5 Jul 2009,
NEW DELHI: Caught between the desire to enforce discipline in the Kerala unit and aware of immediate consequences in case action is taken against
only one leader, the CPM politburo is likely to take the same disciplinary action against state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan as it takes against chief minister VS Achutanandan.
The two-day meeting of the politburo, which began on Saturday, did not take any decision. But both Vijayan and Achutanandan traded charges against each other. West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee did not attend the meeting as, after the poll debacle, he has started the system of visiting one district headquarter every week.
A dominant view in the politburo was for an even-handed approach. The decision on action is likely to be taken on Sunday, a source said. Already, both sides have sent written communication to the politburo complaining against each other's faction.
Sources pointed out that the even-handed action against the two in the past, like suspension from politburo in 2007, had only resulted in a temporary ceasefire. They said till both are shown the door and a new leadership is put in place, the Kerala problem would continue in one form or the other.
On Saturday also, Achutanandan reiterated his demand for the removal of Vijayan as state secretary on the ground that his involvement in the SNC-Lavlin case had created a perception that the party is shielding the corrupt. He is also believed to have said that he is fighting against corruption and not necessarily against Vijayan. The CM is also not convinced with the legal interpretation of the case which projects that Vijayan might have been wrongly implicated. The CM is more bothered about the public perception.
Even a large section of PB thinks whatever be the truth, the SNC-Lavlin case has created a wrong perception about the party. And a large section of Left-inclined people in the state did not vote for the party.
The PB is also aware of the popularity of the chief minister in the state and the repercussions of removing him from the top post.
On its part, the Vijayan faction, that has the backing of a large number of state ministers and party leaders, charges Achutanandan with speaking out against the party line and especially against the state secretary. Vijayan also alleges that instead of carrying out the administrative job, the CM has been too busy politicking against Vijayan. This group also ascribes the party's dismal performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls to Achutanandan's defiance.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Google announces own operating system
8 July 2009
New York: Internet giant Google announced Wednesday the arrival of its own computer operating system, initially designed for use with Netbook computers.
Google Chrome OS, based on the company's nine-month old browser software, is to be available to consumers from the second half of 2010, a statement on Google's blog said.
Google says that Chrome OS is their "attempt to re-think what operating systems should be", the product is seen as upping the pressure on dominant operating system provider, Microsoft, and its proprietary system, Windows.
Google said that "speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS" and that it was designed to "be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds".
The code for Google OS will, in contrast to Windows, be open-source from later in 2009.
Google has steadily moved into traditional Microsoft domains like office-software and Internet browsers.
New York: Internet giant Google announced Wednesday the arrival of its own computer operating system, initially designed for use with Netbook computers.
Google Chrome OS, based on the company's nine-month old browser software, is to be available to consumers from the second half of 2010, a statement on Google's blog said.
Google says that Chrome OS is their "attempt to re-think what operating systems should be", the product is seen as upping the pressure on dominant operating system provider, Microsoft, and its proprietary system, Windows.
Google said that "speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS" and that it was designed to "be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds".
The code for Google OS will, in contrast to Windows, be open-source from later in 2009.
Google has steadily moved into traditional Microsoft domains like office-software and Internet browsers.
1.5 lakh Indians returned from UAE: govt
8 July 2009
New Delhi, July 8 : An estimated 1.5 lakh Indian workers have come back home from the United Arab Emirates due to economic crisis and recession, the Lok Sabha was told Wednesday.
Replying to a question, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi informed the House that an estimated 50,000 to 1,50,000 workers have returned to India as result of the delay in execution of projects due to economic slowdown and recession in the UAE.
He said most of the workers have returned to India on leave without pay with the expectation that they would be able to go back to the Gulf country once the situation improves.
Ravi said while Indian Missions in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have informed that there has been some job losses in these countries, some Indians have also returned from Malaysia due to economic slowdown.
