Centre no to airport at Vizag

The Union ministry of defence has denied permission for the proposed international airport at S.

Rayavaram near Visakhapatnam citing security threats.

The state government, however, is in no mood to relent and the Chief Minister,DrY.S.Rajasekhar Reddy, will shortly dash off a letter to the Centre conveying the state’s decision to go ahead with the project.

Official sources told this correspondent that as an alternative proposal, the state may even ask the defence authorities to leave the existing airport to civil operations and shift to S.Rayavaram.

The state and the Airports Authority of India zeroed in on Rayavaram because of locational advantage.

“The ministry had recently written to the government denying permission,” a senior official said. The ministry stated that the Navy would set up the Naval Alternative Operations Depot and a submarine plant near Visakhapatnam and the location is eight km away from the proposed site for the airport.

The ministry was avoiding the issue for the past one year and did not give any specific details whenever the state sought clarifications.

Sources said the ministry initially replied that the distance between the airport and the proposed naval depot should be“reasonable” but was never specific.

The state government officials dismiss the ministry’s argument of security threat as the existing airport, where the civil operations are also carried out, is in the range of below five kilometres from all the naval establishments.

Merit students lose seats

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to raise the quota of management seats for both MBA and MCA colleges from the existing 20 per cent to 25 per cent from this academic year.

Though nothing is confirmed as yet, a formal announcement to this effect is expected in the next couple of days.

However, it is still undecided on the quantum of fee hike for both these prestigious courses. The private college managements have long been demanding raise in management quota seats as well as tuition fee.

They argued that the management quota and fee structure in the state are lower when compared to a number of other southern states.

Though the private colleges demanded raising the management quota to 30 per cent, the state government has decided to go for 25 per cent anticipating furious protests from the student community.

Currently, there are altogether 390 MCA and 296 MBA colleges in the state which offer nearly 53,500 seats.

The counselling for admissions is expected to commence in the second week of July.

With the raise in management quota seats by 5 per cent this year, meritorious students will lose nearly 2,600 seats in convenor-quota, which will be eventually shifted to the management quota.

However, the officials said the decision would not have much impact on the students as there are chances of 50 to 60 new colleges coming up this year and at least another 20,000 seats are likely to be added.

But a number of students who secured merit in the entrance examination argued that they will lose the opportunity of admissions for 5 per cent seats in ‘top colleges’ which they specifically aim for.

Of the total 2,00,836 candidates who appeared for the Icet-2008 entrance examination for MBA and MCA admissions this year, 1,93,215 candidates qualified recording a staggering pass percentage of 96.20 per cent.

Last year, it was a little below at 87.82 per cent.

Inflation breaches barrier at 11.05%

Powered by rising fuel prices, inflation has touched a 13-year high of 11.05 per cent. Friday’s announcement led to immediate reverberations in the stockmarket: the BSE’s Sensex closed at its lowest level since August 2007, while on the political front the BJP called for the immediate resignation of the Prime Minister and the finance minister.

Lower-income groups were hit the hardest as the public distribution system has collapsed.

Economists feel the infla tion rate will rise further as fuel price hikes have an indirect impact on other prices. Sustained inflation could affect growth, they warn.

The government’s options are limited as the price rise is from the supply side. There could be rate hikes by the RBI.

Hopes are pinned on a good monsoon, which will ease the foodgrain situation, and a drop in world commodity prices.

Many feel the government and the RBI did not act in time. A Goldman Sachs report said: “We reiterate that the RBI has been behind the curve for not having increased the benchmark repo rate in April. Experts blamed the government and the RBI for failing to act early to curb inflation which touched 11.05 per cent.

Analysts said the government delayed in tackling the impact of world oil prices, that soared 40 per cent since January. “It acted in June and and burnt a hole in the pockets of the common man,” said one.

The consensus is that inflation will rise further in coming weeks. “Headline inflation could touch 13 per cent by end-September, before easing off,” said Kotak Securities economist Mridul Sagar. “Rates could fall in the last quarter on the back of a good monsoon.” “There is a further upside left in inflation,” said Crisil’s chief economist D.K. Joshi. He expects double-digit inflation to stay.

“While a correction in global prices and a good monsoon could bring relief, we don’t expect inflation to fall below 8 per cent until December,” said Reliance Capital chief economist Atsi Sheth.

