Saturday, August 7, 2010

BSF uses GIS to tackle waterlogging problem

From Geospatial Today

August 6, 2010 - Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India: Many of Border Security Force's (BSF) low-lying border outposts along the international border in Gujarat's Kutch and Rajasthan's Barmer are waterlogged for the past two days necessitating the para-military force to issue an alert. However, the recent integration of Geographical Information System (GIS) into BSF's planning processes is turning out to be of great value for the para-military force as its decisions now show both the required alacrity and vision.

The primary reason behind waterlogging of the border outposts is rains and release of water from the dams in Pakistan's Sindh province. Torrential rains have wreaked havoc in some parts of Pakistan and water of rivers in spate has overflowed into Indus which meanders through Sindh on way to the Arabian Sea.

At least 20 BSF border outposts in Kutch and Barmer districts have been repositioned because of the waterlogging. Each border outpost has about 40 officers and jawans posted and this means nearly a battalion has been affected by the raging water. Gujarat Frontier BSF inspector general AK Sinha has toured these outposts to ensure there is no dilution in its domain during the temporary repositioning of the men.

"We never leave the outpost on the border whatever be the situation," he told TOI. The BSF men are carrying out their duties with as much dedication as they did earlier from the tents pitched nearby. This is a normal scenario during the monsoon and the BSF is well attuned to it, Sinha added.

The present situation would have taken the BSG by surprise, but the paramilitary force was well prepared for it thanks to GIS. The BSF has been able to respond quickly to the situation because of the recent integration of GIS into BSF's overall scheme of things. It is comparatively easier for the para-military force to maintain command control and ensure a better logistics management due to GIS in an unusual situation like this, Sinha said.

Source: The Times of India

Friday, August 6, 2010

BSF jawan killed in ambush

In the first major terror strike in Tripura this year, at least two Border Security Force (BSF) troopers were killed on Friday in a bomb blast triggered by insurgents near the border with Bangladesh, police said. "A powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was exploded when BSF jawans were 
patrolling on foot along the India-Bangladesh border killing two para-military personnel on the spot," police spokesman Nepal Das told reporters.

The tribal guerrillas belonging to the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) also fired on the BSF personnel immediately after the blast at Ratia in northern Tripura, 170 km north of Tripura capital Agartala.
Das said: "The two riflemen - Arup Das (31) and Brajendri Lal (34) - died instantly while the other BSF troopers retaliated with gunfire."
Senior police and BSF officials rushed with reinforcements to the spot and launched a combing operation to nab the extremists.
The banned NLFT along with another outlawed outfit, All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), has been fighting for an independent tribal homeland in Tripura and operates out of Bangladesh.
This was the first militant attack this year in Tripura, bordering Bangladesh.
The last terror strike had taken place Nov 9 last year in which eight tribal villagers, including four women, were killed and another woman injured by NLFT rebels.
The NLFT and the ATTF along with other terrorist outfits of the northeast for the past many years have been boycotting national days, Republic Day and Independence day, and observe bandhs and hoist black flags in their respective areas of domination.
August 6th, 2010

A BSF jawan was killed and another critically injured in an ambush by insurgents at Ratiacherra, a remote tribal hamlet in Tripura's Dhalai district bordering Bangladesh, on Friday.
DIG, Police Control, Mr Nepal Das said BSF jawans were patrolling on foot at Ratiacherra village bordering Chittagong Hill Tract of Bangladesh when an IED was blasted by the ultras hiding in the jungle on the roadside.
The ultras also opened fire injuring two of the jawans.
The jawans retaliated and a 15-minute-long encounter followed but the ultras managed to flee, he said.
One of the injured jawans, identified as Braja Lal Rangi succumbed to his injuries on way to Agartala Medical College and Hospital and the other is critically injured, he said.
A massive combing operation has been launched in the area to flush out the insurgents, who, it is apprehended, may have sneaked into Bangladesh, BSF said.

