Lok Sabha polls from April 16 to May 13

NEW DELHI: The much-awaited schedule for the Lok Sabha elections was announced on Monday afternoon, by Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami.


The country will go to polls from April 16 to May 13. Counting of votes will be done on May 16 and the 15th Lok Sabha will be constituted by June two.

Polls will be conducted in 124 constituencies on April 16, 141 constituencies on April 23, 107 constituencies on April 30, 85 constituencies on May 7 and 86 constrituencies on May 13.

Five-phased polls will be held in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, Bihar will have four-phased elections, Maharashtra and West Bengal will witness three-phased polls, while Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Punjab will have elections in two phases, N Gopalaswami announced at a press conference.

Remaining 15 states and seven union territories will have one-day polling.

Treating Manipur as an exception, polls will be conducted in the state on April 22, considering April 23 is a local holiday there.

Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Orissa will simultaneously hold assembly polls.

On Sunday, the President rejected the controversial recommendation by the Chief Election Commissioner for the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla. The President’s decision will now pave the way for Chawla’s elevation as CEC after Gopalaswami demits office on April 20.

The Election Commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami decided the dates of the general elections after completing consultation process with political leaders, home secretary and secretaries of key ministries.

Earlier in the day, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) led by Ajit Singh announced its entry into the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The RLD will have a poll pact with the main NDA constituent the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In a late development on Sunday, the Trinamool Congress formed an alliance with Congress in West Bengal to fight the Lok Sabha elections against the Left Front.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/LS-polls-in-5-phases-between-Apr-16-May-13/articleshow/4211369.cms

India to get first indigenous aircraft carrier by 2014

The first Indian-made aircraft carrier will be commissioned by 2014. The ship is being built at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for the Indian Navy.

With this, India joins the elite club capable of designing and building aircraft carriers of 40,000 tonne. Designed by the Directorate of Naval Design, the carrier will be completed in two phases and can accommodate 30 aircraft. The ship will be 260 metre long and 60 metre wide.

Laying the keel for the first indigenous aircraft carrier last Saturday, defence Minister AK Antony said the second order might also be given to CSL when the first one is handed over to the Navy.

Construction work on the blocks of the ship commenced in November 2006. There will be take off and landing facilities for fighter aircraft like MIG-29 K and Indian-made light combat aircraft.

Stating that he was opposed to the privatisation move of the shipyard, Antony said the defence ministry had allotted Rs 200 crore for developing basic infrastructural facilities of the yard like cranes and workshop. During 2007-08, CSL registered a turnover of Rs 967 crore and earned a net profit of Rs 93 crore.

Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta on the occasion said India had already built 90 warships indigenously and was building another 32 warships and six submarines at various shipyards.

Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T R Baalu inaugurated the small ship division complex (SSDC) and the paint coating shop at Cochin Shipyard. SSDC will enable CSL to take up concurrent construction of commercial ships along with war ships. The paint coating shop will enable blasting and painting in controlled atmospheric conditions.

Soruce:http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/india-to-get-first-indigenous-aircraft-carrier-by-2014/00/03/350481/

लोकसभा चुनावों के लिए पांच फेज में डाले जाएंगे वोट, गिनती 16 मई को

नई दिल्ली।। निर्वाचन आयोग लोकसभा चुनावों के लिए तारीखों का ऐलान कर दिया है। चुनाव पांच चरणों में होंगे । पहले दौर का चुनाव 16 अप्रैल, दूसरा 23 अप्रैल, 30 अप्रैल, सात मई और आखिरी यानी पांचवें चरण में 13 मई को वोट पड़ेंगे। वोटों की गिनती 16 मई को होगी। जम्मू और कश्मीर और उत्तर प्रदेश। महाराष्ट्र बंगाल में तीन चरणों में और बिहार में चार फेज में वोट डाले जाएंगे।

आंध्र प्रदेश,असम, मध्य प्रदेश, झारखंड, पंजाब, मणिपुर, उड़ीसा में दो चरणों में वोट डाले जाएंगे। बाकी केंद्रशासित प्रदेशों में चुनाव एक दिन का होगा। मुख्य चुनाव आयुक्त एन. गोपालस्वामी के नेतृत्व में आयोग नेताओं, गृह सचिव और प्रमुख मंत्रालयों के सचिवों के साथ विचार-विमर्श के बाद प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस आम चुनाव की तारीखों की घोषणा की है। 16 अप्रैल को 124, 23 अप्रैल को 141, 30 अप्रैल को 107 सीटों, 7 मई को 85 और 13 मई को 86 सीटों पर वोट डाले जाएंगे। 543 संसदीय सीटों में 522 पर फोटो पहचान पत्र अनिवार्य है। एन.गोपालस्वामी के मुताबिक 543 सीटों में 499 पर चुनाव नए परिसीमन के आधार पर होगा।

