Court orders notice on indiscriminate sand mining - India

16 june 2012

Court orders notice on indiscriminate sand mining

TOI

The Madras High Court has ordered notice to authorities, including the Public Works Department, to file reply in two weeks on a public interest litigation seeking to restrain them from proceeding with sand mining in Kosasthalai river near Gerugampoondi in Tiruvallur district.

The First Bench of Madras High Court, comprising Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, also called for records from the authorities concerned after hearing a submission on a PIL filed by K. Venkatesan, president of the Vilapakkam panchayat.

In the PIL, Mr. Venkatesan stated that the State government issued licence to the Public Works Department to quarry sand in the Kosasthalai river. Though the PWD was permitted to quarry only over the survey [No.100] which spread across Gerugampoondi, Vilappakkam villages, the quarrying activity covered adjacent villages such as Thirukkanajeri, Arumbakkam, Vembedu and Melsembedu.

The petitioner also said the operations of the PWD were not in conformity with the recommendations of the State Level Monitoring Committee, constituted following an order of the High Court. Due to the indiscriminate quarrying, the water sources were depleted and ground water level had gone down. The quarrying of sand went beyond the permissible level.

Mr. Venkatesan sought an interim injunction restraining authorities from proceeding with sand mining in the disputed area and also sought a direction to State level committee to conduct a survey in the spot.

UK's Cameron to face media ethics inquiry - India

08 june 2012

UK's Cameron to face media ethics inquiry

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

File picture

London: British media ethics inquiry said on Friday that Prime Minister David Cameron will give evidence next week, amid questions over his ties to a number of suspects in the country's tabloid phone hacking scandal.

The judge-led inquiry, which Mr Cameron set up to examine malpractice in the media and ties between politicians and the press, said it would also take testimony from ex-leaders Gordon Brown - who had an often troubled relationship with British newspapers - and John Major.

It confirmed it would also take evidence from Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Treasury chief George Osborne, Scottish leader Alex Salmond and main opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, who has been a vocal critic of Rupert Murdoch's media empire since the phone scandal erupted.

Mr Cameron, who will give evidence in a day-long session on Thursday, has been stung by his links to key figures in Mr Murdoch's British newspaper operations.

His former communications chief Andy Coulson has been arrested and charged by police with perjury in a case connected to the scandal, while two of Mr Cameron's friends have also been charged over alleged attempts to hamper the inquiry into phone hacking.

Ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks and her husband Charlie - a friend of Mr Cameron since their school days - live close to the British leader's home in southern England. Both face allegations of perverting the course of justice.

Mr Coulson, who quit as Cameron's top media aide in January 2011, and Ms Brooks are both former editors of the News of The World tabloid, which was closed down by Mr Murdoch last July amid a wave of public revulsion at revelations that staff routinely hacked the cellphone voice mail messages of those in the public eye.

Charlie Beckett, director of the POLIS media institute at the London School of Economics, said Mr Cameron's judgment is likely to come under scrutiny, but warned those who expect the leader to be humbled are likely to be disappointed.

"It's difficult to see what the killer questions are. As the politicians have given evidence the inquiry's tone hasn't had that same feel of a trial, as it did when journalists were being questioned," he said.

The inquiry, which opened in September, has seen reporters and editors intensely grilled on media practices.

Opposition lawmakers, including Mr Miliband, have insisted that Mr Cameron's decision to hire Mr Coulson - and to keep friendly ties to Ms Brooks - shows a failure of judgment.

Mr Cameron has long insisted that Coulson had deserved a "second chance" after he quit the News of the World in 2007 when a reporter and private investigator were jailed in what the company claimed at the time was an isolated case of phone hacking.

The British leader will also face questioning over his decision to assign Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt to make an impartial decision on a takeover deal by Mr Murdoch's News Corp.

Mr Hunt was made responsible in December 2010 for a decision on whether News Corp. should be authorised to take full control of satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting, in which it holds a 39 percent stake.

Mr Cameron turned to Mr Hunt after Britain's Business Secretary Vince Cable was taped by undercover reporters claiming he planned to "declare war on Murdoch," and subsequently removed from making the decision on the grounds of bias.

But the inquiry has already published a letter Mr Hunt sent to Cameron before he was assigned to adjudicate on the takeover in which he warned that blocking the deal would damage Britain's media industry.

Giving his own evidence to the inquiry last week, Mr Hunt said his cozy ties to the tycoon's media empire were well known to the British leader, raising doubts over Mr Cameron's decision-making.