"Information received from Indian Missions in Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Brunei, Libya, Jordan and Lebanon indicate that there is no report of Indians affected by the recession," the Minister said. Noting that slowdown has affected almost all sections of people in the US, Ravi said, "Indians working in the US are mostly professionals and the extent of job losses by Indians is, therefore, slightly mitigated by their indispensability to their organisation."
New Delhi, July 8 : An estimated 1.5 lakh Indian workers have come back home from the United Arab Emirates due to economic crisis and recession, the Lok Sabha was told Wednesday.
Replying to a question, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi informed the House that an estimated 50,000 to 1,50,000 workers have returned to India as result of the delay in execution of projects due to economic slowdown and recession in the UAE.
He said most of the workers have returned to India on leave without pay with the expectation that they would be able to go back to the Gulf country once the situation improves.
Ravi said while Indian Missions in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have informed that there has been some job losses in these countries, some Indians have also returned from Malaysia due to economic slowdown.
"Information received from Indian Missions in Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Brunei, Libya, Jordan and Lebanon indicate that there is no report of Indians affected by the recession," the Minister said. Noting that slowdown has affected almost all sections of people in the US, Ravi said, "Indians working in the US are mostly professionals and the extent of job losses by Indians is, therefore, slightly mitigated by their indispensability to their organisation."
Login.Kerala' to promote Kerala tourism
,8 July 2009
Thiruvananthapuram, July 8: A series of new IT initiatives aimed at revitalising the online presence of state tourism, login.kerala, was launched by State Minister for Home and Tourism Kodiyeri Balakrishnan here Wednesday.
The newly introduced digital initiatives include easy-to-use interfaces, databases and payment gateways which would transform the Kerala tourism website, www.keralatourism.org, from an information-led one to a transaction-based one.
The minister said the digital initiative was a crucial step in marketing Kerala tourism which had been able to withstand the problems faced by the sector in the context of global meltdown. Kerala overcame the global crisis in the sector by promoting domestic tourism with promotional ventures like `Visit Kerala Year 2009,' `Dream Season' and the `Jet Kerala' scheme in association with Jet Airways, he said.
Kerala Tourism Department was one of the first state tourism departments to embark on the digital initiative and make this new technology live for its tourism industry. "Our login.kerala initiative will roll out web-based projects targetting travellers and tourism trade" he said.
Tourism Secretary V. Venu said Kerala could now compete online as a saleable destination by creating more opportunities for state's tourism products to be purchased online and in real time."It will also help us in our objective of taking Kerala closer to the world," he said.
Thiruvananthapuram, July 8: A series of new IT initiatives aimed at revitalising the online presence of state tourism, login.kerala, was launched by State Minister for Home and Tourism Kodiyeri Balakrishnan here Wednesday.
The newly introduced digital initiatives include easy-to-use interfaces, databases and payment gateways which would transform the Kerala tourism website, www.keralatourism.org, from an information-led one to a transaction-based one.
The minister said the digital initiative was a crucial step in marketing Kerala tourism which had been able to withstand the problems faced by the sector in the context of global meltdown. Kerala overcame the global crisis in the sector by promoting domestic tourism with promotional ventures like `Visit Kerala Year 2009,' `Dream Season' and the `Jet Kerala' scheme in association with Jet Airways, he said.
Kerala Tourism Department was one of the first state tourism departments to embark on the digital initiative and make this new technology live for its tourism industry. "Our login.kerala initiative will roll out web-based projects targetting travellers and tourism trade" he said.
Tourism Secretary V. Venu said Kerala could now compete online as a saleable destination by creating more opportunities for state's tourism products to be purchased online and in real time."It will also help us in our objective of taking Kerala closer to the world," he said.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Kerala gets eight new trains
3 July 2009
New Delhi, July 3: Following is a list of new trains for Kerala announced in the rail budget.
