IMM directors meet on fee structure
Ahmedabad:
The directors of six Indian Institutes of Management
(IIMs) met here on Sunday in a bid to reach a consensus
on the fee-structure for the top B-schools. The meeting
is expected to end the six-month-old stalemate over how
much fees the IIMs should charge from students coming from
different economic backgrounds. Bakul Dholakia, the Director
of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, told reporters
that they would try to evolve a common stand on the quantum
of fees. "We are meeting to discuss the issue of the fees
to be charged by different IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management).
As we have discussed with the honourable minister, we are
going to decide on a common approach to the succession of
fees. And there are various proposals and we will be discussing
all of them. We will be going with one proposal," Dholakia
said.
The IIM's at Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kolkata have been
at loggerheads with the former Human Resource Development
Minister Murli Manohar Joshi after he decided to slash fees
by 80 per cent from 150,000 rupees to 30,000 rupees per
annum. The fee-cut issue snowballed into a nationwide controversy
with the government facing massive protest from the business
and industry, accusing it of curbing the autonomy of the
state-funded management institutes. The IIM had filed a
petition in the country's apex court seeking assurance on
autonomy from the government after it ruled in favour of
the fee-cut. The school feared that the fees rebate would
compromise the quality of education being offered and also
herald government interference in its functioning. The IIM
Directors met the new Union HRD minister Arjun Singh Singh
on May 31 where it was decided that the fee issue would
be resolved by the end of June.
Planetarium show for Venus transit in
Kolkata (Go
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Kolkata: Planetarium authorities here are making hectic
preparations to help locals view Venus, which will appear
in the backdrop of the sun, after a gap of 122 years, on
Tuesday. The planet Venus will cross the sun's path in dramatic
fashion on June 8. The sight will be visible for the earthlings
for six hours. "The transit is not exactly an eclipse. We
can call it a microscopic eclipse as it will be like. What
is happening is that the planet Venus is coming between
the earth and the sun, exactly in a suitable condition,
so that it can be seen passing over the surface of the sun,"
said Prof. Subramaniam, Director, Birla Planetorium, Calcutta.
The last Venus transit occurred in 1882 and no living human
being has seen the celestial spectacle before. The Venus
transit across the sun's disc will be visible in Europe,
Africa, Asia and eastern USA. People have been advised to
view the passage through a special filter so as not to harm
their eyesight. Venus, about 26 million miles away, laps
Earth about once every 19 months on its closer orbit around
the sun, which gives the planet a 243-day year. As the viewers
are advised not to look at the transit with naked eyes or
with a filter, enthusiasts are thronging planetariums to
watch one of the rarest celestial sights. For the scientists,
the planet Venus being inside the orbit of Earth, means
a lot. It gives them a rare opportunity to gather information
on the size of the sun and the accurate distance between
the earth and the Venus.
Telugu film actor Balakrishna arrested
(Go
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Hyderabad:
Telugu film actor Balakrishna was arrested here Sunday
for allegedly shooting at his producer and his assistant
over a dispute two days ago. Immediately after the shooting
incident he had admitted himself in the local Apollo Hospital.
Police took Balakrishna, brother-in-law of former state
chief Chandrababu Naidu and son of NT Rama Rao, into custody
in the wee hours and whisked him away through the rear door
of the hospital. Balakrishna had allegedly shot at producer
B. Suresh and his assistant Satyanarayna Choudhury on Friday.
Both are undergoing treatment at a city hospital where they
are reported to be in a serious condition. Police officials
said Balakrishna, who was presented before a Metropolitan
Magistrate, was ordered to be produced in the court on Monday.
"He was produced before the metropolitan judge at 3.30 p.m
(local time) and brought back to the hospital. He will be
produced again on Monday," Chandramouli, Hyderabad ACP said.
"It is very unfortunate that our hero was arrested and produced
before the judge," Nagpal, a fan of Balakrishna, said. The
accused had been in hospital since the incident.
