India Inc to conduct recruitment drive in Tihar

NEW DELHI: In a first, top executives of India Inc will conduct a recruitment drive in Tihar jail and pick 50 inmates to be employed in their business houses.

The list, which includes big names like IDBI bank , Vedanata Group, Sterlite Foundation , Agarwal Packers, Jindal Steel and Flex shoes, will carry out the "campus selection" of the prisoners, who have received professional training during their term at the jail.

"Ten companies have agreed to absorb some of our convicts when they get released from the jail. They include IDBI Bank, Vedanta Group and Agarwal Packers amongst others. We have done the profiling of 50 professionally qualified inmates. This campus selection, which is happening for the first time, will be conducted on February 5," said Sunil Gupta, law officer and spokesperson, Tihar jail said.

The jail authorities decided to go for the placement drive after they realised that even after reforming prisoners and making them professionally qualified, they do not get a job after released due to their criminal background, he said.

This job placement is being done to help the prisoners earn and live with dignity. It will also prevent them from committing crime in the future, he said.

Gupta said, "All these 50 prisoners have completed their education from IGNOU. They are highly qualified. Some are post graduates, while others are MCA and MBA qualified."

ET

Indian Navy to buy four more P-8Is aircraft

BANGALORE: The Indian Navy has decided to exercise its option for an additional four Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft in a bid to boost its maritime patrol capabilities as well as counter piracy threats and the growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.

In a deal expected to range between $1 billion to $1.5 billion, the new aircraft will be in addition to the eight the Navy had ordered in January 2009, for about $2.1 billion. The new contract price is also expected to include the cost of aero-structures and avionics.

“The Indian Navy has received the necessary government approvals and has decided to go ahead with the contractual processes to acquire four additional P-8I aircraft under the options clause,” Commander PVS Satish, public relations officer for the Indian Navy told The Economic Times.

According to sources, Boeing has already submitted its draft offset contract to the defence ministry last week. “The government is considering exercising the option of adding four P-8I aircraft,” Dr Vivek Lall, vice-president, Boeing Defence, Space & Security told ET. The P-8I, which is based on the Boeing next-generation 737 commercial airplane, is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that the defence vendor Boeing is developing for the US Navy. India is the first international customer for the P-8 platform.

The first of the eight P-8I aircraft, which were bought through the direct commercial sales route with Boeing, are expected to be delivered to India within 48 months of the original contract signing. The aircraft are of supreme strategic importance for India’s naval forces, with the country looking to enhance its role in the high seas.

Further, the global community has been clamouring for India to play a more dominant policing role against sea piracy in the Straits of Malacca, which is one of the busiest commercial and military sea-routes in the world, and along the East African coast.

Also, in the ongoing scramble for sea power in the world’s thirdlargest ocean, India has been desperate to stop what it perceives as a growing Chinese hegemony in the region. Separately, Boeing has also submitted a reply to the Navy’s Request for Information for six medium-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft as well.

However, ministry sources did not confirm whether any of the other global defence vendors had responded to the same.
Others expected to be in the running for the contract include Russia’s Ilyushin, France’s Dassault and EADS . Like most defence deals pursued in India, the acquisition of the MRMR aircraft has followed a long and tortuous route. With the original global Request for Procurement issued in 2008, before the Mumbai attacks, the same was later scrapped by the defence ministry on certain technical grounds.

The current RFI also specifies the aircraft should be able to carry out electronic intelligence gathering and counter-measures, besides maritime patrol and search and rescue within an operational envelope of 350 nautical miles or almost 650 kilometres, as well as a patrol endurance of at least three and a half hours.

There are additional requirements that the aircraft be capable of carrying at least two anti-ship missiles and a jamming pod. As with the P-8I, the navy has specified in the RFI that certain pieces of equipment must be indigenous, like Identification Friend or Foe Interrogator with Secure Mode, MSS Terminal, BFE, Datalink and Speech Secrecy Equipment and vendors must indicate their commitment to integrate this equipment into the aircraft.

ET

Rupee opens 2 paise lower against dollar

MUMBAI: The rupee opened 2 paise lower at Rs 45.64 per US dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange today amid demand for the American currency from importers and appreciation of the greenback against other currency rivals overseas.

The rupee had strengthened by 13 paise to Rs 45.62/63 per dollar in the previous session.

Forex dealers said gains registered by the dollar against euro overseas, in addition to demand from importers, mainly weighed on the rupee sentiment.

However, a higher opening in the stock market and closure of Asian markets to mark the Lunar New Year restricted the rupee losses, they said.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by 57.32 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 18,147.94 in opening trade today.

