Cong accuses BJPLeft of unholy alliance on Nuke liability Bill

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (UNI): The Congress today denied the opposition BJP's ''wild

allegations'' that the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, would have favoured two

USbased nuclear reactor supplier companies and charged the saffron party with forming an

''unholy alliance'' with the Left parties to oppose the legislation.
Defending the government's decision not to introduce the controversial Bill in the Lok Sabha

at the last moment following resistance by the Opposition and its own allies, Congress

spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told mediapersons here that the Bill would be brought

before the current session of Parliament after proper discusion, getting more inputs and

convincing allies about it being in the national interest. He said the government has all the

right to consider and decide the time, manner and introduction of any Bill.
In a major embarrassment, the government bowed to the opposition pressure and decided

not to bring the Bill in the Lok Sabha due to opposition of not only the Left parties and the BJP

but also the UPA ally Trinamool Congress.
Asserting that the Bill was in the national interest, the Congress spokesman said that by

opposing the Bill, the BJP has been exposed before the people. He said that 98 percent of the

countries involved in nuclear trade have such national and international agreements to

safeguard their people. He said the Bill was the logical conclusion of the Nuclear 123

agreement.
Stating the BJP and Left parties are working in a coordinated manner on the bill despite

ideologically being diametrically opposite, the Congress spokesman said they needed to

explain the reason for this ''unholy alliance.'' Asserting that there was no connection with the

Women's Reservation Bill, on which the BJP and Left parties were together and the Nuclear

Civil Liabilities Bill, he said,'' do not compare the uncomparable. The Women's Reservation

Bill was in the national interest so the Opposition supported it, the Nuclear Civil Liabilities Bill

was also in interest of the nation but BJP was opposing it.

India denies US pressure behind Nuclear Liability Bill

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (UNI): India today denied any US pressure behind the Civil Liability for

Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, and said that there was no move to amend the Atomic Energy

Act.
The Bill was scheduled to be introduced in the Lok Sabha today but the Government decided

to take more time to study all the provisions to safeguard the interests of the people.
Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan was to introduce the legislation.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament House, Chavan said the need to bring in such a

legislation was felt after the Bhopal Gas tragedy and the victims faced a lot of difficulties in

getting compensation in the absence of any law for awarding compensation in such cases.
The proposed Bill is aimed at constituting a multimember commission to facilitate speedy

disposal of compensation cases and make the whole system foolproof.
He said that under the present system no Indian private entity can transact nuclear business

with any foreign enterprise and therefore the Government of India is the sole authority to

conduct nuclear business under the Civil Nuclear Agreement which ended India's nuclear

apartheid.

Govt asks Bt Brinjal developers to deposit seed stock

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (Agencies): Government today said Mahyco, the developer of Bt brinjal,

has been asked to deposit the seed stock with the National Bureau of Plant Genetics

Resources to prevent any potential leakage and contamination till its safety is proved.

"There is no chance of Bt brinjal making a backdoor entry through leakages of its seeds till it is

cleared by an independent regulatory body," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told the

Rajya Sabha.

In response to a query, he said the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has

asked the Bt brinjal seed developers to deposit the seeds.

He said some state governments, NGOs and sections of the scientific and farming

communities have expressed apprehensions on the safety of Bt brinjal and its longterm impact

on human health and environment.

They have called for extreme caution as Bt brinjal is the first genetically modified food crop to

be introduced in the country, the minister added.

Public consultations were also organised at seven locations Kolkata, Bhubaneswar,

Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Bangalore during the last two months to

gauge public opinion on the controversial issue of introducing Bt brinjal in the country.

Economy will grow but with inflation, warns Jaitley

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (Agencies): The Opposition BJP today asked the Government to protect

the salaried income people from the impact of price rise as inflation remains its biggest worry.

"I am confident that Indian economy will grow but with inflation. This (growth) will not be due to

the Budget but the entrepreneurial skill of the people," Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya

Sabha Arun Jaitley said.

Wholesale pricebased inflation rose to near double digit level of 9.89 per cent in February.

Participating in the debate on general budget, Jaitley urged the Finance Minister to consider

the plight of the salaried class so that benefits given by one hand is not taken by the other

through taxes, like the fringe benefit tax.

