1400 HRS 21th December, 2011 THE HEADLINES:

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi says, Congress party has fulfilled its poll promises to bring an effective Lokpal Bill; Three more bills to eradicate corruption to be enacted. Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 PM following Opposition uproar demanding hike in minimum support price of food and cash crops to farmers. Prime Minister urges all political parties to cooperate in running Parliament so that the House lives upto its role and ideals. Supreme Courts empowered committee to inspect Mullaperiyar Dam on the 24th of this month. Britian announces its military involvement in Afghanistan will not be extended beyond 2014. Sensex gains over 300 points in the afternoon trade; Rupee appreciates by 22 paise to 52 rupees 65 paise against Dollar. <><><>

Dispelling the impression that there is any difference of opinion between the government and the Congress, party President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi today asserted that it has fulfilled its poll promise to bring an effective Lokpal Bill. Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party in New Delhi, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi said that the government is on its way to fulfil its 2009 election manifesto to bring the Food Security Bill. The Congress Parliamentary Party spokesman Janardan Diwedi told reporters that the party has fulfilled all the promises, it had made during different Congress sessions. Mr. Diwedi said, that the Congress President said that the Cabinet has approved the Lokpal Bill yesterday and hoped that it will be introduced and passed. She said apart from the historic bill, three more bills with major implications to eradicate the menace of corruption are expected to be approved. These Bills are related to the protection of whistle blowers, enhancing judicial accountability, preventing money laundering operations and controlling bribery of Indian public officers by foreign companies. In addition to this, amendments are being introduced to further strengthen law relating to prevention of money laundering. Mrs. Gandhi said that the citizens right to grievance redressal Bill introduced yesterday will ensure time bound delivery of public services. It will also deal with public grievances and the menace of corruption down to the block level. She said that Food Security Bill protect a huge number of people from hunger and malnutrition and it is a very much part of Congress parties far reaching rights based approach to development as earlier the UPA government brought Right to Information Act and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Criticizing the BJP led NDA, Mrs. Gandhi said that its sole objective is to obstruct proceedings of Parliament. She

said they wanted to derail legislative agenda of the government but the government will not be deterred as it is committed to the welfare of the people. She also appreciated the steps taken by the Finance Minister to deal with black money issue. <><><> The Prime Minister today urged all political parties to cooperate in running Parliament so that it lives upto its role and ideals. Addressing the Karunakaran Award Foundation function in New Delhi, Dr. Manmohan Singh expressed his anguish that Parliament has not been allowed to function smoothly despite the government's best efforts. He said that to tide over the challenges facing the nation the wisdom and statesmanship of leaders like Karunakaran is important. Paying tribute to the veteran Congress leader, the Prime Minister said that the successful management of UPA is due to the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee. <><><> Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said that government is not under anybody's pressure on the Lokpal issue. Talking to reporters outside Parliament, Mr. Jaiswal said that it is the Congress led UPA, which has got the mandate from the people to run the government and they are performing their duty. He added that no one can dictate terms to the government. <><><> The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 PM as soon as the House met after its first adjournment. The
opposition members trooped into the well of the House demanding a hike in the minimum support price of food and cash crops to help the farmers. Repeated pleas for order by the Deputy Speaker could not pacify the agitated members.

In the pandemonium several reports and a bill were introduced in the House.The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned for ten minutes till noon as BJP members, who continued to object Home Minister P Chidambaram's reply, trooping into the well of the House. Protesting against the opposition, some of the Congress members also trooped into the well forcing the Chairman, Mohammed Hamid Ansari to adjourn the House. The government has taken effective steps to check infiltration and smuggling activities along the borders. Border Guarding Forces have been deployed and Border Out Posts, Observation Posts and Listening Posts at vantage points have been established. This information was given in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr. Mullappally Ramachandran. He said the areas along the Line of Actual Control are being kept under constant survellance by physical deployment, regular patrolling and other aerial optronic and electronic means. The Minister said the government has approved the construction of 73 strategic roads along the Line of Actual Control, IndoChina border in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. He said construction has also commenced for 69 roads.

The government is in the process of preparing a concept paper to tackle the encroachment of government land in consultation with various ministries. Giving this information during the question hour in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister for Housing and Urban poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja said the government land belonging to 21 ministries has been encroached by slum dwellers. The Minister said guidelines have also been issued for preparing innovative pilot projects including projects for slums on land belonging to central government and its agencies. The Minister said the government has approved 15 lakh houses under various schemes including Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana, of which 5 lakh have been completed. <><><> The number of unemployed persons in the country has come down from three crore 47 lakh in 2004-05 to two crore 85 lakh in 2009-10. This was stated by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Mallikarjun Kharge in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today. He said the government has taken several steps to reduce unemployment. The focus is on productive employment at a faster pace in order to raise the incomes of masses of the rural population to bring about a general improvement in their living conditions. The Minister said the job opportunities are likely to be created on account of growth in Gross Domestic Product, investment in Infrastructure Development and growth in exports. He said the government is also implementing various employment generation programmes. <><><> The country's uranium requirement during the forthcoming 12th Five Year Plan has been estimated at 5057 tones. This includes 318 tones of low enriched uranium for the Tarapur Atomic Power Station in Maharashtra and Kudankulam in Tamilnadu. Giving this information in the Lok Sabha today, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Mr. V. Narayanasamy said the supplies are to come from Russiaand Kazakhstan. Referring to media reports of uranium import from Australia, he said the government is yet to get any formal communication from Canberra. India's trade deficit stood at 117 Billion US dollars for the last eight months in 2011-12, which is the highest compared to the corresponding period in the last three years. This information was given by the Commerce Minister, Mr Anand Sharma while replying to supplementaries during the question hour in the Rajya Sabha. Mr Sharma said despite a very challenging global environment, measures taken by the government have not only arrested the decline of exports, but it has also been successful in reversing it. He said anticipating that the situation is likely to be adverse the government had announced a package on 13th October 2011. In addition a strategy paper to double the country's exports by 2013-14 was released in May 2011.

