Aussie police command wobbled by sexual harassment claims

Sydney, Sep. 15 (ANI): Female police officers at an Australian police command have alleged that they were sexually harassed and intimidated by their male counterparts apart from being told that their place was in the home.

According to a complaint filed by a senior female constable at the Goulburn Local Area Command, five of her male colleagues sent sexually explicit emails to her and asked her to join a threesome.

Another three officers at the same command’s Bowral station have told their local MP they were “demeaned” due to pregnancy or because they were mothers, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The alleged harassment of the senior constable and sergeant began two years ago.

During one sleazy exchange in the police station, a senior colleague told the female constable that a threesome was “every man’s dream” and then suggested she “have a go” with the girlfriend of another officer.

The policewomen have also alleged that a local man was assaulted during an arrest in the middle of 2007 and that it was never investigated, despite his family attempting to make a complaint.

The senior constable said the arresting officer told her: “That guy’s a piece of s…, he was carrying on like a f…..t and mouthing off, he got what he deserved, we flogged him, he got pile-driven into the ground head first.”

A police spokesman said the women were the subject of a 181D action and faced a loss of confidence of the Commissioner.

“Their reward for a combined 37 years of dedicated front-line service is to be subjected to systematic bullying by male officers because of their gender and because they had the courage to stand up and complain about their treatment,” Hodgkinson said.
The two women have paid dearly for their service, with the senior constable needing surgery to fuse her spine last year and the sergeant suffering a broken back on duty. (ANI)

US marks eighth anniversary of 9/11 terror strike

New York, Sep 11(ANI): The eighth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, which killed nearly 3,000 people, was observed here on Friday.

On September 11, 2001, four hijacked planes crashed into the twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.

Memorial ceremonies are to be held at these sites and four moments of silence are observed, at 8:46 a.m., 9:03 a.m., 9:59 a.m. and 10:29 a.m. ET, as these were the timings when the attacks took place.

President Barack Obama attended the wreath-laying ceremony at the Pentagon, where 184 people died.

The names of more than 2,700 victims from the site were also read by family members and volunteers at the New York ceremony, which was attended by U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden.

For the first time, the anniversary was designated as a National Day of Service. On Thursday, Obama issued a proclamation honouring those who died and had urged Americans to mark the anniversary with acts of community service.

Remembering those who lost their lives on the tragic day, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said: “It is the sacred duty of the living to carry within us the memories of those we lost. While there is pain in remembering the loss, there is sweetness in remembering their lives.” (ANI)

Saving the historical monuments to preserve cultural heritage of Punjab

Amritsar, Sep.10 (ANI): An endeavour is underway to preserve various heritage buildings of Punjab State in a bid to treasure the cultural heritage including historical monuments, which can help in boosting tourism in Punjab.

The palaces and Havelis across Punjab bespeak glorious heritage. These historically important buildings include religious places belonging to different faiths and can attract tourists to Punjab.

The Sheesh Mahal and Qila Mubarak at Patiala, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s summer palace at Amritsar or ancestral home of Shaheed Bhagat Singh at Khatkar Kalan – they are important sites that need to be preserved for the coming generations.

“Every community, society has a very precious heritage which has to be and can be transferred to the next generation and this is the responsibility of any civil society to transfer that heritage to the coming generation if you don’t perform that duty, that is a sin, that’s crime,” said Dr. Sukhdev Singh, Punjab State convener, Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

To spread awareness about preservation of these heritage sites, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage recently organized a workshop on the theme ‘Cultural Heritage and Media’ in Amritsar.

The event highlighted the fact that popularizing existing heritage buildings and protecting sites of cultural importance, presently in ruins due to negligence and development activities, ought to be the main priority.

There were proposals to convert heritage sites into museums and heritage hotels for tourists to get a glimpse of Punjab’s rich cultural heritage.

It was suggested that the restored monuments could be commercially used on public-private partnership basis.

