Concerned about coal projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore facing delays, the Centre has asked Coal India and NLC India Ltd to identify the reasons behind it and submit a report, an official said.
The matter came up during a recent meeting to review projects worth Rs 35,000 crore at a time when India is witnessing significant amount of coal imports.
“At a recent meeting to review coal projects costing more than Rs 500 crore and 3 million tonnes, Secretary Coal Sumanta Chaudhuri sought exception report from Coal India Ltd (CIL) and NLC India and asked them to identify reasons behind delay,” a Coal Ministry official said.
An exception report is a document stating instances where actual performance deviated significantly from expectations.
The review meeting covered 51 projects of Coal India Ltd — which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic dry-fuel production — nine of NLCIL (formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation) and two belonging to Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL)
Out of these, 21 projects are facing inordinate delays — 17 by CIL and four by NLCIL, the official said.
Coal India’s delayed projects include Magadh Expansion, Karo, North Urimari and Rajrappa RCE.
The delayed NLCIL projects include Pachwara South Coal Block, Talabira II and III Coal Block and Rajasthan Power Projects.
The delays come against the backdrop of coal demand from power sector exceeding the supply in 2018.
India has imported of over 200 million tonnes of coal annually in the recent years.
Earlier this month, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said the country faces no shortage of coal and production has witnessed an increase of 7.4 per cent in the April-December period of the ongoing fiscal.
He, however, also admitted that coal production did not go up in the past because of delays in environmental clearances, land acquisition and other problems.
Goyal said Coal India’s production increased by 104 million tonnes (MT) in the last four years between 2014-15 and 2017-18.
Democrats rejected United States President Donald Trump’s offer to provide temporary protection to migrants.
Rejecting the proposal that includes millions of dollars for humanitarian aid and drug detection technology, Democrats called on Trump to reopen the government before negotiations on immigration could begin, reported CNN.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been negotiating the reopening of the government along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said that it was “a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives.”
Calling the provisions for the migrants a ‘non-starter’, Pelosi said in a statement, “It is unlikely that any one of these provisions alone would pass the House, and taken together, they are a non-starter. For one thing, this proposal does not include the permanent solution for the Dreamers and TPS recipients that our country needs and supports.”
Schumer stated that Trump’s offer was not really an offer at all.
Referring to the move as ‘hostage taking’, Schumer, in a statement said, “It was the President who single-handedly took away DACA and TPS protections in the first place — offering some protections back in exchange for the wall is not a compromise but more hostage taking.”
On Saturday, Trump outlined his plans in a bid to end the nearly month-long partial government shutdown by offering temporary protections for undocumented migrants in exchange for the funding for his proposed border wall on the US-Mexico border.
In a televised speech from the White House, Trump hinted at extending protections for roughly 700,000 ‘Dreamers’, the children of illegal migrants brought into the US, under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme for three years.
He floated a three-year extension of protections for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders in exchange for 5.7 billion USD funding for the wall, The Hill reported.
The TPS is a system where people, whose families have been affected by war or disasters and are allowed to live and work in the US. Interestingly, Trump has been vocal against the TPS and DACA programmes, asserting that non-Americans were “taking away” potential jobs from Americans.
The shutdown, that has now entered its 29th day, was triggered on December 22 last year by a lack of consensus between Democratic lawmakers and the US President on the USD 5.7 billion funding for the wall on the border with Mexico, which was one of Trump’s electoral promises.
The ongoing partial government shutdown is the longest in the history of the US.
Roughly a quarter of the government is closed and an estimated 800,000 federal workers have been adversely affected by the lapse in funding, who are either furloughed or working without any pay.
Many BJP leaders suffering from health issues suddenly!
