London, Jul 30 (PTI)?Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has assured Chief Minister of eastern Indian state of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee that his company is committed to make the state its first choice for manufacturing a new small car.

The London-based Caparo Group chairman told Banerjee during an informal meeting over tea at his London residence on Wednesday that a new variant of Caparo T1 is likely to set up base in her state.

“I would love to do more in Bengal. We are in the process of designing a car that is smaller and cheaper than Caparo T1 and we are in discussions with some of the best engine manufacturers. Once that design is complete and perfected, Bengal will be the first place I will look at for production.

This is my commitment,” he said.

“And this is not only my commitment but also my son Angad [Caparo Group CEO] is committed to it because he loves fast cars,” he added.

Caparo T1, described as the fastest car on the road, was created in composites by British automotive giant Mclaren’s team and its newer compact version is currently being made market-ready, with West Bengal as a potential manufacturing base.

“We are grateful. Please also request your other industrialist friends to invest in Bengal,” Banerjee said.

Lord Paul also made reference to Caparo’s factory in Singur, which was to supply automotive parts to Tata’s Nano plant but that project had to be shelved and the machinery was moved out.

“As far as we are concerned we bought the land from the West Bengal government and either we can build a factory there or get our money back but we would be happy to invest in Bengal,” he said.

As part of his commitment to the state, he will also provide Banerjee’s delegation with detailed literature on three other products launched in the rest of India ? multi- purpose e-rickshaws, bio-toilets and pre-fabricated houses made out of composites.

“We are leaders in composites today. I have promised to send all the literature from my Delhi office to the Bengal finance minister [Amit Mitra]. When he is ready, I will send my team from Delhi and London to discuss and finalise the details,” he said.

In his capacity as Chancellor of Wolverhampton University and former Chancellor of Westminster University, Lord Paul also expressed his wish to be involved in the field of education in the state.

The mortal remains of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who died on Monday, were taken from his ancestral house in coastal Tamil Nadu’s Rameswaram town to the local mosque ahead of the funeral as thousands of mourners – young and old – poured into the island town to pay their last respects. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and a host of other dignitaries, including chief ministers of some states, attended the last rites held around 11 am after the ‘Namaaz-e-Janaaza’.
The funeral of the Missile Man was attended by a galaxy of leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who placed a wreath, offered his final salute and stood in silence in front of Kalam’s body that was draped in national flag. He also went around the casket with folded hands. Modi later went up to Kalam’s eldest brother, 99-year-old Mohammed Muthu Meeran Lebbai Maraicker, who was seated nearby, and offered his condolences.
Congres vice-president Rahul Gandhi also paid his last respects to Kalam, who died of cardiac arrest in Shillong on July 27. Besides some foreign dignitaries, several leaders including Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, his Cabinet colleague M Venkaiah Naidu and state Finance Minister O Panneerselvam were present.
Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad and Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh – Siddaramaiah, Oommen Chandy and Chandrababu Naidu respectively – and CPM veteran VS Achuthanandan were also among those who paid their homage. The three services chief also paid their respects to their former Supreme Commander.
Emotional farewell to People’s President
Earlier, a large number of teary-eyed mourners swarmed the carriage carrying his mortal remains and briskly moved with it on the last journey of the 83-year old scientist. Condolences poured in from the country and across the world, paying respects to the affable man who endeared himself to the masses with his simplicity. Tight security, including deployment of Naval, Coast Guard and Marine police personnel in the sea around the town, was put in place in view of the convergence of several dignitaries.
Slogans like “Bharat Mata Ki jai” rent the air as the body was taken in flower-bedecked carriage to the burial site, about 3.5 km from the mosque, accompanied by the personnel of three services. Several people were seen holding the national tri-colour as they waited in the jam-packed streets around Kalam’s house to have a last glimpse of their hero. Many were perched on the terraces of buildings.
APJ Abdul Kalam was an average scientist: Pak nuclear scientist AQ Khan
The body of India’s Missile Man was brought to his house on the narrow Pallivasal Street around 10 pm on Wednesday night after lying in state and left in the privacy of his family till Thursday morning. Thousands of mourners kept pouring through the night by various transport including buses, trains and boats to attend the last rites and many of them even slept on the roads during the night.
Shops, business establishments and hotels remained shut in the town and throughout Tamil Nadu as a mark of respect to the late leader, fondly called the People’s President. Police said tight security arrangements have been made in and around the town and Navy, Coast Guard and marine police personnel deployed in the sea.
MUST READ | Kalam’s simple life in Thiruvananthapuram: Appams for breakfast and room full of books
The Tamil Nadu government has declared a public holiday on Thursday as a mark of respect to Kalam. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, however, could not attend the state funeral because of her illness.
Kalam served as the President of the country from 2002-07. The country’s first bachelor President, Kalam had received several prestigious awards including the Bharat Ratna, and played a crucial role when India tested its nuclear weapons at Pokhran in 1998 when the Vajpayee government was in power.

