Rs 13k cr scam in national solar plan, claims CSE

NEW DELHI: In violation of norms laid down by the government, a single company, Lanco Infratech has allegedly cornered 40% of the contracts bid out for the first phase of the National Solar Mission, garnering 235 mw worth projects with assured revenue of Rs 13,000 crore over the next 25 years including a large subsidy that the consumers will end up paying.

Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment on Wednesday released documents showing how the company allegedly created fronts to side-step the rules and win much more than the 105 mw worth contracts it was legally allowed to.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission is meant to install 20,000 mw of grid-connected solar power by 2022. In its first phase, 1,000 mw worth of projects were to be bid out by 2013. In the first batch of the bidding process, 150 mw of solar PV plants and 470 mw of solar thermal power plants were bid out with no company (including its affiliates, subsidiaries etc) permitted to bid for more than 5 mw of solar PV and 100 mw of solar thermal each.

"These guidelines were blatantly flouted by Lanco Infratech. This company floated front companies and grabbed no less than nine projects worth 235 mw. This is about 40% of the 620 mw worth of projects auctioned by the government during the first batch of the first phase of the Solar Mission," CSE said.

The documents released by CSE showed that the companies' balance sheets were beefed up just in time to meet the bid requirements. The final date was also delayed to adjust one particular case. The bids were almost identical with a 5 paise difference in the discount rate proposed.

CSE said besides the two disclosed Lanco group companies, "all (other) seven companies had Rs 1 lakh or Rs 10 lakh in equity, no assets or reserves from the past; all were created for the bidding process; all companies increased their authorized amount of shares and then issued preference shares on the same day (December 31, 2010); the shares did not go to Lanco directly, but showed up in its annual report. Then all Lanco and front companies bid for the PV projects in a unified fashion, quoting similar tariffs with 5 paise jump between each bid."

CSE gave details of how project reports of all projects were identical and the land agreements for the legally distinct and differently owned projects were signed with the government by one person - a Lanco employee. It claimed that seven more companies besides those shown as bidders had direct links with Lanco -- "some had Lanco employees and their family members as directors, while others have strong commercial ties to the company. Lanco's own annual report indicates that all the seven are firmly in its control".

Six of these companies initially proposed one site and the two proposals for solar thermal were proposed at one site. But the eventual site for all none projects ended up contiguous to each other in one single village Askandra in Jaisalmer. Lanco also got the Engineering Procurement and Construction contract for all the projects.

While the ministry of new and renewable energy is the regulatory ministry, the entire operation comes under a subsidiary of NTPC -- NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN).

When contacted, MNRES secretary Girish Pradhan told TOI, "The entire process is being done by NVVN, we only set the rules. Now that the information has come out, we will investigate it in depth and no violation or deviation from norms will be tolerated."

NVVN provided a statement to TOI which said, "There is no bar in the guidelines for a company to be EPC contractor in more than one project. After signing the power purchase agreements, we noted that controlling shareholding in some of the companies appeared to have changed which was in violation of guidelines. After obtaining legal opinion on the issue, we issued notice of default to such companies. Companies stated that they had not violated the provisions of guidelines and it was a matter of interpretation. However, in order to resolve the issue, the concerned companies finally rectified the default."

NVVN refused to reveal the name of the companies that were found in violation of the bidding rules or where it had got the legal advice from.

Lanco said it "objected to" CSE's statements which it claimed were "wrongly perceived" and not cross-checked with the company. CSE said it had repeatedly tried to solicit comments from the company.

Lanco further said, "Lanco Group has equity participation in few of the companies that have won the National Solar Mission projects in 2010. Equity participation of Lanco is within the permissible levels. The bidders who Lanco supported were able to bid at one of the lowest tariffs as Lanco provided them the latest technology and complete EPC solutions for the projects. As the power purchase agreement (PPA) for these projects are for a period of 25 years, Lanco's equity participation in these projects also brings confidence to the bidder to use our technology and EPC solutions in arriving at such a competitive tariff."

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Get iPads, Mumbai school tells students

MUMBAI: Mumbai's Podar International School has instructed all its students to buy iPads in order to take part in the learning process.

Vandana Lulla, school director-principal , issued a circular last week that claims the management's decision to use the Apple iPad 2 in the classroom has been welcomed by parents. Some parents , however, feel the move is impractical, distractive and may hamper the growth of students.

The circular states, "Parents now have the choice of either purchasing the iPad 2 from the school on an outright basis or avail of a financial scheme on offer. You also need to indicate if it will be purchased by you on your own."

The school has told the parents to indicate their choice on a form issued by them to help them negotiate bulk orders. The parent of a class II student said, "There has been no consensus on the issue among parents. I am opposed to the move as it will hamper, rather than aid a kid's education.