Sachin Pilot the next Youth Congress
president? (Go
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by Pankaj Yadav
New
Delhi: Congress' young turk and Member of Parliament
from Dausa (Rajasthan) Sachin Pilot is tipped to take over
as the president of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), sources
at AICC Headquarters said Sunday. According to the sources,
the present incumbent Randeep Singh Surjewala is soon to
be replaced for two reasons. One, he has been in the post
for a quite a long period, and secondly he wants to concentrate
more on the forthcoming Assembly elections in his home state
Haryana, more so in his Assembly constituency - Barwala
(Jind). The sources said that presently the party was seriously
busy in revamping the overall set up, and mulling over installing
a new face in the post of IYC chief from among the young
faces who made it to the parliament in the 14th Lok Sabha.
As far as Jyotiraditya Scindia is considered, he is "too
senior" for the post, the reliable sources said adding that
he is being considered for a senior position, perhaps a
cabinet berth in the first cabinet expansion expected to
take place sometime in late June. The other name making
rounds for the post (IYC chief) is the first time MP from
South Mumbai - Milind Deora - the son of former Congress
MP Murli Deora. But, the sources said, the party would probably
choose Pilot. Citing two reasons they said that Pilot had
an excellent oratorial skill, and secondly his parliamentary
constituency was closer to New Delhi, the hub of political
activities. Besides, the Pilot family is said to be enjoying
good rapport with the Gandhi family since the days of Sachin's
father Rajesh Pilot-Rajiv Gandhi friendship.
BJP revamp (Go
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New
Delhi: The main opposition party the BJP revamped its
party organisation here Sunday after the debacle in the
recently concluded general elections. Party president Venkaiah
Naidu appointed former union ministers Rajnath Singh and
Arun Jaitley as the general secretaries, and gave more representation
to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes
and women.
Addressing
a news conference general secretary Jaitley announced the
new appointments. "In the Parliamentary board there would
be nine members and one special invitee. The nine members
are Venkaiah Naidu, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani,
Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, Jaswant Singh, Pramod Mahajan,
Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Shiv Raj Singh Chauhan and
the special invitee is Sanjay Joshi," Jaitley told reporters.
Jaitley added that Pramod Mahajan, who continues to be party's
general secretary in the new team, has been assigned the
task of gearing the party for the assembly elections in
Maharashtra slated later this year. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi,
who has been elevated to the post of vice- president from
general secretary, will remain as spokesman with additional
responsibility of headquarters-in-charge. Besides Naqvi
and Jaitley, former foreign minister Yashwant Sinha will
be the party's spokesperson, while a first time Member of
Parliament from Barmer, Manvendra Singh, has been appointed
as additional spokesperson.
Jaitley
said the new list has given representation to all sections
of the society in the reconstituted central office bearers,
frontal organisations and national executive. "In this new
team, different states' equation and social equations, all
these have been kept in mind," Jaitley told reporters. Of
the 78 members in the newly constituted national executive,
20 are new members and it has 13 women, 11 belonging to
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Four Muslims, 2 Christians,
3 Sikhs also find a place in the list. The BJP-led coalition
of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was swept out by
the opposition party, Congress, headed by Italian- born
Sonia Gandhi, despite surveys which initially gave the BJP
an easy win and later predicted an inconclusive verdict.
The BJP and its allies won 185 seats in the 545-member parliament,
down 90 seats from the last elections in 1999.
Naxalites surrender in AP (Go
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Hyderabad:
Thirty twio Naxalites surrendered in here Sunday. The
Naxals belonged to the CPI-ML and they surrendered before
the state's newly-elected Chief Minister Y.S. Rajsekhara
Reddy. The surrendered rebels included a zonal committee
secretary, eight commanders and two deputy commanders of
Pratighatna group of rebels from Warangal and Karimnagar
districts. The rebels said the armed movement was losing
people's support. "Public are hating the party and the leadership
as they are unable to solve the problems of the public and
it has lost the name that's why I am joining the mainstream,"
Bakkanna, a surrendered naxalite, said. Later Reddy told
reporters: "There is absolutely no conflict at all. Just
because, these people had the confidence in our government
and they got disillusioned by the way of life they had,
they are coming. Just because we are wanting to talk does
not mean that the naxalites, those who want in the meantime
(should be stopped). Those who want to come into the mainstream,
should be given an oppurtunity to do so. There's nothing
wrong in it." Reddy, after he took over as chief minister,
had extended an olive branch to the naxalites, by promising
talks with the rebels. State police said they hoped more
rebels surrendering in the future. "The policy of the government
and the atmosphere created will be conducive for more such
surrenders and people will be coming out in larger numbers
and joining the mainstream of life," DGP S.R. Sukumar said.