State elections only in May 2009: CM

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S.Rajasekhar Reddy, said in New Delhi on Thursday that Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh would be held only in May 2009, after his government completed its term, even if the Lok Sabha elections were held in November.

However, he hastened to add that the Election Commission might use its discretion if the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections fell within a six-month period.

Dr Reddy’s comments came in the midst of speculations that the rift between the UPA government and the Left parties over the nuclear deal would necessitate Lok Sabha polls in November.

Intelligence sources also said that the UPA government’s intransigence on the nuclear deal and the Rs 70,000 crore farm loan waiver were indications of a November elections.

The Chief Minister, fresh from a good show in the bypolls, exuded confidence on his party’s performance in the coming elections.

He told mediapersons that the Congress was the “reigning champion” in the State and would win 36 Lok Sabha seats and 230 Assembly seats, whenever elections were held.

“Just as you will have reigning champion in football or tennis, the Congress is the reigning champion in politics,” he said.

He added that the party had won all the ‘preliminary rounds’ (meaning local bodies’ polls) and would repeat the victory in the finals too (the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls).

When asked whether the AICC general secretary, Mr Rahul Gandhi, will be the future leader of the party, he responded: “Why doubt about it?” The Chief Minister will visit Delhi next week again, as he could not call on the party president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Neither could he meet the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday.

In Nellore, the information and public relations minister, Mr Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, ruled out early Assembly polls.

The minister dismissed speculation that the government would go for Assembly elections in September to avoid giving time to Chiranjeevi to launch his party and run a campaign. “We would like to give him time,” said Mr Ramnarayana Reddy.

“This will only erode the vote bank of the Telugu Desam.” He said Chiranjeevi was likely to have some impact in urban areas besides East and West Godavari and Krishna districts.

Air ticket prices set for another take-off

Air travel is set to get costlier with stateowned unified carrier Air India and leading private airline Jet Airways raising fares by identical levels.

The two airlines have raised fares by finalising a new minimum basic fare for various sectors depending on the distance travelled.

For instance, for flights up to 750 km, the minimum basic fare will now be Rs 1,000. It will be Rs 2,250 for distances between 750 km and 1,000 km and Rs 3,000 for distances above 1,000 km. Air-India will hike fares from Friday while Jet Airways already hiked the fares on Thursday evening itself.

The move is to ensure that airlines do not sell tickets below cost to avoid escalating losses in view of high aviation turbine fuel prices.

There was no minimum basic fare for sectors earlier.

Air India officials said the hike in fares varied as per the sectors. “The fare hike of basic fares, which was earlier Rs 2,000 on the Delhi-Mumbai route, will now be Rs 3,000. But in some other sectors the hike is negligible,” said an Air India official. Kingfisher Airlines stated that a fare hike is imminent.

Budget carrier SpiceJet, which raised basic fares earlier this month, has now hiked its fuel surcharge amount by Rs 300 (for distances up to 750 km) and Rs 550 (for distances beyond 750 km).

Only 10% of CBSE English seats taken

Less than 10 per cent of English medium CBSE seats in government schools have been taken, even as opposition parties and teachers unions are fiercely opposing its introduction.

The government is offering CBSE syllabus for English medium students from Class VI.

Officials blamed the poor response on the lack of textbooks. They said that nearly 15 lakh textbooks were needed for CBSE students in 6,500 schools and these have not been printed.

Some teachers are playing radio news bulletins in the classrooms to help students learn English.

Officials have asked teachers to take classes on spoken English for now. But teachers who taught in Telugu medium all these years have ignored the directives. They contend that the 10-day training given to them was not adequate.

The process of introducing English medium in government schools was started in April, but the government was undecided on the syllabus — SSC or CBSE — till the last minute. It opted for CBSE only on June 10, two days before the schools reopened.

Officials are finding it difficult to provide study material as there are no prescribed textbooks for CBSE. Worse, the officials are still seeking permission from CBSE and NCERT Boards to draft textbooks.

They are now selecting content from NCERT textbooks. Next, they will compile the material in five subjects and then place orders for printing. That will take another two months.

Added to this, more than 3,000 out of 6,500 high schools have no additional classrooms to accommodate English medium students.