Since a few months, the nation has started expressing doubts about Modi coming back to power in 2019 and now it seems that this poll will not be a cakewalk anymore for the BJP-led government similar to the 2014 elections, where the party observed a swift win. The BJP’s defeat began first in Karnataka and then in December in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh — states which were known as the BJP bastion. However, the bothersome results in the Hindi heartland show that the BJP could not escape anti-incumbency even in its bastions; it comes across that the party and its leaders’ days are not going good. All of a sudden, the BJP leaders are falling prey to sickness. Nonetheless, it is effortful to distinguish the reason – overburdened with work or over worried – that the BJP leaders are suffering from health issues!
RJD MP Sarfaraz Alam asserted, “It is true that many BJP leaders are suffering from physical illness but I believe that the saffron party itself is a serious disease for the country and its citizens. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, we will make sure that the country gets relieved from this illness.”
The upcoming Lok Sabha elections are very important for the BJP to get a mandate with the Oppositions trying to form a common anti-BJP front in 2019. Ahead of the elections, the party has also planned to organise rallies in large numbers for this, but suspense has now been established as recently BJP president Amit Shah, 54, battling with swine flu grabbed the limelight after the opposition took a dig at Shah’s illness calling it as a result of panic. While Karnataka Congress leader Hariprasad said that Shah had caught fever – not any, but pig fever (swine flu) – because of the horse trading of MLAs and would suffer a worse fate if he continues these actions. Shah, who was admitted to AIIMS on Wednesday for swine flu treatment, is doing well and will be discharged in a day or two, the party said on Thursday. Doctors also said that since the last two days, Amit Shah was suffering from body aches, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. BJP did not leave the opportunity to slam the opposition by calling them insensitive for mocking Shah’s illness.
Haryana BJP National Secretary Sudha Yadav expressed, “I feel, Congress should not make fun of the physical ailments of the BJP leaders. BJP President Amit Shah is a hardworking person; he is recovering and will soon be back to work. The way senior BJP leaders are getting old, Congress must mind that they too have senior leaders who’re in their old age and are suffering from various ailments. While the party sidelined senior leader Sheila Dikshit for her old age, we can see her coming back actively now! Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi — these senior leaders, even after being old, continuing their work with similar passion and activeness. If a senior politician is actively doing their works for the society, age should not be a bar. Congress is making an unnecessary fuss about this issue.”
Sushma Swaraj, 66, is the Union Minister for External Affairs and the Lok Sabha MP from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh. In 2014, she won the election in her constituency by a whopping margin, more than 4 lakh votes; however, she took a back seat from contesting general elections this year due to her health and announced that at a press conference in Indore in November. She underwent a kidney transplant in 2016 and she is on dialysis since then.
TMC Lok Sabha MP Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar stated, “It’s unfortunate that such senior public representatives are suffering from physical ailments; we wish their speedy recovery and want them to be an active voice in the 2019 Lok Sabha campaigning.”
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, 69, in October last year underwent an angiography procedure at the All India Institute of a Medical Sciences. According to a senior cardiologist at the hospital, Naidu was admitted to the hospital after his sugar and blood pressure level were high along with that he also complained of some cardiac issues.
Recently on January 17, BJP’s national general secretary, Ram Lal (66), has been admitted to the Kailash Hospital in Noida due to high fever. He is still under observation, officials at Kailash Hospital said.
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, 61, has been running ill for some time now. Last month, at an event in Maharashtra, when Gadkari was about to stand for the National Anthem, he fainted due to low blood sugar level. The Union Minister had addressed the gathering before the incident.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, 66, is unlikely to present the federal budget on February 1, as in the last week, he has flown to the United States for cancer treatment. As per the reports, Jaitley has soft tissue cancer in his thigh and this type of a malignant tumour can easily spread to other parts of a patient’s body. Casting aside political acrimony, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday wished an ailing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley a speedy recovery and assured him that “we are with you and your family 100 per cent.” According to the sources, the Finance Minister can return by next week.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) office bearer Rajni Patil commented, “Physical illness is not in our control and everyone suffers from something or the other. Congress President Rahul Gandhi also tweeted addressing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley wishing him a speedy recovery and good health. Politicians have no age bar. In a lighter note, I feel that it’s Congress’s fever that’s making all these BJP leaders sick all of a sudden.”