GIS proving good friend of paramilitary force

From Geospatial World

Publish Date: 05 August 2010

Gandhinagar, India: Integration of GIS into Indian Border Security Force's (BSF) planning processes is turning out to be of great value for the paramilitary force as its decisions now show both the required alacrity and vision. Waterlogging along the international border in Gujarat's Kutch and Rajasthan's Barmer was proving the huge challenge for the troop.

According to Gujarat Frontier BSF inspector general AK Sinha, the BSF has been able to respond quickly to the situation because of the recent integration of GIS into BSF's overall scheme of things. It is comparatively easier for the paramilitary force to maintain command control and ensure a better logistics management due to GIS in an unusual situation like this.

The primary reason behind waterlogging of the border outposts is rains and release of water from the dams in Pakistan's Sindh province. Torrential rains have wreaked havoc in some parts of Pakistan and water of rivers in spate has overflowed into Indus which meanders through Sindh on way to the Arabian Sea.

Source: The Times of India

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Missed the income tax return (ITR) filing deadline of 31st July, extended to 4th Aug?

The deadline for filing income tax return for an individual is 31st July. And the same was extended to 4th Aug this year.


What happens if we miss the due date and do not file the income tax return by the deadline?

There are various scenarios but the one that suits all of us in BSF, with a salary and Tax Deducted at Source, is that we do not have any Net Tax payable after the tax collected by PAD. It is a separate issue that PAD collected extra tax in many cases and then failed to deposit the same with IT Deptt with proper details resulting in delayed or no refunds in most cases. 
However if net tax payable is NIL this deadline of 31st July, or 4th Aug has no significance.

The income tax return for a given assessment year can be filed any time till the end of that assessment year without any penalty.
For the current Assessment Year 2010-11, we are filing returns for the Financial Year 2009-10 and the same can be filed till 31st March 2011 without any penalty, provided NO TAX IS DUE AFTER TDS.
So, even if you have not filed the return by 31st July or even till date, you can file the return any time till 31st March 2011 without any penalty.
However it is advisable not to wait till March, it is better to file our return at the earliest.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Ghaggar water inundates border outposts

From The Tribune

Raj Sadosh


Sriganganagar, August 3
The border outposts (BoPs) identified as Laila-Majnu, Binjaur and Kailash in the Anoopgarh sector have been inundated by Ghaggar waters, making it a challenging task for the Border Security Force (BSF) to a keep vigil on the international border.



The BSF men have made temporary arrangements to keep vigil on the Indo-Pak border in the Anoopgarh sector in Rajasthan
The BSF men have made temporary arrangements to keep vigil on the Indo-Pak border in the Anoopgarh sector in Rajasthan.
Even as the BSF men have acquired boats and raised temporary platforms using wooden sleepers and iron-sheets to perform their duty, it is feared that ensuring electricity supply to the floodlights might be a challenging task since the poles as well as wired fencing was facing threat from 4-5 feet deep water that accumulated during the past 24 hours.
However, official sources said that vigil would further be intensified not only to ensure safety of the fencing and lights but also to check infiltration bids from across the Zero Line.
Local farmers said thousands of acres of the agricultural land could have been irrigated on this side of the border, had the authorities made efforts to control the gushing Ghaggar water that is now flowing over to the Pakistan side of border.
The neighbouring country on such occasions in the past succeeded in utilising incoming water for irrigating the cotton fields in the Bahawalpur district.
Intriguingly, the neighbouring country had demanded compensation from the Government of India lamenting that the Ghaggar water had caused heavy damage to the standing crops besides residential areas in its territory..
Anoopgarh residents including Pankaj Ojha and Narinder Bhojak said hundreds of hectares of land in Anoopgarh, Rawla, 365 head and Gharsana areas in the Sriganganagar district needs canal water for cotton and other crops but there had been no initiative by the irrigation department to divert the Ghaggar water to the canal system of the region.

