Gujarat village with over Rs 1000 crore in NRI deposits

The tiny Dharmaj village in Anand district, about 70 km from Vadodara, has a population of only 11,333 but has as many as 13 banks.

For the past several decades, NRIs in this village have been depositing money in banks and post offices and the kitty today has grown to over Rs 1,000 crore, making it one of the richest villages in the country and with the highest NRI deposits.

Deputy general manager of Vadodara division of Central Bank of India, R N Hirve said that NRIs of this village prefer to park their money in banks which are mostly state-run banks and therefore the deposit in the banks have now cumulatively run into more than Rs 1,000 crore.

Rich flow of funds has made Dharmaj one of the richest and most literate villages not only in the state but across the country.

The over 3,000 Patidar families live life king size and zip past in swanky cars and almost every family in the village has a member sending in the money for several decades.

There as many as 1,700 families hailing from this village settled in Britain, around 300 families in the US, 160 in New Zealand, 200 in Canada, and 60 in Australia, among others, taking the total number of families staying abroad to around 3,120.

BJP hits back at TMC over allegations of 'misuse of CBI'

"TMC senior members are under arrest or being questioned by the central agency for their involvement in the Saradha ponzi scheme scam. The question BJP would like to ask Mamata Banerjee is why is she portraying TMC a victim of BJP sponsored conspiracy? The larger question in your mind is 'if he sings to CBI then what will happen'?" the BJP said.
  
BJP secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said in a statement that state minister Madan Mitra is close to Banerjee and Sudipto Sen and knows enough on Saradha scam.
  
He said the CBI probe was ordered by the Supreme Court when BJP was not in power. "In order to divert the scam issue you are doubting the investigation and casting aspersion on the apex court," he said.
  
Singh also questioned the Left and the Congress for supporting the TMC in Parliament.
    

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Death rate down in Delhi by 7.1 percent

The infant mortality rate (IMR) in the state also has come down from 23.94 percent per 1,000 live births to 22.37 percent per 1,000 live births, according to figures published in the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2012.

Also, the death rate calculated per 1,000 population has come down from 6.1 per cent in 2012-13 to 5.52 percent in 2013-14.

However, the infant mortality has gone up from the 2008 and 2009 figures, by 18.3 percent and 18.96 percent respectively.

Birth rate per 1,000 population has gone up from 20.9 per cent to 21.07 per cent indicating betterment in the health of pregnant women.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

UP, Delhi to work on development of border areas

This was decided after a meeting between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and the Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung in the Union capital on Tuesday.

An official said that it was decided to have encroachment free and planned development in the Yamuna region. The official also said that land allotment for extension of educational institution campuses was also discussed by the Delhi government.

A consensus was arrived at the meeting that chief secretaries of both the governments would survey land records and take a decision on land utilization.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Omar government failed on all fronts: PDP

PDP Patron Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed while addressing an election rally here today said "the present NDA government headed by Narendra Modi has doubted credentials of present regime of Omar Abdullah. That is why, instead of sanctioning funds to the state government for flood victims, the Centre has announced to send funds directly to the victims."

Mufti said Omar government has failed on all the fronts particular on peace and development and instead of resorted to corruption and nepotism and destroyed all democratic institutions in the state, Mufti said.

He said failure of the present government has squeezed space of dignity for all section of society, and all the positive initiatives taken by the previous government have been reversed and the atmosphere of hope that was generated, in the state, has disappeared.

Assuring to address grievances and aspirations of all regions and sub-regions of the state, Mufti said formation of PDP government in the State is writing on the wall.     

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Christmas Day conversion: Hindu outfit calls off ceremony

Satya Prakash Nauman, district president of the outfit, on Tuesday said over phone,"The proposed 'ghar wapsi'(conversion ceremony) planned for December 25 has been called off".

However, he did not elaborate the reason behind the outfit's u-turn.

A controversy had erupted after the outfits announcement that it will conduct a mass conversion ceremony at a local college here on December 25-- Christmas.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were clamped in the city two days ago.

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath had also announced his plans to attend the proposed ceremony, saying there was nothing wrong if people re-convert to Hinduism if they are doing it willingly.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Countdown for LVM 3 mission begins

"The 24 and a half hour countdown for the mission has commenced at 9 AM on December 17," ISRO said. The Mission Readiness Review and the Launch Authorisation Board, which met on Tuesday, has cleared the launch for December 18 at 9.30 AM, it said.
A senior ISRO official explained that the lesser duration of the countdown for the mission was due to the dummy cryogenic stage.

