GMR gets high rise jolt

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) has received a setback with the Union civil aviation ministry making it clear that the power of issuing no objection certificates for high-rise buildings in the vicinity of the new airport at Shamshabad would rest with the Airports Authority of India.

GHIAL and AAI were at loggerheads on who should issue NOCs and to clear the ambiguity, the municipal administration and urban development department sought a clarification from the ministry, sources said.

In a recent communication to the state, the ministry said all the applications for NOCs should be routed through the AAI officials concerned. Accordingly, the government instructed the Hyderabad Airport Development Authority (Hada) and the director of town and country planning.

Meanwhile, the NOC affair took a new turn with the Airport Authority of India not accepting applications from the builders. Several builders rushed to Maud complaining against the standoff between GHIAL and AAI, forcing the principal secretary, Mr S.P. Singh, to convene a meeting on Tuesday to resolve the issue. Official sources told this correspondent that the meeting, however, could not take place as the AAI representatives did not attend.

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Bhajji gets 11 game ban

Harbhajan Singh was handed an 11-match ban after pleading guilty to slapping his India teammate Shantakumaran Sreesanth at the end of the Mumbai Indians versus Kings XI Punjab Indian Premier League match in Mohali on April 25 before adjudicator and match referee Farrokh Engineer here on Monday.

The length of the ban means that the spinner is out of the inaugural edition of the IPL unless Mumbai reach the semifinals of the tournament, which seems quite unlikely now.

Harbhajan is also likely to face action at the hands of the Board of Control for Cricket in India as he is a centrally contracted player. The BCCI has appointed a lawyer, Sudhir Nanavati, to conduct the preliminary inquiry.

The temperamental off-spinner was also fined 100 per cent of his match fee from the third match onwards in the IPL, while Mumbai Indians coach Lalchand Rajput was penalised 50 per cent of his match fee for not restraining Harbhajan after the game at Mohali. The spinner’s contract was for 14 matches for the 2008 IPL season, out of which he will receive the match fee for the first two matches he played.

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Gilly's Danda Powers Bull Run

After lying low for three matches, the Deccan Chargers came out in full force on Sunday to maul Mumbai Indians and record their first win of the IPL tournament at the D.Y. Patil Stadium here.

After restricting the home side to a modest 154, the Chargers made mockery of the Mumbai total courtesy Adam Gilchrist’s savage 47-ball 109 not out to overhaul the target in just 12 overs without losing a wicket. The win took DC from eighth to sixth on the points table, which has Bangalore and Mumbai languishing at the bottom.

Gilchrist exploded like a dynamite, cracking 10 soaring sixes and nine boundaries to batter the Mumbai bowlers, in the process recording the fastest century in Twenty20 cricket (42 balls). The previous fastest hundred, off 47 balls, was set by Gilly’s teammate Andrew Symonds during the Chargers’ last game against Rajasthan Royals at home last week.

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Andhra Pradesh to exclude creamy layer from quota for OBCs

The state government has decided to exclude the creamy layer among the backward classes from the ambit of 29 per cent quota in all higher educational institutions.

This decision would have major implications on the admission to professional colleges and other institutions of higher education in the coming academic year.

However, the annual income limit to determine the creamy layer has been raised from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh as per the recommendations of a cabinet sub-committee.

A unanimous resolution to exclude the creamy layer from the ambit of reservations was passed at an executive council meeting of the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education held here on Thursday. Mr D. Christopher, secretary of APSCHE, said that the creamy layer decision would come to play in admissions to 2.5 lakh seats in engineering, medical, MBA, MCA and other professional courses apart from PG courses in various universities.

“In our state, there are 25 per cent reservations for BCs apart from 4 per cent reservations category,” said Mr Christopher. Officials of APSCHE and higher education department and vice-chancellors of all the universities in the state took part in the executive council meeting.

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Andhra Pradesh law to dampen cement price rise

The state government is planning to issue an ordinance amending the Essential Commodities Act to rein in cement companies which are refusing to reduce prices.

This is being done since the attempts by the cabinet subcommittee headed by the Finance Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, to persuade the cement companies to bring down prices did not work out.

The committee is expected to broach the idea of an ordinance with the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, on Thursday.