The former state government had launched a rehabilitation
scheme for the extremists who gave up arms to join the national
mainstream.
The
Naxals believe in the Maoist ideology of violent struggle
for the establishment of peasant rule. Operating in several
states across India, their movement aims at radical redistribution
of land, an issue which is bitterly opposed by the upper
caste landlords. Naxalites derive their name from the eastern
town of Naxalbari where their movement began in the 1960s.
The Naxalites operate in several states across India and
have pitted their campaign against landlords and the state
administration whom they accuse of exploiting the poor.
Natwar to visit Pak next month (Go
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Islamabad:
Indian External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh has
accepted Pakistan invitation to visit Islamabad next month.
The visit is likely to come sometime in July-end. During
the visit, the minister will meet Pakistan President Pervez
Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali,
separately, The News reported Sunday. It would be the first
high-level face-to-face contact between the two countries
after the change of government in India. Quoting diplomatic
sources, the paper said that Natwar Singh will also attend
the three-day Ministerial Council meeting of the South Asian
Association for Regional Conference (SAARC) to be held in
Islamabad in the third week of July. Pakistan is SAARC chairman
for the current term.
While in Islamabad, Natwar will have meetings and discussions
with his Pakistani counterpart on the sidelines of the Saarc
Ministerial Conference. The meeting would cover all outstanding
disputes between the two countries, of course including
the core issue of Kashmir, the sources added. According
to the paper, Kasuri will reciprocate the Indian move when
he will be visiting New Delhi in August as part of the roadmap
for restoration of relations between the two countries.
The two foreign ministers in their meeting in New Delhi
would finalise the recommendations made by the foreign secretaries
on eight different counts, the sources said. The recommendations
would also deal with peace and security and the dispute
of Jammu and Kashmir.
We're committed to improving ties with
Pak: JN Dixit (Go
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Islamabad:
India accords high priority to improving relations with
Pakistan, the country's National Security Adviser JN Dixit
said Saturday. According to the Daily Times, Dixit said
this after a 40-minute meeting with Pakistan High Commissioner
Aziz Ahmed, who called on Prime Minister's Office on Saturday.
He said that the dialogue process with Pakistan would continue
to address all outstanding issues including Kashmir. Meanwhile,
the report said, an Indian Foreign Office spokesman clarified
that the recent comments by Singh on Pakistan President
Pervez Musharraf "did not reflect the government's official
position". "We have read an interview of the external affairs
minister in a magazine that attributed certain remarks regarding
President Pervez Musharraf to the minister. I am authorized
to say that these remarks have been quoted out of context
and do not reflect the well articulated views of Dr Manmohan
Singh's government." spokesman Navtaj Sarna said. The spokesman
further said that New Delhi wanted close ties with its neighbours,
especially Pakistan. "We hold leadership of Pakistan and
all our friends in high esteem," the spokesman added.
Coalition forces to stay in Iraq after
transfer of power: Bush (Go
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Paris:
US-led troops would continue to remain in Iraq after
the June 30 transfer of power in Baghdad, US President George
Bush has said. Bush said this during talks with his French
counterpart Jacques Chirac here Saturday. "Multinational
forces will remain in Iraq to help this new government succeed
in its vital work," Bush told reporters. He said such a
move came "at the request of the new government". The Iraqi
people "want and deserve peace", he said adding that the
US-led coalition in Iraq and the newly-formed interim government
in Baghdad had exchanged letters detailing the conditions
under which foreign forces would remain in the oil- rich
country after the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty on June
30. "Our coalition will soon hand over full sovereignty
to an Iraqi government," Bush said. Washington was "working
toward a new (UN) resolution that will express international
support for Iraq's interim government".
