Indian Food Industry Expects Favorable policy in budget

The ministry of food processing industries of India has accepted the request of the delegation of the food processing industry to consider tax reduction policies for the improvement in the growth rate of the food Industry and the ministry has agreed to introduce few new plans in the preparation of the forth coming budget.
The ministry is also ready to recommend the reconsideration of the licensing system, and enhancement of the moratorium on interest payments for the industry to the finance ministry of India. It also consulted the confederation of Indian industry (CII) for suggestions for the overall development of the food processing industry.
The valuable points suggested by CII will be the part of its recommendations for the budget. The ministry would also scrutiny the lending processes and equal tax rate system to help in the reduction of transaction cost for the small-scale food processing industry. For the benefit of the Industry the ministry would recommend the simple policy for distinguish units in different parts of the country, there are abnormalities in taxes resulting differences in excise duties up to 16% on different food products and eatables like non cocoa confectionery items are liable 50% less than of the cocoa confectionery items in excise duty. The retail price of some food products might effected because of the planning of the ministry to implement same tax on all distinguish food products. The reformed policy in this sector will definitely be welcomed at the stage where food products industry has already shown the highest growth rate of 26.8% in the India’s industrial output which is 12.4% it is the highest growth in a decade.

Brijesh Verma
ABC NEWS NETWORK

Mass communication has been always a fast changing subject from verbal to print, and print to electronics to online. The participants in different phases of mass communication journey were remained same i.e. Special class, which called themselves as forth pillar of democracy mean journo. Every medium and media has remained fully depended on their feeds. There is no doubt that their have made excellent contributions in development in every spheres of lives. But in knowledge revolution era mass communication is demanding more feeds and information which can not be provided alone by our journalists fraternity so active participation of citizens are require to meet the expectations. This active participation of citizens in mass communication delivery system is now named as citizen journalism or citizen journalist. In this process for future mass communication delivery system some serious researchers have working hard. In them are young mass communication researchers from developing nation India. They have grouped themselves under a company ABC NEWS NETWORK (P) LTD. This has head quarter in New Delhi. Apart from them there are also others who are putting their in-depth researches on future media and medium like
www.italknews.com
www.ohmynews.com
www.citizenxpress.com
etc. I have mentioned the name of ABC NEWS NETWIORK because these young Indian mass communication researchers are marching with their international counterparts with no real time financial supports but their determination and in-depth know how of the subject are making them pioneer in citizen journalism in world wide. Their portal dedicated to this cause has been coming soon in name of
www.citizenxpress.com
in month of October this year. It is really a good sign for future mass communication because citizens of future are coming out to take their responsibilities in advance in that part of globe which is considered less developed.
Dinesh Singh Rawat
Managing Editor
ABC NEWS NETWORK(P) LTD

Vaastu and Feng for websites designers

Cutting edge technology is increasingly falling back on ancient knowledge systems or so it seems, with Vaastu and Feng Shui experts promising help to ensure more hits and visiblity to website designers and clients. Ritu Kapoor, a Feng Shui practioner says “Vaastu and Feng Shui tend to combine a bit of numerology and astrology and takes into account a person's zodiac to fine-tune the website and turn around its fortunes”. The position of different elements affects the performance of the site, explains Smita Jain Narang author of 'Web Vaastu', a book that marries design principles and working of conventional websites with Vaastu knowlegde.
Vaastu experts maintains that from the right colours to font, placement of graphics and navigation bar to the correct time to upload the website, the ancient sciences have a solution for all."We made changes in accordance with the Vaastu principles for a kitchenware website . We changed the colour from light blue to green and the results were encouraging." Brijesh Aggarwal of Indiamart, a website design company says.
Aggarwal further admits that though the concept of Vaastu and Feng Shui are new, he is optimistic that it may catch on and with awareness, it could mean extra moolah for the designers offering websites compliant with these principles.

Floating nuclear power station planned in Russia

Russia will construct its first floating nuclear power station which is due to become operational by October 2010, would provide energy for the giant Sevmash plant as well as export a fifth of its produce, the project will cost 9.1 billion rubles (USD 330 million)
Acting chief of Russia's Rosenergoatom nuclear power producer Obozov also noted that Russia needs to create a typical power unit for a floating station, because there are foreign clients in the Pacific Asia region.Russia may set up as many as six floating power stations in the future, with plans for Kamchatka, Chukotka, Yakutia and the Krasnoyarsk region now in the works.

26 projects under the Indian National e-Governance Plan

Information Technology Minister Dayanidhi Maran unveiled 26 projects under the National e-Governance Plan, which would cost the government around Rs 23,000 crore over the next five years.
"Central and state governments are already spending Rs 3,000 crore every year on various e-governance initiatives. The national plan is consolidating them and trying to set common standards for them," Maran said at a press conference.He said by setting standards deliverables are ensured.Apart from 26 mission mode projects, the plan has eight support components. States will have the flexibility to add up to five state-specific projects."The entire effort involves 500 implementation agencies, two lakh sites and an estimated 70,000 man-years of effort.The major projects to be taken up by the plan include common service centres, land records, commercial taxes, agriculture, police, education, pensions, income tax and banking.Maran said a body serviced by the Department of IT and Chaired by Prime Minister is being constituted to provide a thrust and drive to the implementation of the plan.He said an Apex Committee chaired by he Cabinet Secretary has already been set up to oversee implementation and provide policy and strategic directions.As many as 22 states have started implementing state wide area networks that would provide at least 5 mbps connectivity up to the block level all over the country, Maran said adding that the roll out will cost Rs 3,300 crore and would be completed by 2007

Key Saddam witnesses say they were bribed, coerced

Four defense witnesses in the trial of Saddam Hussein recanted their testimonies, saying they were coerced into speaking on behalf of the Iraqi ex-president.
Two of the witnesses said they were offered money for their testimony and two said their families had been threatened, according to confessions that were read out in court.
"My family is detained in Syria until I provided my testimony in defense of Saddam," said the confession of the first witness.
"I had to say I received 500 dollars from (chief prosecutor Jaafar) al-Mussawi, in order to divert the attention of the world away from the Dujail case."
The confession of the second witness also indicated that he testified under threats to his family, but the final two witnesses admitted they did it for money, also 500 dollars.
"Khalil Dulaimi promised me he would get me appointments with (Saddam's daughter) Raghed and (wife) Sajida," said the confession, referring to Saddam's lead defense attorney. "Then my fortune would be assured and I would get residency outside Iraq."
For all the recanting witnesses, the deals were organized by Saddam's former bodyguards with the final coaching on their court testimony performed by Dulaimi, according to the confessions.

The Government is likely to set up sixth pay commission

The Government is likely to set up sixth pay commission to revise wages of its employees early in July, five months after the announcement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Finance Secretary Adarsh Kishore said that the ministry is contemplating the proposal for consideration of the Cabinet on the subject so that Cabinet may consider all aspects and decide appropriately in the month of July.The Finance Secretary did not elaborate but another official, confirming the development, said Cabinet note is being prepared and it is expected to go before the Cabinet in the first or the second week of July.The official said the detailed terms of reference was yet to be worked out but all efforts would be made to ensure that the Centre and states are not put to financial difficulty as was the case after implementation of the fifth pay commission.The official said efforts would be made this time to see that the increased wage burden was reasonable, appropriate and affordable and in consonance with modern requirements.While ensuring employees get reasonable compensation, affordability by the government should also be kept in mind while formulating the recommendations by the pay commission.Admitting that both the Centre and states were put to financial difficulty as a result of implementation of the fifth pay commission report, the official said fortunately all of them are now out of the financial distress.The "rightsizing" efforts has enabled the Central Goverment to cut staff strength to 32,74,145 in 2006 from 37,82,177 in 1996-97, before the fifth pay commission.