He expressed concern over the pace of work in the infrastructure sector, particularly the

NHAI, and said that "some adventurism" of the Planning Commission too has led to the delay,

especially the new rules in the tendering process.

Jaitley wanted to know from the government, the status of implementation of 'one rankone

pension' scheme for exservicemen saying the Budget indicates this has not been done.

The BJP leader also wanted some effective steps to boost the tourism sector.

In response, Sudarsana Natchiappan (Congress) highlighted the broad features of the Budget

and said it has focussed on all areas and nothing has been left out.

RS revokes suspension of 4 SP members

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (Agencies): The Rajya Sabha today revoked suspension of four

Samajwadi Party members who were punished for their unruly behaviour while protesting

against the Women's Reservation Bill passed by the Upper House on March 9.

A government resolution for revocation of suspension of the SP members Veerpal Singh

Yadav, Kamal Akhtar, Nand Kishore Yadav, Aamir Alam Khan was adopted by the House.

Following this, Deputy Chairman K Rehman Khan announced the revocation of their

suspension.

Three others Subhash Yadav (Rashtriya Samajwadi Party), Sabir Ali (Lok Janshakti Party)

and Ejaz Ali (unattached) were also suspended along with the SP members till the end of the

current session.

All the seven were marshalled out amidst uproar as they protested the Constitutional

Amendment Bill, providing for reservation of onethird seats for women in the Lok Sabha and

the state Assemblies.

No official reason was cited for revocation of suspension of the SP members. Besides, there

was no mention in the resolution about the three other suspended members.

Nand Kishore Yadav had confirmed on March 12 that he and his other party colleagues had

met Ansari, but refused to admit that they had apologised.

"We did meet the Chairman. He had called us. Neither he nor we did raise the issue (of the

MPs' conduct)," Yadav had said.

A victory of opposition: Left on deferment of nuclear bill

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (Agencies): The Left parties today termed the deferment of the nuclear

liability bill in the Lok Sabha as a "victory of opposition".

"Government has to defer the nuclear liability bill due to the united opposition to the bill. This is

a victory of the opposition," CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta told reporters outside parliament.

Government deferred the introduction of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, a keystep

in the operationalisation of IndoUS nuclear deal, in the House as members had raised

objections.

"I had told P K Bansal (Parliamentary Affairs Minister), not to introduce the bill. He assured

that before introducing, it would be discussed in the intersession," Dasgupta said.

Describing the bill as "antipeople", CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said government "has to defer

it because the entire opposition is united against the bill."

Welcoming the government's decision, BJP leader Najma Heptullah said, "It was a good

decision."

The BJP and the Left parties want the Government not to rush with the bill. It has strongly

pitched for the bill being referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for considering in

detail all aspects.

The bill provides for compensation in case of a nuclear accident. It pegs the maximum amount

of liability in case of each nuclear accident at Rs 300 crore to be paid by the operator of the

nuclear plant

Arrested terror suspects linked to Karachi

MUMBAI, Mar 15 (Agencies): The phone calls received by two terror suspects, arrested on

charges of planning terror attacks in the city, have been traced to Karachi in Pakistan, an

official from Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) said today.

"The phone calls the duo were receiving have been traced to Karachi in Pakistan. They had

received calls on a regular basis in which they were instructed to ensure that the targets get

reduced to ashes," said the official on the condition of anonymity.

The duo, Abdul Latif alias Guddu (29) and Riyaz Ali alias Rehan (23), residents of suburban

Bandra and Dahisar respectively, were arrested near Matunga railway station in central

Mumbai on Saturday.

ATS chief Raghuvanshi had yesterday said that preliminary probe suggested the duo were

getting instructions from someone called 'Uncle' from Pakistan to execute their activities here.

Both had conducted recce of three targets headquarters of public sector petroleum company

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Thakkar Mall and Mangaldas Market and were

planning to carry out attacks which included sabotage and setting them on fire.

BJP seeks parliamentary probe into Air India affairs

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (Agencies): Bhartiya Janta Party demanded a Parliamentary probe into

allegations of corruption and mismanagement in Air India today and blamed government

policies for grave financial situation in the national carrier.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, party leader Prakash Javadekar said

the condition of Air India is worsening and it was on the brink of a collapse.