“Nuclear families have become more common than joint families and it has resulted in a big change in the whole system. Like in our system, the kids are taught to respect elders and follow the path of honesty. People get equal share in all institutions like in home, office and agriculture but today they are aware of especially one aspect of their lives,” said Paramjeet Singh , Prof. Of Architechture, Gurunanak University, Amritsar.

“There is a significant relation between tourism and the heritage sites because some tourists surely have some interest in what’s the history of people and what’s the culture of people. They don’t come here just to see the huge marble buildings. They don’t want to see the modern architecture, which infact is mostly western, they come here to know about the past of this place, so it surely encourages tourism,” said Dr. Sukhdev Singh.

Amritsar is the heritage city of Punjab. The city is known globally for the revered Golden Temple, one of the pilgrimage centers, which stands intact and was built nearly 400 years ago.

The heritage tour in Amritsar remains incomplete without visiting the old city, known for its traditional market and centuries old residential houses.

Be it the historic Jallianwala Bagh or the Summer Palace, the royal residence of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, they take every visitor here to the era they stand testimony of. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

Jet Airways management, pilots fail to meet Labour Commissioner

Mumbai, Sep.10 (ANI): The management and striking pilots of Jet Airways failed to meet the Labour Commissioner on Thursday to resolve their dispute. The pilots, however, promised to show up on Friday at the Labour Commissioner’s office.

With the pilots’ stir entering its third day on Thursday, the number of flights cancelled has risen to over 230 and passengers are facing a harrowing time.

The pilots have indicated that their agitation will continue till their two sacked colleagues are given their jobs back. They also insisted that their trade union rights could not be curtailed.

The stalemate continued despite five hours of talks between members of the National Aviators Guild (NAG), which is spearheading the stir, and the management through an interlocutor in Delhi. The company does not recognize the NAG and has termed the agitation illegal.

Earlier, Senior Jet Airways officials had said that talks with the striking pilots were still on and there was no breakthrough as yet.

Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal met Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel and briefed him about the crisis on Wednesday.

Goyal has reportedly appealed to the Government to step in to resolve the crisis, though Patel refused to comment when asked what was being down to end the stalemate.

Jet Airways yesterday had to suspend all of its flights between the UAE and India after almost half of its pilots did not report for duty.

The management has sacked ten pilots so far. (ANI)

26/11 attackers had left notes saying “this is pointer to war”

Mumbai, Sep.9 (ANI): Police inspector Prakash Bhoite on Wednesday told a special trial court here that the terrorists involved in the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, had planted two powerful bombs with timers in metal boxes at different places near the Taj Hotel with notes scribbled in Urdu saying “this is pointer to war”.

Bhoite told Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam that one of the boxes in which these bombs and notes were found was located near the hotel where renovation work of Gateway of India was in progress. The second box was located near the Gokul Hotel behind Taj Hotel.

Both boxes contained eight kg of RDX with timers.

Nikam said that the version of the witness fortified the case of the prosecution that the aim of terrorists was not only to create terror in Mumbai but also to wage a war against India.

Bhoite said he was on duty at the Colaba Police station on the day of terror attacks when he heard the shots being fired outside.

He said he rushed outside and learnt that two persons had entered Taj Hotel after firing at customers inside and outside Cafe Leopold.

Bhoite further said he was asked to look for explosives, and during the search, he found two boxes near the Taj Hotel laden with explosives.

The bomb detection and disposal squad was immediately summoned which defused the bombs, he told the trial court. (ANI)

Jet Airways pilots defiant, flights cancelled

New Delhi, Sep 8 (ANI): At least ten Jet Airways flights and its subsidiary out of Delhi were cancelled on Tuesday after a large number of pilots did not report to work in protest against the sacking of two of their colleagues.

According to airport sources, at least 10 early morning flights of Jet Airways and JetLite were cancelled, as the pilots failed to report for duty.

In a press statement Jet Airways said some pilots have resorted to a simulated strike by reporting sick.