Rural India more industrious than urban counterpart

Rural India is far more enterprising than urban areas, as it accounts for 61.3 percent of the country's industrial units compared to just 38.7 percent in towns and cities, says the Economic Census 2005. The census document notes that Tamil Nadu was top in terms of states with highest number of industrial units, 44.5 lakh, while Maharshtra was the largest employer with 1.18 crore jobs.Gujarat, supposed to be an economically advanced state, is conspicuously missing from the list of toppers in the census.Even in average annual growth in employment, rural areas fared better than urban areas with 3.33 percent and 1.68 percent, respectively. The share of urban and rural area in total employment is 49 percent and 51 percent, respectively.
"We have collected data from the largest number of enterprises and contacted 21.1 crore households," Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation G K Vasan said releasing the cesus document.The previous Economic Census was conducted in 1998.
He said unlike previous Census', the fifth Census would have a directory of enterprises employing 10 workers or more to help undertake detailed surveys in respect of services sector, which contributes 54 percent to GDP.As per the provisional results (the final results would come by December), there are 42.12 million enterprises engaged in different economic activities other than crop production and plantation.Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal together account for 50 percent of the total enterprises in the country.Interestingly, the terror-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir registered a growth of 6.82 percent in total employment growth followed by Sikkim (5.52 percent), Kerala (5.39 percent), Haryana (5.12 percent) and Tripura (5.07 percent).While Tamil Nadu topped with highest number of units, Mizoram clocked the highest growth in enterprises at 9.60 percent followed by Kerala, Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Assam.Among the Union Territories, Delhi tops the list in both the number of enterprises, 7.53 lakh (1.79 percent) and in total employment, 4.08 lakh (4.12 percent) followed by Chandigarh and Pondicherry.The total number of people working in the enterprises is about 98.97 million, which is more or less equally distributed in rural and urban areas.At the country level, hired workers account for about 52 percent of the total persons employed. Adult female workers are 19 percent of the total people employed and the corresponding figures in rural and urban areas are 24 and 14 percent respectively. At all India level, average employment per enterprise is 2.35 and the figures for rural and urban areas are 1.94 and 2.99 respectively.The first Economic Census was done in 1977 and the fourth Census was done in 1998.

Five journalists and 13 police personnel injured in Kashmir.

Five journalists and 13 police personnel, including a senior officer, were among 25 people injured when violent demonstrators clashed with police at Trehgam in Kashmir.
Eighteen year old Javid Ahmad Malik was hit by a bullet when the police fired few rounds to disperse the demonstrators. He was later rushed to Srinagar hospital.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy Sp) Sajjad Hussain was also injured in the incident.
Life in the frontier district of Kupwara was paralysed due to spontaneous strike in protest against the alleged desecration of a mosque and killing of a youth reportedly in the firing by the security forces.Hundreds of people, mostly students, again took to the streets at Trehgam, demanding action against security personnel responsible for sacrilege of a mosque and killing of a youth in firing on Saturday.The police resorted to lathicharge and burst teargas shells as the demonstrators were pelting stones on security forces and passing vehicles.

Al-Qaida in Iraq has announced that a militant named Abu Hamza al-Muhajer its new head

Al-Qaida in Iraq has announced that a militant named Abu Hamza al-Muhajer has been appointed as the group's new leader to succeed the slain Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed by the US forces in last week. According to a Web statement posted Al-Qaida in Iraq made this announcement. The name al-Muhajer, Arabic for "immigrant," suggested he was not Iraqi.
"Al-Qaida in Iraq's council has agreed on Sheik Abu Hamza al-Muhajer to be the successor for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the leadership of the organization," said a statement signed by the group on an Islamic militant Web forum where it often posts messages.It said al-Muhajer was "a beloved brother with jihadi (holy war) experience and a strong footing in knowledge."The authenticity of the statement could not be independently confirmed. Al-Zarqawi, who founded the group, was killed Wednesday in a US airstrike northeast of Baghdad.