TOI

Sensex advances for second day; shoots up 358 points

MUMBAI: Shrugging off spike in food inflation and high interest rate worries, the BSE benchmark sensex today surged by over 358 points to close at 18,449.31 on aggressive value buying in the recently beaten stocks and indications of a steady global economic recovery.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark sensex, which had gained 68 points in the previous session, spurted by 358.69 points to 18,449.31, even as the food inflation soared to over 17 per cent for the week ended January 22 from 15.57 per cent in the previous week.

The sensex upsurge was mostly supported by most beaten stocks of metal, realty, capital goods and banking, following nearly 11 per cent fall in the market this year, which had touched a five-month low.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty shot up by 94.75 points to 5,526.75 led by Hindalco, Reliance Industries, Larsen and Toubro and State Bank of India.

US manufacturing data showed unexpected acceleration in January, the fastest pace in more than six years, signalling that the global recovery might be taking a strong hold.

European manufacturing too gained at the quickest pace in nine months, while UK production increased at a record pace in January.

Hindalco, the biggest aluminium producer, gained for the fourth day as manufacturing improved from China to the US, boosting the demand outlook. The stock gained 4.62 per cent to Rs 245.70 as copper advanced to records in London and New York, while aluminium gained by 0.4 per cent.

Foreign funds shifted focus to Indian stocks as most of the Asian markets were closed on account of Lunar New Year holidays.

The two heaviest-weighted on the sensex - Reliance Industries and Infosys gained on buying at attractive low levels and favourable reports.

RIL gained 2.40 per cent to Rs 943.50 following a steep rise in crude oil prices and Infosys rose by 0.98 per cent to Rs 3,115.85 on expectations of better earnings on expectation of a steady global economic recovery. US and Europe account for substantial share of the revenues for Indian IT firms.

The realty sector index gained the most by rising 3.93 per cent to 2,276 followed by capital goods index by 2.51 per cent to 13,390.47. The metal index rose by 2.19 per cent to 16,477.32 and banking index by 2.04 per cent to 12,111.66.

With the buying activity spilling over a wide-front, smallcap index rose by 1.21 per cent to 8,464 and midcap index by 1.09 per cent to 6,827.87.

TOI

Mobiles pose health risk, says govt panel

NEW DELHI: Radiation from mobile phones and towers poses serious health risks, including loss of memory, lack of concentration, disturbance in the digestive system and sleep disturbances, according to an inter-ministerial committee formed by the ministry of communications and information technology to study the hazards posed by mobile phones.

The committee has also attributed the disappearance of butterflies, bees, insects and sparrows vanishing from big cities to mobile phone-related radiation.

The eight-member committee, which included representatives from the health ministry, department of biotechnology and member secretary, DoT, has recommended that mobile phones not adhering to standard levels of specific absorption rate (SAR) - a measure of the amount of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body while using a phone -- should be barred.

It has said mobile towers should not be installed near high density residential areas, schools, playgrounds and hospitals. "The localized SAR value as per the Indian guidelines standard is 2 watt per kg, averaged over a six minute period and using a 10 gram average mass. With higher SAR values of mobile handsets the public could potentially receive much higher radiofrequency exposure. We have recommended that SAR levels to be lowered down to 1.6 watt/kg, as prescribed by the Federal Communication Commission of US," said a member.

Dr R S Sharma, ICMR scientist who represented the health ministry on the committee, said the findings are based on case studies presented by different experts. He added that the recommendations would be used to formulate a national policy and guidelines on electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation for telecom towers.

"In the case of a person using a cellphone, most of the heating occurs on the surface of the head, causing its temperature to increase by a fraction of a degree. The brain blood flow is capable of disposing this excess by increasing the local blood flow and increasing body temperature," states the report. It says that the non-thermal effects of cellphone use — attributed to the induced electromagnetic effects inside the body's biological cells — are more harmful.

"People who are chronically exposed to low-level wireless antenna emissions and users of mobile handsets have reported feeling several unspecific symptoms during and after its use, ranging from burning and tingling sensation in the skin of the head, fatigue, sleep disturbances, dizziness, lack of concentration, ringing in the ears, reaction time, loss of memory, headache, disturbance in digestive system and heart palpitation," the report says.

The committee was chaired by Ram Kumar, advisor (technology), department of telecommunications, and had Arvind Duggal from the department of biotechnology and R N Jindal from the environment ministry among its other members.

Member scientist, ICMR R S Sharma said that compared to Europeans, Indian cellphone users are more at risk for adverse affect of radiation due the country's hot tropical climate, low body mass index, and low fat content. "We have recommended amendment in the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and rules so that only mobile handsets satisfying radiation standards should be permitted in the country," he said.