New trains
Ernakulam-New Delhi non-stop Super Fast train (Weekly once)
Ernakulam-Goa passenger
Bilaspur-Thiruvananthapuram-Thirunelveli Super Fast,
Happa-Thiruvananthapuram-Thirunelveli Super Fast train
Mangalore-Thiruvananthapuram passenger train
Bangalore-Kochuveli Super Fast
Coimbatore-Shornur passenger train
Shornur-Nilambur passenger train
Extended train services
Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam Janasatabdi extended to Kozhikode
Trichi-Ernakulam train extended to Nagur
Bangalore-Mysore-Mangalore daily train extended to Kannur
Thiruvananthapuram-Rameswaram
Other highlights
Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam stations to meet global standards
Multi-functional trade complexes at Ernakulam and Palakkad
Railway hospital at Thirvananthapuram to be elevated as Medical College
Railway nursing college at Kollam
New proposals
Erumeli-Punalur-Thiruvananthapuram railway line
Ernakulam Madura railway line
Thiruvananthapuram Central to be made model railway station
New Delhi, July 3: Following is a list of new trains for Kerala announced in the rail budget.
New trains
Ernakulam-New Delhi non-stop Super Fast train (Weekly once)
Ernakulam-Goa passenger
Bilaspur-Thiruvananthapuram-Thirunelveli Super Fast,
Happa-Thiruvananthapuram-Thirunelveli Super Fast train
Mangalore-Thiruvananthapuram passenger train
Bangalore-Kochuveli Super Fast
Coimbatore-Shornur passenger train
Shornur-Nilambur passenger train
Extended train services
Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam Janasatabdi extended to Kozhikode
Trichi-Ernakulam train extended to Nagur
Bangalore-Mysore-Mangalore daily train extended to Kannur
Thiruvananthapuram-Rameswaram
Other highlights
Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam stations to meet global standards
Multi-functional trade complexes at Ernakulam and Palakkad
Railway hospital at Thirvananthapuram to be elevated as Medical College
Railway nursing college at Kollam
New proposals
Erumeli-Punalur-Thiruvananthapuram railway line
Ernakulam Madura railway line
Thiruvananthapuram Central to be made model railway station
Railway Budget 2009-10: Mamata focuses on passenger amenities
3 Jul 2009,
NEW DELHI: Presenting the Railway Budget for 2009-10 in Parliament today, Minister of Railways Mamata Banerjee announced that there will be no
increase in passenger fare and freight tariff. She said that the budget will have approach for 'inclusive growth' and expansion of rail network to take development to every corner of the country.
Presenting the railway budget she proposed an outlay of Rs 40,745 cr. for 2009-10. Out of this, Rs 2,921 cr. will be spent on new lines, Rs 1,750 cr on gauge conversion and Rs 1,102 cr. on passenger amenities, which is 119% more than the allocation in the interim budget Rs 424 cr will also be spent on railway staff amenities. She proposed freight loading target of 882 MT and estimated gross freight receipt at Rs.88,419 cr.
Giving an overview of financial performance of the Railways in 2008-09, the Minister informed that freight loading during the period grew by 5 percent while traffic receipt increased by 11.4 per cent to reach Rs 79,862 cr.
The Budget has proposals for 7 new lines, Gauge conversion of 17 lines and doubling of 13 railway lines. In addition, proposals for 53 new lines, 3 gauge conversion and doubling of 12 lines will be processed during the year.
Proposing revision in Tatkal Scheme to make it more passenger friendly, the Railway Minister said that both the advance booking time and minimum charge will be reduced. She said perceptible improvement will be ensured in passenger amenities and safety and security will be given utmost importance. Cleanliness and quality of railway catering will be improved with focus on strict monitoring. She proposed that ticketing facilities will be taken to the grassroot level. Under the ‘Maa Mati Manush’ initiative, computerized tickets will also be made available through Post Offices. Mobile ticketing vans, ‘Mushkil Aasaan’, will also be introduced to provide services in remote areas.