The Lok Sabha today paid homage to the victims of the tropical storm Sendog in the Philippines. In an obituary reference, Speaker Meira Kumar said the calamity took a heavy toll of lives when it struck taking the victims unaware, on the 16th of this month. The House stood in silence for a while in the memory of the departed. <><><> Two technical experts of the Supreme Courts empowered committee C D Datte and D K Mehta will inspect Mullaperiyar Dam on 24th of this month. The technical members will be inspecting the dam as per the instructions of the empowered committee Chairman former chief Justice of Supreme Court A S Anand. Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, various political outfits led by MDMK have organized road blockade protests today in support of raising the height of Mullaperiyar dam to 142 feet. Kerala Assembly Speaker G. Karthikeyan urged the people to observe restrain on the Mullaperiyar dam safety issue. Talking to newspersons, the Speaker stressed the need to sort out the issue peacefully between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He said that provocative statements from political leaders will not solve the issue. Meanwhile, thirteen roads from Tamil Nadu to Kerala have been blocked by MDMK party members in Tamil Nadu and subsequently different check posts in Kerala have been closed. <><><>
The government today said the creation of any new state has wide ramifications and direct bearing on the federal polity of the country. Stating this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr. Jitendra Singh said the Centre moves in such matter only when there is a broad consensus in the parent state. He said the government takes a decision on the matter of formation of new states after taking into consideration all relevant factors. Referring to the main question on Telangana, the Minister said a Committee under the Chairmanship of Retired Justice B N Shrikrishna had submitted its report in December last year. In Rajasthan, the Congress MLA from Luni, Malkhan Singh Bishnoi has been suspended from party membership following his arrest in the Bhanwari Devi case. The PCC Chief Dr. Chandrabhan took the decision after the meeting of the partys Disciplinary Committee held in Jaipur yesterday evening. Malkhan Singh was arrested by the CBI on Monday for his alleged involvement in the Bhanwari Devi abduction case and is presently under CBI remand upto 28th of this month.

<><><> In Tamil nadu, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau officials today conducted raids at the residences of former Minister Mr.K.K.S.S.R Ramachandran and his relatives at Chennai and Virudhunagar district. The raids were in connection with allegedly amassing wealth disappropriate to known sources of incom. Our correspondent reports, the DVAC raided eight places across the State including Chennai.

<><><> The winter session of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly began in Gangtok today. The house expressed deep condolences to the victims of the 18th September earthquake that ravaged the entire state. The leader of the house and the Chief Minister, Mr. Pawan Chamling also expressed gratitude to the Centre for helping the state in the hour of crisis. Our correspondent reports, the sitting is for one day only. <><><> In Jammu and Kashmir Police and Security Forces recovered arms and ammunition from an hideout of terrorists during a search operation in Lapri Top (Thuroo) area of Arnas in Reasi district of Jammu division yesterday. According to a Police spokesman, acting on a tip off Police and Security Forces launched a joint search operation in Lapri Top (Thuroo) area and came across a natural hideout being used by terrorists. <><><> In Rajasthan, more than 6500 in-service Doctors went on indefinite strike from today in support of their demands, including pay parity with the Central Government Doctors. Contractual employees of the NRHM also went on strike yesterday. Our correspondent reports that the medical services in the state may be paralysed the Doctor strike. The state government has invoked Rajasthan Essential Services Maintenance Act -RESMA for three months. Meanwhile, the in-service Doctors organisation has criticised the governments decision to impose RESMA and has warned that the Doctors would not hesitate from submitting mass resignations. <><><> British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that Britain will not extend its military involvement in Afghanistan beyond 2014. He made these comments while talking to British troops posted in Kandhar, in southern Afghanistan last night. Mr Cameron was scheduled to visit neighbouring Camp Bastion Air Base in Helmand province but due to dust storm his plane had to land at Kandhar. The British prime minister met soldiers and air personnel posted there. Presently about 9,500 British troops are posted in Afghanistan. Since the begining of war in Afghanistan in 2001 nearly 400 have died during different operations and insurgent attacks. Britain plans to withdraw its 500 troops in 2012. <><><> Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Cairo today to discuss the progress on the reconciliation pact. The deal called for setting up an interim Government and holding simultaneous elections inWest Bank and the Gaza.Fatah and Hamas had signed the reconciliation pact in May, but couldnt agree on how to form a Government. The issue of political detainees is also likely to figure in their talks.