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, 64, on Monday was admitted to the hospital after a problem in the respiratory tract following complaints of nasal congestion. He was transferred from the ICU to the private ward. The Union Law and Justice Minister was admitted to the Lung Medicine Department. However, it is said that the condition of Prasad is stable now and has been recently discharged from the hospital.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, 63, is running ill for the last 11 months. In February, he was diagnosed with advanced stage IV of pancreatic cancer. Parrikar has been in and out of hospitals in Mumbai, US, and Delhi since mid-February and had been recuperating at his residence in Panjim since October 14 following his return from AIIMS in Delhi where he had spent a month. His visit to the two bridges in December marked the first time he had moved out of his house since October, officials said. Along with Parrikar, Goa’s PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar underwent surgery at a Mumbai hospital on July 9, joining an unprecedented number of MLAs in the state who’ve been hit by major health issues. Another BJP Minister, Pandurang Madkaikar, is still being treated at the Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai after he suffered a brain stroke in early June.
Shiv Sena MP Bhavana Gawali exclaimed, “Sickness is not in human’s control but these senior leaders have given their sweat and blood to build and take forward the Bharatiya Janata Party. The work has not been halted because of them and these leaders are working their limit best to keep the show go on. When political leaders become sick and continue work, that usually becomes a political topic of discussion, but the people of our country should decide whether this issue deserves any importance!”
BJP, in the coming Lok Sabha polls, had decided to remove the age-bar of retirement from active politics after 75. Nonetheless, looking at the current political scenario of the party, it is believed that Modi-government must reconsider its retirement policy in the politics!
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These days, it’s a death of Talent in Bollywood in the name of Item Numbers. The Indian film industry has stooped so low that to sell their product, they are coming down to any level. It is now enough with item numbers, these lyricists pick up a name and start writing crass words around them. Let it be ‘Fevicol’, ‘Kundi Mat Khadkao Raja’, ‘Sheela’, ‘Munni’, ‘Pinky or Babli’. Shame on all the so-called A-grade actresses who agree to such objectifying of women. Idiotic dances, beyond mediocre lyrics, and formula marketing gimmicks are all that those films can offer to modern audiences. An item number or an item song, in Indian cinema, is a musical performance that has a little to do with the film in which it appears but is offered to showcase vulgar dancing women in revealing clothes, to lend support to the commercial aspect of the film and also the so-called top actresses. Nowadays, all these item numbers are performed by the so-called “A” grade heroines. These hit item numbers are a key to their business offers as a performer in different events. The same dance numbers are performed at New Year events, award shows, and many such gatherings and event. More the hit item numbers are, the demand rises. In the race of earning money and remaining wanted in the glam world, these so-called actresses have shed all sorts of inhibitions.
These dance numbers are generally memorable, buoyant, and often sexually provocative for a song in a movie. However, the term as understood in Bollywood phraseology has entered the entertainment industry scenario as well. Item numbers are usually added to the Indian movies in order to generate publicity. Item numbers are favoured by filmmakers for the reason that since they do not add to the plot, filmmakers afford with the opportunity to pick potential hit songs from the stocks. It is thus a vehicle for commercial success which ensures repeat viewing. The first song, “Jumma Chumma De De” (Hum, 1991), which means “Give us a kiss” is sung by a group of men, including the hero of the movie, to an ‘item girl’, who is just dancing in this song, situated in a bar. Many of the songs used in this ad take place in clubs or bars, where the hero is intoxicated. Two other phrases used, “Chammak Challo” (Ra.One, 2011), and “Chikni Chameli” (Agneepath, 2012), is euphemistic slang for prostitutes, especially ones who dance, and from the countryside. The words refer to the colour of their skin as well as their jewellery and ornaments, not to the woman herself. I remember that this trend aggressively started with the dancers like Helen, but the lyrics used to be very sensible at that time. There were a particular set of dancers who used to perform these numbers and heroine of the movie had some reputed class. Now the trend has changed, Madhuri Dixit’s ‘Ek Do Teen’ and ‘Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai’ were the biggest hits of modern days the then double meaning songs and now entire song revolves around one name and cheap lyrics like ‘Munni Badnaam Huyi’, or ‘Sheela Ki Jawani, ‘Halkat Jawani’, and many more.
