Sanjay Dutt ‘heart broken’

• 
• 
  AP People gather outside the residence of actor Sanjay Dutt in Mumbai on Thursday.

TOPICS

crime, law and justice

crime

terrorism (crime)

punishment

imprisonment

Actor Sanjay Dutt, who has to spend another three-and-a-half-years in jail in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, on Thursday said he is “heart broken” and under “emotional distress” after the Supreme Court verdict. 

“I have already suffered for 20 years and been in jail for 18 months. If they want me to suffer more I have to be strong. I am heart broken because today along with me, my three children and my wife and my family will undergo the punishment. I have always respected the judicial system and will continue to do so, even with tears in my eyes,” he said in an emotional statement to the media.

With an estimated Rs. 250 crore locked up in films involving the Bollywood star, he said he would complete all his films and not let anyone down. 

“I am overwhelmed by the support of my fans, the industry people, the media and all the well wishers. They have always stood by me and supported me. I know in my heart that I have always been a good human being, respected the system and always been loyal to my country,” he said.

Dutt, who confined himself in his 10th floor flat at ‘Imperial Heights’ in suburban Bandra with his family as Bollywood celebrities paid him visit to express solidarity, said he has to be strong for his family. 

“My family is very emotional right now and I have to be strong for them. I am shattered and in emotional distress. I am sorry I can’t come down and meet you all. God is great and he will guide me through this,” he said in the statement.

Jaitley accuses PM of 'blatantly interfering' in CBI functioning

BJP leader Arun Jaitley accuses PM of "blatantly interfering" in CBI's functioning and "crippling" it from carrying on its investigations.

NEW DELHI: BJP leader Arun Jaitley today accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of "blatantly interfering" in CBI's functioning and "crippling" it from carrying on its routine investigations for "stopping" CBI searches at the residence of DMK leader M K Stalin's residence in Chennai.

"Merely because it has a political fallout, it is improper for any Prime Minister or a Finance Minister to so blatantly interfere in the functioning of CBI and cripple it from carrying on its routine investigations," Jaitley said.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said if CBI was carrying out its search in the normal course of investigation, then it should have been allowed to carry out the exercise at Stalin's residence.

"If this was a search in the normal course of CBI investigation, CBI is entitled to carry out that search. What business does the government have or the political regime have to interfere in CBI and start stopping that search"? he said.

Jaitley said the Prime Minister or the Finance Minister "cannot interfere" in the functioning of CBI and have a "search stopped".

He said CBI carries out searches on many people but the Prime Minister has never condemned them.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister for condemning the search, Jaitley said "they can't condemn a search because it is the job of CBI in connection with their investigation to search premises."

He said if the government was not in the know of CBI search in Chennai, then the government had no power to stop it and if it was in the know of the search, "then the government will have to answer" the action as it is initiated two days after DMK withdrew support to UPA.

Sachin Tendulkar on cusp of breaking more records against Australia

Sachin Tendulkar is within striking distance of bettering several records against Australia at home. Some of the statistical highs include highest run-getter, most fifties and the maximum number of centuries. Ahead of the fourth and final Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla, here is a look at the approaching milestones:

# Sachin Tendulkar (3597 runs) needs another 40 runs to overhaul the existing record run aggregate of 3636 by Jack Hobbs of England against Australia. If he gets these runs, he would then have the most runs against Australia.

# Tendulkar requires three more runs for his 3600 runs against Australia. If he gets them, he would become the second batsman in the annals of Test cricket to amass 3600 runs against Australia. Hobbs has scored 3636 runs against the Aussies.

# Tendulkar has scored 27 fifties against Australia and share the record for most fifties against Australia with Hobbs, who also has scored 27 fifties. Tendulkar requires one more fifty to own the record for most fifties against Australia.

# Tendulkar has scored 11 hundreds against Australia. One more century will enable him to equal Hobbs' 12 tons against the Australians.

# Tendulkar has scored 1788 runs against Australia at home and requires 212 runs for his 2000 runs. If he gets them, he would become the first Indian batsman and also the first batsman to aggregate 2000 runs on home soil against Australia.

# Tendulkar, Graham Gooch and Herbert Sutcliffe have scored nine half centuries at home against Australia. One more half century will make Tendulkar to share the record of most half centuries at home against Australia. Michael Atherton of England has scored ten half centuries at home.

# Ricky Ponting, Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis and Mahela Jayawardene share the record for most hundreds on home soil. All the four batsmen have scored 22 hundreds. One more hundred for Tendulkar would give him his 23rd hundred and with it the record for most hundreds on home soil.

# On the flip side, Tendulkar has been dismissed bowled on 27 occasions on home soil. One more bowled dismissal would be his 28th bowled dismissal which would make him to share the record with Rahul Dravid, who has been dismissed bowled on 28 occasions. Allan Border holds the record with 31 bowled dismissals at home.

# Interestingly, Tendulkar has been dismissed bowled on 54 occasions in his Test career. One more bowled dismissal would make him to share the record with Dravid who has been dismissed bowled in 55 occasions.