Jet Airways had last month terminated the services of two of its senior most pilots, saying their services were not required after both formed a trade union body within the company.

A conciliatory meeting was called on August 31 between the Jet Airways management and the union, which claims to have a representation of over 650 pilots. Jet Airways has 1000 pilots on its rolls.

While the National Aviators Guild (NAG) has decided not to go on the proposed strike, its members have decided on an alternate course of protest like going on mass casual leave to hamper operations of the private carrier. (ANI)

Kashmir tax on poultry produce from other states helps local farmers

Srinagar, Sep 4 (ANI): With an objective to improve the condition of local poultry farmers, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has imposed tax duties on poultry products being brought in from other states.

The state government has imposed Rs five per kilogram tax on broilers brought from other states and simultaneously it has reduced tax duty from Rs two to one rupee per chick for the poultry produce within the state.

“I pay almost Rs 60,000 in taxes each year. So, that amount, I can directly save. And we are also expecting that the chicken will sell Rs 5 more, which will be profitable for us,” said Jasbir Jhaggi, owner of a poultry farm.

Poultry farmers believe that Government’s initiative will improve their financial condition and also usher stability in the local poultry business.

“We are hoping that all the debt ridden poultry farmers will be able to repay their debts and loans, within six months. Most of these poultry farmers are otherwise unemployed start the business in small sheds at their houses as it requires little investments,” said Kuldeep Singh Raja, Chairman of Chicken Dealers Association.

Poultry traders in Jammu and Kashmir deliver more than 150 thousand eggs and 70,000 to 80,000 chickens per day to meet the demand within the state. (ANI)

Bhajji fined for breaking Chandigarh traffic rules with his Hummer

Chandigarh, Sep. 1 (ANI): Driving his dream Hummer landed Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh in trouble on Tuesday, when he was fined by Chandigarh traffic police for using the vehicle without a valid number plate.

Singh had to pay a 3000-rupee fine for the offence, according to reports.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (traffic), H S Doon, told reporters that this episode would promote better traffic sense among the general public.

The off-spinner became the latest Indian cricketer to buy the American SUV after skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Harbhajan imported the car from England, which costs about 70 lakh rupees in India. After paying the duty, the cost of the vehicle has come to one crore rupees.

While Dhoni’s Hummer is silver in colour, Harbhajan has opted for a “Black Beauty”.

Harbhajan is also looking forward to shifting to a new home.

The house is under construction in the New Baradari area of the city. The plot was given by the state government for his outstanding performance in the 2001 home series against Australia.

However, he has no plans to sell off his ancestral home where he was brought up.

“It has memories of my late father Sardev Singh,” he said. (ANI)

Nepal Vice President’s position defunct from today

Kathmandu, Aug 31 (ANI): Paramananda Jha’s position as Nepal Vice President has become defunct from Monday with Jha’s refusal to take oath in Nepali within the deadline given by the Supreme Court.

Rejecting the Supreme Court ruling that ordered him to take fresh oath in Nepali, Vice President Jha has declared that he will decide whether to retake the oath only if the Constitution is amended.

“The situation is that the mother language of Nepalis people so far has not been respected by the previous decisions of the Supreme Court and the government level. Thus, I can think about the issue of oath-taking only after the government and the Constituent Assembly (CA) honours the mother languages,” Nepalnews quoted him as, saying.

He also criticized the Supreme Court’s order to him to re-take oath in Nepali or else vacate his post.

He called the Supreme Court’s verdict ‘prejudiced’ and against the tenet and spirit of the interim Constitution and said it serves no purpose other than to start a “language war” as it is against the basic right of the people “to take oath in his own mother tongue”.

He also complained that some political parties supported the “anti-constitution” decision by staying quiet.

Supreme Court had issued a verdict on August 25 ordering him to take oath in Nepali within a week and that failure to do so would render his position defunct.