Although, the derivation of the term “item number” is unclear; it is likely that it originates its meaning from the objectification of sexually attractive women. This is because ‘item’ in filmy Mumbai slang is a ‘sexy woman’. Moreover, Mumbai is famous for Dance bars and all these characters, Munni, Sheela, Babli, Pinky are commonly known names of Dance bar and red light areas. These names relate to that kind of viewers. Most of these lyricists are frequent visitors to such places. A female actor, singer or dancer, especially someone who is poised to become a star, who appears in an item number, is known as an item girl. The “item number” would feature an “item girl” who appeared in the film as a dancer, usually in a bar or nightclub, and was only in the film for the length of that song. It was often frowned upon at that point in time. There are item boys as well; however, females are more commonly featured in item numbers than males. Item numbers typically feature one or more persons other than the lead actors sometimes even the lead actress doing these numbers. Most of the time established female and male actors would lend a “special appearance” to an item number. Is it fair to blame Bollywood or even expect the industry to produce movies that adhere to a higher standard? The general sentiment that Bollywood, being such a huge influence for the Indian society, has a responsibility to produce movies that show women in a progressive light, but hold that censorship, is not a viable way to achieve this goal.
We are living in a hypocritical time, where we are aggressive over protesting against abuse to women. We are seeking respect for her; there are thousands of campaigns for women and girl child’s rights and dignity. The same item number actresses are been endorsed for the cause. On the other side, the most reputed newspapers are promoting sex by all means. The women have not been put on this planet for your supreme entertainment or pleasure. A woman is not an adjective. If you cannot respect a woman, you are nothing. Provocative material in films is nothing but a fantasy for million cinemagoers per day. Almost every movie has songs interspersed throughout the entire plot. Every song is not created the same, however, a special genre of songs, called ‘item songs’, is often included in huge blockbusters. Item songs, of late, have contained actresses wearing skimpy outfits and are characterised by skimpy clothing and suggestive choreography and lyrics. These songs are often played constantly on television and the radio and become nationwide sensations. Such item songs often boost the careers of the actresses who continue to star in these numbers, earning them the title of ‘item girls’. The terminology itself degrades these women below human beings to inanimate objects who are simply there for the pleasure of the viewer, presumably male. This deconstruction of women plays along the male gaze, viewing the female in parts rather than a whole. This plays on the notion of taking advantage of uneducated women for the use of pleasure. In the end, the question remains, what are we trying to project or get out of such things?
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
As the firestorm over Rafale deal raged further, the Defence Ministry on Friday said that it has given the CAG access to all the files relating to the contract and it would be best to await the report of the national auditor on the issue. The ministry also dubbed as “factually inaccurate” a newspaper report which claimed that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to buy 36 Rafale jets, instead of 126 as negotiated by the previous UPA government, while bypassing mandated procedures pushed the price of each aircraft up by 41 per cent.
The article is factually inaccurate. It does not adduce any new argument. All the issues have been answered in detail by the Government at various fora and most recently by the Raksha Mantri in an open debate in Parliament, a defence ministry spokesperson said. The official also said that the Supreme Court has gone through the details of pricing and commercial advantage but has not found anything adverse in the deal and refused to order an investigation into it.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has been given access to all the files related to Rafale deal. It is best to await the report of an authoritative agency like the CAG. The ministry also stuck to its earlier position that the pricing details of the deal cannot be revealed as the contract is covered under a Indo-French agreement of 2008, the spokesperson said.
The report in The Hindu said that the Euro 1.3 billion cost claimed for the ‘design and development’ of 13 India Specific Enhancements (ISE), and its distribution over 36 jets instead of 126 bare-bone aircraft, pushed the price up in a significant way. However, the official said that the report compared the un-escalated price of 2007 with the price of 2016 without considering the escalation factors inherent in the price bid. The UPA government had started the process of procuring the jets in 2007.
The ministry spokesperson said that the India Specific Enhancements were part of the requirements of the Indian Air Force to achieve tactical superiority over our adversaries. These were part of the 2007 bid and continued to be part of the 2016 deal. The cost of the India Specific Enhancements was on a fixed basis in the 2007 bid which was negotiated down in the 2016 deal. The official at the same time, added that to compare the cost for previous contract which never materialized with the cost of the 36 aircraft procured in 2016 is “fallacious”. A negotiation, especially between two countries, is a comprehensive deal and by selectively picking certain aspects while ignoring others, creates doubts by vested interests on a matter of vital national security.
It was learnt that at least two members of the Indian negotiating team had objected to the price finalised for the deal. The defence ministry spokesperson said that all views were aired and recorded and a collegiate decision taken after considering such opinions. Decisions on the deal were taken after due process of inter-ministerial consultation.
Asked about an offer of 20 per cent discount per aircraft by European aerospace corporation EADS, the official said that its acceptance after declaration of the L1 (lowest bidder) would have been violation of the laid down norms.
The issue of benchmarking and the offer of EADS to give a 20 per cent discount are related. Even the UPA government had rightly rejected the EADS offer of 20 per cent discount in 2012 after opening of bids as violative of procedure. He further added that, consideration of the offer would have again made the government subject to charge of violating basic procedure. It is best to avoid the pitfalls of a corporate battle which has been going on since 2012 which has adversely affected the capabilities of the Indian Air Force. The controversy should be put to rest in the interest of national security.
The Congress has been ramping up attack on the government, alleging a massive scam in the Rs 58,000-crore deal. The party has accused the PM of increasing the ‘benchmark price’ of the deal from 5.2 billion Euros to 8.2 billion Euros and alleged that the NDA government paid over Rs 1,600 crore per aircraft against UPA’s negotiated price of Rs 527 crore.
Two suspected members of an international drug cartel, including a Nigerian, have been arrested in Delhi with six-kg heroin worth Rs 24 crore, police said on Friday.
Acting on a tip-off, Pannalal alias Vinod, and Emma, a native of Nigeria, were arrested from Paschim Vihar area at around 9 pm on Thursday. Four kg of heroin was recovered from Emma, while two kg of it was recovered from Pannalal, said Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (special cell).
During interrogation, the accused said that they were members of an international narcotic cartel. Pannalal is the kingpin of the gang and he was involved in drug trafficking for the past 15 years, Yadav said.
Pannalal used to get heroin from Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, and supply it to Nigerian nationals in Delhi. He was earlier arrested in 2013 and, after getting interim bail, went underground, the DCP said.
Two mobile handsets and SIM cards were also recovered from their possession, the officer added.
Uttar Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Swatantra Singh Dev on Friday claimed that his party would win all the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, where the saffron outfit lost power last year after a 15-year rule.
He also accused that the Congress of putting hurdles in the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
“The BJP is going to win all 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh,” Dev, the BJP in-charge for general elections in the state, told reporters.
The BJP had won 26 Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 polls and the remaining three went to the Congress.
Asked about the Ayodhya issue, the UP minister said, “Only Congressmen are putting hurdles in the construction of Ram temple.”
He said that Congress leaders were raising objections in the Supreme Court in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, thus delaying its hearing.
Dev is here to finalise the party’s strategy for the general elections in Madhya Pradesh.
He said that development of all will be the main poll plank of the BJP in the upcoming general elections.
