25-Paisa Coins To Go The 10-Paisa Way, Just A Memory

New Delhi, Nov 4 : Inflation bug seems to have hit the Indian currency too. Worried over the growing cost of producing small value coins, the finance ministry has suggested reducing the size of coins so as to ensure that cost of production is brought below the face value of the currency.

As part of the same strategy of cutting cost, the finance ministry has also proposed that the 25 paisa coin may also go ten-paisa way into the history and to the collection of archival value. The Union Cabinet is likely to consider a proposal moved by the finance ministry in which it has has suggested withdrawing of 25 paise or below value coins while re-shaping 50 paise coins and bringing it in the size and weight of a 25 paise coin.
If the ministry has its way then a one Rupee coin would be reduced to the size of a 50 paise coin and Rs 2 coin to the size of a Re 1 coin and this process would continue till the size and shape of Rs 10 coin has been re-shaped. The key reason behind such a decision is that producing currency coins in their present shape and size involves substantial costs and it is on the rise. Rising prices of steel have made Rupee coins worth less than their metal value.

As per proposal, new coins will start coming into the market within six months of the official decision to withdraw the current lot of coins and sent for melting. The measure would be taken to ensure that there is no confusion in the money market because of reduction of the size of coins. The move to withdraw 25 paisa coins will have far reaching impact as the entire accounting system has to reworked on to ensure that transaction of 25 paisa is taken care by rounding off to the next denomination.

At present, notes in India are issued in the denomination of Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1000. Over a period of time, cost benefit considerations led to the gradual discontinuance of 1, 2 and 3 paise coins in the seventies; stainless steel coinage of 10, 25 and 50 paise, was introduced in 1988 and of one rupee in 1992. Some bank branches are also authorised to establish small coin depots to stock small coins. There are 3784 small coin depots spread throughout the country. The small coin depots also distribute small coins to other bank branches in their area of operation.

Rupee coins and small coins include ten rupee coins issued since October 1969, two rupee-coins issued since November 1982 and five rupee coins issued since November 1985. India became independent on 15 August 1947 and was left with a legacy of non-decimal coinage. One rupee was divided into 16 annas or 64 pice, with each anna therefore equal to 4 pice.

Source: The Indian Express

President, Not Mukesh, Lives in Costliest Home

New Delhi, Nov 4 : Mukesh Ambani’s vaastu-compliant building is 550-feet tall and has about 400,000 square feet of floor space, with residential and guest accommodation, maintenance levels, a ballroom (wall-to-wall crystal chandeliers), entertainment stages and theatres, gyms, six parking levels, a garden level, a swimming pool, and that Mumbai necessity, an ice room (complete with snow flurries). With even the lower estimates north of a billion dollars, it is clearly the most expensive home in the world. Or is it?

A view of the new house of Mukesh Ambani

While Ambani has clearly left careful spenders like Bill Gates and Lakshmi Mittal eating his dust, his new pied-à-terre is not quite the most expensive in the world. A certain Elizabeth Windsors home in London is a bit larger, with 830,000 square feet floor space. Its rather better known as Buckingham Palace.

Closer home, there is one residence that is much larger: Once the Viceregal Palace, now the home of our president, Rashtrapati Bhavan. The presidential estate, with its Mughal Garden, nine tennis courts, polo ground, 14-hole golf course and cricket ground, occupies over 350 acres in the centre of Delhi.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan took 17 years, 700 million bricks and 3 million cubic feet of stone to build. It was finished in 1929 and inaugurated in 1931. It cost Rs 1.4 crore to build, which in todays money, assuming a conservative 6% inflation rate over 80 years, would be Rs 150 crore. Or roughly Rs 6.8 crore.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan

It is difficult to estimate the land value; almost all the properties in Lutyens Delhi are owned by the government and never come on the market. But going by the last major sale, the land value of the estate would be around Rs. 46,261 crore. It has 340 rooms, four levels, and a floor area of 200,000 square feet. It is the biggest presidential home in the world.