According to the court verdict, Jha cannot perform any duty of the Vice President and that he is not entitled to special security and privileges given to him as the Vice President. (ANI)

Anand Sharma unveils foreign trade policy

New Delhi, Aug 27 (ANI): Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Thursday announced a new foreign policy for the next five years which aims at an export target for 2010-11.

He said that the duty refund scheme will continue till December 2010, while income tax holiday for export-oriented units will be there for one more year.

Sharma said capital goods will attract zero duty till March 2011 to encourage manufacturing.

Sharma said the immediate goal was to arrest decline in exports and to achieve 200 billion dollar export target by 2011.

He envisaged 15 percent growth for first two years and then 25 percent for the next three years.

He also said that with this India would be able to double its exports by 2014. He also set the target of doubling India’s share in global trade by 2020.

For exporters duty exemption passbook scheme has been extended after December 2010.

Tax holiday for export oriented units will continue for one more year.

India’s exports fell at an annual rate of 27.7 per cent in June to 2.8 billion dollars, its ninth straight monthly fall, as economic downturn in key developed markets continued to hurt demand for local goods. (ANI)

Poor batting, not absence of spin cost Australia the Ashes: Hilditch

Melbourne, Aug 25 (ANI): Chairman of Australian selectors, Andrew Hilditch, has rejected criticism for not playing spinner Nathan Hauritz in the fifth Ashes Test, and said that Australia lost the Test because they got 160 in the first innings.

Hilditch admitted that his panel was “gutted” by Australia’s 2-1 Ashes loss to England.

He said the Australian team’s failure to prevail in big moments ultimately derailed its Ashes campaign, but did not expect players or selectors’ heads to roll as a result.

The national selectors – Hilditch, David Boon, Merv Hughes and Jamie Cox – were under fire, with a host of former players saying they had erred in choosing an all-pace attack for The Oval.

But Hilditch said it was simply a matter of misreading the pitch. “We read it as a wicket that was looking like a road, which was the assessment of everybody,” he said.

“We thought it was a wicket that would suit the four fast bowlers that played at Headingley and it was a reluctance to change a winning side from the fourth Test. It would be an over simplification to say that is the reason we lost the Test. We lost the Test because we got 160 in the first innings,” The Herald Sun quoted him, as saying.

“Obviously the selector on duty has a big role in assessing wicket conditions, but in the end we all communicate and made the decision. Jamie Cox was the selector on duty but everybody misread the wicket – captain and coach included. That just happens from time to time,” Hilditch added.

Ponting agreed that “we probably got that wrong. Not before the game, we thought we were picking the right attack for the conditions that we saw. But in hindsight, a specialist spinner would have been pretty handy out there.”

Spin legend Shane Warne said that “everyone should be under the microscope” and that “someone would have to take the rap” for Hauritz not playing at The Oval.

“To win a Test match you’ve got to take 20 wickets and Hauritz would have made a difference on this wicket. England wouldn’t have made 330 in the first innings,” he added.

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell said the selectors needed to remember to “pick a team for five days, not just the first one.” (ANI)

Nawaz Sharif’s mantra to make traffic jams history!

Islamabad, Aug.22 (ANI): Things can be sorted out with amazing ease in Pakistan by just making a call to the higher authorities, but yes, for raising a storm in the country’s officialdom one needs to possess power. The more the power one has, the sooner his voice is heard in the country.

This was proved recently when former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family were stuck in a traffic jam on bridge connecting Murree and Patriata in the Punjab province.

Angered by the inadequate ‘arrangements’ made for his movement, Sharif called the chief secretary of the province, who in turn sent his subordinates to clear the traffic jam. After that things moved with astonishing speed on that stretch of the road.

A day later nearly 30 traffic officials were suspended for dereliction of duty and failing to provide smooth passage to the former premier, who also happens to be chief minister’s elder brother.

According to a Dawn editorial, it is the kind of influence that the PML-N chief exerts in the world of politics and officialdom.