“We have instructed them to clean up storerooms and also use varandahs,” said Mr C.B.S. Venkatramana, principal secretary, school education. “These are all initial hiccups which we will overcome soon.”

Jose, Shaji in court for bail

Jose Mathew and Shaji John, who were arrested for allegedly molesting a US woman Kelly Pecker, on Tuesday moved a Sessions Court, seeking bail.

Following a plea from the prosecution to adjourn the case on the ground that the camera recovered was sent for analysis to ascertain whether any photograph was taken, principal sessions judge Aruna Jagadeesan posted to June 20, the hearing of the petition.

In their petitions, they submitted that due to nonavailability of medical test report, they were denied bail earlier. Now, the result of medical examination was submitted before the court.As per the result, the complainant was not at all sexually abused.

Hence, this court may consider the release of result as a change of circumstances to entertain the present petition.

Woman in coma after infant goes missing

A poor woman slipped into a coma on Monday in a government hospital here after her eight-day-old son went missing from the nursery ward even as police remained clueless.

Ms Munni Bai, 25, from Mandir Hasod area on Raipur’s outskirts, earlier alleged that a nurse had offered her money if she gave away the baby to a couple wishing for a son.

The baby was born May 24 at the Bhimrao Ambedkar Government Hospital. Soon, doctors separated her from the child on medical grounds. On Saturday, she was told the baby was missing. The police is probing the case.

A hospital official, Mr Sunil Gupta, said: “Every newborn carries a tag and registration number on his or her leg. We are compiling details and cross-checking inputs.”

Congress eyes 2009 LS polls

Bolstered by its performance in the bypolls, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy and the pradesh Congress chief, Mr D. Srinivas, have started gearing up for the 2009 general elections.

On Monday, the Chief Minister said steps are being taken in this direction. He, however, refused to divulge the details. But the sources close to him said a number of programmes are on the wings to ensure that the party does well to take on the opposition parties.

The sources also added that if all the plans get the high command’s approval, almost 40 per cent to 45 per cent of the sitting Congress legislators would be denied tickets because of the allegations of largescale corruption, nepotism, inefficiency and poor public image.

The Chief Minister and PCC chief have decided to use the services of three reputed institutions to conduct a public opinion on the party’s winning chances across the state.

The party is likely to kickstart the surveys from June 15.

Similarly, in another 100 constituencies where there is no party representation, opinion polls will be conducted to find people who can be prospective candidates .

The party also decided to revamp the district Congress committees by removing atleast 15 district unit presidents soon.

6,500 schools turn to English

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s frequent change of stance on the state government’s ambitious programme of introducing English medium in state-run schools from this year has sent shivers down the spines of school education department officials.

In a sudden shift from the earlier stand, Dr Reddy on Monday directed officials to implement English medium in all the 6,500 schools. At a meeting held with officials of school education department on Monday in Secretariat, Dr Reddy made it clear to officials that English medium should be introduced in all the schools at a stretch from this year.

The officials had earlier identified 3,800 schools in the first phase to launch the programme from the coming academic year. With just 10 days to go for the new academic year to commence, officials have their fingers crossed over the possibility of implementing the scheme in all the 6,500 schools.

The mode of syllabus has not been finalised. While the Chief Minister wants CBSE syllabus, the teacher unions are demanding state syllabus. A final decision is expected on Wednesday.

Flying gets costlier but no sop for city

Top airlines like Air India, Kingfisher and Air Deccan will hike fares from Tuesday.

This follows the decision by oil marketing companies to increase the cost of aviation turbine fuel by 18.5 per cent. ATF costs around Rs 69,000 per kilolitre in New Delhi and most other cities.

Air India will impose Rs 300 as additional fuel surcharge (AFS) for travel below 750 km and Rs 500 for distances beyond that.

Kingfisher and Air Deccan will charge Rs 300 for travel up to 750 km and Rs 550 for distances beyond that.

Jet Airways will impose similar surcharge from June 7. Other airlines are likely to announce a fare hike in a couple of days.

ATF is cheaper at Shamshabad airport because the government collects only 4 per cent sales tax against 33 per cent elsewhere. ATF costs Rs 52,000 per kilo litre.

That has not brought any relief for passengers from the state. The airlines said it was impossible to exclude Hyderabad passengers from the surcharge.