As per the plan, soon after the lift-off at Sriharikota, ISRO would study the flight validation of the complex atmospheric flight regime of LVM 3 and would also test the ability of the CREW module to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere with thermal resistance, parachute deployment in cluster formation, aero braking system and apex cover separation
procedures.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

BJP won Lok Sabha polls by playing communal card: Rahul Gandhi

"BJP had succeeded in winning Lok Sabha elections based on communalism and even public failed to recognise the fact," Rahul told an election rally here.

He accused BJP of "cheating" people of the nation by showing sweet dreams and "misguiding" them on communal lines.   

Gandhi was addressing public rally at Bani, organised in support of Congress candidate Rajneesh Sharma Miyan.   

He was accompanied by Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni, JK state chief Saifuddin Soz on his campaigning for the party candidate.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Gutka ban useful, helped many to quit the habit: WHO

In a study conducted by the WHO in seven states – Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha and National Capital Region (NCR) - 92 percent respondents supported ban on sale of gutka, while a whopping 99 per cent said the ban was good for the health of Indian
youth.

"These findings have a strong message that regulatory mechanisms are effective and can have a positive impact on the consumption pattern. The ban did impact use. Of the respondents who continue to use pre-packaged gutka, 49 percent reported they consume less since the ban. There was high degree of unanimity among respondents (90 percent) that the government should ban the manufacturing, sale and distribution of other forms of smokeless tobacco," WHO Representative to India Dr Nata Menabde said in a release here.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

PM Modi 'most searched' personality on Google

"Modi is one of the top most searched personalities this year, even ahead of Bollywood stars Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, making him the first politician to gain more popularity than film celebrities on the web," Google India said in a statement here.

The company's 'Year in Search' lists this year's (2014) major events, biggest interests and most searches on its global web site.

"The historic Lok Sabha elections in April-May emerged as the country's first digital election, revealing that an online presence mattered for all political parties while 'Elections 2014' topped our trending charts," the statement said.

Major sport tournaments like FIFA World Cup in June-July in Brazil and Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 in April-May across the cities topped the trending searches, breaking records as fans 'googled' for teams, players, scores and match results.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Goa CM held tourists responsible for rising drug rackets

Notably, Parsekar's statement has come after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a recent 'Man ki baat' programme on radio, voiced concern over the "devastating" drug addiction menace and called it a "national pain." He had also said that the money spent by youth on drugs could be funding terrorism.

"There is no denial that drugs exist in the state. We want that drug-peddling should be controlled. In the recent times, police have made large drug seizures," Parsekar told reporters here.
  
"Some tourists come here only to do drugs. These tourists don't contribute towards any revenue generation. They arebankrupt. In the days to come, we will maintain stricter vigil on such kind of tourists," he said.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Telangana cabinet expands, six ministers take oath

Governor E S L Narasimhan administered oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers who include T Srinivas Yadav, who resigned from Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and also as a member of Telangana assembly a couple of hours before the swearing-in ceremony.

Tummala Nageswara Rao, who quit TDP in August, A Indrakaran Reddy, who resigned from Bahuajn Samaj Party (BSP) in June, also joined the cabinet.

Jupally Krishna Rao, C. Laxma Reddy and A. Chandulal are the others who took oath at the ceremony held at Raj Bhavan and attended by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and senior officials.

This has taken the number of ministers in the cabinet to 18. There is not a single woman in the ministry.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Goa Congress ridicules Centre's Christmas circular to schools

In a circular on December 10, the Samiti had asked the deputy commissioners to ensure that 'Good Governance Day' was celebrated at all Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) on December 25 with action taken to be communicated to the commissioner's office.

Congress'S Goa spokesman Sunil Kawthankar said the move might cause a communal discord in the state.

"This is a purposeful move to undermine the importance of Christmas in the country. This will trigger communal discord in the state," he said at a press meet.

Senior Congress leaders Agnelo Fernandes and legislator Pandurang Madkaikar were also present on the occasion.

Terming it a "Gujarat model", Fernandes said that the Centre is testing the waters by sending the circular only to Navodaya Vidyalayas.

"If they find there is no response from the public, they will implement it in all the schools in the state," the former Calangute legislator alleged.    

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Agra civic agency approves hike in Taj Mahal ticket prices

The present rate is Rs 20 for Indians, shared equally between the ADA and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and under the new proposal, it will be Rs 40.

For the foreign tourists, the ticket will now be Rs.1,000 from Rs.750, out of which the ASI gets Rs.250 and the ADA Rs.500.

Entry for  children below 15 years is free. This is the third time that a proposal of hiking the ticket rates has been passed by the ADA Board. 

