NEW DELHI : Delhi’s ruling AAP averted a major crisis on Wednesday when its disgruntled founder leader Kumar Vishwas agreed not to quit while an MLA who took him on was suspended from the party.  After indicating a day earlier that he may quit the AAP, Kumar Vishwas on Wednesday attended a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence.  After his public outburst, Kejriwal called on the poet-politician on Tuesday night and the two drove to the AAP leader’s Ghaziabad residence to discuss the unprecedented rift between them.  Also on Wednesday, Kumar Vishwas was named the AAP in-charge of Rajasthan, where assembly elections will be held next year.  “The PAC has decided to suspend Amanatullah Khan from the party,” Deputy Chief Minister and Kumar Vishwas’ childhood friend Manish Sisodia told reporters after the PAC meeting.  The decision came three days after Khan alleged that Kumar Vishwas was conspiring to break the party and plotting a coup against Kejriwal at the behest of the BJP and RSS.  Appearing before the media with Sisodia, Kumar Vishwas said he was happy that a dialogue among party members had resumed.    The AAP announced a three-member committee of party leaders Pankaj Gupta, Atishi Marlena and Ashutosh to determine why Khan made the allegation against Kumar Vishwas.  Sisodia said Kumar Vishwas had been given the task of strengthening the AAP in Rajasthan and the party “will fight election in the state under his leadership”.  Kumar Vishwas, Sisodia and Kejriwal are among the founder members of the AAP.

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday said it has provided Pakistan with “actionable evidence” of the involvement of the Pakistani Army in the killing and mutilation of two Indian soldiers on Monday and demanded that Islamabad take action on the incident that again flared bilateral diplomatic tensions. Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar on Wednesday summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit and conveyed India’s outrage over the “barbaric act”  and told him that the Pakistani army was involved in the May 1 incident in Jammu and Kashmir near the Line of Control. As part of the “actionable evidence” that Pakistan has demanded, after India accused it of being behind the killing and mutilation of the two Indian soldiers, Jaishankar said that the attack on the Indian soldiers was “preceded by covering fire from Pakistani posts in Battal sector (in vicinity of village Battal)”. Jaishankar also said that “blood samples of Indian soldiers that have been collected and the trail of blood on Roza Nala (at the attack site) clearly shows that the killers returned across the Line of Control”. The army’s Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and the BSF’s Head Constable Prem Sagar were killed and their bodies mutilated in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.   India says that a Border Action Team (BAT) of Pakistan was behind the incident close to the Line of Control.  