I would prefer my kid to learn and write using traditional methods , instead of exposing him to advanced gadgets at a tender age. " Another parent said, "I will shift my student to another school as it is purely a money-making racket.

It is an irrational decision as examinations will be conducted using the conventional format and not on iPads."

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DO WE REALLY NEED EACH OTHER?

President Obama arrives in India this week on a three-day visit amidst high hopes and great expectations, but...

WA S H I N GTO N CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA
Indian Tourism has its “Incredible India”campaign; Barack Obama has his “Indispensable India” mantra. From the time the 44th US president took office, he has flogged this expression several times, elevating it to a new US foreign policy shibboleth. He used it during his remarks to welcome Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the White House; he plied it during a surprise State Department appearance during the strategic dialogue; and he’s applied it several times in between. You’ll hear more of it when he visits India next week.
    It is a recalibration of the Bush-Vajpayee era mantra of “natural allies.” Somewhere down the line, Washington has figured out that India is not cut out to be an ally in the traditional sense. Depending on how one looks at it, India is too independent, too timid, too fractious, too tetchy, too assertive, too moralistic, to make a good ally. So it’s now a “partner.” And in Obama’s eyes, “indispensable.”
    Really? What gives? How come? What is it that India offers the US that the world’s superpower (albeit declining) can’t live without? Not cheap goods. China takes the cake (and eats it too). Not oil and gas. Not precious metals, rare earths, or hi-technology. We come up short on all the good stuff. We are not even a gateway to landlocked Afghanistan (like Pakistan is, which makes it temporarily indispensable), and the one time we helped US planes refuel during the first Gulf War, all hell broke loose in India. So what are the reasons India is termed “indispensable”?
    Well there are 1.2 billion reasons. It’s called the “market” in Americanese. This is the most attractive thing about India right now for the US. Or, to paraphrase an American expression from not so long ago: ‘It’s our economy, stupid.’A constantly expanding middle-class riding on 8% economic growth into the near future, fuelled by blind Americanstyle consumerist aspiration, hungering for goods, gadgets, and gee-gaws.
    Don’t believe it? Some of our best and the brightest staff their labs, universities, think tanks and other centers of excellence. We are the repository of prime human capital.
    Incidentally, there was this little tour your correspondent took of the first lady’s vegetable garden in the White House this week. It’s a terrific idea. She wants obese America grow and eat more fruits and vegetables, live healthy, size down, consume less sodas and fast food. Great message. Why then, I asked a White House major domo, is US’ India policy geared towards promoting Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonalds and other notables of witless, unhealthy living? That is a question, said the curator after clearing an awkward throat, best addressed to the state department.
    Indeed, the prime focus of the Obama visit is a dead giveaway if you go by his delegation to India. Absent from the team are secretary of state Hillary Clinton and defense secretary Robert Gates. Accompanying him are commerce secretary Gary Locke and agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack. It’s a sales trip. Of course, the big strategic stuff is also on the table, although it has receded a bit in the face of domestic economic pressures and political expediency. As India’s own economic sinews grow, so does its military heft, and Uncle Sam is all too happy to provide the guns along with the butter to bulk up New Delhi for the role of a regional cop.
    The fact that India is a democracy, has no particularly contentious issue with the US, and the two countries have matchless people-to-people ties, provides comfort and confidence to Washington that New Delhi can be trusted to safeguard its security interests in the sea lanes around the Indian Ocean. “Common values” is another expression Obama, Bush and Clinton have flogged.
    “The United States values our partnership not because of where India is on a map, but because of what we share and where we can go together,” Obama said in his state department speech. But make no mistake; the map is important. Pakistan, always on the point of imploding, has its foot on the US tacticaljugular going into land-locked Afghanistan. But its strategic carotid runs from the Persian Gulf to the Straits of Hormuz, looping up into the South China Sea towards Japan and Korea — herein lies the heart of 21st century economic traffic.
    To secure this is where the US wants help from India and other democracies in the region. This route, says Robert Kaplan, author of newly published “Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power,” underscores the importance of these nations and bodies of water as the US seeks to check the growing assertiveness of China.
    “What I am alluding toward is a very complex, Metternichian arrangement of power,” Kaplan told a Harvard audience last week. “We don't have to interfere everywhere, we just have to move closer to our democratic allies in the region so they can do more of the heavy lifting.” Obama’s India trip is the first stop in this exercise when he can get his mind away from the
economy and jobs.
US: THE SOLE SUPERPOWER GDP: $ 15 trillion (number one in the world)
Per capita income: $ 47,014 (5th highest)
Per capita spending: $ 1,967 (nine times the world average)
Has 17% of the total votes in IMF
Accounts for 40% of the world’s military spending
Permanent member of the UN Security Council (with veto power) N E W D E L H I INDRANI BAGCHI
In 2006, a group of Indian journalists visited a few nuclear facilities in France. At a high-level briefing for the group, a French official said, “France did not impose sanctions on India after the 1998 nuclear tests. And we actually wanted a nuclear deal for you. Why did you not do anything about it?” One of them admitted with rare candour that they couldn't pull off what the Americans could. In another couple of years, the Americans would be pulling all stops at Vienna to clear India's nuclear deal through a sceptical and hostile Nuclear Suppliers Group.