Three months imprisonment to Zaheera Shaikh, prime witness in the Best bakery case

A sessions court has sentenced Zaheera Shaikh, prime witness in the Best bakery case, to three months imprisonment for giving false evidence, the judge Abhay Thipsay also imposed a fine of Rs 500 on Zaheera. If the fine is not paid, she will have to undergo 10 days additional jail term, the order said.Three months's rigorous imprisonment imposed on Zaheera, would begin after she completes the one year sentence already imposed on her by the Supreme Court for contempt of court.Zaheera is currently undergoing the sentence at the Byculla jail here. The judge found Zaheera guilty of giving false evidence on 15 counts.Earlier, the court had sentenced Zaheera's mother Sehrunnisa, and sister Sahira to three months' RI and fined Rs 500 each on similar charges.However, the court decided to put her brother Nasibullah -- who too faced similar charges on probation considering his young age.

06/06/06

It is the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of the new millennium on the calendar, a date that has spawned vigorous debate in the West because of its biblical linkage to Satan.
The rare calendar event when the date, the month and the year are the same numbers began from the start of the new millennium. It was 01/01/01 on 1st January 2001, and every year ever since has had a date, month and year number that reads the same on the calendar.
The occurance will last till it is 12/12/12.
However, of all these calendar events, it is 6/6/6 or 666 that has generated the maximum interest.
While the doomsayers, citing a reference in the book of Revelation (13:16-18) say antichrist will exercise power over Earth, others point out that the day has come and passed in 1906, 1806, 1706 and in the earlier millennia.
The day was popularised by the 1970s film 'The Omen' starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick.
A remake starring Mia Farrow, Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles is being released, coinciding with the date.

Australia has decided to establish a taskforce to review uranium mining, processing

Amidst demand from countries like India for uranium supplies, Australia, one of the world's top producers of the nuclear material, has decided to establish a taskforce to review uranium mining, processing and nuclear energy in the country.

While speaking to the reporters in Canberra, Prime Minister John Howard said, “Cabinet has approved the establishment of a prime ministerial taskforce to review uranium mining, processing and nuclear energy in Australia."
Howard said Australians need to keep an "open mind" on uranium enrichment and nuclear power.

"There is significant potential for Australia to increase and add value to our uranium exports," he said.
Notifying the country uranium resources, the premier said, Australia does hold up to 40 per cent of the world's known, low-cost, recoverable uranium reserves and there is significant potential for Australia to increase and add value to our uranium extraction and exports.
Further he said, "It is foolish to see ourselves simply as an exporter of uranium ... I think we should also look at the value-added process.”
"We should also look at whether a nuclear power station is becoming feasible," Howard said.
Former chief executive of telecom company Telstra Dr Ziggy Switkowski will head the federal government's inquiry into the viability of a domestic nuclear power industry, he said.
Howard, however, said he did not expect nuclear power stations to come up in Australia in the next two to three years.

However the recent statement by the Prime Minister John Howard today said has angered environmentalists who want the country to maintain its nuclear-free stance.
Australia holds about 40 per cent of the world's uranium reserves and is a major exporter of the material, but has no nuclear power or enriching industry of its own and has only one research reactor, in suburban Sydney.
''I have always maintained that holding the reserves of uranium that we do, it is foolish to see ourselves simply as an exporter of uranium,'' Howard told reporters.
The Australian Greens said Howard's position put the environment behind the needs of the international nuclear industry.
''The nuclear debate is a sideshow to the greatest challenge facing Australia, and that is climate change,'' Greens Senator Christine Milne said in a statement.
There are currently 441 nuclear power plants worldwide. More are planned in China and India to meet growing energy demands, while South Korea and the Russian Federation also intend to increase nuclear power generation.
Besides a survey in 2005 found 47 per cent of Australians supported nuclear power, while 40 per cent opposed it.