KOLKATA: The massive hunt for undeclared cash launched across the country post demonetisation has revealed that these was either converted into gold or routed through shell companies to make it legal tender, IT sleuths have told IANS.
 Income Tax officials said black money holders avoided the bank-deposit route because they wanted to conceal their identities and somehow had “managed to get many jewellers” to convert their unaudited cash into gold.  “They bought gold and jewellery from jewellers across the cities on November 8 (the night Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes from midnight) and, thereafter. Jewellers camouflaged the identities of the actual buyers and offered split bills,” an Income Tax official, who was part of the investigations, told IANS on condition of anonymity.  According to him, jewellers saw in demonetisation an opportunity to ramp up their sales and thought “they could get away” by showing these amounts as sales.  “Jewellers offered a platform to convert unreported cash into gold,” the official said, adding that split bills were below the value of Rs 2 lakh, the threshold above which buyers have to provide the permanent account number (PAN) issued by the income tax department.  “The buyers’ lists provided by the jewellers were false. After verification, it emerged that many of the buyers were financially weak and not in a position to spend such huge amounts shown in the invoices,” the official said. Taxmen tried to find an answer to a common question: How did jewellers meet the huge spurt in demand following the announcement of demonetisation, particularly after the festival season?  “We found many of these sales were booked as advance collection for future sales. Due to preceding sales during Dhanteras and Diwali, jewellers had a stock crunch and they delivered gold later,” another IT official told IANS, asking not to be identified.  Taxmen said they have stumbled upon records which suggested many shops — as many as 90 per cent across cities — were closed at the time of the demonetisation announcement and sales at the day’s closing had been reported.  “Still, we found sales were registered in the accounting system either on November 8 or a date prior to that after the closing sales were reported. These sales were manipulated,” another IT official said, also requesting anonymity.  Sankar Sen, Chairman and MD, Senco Gold Ltd, which was one of the jewellery houses under the I-T department scanner, told IANS: “We keep records of all buyers on the basis of the names and contacts provided by the customers. We cooperated with officials and provided all the documents, including the CCTV footage that we had.”  “It is difficult for jewellers to verify whether the customers have provided a legitimate identity or not, particularly when the sale value is less than Rs 2 lakh,” he said.  The hunt for black money by the IT officials picked up after November 29 as they waited for some time to collect information from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) or other agencies about the movement of funds.  Asked how taxmen identified jewellers, an official told IANS: “The first set of information showed that jewellers deposited huge amounts of money into banks. Then, we went after jewellers.”  The IT sleuths were able to identify legitimate transactions, easily. “We also had given options to the jewellers to disclose the name of actual buyers or declare that the amount is your money,” the official said, pointing out that such moves proved successful.  Many actual buyers and jewellers contributed to the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), an amnesty scheme to declare unreported wealth.  Had a robust and quick information-sharing system among state and central agencies been in place, the hunt for black money would have been more effective, the officials lamented.  “A compilation of unique features found in transactions post-demonetisation across states is expected soon,” an IT official said.  According to the Union Finance Ministry, the CBDT has detected undisclosed income of over Rs 9,334 crore between November 9, 2016, and February 28 this year.  Under Operation Clean Money (OCM), more than 60,000 persons, including 1,300 high-risk persons, have been identified for investigation into claims of excessive cash sales after demonetisation was announced.  According to officials, shell companies provided a strong support system for black money after demonetisation.  The officials found dummy directors of these companies included a cancer patient who signed documents for a Rs 10,000 monthly fee or charges of Rs 200 for every signature.  The officials said reporting of cash seizures was relatively less in Kolkata because of the existence of the shell companies as an established channel to stash ill-gotten money.  Explaining how active the channel was, the official said: “Many cash handlers with whom we interacted told us that the money does not stay for more than half-an-hour at a particular point.”  Shell companies were also used as instruments to buy bullion. “We found invoices for bullion sales were generated against such companies while actual beneficiaries received the bullion.”  

NEW DELHI: Amidst national outrage over mutilation of two Indian soldiers’ bodies, Indian Army’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen AK Bhatt on Tuesday spoke on hotline to his Pakistani counterpart, conveying grave concern over the Indian patrol being targeted by Pakistan troops and mutilation of bodies of the soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector.

In a stern message, Lt-Gen Bhatt told his Pakistani counterpart Major-General Sahir Shamshad Mirza that such a “dastardly and inhuman act was beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response.’’

Indian Army, in a statement, said the DGMO expressed grave concern about the incident in Krishna Ghati sector where Pak troops targeted Indian patrol on Indian side of Line of Control (LoC) and mutilated bodies of two soldiers.

He also conveyed concern about the presence of Border Action Teams (BAT) training camps in the close vicinity of LoC in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). He said that full fire support was provided by the Pakistan Army post located in vicinity of the incident site”.

Pakistan Army continued to be in denial mode and asked India to produce “actionable evidence” that a Pak BAT team had cross LoC and mutilated bodies of two Indian soldiers. The issue was discussed during a hotline contact between the two DGMOs.

Union Finance Minister and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it is understood that the issue of beheading of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh of  and Head Constable of Border Security Force (BSF) Prem Sagar came up for discussion.   
        

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that  local commanders level hotline contact was established at Rawalkot-Poonch sector on LoC on Monday night between Pak and Indian Army authorities. Indian counterpart was told that there has been no crossing of LoC by Pakistani troops from Pak side nor mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers.  

Giving expression to the widespread outrage and shock in the country over the mutilation of soldiers’ bodies by Pak BAT team, Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu described  Pakistan as a “rogue state”,   Speaking in Bengaluru, Mr. Naidu said the government would take “appropriate action.’’ 