“We have given enough time to the companies to reduce prices but many of them are turning a deaf ear to the public demand,” said the minister for Housing, Mr Botsa Satyanarayana. Sources said the state was also thinking of cancelling mining licenses extended to the cement companies if they remained stubborn. “That will happen only if all the other means fail,” said Mr Satyanarayana.

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It was Devils’night out

Virender Sehwag slammed a swashbuckling unbeaten 94 to guide Delhi Daredevils to a comfortable victory over Deccan Chargers in the IPL game at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Tuesday.

“If it is my day, no one can stop me,” said Sehwag who closed the match with three sixes and three fours in one over.

Set to chase a modest 142 in 20 overs, the visitors started in style with captain Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir blasting the ball around. The Chargers could not scuttle the rapid-fire rate at which the runs flowed from the Delhi willows as they overhauled the target with nine wickets and seven overs to spare.

Nothing went right for the Chargers, who kept losing wickets at regular intervals to put up a low score after electing to bat. It would have been worse but for the brilliance of Rohit Sharma, who accelerated the innings towards the end.

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Centre cuts rice quota by 30,000 tonnes

The Centre has abruptly cut the rice quota of the state putting the much-hyped Rs 2-a-kg rice scheme in jeopardy.

The populist scheme was launched with much fanfare on April 9 and was expected to give a major boost to the Congress chances in the by polls and the Assembly elections.

Sources said that a worried Chief Minister, Dr Y.S.Rajasekhar Reddy, who is in New Delhi, took up the issue with the Union agriculture minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, and requested him to restore the original allocation.

Dr Reddy pointed out to Mr Pawar that the Centre’s move would throw out of gear the public distribution system of the state.

The state government has urged the Centre to restore the 2007-2008 allocation of 3,18,287 metric tonnes of rice per month. Of this, 54,524 metric tonnes were for Antodaya Anna Yojana, 87,674 metric tonnes for Below Poverty Line population and 1,76,086 metric tonnes for Above Poverty Line population.

The state requires 3,01,110 metric tonnes of rice per month for BPL population (White ration card holders and AAY card holders). However, the Centre delivered a shocker by allotting only 2,73,532 metric tonnes this month.

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Lights, pitch defeat Chargers

Poor lights, umpiring errors and a substandard pitch contrived to subdue a spirited fight by the Deccan Chargers in their opening IPL match against the Kolkata Knight Riders at an erratic Eden Gardens here on Sunday. After being bowled out for 110, the Hyderabad team had done well to have the Knights on their knees at 89/5 in the 17th over when two of the four light towers shut down suddenly.

The half-hour break provided the home team time to recover and regroup before they went on to the field needing 22 runs from 20 balls while the Chargers had to go through the drills and expend extra energy to warm up and take to the ground.

Man of the match David Hussey admitted it was a welcome break. “It was a decent break for us, giving us time to collect our thoughts and have a drink to get back our energy. It worked very well for us,” he said. Chargers captain V.V.S. Laxman rued the interruption. “It definitely affected us because we had the momentum going when the lights shut down,” he said. Laxman also called the wicket “shocking.”

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Indian Premier League thrill starts today

Boundaries will matter as usual. But national boundaries will not.

As the Indian Premier League action gets underway with the match between Bangalore Royal Challengers and Kolkata Knight Riders at Bangalore on Friday, traditional rivalries and friendships will give way to explosive new combinations.

With players from around the world crisscrossing borders with only the essential spirit of the game to guide them, a new cosmopolitanism has entered the game.

Cricket will no longer be the same after the eight IPL franchises have had their say, or play.

Newfound partnerships will matter more to the players than old loyalties as eight teams fight it out in 59 Twenty20 matches over 44 days.

Prize money worth Rs 4 crore awaits the team that would win the June 1 final. The franchises have spent bushels of money to acquire the teams and star players and have done everything to ensure that the cup of entertainment would overflow.

It promises to be an electrifying experience when the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Andrew Symonds, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne clash on the field, in different permutations this time. The Deccan Chargers, with devastating batsmen such as Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi in their ranks, appear to be the most menacing of the squads and should go all the way.

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Centre gives Rs 15 oil sop, to buy pulses

Reaching out to the poor reeling under 7.41 per cent inflation, the government on Wednesday announced a slew of measures, including Rs 15-a-litre subsidy on edible oil, while vowing to take tough measures against hoarders and cartels of steel and cement manufacturers.

The Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh, is also contemplating calling a meeting of the state chief ministers to discuss the steps needed to tackle rising prices.

Replying to a debate on the rise in prices on Wednesday, the Union agriculture minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, said the government was planning to import one million tonnes of edible oil. “We have told all public sector companies and they should import edible oil,” he said. To bring down the prices of essential commodities, the government will also import 15 lakh tonnes of pulses and has already placed an order for 11.86 lakh tonnes before March 31, said Mr Pawar.

He said that the government would expedite the report on banning futures trading in food commodities, which it is awaiting from a committee headed by Prof. Abhijit Sen.

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Deccan Chronicle ’s B-daily brings funda into dhanda

Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd, one of India’s biggest media groups and publisher of the leading English daily Deccan Chronicle, today launched its newest print brand Financial Chronicle simultaneously from Hyderabad and Chennai.

At midnight, the newspaper became available on the website www.mydigitalfc.com. This is the first time in the history of journalism that a digital version has preceded the launch of the print version of a newspaper, in sync with the technological accomplishments of a nation in a hurry.

The daily business broadsheet, priced at Rs 1.50, is managed by a young team of media professionals and is mentored by one of the country’s most credible editorial advisory boards.

Well-known agricultural scientist and one of the fathers of India’s Green Revolution, Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, the TRAI chairman, Mr Nripendra Mishra, the founder and mentor of one of India’s most progressive software companies, Mr Subroto Bagchi, the member of Parliament, Mr Sachin Pilot, and the DCHL managing director, Mr P.K. Iyer, are on the board. The DCHL chairman, Mr T. Venkattram Reddy, is chairman of the advisory board.

Further, to uphold transparency and accountability, Financial Chronicle has appointed the former Sebi chairman, Mr M.Damodaran, as Ombudsman of the paper. In this capacity, Mr Damodaran will represent readers’ interest in the newsroom, forewarn the editorial team of the pitfalls of front line reporting, address readers’ grievances and uphold the values of clean and honest journalism.

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Babu unites Jr NTR, Balayya for yatra

Top stars Nandamuri Balakrishna and Junior NTR will add glitz and glamour to Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu’s statewide 150 day-long pre-poll rath yatra.

Mr Naidu pulled off this “casting coup” after his brother-in-law Balakrishna convinced nephew Jr NTR to participate in the rath yatra.

It has been the practice of the Nandamuri family so far to keep Jr NTR away from important functions. But Balakrishna, at the behest of Mr Naidu, invited Jr NTR to his residence in Jubilee Hills, and discussed the issue over lunch. Later, Balakrishna visited the residence of Mr Naidu and broke the happy news about his successful meeting with Jr NTR. Mr Naidu and Balakrishna also discussed the finer details of the rath yatra including the vehicles to be used.

Since the TD chief’s special rath is under construction, he has decided to use the rath of the Samajwadi Party general secretary, Mr Amar Singh. Mr Naidu was reportedly impressed by the facilities in Mr Amar Singh’s vehicle and has requested him to lend it to him for a couple of months.

Apart from the rath, the TD chief would also be using cycles, bullock carts and horse-drawn buggies to impress the voters. Mr Naidu’s deal with Balakrishna and Jr NTR comes a day after Balakrishna’s sister and Union Minister, Ms Daggubati Purandareswari, cautioned family members about the TD chief’s “use and throw policy”. She reminded the family how the TD supremo had dethroned NTR in 1995 and became the chief minister.

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India Versus South Africa - Proteas Trapped in Kanpur Twister

The pitch crumbled, as did the South Africans. Two days of evenly poised action in this Test, and nine days of super performances by them in the series were undone in one appalling session of play as the visitors handed an eight-wicket win to India on Day Three of the third Test at the Green Park here on Sunday.

From 90/4 in 39 overs just prior to tea, the visitors collapsed to 121 all out in 55.5 overs, spanning just an hour-and-a-half of play. Set a target of 62 to win, India broke no sweat in clinching the game and levelling the series 1-1.

Sourav Ganguly had talked about how imperative a good performance was on the third day. The team thereafter put his words into action. A deteriorating surface notwithstanding, India’s last pair of Ishant Sharma and Shantha kumaran Sreesanth put on 46 feisty runs, stretching the lead to a nifty 60.

