Quick fix surgeries a big hit

Surgeries used to mean long days of waiting in hospitals, much trauma and an equally long period of recovery. But modern technology has made surgeries minimally invasive and less time consuming.

Such procedures, termed day-care surgeries, started in the area of eye care and have now spread to complex fields of cardiology, gastroenterology and nephrology too.

For instance, with the modern method of lithotripsy, kidney and ureteric stones can be removed through day-care surgery.

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Inter to carry 50 percent weightage in Eamcet

The state government has decided to increase the weight of intermediate marks in Eamcet from the existing 25 per cent to 50 per cent from 2011.

This is part of its longterm plan to phase out the Eamcet as the doorway to professional courses.

"It is ridiculous to have an entrance examination at this juncture," said a senior official. "We introduced the exam when there were only few seats and a large number of students. But now, the seats are more and students are less."

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Modi ignores President, passes Bill

The Gujarat Assembly passed the controversial anti-terror Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill for the second time, rejecting changes sought by the President after the Modi government re-introduced the same legislation on Tuesday, setting the stage for a fresh confrontation with the UPA government.The Gujarat Assembly passed the controversial anti-terror Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill for the second time, rejecting changes sought by the Centre after the Narendra Modi government re-introduced the same legislation on Tuesday, setting the stage for a fresh confrontation with the UPA government.

Ignoring suggestions by the President, Ms Pratibha Patil, to modify the GUJCOC Bill passed five years ago and still awaiting presidential assent, the House approved the unchanged Bill unanimously with only ruling party members present. The Opposition is boycotting the Assembly over the recent hooch tragedy.

The Gujarat minister of state for home, Mr Amit Shah, said the Bill will be sent for the President's consent once again.

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Maytas contests termination

Maytas Infra limited filed a writ petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court against the termination of the concession agreement by the state government for the proposed Hyderabad Metro Rail Project.

Mr Bandaru Narasimha Rao, director, Maytas Infra, filed the petition stating that the government forfeited the bid security amount of Rs 60 crore and bid offer amount of Rs 11 crores submitted by them. He said that the government also purported to ground the project by inviting bids afresh.

He contended that the action of the government was unreasonable and did not take into account the hindrances and hurdles which were beyond their control.

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India powers into nuclear sub club

Amid chants from the Atharva Veda to invoke the blessings of the “earth and heavens”, India proudly announced to the world on Sunday that it had developed its first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine, thereby storming the exclusive preserve of a select group of five countries having this capability so far.

“The construction of a nuclear submarine is a special achievement. We can take legitimate pride that we have joined the select group of five countries,” the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, announced, as his wife, Mrs Gursharan Kaur, pressed the button that signalled the launch of the 110-metre long, 6,000-tonne submarine.

At the naming ceremony held at the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam, Ms Kaur named the submarine INS Arihant (in Sanskrit, the name means “destroyer of enemies”) as she carried out the auspicious ritual of breaking a coconut on the occasion.

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Chief Minister swings nuke plant

A three-member committee of the Nuclear Power Corporation Limited (NPCL) visited villages at Pulivendula, constituency of the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, on Thursday to identify land to set up a 2,000-mega watt nuclear power project.

This comes close on the heels of the Chief Minister announcing that a nuclear power plant will be set up in the state.

Mr S. Thakur, NPCL executive director, planning, said the plant would be set up jointly by the NPC and the APGenco (AP Generation Corporation).

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Kasab: I don't want God's punishment

"Maine jo kiya hai is duniya mein kiya hai. Iski saza mujhe duniya de. Mujhe Khuda se saza nahin chahiye (My crimes were committed in this world and its people should punish me. I don't want to be punished by God)," Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only Pakistani terrorist captured alive in the 26/11 attack on Mumbai, told the special court hearing the case.