    In a nutshell, that’s a good reason for India to need the US — to pull the levers of the global system that makes the world a friendlier place for India, more amenable to the India story.
    As Barack Obama heads to India, he is pressing different buttons — he’s the first US president to make it to Indian shores in his first term. Also, he’s probably one of the very few to actually spend three days here, certainly the first to celebrate Diwali in India. But he's also the first president to measure his visit to India by the number of jobs he could create for Americans back home, struggling with a 9.6 % unemployment rate.
    For Indians, it's a jaw-dropping moment. The US needs us, say bureaucrats and corporate honchos. For years, the silent Indian mantra used to be, “Yankees go back... and take me with you.” Somewhere, the wheels of fate have turned.
    Does India need the US any more? For scores of righteous Indians bred on a diet that Americans are out to “get you”, it's tempting to believe that those days are over. The growing and dynamic India doesn't much care for the US’ alliances in our neighbourhood. The Americans’ appeasement of Pakistan’s terror-army-spy establishment is actually against India’s interests.
    And then, you are not sure whether the US will kow-tow or be super-belligerent with China. India is buying US defence equipment, but are we sure that the US is a reliable supplier? Or will they give similar equipment to the Pakistanis and undermine our military edge?
    Probably all of the above. But even with this, the US will remain India’s most important partners. One of Manmohan Singh’s top advisers says that “we need the US to invest in India's development.” India is growing rapidly, but it needs many leap-frogging moments if it has to pull hundreds of millions of Indians out of poverty. For that, India’s best partner is still the US.
    “We need their market, their technology, their defence equipment, their expertise in diverse fields and their innovation,” says Tarun Das, former mentor of CII. Manmohan Singh, early on, defined the three “Es” that India needed to excel in for that much-needed leapfrogging moment in India’s history: economy, energy and education.
    The Indian economy has been on a roll, largely due to the enterprise of India’s dynamic private sector. For that to truly flourish, India needs to build capacities in technology and the culture of innovation that sets the US apart from every other country.
    For a long time, India has intellectually logged on to the US education system, which is still the acme of aspiration and achievement for many Indians. As for energy, India moved to the first step of a leap-frogging act in energy, with the nuclear deal. Officials will tell you that for India to go around the world, signing nuclear agreements with impunity, it would need that old-fashioned American power.
    From the strategic viewpoint, India’s greatest challenge going forward is China. Very simply, India will not be comfortable in a world run by Chinese rules of the game. A high-level Indian official points out that “we would rather that the world is run on the Washington consensus than the Beijing consensus.”
    But for all this, India will never be the kind of pliant “ally" the US has traditionally been used to. And the US is never going to do everything India wants them to do. Indians ask too many questions, Americans set too many conditions. “India can, at best, be a partner, but never an ally. But both countries need to come closer for a stable global order in the 21st century,” says KC Singh, former diplomat.
    The US is proud of what it calls “American exceptionalism.” India is equally conscious of its own exceptionalism. That will never make for a trouble-free marriage. But just as a strong, democratic India is in the interest of the US, the obverse is equally true. US strategy thinker Ashley Tellis says, “American strategic generosity towards India remains an investment is its own geopolitical well-being. And India’s success itself, so long as it's not used to undermine US’ vital interests, becomes New Delhi’s strategic bequest to Washington.”India and the US need each other to be strong — for their own good.
INDIA: AN EMERGING POWER GDP growth rate: 8.5% (current)
GDP projection for 2030: $6.6 trillion
Labour force: 440 million (world’s 2nd largest)
Mobile phone users: 600 million (fastest growing market)
Internet users: 81 million (4th largest)
Foreign exchange reserves: $ 284 billion (5th largest)
INDO-US LANDMARKS 1941 | US President Franklin D Roosevelt roots for Indian Independence. He tells British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, “India should be made a Commonwealth at once. After a certain number of years—five perhaps, or ten—she should be able to choose whether she wants to remain in the Empire or have complete independence.” 1949 | Jawaharlal Nehru becomes the first Indian Prime Minister to visit America.
1953 | India and the United States are embroiled in an acerbic dispute over the Battle Act, which bars American aid to any country that traded in strategic goods with China. 1959 | Eisenhower becomes the first American president to visit India. He is received with tremendous enthusiasm. 1960 | America signs a four-year, $1.27 billion PL-480 food agreement with India. 1966 |Indira Gandhi travels to Washington and meets President Lyndon B Johnson. Although billed as a goodwill visit, she admits to an associate that “my main mission is to get both food and foreign exchange without asking for them.” The visit is a success.
1969 | Richard Nixon becomes the second American president to tour India in a visit that’s believed by many to be the least productive by any US president. 1979 | A year after Morarji Desai travels to the US, Jimmy Carter comes to India, visits a village in Haryana, which is later christened “Carterpuri”.
1985 | Rajiv Gandhi goes on his first official tour of America; meets President Ronald Reagan.
2000 | Bill Clinton becomes the fourth American president to come to India in what is termed a “game changer visit.”
2005 | Manmohan Singh visits America and the much debated nuclear deal is signed.
2006 | Bush comes to India, agrees to support India's nuclear power programme.
2009 | Manmohan Singh visits Washington, the first foreign leader to be received as a state guest by the 10-month old Obama administration. Obama terms Singh's visit “akin to Nehru's 60 years ago.”

