Promote trade with India, says Pakistani daily
Islamabad, July 27 (IANS) A leading Pakistani newspaper Sunday moaned the lost opportunities and called for speedy promotion of trade with India. More than a decade after the signing of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement by both countries, bilateral trade was far below the potential, the Dawn suggested in an editorial. “Having missed an opportunity to advance opening trade with India, Pakistan now finds itself dealing with the consequences,” the daily said. “The forthcoming talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries could have been an opportunity to move further down the road of regional economic cooperation and integration, but instead they are going to spend their time testing the waters,” it said. It said the decision to delay the grant of Non-Discriminatory Market Access status to India in March was another lost opportunity. “Further delays will only embolden those segments of public opinion in India who believe Pakistan is not serious in pursuing closer trade ties with its neighbour.” The Dawn said Islamabad must address the Pakistani industry’s fears of getting swamped by India’s larger manufacturing strength on account of its sheer size. “But the process so far has not been free from the concerns of the Pakistani military that has had a powerful role in decisions concerning India… “New governments have been sworn in on both sides … and it is imperative that both parties remain committed to the road map (of) going forward. “Pakistan should use the moment to signal its willingness to continue on the path to freer bilateral trade.” (IANS)
Shortfall in off-take by Guj deprived beneficiaries: CAG
Gandhinagar: The overall shortfall in the off-take of subsidised wheat and rice by Gujarat Government during 2008-13 has “deprived” the beneficiaries of the food grains, which were allotted by Centre, and also caused a loss of subsidy to the tune of Rs 2,652 crore, according to a CAG report. “The overall shortfall in the off-take (2008-13) of wheat and rice by the state government was 33 per cent as against the allotment made by the Government of India. The shortfall in the off-take of wheat in APL, BPL and AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojna) categories was 56 per cent, 3 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively while the shortfall in offtake of rice was 77 per cent, 6 per cent and 3 per cent (in APL, BPL and AAY categories) respectively,” the CAG report said. The CAG report (2014) was tabled in the state Assembly on July 25. According to the report, the shortfall in the off-take deprived the beneficiaries concerned from getting subsidised food grains. “This resulted in beneficiaries being deprived of the subsidised food grains and loss of subsidy to the tune of Rs 2651.79 crore (2008-13) to the state government due to non-lifting of subsidised food grains allotted by government of India,” the report said. (PTI)
India has the second highest number of Hepatitis B infected
New Delhi: India has over 40 million Hepatitis B infected patients, second only to China, and most people with chronic Hepatitis B or C are unaware of their infection, putting them at serious risk of developing cirrhosis or liver cancer which are life threatening. As India observes World Hepatitis Day tomorrow, the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) based in New Delhi on Sunaday painted a grim picture on prevalence of various forms of Hepatitis infection in the country and efforts to check it, saying the country’s collective efforts in this field are “limited and painfully lagging behind”. Every year, nearly 600,000 patients die from HBV infection in the region but the government does not yet have national policies relating to screening and referral for Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C, it said. Hepatitis B is a serious global health problem, responsible for 1.4 million deaths every year compared to 1.5 million deaths from HIV/AIDS and 1.2 million from each of malaria and TB, the ILBS said. “India has over 40 million hepatitis B (HBV) infected patients (second only to China) and constitutes about 15 per cent of the entire pool of hepatitis B in the world. “Tribal areas in India have high prevalence of hepatitis B. Every year, nearly 600,000 patients die from HBV infection in the Indian continent,” the ILBL statement said. (PTI)
Rajnath holds high-level meet on civil services exam row
New Delhi: Amid protests from civil services aspirants against the new exam pattern, the government on Sunday convened a high-level meeting to resolve the issue. The meeting was chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh among others. “There was a discussion on the issue and ways to resolve it,” a senior government official, who attended the meeting, said here. A decision on whether or not to change the syllabus of civil services examination and postpone the preliminary test, slated to be held on August 24, is likely to be taken soon, he said. The meeting, which was held at the Home Minister’s residence, was also attended by S K Sarkar, Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), and officials from the PMO and Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Civil services aspirants have been protesting in the national capital and demanding change in the pattern of civil services preliminary examination. The issue has been raised in Parliament too. The government has urged them to call off their protest which intensified from Thursday night after the UPSC, which conducts the examination, started issuing admit cards to the aspirants for the preliminary exam scheduled to be held next month. A three-member government appointed committee is looking into the demands of civil services aspirants to change the pattern of the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) to give level-playing field to those coming from rural areas. (PTI)
Top Maoist leader arrested
Kolkata: Top Maoist leader Arvind Bachhar was on Sunday arrested following a raid at Baduria in North 24-Parganas district, police said. Bachhar, 45, was wanted in a number of cases including that of a major blast in Jhitka forest at Jhargram in West Midnapore district, Additional Superintendent of Police, North 24-Parganas district, Bhaskar Mukherjee, said. The Jhargram police had issued an arrest warrant against Bachhar who had his house at Baduria’s Magurkhali village. The Maoist originally hailed from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. Bachhar would be produced before a court at Basirhat today, the ASP said. (PTI)