Timely track renewal, modernization of signals and use of digital ultrasonic flaw detectors will be introduced for the safety of the passengers besides Integrated Security Scheme at 140 vulnerable and sensitive stations. Women RPF Squads, exclusively for women passengers, will also be introduced.
Kumari Mamata Banerjee announced a new scheme “Izzat” for travel with dignity. Under this scheme the people in unorganized sector with monthly income upto Rs 1,500/- can avail concessional monthly season ticket of Rs 25/- for travel upto 100 k.m.
The existing student concession is to be extended to students of Madrasas and students in Kolkata will now have the MST facilities for Kolkata Metro also.
To provide relief to women passengers the Minister proposed ‘only ladies’ EMU trains in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata suburban during rush hours. She also announced new ‘Yuva trains’ dedicated to young generation from rural hinterland to major metros with concessional rail fare but with air-conditioned facilities.
Now the Press persons will get increased concession of 50% instead of existing 30% . Once in a year their spouse can also travel with 50% concession.
The Railway Minister announced 12 new point to point, non-stop ‘Duronto’ trains, 57 new train services, extension of 27 trains and increase in frequency of 13 trains. The Minister also proposed introduction of Air-conditioned double decker coaches for inter-city travel.
NEW DELHI: Presenting the Railway Budget for 2009-10 in Parliament today, Minister of Railways Mamata Banerjee announced that there will be no
increase in passenger fare and freight tariff. She said that the budget will have approach for 'inclusive growth' and expansion of rail network to take development to every corner of the country.
Presenting the railway budget she proposed an outlay of Rs 40,745 cr. for 2009-10. Out of this, Rs 2,921 cr. will be spent on new lines, Rs 1,750 cr on gauge conversion and Rs 1,102 cr. on passenger amenities, which is 119% more than the allocation in the interim budget Rs 424 cr will also be spent on railway staff amenities. She proposed freight loading target of 882 MT and estimated gross freight receipt at Rs.88,419 cr.
Giving an overview of financial performance of the Railways in 2008-09, the Minister informed that freight loading during the period grew by 5 percent while traffic receipt increased by 11.4 per cent to reach Rs 79,862 cr.
The Budget has proposals for 7 new lines, Gauge conversion of 17 lines and doubling of 13 railway lines. In addition, proposals for 53 new lines, 3 gauge conversion and doubling of 12 lines will be processed during the year.
Proposing revision in Tatkal Scheme to make it more passenger friendly, the Railway Minister said that both the advance booking time and minimum charge will be reduced. She said perceptible improvement will be ensured in passenger amenities and safety and security will be given utmost importance. Cleanliness and quality of railway catering will be improved with focus on strict monitoring. She proposed that ticketing facilities will be taken to the grassroot level. Under the ‘Maa Mati Manush’ initiative, computerized tickets will also be made available through Post Offices. Mobile ticketing vans, ‘Mushkil Aasaan’, will also be introduced to provide services in remote areas.
Timely track renewal, modernization of signals and use of digital ultrasonic flaw detectors will be introduced for the safety of the passengers besides Integrated Security Scheme at 140 vulnerable and sensitive stations. Women RPF Squads, exclusively for women passengers, will also be introduced.
Kumari Mamata Banerjee announced a new scheme “Izzat” for travel with dignity. Under this scheme the people in unorganized sector with monthly income upto Rs 1,500/- can avail concessional monthly season ticket of Rs 25/- for travel upto 100 k.m.
The existing student concession is to be extended to students of Madrasas and students in Kolkata will now have the MST facilities for Kolkata Metro also.
To provide relief to women passengers the Minister proposed ‘only ladies’ EMU trains in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata suburban during rush hours. She also announced new ‘Yuva trains’ dedicated to young generation from rural hinterland to major metros with concessional rail fare but with air-conditioned facilities.
Now the Press persons will get increased concession of 50% instead of existing 30% . Once in a year their spouse can also travel with 50% concession.