2006: Bush and Manmohan in New Delhi

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28 kids kidnapped from Leh rescued from Jammu hostel Read more: 28 kids kidnapped from Leh rescued from Jammu hostel

JAMMU: Twenty-eight children from Ladakh, including four girls, were rescued by the police from a Jammu hostel run by an NGO. Five members of Jammu-based NGO, Youth Movement for Peace (YMP), were arrested after parents complained that the children had been kidnapped.

The children are victims of flash floods in August following a cloudburst in Leh. A police team will take them to their houses in Ladakh. According to a senior police officer, ''The children will be handed over to their parents and the Ladakh Buddhist Council.'' Till then, the police have arranged for their stay in Ladakh-Kargil House near Jammu railway station.

According to police, YMP had visited Leh after the disaster to distribute aid and relief material like blankets. YMP members promised the children a better life and brought them to Jammu after the disaster, said police. They were kept in a rented accommodation in Jammu's Dogra Hall. Some parents complained to the police that the children had been taken away by YMP without their consent.

During a late night raid on Friday at YMP headquarters at Reshamgarh Colony and Dogra Hall, the children were rescued. Five YMP members, including its chairman Vikas Sharma, general secretary Gagandeep Singh and his wife Meenakshi who is a manager at YMP, were arrested.

According to sources, the children were probably brought to Jammu for religious conversion. Earlier, YMP had been accused of conversion and its funding had come under scanner. A police team led by DIG Farooq Khan had begun investigation. During the probe, YMP failed to give satisfactory reasons for bringing the Ladakh children to Jammu, said sources.

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6 inducted into Karnataka ministry

BANGALORE: Sending a message to his detractors that he was in command, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yedyurappa on Wednesday inducted six ministers, including his confidante Shobha Karandlaje, into his cabinet.

A day after axing three ministers loyal to mining magnate and Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy, Yedyurappa ensured the return of Karandlaje 11 months after she was dropped at the height of dissidence led by Reddy last year.

On expected lines, A Narayanaswamy, C H Vijayashankar, C C Patil, Karandlaje, V Somanna and S A Ramadas were adminstered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor H R Bhardwaj in Raj Bhavan.

Sensing the brewing discontent among legislators hoping to make it into the ministry , state unit party President K S Eswarappa said the ministry would again be restructured after March next and at least three new faces given a chance.

Janardhana Reddy, who had warned against the sacking of three of his supporters from the ministry and complained to the BJP high command about Yeddyurappa's action, went soft saying they would accept the party's decision.

"We are happy with the party decision. We go by whatever decision the party takes," Reddy, who was unhappy with the sacking of Aravind Limbavali, Shivanagouda Naik and Goolihatti Shekar despite his pleas for their continuance, told reporters.

The softening of stance by Janardhana Reddy and his brother and minister Karunanakara Reddy was being attributed in BJP circles to the on-going probe by the state CID and also by Lokayukta into illegal mining and illegal export of iron ore.

Going in for a major re-structuring of the ministry 28 months after the first ever saffron party government was installed in the South and surviving a major threat to his chair last year, Yeddyurappa has virtually retaliated at the Bellary ministerial trioka by taking them head-on.

Yeddyurappa, who hails from the dominant Lingayat community also chose not to pay heed to the reported insistence by party National General Secretary H N Anantkumar against carrying out the reshuffle now and also his attempts to induct his supporters in the ministry.

"Finally, I have got justice," was the cryptic reaction by Karandlaje, who has been a target among sections of the BJP for wielding influence disproportionate to her status.

Having his way despite reservations within his party, Yedyurappa also inducted Somanna, who had the ignominy of demitting office as a minister after he failed to win an assembly bye-election from Bangalore last year.

With today's induction of ministers, all in cabinet rank, the strength of the Yeddyurappa ministry has reached 34.