He voluntarily told the special judge, Mr M.L. Tahiliyani, "Agar kisiko aitraaz hai... agar kisi ke dil mein shak hai ki main phansi se baachne ke liye yeh kar raha hoon toh beshak phansi ki saaza dijiye. (If anyone feels that I am confessing to escape the death penalty then the court may without doubt hang me)." He denied he was under pressure or was tortured to make the statement.

His statements have opened up several options for the judge. "The court can accept his guilty plea and move to sentencing immediately.

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Kalam frisked: Heat on airline

Three months after the former President, Dr A.P.J. Kalam, was subjected to pre-embarkation security checks at the New Delhi IGI airport, the Union government on Tuesday filed an FIR against the US-based Continental Airlines for violating rules laid down by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.

The FIR was filed on a day when there was an uproar in the Rajya Sabha over the frisking by MPs, even as a defiant Continental Airlines justified the frisking and said “there is no exemption” from “a final security check in the aerobridge just before boarding the aircraft” as per the US “Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requirements”.

The civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel, said the frisking of Dr Kalam by the airline constituted a “violation of the rules” of the BCAS and pledged that “strict action will be taken as per the law”.

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Kasab confesses: I am guilty, end it

In a stunning confession, Ajmal Aamir Kasab of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, the only Pakistani terrorist taken alive during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, on Monday blew the lid off Pakistani involvement and confessed to his role.

Kasab confessed before the special court that he and his nine accomplices had sailed from Karachi to Mumbai and named the “ustaads (trainers)” who conducted training camps for them.

The confession could wrap up the trial into the attacks. The court will give its ruling on Tuesday on whether Kasab’s confession is acceptable and whether it can conclude the trial and pronounce judgment.

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India rejects green cap

The US secretary of state, Ms Hillary Clinton, who goes by the Secret Service moniker Evergreen, promised new “green” investment and millions of jobs if India signed on to the Copenhagen deal on climate change.

“I am very confident the US and India can devise a plan that will dramatically change the way we produce, consume and conserve energy and in the process spark an explosion of new investment and millions of jobs,” she said on Sunday after meeting the Union minister of state for environment and forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh at the ITC Green Centre here shortly after her arrival from Mumbai.

The Indian government, however, categorically refused to be pushed by the US on putting a cap on emissions, and said it could not accept any “legally-binding” reductions. I

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All India Council for Technical Education man arrested

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested Dr K. Narayan Rao, member secretary of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from an engineering college owner of Andhra Pradesh.

The CBI said the seized amount was the first instalment of the Rs 20 lakh deal struck for giving approval to the college. A middleman, Mr S.B. Subba Rao, was also arrested.

Dr Narayan Rao hails from Andhra Pradesh and has worked in Osmania College of Engineering for nearly three decades and had faced several corruption charges during his stint there.

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Hillary to fire nuclear trade

India will offer American companies two nuclear parks during the five-day visit of the US secretary of state, Mrs Hillary Clinton, to the country. This is expected to take India’s civil nuclear trade with the US forward.

Ms Clinton arrives in Mumbai on Friday on her first visit to India after she became the Obama administration’s chief diplomat. She will fly to New Delhi on Sunday to engage Indian officials in talks on concrete steps towards starting nuclear trade between the two countries following the signing of the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal last year.

Sources said that the two nuclear parks are likely to come up in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat and an announcement is likely to be made during Mrs Clinton’s visit.

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Swine virus shuts Google

Search giant Google has shut down its office at Madhapur for two days after one staffer was tested positive for swine flu and five others were quarantined in city hospitals with suspected symptoms

However, the Ranga Reddy health officials were only able to give the prescribed Oseltamavir tablets for two days to the 300 other employees of Google because of lack of stocks.

The tablets should be given to those who have been in contact with infected persons continuously for 10 days to prevent them from catching the flu.

“Our officials visited Google and distributed tablets,” said Dr Shobavati, the district medical and health official. “But we could only distribute 600 to 700 tablets.”

Dr K. Subhakar, coordinator of the Chest Hospital H1N1 influenza nodal centre, said trouble started when an employee of an IT firm who returned from Houston on July 5 tested positive for swine flu.

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Maytas effect: More idle projects face axe

After ejecting Maytas Infra from the Metro Rail project, the state government has decided to crack the whip on other companies which have been delaying major infrastructure projects.

The much-hyped 100-storied tower by Anil Ambani’s Reliance group, the Special Economic Zone and oil refinery at Kakinada, which is jointly promoted by the GMR and Kakinada Sea Ports Limited, Machilipatnam port and IT SEZs on the city outskirts are under scanner.

Work on irrigation projects such as Pulichintala and Polavaram besides the Outer Ring Road have also been going on at snail’s pace, thanks to the indifferent attitude of contractors.

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Delhi bridge fall kills 6

Six persons, including five labourers and a site engineer, were killed and more than 15 other labourers injured when a girder launcher collapsed at an under-construction Delhi Metro bridge in Jamrudpur area of southeast Delhi early Sunday morning. Owning “moral responsibility” for the incident, the DMRC chief, Mr E Sreedharan submitted his resignation to the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, who rejected his letter. According to official sources, the Chief Minister took the decision late Sunday evening.

The tragedy occurred nearly eight months after a similar incident on Vikas Marg in East Delhi had claimed two lives.Incidentally, “Metro Man” Sreedharan turned 77 on Sunday. A probe has been ordered by the DMRC and the Delhi government. The Centre, too, is likely to initiate an inquiry.

Talking to a news channel from Hyderabad, the Union urban development minister, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy described Mr Sreedharan as the architect of the DMRC.

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France for India in United Nations Security Council

The US may have done the heavy-lifting to get India out from the nuclear cold but the ground for it was laid almost a decade ago by France.

The former French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, was not in favour of imposing US-led sanctions against India following the 1998 nuclear tests. Instead, he advocated a special status for India in the nuclear arena without having to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Decades earlier, the French nuclear establishment sent a note acknowledging India’s technological prowess after the peaceful nuclear test in 1974. A few years later France stepped in to fill the breach after the US stopped supplying nuclear fuel for the Tarapur reactors.

“No country has shown greater understanding towards India than France has,” a source said, as Paris rolls out the red carpet for the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s, visit as chief guest for the French National Day on July 14.

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Youth stalks, proposes to Sania, ends up in jail

A 23-year-old stalker from Kochi who suffered from a Sania Mirza fixation is now cooling his heels in the Chanchalguda prison. The mentally deluded youth, Arshad, a dropout from a private college in Bengaluru, turned up at Sania’s house on Road No. 9 Banjara Hills on Tuesday night and created a scene.

He went there along with his friend Deodas Mohanty apparently to plead with Sania’s father, Mr Imran Mirza, to allow him to marry his daughter. In fact, he had SMSed his intention to Mr Mirza two days ago and the latter had sought police protection. Sania is to be engaged on July 10 to Sohrab Mirza, son of a businessman who runs a popular chain of bakeries in the city.

Police sources said that Arshad had also sent several SMSes to Sania in the past several months. “Thinking he was a fan, she replied a couple of times,” said the source.

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India deserves foreign varsities: Sibal

The union HRD minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that the government would enter into joint ventures with foreign universities soon.

He added that the draft bill enabling this was being sent by the ministry to the cabinet for its approval.

“There is nothing wrong if foreign universities operate in the country,” he said, “India deserves the best.”

Mr Sibal said that the government would also set up more IITs and IIMs across the country. “India should also build the best,” he said.

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Russia, United States ‘reset’ ties

Keen to “reset” the damaged relations with Russia, the United States President, Mr Barack Obama, on Monday said the two countries have “more in common than they have differences” as his counterpart Mr Dmitry Medvedev hoped that “complex pages” in the bilateral ties would be closed and a new leaf turned.

Welcoming Mr Obama in the Kremlin here, the Russian President expressed hope that after their talks the relations between the two former Cold War rivals would witness an upswing.