We are now witnessing dictatorship in the form of BJP, and autocracy in Narendra Modi. So, we launched a dharma poratam (just war) against them. Referring to the anti-BJP parties’ rally in Kolkata scheduled for Saturday, the chief minister claimed that the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the YSR Congress were in the pro-Modi front as they were not attending it. There are only two fronts in the country now. One is pro-Modi and the other is anti-Modi. Since they are not attending the Kolkata rally (being organised by Trinamool Congress), it is clear that where the TRS and the YSRC stand.
The Telugu Desam Party is fighting a ‘just war’ against the BJP; he said and asked the party cadre to gear up for the ensuing general elections that were 100 days away. Addressing a teleconference of the TDP rank and file on the occasion of party founder N T Rama Rao’s 23rd death anniversary, Naidu said that NTR taught them how to fight dictatorship and autocracy.
Paying tributes to the TDP founder, Naidu exhorted that the party’s rank and file to re-dedicate themselves to the service of the society. He said that winning over poverty would be a true tribute to NTR as the doyen always strove for elimination of poverty and removal of economic inequalities in society. Noting that elections to the state assembly and Lok Sabha were just 100 days away, Chandrababu asked the cadre to strive for the party’s victory so that it could play a key role in national politics.
He further added that we all should work with team spirit and work to fulfill the state’s interests.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal will flag off the railways’ latest Rajdhani on the Mumbai-Delhi route from Saturday.
With the introduction of the Mumbai-Hazrat Nizamuddin bi-weekly Rajdhani Express, there will now be three Rajdhanis serving the route between the two cities, the railways said Friday.
However, this will be the first such train passing through the Central zone, covering Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Kalyan, Nasik, Jalgaon, Khandwa, Bhopal, Jhansi, Agra, and Hazrat Nizamuddin and passing through two significant Hindi heartland states — Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, it said.
The train will leave Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai on every Wednesday and Saturday at 14.50 hrs with effect from January 19 and arrive Hazarat Nizamuddin at 10.20 hrs next day.
On its return journey, the train will leave Hazarat Nizamuddin on every Thursday and Sunday at 16.15 hrs with effect from January 20 and arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai at 11.55 hrs next day, the railways said.
It will have one first AC, three AC 2-tier, 8 AC 3-tier and a pantry car.
The current fleet size of Rajdhani trains on the railway network is 23, with two catering to Mumbai.
Currently, two Rajdhani trains — one from Mumbai Central and the other from Bandra Terminus — run on the Western Railway.
This will be the first Rajdhani in the state which will take a detour via Madhya Pradesh, instead of Gujarat.
The Maharashtra government Friday asked for streamlining the process of fixing sugarcane prices as per the Revenue Sharing Formula (RSF) for sugar factories which have completed cane crushing.
The directives were given by Chief Secretary D K Jain during a meeting of the Cane Price Regulatory Board with representatives of farmers and sugar cooperatives here, an official release stated on Friday.
The meeting approved cane prices for 2017-18 fixed as per the RSF, it added.
Out of 181 sugar units, prices of 157 were fixed as per RSF, and out of these, 17 factories have given higher RSF money than FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price) to farmers.
The board meeting also gave approval to rates of 140 sugar factories whose RSF rate was less than the FRP, it said.
Jain asked for streamlining the process of fixing the prices as per RSF, the release informed.
Farmers’ representatives said some factories show more expenditure for cane crushing and transportation.
In reply, Jain asked the Sugar Commissionerate to check the rates.
Farmer representatives also demanded that the minimum sale price of sugar be increased to Rs 34 per kilogram.
This year 185 sugar factories took up crushing of 426.84 lakh metric tonne sugarcane.
The total FRP amount for crushing of sugarcane is Rs 10,487 crore.
Out of this, Rs 5,166 crore has been given while arrears of Rs 5,320 crore are pending on the part of 174 sugar factories.
Eleven sugar factories have given farmers 100 per cent prices as per FRP.