Vijayashankar, Ramadas, Narayan Swamy and Patil are first time ministers.

Somanna and Patil are from the majority Lingayat community, to which Yedyurappa belongs, while Karandlaje is a Vokkaliga, the second numerically strong caste in Karnataka.

Ramdas is a Brahmin, Vijayashankar hails from backward Kuruba community and Naryanaswamy from Dalit section.

All the three ministers sacked yesterday were from the Dalit sections.

Seeking to play down the brewing discontent, Eswarappa, said, "When a manthan (churning) takes place, some poison is bound to flow. But subsequently when the nectar flows, all problems are solved".

The ministry expansion and reshuffle was not without drama as Shekhar had spoken about committing suicide, if he was axed, a threat Yedyurappa brushed aside.

Several MLAs aspiring for a ministerial slot had also warned of resigning en masse if they were ignored, but the chief minister shrugged off this threat too.

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SC admits plea for deferment of HC's Ayodhya verdict

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear plea for deferment of Allahabad High Court's Ayodhya verdict. The hearing is scheduled at 2pm.

A retired bureaucrat, Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking deferment of the Allahabad High Court verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute in Ayodhya.

Tripathi moved the apex court against the high court's Friday order, turning down his plea for deferring the final verdict in the Ayodhya dispute.

The Lucknow bench of the high court is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on the title suit on Sep 24.

The two judges of the three-judge bench, while rejecting Tripathi's plea, had said, "The application lacks bona fide and is a clear attempt to divert, deviate and also create obstruction in the final disposal of the matter after more than six decades without there being any reason whatsoever."

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Close, but no cigar

There is something about the Davis Cup that brings out the best in Indian players. Over the years, we’ve seen the likes of Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi punch well above their weight in the competition and yesterday, it was Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman’s turn to do the same.

A visibly drained Rohan Bopanna during his marathon match against Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci in Chennai yesterday. (Below) Ricardo Mello celebrates after beating Somdev Devvarman in the second match

Sadly though, their best couldn’t prevent Brazil going up 2-0 at the end of the opening day of the Davis Cup World Group playoffs.

On paper, the first singles matches of the day between world number 27 Thomaz Bellucci and world number 479 Bopanna was a no contest but the reality was very different.

The Brazilian was stretched to the limit by an inspired Bopanna who eventually went down 7-6, 6-7, 5-7, 6-4, 8-10 in a thriller that lasted four hours and 28 minutes.

The end result wasn’t exactly what India wanted but the guts shown by Bopanna, who reached his first Grand Slam doubles final at the US Open with his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi last week, went a long way to prove that in the Davis Cup, rankings count for little.

In fact, the Indian led 5-2 in the decider when Bellucci saved three match points and reeled off three games in a row to make it 5-5.

The 22-year-old Brazilian then broke Bopanna’s serve in the 17th game and held his own in the next to clinch victory in front of some 1,500 home fans at the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium.
Bellucci relieved

“I don't know how I won today,” a visibly relieved Bellucci said. “It could have gone either way many times in the match. I was fortunate I hung in there and was able to win.

“I really did not expect Bopanna to hit so hard and serve so well. He played an excellent match. I am glad I could get a point for my country.”

Bopanna, who served 27 aces, said his growing confidence and the support of the crowd helped him through the marathon match.
Long match

“I don't think I have ever played such a long match,” he said. “Of course I am disappointed that I came so near and yet lost. But I must give credit to Thomaz. He showed why he is ranked so high. He won the big points at the right time. But this tie is not over yet and I am looking forward to the reverse singles.”

The second match of the day was another five-set marathon that lasted four hours and 12 minutes. And once again it was the Brazilians who emerged triumphant.

Ricardo Mello beat Somdev Devvarman 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4. Somdev started stronger but seemed to wilt away towards the end under the sustained pressure that was applied by the aggressive Mello. Both the players mostly relied on powerful ground strokes, sticking mostly to the baseline.

Mello, who last played in the Davis Cup in 2007, bounced back twice to take the second singles into the final set against Devvarman.

The duo traded breaks in the seventh and eighth games of the decider before Mello broke again in the ninth and served out the match.

  It’s not over yet  Though India have never won after being 2-0 down, there have been times when they have bounced back to win the tie after being 2-1 down going into the third day. India has achieved this feat three times in the past and in the last two cases Leander Paes was part of the squad. He first did it in 1993 against hosts France with Ramesh Krishnan and then with his current doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi in 1996 against Holland. Here are previous instances when India bounced after being down 2-1

1987 - beat Argentina 3-2 in the last 16 of the World Group in New Delhi
1993 - beat France 3-2 in the quartes of World Group in Cannes
1996 - beat Netherlands 3-2 in the last 16 of World Group in Jaipur

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Disability certificate for Rs 3,000 in Karnataka

BANGALORE: Divya (name changed) claimed she was speech and hearing impaired, and even had a certificate to prove it. But when a Lokayukta health investigator whispered in her ear, "What's your name?", she responded immediately: "Divya". Don't be shocked. For, Divya is just one among many perfectly normal people who have got themselves a certificate attesting to their disability.