F-16 intercepts small plane in Obama's air space - India

07 june 2012

F-16 intercepts small plane in Obama's air space

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Los Angeles: An F-16 fighter intercepted a small private plane after it entered air space that was restricted for President Barack Obama's fundraising visit on Wednesday night.

The single-engine Cessna was intercepted shortly and forced to land before 5 pm Wednesday, according to a statement from the North American Aerospace Command.

Obama was at the Beverly Hilton at the time, and was later taken to the Regent Beverly Wilshire for a 600-person campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles held by gay and lesbian supporters.

The plane was intercepted northwest of Los Angeles and landed without incident at an airfield in Camarillo.

There have been similar incidents when Obama visited Los Angeles in the past.

In May, a pilot mistakenly flew into restricted airspace as the president was about to leave the city from Los Angeles International Airport.

A similar scenario played out during Obama's February visit, when F-16 jets intercepted a plane that entered the airspace of Obama's helicopter, Marine One.

That plane was forced to land at Long Beach Airport, where police said they found about 40 pounds of marijuana during a search of the Cessna, and the pilot was arrested.

I'm ready for Test captaincy, says Gautam Gambhir - India

01  june 2012

I'm ready for Test captaincy, says Gautam Gambhir

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

New Delhi: After leading Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title, Gautam Gambhir says he is ready to take up the responsibility to captain Team India as well.

Speaking to NDTV's Srinivasan Jain, Gambhir said he is ready for the challenge but it is the team that matters the most and not the captain.

"Yes, it's the biggest honour. (I am) Ready for the responsibility of the challenge because you want to test yourself in different challenges as well. That is where your mental toughness and your character will be tested.

"But as I have always said a captain is only as good as his team. I think it's a successful team that makes a successful captain. It's not a successful captain that makes a successful team," he says.

Gambhir, who takes his cricket very seriously, can hardly be spotted smiling on the field and unlike most others he admits that he doesn't enjoy the game and is a very insecure player.  

"I don't enjoy cricket. I just take it as a priority.. something that I have to do."

"I am very insecure because that's how I have played cricket. Since Under-14 I was told if you don't perform you will be dropped. I have started living with this system," he says.

Gambhir, known for his short temper, also believes that he has become more calm and mature.

"Only time I show my emotions and anger is on the cricket field, otherwise I have mellowed down. And with age you end up mellowing down and it is always important because there have been situations where I have crossed those lines. I still remember the incident that happened with Shane Watson (The two were involved in a spat at Feroze Shah Kotla when India played Australia in a Test in October 2008) and after that I have apologised to everyone. I have matured. I have learnt from those experiences. Life is all about learning from your mistakes," says the 30-year-old.

The batsman who hails from Delhi and originally played for the Daredevils in the first three seasons of the IPL also says he is very happy with KKR and does not miss playing for Delhi in the T20 league.

"It was Delhi's decision. They were the ones who did not retain me. They just wanted to retain Viru (Sehwag). I think after that I realised whatever happens, happens for the good.

"I'm very happy, very lucky that I have been part of KKR because the best two years of my cricketing career in IPL...though I played for Delhi for the first three years... I have never been so relaxed, I have never enjoyed so much of cricket that I have enjoyed in Kolkata and with KKR," says Gambhir.

People had been skeptical about the reception Gambhir would receive in Kolkata when the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team chose to not bid for the state's favourite son Sourav Ganguly and handed over the reins to Gambhir who was bought by the franchise for a record price of USD 2.4 million.

Gambhir also took on politicians who have asked for a ban on the IPL due to the many controversies the league has been embroiled in.

"People who are talking about banning IPL, they should think about many other things that are troubling the country. People who want to look after IPL will do," said Gambhir.

Astronomers seize last chance in lifetime for Venus Transit - India

27 may 2012

Astronomers seize last chance in lifetime for Venus Transit

Paris: Astronomers are gearing for one the rarest events in the Solar System: an alignment of Earth, Venus and the Sun that will not be seen for another 105 years.

The celestial ballet known as the Transit of Venus is one of the most eagerly-awaited events in skywatching, an episode that has advanced the frontiers of knowledge, sometimes with dramatic consequences.

"For centuries, the Transit of Venus has been one of the great moments for astronomers," said Claude Catala, head of the Paris Observatory. "2012 will not be an exception to the rule. It is a one-off opportunity."

"It's now or never," the British magazine Physics World told its readers.

"It will be an event well worth watching, as the next Transit of Venus will not occur until December 2117, when most of us will be long gone."

In a transit, Venus passes between Earth and the Sun, appearing through the telescope as a tiny black spot that, for some six and a half hours, crawls in a line over the fiery face of the Sun.