The Railway Minister announced 12 new point to point, non-stop ‘Duronto’ trains, 57 new train services, extension of 27 trains and increase in frequency of 13 trains. The Minister also proposed introduction of Air-conditioned double decker coaches for inter-city travel.
Mamata's railway budget 2009-10 makes common man smile
3 Jul 2009
NEW DELHI: The man on the street appeared happy with Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday and also a trifle relieved that she had not announced a fare hike in her rail budget.
Raju, 28-year-old daily wage labourer, was all praise for her new scheme that makes a monthly season ticket of Rs.25 available for travel up to 100 km for those in the unorganized sector with monthly incomes not exceeding Rs.1,500.
"I have to travel from one place to another as and when work comes up. So this scheme is of great use to me," said Raju, who hails from Bihar, lives in Delhi and often goes to Haryana for work.
Homemaker Sushila Sharma pointed out that at a time when everything was becoming more expensive, Banerjee had at least spared train travel.
"With the prices of everything skyrocketing, the freezing of passenger fares is a real highlight. For the middle class it will be a relief in such times," said Sharma who travels by train at least twice a year for family holidays.
People have also given a thumbs-up to Banerjee's decision to make unreserved tickets available at 5,000 post offices across the country.
"Now we will not need to go to the railway station for tickets. I can buy a ticket from a nearby post office," said 80-year-old Dayanand Arora, who lives in a Haryana village.
Sahil Makhija, a 23-year-old Delhi based professional, also welcomed the installation of 200 automatic vending machines at key stations.
"Though we have online ticketing, everybody is not comfortable using it. The automatic ticket vending machine will surely take away the rush from booking counters."
The railway minister's announcement that a doctor would be present on long distance trains was also applauded by the common man.
"Long journeys in trains are sometimes very risky for the ailing and the elderly. The presence of a doctor will surely help," said Rajesh Gupta, an east Delhi resident.
However, there were certain issues which according to people still remain to be addressed.
"I expected the fares to go down but that did not happen. But the overall budget was good. More could have been done in terms of traffic management, which again was neglected. Punctuality is a big problem and needs to be sorted out soon," said Jalaj Bansal, a teacher.
NEW DELHI: The man on the street appeared happy with Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday and also a trifle relieved that she had not announced a fare hike in her rail budget.
Raju, 28-year-old daily wage labourer, was all praise for her new scheme that makes a monthly season ticket of Rs.25 available for travel up to 100 km for those in the unorganized sector with monthly incomes not exceeding Rs.1,500.
"I have to travel from one place to another as and when work comes up. So this scheme is of great use to me," said Raju, who hails from Bihar, lives in Delhi and often goes to Haryana for work.
Homemaker Sushila Sharma pointed out that at a time when everything was becoming more expensive, Banerjee had at least spared train travel.
"With the prices of everything skyrocketing, the freezing of passenger fares is a real highlight. For the middle class it will be a relief in such times," said Sharma who travels by train at least twice a year for family holidays.
People have also given a thumbs-up to Banerjee's decision to make unreserved tickets available at 5,000 post offices across the country.
"Now we will not need to go to the railway station for tickets. I can buy a ticket from a nearby post office," said 80-year-old Dayanand Arora, who lives in a Haryana village.
Sahil Makhija, a 23-year-old Delhi based professional, also welcomed the installation of 200 automatic vending machines at key stations.
"Though we have online ticketing, everybody is not comfortable using it. The automatic ticket vending machine will surely take away the rush from booking counters."
The railway minister's announcement that a doctor would be present on long distance trains was also applauded by the common man.
"Long journeys in trains are sometimes very risky for the ailing and the elderly. The presence of a doctor will surely help," said Rajesh Gupta, an east Delhi resident.
However, there were certain issues which according to people still remain to be addressed.
"I expected the fares to go down but that did not happen. But the overall budget was good. More could have been done in terms of traffic management, which again was neglected. Punctuality is a big problem and needs to be sorted out soon," said Jalaj Bansal, a teacher.
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