All they did was pay touts any amount between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000. The benefits are many: a monthly allowance of around Rs 1000, a bus/train pass, employment, identity card or even a telephone booth! Genuine certificates are issued free of cost by authorised hospitals.

Lokayukta investigators have unearthed a racket in which touts will help you get these certificates. Two NGOs dealing with disability, Angala Vikalara Jagruti Maha Samiti and Pragati Anga Vikalara Shema Abhivruddhi Sangha, lodged complaints with the Lokayukta office about discrepancies in issuing disability certificates. Subsequently, Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde entrusted doctors of Health Foundation to investigate.

Investigators found material which indicated there was prima facie truth in the allegations and there're gross discrepancies while issuing certificates. Their complete report will be submitted to Justice Hegde soon.

While there were discrepancies in certificates issued by several hospitals in the city, the disability board of a government hospital is particularly notorious for violating guidelines. When Lokayukta investigators visited the board, instead of three experts who would issue certificates as stipulated in central government guidelines, five doctors of different specialialites were examining people. These experts were paid Rs 800 per visit and they were not government employees but private practitioners.

Lokayukta investigators — Dr C S Hanumanthappa, Dr R Chandrasekhara, Dr K Srinivasa Murthy and Dr K R Kamath — raided the board and after finding many discrepancies, summoned around 40 people who had been issued disability certifica-tes. "Only 26 of them turned up. Instead of regular doctors, we called doctors from Bowring Hospital and Victoria Hospital.

Many cases were found faulty. The institute is supposed to rehabilitate disabled persons by issuing them aids like Jaipur Foot or hearing aids and training them but none of it was done. They were only issuing certificates," Lokayukta investigators, who were part of the raid, told TOI.

It's not surprising that just after the raid, the board wound up operations in a mysterious manner and said it was no longer authorised to issue certificates. Equipment and aids worth crores are lying unused in that defunct building.

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Nadal completes career Slam by winning US Open title

NEW YORK: World number one Rafael Nadal completed a career Grand Slam title sweep on Monday by capturing his first US Open crown, defeating Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

The 24-year-old Spanish left-hander overwhelmed Djokovic with uncanny shotmaking to win the 1.7 million-dollar top prize as well as his third consecutive Grand Slam crown and his ninth Grand Slam title overall.

Nadal became the seventh man to complete a career Grand Slam sweep, joining Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Don Budge and Fred Perry in having won Wimbledon and the US, French and Australian Open titles.

Showers pushed the final to Monday for the third year in a row and halted the match for one hour and 48 minutes, but rain only delayed Nadal's reign on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts despite losing his lone set of the fortnight.

A ninth Slam title moved Nadal alone into seventh on the all-time list, passing Agassi, Perry, Ken RosewallIvan Lendl and moving only seven shy of Federer's all-time record, three crowns ahead of Federer's Slam-title pace.

After winning Wimbledon and the French Open earlier this year, Nadal joined Federer, Laver and Pete Sampras as the only men to win three Slams in a row in the Open Era that began in 1968.

Nadal, third-youngest on the Slam sweep list, would join Laver and Budge as the only men to hold all four Slam crowns at once by winning the 2011 Australian Open.

No Spanish man had won the US Open title since Manuel Orantes in 1975 and the only other Spanish US Open champion was Manuel Santana in 1965. Not since John McEnroe in 1984 had a left-hander had won the US Open men's title.

Nadal was broken only five times in the tournament, matching the mark for fewest broken serves by a US Open men's champion set by Andy Roddick in 2003.

Djokovic, whose lone Grand Slam title came at the 2008 Australian Open, had won his three prior matches against Nadal, all on hardcourts, but has still never defeated the Spaniard in a final or at a Grand Slam event.

Nadal improved to 9-2 in Slam finals, his only losses coming to Federer at Wimbledon in 2006 and 2007, and 15-7 lifetime against Djokovic, who could not combat the top seed's relentless performance.

After dropping a set for the first time in the tournament, Nadal responded with exceptional shotmaking in the third set, breaking Djokovic for a 2-1 lead when the Serb sent a forehand wide.

Djokovic fought off three break points in the fifth game and five more in an epic seventh game as each man fired impressive shots time and again, those who stayed through the rain giving both men a standing ovation after Djokovic held.

Nadal held twice more to claim the third set, forced Djokovic to save a break point to open the fourth set and then broke Djokovic in the third game, his forehand winner setting up a break that came when the Serb's forehand hit the net cord and landed beyond the baseline.