Without that influence, Sharif’s car would have been stuck indefinitely in the traffic mess, the editorial said.

The editorial warned that the ‘bloody revolution’ that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif often warns of, may indeed be witnessed if the powerful continue to flaunt their influence and ordinary citizens continue seething inside with anger.

Shahbaz Sharif should see that this trend doesn’t continues for long and empower ordinary citizens so that their voice can be heard too, it concluded. (ANI)

Kangaroos set for never-ending road trip following the Ashes

London, Aug 21(ANI): If the Australian team manages to claim the Ashes in the series decider at The Oval, they will celebrate with a train trip to Edinburgh the next day.

However, it won’t be a victory holiday, but to play a one-day game against Scotland just three days after the fifth Test.

“I’m not sure what we’re going to do there, but even when we’ve won World Cups and things we’ve maybe had a small reception somewhere and then get back onto playing cricket. It’s an incredibly busy international schedule. I guess if we happen to win I’m sure we’ll celebrate accordingly,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Australian captain Ricky Ponting, as saying.

“But, we are jumping on a train and going to Scotland for a one-day game up there. With those World Cup wins we’ve had we haven’t had a great amount of time to celebrate. We know the reason why, it’s because that much international cricket is being piled on top of each other. We’ll have our chance to celebrate if we win this week,” he added.

Meanwhile, former Australian cricketer Doug Walters was considerate enough with the Australian team and said that Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board must have marked the Scotland match at the start or end of the England tour, to spare the team from such horrendous travelling.

“Do I feel sorry for them? No. They have a duty to play against Scotland, perhaps they should have scheduled it for the start of the tour. The officials have got themselves to blame. Hopefully they do get to celebrate and do it on the train on the way up,” Walters said.

After Australia’s trip to Edinburgh, they travel to Manchester, then far south to Southampton, back to London, before jetting north again to Nottingham and finishing at the top end of the country in Durham for the final match. The team must then make its way south to London again to fly out for the Champions Trophy tournament in South Africa. (ANI)

Scientists discover signaling pathway which ensures that plants remember to flower

Washington, August 21 (ANI): A team of scientists has discovered signaling pathway that ensures plants remember to flower, even without positive signals from the environment.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany found the solution to the mystery that why do some plants blossom even when days are short and gray.

According to the researchers, an endogenous mechanism allows them to flower in the absence of external influences such as long days.

A small piece of RNA, a so-called microRNA, has a central role in this process, as a decline of its concentration in the shoot apex triggers flowering.

MicroRNAs are very short RNA snippets that have emerged in recent years as essential regulators of gene function in both plants and animals.

By binding to complementary motifs in a messenger RNA, they inhibit its translation into protein. This process thus blunts the activity of the corresponding gene.

In Tubingen, developmental biologists have discovered that the common wallcress, Arabidopsis, uses this regulatory mechanism to switch from vegetative to reproductive development.

A group of related regulators, the SPL proteins, play an important role in promoting the onset of flowering.

In young plants, high levels of microRNA156 prevent production of SPL proteins.

Jia-Wei Wang and colleagues demonstrate that independent of external cues, the concentration of the microRNA declines over time, like sand running through an hourglass.

When the microRNA concentration falls below a certain level, enough SPL proteins are produced to activate the flowering process even in the absence of other regulators that measure day length or external temperature.

This in turns allows a sufficiently old plant to flower, even in an unfavorable environment.

Interestingly, the SPLs do double duty, since they have supporting roles when plants flower in response to long days.

Furthermore, both the SPLs and other regulators eventually converge on a similar set of targets crucial for flowering.

According to Detlef Weigel, director at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, “Flowering is crucial for the long-term survival of plants. The redundancy of environment-dependent and independent mechanisms ensures that plants do not wait forever until flowering.” (ANI)

DMRC sacks official for negligence in bridge collapse case

New Delhi, July 15 (ANI): The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has sacked official in-charge of the Badarpur Metro line, Vijay Anand, for neglecting his duty, following shocking collapse of an under construction Metro pillar in south Delhi.