New Delhi: Linking the Gurdaspur attack to Pakistan, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the three terrorists had infiltrated from there to carry out the strike and asserted that the government will do everything possible to prevent cross-border terrorism.

Making a statement in Rajya Sabha on Monday’s attack in Punjab, he said “any effort by the enemies of our nation to undermine India’s territorial integrity and security or imperil the safety and security of our citizens will meet an effective and forceful response from our security forces.”

The government “has been and will remain resolute in this regard”, he said.

Singh made the statement amid din created by Congress members which was strongly disapproved of by Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien, who said it was “not politics” but a “statement on a terrorist attack” that concerns the security of the country.

However, as the unrelenting Congress members continued to shout slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh said, “I take this opportunity to assure the House that the government is firmly to root out terrorism from India.”

The Home Minister also assured the House that “the government will do everything possible to prevent cross-border terrorism aimed against India.”

Giving details of the attack in Punjab, he said, “preliminary analyses of GPS data indicates that the terrorists had infiltrated from Pakistan through the area near Tash in Gurdaspur district, where the Ravi river enters Pakistan.”

It is also suspected, he said, that the same terrorists had planted five IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) on the railway track near Talwandi village between Dinanagar and Jhakoladi which were subsequently defused by the bomb disposal squad. A night vision device was also recovered from the spot.

“The security forces in the border are alert but the difficult terrain coupled with recent heavy rains, resulting in excess flow in the rivers and canals along the border, could have been a factor, in this particular group sneaking into Punjab,” the Home Minister said.

He said that during the last one month, there were five attempts at cross-border infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir sector, out of which four were interdicted and eight terrorists neutralised.

In the remaining one instance, the terrorists went back after effective retaliation by the Indian forces.

Singh hailed Punjab Police for engaging the terorrists “effectively” and said all efforts were made to apprehend the attackers and prevent their escape besides avoiding any collateral damage.

The Army and NSG were placed on standby to support the Punjab Police opertions, he said, adding the Union Home Ministry monitored the situation closely and was in constant touch with the Punjab
government.

“In the end, all the three terrorists were neutralised in this successful operation,” Singh said and added with regret that Superintendent of Police (Detective) Baljeet Singh, “who was leading from front”, was martyred.

During the operation, the BSF and the Army were placed on high alert along the border, he said.
“I personally spoke to the Chief Minister of Punjab (Parkash Singh Badal) and assured him of all assistance from the central government,” Singh added.

While he spoke, the Congress members, carrying placards, were shouting slogans in the Well against the Prime Minister and his government over the terror attack.

The slogans included: “56 inch ki chhati hai hai (down with 56 inch chest)’ and ‘Narendra Modi hai hai (down with Narendra Modi)’ and ‘NDA government hai hai (down with NDA government).”

PTI

Ahead of the National Security Advisory level talks to be held between the two nations, Pakistan has claimed that India was involved in the horrific December 2014 Peshawar school massacre in which around 150 people, including 136 children were killed.

Pakistani Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attack, so Pakistan’s assertion that RAW was involved seems a bit strange. The Pakistani army had claimed in February that the terrorists involved in the attack were wiped out in retaliatory strikes.

According to various media reports, Pakistan is preparing a dossier on India’s role in supporting terrorism in Balochistan and Karachi, and the dossier will likely be carried by PM Nawaz Sharif’s advisor on foreign affairs when he meets Ajit Doval in Delhi next month.

Recently, Pakistan had claimed that it had shot down an Indian drone along the Line Of Control in Kashmir, a claim that India has denied. Even the Chinese firm that made the drone is believed to have said that it never sold the drone to any government.

On July 10, Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif had met in the Russian city of Ufa and decided to take bilateral ties forward through a meeting of the respective nation’s NSAs. The joint statement issued after the ice-breaking meeting of the two PMs stressed that one of the steps forward would include “a meeting in New Delhi between the two NSAs to discuss all issues connected to terrorism”.

Two IAF personnel were killed and as many civilians injured in these accidents, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in a written reply to Lok Sabha today.

As per the figures given by him, 2014-15 saw the maximum crashes which included one Sukhoi, four MiGs and two Jaguars.

In 2013-14, there were six crashes involving five MiGs and one Jaguar.

In 2012-13, one Sukhoi crashed besides two MiGs and one Jaguar.

“The main reasons for the crashes were technical defect and human error,” Parrikar said.