BSF NABS NEPAL RESIDENT

From the tribune
FAZILKA

The BSF have nabbed a Nepal resident roaming in suspicious condition in the Fazilka sector. As per details, two jawans of the BSF, who were on patrol duty, spotted a person near the barbed wire fencing in Mohar Jamsher border observation post (BOP) area. The jawans asked for the antecedents of the person. However, he could not give a satisfactory reply, following which they nabbed him. He was identified as Dipender Adhikari, a resident of village Ezana, police station Diktal of Nepal. Nothing has been recovered from his possession. The medical examination of Dipender Adhikari was conducted at the local Civil Hospital. Later, the BSF handed him over to the police station, Sadar. A case has been registered against him.

UN may soon wind up peacekeeping operation in Congo: BSF chief

From Yahoo.news

Wed, Aug 4 02:52 PM

New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) The United Nations may soon wind up its peacekeeping operations in the Central African country of Congo where Indian troops have been rendering civil police duties for the last few years. Border Security Force (BSF) chief Raman Srivastava who flagged off a 125-personnel contingent of BSF for UN peacekeeping mission in Congo today told his men that their batch could be the last as it has come to his notice that the UN could be winding up its operations or scaling down the strength of the troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
"It is a difficult job you are going for.
this could be the last civil police contingent in Congo as I have been told.
I do not know how much of it is true.
but UN may either reduce the troop strength or shift locations," he said.
It is possible (winding up of UN operations in Congo) as there was some talk in UN headquarters, Srivastava later told reporters. The UN mission -- United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSC) took over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation the United Nations Organisation Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) on July 1 this year.
According to the UN, this was done in accordance with a Security Council (of the UN) resolution to reflect the new phase reached in the country. The UN mission is mandated to "protect civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders under imminent threat of physical violence and to support the Government of the DRC in its stabilisation and peace consolidation efforts.
The BSF troops, upon deployment, will perform duties of civil police and render other humanitarian assistance in the troubled country. The contingent has been trained to handle mob, control riots and render disaster management help and have also been tutored to speak French.
The contingent -- fifth of the BSF -- will be deployed from August 8. According to official data, since the outbreak of violence in Congo, at least 40 lakh people are estimated to have been killed and 25 lakh rendered homeless.

Water from Pak inundates BSF's 20 border outposts

From TOIAnand McNair, TNN, Aug 4, 2010, 04.44am IST


GANDHINAGAR: Many of Border Security Force's (BSF) low-lying border outposts along the international border in Gujarat's Kutch and Rajasthan's Barmer are waterlogged for the past two days necessitating the para-military force to issue an alert. However, the recent integration of Geographical Information System (GIS) into BSF's planning processes is turning out to be of great value for the para-military force as its decisions now show both the required alacrity and vision. 

The primary reason behind waterlogging of the border outposts is rains and release of water from the dams in Pakistan's Sindh province. Torrential rains have wreaked havoc in some parts of Pakistan and water of rivers in spate has overflowed into Indus which meanders through Sindh on way to the Arabian Sea. 

At least 20 BSF border outposts in Kutch and Barmer districts have been repositioned because of the waterlogging. Each border outpost has about 40 officers and jawans posted and this means nearly a battalion has been affected by the raging water. Gujarat Frontier BSF inspector general AK Sinha has toured these outposts to ensure there is no dilution in its domain during the temporary repositioning of the men. 

"We never leave the outpost on the border whatever be the situation," he told TOI. The BSF men are carrying out their duties with as much dedication as they did earlier from the tents pitched nearby. This is a normal scenario during the monsoon and the BSF is well attuned to it, Sinha added. 

The present situation would have taken the BSG by surprise, but the paramilitary force was well prepared for it thanks to GIS. The BSF has been able to respond quickly to the situation because of the recent integration of GIS into BSF's overall scheme of things. It is comparatively easier for the para-military force to maintain command control and ensure a better logistics management due to GIS in an unusual situation like this, Sinha said. 

