SNACK TIME FOR MPs

SALE OF SNACKS AT PARLIAMENT CANTEENS

STREAMLINED-NEW ORDERS 

Members of Parliament on one reason or the other stall proceedings

and recent past, the session as such not held. But the recent

General Purposes Committee meeting of the Parliament where the

sale of snacks at Parliament canteen is decided, the six members

attended and indicated their choices and preferences. They had

tablulated the prices and day in which the food items will be

made available.

MPs zindabad, to get cheaper rates, best snacks.A recent circular

exhibits the choices and tastes of MPs

Parliamentary Bulletin Part-II
No. 48450	Thursday, June 09, 2011	G.A. Section
Sale of Snacks at the Northern Railway Canteens in Parliament House Annexe and Parliament Library Building
Members are informed that  Northern Railway  Catering, Parliament House  have  decided to introduce the  following  day-wise menu of snacks as well as the timings of sale of these snacks at the Northern Railway canteens in Parliament House Annexe and Parliament Library Building:-  Day-wise Menu of Snacks of Parliament House Annexe Canteen MORNING SNACKS              (10 AM TO 12 Noon) EVENING SNACKS                          (4 PM TO 5.30 PM) MONDAY UPMA VEG. CUTLET DOSA BONDA BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES BREAD BUTTER VADA CHEESE SAND-WICHES OMLET ASSORTED SWEET OMLET FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET ASSORTED SWEET TUESDAY IDLY VADA DOSA DAL LADDU BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND- WICHES CHEESE SAND-WICHES OMLET ASSORTED SWEET CHEESE SAND-WICHES FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET ASSORTED SWEET OMLET WEDNESDAY POHA VEG. CUTLET DOSA BREAD PAKORA BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES CHEESE SAND-WICHES OMLET ASSORTED SWEET CHEESE SAND-WICHES FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET VADA CHICKEN CUTLET ASSORTED SWEET OMLET FISH FRIED THURSDAY IDLY VEG. CUTLET DOSA MIX-PAKORA BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES CHEESE SAND-WICHES OMLET ASSORTED SWEET CHEESE SAND-WICHES FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET VADA CHICKEN CUTLET ASSORTED SWEET CHANNA VADA OMLET FISH FRIED FRIDAY POHA SAMOSA DOSA VADA BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES BREAD BUTTER VEG. SANDWICHES CHEESE SAND-WICHES OMLET ASSORTED SWEET CHEESE SAND-WICHES FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET VADA CHICKEN CUTLET ASSORTED SWEET OMLET FISH FRIED Day-wise Menu of Snacks of Parliament Library Building Canteen MORNING SNACKS  (10 AM TO 12 Noon) EVENING SNACKS        (4 PM TO 5.30 PM) MONDAY UPMA VEG. CUTLET DOSA BONDA BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES BREAD BUTTER VADA CHEESE SAND-WICHES OMLET ASSORTED SWEET OMLET FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET ASSORTED SWEET TUESDAY IDLY VADA DOSA DAL LADDU BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND -WICHES CHEESE SAND-WICHES OMLET ASSORTED SWEET CHEESE       SAND-WICHES FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET ASSORTED SWEET OMLET WEDNESDAY POHA VEG. CUTLET DOSA BREAD PAKORA BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND- WICHES CHEESE SAND-WICHES OMLET ASSORTED SWEET CHEESE SAND- WICHES FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET VADA CHICKEN CUTLET ASSORTED SWEET OMLET FISH FRIED THURSDAY IDLY VEG. CUTLET DOSA MIX-PAKORA BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES CHEESE SAND-WICHES OMLET ASSORTED SWEET CHEESE SAND-WICHES FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET VADA CHICKEN CUTLET ASSORTED SWEET CHANNA VADA OMLET FISH FRIED FRIDAY POHA SAMOSA DOSA VADA BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES BREAD BUTTER VEG. SAND-WICHES CHEESE SAND-WICHES OMLET ASSORTED SWEET CHEESE      SAND- WICHES FISH FRIED CHICKEN CUTLET VADA CHICKEN CUTLET ASSORTED SWEET OMLET FISH FRIED The morning timing of sale of these snacks will be from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon, and evening timing  will be from 04.00 pm to 5.30 pm.                  As for Parliament House and Parliament House Reception Office canteens, the existing practice will remain in vogue. ____________
V.K. AGNIHOTRI Secretary-General

CAG NAILS RAW PURCHASE SCAM

10 June 2011

CAG NAILS RAW'S TECHNICAL ARM 

ON UAV PURCHASE SCAM

By R Rajagopalan

NEW DELHI: In the first ever audit of any intelligence agency in India, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has unearthed a Rs 450-crore purchase scam of Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) lying as junk with the Hyderabad-based National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), a technical arm of the external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

Efforts were mounted to prevent the probe the CAG sought on the basis of a complaint from a whistle blower, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh allowed the inquiry overruling all objections as he felt such a serious charge on an agency providing technical intelligence capabilities to the country with huge budget to fight the cyber piracy is too serious to be overlooked.

The CAG submitted the report to the government in February second week marking it as "top secret" since its release in public domain can blow off the secrecy of the operations of NTRO created in 2004, primarily for strategic monitoring of satellite, terrestrial and Internet communications.