On the evening of June 5, North America, Central America and the northern part of South America will get to see the start of the transit -- clear skies permitting -- until those regions go into sunset.

All of the transit will be visible in East Asia and the Western Pacific.

Europe, the Middle East and South Asia will get to see the end stages of the eclipse as they go into sunrise on June 6.

But West and Southwest Africa, and most of South America, will not get a view, although people there can catch the event on a webcast.

Only six Transits of Venus have ever been recorded -- quite simply because before the phenomenon was predicted by the 17th-century German mathematician Johannes Kepler, no-one knew where to look or had the lenses to do so.

Transits occur in truly weird combinations, either in a June or a December. When one happens, another one happens in the same month eight years later.

Then there is a wait.

A very long wait.

A pair of December transits follows a June pair after 105 years, while a June pair comes 121 and a half years after a December pair.

For example, there was a transit in December 1882; the next one was in June 2004, which will be followed this year on June 5-6, depending on the dateline; astronomers will then have to be patient until December 2117, which will be followed by another transit in December 2125.

In the 18th century, scientists realised that by timing the event from different locations, the transits of 1761 and 1769 could be triangulated and give the distance between Earth and the Sun -- "the noblest problem in astronomy," for it would at last place mankind in the cosmos.

Britain and France, the two superpowers at the time, jockeyed for the glory, dispatching missions to far-flung places.

Among them were British surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, who were attacked by French warships just after they left Plymouth and headed back to port.

Discouraged, they wanted to cancel the trip -- but ventured back out to sea after a receiving a now-legendary letter from the Royal Society, the British scientific academy which was sponsoring them.

To give up would "bring an indelible Scandal upon their Character, and probably end in their utter Ruin," the letter said stonily.

Drama was also in store for the 1769 transit, when Britain sent James Cook to Tahiti to view the event from there.

After his mission, Cook opened the instructions for the secret -- and most important -- part of his expedition: to search for and map for the Crown a mysterious "southern continent," which turned out to be New Zealand and eastern Australia.

For astronomers today, the Transit of Venus offers a chance to gain insights into the planet's notoriously thick, cloudy atmosphere, and use the refraction of sunlight to finetune techniques for hunting planets orbiting distant stars.

One of the most useful exercises will be to compare observations of the transit made by Earth-based telescopes, orbitaltelescopes and robot probes, including Europe's Venus Express.

"This way we get different measurements with which to calibrate our methods for analysing exoplanets orbiting other stars," said Thomas Widemann, of the Laboration of Space Studies and Astrophysics Instrumentation, or LESIA, in Paris.

Did McKinsey & Co throw Rajat Gupta under the bus? - India

24  may 2012

Did McKinsey & Co throw Rajat Gupta under the bus?

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

New York: McKinsey and Company has been one of the most admired and envied franchises in the world of management consulting for a long time. The most prestigious, most expensive, and most secretive consulting firm in the world inspires strong reactions in people. While some believe it brings unmatched intellectual power to solving complicated organisational problems, others view the firm as over-rated and its consultants as unaware of ground realities, better at networking with boardroom bosses than at solving business problems.

One factor behind McKinsey's success - acknowledged by admirers and detractors alike - is the tight link it forges with its alumni. Whether alumni leave out of choice, or because McKinsey urges them to, it maintains excellent relationships - placing them in coveted positions with clients, hosting regular parties and alumni retreats, and maintaining an invaluable alumni database which firm alumni can access for the rest of their lives.

McKinsey's alumni include Louis Gerstner, former CEO of IBM, James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, William Hague, Foreign Secretary of Britain, Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, and Chelsea Clinton.
So, it was truly surprising that a firm that prides itself on these relationships chose to cut itself off from former Managing Director Rajat Gupta last year, when he was accused of insider trading in the Raj Rajaratnam case, solely on the strength of an accusation and before Mr Gupta had stood trial.

Although Mr Gupta had retired from McKinsey at the time the alleged offences occurred, as a man who led the firm for decades, he was one of its global faces, and especially important to its image in India.

While McKinsey declined to speak with NDTV for this story, sources tell us that the firm dropped Mr Gupta from its alumni database, and called clients worldwide to say that they would have nothing to do with him going forward.

Atul Kanagat, a former senior partner at McKinsey and Co expressed shock and disappointment at his firm's behaviour. "I think they have violated their own values by actually jumping out and being so public about distancing themselves. What I believe what Marvin Bower would have done is to take the high ground. To say that there is an accusation, which is made, we will look into it, the government will look into it & we will deal with whatever comes out at the other end. What they did very cynically in my view is they went on the warpath especially in India proactively calling tens of client people and government people to put distance between themselves and Rajat. I think it was malicious" Mr. Bower was the legendary head of McKinsey and Company from the 1930s to the 1960s, and one of the founding fathers of management consulting.