"The policy, rules and leadership of the Civil Aviation Ministry is hell bent on finishing Air

India....Civil Aviation Minister is the Sultan (of the sector)," Javadekar said, demanding a Joint

Parliamentary Committee to go into the issue to save the national carrier.

Citing a Parliamentary Committee report, he said the merger of Air India with Indian Airlines

has proved fatal. The committee had also said the merger and abandoning profitable routes

had only helped private airlines like Jet Airways.

"Indian Airlines was created by an Act of Parliament. It's merger with Air India should also

have been approved by Parliament," Javadekar further said, adding that the infusion of Rs

800 crore is of no use. Air India is burdened with a loss of Rs 5,550 crore.

Ramdev not yet decided on contesting polls

GHAZIABAD, Mar 15 (Agencies): Yoga Guru Ramdev says he has not yet taken a call on

contesting elections, but will field candidates in all the seats for the next Lok Sabha elections.

Ramdev, who was here to participate in a school function yesterday, targeted the UPA

government for not keeping the prices of essential commodities in check and alleged: "The

intention of the government is very much doubtful towards poors and farmers".

"No doubt Manmohan Singh is a good economist and he understands perfectly the growth

rate, but he does not understand the economics of DalRoti (cereals and bread)," he told

reporters.

He said common men eats bread and not the growth rate, which has no role in the life of those

who live below poverty line.

The Yoga Guru told PTI that he will field candidates in the 2014 general elections but not yet

decided on his own candidature. He advocated reforms in the administrative system of the

country.

Ramdev has already launched Bharat Swabhiman campaign with an aim to end corrupt

practices, bring back the Indian black money and use it for the development of the nation

besides changing the system that has been continuing since the British period, among others.

Cabinet approves bill to allow foreign institutes in India

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (Agencies): A foreign university aspiring to set up a campus in India will

have to deposit Rs 50 crore as corpus fund and cannot take back the surplus generated from

education activities here.

These tough conditions are part of a bill approved by the Union Cabinet today to allow entry

and operation of foreign education providers in India.

After hanging fire for over four years, the Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry

and Operation) Bill, 2010, was cleared by the Union Cabinet presided by Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh. This paves way for its introduction in Parliament.

The major provisions of the bill are conditions like Rs 50 crore as corpus fund to be deposited

by the aspiring institute to be allowed to operate in India.

Each institute will have to be registered with the University Grants Commission or any

regulatory body in place at the time of registration.

The bill has a provision under which the government can reject an application of a university if

it feels that venture will have an adverse impact on national security.

"This bill is a milestone which will enhance choices, increase competition and benchmark

quality," HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said after the approval of the bill by Cabinet.

Provisions of Section 25 of the Companies Act will be applicable for the foreign institutes.

Under this provision, they cannot take the profit back but will have to spend the amount for

further expansion of the institutions here.

The foreign education providers can involve in other activities like consultancy projects and

the profit generated from those projects can be taken back by them.

This bill was hanging fire for over four years owing to opposition from various quarters,

including the Left parties, over certain provisions. Last year, it was referred to a Committee of

Secretaries which brought modifications to certain provisions earlier existed.

The bill was approved by the Cabinet without any change today.

The proposed law prescribes a time bound format for granting approval to foreign educational

institutions to set up campuses. They will go through different levels of registration process

during this period and will be finally registered with UGC or any other regulatory body in place.

The regulatory body will scrutinise the proposals of aspiring institution as per India's priorities

and advice government whether to allow the institute operate in India.

Sibal has already said that quota laws will not be applicable to foreign universities setting up

campuses in India.

The passage of the bill in the Cabinet has attracted appreciations from educational

institutions, including foreign universities.

"It is a milestone step. It will increase quality and access in the Indian education system. It is

an opportunity programme for the foreign universities," George Joseph, assistant secretary

for International Affairs of Yale University, told PTI.

Though Yale has no immediate plan for setting up a campus here, it has entered into more

than 50 collaborations in India and is interested for more such partnerships, said Joseph, who

is currently travelling India.

The Cabinet passed the bill at a time when two major global institutions like Duke University

from the US and Imperial College, London, have evinced interest to set up fullfledged campus

in India.

"They were waiting for the passage of the bill in Parliament," a ministry official said.

Though 100 per cent foreign direct investment through automatic route is permitted in the

education sector since 2000, the present legal structure in India does not allow granting of

degrees by foreign educational institutions here.