He added that the loss to the government, in terms of value of aircraft and service property, in respect of 12 accidents assessed so far is estimated at Rs 386 crore and loss to civilian property was over Rs 4.43 lakh.

PTI

The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu while rejecting the plea by Students Islamic Organisation of India, said: “If you appear in an examination without a scarf, your faith will not disappear.”

Describing the plea as “nothing but an ego”, the court said that candidates can wear the headscarf after the exam is over.

The court also observed that faith is something different from wearing a particular type of cloth.

The SC observation came three days after the Kerala High Court granted conditional permission to two Muslim girls to appear for the July 25 AIPMT wearing hijab, a customary religious dress.

Passing orders on their petition, Justice K Vinod Chandran had said the students shall appear before women invigilators half-an-hour before the examination.

The court had refused to interfere with the dress code prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for students appearing for AIPMT to prevent malpractices and said the petitioners would be subjected to any mode of personal search on any suspicion expressed by the invigilator.

If required, the headscarfs and full sleeve garments will be removed and examined, for which the petitioners shall cooperate, the court had said.

Sugar exports from India will climb more than forecast previously as mills accelerate sales to clear $2.8 billion debt to cane growers.
Shipments will surpass 1 million metric tons in the 12 months through September, said Yatin Wadhwana, managing director of Sucden India Pvt. Mills may export about 400,000 tons of mainly white sugar between now and September, he said. Wadhwana’s forecast for full-year sales compares with 800,000 tons predicted by the Indian Sugar Mills Association last month.
Inventories in India are poised to jump to a seven-year high after production outpaced demand for a fifth year and a slump in global prices slowed exports. With another bumper crop in the making and government threatening action against producers for not paying farmers, mills are selling below production cost to clear dues to growers. That may weigh on futures in New York which slumped to a six-year low this week.
“Mills are forced to sell at a loss because of government’s pressure to pay farmers on time,” Sanjeev Babar, managing director of Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation, said by phone from Mumbai on July 20. “We don’t have enough money to run the mills.”
Factories owed farmers about 181 billion rupees ($2.8 billion) as of June 15, according to the mills association. Under the law, factories are required to pay farmers within 14 days of supplying cane, Babar said. Failure to pay up on time would entitle growers to 12 percent interest on dues and the government can seize sugar stockpiles and auction them to pay the farmers, he said.
Futures Tumble
Prices on the ICE Futures U.S. fell to as low as 11.35 cents a pound on Monday, the lowest level since January 2009. The contract for October delivery rose 1.1 percent to 11.55 cents a pound in New York on Wednesday while prices in Mumbai were 0.9 percent lower at 2,165 rupees per 100 kilograms (220 pounds).
Mills in Maharashtra state, the nation’s biggest producer, sold about 300,000 tons of white sugar in the past two weeks to mobilize money to pay farmers, Babar said. Mills there owed farmers 33 billion rupees as of June 15, he said.
“Mills were helpless due to the sword hanging on them in the form of cane payments,” said Kamal Jain, managing director of brokerage Kamal Jain Trading Services Pvt.
Factories sold sugar at prices between 19 rupees a kilogram to 19.50 rupees a kilogram, the lowest since May 2007, when the rate was 10.68 rupees a kilogram, Babar said. The production cost is as high as 34 rupees a kilogram, he said.
The slump in prices forced the government to subsidize exports and waive interest on bank loans to processors. Stockpiles of 10.2 million tons at the start of new crop season from Oct. 1, the highest since 2008-09, will add to supplies of about 27.25 million tons in 2015-2016 estimated in a Bloomberg survey last month.
(An earlier version of this story corrected to say farmers not mills are owed debt.)

India’s top court has rejected a final appeal by Yakub Memon, a key plotter of bomb attacks that killed more than 200 people in Mumbai in 1993, paving the way for his execution.

Media reports on Tuesday said Yakub Memon would hang on July 30 after the Supreme Court rejected his final plea, more than two decades after the deadliest attacks ever to hit India.

Crimes such as these deserve maximum punishment. But we believe that the maximum punishment should not be the death penalty because it is inherently inhumane
Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director for Human Rights Watch

The blasts targeted the Bombay Stock Exchange, the offices of Air India and a luxury hotel, and left 257 people in India’s commercial capital dead.

The attacks were believed to have been staged by Mumbai’s underworld in retaliation to anti-Muslim violence that had killed more than 1,000 people.

Memon was the only one of 11 people convicted for the 1993 attacks to have his death sentence upheld on appeal. The sentences on the others were commuted to life imprisonment.

Executions are only carried out for “the rarest of rare” cases in India, but President Pranab Mukherjee has rejected a number of mercy pleas in recent years, ending an unofficial eight-year moratorium