BSF springs to defence of CRPF, says doing well in fighting naxals

From Newkerala.com
New Delhi, Aug 4 : Border Security Force Director General Raman Srivastava today backed CRPF, which has attracted much criticism for its alleged failure to fight naxals in the maoist-heartland of Chhattisgarh, saying the force was doing all it could.
Talking to mediapersons after flagging off the fifth 125-member contingent for UN peace keeping mission in Congo, the DG, when asked if CRPF had failed to fight naxals, said: ''How can I say that? They are doing whatever they could. They are doing their best.'' Both CRPF and BSF have been taking up the anti-naxal operations jointly. The CRPF is the main force fighting the naxals.

''The CRPF is fighting the naxals, our (BSF) mandate is to hold and dominate the area,'' Mr Srivastava said.

On whether the BSF would be taking up more responsibility in the operation against naxals, Mr Srivastava said manpower was an issue.

''Where is the manpower? It takes a lot of time to raise one battalion.'' The BSF, the second largest paramilitary force of the country, has five battalions in Orissa and Chhattisgarh, the DG informed. 

The BSF has also come under severe naxal attacks. Recently, in June, naxals attacked a BSF camp in Kanker district of 
Chhattisgarh

While CRPF, India's largest paramilitary force, is the main central force fighting the naxals, the government had roped in BSF and ITBP, to strengthen the operations.

The Government, reportedly, is likely to rope in about 10,000 more BSF personnel to strengthen anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh and Orissa, which have witnessed a spurt in violence.

Incidentally, both the forces were once seen as `competitors' when they were deployed for counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern states with BSF claiming to be better equipped and trained to handle insurgency. 

The rivalry appeared to end when the government decided to make CRPF the sole counter-insurgency force, leaving BSF to concentrate on the borders. However, BSF is of late being roped in to assist CRPF in some anti-naxal operations.
--UNI

No let up in cross-border infiltration attempts: BSF

From DNA
Published: Wednesday, Aug 4, 2010, 14:24 IST 
Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTIThe BSF today said there is no let up in infiltration attempts from across the LoC in Jammu region with militants waiting desperately to sneak in.
Border Security Force (BSF) director general Raman Srivastava said the troops of the force, deployed along the LoC and the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, are regularly thwarting such attempts.
"There are repeated attempts (to infiltrate) especially along the Jammu frontier....Lots of militants are waiting across the border....They (militants) are at it all the time.....We are at our job all the time," Srivastava said.
"We have repulsed each attempt of infiltration... Except only once when they got through some time back and they were killed two days later," he told reporters after flagging off a contingent of 125 BSF men for deployment in Congo under a United Nations mission.
Pakistani troops have indulged in nine ceasefire violations last month, which officials said were aimed at facilitating infiltration. Two BSF jawans were killed while thwarting infiltration attempts.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Road To Your Home