The foreign education providers bill is one of the major reforms bills of the HRD Ministry.

Three other reforms bills, which were slated to be taken up in the Cabinet, were deferred to

the next meeting. These are Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical, Medical Educational

Institutions and Universities Bill, Educational Tribunal Bill and Accreditation Bill.

Govt to fight any attempt to unseat Pachauri from IPCC

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (Agencies): The Government today came to the defence of R.K.

Pachauri, head of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which is under fire for making

claims on melting of Himalayan glacier, saying it had full confidence in him and will "fight" any

attempt to unseat him.

"We have full confidence in Chairman of IPCC," Environment and Forests Minister Jairam

Ramesh said during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.

The Government, he said, had objected to the alarm that was created by Fourth Assessment

Report of IPCC suggesting that Himalayan glaciers will disappear by 2035.

The report was based on poorly substantiated estimates of recession. "In drafting the

paragraph on the subject in question, the clear and well established standards of evidence,

required by the IPCC procedures, were not applied properly," the minister said.

The IPCC report was used politically by certain countries to pressurise India into coming on

board to make commitments to control climate change.

"India's objections to the report were upheld and we were vindicated. We are backing IPCC

Chairman (Pachauri) and will fight any attempt to unseat him," he further added.

Ramesh said while most Himalayan glaciers are retreating like the Gangotri glacier, which is

retreating at a decelerating rate, some are advancing. "Most of the glaciers are retreating and

this is a cause of concern," Ramesh said stressing on need for systematic approach and

methodology to address the issue.

India, he said, was committed to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change that puts

responsibility of cutting emissions on developed countries who are the worst polluters.

Decision on judicial standards bill deferred

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (Agencies): A decision on a bill which seeks to lay down judicial

standards and establish a mechanism to deal with complaints of misconduct of judges of the

Supreme court and High Courts was deferred at a meeting of the Union Cabinet today.

The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010 was discussed at the Cabinet meeting

chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But a decision on the matter was deferred,

sources said.

Besides laying down a code to deal with cases of corruption against judges of the Supreme

Court and High Courts, the Bill also seeks to repeal the four decadeold Judges Enquiry Act,

1968 which deals with the process of impeachment of senior judges.

The Bill also has provision for allowing the common man to complain about the alleged

misconduct of a judge, but the citizens will have to reveal the source of their information in

complaints filed by them.

However a final decision on whether action should be taken against the erring judges will

remain with the government.

The Bill, prepared by the Law Ministry, provides for a series of committees to probe the

allegations against judges before an impeachment motion is introduced in either house of

Parliament.

While there will be one Scrutiny Committee for the Supreme Court, the other will be for the 21

High Courts.

The Bill proposes to set up a National Judicial Oversight Committee, likely to be headed by

VicePresident Hamid Ansari in his capacity as the Chairman of Rajya Sabha with

distinguished jurists as members that will receive the complaints against the sitting judges.

The Bill also lays down certain guidelines or code of conducts for judges.

Govt clears draft bill on road safety

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (Agencies): The government today cleared the draft legislation for

setting up a national body to recommend standards for design, construction and maintenance

of highways, safety standards for motor vehicles and trauma centres across the country.

"Yes, it has been approved," a toplevel source said after the meeting of the Union Cabinet.

The Cabinet gave a green signal to the National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board

Bill, he said.

The Bill, once approved by Parliament, will pave the way for a national body to advise the

government on administration of road safety laws and to undertake road safety audits and

analysis of accidents.

The proposal also includes creation of a safety fund by way of earmarking one per cent of the

cess on petrol and diesel.

As per the latest official figures, about 1.20 lakh people lost their lives in 2007 due to road

accidents.

Interceptor missile fails to take off

BALASORE (ORISSA), Mar 15 (Agencies): The test fire of India's new Advanced Air Defence

(AAD) interceptor missile from the Orissa coast today failed to materialise as the target

deviated from its path and plunged into the sea.

The target, a Prithvi missile, fired at 10:02 am from a mobile launcher from the Integrated Test

Range Complex3 at ChandipuronSea, 15 km from here, deviated from its trajectory after

travelling about 11 km and fell into the sea, defence sources said.

As a result, the hypersonic interceptor missile, being developed to destroy hostile incoming

ballistic missiles, did not get the required command for take off from Wheeler Island, about 70

km across the sea from Chandipur.