Iraq gunmen kill 24 civilians at checkpoint

At least twenty four civilians, including students, children and elderly men have been shot down when a gunmen dragged them out of their cars at a makeshift checkpoint in a town north of Baghdad and shot them in an ''execution style''.
According to the senior police official in Diyala province, the attack took place in Udhaim, 120 km (80 miles) north of Baghdad.
Insurgents are waging a campaign of bombings, shootings and kidnappings in a bid to topple the U.S.-backed government and sectarian killings mostly between Shi'ites and Sunnis are also tearing the country apart.

underworld don Dawood Ibrahim as 'Foreign Narcotics Kingpin'

early three years after designating him as a global terrorist, the US has declared India's most wanted underworld don Dawood Ibrahim as 'Foreign Narcotics Kingpin', which means any of his assets in America will be frozen and he will not be able to transact with US nationals or companies.An US embassy statement in New Delhi has said President Bush designated three foreign individuals, including Dawood Ibrahim, and two foreign entities, including Dawood's business empire, in the seventh annual set of determinations of drug traffickers who would be subject to the sanctions provided in the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act ('Kingpin Act').The foreign individuals and entities the President designated as appropriate for sanctions under the Kingpin Act were: Dawood Ibrahim (India), Fahd Jamil Georges (Brazil), Ali Naway (Iran), Dawood Ibrahim Organisation (India/Pakistan/UAE) and Amezcua Contreras Organisation (Mexico).
The sanctions would deny Dawood, who was wanted in India for among other crimes the 1993 serial Mumbai blasts, and his organisation in India, Pakistan and UAE access to US financial system.The Kingpin Act, which became law in December 1999, targeted significant foreign narcotics traffickers, their organisations and operatives worldwide, denying them access to the US financial system and all trade and transactions involving US companies and individuals.
The Kingpin Act did not target the countries in which these foreign individuals and entities were operating or the governments of such countries.
Dawood had been widely reported including in the Pakistani media to be living in Pakistan under 'official patronage'.
So for all practical purposes, Dawood can continue to live comfortably in Pakistan.In October 2003, the US Treasury Department designated Dawood Ibrahim as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224 and requested the United Nations list him as well.''This designation signals our commitment to identifying and attacking the financial ties between the criminal underworld and terrorism,'' Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Juan Zarate had stated.The UN listing required all UN Member States take similar actions.''We are calling on the international community to stop the flow of dirty money that kills. For the Ibrahim syndicate, the business of terrorism forms part of their larger criminal enterprise, which must be dismantled.''
The US had previously shown little inclination to go after Dawood, or help India get him, despite connecting him to al-Qaeda and worldwide terrorist activity.

The University Grants Commission has declared as fake more than 20 universities

The University Grants Commission has declared as fake more than 20 universities and educational institutions across eight states and warned students against taking admission in those places.Releasing a list of the fake universities in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the Commissioner, Higher Education Department of UGC Anil Kumar advised students not to seek admission in these institutions.Uttar Pradesh had the dubious distinction of topping the list with as many as 10 fake universities operating in the state followed by Delhi which ran six such institutions.Mahila Gram Vidyapith and Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi Sanskrit Vishwavidyalay, Indian Exuction council of UP and Gandhi Hindi Vidyapith figure among the unrecognised universities of UP, Kumar saidDelhi Bioinformatics Institute of India and St. John's University were among those operating without recognition in Delhi.The list also included Maithili University and Vishwavidyalaya from Bihar, Kishanattam in Kerala, Raja Arabic University in Maharashtra, Kesarwani Vidyapeeth in Madhya Pradesh, Sanskirt University in Tamil Nadu, Badaganvi Sarkar World Open University Education Society and Handwriting University India in Karnataka, Kumar said.