Moreover, Mr Obama said he believed the dispute between the United States and Russia over missile defence can be solved over time.

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Budget of Hope is daunting task

Already dubbed as a “Budget of Hope”, the finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, has a daunting task in trying to fulfil the varied aspirations of different sections of society as he unveils UPA-II’s first Budget on Monday.

From the middle class to corporate honchos, everyone is looking for some magic from the finance minister, who could instil confidence in the economy by taking care of their “legitimate” demands. But going by the current economic reality, Mr Mukherjee’s hands are tied, with low growth (6.8 per cent) and a high fiscal deficit (5.5 per cent). Under these circumstances, the most experienced minister of the government will have to strike a balance between earnings and expenditure.

The finance minister could abolish the fringe benefit tax in the Budget, but to compensate for the revenue loss he might well roll back the two per cent cut in service tax announced in the Interim Budget in February.

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Mamata flags off gravy train

No bragging, no big-bang announcements. As anticipated, the first Railway Budget presented by Ms Mamata Banerjee on Friday was more like a thanksgiving speech that was full of political overtones and populist measures.

Keeping her word that the budget will be “of the people, for the people”, Ms Banerjee came up with lots of goodies for all and sundry.

There were no fare hikes for railway passengers. Industry and exporters reeling under the economic slowdown were also spared from any hike in freight rates. Ms Banerjee announced 57 new trains, a new “Izzat” scheme for people with a monthly income less than Rs 1,500, allowing them to travel up to 100 km every day on a Rs 25 monthly pass, women-only suburban trains in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata and cheap “Yuva” trains for young people.

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Nellore villagers spot Unidentified Flying Objects, twice

People of Yelloku, a tiny village in Doravarisathram mandal of PSR Nellore district, are keeping their eyes on the sky. On June 24, some residents reportedly spotted unidentified flying objects (UFO) twice in the sky. Since then, everyone has become a bit of a skygazer.

“Initially we thought it was an aircraft. But we were taken aback when the object came close to the earth from the west and remained stationary for a while before gliding off towards the east at an unimaginable speed at about 7.30 pm,” Mr K. Mahesh and Mr B. Shalim, both residents of the village, said. Mr Shalim said he again spotted the object in the eastern sky at about 2 am.

Another villager, Mr Mahesh, even managed to click pictures of the UFO using his cellphone. Although the images are blurred, a bright circular light can be seen. Mr Mahesh said he noticed colourful lights as well.

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Steep hike in oil prices

In a surprise move, the Union government bypassed the Cabinet to raise the price of petrol by Rs 4 per litre and that of diesel by Rs 2 a litre with effect from Wednesday midnight. In the state, the hike was Rs 4.44 for petrol and Rs 2.17 for diesel.

The petroleum minister, Mr Murli Deora, told reporters that the hike was necessitated because of rising international crude oil prices which have doubled to $70 a barrel. Mr Deora only consulted party leadership and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to decide on the hike. The decision was rushed through since the Parliament’s Budget session is to begin on Thursday and the government wanted to act before that. The weekly Cabinet meeting is scheduled for Thursday.

Mr Deora said the government will not raise the domestic LPG and kerosene prices though the public sector oil companies are losing Rs 92.96 per cylinder and Rs 15.26 per litre of kerosene respectively.

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After 17 years, Liberhan Babri report with Centre

The report on the December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was submitted by retired judge M.S. Liberhan to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday. It took the commission of inquiry headed by Justice Liberhan 17 years and 48 extensions to arrive at this point.

The government says it is prepared for a full debate on the report in the Budget Session of Parliament, which begins on July 2. It will table the report, along with the action taken report, within the session, which ends on August 7.

The BJP, meanwhile, appears to have already gone on the defensive. Government and Congress sources said the BJP would be completely isolated on this issue, adding that no party in the NDA, barring the Shiv Sena, would support it.

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