Sources close to the McKinsey leadership say the firm's decision to cut relations was not due to the legal case but because some of Rajat Gupta's behaviour over the past two years was inconsistent with the values and the professional standards of the firm.

McKinsey's anger at its former Managing Director probably stems from the fact that if Mr Gupta knew that Anil Kumar, a senior partner at the firm, was passing client information to Rajaratnam in return for money, he did nothing to alert the firm's leadership.

On the Raj Rajaratnam wiretaps, Rajat Gupta and Mr Rajaratnam are heard conversing about Anil Kumar.

Raj Rajaratnam: You know, I've been paying him a million dollars a year, offshore, cash......

Rajat Gupta: Yeah, he should say thank you....."

However, those sympathetic to Mr Gupta claim that this was an isolated remark in the context of a much larger conversation, and that it is not clear that the payment was in exchange for any sort of service. Indeed, the tape does not mention any sort of quid pro quo.

In any case, they argue, the firm should have given Rajat Gupta a chance to explain himself, given his three decades of service, which included building McKinsey's global presence.

In fact, Mr Kanagat, an old and close friend of Mr Gupta, says there is a view that some of the Indian partners at McKinsey were quite keen to use this opportunity to be rid of Mr Gupta's long shadow.

"There were ulterior motives & it had politics involved & internal McKinsey politics as well. See Rajat was India. So as long as Rajat is a guy on the Indian scene, the rest of the Indian partners will always live in the shadow and that's not very comfortable" he explains.

McKinsey's website is littered with the phrase "fact-based analysis," and the firm prides itself on being able to look dispassionately at the facts of a situation when advising clients, rather than succumb to biases that can cloud the judgment of industry and company insiders. And if Mr Gupta is acquitted in the next few weeks, it may find it difficult to explain to its former leader, his supporters among its alumni, and quite possibly many of its present employees, why it hastily abandoned him in his hour of need rather than giving him a chance to explain himself or allowing for the trial to play out.

Mr Gupta, as one would expect, is hurt says a childhood friend Anil Sood. "He as you would expect is hurt. He is disappointed. If you look at it from a perspective of McKinsey, I can see that they made a choice between standing behind somebody who gave them 30 years of his life and took McKinsey to the heights that it is at today and being conscious of their own business avoiding any risks of being seen as connected to Rajat. Would he have liked to see it differently? Yes he would have."

CAG smells Rs. 1.63-lakh crore scam in Delhi airport deal - India

23 may 2012

CAG smells Rs. 1.63-lakh crore scam in Delhi airport deal

HT

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Visitors take a tour of the newly inaugurated Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3 in New Delhi.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) hinted in its report on the Delhi airport modernisation project that the government had given out prime land that will fetch Rs. 1.63 lakh crore to its private sector partner, Dial. The CAG report — accessed by HT but not yet tabled in

Parliament — said the company had got 4,799.09 acres of land on a Rs. 100 annual lease rent for 60 years for an equity contribution of only Rs. 1,813 crore. A Dial spokesperson, however, said, “We are not privy to the findings of the report and, therefore, not in a position to respond to it at present.”
What’s more, the operations, management and development deal signed by the Airports Authority of India permitted the company to utilise 5% of the land for commercial exploitation. Consultancy firm Merrill Lynch had worked out the valuation of the land at Rs. 100 crore an acre.
“Thus, the total current value of the land available to Dial… would amount to Rs. 24,000 crore.”
The CAG said, “The projected earning capacity of this land (239.95 acres) in terms of licence fee over the concession period of 58 years was indicated by Dial itself as Rs. 681.63 crore per acre in a letter to the joint secretary, aviation ministry.”
The auditor also pointed out that the government decision to offer a “post-contractual benefit” to the private partner, Delhi International Airport Ltd (Dial), of levying development fees forced passengers to cough up Rs. 3,415.35 crore towards the project cost.
The auditor said the original deal did not mention that part of the project cost would be raised through development fees. It said that if the joint venture was to have the permission to levy the fee, it should have been made known to all the other bidders too.
Delhi airport charges Rs. 1,300 and Rs. 200 per passenger for international and domestic travel, respectively. Besides, from May 15, Dial started charging a user development fee of Rs. 436-1,068 from international and Rs. 195-462 from domestic passengers.
The ministry of civil aviation, however, informed the auditor that “the decision to restructure and modernise Delhi airport was a policy decision of the cabinet. The terms and conditions as well as the modalities were finalised and approved by the empowered group of ministers.”