From the overnight score of 288/9, the duo edged and pushed for 70 more balls frustrating the South African captain Graeme Smith who would have been hoping for a quick mop-up from his bowlers.

Ntini and Steyn were wayward and Harris was negotiated without much ado. To their credit, though, Sreesanth and Sharma had their share of luck, with a combined total of four edges managing to evade the fielders and a catch held off a no-ball.

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IIMs to put off admissions, IITs rejig entry

The admissions process in the prestigious IITs and IIMs seems to have hit a rough patch in the wake of Thursday’s Supreme Court order allowing 27 per cent OBC quota in Central institutions of higher learning. While the IIMs decided to defer the announcement of their admission list by about a week, the IITs too will need to rejig their admission process a bit. The joint entrance exam (JEE) for the IITs, scheduled for April 13, will go ahead as scheduled.

A member of the Joint Admission Board (JAB), which oversees admissions to the IITs, told this newspaper that the JEE will be held as planned. But a decision on the number of admissions to be made during 2008-09 and the process that will be followed to implement quotas is a matter that will be discussed when the JAB meets on April 16. The board was scheduled to meet in any case on that date to discuss matters concerning admissions. But in the light of the court order, OBC quota and its implementation will be the main agenda for discussion, said sources.

The JAB comprises all the IIT directors, the directors of the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, and Institute of Technology-BHU (they both admit students on the basis of the JEE) and a representative of the Union ministry of human resources development. “The meeting will take the changed scenario into account,” said sources.

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Rahul says he’s busy, can’t join torch relay

The Congress MP, Mr Rahul Gandhi, is learnt to have declined the Indian Olympic Association’s invitation on Wednesday to carry the Olympic torch on the India leg of its global relay on April 17. Sources within the Congress Party said, however, that Mr Gandhi was yet to receive a formal invitation from the IOA.

The sources said that Mr Gandhi was not likely to participate in the Olympic torch relay in New Delhi as he wanted to focus on his work as party general secretary. Mr Gandhi had earlier declined a berth in the Union council of ministers in the recent reshuffle citing the same reason.

Indian soccer captain Baichung Bhutia had earlier refused to run in the torch relay. The former ace policewoman, Ms Kiran Bedi, has also refused to take part in the run on the grounds that the stifling security measures put in place would kill the “spirit of freedom” that should pervade the event.

The IOA president, Mr Suresh Kalmadi, who is now in Beijing, said that besides Mr Rahul Gandhi he had also invited young parliamentarians such as Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia, Mr Jitin Prasada and Mr Sachin Pilot to participate in the Olympic torch relay

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Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy sets off on 100-day heli-yatra to woo villages

With by polls up ahead and general elections round the corner, the season of political yatras has begun in the state.

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, is embarking on a 100-day yatra across the state from Wednesday to publicise his government’s achievements.

On Monday, his arch rival and Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, announced that he would be undertaking a yatra with focus on villages. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti president, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, started his own tour on Monday.

Dr Reddy knows very well the political dividend of yatras. Exactly five years back he undertook a maha padayatra from Chevella in Ranga Reddy district to Itchapuram in Srikakulam, during which he covered 1,450 km in 68 days.

That yatra pitchforked him to power. This time, however, he won’t be walking all the way. Because of the security threats, he would be heli-hopping from village to village. Dr Reddy has carefully chalked out a mass contact programme to publicise the development and welfare programmes of his government.

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VRS bonanza for babus

The Sixth Pay Commission report dangles a big carrot to tempt staff to go in for voluntary retirement.

For a large number of officials in the middle and higher echelons of the bureaucracy opting for voluntary retirement, the commission proposes unheard of separation benefits. The scheme targets officials who have put in 15 to 20 years of service. Their separation settlement will be 80 times their monthly salary last drawn. This will not take into account perks.

A back-of-envelope calculation indicates that those who made a lateral entry and have risen to become additional secretaries or secretaries after putting in 15-20 years of service will benefit the most. If they take VRS, their settlement can range between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 75 lakh, depending on the monthly pay.

But the benefit for those who have climbed the ladder from the bottom rung will not be that high, the reason being that in 15 years an official can hope to rise only to the level director or joint secretary. If they opt for VRS, they can hope to take home Rs 36 lakh to Rs 44 lakh.

