Of 3 31St January 2012 Top IAS Officer Held in Emaar Scam Andhra
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Top IAS officer held in Emaar scam Andhra Pradesh Home Secretary B.P. Acharya was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Hyderabad for his role in the fast-snowballing scandal relating to irregularities in the allotment of high-priced plots for villas in the township project of Dubai-based real estate developer Emaar. The senior IAS officer, who is now Principal Secretary, Home, was vice-chairman and managing director of the public sector A.P. Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) in 2005-10 when the alleged irregularities were committed. The APIIC is a joint-venture partner in the project with Emaar Properties, with a 26 per cent stake. The CBI has informed a court here that senior IAS officer B.P. Acharya deliberately did not object to fixing of lesser price for sale of villa plots in Emaar Hills township which hit the revenue of AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) that assigned 535 acres to the developers. Tata to brew Starbucks in India Starbucks, the iconic American coffee house brand that helped make the beverage ‘cool' worldwide, spurring imitators but also critics — will soon set up shops across India in association with the Tata Group. The joint venture will set up around 50 stores in India during this calendar year with the first one likely to open in the second half of 2012. Tata Starbucks Ltd., an equal joint venture, will own and operate Starbucks cafes which will be branded as Starbucks Coffee ‘A Tata Alliance.' The first retail stores will come up in Delhi and Mumbai. Tata Coffee (a subsidiary of Tata Global Beverages) will roast coffee to supply Tata Starbucks and to export to Starbucks Coffee Company. The Tata Starbucks joint venture will operate cafes under the Quick Service Restaurant category. The joint venture will enable an expanded range of beverage offerings for Indian consumers, starting with a premium tea product, branded Tata Tazo. With more than 17,000 stores globally, Starbucks is a premier roaster and retailer of speciality coffee around the world. India not to cut fuel imports from Iran India will not scale down its petroleum imports from Tehran despite U.S. and European sanctions against the Islamic republic, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said. “It is not possible for India to take any decision to reduce the imports from Iran drastically, because among the countries which can provide the requirement of the emerging economies, Iran is an important country amongst them”. Peace caravan resumes services Karvan-e-Aman (Peace Caravan), the weekly bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, Capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), resumed on January 30 after remaining suspended for well over two weeks due to heavy snowfall. 42 passengers crossed over to the PoK, while 36 arrived Srinagar. The bus service and cross-Line of Control trade had been suspended since January 16 due to heavy snowfall and avalanche warnings. The bus service, that began in April 2005 to facilitate meetings of divided families, was billed as “the mother of all confidence-building measures” aimed at restoring peace in the State. TERI's Sustainable Development summit begins on Februay 2 To fulfil its vision of “working towards global sustainable development, creating innovative solutions for a better tomorrow”, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) announced that its flagship event, the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS), will beginin New Delhi on February 2. The annual event focuses on tackling key developmental issues of the times and has global support from over 60 countries, attracting participation from heads of government and ministers, and a host of other dignitaries comprising Nobel laureates, development practitioners, scientists, academics and corporate leaders. TERI Director- General R.K. Pachauri said DSDS-2012 will be the first important meeting of global leaders preceding the June 2012, Rio+20 Summit. DSDS-2012 will also honour the eighth recipient with the Sustainable Development Leadership Award, which constitutes TERI's tribute to a distinguished individual's exemplary efforts. The award celebrates individuals who have contributed substantially in combating challenges threatening sustainable development and encouraging initiatives which lead the planet towards a sustainable future. Some past winners of the Sustainable Development Leadership awards include Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Page 1 of 3 31st January 2012 High Court asks Union Home Ministry for Uphaar case file The Delhi High Court has asked the Union Home Ministry to place on record the original file regarding grant of sanction for prosecution of former Delhi Police Special Commissioner Amod Kanth in the Uphaar fire tragedy case for allegedly allowing the addition of extra seats in the balcony of the cinema hall in violation of rules. According to the prosecution, the addition of extra seats had resulted in blocking of the gangway and the exit which had proved fatal at the time of the fire as the viewers suffocated to death because they could not exit the place. The CBI is prosecuting him in the case under Sections 304A (causing death by rash and negligent act), 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act which endangers human life) of the Indian Penal Code. Justice Vipin Sanghi asked the Ministry to place the file before the Court by April 19. The Court passed the order on a petition by Neelam Krishnamurthy of the Association for the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy seeking a direction to the Ministry to grant sanction for Mr. Kanth's prosecution and to place the record related to it before the Court. Ijaz sends secret letter to CJ The Pakistani-American businessman who triggered the ‘memogate' controversy has written a “secret letter” to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) in which he has disclosed some information. This was revealed by the nine-judge bench hearing the ‘memo scandal case' in its order without disclosing the contents of the letter. In the order, the bench headed by CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry said the letter's authenticity could not be ascertained, adding that the request to keep it confidential would be decided as per law. Stating that it would have been better if Mansoor Ijaz had sent the letter to the court through his counsel, the bench decided not to consider the document at present and keep it in a sealed cover with the Registrar. As for Mr. Ijaz's request that his evidence be recorded overseas, the court said this was a matter for the commission looking into the matter to decide. The commission has already turned down his request. The court also decided to lift the ban on the former Ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani, travelling overseas while giving the commission a two- month extension. Mr. Haqqani who resigned from the post in the wake of Mr. Ijaz's allegations that he was the mastermind of the memo submitted to Washington seeking its intervention in pre-empting a coup after the May 2 raid in Abbottabad had been prevented by the court from travelling overseas. Russia invites Syrians for talks Russia has invited Syria's government and opposition leaders to Moscow for urgent talks on ending violence. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had called on the Syrian authorities and all opposition groups to send their representatives to Moscow “for informal contacts without pre-conditions. The Syrian government has already conveyed its ‘positive response,'The call for talks came as Moscow rejected the new Arab-European draft resolution on Syria presented by Morocco in the U.N. Security Council. Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin expressed “deep” disappointment with the draft, saying the international community should not impose an outside solution on the Syrian conflict. In a further defiance of the Western hard line, Russia has signed a $550-million contract with Syria for the supply of 36 advanced combat jet trainers, Yak- 130. Defence analysts said the deal was a forerunner for the supply of Russia's latest fighter planes, MiG- 29M or MiG-35, to Syria. Kabul-Taliban talks in Saudi Arabia Afghan government officials and representatives of the Taliban are to hold peace talks in Saudi Arabia, said a Riyadh-based Afghan diplomat. The talks in Saudi Arabia will be separate from the U.S.-brokered meetings held in Qatar and will be the first such talks to take place in the Sunni kingdom. A member of the Taliban's leadership council, the Pakistan-based Quetta Shura, said that “the idea that the Taliban should have a point of contact in Saudi is pushed by the Pakistan and Afghan governments.” The Afghan diplomat, however, said there were no plans for a third party to attend the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. Centre to inject funds in SBI, PNB In a step to increase the capital adequacy and improve the asset quality, the government has decided to subscribe to preferential equity shares issued by State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB). State Bank of India (SBI), India's premier public sector bank, said that it would receive around Rs.7,900 crore from the government through a preferential allotment of equity shares, including premium. Punjab National Bank (PNB) would receive around Rs.1,285 crore from the government against issue of preferential equity shares of Rs.10 at a premium. Page 2 of 3 31st January 2012 NexGen Pulsar from Bajaj Bajaj Auto has unveiled the next generation Pulsar 200NS. This latest Pulsar takes motorcycle technology to a new level with a SOHC 4-valve Triple Spark engine controlled by an advanced electronic control unit.