The Indian Army bid final adieu to the two martyred soldiers and their bodies were cremated with full military honour. While Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh’s last rites were held in Tarn Taran in Punjab, BSF head constable Prem Sagar’s final rites were performed in his village in Deoria in Uttar Pradesh. Their families also demanded a befitting and hard response from the Indian Army to their Pakistani counterparts for this “inhuman and barbaric’’ act. 

NEW DELHI: Another terrorist attack and three more brave soldiers have been lost in a futile battle. On April 27, fidayeen struck early morning, as is their trademark, at an army camp in Kupwara. In Jammu & Kashmir, the soldiers have to fight not just the enemy but also their overground workers, euphemistically called ‘stone-pelters’/ ‘misguided youth’, who hamper the operations relentlessly, without fail every time!
Why do we allow these attacks to happen, the modus operandi is eerily similar and so predictable yet we seem to get caught unawares. What is the Government waiting for? Why aren’t these terrorists, whom the local correspondents lovingly call ‘militants’, being dealt with in the way they deserve? The security forces, especially the army, must be given more powers. Restraint is for civilians not terrorists and their agents! Terrorism is a global problem and no country wastes its time in ‘niceties’ any more.
So many bright lives snuffed out before time, their photographs flashed during noisy TV and Twitter debates only to be forgotten till the next ambush! Listen to what Captain Ayush Yadav’s father said, he has lost faith in the Government, much like we have! If soldiers continue to die with this kind of frequency followed by the same lip-sevice from the Government, a time will come when soldiers might well refuse to get posted to this State.
Hostile conditions, an abusive and ungrateful populace, curtailed powers and lack of incentives cannot sustain even the most loyal set of men. It is ironical that while terror-supporters get away with violent acts benevolently dismissed as ‘stone-pelting incidents’, the soldiers who serve the country are hauled up for every action that doesn’t ‘suit’ the sensibility of the long-distance critics!
The Centre must make it’s choice, it’s time to stop running with the hares and hunting with the hounds! If the soldiers have been entrusted the task of guarding Kashmir, the Government and the country must stand by their actions and value their lives. No point in expressing shock at the subversive acts one day and dismissing them as the ‘misguided actions of innocent youths’ the next day. The anti-establishment Gang of journalists, activists and politicians cannot be allowed to play ‘enemy’ every time a brave army man puts his life in danger to protect India. Perhaps it’s high-time we imposed a ‘code of ethics’ on these sold-out ‘intellectuals’? Look at how our journalists cock a snook at the Internet ban imposed on J&K, without caring a fig for national security or solidarity with the army: “For all my Kashmiri friends/followers–want to know whats life like without internet –send me short 30 sec video blogs n I’ll play at 7 pm RT” — a tweet by @sunetrac (sunetra choudhury).
Is it just ‘ideology’ or is there a more sinister motive behind this blatant agenda to tear asunder an integral part of the nation? Do these ‘atheist’ hypocrites, who swear by ‘human rights’ and ‘fair play’, even realise that the ‘azadi’ they claim to support is a mere smokescreen for a plan to establish Islamism in the Valley? Do they ever stop to think that those who scream about ‘oppression’ are themselves the worst kind of oppressors and usurpers themselves?
Each passing day makes it clear that the time is ripe for imposing Governor’s rule in the State. The security forces must be given more powers and media not given a free run of the place, for at least six months. That, is the only way to salvage the situation, otherwise this saga of journalists painting a picture of stone-pelting viragos who ‘actually yearn to bend it like Beckham’ and terrorists who ‘turn out to be innocent sons of headmasters’, will soon drown out the purpose and cause for which so many of our valiant jawans have laid down and continue to sacrifice their lives!(The writer is Associate Professor, Delhi University. Views are personal). 