From Outlook Money

BANKING

A home loan taken in haste could prove to be expensive later. A few checks, however, will make things fall in place for you. Here’s how
1. Why should you take a home loan?
Most houses in India are bought through home loans. Even if you are able to buy a house with your own resources, it makes sense to go in for a loan. Home loans are easier to get and borrowing rates are fairly low compared with the 1990s. Another big advantage is that the bank/lending institution will do all the necessary checks on the said property, apart from examining your creditworthiness, before approving the loan. In short, you will be saved from the arduous task of carrying out due diligence on the said property. Besides, you get a tax break on the interest paid on a home loan.
2. What is a pre-approval loan letter?
When you apply for a home loan, the bank/lending institution, after going through your finances, determines the maximum loan amount you are eligible for. It states this in a letter called the pre-approval letter. Its validity is usually six months.
3. What is a combo home loan product?
A combo home loan product has the features of both fixed as well as fl oating rates. This means that for a particular tenure the rate of interest on the loan will be fixed. Once that period is over, the applicable floating rate on the home loan becomes effective.
4. What is the difference between a construction-linked plan and lump sum payment?
There are two payment options that a builder offers you. In a lump sum payment option, you make the entire payment upfront, except for the 5 per cent that you pay while taking the possession. Usually, the builder gives you a discount as he gets the funds upfront. However, in a construction-linked plan, you make payments as per the scheduled plan. This way, even though you do not get a discount, you spend much less initially. Construction-linked plans come in handy especially if there is a project delay.
5. What is a pre-approved property?
Most banks and lending institutions maintain a list of properties that they show you if you want to use their home search facility. They include properties in this list after doing the necessary due diligence. So, if you choose a property from that list, chances of your loan getting approved faster is much higher.
6. How should one deal with banks?
Give yourself time. Do not rush with your purchase or loan. Shopping around for a home loan will help you get the best financing deal. Comparing loans and negotiating with banks can save you a lot of money.
a) Obtain information from several banks.
i) Ask your lender about its current home loan rates and whether the rate is fixed or fl oating.
ii) Check the reset clause, especially for fixed interest rate loans, as rates will not be fixed throughout the loan's tenure.
iii) In case of a floating rate, check if the margin is fixed or variable. The rate of interest will vary accordingly.
iv) A home loan often requires payment of various fees: loan processing charges, administrative charges, documentation charges, late payment charges, charges for changing the loan’s tenure or switching to a different loan package during the loan’s tenure, charges for restructuring of the loan or switching from fixed to floating interest rate or vice versa, and legal fee, technical inspection fee, recurring annual service fee, document retrieval charges and pre-payment charges (if you want to prepay the loan). Every lender should be able to give you an estimate of its fees.
v) Some lenders ask for 20-30 per cent of the home’s purchase price as a down payment. However, many also offer loans that require less than that, sometimes as little as 5 per cent.
b) Get the best deal. Once you know what each bank has to offer in terms of rates, fees and down payments, negotiate for the best deal. Ask the lender to write down all the associated costs and if it will waive or reduce one or more of its fees or agree to a lower rate. Make sure that the bank is not agreeing to lower one fee while raising another, or to lower the rate while raising the fees. Seek clarification if you do not understand any term. Banks are obliged to explain in detail the important terms and conditions of the home loan. Once you are satisfied with the terms of the loan, get a written offer letter from the lender and keep a copy. Read the offer letter carefully before signing it.


editor AT outlookmoney.com

Report Card of Ministry of Home Affairs for July, 2010

PIB Press release

The Union Home Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram presented the Report Card of the Ministry of Home Affairs for July,  2010 here today.  Following is the text of his statement:
I present before you the report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for the month of July, 2010.

            The situation in Jammu & Kashmir is not yet normal. Repeated calls for bandh have paralyzed normal life in the valley. Security forces continue to operate in a difficult situation exercising maximum restraint. Government of J&K has announced some measures and I hope that these measures will help in normalizing the situation. 

            Left Wing Extremists, especially CPI (Maoist), continued to commit acts of violence in the affected States. Security forces have registered some successes in countering the activities of the Left Wing Extremists. On July 14, 2010, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting the Governor/Chief Ministers of 7 LWE-affected States in New Delhi. The meeting endorsed the proposals earlier approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security and also made valuable suggestions. Later in the day, the Union Home Secretary held a meeting of the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of the 7 States regarding implementation of the decisions in a time-bound manner.

            The Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs deliberated on the issue of Left Wing Extremism at its meeting on July 29, 2010. 

            The Resolution approving the Proclamation issued by the President on June 1, 2010 placing Jharkhand under President’s Rule was approved by both Houses of Parliament on July 29, 2010.

Internal Security

            The talks between the Interlocutor appointed by the Government of India, Shri R.S. Pandey and the NSCN (IM) led by Shri Muivah have been resumed.

            The sixth round of tripartite talks on the demands of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) were held in New Delhi on July 24, 2010.