इस साल 2 जून तक लोकसभा का गठन होना था। चुनाव में करीब चालीस लाख सिविल कर्मी और 21 लाख पुलिस बल और अर्धसैनिक बलों के जवान तैनात होंगे। इस बार करीब 71.4 करोड़ लोग इस बार लोकसभा चुनाव में वोट डालेंगे। चुनाव कार्यक्रम की घोषणा के साथ ही आचार संहिता लागू हो गई है। राजनैतिक पार्टियों में बीजेपी ने चुनाव कार्यक्रम पर खुशी जाहिर की है। पार्टी प्रवक्ता रविशंकर प्रसाद ने कहा है कि उनकी पार्टी चुनाव कार्यक्रम का स्वागत करती है।

Soruce:http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4211189.cms

LTTE warns India over displaced Tamils

The LTTE is not pleased with India's demands for a safe passage of civilians from the trouble-torn region of Sri Lanka. LTTE is clear that the civilians caught in the turmoil must not be uprooted from their land.

In an e-mail interview to TV channel Times Now, the political head of LTTE - B Nadesan - has warned New Delhi to back-off. Nadesan has called the eviction of people from their homeland 'a monumental blunder'.

The LTTE calls this a calculated ploy by the Lankan government to uproot Tamils from their traditional habitat.

Nadesan writes: "I ask if the UN, or India, or any other country would ever promote uprooting and relocating the people of Gaza as a solution? And the Tamil people are expected to willingly rush to these barbed wired internment camps in these surrounding situations? Is this what UN, India and other nations are envisioning for Tamils? The human shield term is a propaganda used towards uprooting the Tamil people from their traditional habitat. The Tamil people have lived here for generations and want to continue living here and make a livelihood in these lands. The Sri Lankan Government, UN and other international community's statements that claim to seek the well being of Tamil people - in uprooting them to forcibly and put them in barbed wired military run camps is unprecedented."

Nadesan's outburst interestingly comes a day after external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee asked the Lankan government to accept the LTTE's ceasefire offer and arrange for safe passage of civilians. In his reaction to Mukherjee's call for Sri Lanka to make use of the LTTE offer for ceasefire and evacuate civilians, Nadesan has warned India not to fall for Sri Lanka’s promise of resettling Tamils.

"As India also continues express calls for safe passage of civilians and lukewarm calls for truce, these are seen as temporary measures and a blessing to continue the military onslaught on the Tamil Homelands by Colombo...

"India and UN will be in no position to ask Sri Lanka to adhere to these empty promises of resettlement in the future. Remember that the new uprooting is being proposed while thousands of Tamil people in Jaffna have been waiting for over a decade to be re-settled. Sri Lankan government has refused to adhere to the dignity, security and safety of even of Tamils who have been living in cities like Colombo for generations.

The Sri Lankan government promises to the international community of resettling Tamils will be broken at the same speed soon before the promised assistance funds are made available to the Sri Lankan government coffers that are already facing a crunch of foreign reserves due to vast military expenditures."

The LTTE has also, for the first time, condemned the UN for its latest report accusing the Tigers of forcibly holding people back. Nadesan said that the United Nations has given a recent report without any first hand information. The reality, he said, was that Tamil people do not want to move to UN and Sri Lankan refugee camps.

"The UN was already forced to abandon the Tamil people last year when the Sri Lankan government asked all the UN and NGO staff to leave Vanni last year, in order to carry on its war without witnesses. It is regrettable that the UN Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes was not provided a safe passage to come to Vanni and see the plight of the civilians first hand and see if they are being forcibly held. The people are staying here at their own will. They want peace and security right where they live and do not want to move into any UN and Sri Lanka government planned camps - internment camps, as described by the Human Rights Watch on Feb 20th."

While trying fiercely to safeguard their last territory of less than 100 square kilometres, LTTE’s staunch stand against moving out the almost two lakh civilians caught in the cross-fire between the Lankan army and the LTTE, could be seen as an excuse to hold back civilians. It could also be taken as a the direct message to India to stop believing that Sri Lanka could storm further passions in Tamil Nadu.

Soruce:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/LTTE-warns-India-on-displaced-Tamils/articleshow/4211286.cms

Growth in the fourth quarter to be much better: Kamal Nath

Date : Mar-02-2009 10:35
Though the economy is struggling with the global economic slowdown but the Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath is still confident that the growth of the country would pick up momentum in the last two months of this fiscal. Nath said "I believe the worst is over," by adding that the last two months of this fiscal would be much better in terms of growth.

Nath also said that the government was aware of the sluggish growth in the economy during the quarter ended December and that''s why the stimulus packages was announced. "We were seized... We did not know the figures but certainly we were seized that there is a sharp decline, that is why we did announce a stimulus package," said Nath adding that the measures have started yielding results.