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has launched The Indian Rare Disease Registry for determining the exact number of patients, age of onset of symptoms and diagnosis, course of disease and natural history of these diseases in the country.
A disease is defined rare in India when it affects only 1 in 2,500 people.
The diseases to be covered under this Registry are Lysosomal Storage Diseases, Inborn Errors of Metabolism, Skeletal Dysplasias, Hematological Disorders, Neuromuscular Disorders, Primary Immune Deficiency.
The Registry will monitor prevalence, incidence and natural history of disease over a period of time that will help in guiding policy decisions. It will support research that aim to improve the understanding of distribution and determination of rare diseases as well as facilitate access to innovations in genetics, molecular and computational biology, and other technological advances for patients suffering with rare diseases.
Importantly, it will generate data on rare disorders in India which is woefully lacking at the moment.
Rough estimates suggest that more than 70 million people in India suffer from a range of rare diseases, manifesting in childhood, and which remain with them throughout their lives. However, new diseases are being identified during research and it is important to maintain data on these.
To begin with, only a few conditions will be taken up for consideration in the Registry, launched by ICMR in collaboration with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Initially, the Registry will pick up data from hospitals and doctors and will subsequently reach out to the community. The focus will be on identifying diseases which have treatment available in India.
The Indian Rett Syndrome Foundation, Indian Society for Primary Immune Deficiency, Society for Hemophilia Care, India, Organisation of Rare Disorder India, Metabolic errors and Rare Disease Organization of India, Hemophilia Federation of India, and Fragile X Society India will contribute in creating this Registry.

The UNAIDS has appreciated India for its new initiative which ensures that all HIV positive people will have access to free treatment. The policy was launched by the Union Health and Family Planning Minister J. P. Nadda on 28 April.
With 2.1 million people living with HIV, India has the third largest epidemic in the world. Prior to the change in policy, people living with HIV could only access antiretroviral (ARV) medicine for free, if their CD4 cells had decreased to less than 500 cells/mm3 –the measurement used to indicate how significantly the immune system has been affected by HIV. India already has more than one million people on treatment, which is the second largest number globally after South Africa.   
UNAIDS has called on all countries to provide ARVs to anyone who tests positive, because treatment keeps a person living with HIV healthy and has the double benefit of stopping the transmission of the virus to other people, a statement issued by UNAIDS has said.
“The Government of India is showing bold leadership and commitment to people living with HIV,” said Steve Kraus, Director of UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Asia and the Pacific. “This new policy will bring life-saving treatment within reach of all people living with HIV. It will keep individuals, families and communities healthy and productive and ensure India ends the AIDS epidemic by 2030.”
Saving lives and improving the quality of life of people living with HIV requires ensuring uninterrupted provision of ARVs. To rapidly scale-up treatment India will rely on its network of facilities, spread across the country, which provide HIV services. Rolling out the new policy will also entail strengthening the procurement and supply chain management system as well as sustained community participation, the statement added.
According to the country’s National AIDS programme, annual AIDS-related deaths declined 54%, while new HIV infections have dropped 32% between 2007 and 2015.

NEW DELHI: India on Monday strongly condemned the Pakistan Army’s barabaric act of mutilating the bodies of two Indian soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector, vowing an appropriate response from the Indian Army.  

In a stern statement, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said such “acts do not happen in war let alone in peace.” He described the act as “reprehensible and inhuman.” He said the whole country has full faith and confidence in Indian Army which would give an appropriate response to this barbaric act. He said the sacrifice of two soldiers would not go in vain. 

Indian Army dubbed it as “unsoldierly act “ by the Pakistan Army and vowed that such an act would be “appropriately responded.”  

On its part, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) denied the allegation of mutilating the bodies of the soldiers, terming it “false”. In a statement, ISPR said that Pakistan Army was a highly professional force and “shall never disrespect a soldier even Indian.” It also denied any ceasefire violation on the Line of Control or a Border Action Team (BAT) action. 

Indian Army said that the Pakistan Army carried out “unprovoked rocket and mortar firing on two forward posts on the Line of Control in Krishna Ghati sector”.

The martyred soldiers  – an army jawan and a constable of the Border Security Force – or BSF – were part of a patrol team between two forward posts along the LoC. The Army said that Pak Army’s Border Action Team (BAT) launched the attack on the patrol and the bodies of two soldiers in the patrol were mutilated. 

