India, Nepal set to construct dam

NEW DELHI: Thirteen years after signing a treaty, India and Nepal are all set to establish Pancheshwar Development Authority for construction of the ambitious 6000 MW Pancheswar multi-purpose project on the Indo-Nepal border.

The project seeks to build a storage dam on the Mahakali river at the boundary of Uttarakhand and Nepal. Nearly 80 per cent of the catchment area for the project would be in India and the rest in Nepal.

"The Pancheshwar Development Authority will be set up jointly with the Government of Nepal for construction, operation and maintenance of the Pancheshwar project within a year," Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz said.

According to Soz, the authority will help decide the "operational details" for construction of the project.

The treaty on development of the Mahakali river, called Sarda in India, was signed between the two countries in February 1996, but came into force in June 1997.

The Pancheshwar project would also facilitate regulated release of water contributing to development of irrigation potential and control flood downstream.

There is also a proposal to construct a regulatory dam. While India wants to construct the regulatory dam at Purnagiri in Uttarakhand, Nepal is interested in building it at Rupaligarh so that relief and rehabilitation problems in that country is minimised

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/India-Nepal-set-to-construct-dam-/articleshow/4207898.cms

Suspected IM terrorist reveals Delhi, Mumbai blast plots: Report

: New Delhi, Feb 27: Sadiq Sheikh, an alleged operative of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, has unravelled on camera the plotting of the October 2005 Delhi blasts as well as the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, a television news channel claimed on Friday.According to the channel, Sheikh, who is in the custody of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), revealed on camera the modus operandi of the pre-Diwali Delhi blasts on October 25, 2005, and the July 11, 2006 explosions in Mumbai that together claimed nearly 250 lives.“All five of us arranged local train passes for the first class compartments beforehand. We also had local train timetables with us so that we could find out the train as per our convenience,” the channel showed Sadiq as saying about the Mumbai explosions in a statement broadcast on Friday.“We purchased bags and pressure cookers in Mumbai. On the day of the blast, that is on July 11, 2006, all five of us assembled and we filled seven cookers with explosives. We kept the bombs ready. We had planned the bombs to blast at 6.30 pm,” he told the channel.Giving details of how the serial blasts were executed on Mumbai trains, Sadiq’s chilling confession continues.

Economy to grow by around 7 pc in FY'09, hopes FM

NEW DELHI: Revival in steel and cement sectors and ample funds available with states for spending on Saturday gave the centre the confidence that the country will grow by around 7 per cent in the current fiscal.

For the first nine months of this fiscal, the economy grew by 6.9 per cent and the government's advance estimates pegged the growth at 7.1 per cent for the entire 2008-09.

Replying to a question on economic growth, Mukherjee said, "All these are estimates and of course between 6.9 and 7.1 (there is) not much difference, but I do hope when the final figures come out it would be around seven per cent."

The economy grew by 5.3 per cent in the third quarter of current fiscal.

To a query whether market is losing confidence due to slackening growth, he said, "I don't agree with your (interviewer's) contention." He said exact numbers could be known only after it becomes clear how will economy respond to stimulus packages.

"All these things...have to be seen for example slow revival of steel and cement industry has started, housing industry have been made adequate allocations, states have been provided funds, they themselves have good cash reserves of about Rs 91,000 crore, quite a few of them would like to spend a substantial quantum of money this year... all this would be available after March 31," he added.

Soruce:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Economy-to-grow-by-around-7-in-09/articleshow/4203968.cms

India rubbishes Pak navy's claims on sea route

NEW DELHI: India on Friday rubbished Pakistan navy's claims that Ajmal Kasab and other terrorists didn't use sea route to reach Mumbai.

Home Minister P Chidambaram took a dig at Pakistan on Friday for its flip-flops on Mumbai terror attacks.

"New Delhi is very clear regarding where the attackers came from,” Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said.

“Several countries too have supported our findings on 26/11 probe. Pakistan government too had accepted them. Now their navy is belying its own government’s claims,” Sharma added.

Meanwhile, Indian naval forces told Times Now, "We have enough proof of the fact that the terrorists came from Pakistan via sea. We have their boats and satellite phones."

Earlier, in a stunning denial Pakistan navy on Friday claimed that Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the Mumbai attacks, and others didn’t sea route to land in Mumbai.

Pak Admiral Norman Bashir on Friday told reporters, "There is no proof behind Indian claims that Kasab landed in Mumbai to carry out attacks using sea route from Pakistan."

“Mumbai terror attacks reflect a complete failure of Indian navy,” Bashir added.

At the same time, he admitted that patrolling the waters on the Pakistani side of the international border off the Gujarat coast was "difficult" due to the dispute over the Sir Creek, IANS reported.

The latest statement by Pakistan navy is in complete contrast to the findings of the interior ministry in the 26/11 terror probe.

According to IANS, Bashir also sought to discount suggestions that Pakistan was engaged in an arms race with India.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/