Tax-free Delhi budget in an election year

No new tax was levied and chilly spray, desi ghee and LED lights will be cheaper with Delhi government on Wednesday proposing to reduce or eliminate VAT on them in its Rs budget which focussed on social sector in an election year as Congress seeks a record 4th term in power.

Presenting the Rs 37,450-crore budget in the state assembly, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit amid occasional protests by opposition BJP MLAs, said "I am proposing a tax free-budget".

In her around 90-minute budget speech, Dikshit expressed confidence that the national capital's growth will touch nine per cent against the national average of five per cent as she outlined the development activities taken up by her government in several sectors, including health, water, infrastructure and transport.

With assembly poll expected in November this year and after a drubbing Congress got in last year's municipal election, Dikshit sought to woo the electorate with enhanced social spending, earmarking Rs 10,351 crore or 65 per cent of total plan outlay of Rs 16,000 crore. The non-plan outlay is Rs 21,000 crore.

Among the sectors, transport has got the highest allocation of Rs 3,876 crore followed by Health Rs 2,490 crore, Education Rs 1981 crore, Urban Development Rs 1840 crore and Water Rs 1,665 crore.
"Delhi is on track to grow at nine per cent compared to five per cent for the country...The per capita income of Delhi now stands at Rs 2,01,083. It has gone up by five times since this government came into power. In 1998, when we came to power it was Rs 40,060," she said.

The budget has completely withdrawn the 12.5 per cent VAT on chilly spray , a self-defence device which could be used against attackers in the city which earned notoreity for crime against women. "It is our duty to empower women by way of self-defence," she said.

Last year, Dikshit had presented a Rs 33,436 crore budget with a plan outlay of Rs 15,000 crore. In 2011-12 when she had presented the budget for the first time, the budget size was Rs 27,067 crore with a plan outlay of Rs 13,600 crore.

This was the third consecutive year Dikshit presented the budget since taking over the Finance portfolio.

India is world's fourth largest energy consumer

India, currently the fourth largest energy consumer in the world, together with China will account for the biggest share of Asian energy demand growth through 2035, according to a new report.

The fourth largest energy consumer after the United States, China, and Russia, India was the 10th largest economy in the world in 2011 growing at an annual rate of approximately 7 percent since 2000, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In the International Energy Outlook 2011, EIA projects India and China to account for the biggest share of Asian energy demand growth through 2035.

Risks to economic growth in India include high debt levels, infrastructure deficiencies, and political polarization between the country's two largest political parties, it says.

Noting that India's energy policy above all focuses on securing energy sources to meet the needs of its growing economy, IEA said
while primary energy consumption in India has more than doubled between 1990 and 2011, its per capita energy consumption remains lower than that of developed countries.

Given that the service industry accounts for more than half of India's output, further economic growth could remain relatively non-energy intense, it said.

IEA said the government may not be able to deliver secure supplies to meet demand because of fuel subsidies, increasing import dependency, and inconsistent energy sector reform.

Despite having large coal reserves and a healthy growth in natural gas production over the past two decades, India remains very dependent on imported crude oil, it said.

Referring to Indian petroleum ministry's plans to make India energy independent by 2030, the report noted India's largest energy source is coal, followed by petroleum and traditional biomass (e.g., burning firewood and waste).

Since the beginning of the New Economic Policy in 1991, India's population increasingly has moved to cities, and urban households have shifted away from traditional biomass to other energy sources.

The industrial sector is the largest energy consumer, representing over 40 percent of India's total primary energy demand in 2009, and is mostly fuelled by traditional biomass, according to the IEA.

The power sector is the fastest growing area of energy demand, increasing from 23 percent to 38 percent of total energy consumption between 1990 and 2009, it said

A 2012 report by the IEA estimated that nearly 25 percent of the population lacks basic access to electricity, while electrified areas suffer from rolling electricity blackouts.

The government seeks to balance the need for electricity with environmental concerns from the use of coal and other energy sources used to produce that electricity, it said.

Google’s Schmidt Asks India to Fix Internet Laws

Google Inc.’s Chairman Eric Schmidt Wednesday publicly asked the Indian government to change its laws governing the Internet and to create a favorable ecosystem for entrepreneurs and startups in the country.
“There are a set of things to be fixed by the Indian government,” Mr. Schmidt said at an event in New Delhi.
He said one of the laws India needs to change currently holds Internet companies liable for content posted by users.
Some Internet companies, including Google, face lawsuits in India for not censoring content posted by web users.
In 2011, angered at the spread of inflammatory material online, Indian legislators passed a law that allows Internet companies to be held liable for “offensive” material posted by users. Parts of the law are being challenged in India’s Supreme Court, which has yet to rule.
The Google chairman is in India until Thursday, his first visit as the Internet giant’s chief. He is also expected to talk at another technology event organized by Google on Thursday.
Mr. Schmidt said that India has to create a favorable system for venture capital firms to invest in the country.
“India, of course, dominated the business process outsourcing market successfully,” he said. “India is not leading in web services even though there is an opportunity.”
Continue reading on India Real Time