            Shri P.C. Haldar who is the Interlocutor for holding talks with NDFB (PT), DHD (N), DHD (J) and UPDS in Assam and ANVC in Meghalaya was assigned the additional responsibility as Interlocutor for the proposed talks with ULFA.

            Since the commencement of the annual Amarnathji Yatra from July 1, 2010 a total of 375,957 pilgrims have visited the shrine until July 29, 2010.  Full security has been provided to the yatris.

Investigations

            The NIA was directed to take up the investigation of the following cases:

a)      The Samjhauta Express train blast which occurred on February 18, 2007; and
b)      The case relating to an attempted attack on the office of Deloitte, Hyderabad in which LeT operative Zia-ul-Haq was arrested in Hyderabad on May 3, 2010 as a suspect.

CPOs/CPMFs

            On July 21, 2010 a dedicated air courier service was inaugurated by NACIL for CPMF personnel in the North-East. The service will operate on a daily basis linking Kolkata to Aizawl, Agartala, Silchar and Imphal.

            In furtherance of the policy of delegating powers, the following orders were issued:

a)      On July 20, 2010, the powers for the requisition of BSF helicopters were delegated to the IG (Ops), CRPF of the State concerned.
b)      On July 29, 2010, the powers of DGs of CPMFs for condemnation of stores were enhanced from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh.

            On July 27, 2010, the outsourcing of the operation and maintenance of BSF Cheetah and Chetak helicopters was approved for one year in favour of M/s. Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd.

            The following procurements amounting to Rs. 36.29 crore were approved under the MPF Scheme for CPMFs:

216 vehicles (CRPF)
:  Rs.   16.77 crore
224 vehicles (SAG in CRPF)
:  Rs.   18.08 crore
14 Vajra vehicles (CRPF)
:  Rs.     1.44 crore
Total
:  Rs.  36.29 crore

            Sanctions amounting to Rs. 74.63 crore were issued for acquisition of land and equipment and for construction of buildings/barracks for CPMFs:-
Land (BSF, CRPF)                                          :           Rs.  18.32 crore
Land and Buildings (BSF, CRPF)                     :           Rs.  30.86 crore
10 All-Purpose Special Purpose Vehicles          :           Rs.  25.00 crore
30 satellite phones (BSF)                                 :           Rs.    0.45 crore

Total                                                               :           Rs. 74.63 crore

           
In July, 2010, a sum of Rs. 288.60 crore was released under the MPF Scheme to different States.
            Lump sum ex-gratia compensation amounting to Rs. 5.75 crore was sanctioned to the next of kin of deceased CPMF personnel in 31 cases of ‘killed in action’ and 11 cases of ‘death while on duty’.
            On July 27, 2010, 47 posts were sanctioned to the CISF for regular deployment for the security of Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ninaivagam at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
            On July 14, 2010 orders were issued permitting retention of government accommodation at the last place of posting for CPMF personnel deployed in LWE-affected areas.
            The consultants appointed to look into various aspects of the Forensic Science infrastructure submitted their final report on July 27, 2010.

Border Management

            India-Bangladesh Border: 2 kms of fencing and 3 kms of road works were completed in July, 2010 under phase II of the project. 4 kms of fencing was replaced in July, 2010 under phase III of the project. Poles for floodlighting were erected on a length of 25 kms during the month of July, 2010.

            India-China Border: 16.8 kms of formation works and 0.88 kms of surfacing works were completed in Juy, 2010. Formation and cutting works were completed for the Sugar Point – Lepcha road, the Sugar Point – Pong – Point 480 and the Bona – Gelling roads.

            Coastal Security: 5 boats were delivered in July, 2010 – 4 boats from Goa Shipyards Limited and 1 boat from Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited. Against a delivery target of 204 boats upto December, 2010, 134 boats have been delivered.

            Border Area Development Programme (BADP): The Annual Action Plans have been received from 17 States. Rs.70.02 crore was released in July, 2010 to Andhra Pradesh, GujaratSikkim and Uttar Pradesh under BADP, taking the total amount released in the current year to Rs.313.80 crore (to 15 States). 