The report suggests that children, adolescents and pregnant women should avoid excessive use of cellphones. People in general should use hands-free technologies to minimize the contact of the head with cell phone. "People having active medical implants should keep their cellphone at least 30 cm away from the implant," it adds.

Said Girish Kumar, professor in the department of electrical engineering at IIT Bombay, whose research on hazards of cellphone use was taken as a reference for the committee decision, "There is a 400% increase in the risk of brain cancer among teenagers using cell phones for long periods. The younger the child, the deeper is the penetration of electromagnetic radiation as children`s skulls are thinner.

Another government-funded study on radiation from mobile phones and towers at the Jawaharlal Nehru University ( JNU) found that the exposure to radiation from mobile towers and mobile phones could have an adverse impact on male fertility and pose health hazards by depleting the defence mechanism of cells.

TOI

Kerala High Court clears way for India's first Islamic bank

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The secular republic of India is all set to have its first Islamic bank.

The Kerala High Court on Thursday dismissed petitions challenging the Kerala government's decision to establish India's first Islamic Bank which will work on the principles of Shariah.

The order came from a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice J Chalameswar and Justice P R Ramachandra Menon, which rejected petitions filed by Janata Party President Subramaniam Swamy and another. The petitioners contended that the state establishing a bank which will work on the principles of a religion will violate the principle of secularism enshrined in the Constitution. However, the court did not agree.

Reacting to the HC verdict, Swamy said he will consider appealing to the Supreme Court after going through the full text. ``I will challenge the same if it was dismissed on merits,'' he said.

The state had first floated the idea of establishing the bank under an entity registered as Al-Baraka Financial Services way back in December 2009. The bank was also to have a body of Islamic scholars to advise whether the principles of shariah were being complied with.

But in January 2010, the HC stayed the government's plans and issued notices to the RBI, Finance Ministry and Kerala State Industries Development Corporation (KSIDC) which was to hold 11 percent equity in Al-Baraka.

The RBI replied that the current laws did not permit such a bank.

With its plans running into rough weather, the state government too lost hope and even told the state assembly that its plan was not to establish an Islamic bank, but only a financial institution that would work on the interest-free principle.

TOI

2G scam: CBI given five-day custody of Raja, Behura and Chandolia

NEW DELHI: The CBI on Thursday accused former telecom minister A Raja of causing a loss of Rs 22,000 crore to the exchequer by favouring some telecom firms in award of the 2G spectrum licences and demanded his custody for five days, which a city court granted.

Raja, former telecom secretary Siddartha Behura and Raja's former personal secretary R K Chandolia, were produced before special CBI judge O P Saini a day after they were arrested in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

Wearing a grey safari suit, the 47-year-old DMK MP appeared cool and composed and greeted the judge with folded hands.

His counsel Ramesh Gupta sought time for a private conversation with Raja, which the judge allowed for ten minutes.

( Read: Arrest brought on by Raja's evasive answers )

Seeking their custody, CBI counsel Akhilesh argued that Raja had caused a loss of Rs 22,000 crores to the public exchequer by favouring some telecom firms in award of the 2G spectrum licences.

He said due to Raja, at least two telecom firms, including Swan Telecom and Unitech, were benefited to the tune of several hundred crores of rupees by selling their stakes to various other global firms shortly after getting licences.

( Read: Raja's arrest does not affect credibility of PM, govt: Congress )

The CBI said the former minister's custody was essential for further questioning because he had been evasive in replying to their queries during his interrogation earlier at the agency's headquarters.

This is for the first time that the CBI is directly accusing Raja of complicity in the 2G scam after it had filed an FIR against unknown officials and private persons and companies on October 21, 2009.

Though the agency has pegged the loss at Rs 22,000 crore based on the calculations made by the CVC, the CAG had in its report had projected a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

The three were arrested for allegedly abusing their official position and favouring some telecom companies in grant of licences by manipulating the procedures.

Raja's counsel Ramesh Gupta strongly opposed the CBI plea saying his client was innocent and all the decisions with regard to granting of 2G spectrum licences had the approval of the Union Cabinet and various statutory panels.

"Accordingly, Raja was not solely responsible in the alleged scam," Gupta contended.

He said, "All the documents had been seized by the CBI in 2009 itself and moreover Raja had already been interrogated at the agency's headquarters several times in the past."

The CBI should not be awarded Raja's custody just for the sake of interrogation, Gupta said, adding, "There has to be a justification for the same."

However, at the end of the arguments, the judge gave the CBI the custody of Raja and the two others for five days.