<><><> US Vice President Joe Biden has called for a dialogue among the ruling alliance partners to resolve the political crisis in Iraq. He spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and the speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives Osama al-Nujaifi on phone. Biden emphasized U.S. support for an inclusive government in Iraq.Meanwhile, the Iraqi vice president Tareq Al Hashemi has denied terror charges against him. At a press conference in Arbil, Hashemi said, he is ready to face trial inKurdistan and called for a probe by the Arab League. Arrest warrants were issued against the Vice President on Monday on the basis of alleged confessions by his bodyguards that he organized killings of Government officials and security forces. <><><> Five people including an indian died in an airplane crash in the United States. An Indian managing director of a New York investment banking firm was killed when a small plane carrying him and four other passengers spiralled out of control and crashed on a busy New Jersey highway. The other passengers aboard the plane, including another Greenhill Managing Director his wife and their two children, were also killed in the crash yesterday.The 2005 Socata single-engine turboprop took off from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport and was headed for DeKalb Peachtree Airport near Atlanta. The cause of the accident is being investigated. <><><> In Hong Kong, 17,000 chickens were culled today and live poultry imports have been suspended for
21 days after three birds tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus. The Health Chief, York Chow announced the measures yesterday after a dead chicken at the city's main wholesale market and two wild birds tested positive for the virus, which can be fatal to humans. Authorities raised the bird flu alert level to serious and are tracing the origin of the infected chicken which could cause major disruptions to poultry supplies in the country over Christmas time.

<><><> Maintaining the upward trend today, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange was trading more than 300 points in the positive territory in afternoon deals. The 30-share index had gained over 320 points in the first few minutes of trade today and since then trading in the green. It was trading 316 points up at 15,491, when reports last came in. In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index was trading 92 points up at 4,636. <><><> The Indian rupee appreciated by 22 paise to 52 rupees 65 paise against the US dollar in early trade today. The rise was due to the fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters due to weakness of the American currency overseas. The domestic currency had closed marginally lower by 1 paisa at 52 rupees 87 paise yesterday.

<><><> In Chess, India scored an emphatic 4-0 victory over South Africa in the third round, jumping to the joint second spot in the World Women's Team Championships at Mardin in Turkey. Mainstay Koneru Humpy was rested for tougher battles ahead, while D Harika, Tania Sachdev, Padmini Rout and Soumya Swaminathan scored fine victories to keep the team in contention for a medal in the premier team event.On a tough day for higher seeds, overnight joint leaders Georgia were defeated 1-3 by the Vietnamese, whereas hosts Turkey sprang a major surprise by beating Ukraine 2.5-1.5. Georgia and Vietnam are not far behind the leaders with four points apiece, while Armenia and Turkey share the sixth spot with two points each. <> In Jammu and Kashmir, the 57th National School Games-2011 concluded at the M.A. Stadium in Jammu yesterday. The Games were organized by the Youth Services and Sports Department of State government under the aegis of the School Games Federations of India. In cricket, under 19 girls category, Maharashtra won the championship, while, Delhi got the 2nd position. <><><> Indias Ambassador to Nepal, Mr. Jayant Prasad inaugurated the newly constructed cultural museum at Janaki Mandir Complex, Janakpurdham in Dhanusha District inNepal yesterday.
The project has been constructed with Indian assistance of three crore Nepali Rupees under the NepalIndia Economic Co-operation Programme. Mr. Prasad expressed the hope that the establishment of the museum will contribute to further strengthening the rich cultural heritage of Janakpurdham and improving the civic infrastructure for the benefit of visitors and pilgrims.

<><><> Delhi government has inked an agreement with the National Institute for Smart Government, NISG, Hyderabad for digitisation of its archival records. It will preserve 10 crore documents including CID records, Gazettes, Maps, Manus, photographs and records of eminent personalities. It will also include transfer of the digital contents on microfilms for long term preservation. The pact was signed by Secretary for arts and Culture of Delhi government and NISG CEO in New DelhiYesterday. <><><> In Puducherry, Over 5 lakh devotees had darshan at the Dharbaneswarar temple at Thirunallar in Karaikal on the occasion of Sanipeyerchi. Special Poojas were performed from early morning in the only temple in India dedicated to Saturn. Puducherry LT. Governor Iqbal Singh, were among those who had a darshan at the temple today. <><><> The Municipal Corporation of Delhi, MCD schools will have a 23-day winter vacation beginning from the 25th of this month due to prevailing cold conditions in the National

Capital. This was announced by Municipal Corporation of Delhi Education Committee Chairman Mahendra Nagpal. He said that keeping in view, the ongoing cold situation and dense fog in the capital, the MCD schools will be closed for winter vacation from 25 th December to 15 January. <><><>