The economy of India grew 5.3% for the quarter ended December from a year earlier, slowing from 7.6% in the previous quarter. The annual growth of India''s fiscal third quarter was lower than upwardly revised 8.9% annual expansion in the same quarter a year ago. The farm output in the December quarter fell an annual 2.2% as compared to a rise of 2.7% in September quarter. The manufacturing slipped an annual 0.2% in December quarter as against a growth of 5% in the September quarter. The construction grew 6.7% in December quarter as compared to 9.7% September quarter. The trade, hotels, transport and communication advanced 6.8% in December quarter vs 10.7% in September. The financing, insurance, real estate and business services gained 9.5% in Oct-Dec vs 9.2% in July-September.

Market deteriorated further on confidence crisis due to worsening US Slump.

Date : Mar-02-2009 13:33
The key benchmark indices traded weak due to confidence crisis in the market. The worsening US slump and continuous fall in Asian market provoked the worries for equity market. The expectation from RBI to pump in money into the market by reducing the key rates is still awaited. Moreover, according to biggies of equity market – the market will see some recovery from first quarter of 2010. Due to this, the investors are losing confidence in the market and are away from the market. Meanwhile, continuous selling from FIIs is also pulling the key indices lower.

On the sectoral front, traders off-loaded position across the sectors. Auto stocks advanced jumped after some auto firms announced jump in February 2009 vehicle sales. Baking stocks fell on fears of rising defaults in a weakening economy and on fall in ADRs. IT stocks fell on fears a weak global economy would cut the IT spending.

The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was weak. On BSE, out of 2,233 stocks traded so far, 731 shares advanced while 1,405 shares declined. Nearly 97 shares are unchanged.

At 1.30PM, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 223.66 points at 8,667.95 and NSE Nifty is down by 71.45 points at 2,692.20.

The BSE Mid Cap is trading lower by 32.59 points at 2,725.69 and Small cap is trading down by 29.17 points at 3,076.83.

Major losers from the BSE Sensex pack are Tata Steel plunged 6.21% to Rs. 161.65 along with ICICI Bank tumbled 4.37% to Rs. 313.75, HDFC Bank fell by 3.94% to Rs. 850.00, ONGC by 3.85% to Rs. 664.55, Reliance Infra by 3.29% to Rs. 474.45, TCS Ltd by 3.17% to Rs. 465.35, Reliance Communication by 3.02% to Rs. 150.75, ACC Ltd by 2.90% to Rs. 524.15, Hindustan Uniliver by 2.76% to Rs. 246.80, and Bharti Airtel by 2.61% to Rs. 620.05 among others.

Major gainers from the BSE Sensex pack are Mhindra & Mahindra Ltd fell by 4.16% to Rs. 322.80 along with Tata Motors by 2.17% to Rs. 152.70, Maruti Suzuki by 1.44% to Rs. 687.35 and Ranbaxy Labs by 0.37% to Rs. 162.40.

The BSE Bankex index is lower by 138.19 points or 3.26% at 4,101.91. Stocks trading in red are Axis Bank by 4.50% to Rs. 332.30, ICICI Bank by 4.37% to Rs. 313.75, HDFC Bank by 3.94% to Rs. 850.00, Oriental Bank by 3.74% to Rs. 110.80, Punjab National Bank by 3.41% to Rs. 326.00 and Yes Bank by 3.31% to Rs. 49.60 among others.

Tata Steel fell 6.21% to Rs. 161.65 on profit selling after the stock rose over 7% in the past three trading sessions.

Edserv Softsystems trading at Rs. 139.55, a 132.58% premium to its issue price of Rs. 60 a share on its listing.

Fortis Healthcare jumped 5.16% to Rs. 68.30 after multiple block deals on BSE and NSE.

Reliance Industries fell 2.07% to Rs. 1,238.90 after the company set the swap ratio for merger of Reliance Petroluem slightly in favour of Reliance Petroleum.

TVS Motor Company rose 5.17% to Rs. 20.35 on reports the company has posted a 13% rise in its two-wheeler sales to 1,07,301 units in February 2009 over February 2008.

Hindustan Dorr Oliver rose 3.46% to Rs. 32.90 after the company won an engineering order worth Rs. 24 crore from HPCL-Mittal Energy.

Seamec Ltd fell 6.70% to Rs. 55.70 snapping a solid surge in the previous three trading sessions, on profit booking.

HMT jumped 10% to Rs. 31.90 on reports the company is one among 10 sick public sector units whom the government has allowed the unit to sell surplus land for raising resources to turnaround its balance sheet.

Aurobindo Pharma fell by 1.20% to Rs. 147.90 despite the company through its wholly owned subsidiary Aurobindo Pharma Australia Pty Ltd received it''s first approval from Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Government of Australia for the registration of Auro-Lisinopril 5, Auro-Lisinopril 10 and Auro-Lisinopril 20 tablets containing Lisinopril (as dihydrate) 5mg, 10mg and 20mg.