Djokovic netted a forehand to surrender a break that handed Nadal a 4-1 lead but the speedy Serb kept fighting and had a break chance in the sixth game, missing long with a forehand, before Nadal held to reach the brink of history.

Nadal swatted a forehand on the baseline to reach match point and the magical moment came after three hours and 43 minutes when Djokovic hit a forehand wide.

The Spaniard put his face in his hands and fell to the ground on his back, then rolled over and savored the moment. After receiving congratulations from Djokovic at the net, Nadal dropped to his knees on the court and raised his hands in victory.

Nadal fired a forehand winner to break Djokovic in the opening game of the match, but Djokovic answered by breaking back to 2-2, the Spaniard swatting a forehand wide to surrender his serve for only the third time in the tournament.

Djokovic, who will rise to second in the world rankings, denied Nadal on five break points in the fifth game but succumbed on the sixth, the Serb smashing his racket in anger after Nadal's serve-swiping winner.

Nadal held his serve from there to claim the first set, an ominous note for Djokovic as the Spanish star was 107-1 in prior Grand Slam matches when winning the first set and 91-0 when taking the first two sets.

His urgency aroused, Djokovic broke Nadal at love for a 3-1 lead in the second set but saw his lead erased in a pivotal seventh game, Nadal denying him on two game points then firing a forehand winner on his third break chance.

The second set was at 4-4 with Djokovic serving at 30-all after one hour and 41 minutes of play when rains returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium, halting the match for one hour and 48 minutes.

When play resumed, Djokovic battled through deuce three times before holding to 5-4, then broke Nadal to claim the second set, the Spaniard spraying a backhand wide and netting a forehand for his first lost set of the tournament.
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'Assertive' China a worry, says Antony

NEW DELHI: For once, the normally ultra-cautious defence minister A K AntonyChina was becoming increasingly assertive. The top military brass, in turn, asked the political leadership to factor China's ever-expanding transborder, cyber and space-warfare military capabilities into India's national security matrix.

Even as the military brass warned that China posed "serious challenges'', it was of the view that the political establishment should chalk out clear-cut national security objectives, which in turn would fashion the joint military strategy to meet any external threat.

Yes, Pakistan and its "proxy war'' in J&K, Afghanistan and the Pakistan-sponsored Taliban, Naxalism and coastal security, all figured during the annual combined commanders' conference on Monday, attended by PM Manmohan Singh, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, home minister P Chidambaram and national security adviser Shivshankar Menon, among others.

But China's massive build-up of military infrastructure along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control, its strategic moves in Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and rapid modernisation of the People's Liberation Army were red-flagged as worrisome during the conference. This comes in the backdrop of the increasing Chinese footprint in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, both in terms of projects as well as personnel.

The PM, on his part, said India needed to develop border infrastructure, for both land and sea, with "a sense of urgency'' because it was "an integral part'' of the country's defence preparedness.

Antony was more direct. "We want to develop friendly relations with China... However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that China has been improving its military and physical infrastructure,'' said the defence minister.

"In fact, there has been an increasing assertiveness on the part of China. We are taking all necessary steps to upgrade our capabilities. We have never linked our capabilities to counter any particular nation,'' he added.

All the three Service chiefs, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, Admiral Nirmal Verma and General V K Singh, too expressed concern on the China-front, which the armed forces consider more of "a long-term threat'' rather than Pakistan.

The IAF chief, for instance, talked about how his force had begun to base the Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets in the North-East as well as upgrade several airstrips and helipads in the region.

The Army, on its part, is raising two new specialised infantry mountain divisions (35,000 soldiers) and an artillery brigade for Arunachal Pradesh, even as Navy tries to counter the increasing Chinese presence in IOR. India, of course, also plans to test its most ambitious ballistic missile, the 5,000-km Agni-V, by early 2011 to bolster its deterrence posture against China.

Both the PM and Antony underlined the ongoing endeavour to modernise the Indian armed forces to tackle all exigencies. "When it comes to defence capability, we must be ahead of the technology curve,'' said the PM.

"Defence modernisation, however, is a complex task. If it's to be effective, it must involve the full chain starting with updating our war-fighting doctrines to meet new threats to our security, preparation of appropriate staff quality requirements and creating a broad-based production and delivery infrastructure on the ground,'' he added.


admitted

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3 IAF personnel killed in helicopter crash

PAKUR (JHARKHAND): Three Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel, including a pilot and a co-pilot, were killed on Saturday when a Chetak helicopter carrying them crashed in bad weather at a remote place in Jharkhand.


The chopper was on its way to Baghdogra air base from air force station Kalaikunda in West Bengal when it encountered bad weather and crashed near Sinharsi air base along the border of Pakur and Godda districts of Jharkhand, Eastern Command spokesperson and a senior state police official said.