Six persons were killed and 15 others injured when an under-construction bridge of the Delhi Metro collapsed on Sunday.

The collapse had prompted DMRC chief E Sreedharan to resign owing the moral responsibility for the worst mishap involving the modern transport system.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna had rejected Sreedharan’s resignation, saying the city needed the man to continue his work.

The accident took place at around 5 am when a pillar of the bridge gave in during some construction work near Lady Sriram College in South Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar.

Four labourers and a 28-year-old engineer of Gammon India, the contractor of the project, were killed in the mishap, the second such incident in nine months.

DMRC set up a four-member committee to examine reasons for the accident and it would submit its report in 10 days. (ANI)

Afghanistan offensive showing signs of success: Brown

London/Sangin (Helmand, Afghanistan), July 12 (ANI): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that the British troop offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan is showing signs of success, despite the force losing fifteen troopers over the last month.

In an interview with the British Forces Broadcasting Service, Brown paid tribute to the “sacrifice” of the soldiers who had died.

“I know that this has been a difficult summer – it is going to be a difficult summer. These sacrifices that have hurt so many families in our country are ones that the whole of Britain will want to acknowledge. I think the operation we are engaged with is showing signs of success. Our troops are making progress as they attempt to make the area safe,” Brown said.

Brown’s comments came after parents of some soldiers killed in Afghanistan accused the Government of starving British forces of urgently needed equipment.

They joined politicians and former Armed Forces chiefs in demanding that ministers provide more money to pay for helicopters and armoured vehicles for troops fighting in Helmand.

Brown said commanders had assured him in a lengthy briefing that the Operation Panther’s Claw offensive to drive the Taliban from central Helmand province was making “considerable progress”.

He acknowledged that there was public concern about the campaign, but he insisted that it was part of a “clear strategy” to clear the terrorist networks from Afghanistan and Pakistan in order to protect the streets of Britain.

“This is a patriotic duty. Of course people want to know if the action we are taking is the right action. It comes back to terrorism on the streets of Britain. If we were to allow the Taliban to be back in power in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda then to have the freedom of manoeuvre it had before 2001, then we would be less safe as a country,” Brown said. (ANI)

Ahmedabad hooch death toll rises to 103

Ahmedabad, July 10 (ANI): The Gujarat hooch tragedy death toll has risen to 103.

According to police, the number of fatalities could go up as about 200 people are still undergoing treatment.he new cases were reported from Odhav, Amaraiwadi, Rakhial and Raipur.

On Thursday night, Gujarat Police rounded up over 800 bootleggers and sealed scores of illicit liquor dens across the state.

Earlier, the police had detained one suspected bootlegger Harishankar Kahar alias Hariom, who allegedly supplied spurious liquor in the Majoor Gam and Odhav areas where most of the deaths have occurred.

Two ACP’s and four police inspectors were also suspended and transferred for dereliction of duty.

The Gujarat Government has announced that a commission headed by a retired High Court judge will probe the incident. Investigations have been handed over to the crime branch. (ANI)

Jobcentre advertises for host for porn TV channel

London, Jul 7 (ANI): A jobcentre looking for a candidate to host a pornographic television channel has shocked many with its advertisement.

The advert for the position of ‘Adult TV Channel Presenter’ was on the Jobcentre Plus website, and it states that the successful candidate would be required to work ‘semi-nude’.

And also that the job ‘may cause embarrassment to some people’, although it pays 220 pounds per shift.

The winning applicant will work three days a week from 9pm until 5am, but will have no pension entitlement.

“Duties involve explicit sexual dialogue which may cause embarrassment to some people,” the Telegraph quoted the advert as reading.

“The successful applicant (will be) required to be semi-nude.

“Duties will involve working on a well known adult TV channel which may cause embarrassment to some people.