In November 2016, one jawan’s body had been mutilated after three were martyred in unprovoked Pak firing at LoC in Macchal sector in Kupwara district in Kashmir Valley. 

NEW DELHI: Ending the nine year long wait, regulation of real estate sector involving over 76,000 companies across the county became a reality from May 1 as the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act,2016 came into force.  
With all the 92 Sections of the Act coming into effect from May 1, developers shall get all the ongoing projects that have not received completion certificate and the new projects registered with Regulatory Authorities within three months. This enables the buyers to enforce their rights and seek redressal of grievances after such registration. 
Union Urban Poverty Alleviation and Housing Minister  M.Venkaiah Naidu, in his tweets, said; “Real Estate Act coming into force after a nine year wait marks the beginning of a new era making buyer the King while developers benefit from the confidence of the King in the regulated environment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal interest in the matter made the Act a reality now. The Act ushers in the much desired accountability, transparency and efficiency in the sector with the Act defining the rights and obligations of both the buyers and developers. This important legislation gained momentum under this Government and could see the light finally”. 
Some of the major provisions of the Act, besides mandatory registration of projects and Real Estate Agents include: 
1.Depositing 70% of the funds collected from buyers in a separate bank account in case of new projects and 70% of unused funds in case of ongoing projects; 
2. Projects with plot size of minimum 500 sq.mt or 8 apartments shall be registered with Regulatory Authorities; 
3.Both developers and buyers to pay the same penal interest of SBI’s Marginal Cost of Lending Rate plus 2% in case of delays; 
4.Liability of developers for structural defects for five years; and 
5. Imprisonment of up to three years for developers and up to one year in case of agents and buyers for violation of orders of Appellate Tribunals and Regulatory Authorities. 
Several and substantial changes were made in the Real Estate Bill that was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2013 to make the final Act more effective towards promotion of the sector. 
At the time of passing of the Bill in Rajya Sabha in March 2016, there were 76,044 companies operating in the real estate sector, including 17,431 in Delhi, 17,010 in West Bengal, 11,160 in Maharashtra, 7,136 in Uttar Pradesh, 3,054 in Rajasthan, 3,004 in Tamil Nadu, 2,261 in Karnataka, 2,211 in Telangana, 2,121 in Haryana, 1,956 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,270 in Kerala, 1,202 in Punjab and I,006 in Odisha. 
As per industry information, between 2011 and 2015, real estate projects in the range of 2,349 to 4,488 were launched every year amounting to a total of 17,526 projects with a total investment of Rs.13.70 lakh crore in 27 cities including 15 State capitals. About ten lakh buyers invest every year with the dream of owning a house. 

NEW DELHI: Taking a much wider world-view of his government’s motto “Sabha Saath, Sabka Vikas” (Development for All), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said it was just not limited to the confines of India but also applied to the global context. 

In his 31st edition of Mann Ki Baat programme in All India Radio, Mr Modi said neighbouring countries should be with India in its journey of development to develop equally. 

The Prime Minister announced that India will launch the South Asia Satellite on Friday. He said the communication satellite will go a long way in addressing South Asia’s economic and developmental priorities, natural resources mapping, tele medicine, in the field of education, deeper IT connectivity and fostering people-to-people contact. 

He said, this satellite will prove to be a boon in the progress of the entire region.

Speaking about discarding the VIP hegemony, Mr Modi said, the exit of the red beacon through a government decision was part of a system and efforts should be to cleanse it out of the minds. He said, the concept of New India precisely is that in place of Very Important Person, VIP, more priority should be accorded to EPI that is Every Person is Important. 

Appealing to the youth, the Prime Minister asked them do something out of the box. He asked them to have some purpose in life. 

Saying that May 1, carries one more significance as in many parts of the world, it is observed as Labour Day, Mr Modi remembered Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. 

Speaking about the Mann Ki Baat programme, Mr Modi said, Government made detailed analysis of the inputs received for the programme.