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Rajni joins water row, hits out at Karnataka

Filmstars and peaceful protest fasting replaced rampaging mobs in both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on Friday though tough posturing by activists in both states on the Hogenakkal water scheme continued to vitiate the atmosphere and disrupt normal life in the border districts.

Superstar Rajnikanth dominated the decorated fast platform put up beside Chepauk cricket stadium by delivering a high-strung attack against the Kannadiga leaders, telling them not to "play politics with sensitive social issues just to gain some votes".

Seeking to silence his detractors, who had predicted he would not make an appearance because of his Karnataka moorings, he said the Hogenakkal controversy "must be nipped in the bud" and not allowed to grow to hurt like the Cauvery tussle. "We have no bigger issue right now," he declared.

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Nato nod for missile defence system

The US President, Mr George W. Bush, won Nato's endorsement on Thursday for his plan to build a missile defence system in Europe over Russian objections. The proposal also advanced with Czech officials announcing an agreement to install a missile tracking site for the system in their country.

Despite a setback in his drive to see Nato expanded further eastward to include Ukraine and Georgia, Mr Bush vowed not to drop the issue.

Progress on missile defense represented perhaps the biggest boon to Mr Bush from the summit. Russia has strongly opposed the plan.

Nato leaders were adopting a communique stating that "ballistic missile proliferation poses an increasing threat to allied forces, territory and populations." It also will recognize "the substantial contribution to the protection of allies to be provided by the U.S.-led system," according to senior American officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the statement's release.

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Heroes beat Superstars, enter final

Hyderabad Heroes breezed into the finals of the ICL 20s tournament in a close breath-taking encounter with the Chennai Superstars in the first semifinal at Lal Bahadur Stadium on Wednesday.

Chris Harris won the toss and decided to bat first. While the packed stadium expected their Heroes to start from where they finished in their last match here, Heroes' opening pair failed to live up to it. James Maher, who had given the Heroes flying starts in previous matches, struggled to get into his usual self. He missed a few balls before Ganapathi Vignesh blew away his middle stump in the fourth over for a mere 16 runs.

Abdul Razzaq, who had guided the Heroes to a seven-run victory over Mumbai Champs earlier, was soon run out. Ambati Raydu and Nicky Boje, however, added 55 runs in the third-wicket stand.

Just when Heroes started looking for a big score, another blow awaited them. Rayudu hit two sixes off Arnold in the 11th over but couldn't keep the momentum going and fell in the next over. Nicky Boje, who made 47, hit some big shots, along with Stuart Binny, to guide the Heroes through. But Boje was sent back to the pavilion in the 17th over when Heroes were struggling at 116/5.

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Gold prices plummet in meltdown

After the stock market, it is now the turn of precious metals. After touching an all-time high of $1,023 per ounce, gold prices have fallen sharply over the past fortnight to below $900 per ounce. In rupee terms, gold has fallen from a peak of Rs 13,399 for 10 grams to Rs 11,667 over the same period.

The volatility in gold prices is also scaring away consumers and has seen India's gold imports drop by over 80 per cent.

"India's gold imports in February were 10 tonnes, versus 59 tonnes for the same month in 2007," says Mr Kunal Shah, commodities analyst with Motilal Oswal. The World Gold Council (WGC), an industry body of gold mining companies, has maintained that gold demand has fallen as consumers prefer not to buy in times of volatility.

According to figures from the industry body, India's gold demand had fallen by 64 per cent in the last quarter of 2007, again due to volatility.

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Income Tax men quiz Ramoji on deposits of 1,000 crore

Income Tax officials on Monday questioned the media baron, Ch Ramoji Rao, for three hours on the financial transactions of his companies.

This was the first time that Mr Ramoji Rao, Kartha of Hindu Undivided Family which owns the Margadarsi Financiers, was summoned by IT officials for questioning.

Two weeks ago, his daughter in-law and managing director of Margadarsi Chitfunds, Mrs Sailaja Kiron, was called in by IT officials for questioning.

Mr Ramoji Rao had to sit before the Joint Commissioner of Income Tax in Ayakar Bhavan and give replies to each question posed by IT officials regarding deposits worth Rs 1,000 crore raised as cash. It is learnt that he got angry at one point and said he had never visited the Income Tax office in the last 35 years

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