The AAD missile was to intercept the target at an altitude of 15 to 20 km over the sea.

"Scientists are analysing data to ascertain the reason behind the deviation of Prithvi from its

predesignated trajectory," the sources added "Coordination between the target missile

(Prithvi), from Chandipur and the interceptor from Wheeler Island could not take place properly

during the planned trial," they further said.

The trial, aimed at developing a multilayer Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system, was

originally scheduled to be held yesterday from the two sites of the ITR, but had to be put off

due to technical snag in a subsystem at Wheeler Island.

Govt defers nuclear liability bill, says no Urgency

NEW DELHI, Mar 15 (Agencies): Seeking to avert trouble from Opposition, government today

deferred introduction in Lok Sabha of nuclear liability bill that provides for compensation in the

event of an accident and indicated that it could be delayed till the second half of the Budget

Session next month.

The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010, a key step in operationalisation of the IndoUS

nuclear deal, was listed for introduction in the House but at the last moment the government

said it was not going ahead with it today.

"I have a request from Minister Prithviraj Chavan that the government does not intend to

introduce the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill today," Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar

announced in the House.

This triggered protests from the Opposition with NDA Working Chairman L K Advani asking the

government to tell the House why the Bill was deferred suddenly.

Pointing out that the Bill was an important part of business of the day, Advani said, "The

government should tell the House why it is not introducing the bill. Government should tell the

House whether it has a rethink on it or whether they are not introducing because of opposition

to the bill," he said.

While there was no response from the government to this in the House, Chavan later told

reporters that the Bill was deferred as members had raised objections. "Government will try to

meet these objections formally or informally," he said.

Indicating that it would not be introduced in the first half of the Budget Session that ends

tomorrow, he said, "There is no urgency to introduce the bill".

The decision to defer the bill came as Left parties had declared their intention to oppose its

introduction citing certain objections to its contents.

Responding to Left parties' demand that the Bill should be referred to Parliamentary Standing

Committee, Chavan said it was the right of the House to do so.

He justified the Bill saying there was no law at present that governs award of compensation in

event of a nuclear accident.

India could even tap international funds to provide compensation in such event if it becomes

party to the international convention in this regard, Chavan said.

Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj demanded that since the matter was listed, a motion

had to be moved for withdrawal of the Bill from the agenda.

The Speaker, however, rejected the demand saying such a motion cannot be moved as the bill

has not been introduced in the House.

Objecting to the government's decision, Swaraj said, "The House does not run by the intention

of the government but by rules of the House."

Left parties have dubbed the Bill as "a harmful piece of legislation meant to serve the interests

of the United States and its nuclear industry."

Describing the legislation as "an outcome of the IndiaUS nuclear deal", they said, "The

government is seeking to fulfil a hidden commitment to deliver the legislation that safeguards

the interests of the United States at the expense of the safety of Indian people."

The BJP has said it had "serious reservations" on the bill "since it caps the liability of

American firms".

The Left parties said that under the proposed legislation all the liability would fall upon the

operator which is stateowned the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).

The operator's liability has been fixed at Rs 300 crore, while the overall liability is capped at

Rs 2,200 crore. "This means the government will have to foot the bill for the rest of the

amount. Since the NPCIL is a public sector enterprise, the whole bill is to be footed by the

Indian taxpayer, while the US supplier goes scotfree," the Left parties said.

Enactment of the liability law is one of the three key requirements because of which the

IndoUS nuclear deal, concluded in September 2008, could not be operationalised so far. The

other two requirements are setting up of a dedicated reprocessing facility under IAEA

safeguards and declaration by India on nonproliferation.

National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon had met BJP leader Arun Jaitley last week to

brief him about the Bill, but the main Opposition is yet to have all its concerns addressed.

According to the provisions in the draft legislation, the operator would not be liable for any

nuclear damage if the incident was caused by "grave national disaster of exceptional

character", armed conflict or act of terrorism and suffered by person on account of his own

negligence.

The Bill also provides for the establishment of Nuclear Damage Claims Commission which will

have one or more claims commissioners for a specified area.

The claims commissioner shall have all powers of a civil court for the purpose of taking

evidence on oath, enforcing attendance of witnesses, compelling the discovery and

production of documents and other material objects.