“Must have good spoken communication skills as will be taking calls from the general public live on air,” it stated.

The ad for the London-based job also states that applicants have to be aged over 18.

“There is no obligation to consider making an application for this vacancy,” it added.

A spokesman for Revolver Models, which placed the ad, said that applications had to go through the Jobcentre, but said the applicant did not have to send photos of themselves to the company.

“We are looking for a male or a female to take this role,” he said.

The firm’s website also states that ‘TV work is now available’, adding: “Do you love to perform in front of a TV camera? Are you looking for a well-paid job? Are you comfortable with nudity? If the answer is yes to all of the above then contact us for more details (no sex involved).”

Sophie Randall-Price, 25, who is looking for a job and saw the advert, was a little surprised.

“I couldn’t believe when I saw this,” she said.

“I’m broad-minded, but to think they want us to apply to such a sleazy job is really a bit too much.

“I’m willing to work hard, but I’m not willing to whip my top off and talk dirty to a bunch of weirdos in the middle of the night on national TV,” she added.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “The Jobcentre Plus has a duty to advertise any legal job.” (ANI)

Hindustan Motors to revise vehicle prices Tuesday

Kolkata, July 6 (IANS) Automobile major Hindustan Motors Monday said it will revise prices of various vehicle models to pass on to its customers the benefit of excise duty cut on certain categories of cars as announced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
“Hindustan Motors is passing on the entire benefit to the customers who can expect a Rs.6,000 cut in Pajero, Outlander and Montero prices effective July 7 (Tuesday),” a company statement said.

Mukherjee said in his budget speech that specific component of excise duty applicable to large cars and utility vehicles will be reduced to Rs.15,000 per vehicle from Rs.20,000 earlier.

“HM-Mitsubishi Motors believe in giving the best value for money to their customers,” R. Santhanam, managing director, Hindustan Motors Ltd said.

The ex-showroom prices of these models will be same across the country under HM-Mitsubishi’s “one country, one price” concept in India.

India Inc. disappointed with Mukherjee’s budget for 2009-10

New Delhi/Mumbai, July 6 (ANI): India Incorporated on Monday reacted with disappointment to the proposals for Budget 2009-10 introduced by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

It said that Mukherjee had remained silent on key points like the revamp of fuel policy, corporate tax, and the disinvestment roadmap.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex suffered the biggest fall on any Budget day and in the year too by plunging over 869 points on the BSE on concerns at the high fiscal deficit (6.8 percent) set by the Union Budget.

The Sensex, which started coming down soon after the announcement of budgetary proposals, dipped below the 14,000-point level before closing 869.65 points down at 14,043.40, surpassing the hefty fall of 749 points on January 7.

The key index had touched the day’s low of 13,959.44 as all the heavyweight stocks led by Reliance Industries suffered a heavy loss 6.53 per cent. Besides the fiscal deficit, trading sentiment also affected as European stocks dipped to a seven-week low on worries that economic recovery might still be far way off. The 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty also tumbled by 258.55 points to 4,135.70, after hitting the day’s low of 4,133.70.

Banking sector stocks suffered the most, losing 8.17 per cent to 7,768.63, as ICICI Bank tumbled by 10 per cent and HDFC Bank by 5.88 per cent among lenders as the Budget did not have measures to open up the industry and on concerns that the borrowing plan will reduce the value of bond holdings, brokers said.

Apart from the fiscal deficit, the other worry for captains of industry was the hike in Minimum Alternate Tax from ten to fifteen percent.

The Nifty also gave a thumbs down to the budget announcements.

Mukherjee left the corporate tax, customs and excise duty structure unchanged. He abolished the Fringe Benefit Tax which was the bugbear of the industry. Also, the deadline for Corporate India’s demand for a rollout of Goods and Services Tax has been set as April 2010.

He left the Securities Tax unchanged but scrapped the Commodities Transaction Tax. (ANI)