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Visa on Arrival at Goa airport to boost tourism

The VoA facility was launched by the Union Home Ministry on November 27. Soon after the notification, the Dabolim airport started the process of issuing visas from December 4.

A total of 43 countries have been extended this facility and Goa is one of the nine airports which has been selected for providing the VoA facility.

Of the total number, the highest number of 183 VoA has been issued to tourists from Ukraine followed by 154 to those from Russia. While 7 VoA have been issued to tourists from Germany, those from Jordan, Singapore and the US have been issued 3, 1 and 4 VoA respectively.

Foreign nationals from Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Philippines have also been issued VoA each as per data furnished by the Goa airport.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

PM Modi to address rallies in Jammu ahead of final phase polls

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources said Modi will address rallies in Kathua district and Jammu city. "PM Modi's first rally will be held at Mandi in Billawar constituency and the second at MA Stadium in Jammu City," a party source said.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is also scheduled to address two election rallies in the Jammu region on Tuesday. Twenty constituencies in Rajouri, Jammu and Kathua districts go to polls on Saturday in the fifth and final phase of state assembly elections.

In the fourth and penultimate phase of Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections in 18 constituencies, the voters defied separatists' boycott call and chilly weather and came out in good numbers on Sunday to record a 49 percent turnout  

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Jindal to return 294 acres of land to farmers: Mamata Banerjee

"Jindal has communicated his decision to us to return the 294 acres of land to the farmers procured for their project. We are forming a committee under the district magistrate so that the land is returned to the farmers," she said.

With the return of land and scrapping of the project, the company is estimated to incur at least Rs 700 crore loss as it had made considerable investment there.

JSW had bought 294 acres of land from 485 farmers paying Rs 3 lakh per acre which is nearly 275 percent higher then the then prevalent rate.

Also, free shares of equivalent amount and a job guarantee for every land seller's family was agreed upon. However, with lack of availability of raw materials impeding the project, the company decided to return the land.

Post the handover, JSW Bengal will be left with 4,268 acres government land, which has been leased to it for the Rs 35,000 crore project.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Mumbai: 14 injured in fire at railway quarters

According to the Fire Brigade officials, the blaze started on the 4th floor of railway officers' quarters building behind Maratha Mandir theatre opposite Mumbai Central railway station.

They said the short circuit in one of the duct wires of the building caused the fire.

"We got a call around noon about the fire in the residential building. After reaching the spot, we rescued 65 people from the building. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the incident," the official said adding that the entire fire-fighting operation lasted for over three hours.

Eight fire engines, six water tankers and four ambulances were deployed at the spot for rescue operations.   

The injured were admitted to Nair and Jagjivandas hospitals in the vicinity.
 

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

UDF authorises Kerala government to take decision on liquor policy

UDF also extended full support to State Finance Minister K M Mani against whom a FIR has been registered in the bar bribery scam.
 
Indian Union Muslim League and Socialist Janata Democratic (SJD) also expressed reservation over changes in the liquor policy at the meeting held here.
 
Sudheeran opposed the changes mooted by Chandy and said there was no need for any alteration.
 
Sudheeran also wanted a comprehensive study on the impact of the policy instead of relying on the suggestions of a few departments like tourism.

Admitting that Sudheeran did not agree to the changes, Chandy told a a press conference after the meeting that UDF entrusted the cabinet to make practical changes without in any way affecting the basic nature of the policy.
 
The new policy announced in August last envisaged total prohibition in stages in ten years time. The policy limited foreign liquor bars to five-star category hotels, besides closing down retail outlets of Kerala State Beverages’ Corporation in a phased manner.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

PM Modi in JMM bastion, asks people to throw out 'looters'

"Throw out the looters by giving BJP a two-third majority vote for stability in Jharkhand and its development," Modi told an election rally here.

Addressing poll rallies here and at Barheit, the two seats from where Chief Minister Hemant Soren is contesting this time, he said the state has the potential to fill up the coffers of the country but was being looted.

Taking a swipe at JMM Chief Shibu Soren and his son Hemant Soren without taking their names, Modi said, "The father and son filled their own coffers and did nothing for the poor."

Modi said just as a mother does not give sweets to her son if he commits a wrong deed so should the people punish the "looters" in the final phase of voting.

"Shouldn't the youth here get employment so that they don't have to go thousands of miles away for job?"

Asking the people not to believe in rumours that they would lose land if BJP is voted to power, he said, "No one can snatch tribal land ... Welfare of tribals can only strengthen the country."

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi