Govt 4.5 % Dhoka : IIT dream of Minority students shattered

New Delhi, June 17:

The central govt order to provide Minority quota from OBC and the Supreme Court’s refusal to stay a high court order quashing the 4.5 per cent minority sub- quota will seriously affect over 40 per cent of the students shortlisted for counselling by the IITs under this category.




According to sources at IIT , the first 150 plus rankers out of the total 325 minority students majority Muslims — will get a seat. In other words.More than 50 % of the candidates will not get a seat and may lose their chance of entering the IITs.


The Govt was just wooing Muslims before the UP elections and the nono serious attitude of Govt of just sending an affidavit before AP high out instead of a renouned lawyer.In the case of Lanco wakf land case Govt has utilised the services of Attorney general and the judgment went against wakf board.

The first round of allotment however, is yet to be announced as the IITs are already two days behind schedule. According JEE counselling brochure, the announcement should have been made by June 14.

Minority candidates have been on the edge about their fate. “ I called the JEE office and was told that the first allotment will be announced before Sunday,” said Adil Ali Nirban ( 18), who was ranked 290 in the minority category and 3,426 in the overall OBC category.

Earlier under the proposed 4.5 per cent sub- quota under the OBC reservation, 441 seats were reserved by the IITs for minorities. But the number of candidates fell severely short and only 325 were called for counselling, which practically assured them of a course and IIT of choice.

But with the Andhra Pradesh High Court striking down the sub- quota on May 28 and the SC not staying the order, the fate of these students became uncertain.

The sub- quota has now been merged back into the OBC quota and the minority students have had to compete for seats along with other OBC candidates, which meant that their chances of getting a course or IIT of choice or securing admission at all is difficult unless their rank in the overall OBC category is good.

The first round of allotment of seats has been delayed.More than 70 Students from Andhra pradesh were hopeful to get into IIT but for the non serious attitude of the govt these Minority students will denied of their due right.


Take By: Sisat News

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Saudi heir's death opens door to younger voices

Riyadh, June 17:

For the second time in less than a year, Saudi Arabia was thrown into the process of naming a new heir to the country's 88-year-old King following the death of Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz on Saturday.

That forces a potentially pivotal decision: Whether to bring a younger generation a step closer to ruling one of the West's most critical Middle East allies. King Abdullah has now outlived two designated successors, despite ailments of his own.

It's widely expected that the current succession order will stand and Nayef's brother, Defence Minister Prince Salman -- another elderly and ailing son of the country's founding monarch -- will become the No 2 to the throne of OPEC's top producer.

But Prince Nayef's death opens the possibility that a member of the so-called "third generation" of the royal clan -- younger and mostly Western educated -- will now move into one of the traditional ruler-in-waiting roles as the country looks ahead to challenges such as the nuclear path of rival Iran and Arab Spring-inspired calls for political and social reforms around the Gulf.

"Saudi Arabia will have to decide if this is the time to set the next generation on the path to rule," said Simon Henderson, a Saudi affairs expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

First, however, the Saudi leadership must fall behind the successor for Nayef, the hard-line interior minister who spearheaded Saudi Arabia's fierce crackdown crushing al Qaeda's branch in the country after the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
Nayef, who Al-Arabiya reported died in Geneva, was named crown prince in November after his brother Prince Sultan died.

The Allegiance Council, an assembly of sons and grandsons of the first Saudi monarch, King Abdul-Aziz, will choose the next crown prince.

The likely choice is the 76-year-old Salman, who previously served for more than four decades in the influential post of governor of Riyadh, the capital, as it grew from a desert crossroads to the centre of political power for the Western-allied Gulf states.

His links to Saudi religious charities brought Salman into controversy as one of the defendants in a lawsuit by insurance companies that accused Saudi Arabia of funnelling money to al Qaeda. A US appeals court in New York had ruled in 2008 that the Saudi royal family and other defendants enjoy immunity from such lawsuits.

Take By; Sisat News

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సూకీ నోబెల్‌ ప్రసంగం

ఓస్లో: దశాబ్దాల పాటు గృహనిర్బంధంలో ఉన్న ఆంగ్‌సాన్‌ సూకీ తొలి సారి విదేశీపర్యటనలో ఉన్నారు. ఇందులో భాగంగా ఆమె నోబెల్‌ పురస్కార స్వీకారోపన్యాసాన్ని చేయనున్నారు. ఈమె 21 ఏళ్ల క్రితమే నోబెల్‌ అందుకున్నారు. కానీ నేడు ఉపన్యాసం ఇచ్చి నోబెల్‌ చరిత్రలో నిలిచిపోనున్నారు.

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India ranks 55th on foreign money in Swiss banks

  

 India accounts for only 0.14 per cent of total foreign money in Swiss banks.

 

Indians’ money in Swiss banks may have risen for the first time in five years, but they account for a meagre 0.14 per cent of total foreign wealth deposited there — putting India at 55th place globally for such funds.

The total overseas funds in Switzerland’s banking system stood at 1.53 trillion Swiss francs (about Rs. 90 trillion) at the end of 2011, which included 2.18 billion Swiss francs (Rs. 12,700 crore) belonging to Indian individuals and entities.

While India accounted for only 0.14 per cent of total foreign money in Swiss banks, the U.K. accounted for the largest share of little over 20 per cent, followed closely by the U.S. with about 18 per cent.

As per the latest data disclosed by Swiss National Bank (SNB), Switzerland’s central bank, India is now ranked 55th in terms of funds belonging to overseas clients in Swiss banks.

Among the top-ranked jurisdictions, the U.K. and the U.S. were followed by West Indies, Jersey, Germany, Bahamas, Guernsey, Luxembourg, Panama and France, Hong Kong, Cayman Islands, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia and United Arab of Emirates.

The SNB data shows that the quantum of money held by Indians in the Swiss banking system rose for the first time in five years during 2011.

These official figures, described by SNB as ‘liabilities’ of Swiss banks towards their clients from various countries, do not indicate towards the quantum of the much-debated alleged black money held by Indians or other nationals in the safe havens of Switzerland.

Also, SNB’s figures do not include the money that Indians or other nationals might have in Swiss banks in others’ names. The total funds held by Indian individuals and entities include 2.025 billion Swiss francs held directly by them and 158 million held through ‘fiduciaries’ or wealth managers.

Fiduciaries are essentially wealth fund managers who hold the money of Indian private holders and families in the so-called numbered accounts.

The Swiss banks’ direct liabilities towards clients from India include funds held in savings and deposit accounts by Indian individuals, financial institutions and corporates.

India is ranked 55th in terms of only direct deposits as well, while it is placed much lower at 76th rank for fiduciary funds, where the top-ranked jurisdictions include West Indies, Panama, U.K., Saudi Arabia, Bahamas, Liberia, Cayman Islands, UAE, Turkey, Russia, Germany and the U.S.

Pakistan is ranked higher than India at 52nd place in terms of fiduciary funds (355 million Swiss francs), but lower at 60th for total money (2.12 billion Swiss francs).

While the funds belonging to Indians rose by about Rs. 3,500 crore last year, the total foreign money there rose by about Rs. two lakh crore (more than 36 billion Swiss francs).

The quantum of funds held by Indians in Swiss banks had last increased in 2006 by about one billion Swiss francs to 6.5 billion Swiss francs (over Rs 40,000 crore), but fell to less than one-third by the end of 2010.

In a White Paper on black money tabled in Parliament last month, the government had also said that Swiss banks’ total liabilities towards Indians have been coming down and fell by more than Rs. 14,000 crore between 2006 and 2010.

Amid allegations of Indians stashing huge amounts of illicit wealth abroad, including in Swiss banks, the government says it is making various efforts to bring back the unaccounted money.

As per SNB data, funds held by Indians directly in the Swiss banks increased by about 370 million Swiss francs to 2.025 billion Swiss francs (Rs 11,800 crore) in 2011.

On the other hand, the funds held through ‘fiduciaries’ nearly halved to 158 million Swiss francs (about Rs 900 crore) in 2011 — marking the fifth straight year of decline.

The experts have been saying that there has been a “perceptible flight of funds” of Indian holders from Swiss banks to other places in the recent years.

The foreign capital-friendly regulations in places like Mauritius and Dubai were possibly being exploited by those seeking to move their funds away from Swiss banks, which have come under strict scrutiny of late.

At the same time, the global pressure has been rising on Switzerland to ask its banks to share information about their clients with foreign governments.

It is suspected that Indians having illicit wealth in Swiss banks may be moving their funds in fear of being exposed due to growing scrutiny. At the same time, even those having legitimate funds in Swiss banks may be moving away, due to a growing level of negativity attached to them.

The countries placed above India in terms of total funds in Swiss banks also include Ireland, Spain, Israel, Canada, Brazil, Greece, China, Egypt, Thailand, Philippines, South Korea and New Zealand. Those ranked below India include Qatar, South Africa, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kenya, Nigeria and Iran.

Take By: The Hindu News

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