Immigration:

            In July, 2010, 2 ICPs at Jogbani (Bihar) and Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu) were networked with the Central Foreigners’ Bureau, taking the total to 20 ICPs against a target of 43 ICPs to be networked.

            The Rs. 1,011 crore mission mode project on Immigration, Visa and Foreigners’ Registration & Tracking (IVFoRT) continues to make good progress.  The Project Management Group has been set up; the visa application forms have been standardized; the online visa application system and electronic transfer of messages has been operationalized for HCI, Islamabad; and VPN connectivity with immigration headquarters for security agencies and HCI, Dhaka has been established.


Human Trafficking

             A comprehensive scheme to strengthen law enforcement capability to deal with human trafficking was approved in June 2010. On July 28, 2010, Rs. 8.70 crore was released for the establishment of Integrated Anti-Human Trafficking Units (IAHTU) in the States.

IPS Cadre

            Shri Subhash Joshi, IPS (UK:76) was appointed Special DG, CRPF on July 19, 2010.

States

            Advisories were issued to States

·        on crime against children on July 14, 2010; and
·        on crime on July 16, 2010.

UTs

            Orders were issued on July 5, 2010, enhancing the existing financial powers of 3 UT Administrators for Plan schemes:

Andaman & Nicobar Islands                             :Rs. 25 crore from Rs. 15 crore
Lakshadweep                                                   :Rs. 20 crore from Rs. 10 crore
Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli         :Rs. 20 crore from Rs. 10 crore

            Approval was issued on July 29, 2010 delegating financial powers upto Rs. 25 crore to the Administrator, Andaman & Nicobar Islands for Plan schemes under the PPPmode.

.           Under the MPF Scheme, Rs. 13.48 crore and Rs 1.21 crore were released to Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Dadra & Nagar Haveli on July 2, 2010 and July 7, 2010, respectively.

            Trenching and conduit pipe laying work for the CCTV surveillance system was completed at 14 of the targeted 29 locations in Delhi.

Judicial

            The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2010 was promulgated on July 2, 2010.

            The President of India accorded assent to the following Bills:

a.       The Haryana Shri Kapal Mochan, Shri Badri Narain, Shri Mantra Devi and Shri Kedar Nath Shrine (Amendment) Bill, 2009 on July 23, 2010.
b.      The Delhi Excise Bill, 2009 on July 1, 2010.

Disaster Relief

            NDRF teams comprising 137 personnel and 6 search dogs were deployed for search and rescue at the Santhiya (West Bengal) rail accident site on July 19, 2010.

            A 49-member team of CBRN responders from NDRF was deployed to neutralize the chlorine cylinder leak at MPT, Mumbai on July 15, 2010.

            NDRF teams comprising 1215 personnel were deployed for emergency response and rescue in the flood-prone States of Andhra Pradesh (77), Assam (185), Bihar (188), Haryana (343), Maharashtra (182), Punjab (208) and Uttarakhand (32).

Census 2011 and National Population Register

            Data collection for House listing & Housing census and for the National Population Register was completed in 31 States/UTs in the month of July, 2010.

            NPR for the coastal areas was completed in 3,331 coastal villages of nine maritime States and four UTs in July, 2010. Biographical details of approximately 119 lakh persons and biometric details of approximately 67 lakh persons have been collected so far.

Other issues

            The India-USA Counter Terror Cooperation Initiative was signed on July 23, 2010.

            A Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters was signed on July 27, 2010 between India and Myanmar.

            On July 28, 2010, sanction was issued for the release of Rs. 13.18 crore as additional Government of India equity for Repco Bank, Chennai.

            24,000 pension records of freedom fighters were computerized in July, 2010. The database now has 2,04,000 records. The data base of living freedom fighters’ now has 31,546 records. 

            18,615 records of claims and compensation paid to displaced persons were computerized in July, 2010. The database now has 23,615 records”.


*****

RS/KKA