India calls for ‘future-oriented’ SAARC summit declaration

Ahead of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Bhutan next week, foreign secretaries of the regional grouping’s eight member-states met Sunday with India pitching for a “visionary and future-oriented” summit declaration that spurs greater intra-regional cooperation.“Each of the areas of cooperation under SAARC has a direct bearing on the lives and livelihoods of the people of our region. Our leaders have correctly identified the focus of SAARC as being development oriented,” Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said at the standing committee meeting of SAARC.“In this 25th year of SAARC, we can take satisfaction from the fact that SAARC has evolved into a service provider for the economic and development needs of the people of the region,” she said.Rao stressed that it was “an opportunity to introspect on the experience of the last 25 years and the course we need to chart in the future not only to maintain, but to accelerate, the momentum SAARC has achieved in the recent past.”She lauded Bhutan, the chair and host of the 16th SAARC summit, for taking the lead to put climate change at the centre of the SAARC agenda. “Bhutan has led the way among all of us in enshrining respect and sensitivity for environmental concerns and the preservation of our precious environmental space,” Rao said.“Let us derive impetus from this to work towards a Summit Declaration that is focused, incisive, visionary, and future-oriented as a lasting outcome of our summit,” she said.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will join other leaders of South Asian countries in Thimphu April 28, the first time Bhutan is hosting a summit of SAARC countries that account for nearly one-fourth of the world’s humanity.The April-29 summit is expected to culminate in a joint declaration entitled “Towards a Green and Happy South Asia” and will see the signing of two pacts on environment and trade in services. A separate Ministerial Declaration on Climate Change will also be issued at the end of the summit.At the summit, India will focus on improving regional connectivity through the development of new trade, transport and telecommunication links, Rao said days ahead of the summit.   (way2online)

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CPM, TDP to press for JPC to probe 'IPL-Gate'

Siliguri / Hyderabad, Apr 25 : The Communist Party of India (Marxist), has reiterated its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe into alleged financial irregularities in the Indian Premier League (IPL).Addressing media on Saturday in West Bengal's Siliguri, CPM politburo member Brinda Karat asked for a probe by the parliamentary panel."All the names that have come up, the reports that are coming, so the probe is very essential...it is the violation of government's rules and regulations, so we demand a joint paramilitary committee on this," said Karat.In Hyderabad, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president Chandrababu Naidu also echoed Karat's view. "This is a national shame and all of us have to take the responsibility. Even country has to face the guilt all over the world; everybody is thinking what is happening in India. On one side we are talking that India will become a developed nation and it will be among top three nations," Naidu said. "India will become one of the biggest and efficient democracies of the world. We are facing this type of problem, so the government of India has to come out," he added.Meanwhile, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, who is under pressure to resign following controversy, has tweeted that he won't quit."People pressurising me to resign - I can tell you will not happen. Let them remove me then," Modi put out his message on Twitter.Income tax officials continued their searches in offices of IPL franchisees, following allegations of corruption in the world's richest cricket tournament.
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IISc campus likely to come up in Anantapur

The second campus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, is likely to come up in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district.Union Minister for Human Resources Development Kapil Sibal in a letter to Chief Minister K. Rosaiah Saturday said the central government was examining a proposal of Andhra Pradesh in this regard and had discussed the idea with IISc, Bangalore. The IISc, Bangalore, has informed that internal discussions have been held and initial proposals were to create an advanced research centre, a science park and an incubation centre, said a statement from the chief minister’s office.Sibal wrote that a Memorandum of Understanding for the sale of land, the time frame for making available the basic infrastructure, among other things, was under preparation and further developments would be communicated on receipt of fresh inputs from IISc, Bangalore.
Rosaiah thanked United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sibal and IISc, Bangalore, for the move to establish the second campus of IISc in the state. He said it would be a boon for the backward district of Anantapur.The chief minister said the entire credit for this goes to former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who made efforts to get the IISc campus.YSR, as the late chief minister was popularly known, had even identified 1,000 acres of land in Anantapur district, about 70 km from Bangalore International Airport
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Panel report on schedule: Srikrishna

Hyderabad, Apr 24 : Expressing happiness over interaction with three major political parties since yesterday, Justice B N Srikrishna today said interactions were going on as per schedule and its report would be submitted by December-end without any delay.Talking to reporters after interacting with a delegation of CPI(M) Leaders, he said, ''we have interacted with three parties -- PRP, CPI and CPI(M). ''They have given very useful inputs though they look at the issue in their own way. ''We will analyse their inputs and arrive at our conclusion at the end of our journey.''Our interactions are going on smoothly and on time. We will be able to complete our job as per schedule,'' he added.''We will interact with four more parties once the Budget session of Parliament is over. ''Thereafter, we will hold wider consultations with all concerned for the rest of May and also in June,'' he said.
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Dr.Akkineni Nageswara Rao is releasing the Book "Vuhala Vasantham"

Dada Saheb Phalke Awaardee Dr.Akkineni Nageshwara Rao is releasing the Book of "Vuhala Vasantham" written by Smt. Kethavarapu Rajya Laxmi in Ravindra BharaMr.P.Vijaya Babu, Editor-Andhra Prabha, Dr. O.SrinivasaReddy,Chairman-Jagruthi Educational Institutions,
Dr.M.Sulochana,HOD,Commerce,OU,Dr.B.EeswarReddy,Dr.P.S.Murthy,Sri.PV.Subba Rao,Sri.Pedduri Venkata Das,SriMallela Sudhakar also seen in photos.thi mini hall in Hyderabad.  (photo by RSJ.THOMAS)=======================================================