The Durbar Hall is used for important ceremonies like the swearing in of prime ministers, governments and MPs. It contains a 2-tonne chandelier. There are also state dining halls, state sitting rooms, and a ballroom. The architectural style of the building is a mix of European and Indian. It has columns and courtyards, stone balconies, chhatris, jaalis and chhajjas, a massive cast iron gate, Indian temple bells, and over it all, a huge dome.

Its architect was Edwin Landseer Lutyens, who also designed what is now the priciest part of Delhi. The chief engineer was Hugh Keeling, a contractor named Haroun-al-Rashid carried out most of the building work, and the forecourt was built by father-and-son Sujan and Sobha Singh.

The President does not live in what was designed to be the viceroys chambers. India's last governor-general, C Rajagopalachari, is said to have found those rooms too fancy for his modest tastes. Instead, he chose to occupy one of the guest sections, a tradition that has since been followed by Rajendra Prasad, our first President, and all his successors. The former viceregal apartments now host visiting heads of state.

Source: The Indian Express

Mizoram Governor's Name Not on Voters List

Aizawl, Nov 4 : Mizoram Governor Lt. General M M Lakhera on Wednesday could not vote in the 19-ward Aizawl Municipal Council as his name was not on the voters list.

When Lakhera did not find his name he returned to Raj Bhavan without casting his vote, officials said.

There was 60 per cent turnout in the election which was held peacefully, the sources said.

The voters sealed the fate of 45 candidates which included nominees from the ruling Congress and the Zoram Nationalust Party (ZNP) alliance and the opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) and the Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) combine.

The BJP and the NCP fielded four and one candidates respectively while two independent candidates also tried their luck in the polls.

Jatinga, Where Birds Commit Suicide

Haflong (Assam): The tranquility of Jatinga, a scenic village nestling among the Borail Hills range, is shattered every night by a disturbing occurrence - the 'mass suicide' of hundreds of birds.

Locals have been witnessing the eerie phenomenon from September to November for the last couple of years. As the sun sets, hundreds of birds descend on the village and fly full speed towards buildings and trees, crashing to their deaths. The repeated episodes are confined to a 1.5 km strip of the village.

With lush greenery and plentiful freshwater, Jatinga, the headquarters of the Dima Hasao district, some eight kilometers from here, is a resting place for many migratory birds. Haflong is 350 km from Guwahati.

Birds that have been sighted here over the years include the kingfisher, Indian pitta, green breasted pitta, green pigeon, black drongo, racket tailed drongo, whistling ducks, spotted doves, emerald doves, and grey heron.

But come September, and the locals brace for the ghastly sight.

Is it really suicide, or something else?

"It is not a suicide, to be precise. But the fact remains that birds are attracted by light and fly towards any object with a light source. This phenomenon still puzzles bird specialists," said Anwaruddin Choudhury, a well-known ornithologist in Assam, on the sidelines of the First International Jatinga Festival here.

B. Brahma, conservator of forests, Hills Circle, Haflong, also echoes the view.

"From past and present observations and experiences, it can be said that birds don't commit suicide," Brahma said.

The 'suicide', however, is just a part of the mystery. The more baffling question is why birds fly after sunset at all, as research shows that most birds are diurnal, that is, active only during the day.

The late Salim Ali, the country's pre-eminent ornithologist, too was struck by this oddity.
"The most puzzling thing to me about this phenomenon is that so many species of diurnal resident birds should be on the move when, by definition, they should be fast asleep. The problem deserves a deeper scientific study from various angels," he had written.

The 'avian harakiri', as the locals call it, has in fact shaped the region's history.

Jatinga was originally inhabited by the Zeme Nagas, who came across the bird phenomenon while guarding their paddy fields on a moonless, dark night. Frightened, the Nagas sold the land to Jaintias and left the place way back in 1905.

Jaintias, the new inhabitants of Jatinga, also witnessed the phenomenon but interpreted it as a gift from the gods.

"The phenomenon has generated tremendous interest in wildlife circles across the world and has made Jatinga world famous," Brahma said.

The earliest reference to this phenomenon was made by E.P. Gee, a British tea planter in his book "Wild Life of India" in 1957.

The Zoological Survey of India had sent a team to visit the place in 1977. Later, leading ornithologists from Europe, the US and Japan too studied the mystery.