The deceased were two pilots and a co-pilot of Chetak, deputy inspector general of police D K Pandey said in Pakur.


He said the crash took place in an area under Sundarpahari police station around 4pm.


Bad weather was stated to be the cause behind the crash. The IAF has ordered an inquiry into the incident to ascertain the causes behind the accident, the spokesperson said.


This is the second crash of Chetak in a fortnight. On August 27, another Chetak helicopter had crashed moments after take-off during a training mission at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited airport in Bangalore.

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J&K govt blames Mirwaiz for violence in Kashmir on Eid

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday accused the chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umer Farooq of not sticking to assurances made by his close aide to the administration that the march to Lal Chowk planned for the day would be peaceful.


Highly-placed sources said the Mirwaiz's close aide, Shahid-ul-Islam, called a senior official in the chief minister's office requesting permission for a march to Lal Chowk.


Islam, a former chief of terrorist group Hizbullah, requested for "political space" and assured the official that his activists would ensure peaceful dispersing of the crowd that would gather at Lal Chowk.


The Mirwaiz aide reasoned out that the march was a political necessity for them as the space for separatists in the Valley was shrinking fast, the sources said.


Based on Islam's request, state chief minister Omar Abdullah overruled the suggestions of security agencies and politicians that the separatists march should not be allowed and gave permission for the march to Lal Chowk, the sources said.


However, as the mob in Lal Chowk started turning hostile, the Mirwaiz and his aides quickly disappeared from the scene.


Read more: J&K govt blames Mirwaiz for violence in Kashmir on Eid - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/JK-govt-blames-Mirwaiz-for-violence-in-Kashmir-on-Eid/articleshow/6536873.cms#ixzz0zEzFjZks

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Sonia Gandhi plays 'Chacha Nehru' on Modi's stage

AHMEDABAD: This was an incursion chief minister Narendra Modi perhaps did not anticipate. Days after he addressed students via video-conferencing on the Teacher's Day, Modi's biggest political rival virtually invaded his home turf using the same tool. In a symbolic move, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday reached out to over 600 students and their families in Modi's hometown, Vadnagar.

On the face of it, the session was purely an academic affair. But, political analysts attach a lot of political significance to it.

Gandhi, who is also HC asks the chairperson of National Advisory Council, was inaugurating online 31 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) across the country to mark the International Literacy Day. Four of these JNVs — fully residential co-educational institutions providing education from class VI to XII and affiliated to CBSE — had their nodal agency in Vadnagar town of Mehsana district.

Gandhi's interactive session, telecast live from Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi, was similar to Modi's sessions telecast across Gujarat's schools. Besides, Modi has been addressing non-resident Gujaratis in the US ever since he was denied a visa in 2005. In Gujarat, one JNV each has been established in Vadnagar and Panchmahal.
Deputy commissioner, Navodaya Vidyalaya, of the Pune regional centre, (which covers Gujarat and Maharashtra) KSN Bhat, told TOI, "Vadnagar was the centre for four JNVs, two in Maharashtra and two in Gujarat, whose inaugural plaques were mechanically unveiled simultaneously by Sonia Gandhi pressing a button in Vigyan Bhavan". The plaques would be installed at the respective new buildings. A huge screen was set up in the school for the live telecast. Also present at the event was BJP MP from Mehsana, Jayshree Patel. Gandhi emphasised that quality education is a right of all children. She raised concern over the absenteeism among the teaching staff and also the drop-out ratio. Read more: Sonia Gandhi plays 'Chacha Nehru' on Modi's stage - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sonia-Gandhi-plays-Chacha-Nehru-on-Modis-stage/articleshow/6522159.cms#ixzz0yzuSddOF

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The Times of India

No narcoanalysis test without consent, says SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declared as "illegal" use of narcoanalysis, brainmapping and polygraph tests on suspects. Even if such tests are taken voluntarily then also results cannot be used as evidence unless corroborated by other evidence, the bench said. |

• Govt reacts cautiously to SC ruling on narco test
• File: 5-day narco test on Talwars |
• File: Aarushi's mother put through narcoanalysis |

'Manly' Russian in burqa grounds SpiceJet flight at Kolkata airport

PTI

A Spicejet flight made a 'priority landing' in Kolkata after two Russians, including a woman in a burqa, behaved "suspiciously" on board. The woman had refused to take off her burqa for identification. |

• Kolkata next on IM terror radar? |
• Terror SMS from your mobile number? Possible

Radiation response team recovers all Cobalt-60 source from Delhi

PTI

The National Radiation Emergency Response team recovered 16 Cobalt pencils, of which four were recovered intact and others scattered in pieces as they were dismantled in the scrap yard at Mayapuri in Delhi.

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