innovators link-up with industry and marketing agencies to fine tune their creations and then bring their products into the market. If found necessary the President’s Secretariat would assist by asking the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, to help wherever required. The principal objective of this event is to promote the innovative spirit and knowledge, encourage grassroots innovators and follow-up the process by bringing industry and manufacturers together to make the new products available for larger number of people for the good of society. This also is in consonance with the need for inclusive growth. The principal theme of the exhibition is innovations which impact agricultural production and related fields. It is hoped that some of the innovations on display may be able, through this opportunity, to move forward on the road for learning and commercialization of the concepts and products. The exhibition has participation from 32 innovators from around the country, with 36 innovations and products showcased. These include 9 new plant varieties, 3 innovations by students, 14 related to the agriculture and farming sectors and four energy and environment related exhibits. The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) whose function the President attended in November 2009 and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) are participating in this exhibition. The Minister of State for Agriculture, Prof. K.V. Thomas was also present.
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