However, no case of migratory birds plunging to their deaths has been recorded yet.
Some bird specialists attribute the phenomenon to the electro-magnetic forces of Jatinga, which is surrounded by geographical fault lines all round. But no conclusive evidence has emerged till now.

The deaths, though perplexing, are not mourned. Locals are quick to trap the birds using bamboo sticks, which are then consumed with relish.

Gopal Sainshai, a local resident, said, "Over the years, the number of birds coming here has not decreased. I have seen many such birds."

Those desiring a first-hand experience of the phenomenon can visit Haflong - with Silchar (110 km) and Guwahati (350 km) being the two nearest airports. If travelling by train, board a broad gauge train from Guwahati till Lumding, from where another meter-gauge train will take you to Haflong.

The route from Lumding to Haflong passes through many tunnels and it is an exciting journey somewhat resembling the Kalka-Shimla track. By road, it takes around 10-11 hours as you have to negotiate bumpy roads.

Naga Bodies Seek Release of Political Prisoners

Dimapur, Nov 4 : The apex Naga civil bodies have resolved to request the Government of India to release all political prisoners, irrespective of Naga political group, from the custody of different agencies so as to strengthen both the entities for further political negotiations.

The decision was arrived at during a day-long closed door emergency consultative meeting of the Naga apex organisations under the aegis of the Naga Hoho, Naga Mothers Association and Naga Students’ Federation in Kohima recently.

Adopting a four-point recommendation for future reference and implementation thereof, the meeting decided to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister asking that the Centre must be more sincere and pragmatic in their approach towards bringing an honourable, beneficial and acceptable solution to the ongoing Indo-Naga political dialogue keeping in mind the Naga people’s yearning for permanent peace.

On the deferment of the proposed mass peace rally at Dimapur on October 26 owing to certain technical difficulties, the meeting strongly recommended that the said rally should be organised at the earliest in all the Naga areas based on the above cited perspectives.

It also recommended the convening of another round of consultative meeting comprising of academicians, politicians, social activists and representatives of Naga organisations to deliberate in depth over the phrase – ‘inclusiveness’ and to bring out a road map and mechanisms in the best interest of the Naga people.

The consultative meeting also strongly appealed to all Naga political groups to be realistic with regard to imposition of taxes on individuals and the business community as ‘we foresee the wrath of the people unless the pattern of tax collection is evaluated with all seriousness’.

Meanwhile, sources attending the meeting revealed that speakers representing the civil society had expressed serious concern over the imposition of ‘exorbitant taxation’ on the general public by the Naga groups while maintaining that Naga people have come to such a stage that they cannot move ahead because of the rampant and exorbitant taxation.

Moreover, the meeting is also stated to have deliberated on the prolonged ceasefire without results between the Government of India and the NSCN-IM and NSCN-K. The representatives reportedly voiced the need for all groups and Naga people to come together in order to carry forward the peace process with the Centre.

Assam CM Meets Central Ministers Over Dams

By Kalyan Barooah

New Delhi, Nov 4 : Sustained Opposition campaign over the big dam issue has led Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi to embark on a damage control exercise by pressing on the Government at the Centre to appoint a multi-disciplinary expert panel to ‘examine the entire ramification of the Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project.

A perturbed Chief Minister is trying to mount pressure on the Central leadership to review its stand on the big dam issue that threatens to spiral out of control and become a major political issue ahead of the Assembly polls. Gogoi on Wednesday met Union Power Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Union Minister for Water Resources (MoWR), Paban Kumar Bansal and plans to meet Union Finance Minister and UPA’s trouble-shooter, Pranab Mukherjee.

Gogoi told both Shinde and Bansal that the Centre should at the earliest set up the multi-disciplinary committee to examine the issue in a holistic and comprehensive manner and the expert panel should be given suitable opportunity to present its findings before finalisation of view.

“The Centre has a different view on big dam though. But despite that I have stressed on the need to appoint an expert panel to study the issue and address the concern raised in the report by the expert panel,” the Chief Minister told this newspaper after meeting Bansal at his Parliament House Office.

Gogoi said he raised the same issue with both the Union Power Minister and Bansal, opining that the Central Ministries have a different take on the big dam but the need of the hour is to dispel the doubts raised by the Opposition. The only way to do it is to appoint a panel of experts to study the downstream impact in Assam because of the proposed big dams in Arunachal Pradesh, he added.

The Chief Minister revealed that the Central officials pointed out that the dam projects have undergone thorough studies and one of the country’s most prominent institutes Roorkee Institute of Technology was involved with the Projects.

“I have told them that the issue is not that but what is important is to ally the apprehensions raised by the panel of experts and those agitating against the projects,” he said.

The Chief Minister is addressing a press conference here on Thursday, afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Union MoWR talking to this newspaper said that the issue has two dimensions. In Arunachal Pradesh and Assam there are divergent views on the construction of big dams.

“The efforts should be now to take along the people of both the States, while addressing the concern raised in Assam,” he said.

Bansal said that Union Environment and Forest Minister, Jairam Ramesh has given his views on the subject at the meeting of the Group of Experts that is headed by Union Power Minister and him, besides others.

Jairam Ramesh had earlier sent a note to the Prime Minister calling for a moratorium on sanction of future projects and downstream and environment impact studies of the projects already cleared.

Bansal, however, observed that it was equally important to consider the fact that the country needs power and the benefits that flow from construction of such projects. The only concern is that it should not create problems for Assam, he said.

The Chief Minister has met me and conveyed the issues raised by the agitators and the views of the expert panel that studied the Subansiri Project, he added.

This is a sensitive issue and needs careful handling, he said.

Meanwhile, an official release issued said that Gogoi has conveyed that construction of Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Power Project in upper reaches of Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh has recently given rise to widespread public anxiety and resentment in Assam about its vulnerability and downstream effects.

Apprehensions are rife that such projects in the neighbouring State would cause floods and have adverse impact on erosion, bio-diversity and ecology of the region. The past experiences of flash floods and damages in downstream Assam due to sudden and unregulated release of water from Kopili and Ranganadi Dams have heightened concerns.

In this regard, an expert group with members from IIT, Guwahati, Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University have expressed concern regarding the location of the Dam in a highly seismic zone and stated that the construction of such dams could pose a serious threat to downstream areas.

Assam Militants Still in Bangalore

By M G Chetan

Bangalore, Nov 4 : Bangalore police were too happy to have arrested a number of alleged militants from the Northeast, but now it's proving to be more of a trouble for them.

The police from the Northeastern states haven't arrive in the city yet to take the arrested militants into custody.

A source in the police department said the terrorists in custody needed to be guarded round-the-clock.

They have to be handled with utmost care when they are sick and have to be provided food that suit them.

This has turned into a headache for the city police.

Recently, the city police nabbed B Jangila alias Jonah Basumatari alias Bakra, Upen Basumatary alias Upenra, Samar Brahma, Uttam Kumar Basumatary and Sanjay Singh Meitei in Whitefield.

All the accused belong to the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, a banned militant outfit of Assam.

Though they were nabbed on October 28, the police concerned from Assam have not arrived yet.

A senior police officer, on condition of anonymity, said the police from the Northeast were very keen on providing intelligence inputs regarding the militants who had taken refugee in the city.

But once the militants were nabbed, the police concerned are delaying their move to take them into custody, he said.

"Northeastern police are fed up with handling cases related to militants, whereas the police from other parts of the country deal with terrorism with utmost priority," said the officer. "Daily, they nab and interrogate many terrorists. They are not excited by one or two arrests."

A source said lack of resources was one reason for the delay in their arrival.

The mode of travel also matters in this regard and all states do not permit police to take flights to bring the arrested persons, he said.

City's Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Alok Kumar said sometimes the police concerned reach the city late as there are certain formalities to be fulfilled.

27 Hospitalized For Food Poisoning in Meghalaya

Shillong, Nov 4 : At least 70 people fell ill, with 27 hospitalized, in a suspected case of food poisoning in Meghalaya’s Jaintia Hills district.

The people, after eating food at a funeral gathering, started vomiting and developed indigestion symptoms yesterday.

Twenty seven of them, including eight children, were admitted at a hospital in Jowai, official sources said.

Government doctors have gone to the hospital and were overseeing their treatment.

Hospital sources said the pork served was suspected to be infected.