The government decided to keep the report in the wraps and did not table it in Parliament, accepting the CAG's "top secret" label, but the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has now ordered an internal inquiry into the 2007 purchase.

The budget and expenditures incurred by the intelligence agencies are treated sacrosanct as they are not allowed scrutiny by CAG or even Parliament, but such a scandal has made the Prime Minister think of making them accountable, the PMO sources said. The next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) may take a view on all intelligence agencies subjected to the CAG scrutiny.

The CCS had sanctioned Rs 300 crores in 2007 for purchase of UAVs from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The NTRO, however, purchased additional satellite link and electronic intelligence equipment worth Rs 150 crores from the company without keeping the CCS in the loop.

Then NTRO chief tweaked the rules that empower him to spend up to Rs 20 crores without clearance from the CCS by paying the additional Rs 150 crores in several smaller instalments to show he is not overstepping his financial powers.

Then National Security Adviser (NSA) M K Narayanan, who is now West Bengal governor, had tried to scuttle the inquiry the CAG wanted to carry out in December 2009 on the complaint by a whistle blower, pointing out that the intelligence agencies are kept out of scrutiny to maintain secrecy. The NTRO reports directly to the NSA and the RAW chief and hence Narayanan's refusal of permission meant a dead end.

The CAG, however, felt the whistle blower's tip-off was too serious to be ignored and hence it approached the Prime Minister who overruled Narayanan's objections and allowed the CAG sleuths get cracking in January last year.

NTRO chairman KVSS Prasada Rao, a scientist who retired last October, and its current adviser M S Vijayaraghavan, have been indicted in the CAG report. Dr Prasada Rao had also served the Space Department and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) earlier.

As part of the inquiry ordered by the PMO, some major generals, who were on deputation to NTRO, as also some senior finance officials involved in the deal are being questioned. Once this internal inquiry is over, the government may hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a case and proceed against the suspects, sources said.

The CAG has noted that the UAV machines are lying grounded as the satellite link purchased was not at all meant for dedicated transmission and the military personnel in NTRO put brakes on putting them in the sky as anybody could have downloaded the sensitive data sent from these UAVs.

The NTRO top brass not including the satellite link and electronic intelligence equipment in the proposal put before the CCS is itself intriguing as the UAVs bought at the high cost without them could be nothing more than the electronic-controlled aircraft children play.

The CAG has faulted the NTRO officials engaged in the dubious purchase for taking the Israeli vendor on his word that the "satellite link was successfully tested in Australia."

###

upa2 in grip of putting off syndrome

8 June 2011

EXCLUSIVE

PUTTING OFF SYNDROME

GRIPS UPA AND PMO

GOVERNORS CONFERENCE PUT OFF
CABINET RESHUFFLE PUT OFF

PARLIAMENT SESSION PUT OFF 

NEW CVC SELECTION PUT OFF

By R Rajagopalan

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has put off the Cabinet reshuffle as he is currently pre-occupied with handling the anti-corruption and black money campaigns,

Due to the Enforcement directorate enquiring Puducherry Governor Iqbal Singh PMO quietly put off the Governors Conference from June to August third week.

Convening of Parliament was slated for July 11, but PMO decided to put it off to July 18, for reasons known. The Lokpal bill drafting and negotiations with the

political parties. PMO sought to organise a meeting of selection committee of CVC in place of P J Thomas- but put off due to screening of candidates by a 

high power committee. Political reason for PMO on cabinet reshuffle is also the Dayanidhi Maran episodes  creating uncertanities about DMK continuance in UPA2.

Insiders in the Union Cabinet Secretariat quietly confess, that several times Union Cabinet Meetings were rescheduled or put off at the last moment, for the reason

that many of the Cabinet Ministers do not turn up. 

PMO sources  admitted that the agitation of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev is attracting too much attention of the Prime Minister as he is personally crafting every step less his government is accused of not being responsive to the issues focused by the civil society, the sources said.

Dr Manmohan Singh has been repeatedly stating to carry out a major reshuffle in June and he had even tentatively fixed June 13 for the exercise. He has, however, now removed it from his priorities and he will re-visit the reshuffle issue in July after viewing the situation then, the sources said.

One urgency to carry out the reshuffle was to fill the post of the Railways Minister since after Mamata Bannerjee shifted to Kolkata as the West Bengal Chief Minister.

Sensing that he can not go for the reshuffle early, Dr Manmohan Singh has started taking interest in the Railways Ministry as he has kept the portfolio with himself after Mamata's exit and held a 3-hour long meeting with the Railway Board last week to clear the pending proposals that had piled up, the sources added.

###

HEARD SO
POLITICAL GRAPEVINE SNIPPETS

--------------------------

Dayanidhi Maran and three other Union Ministers of DMK

were on a flight from Chennai to Delhi recently. As the aircraft

took off, hostess in public address system announced the time

of travel and security precautions. She also said that the cabin 

crew in charge was Ms Jayalalitha. On hearing this DMK Ministers

tapped their fore head, commented even in the mid air the scare

is of the name of Jayalalitha. From Chief Minister to Airhostess

another DMK Minister Jagathrakshagan who was seated

next to Maran turned back to check whether any ADMK MP

was travelling. But much interesting was when Green Minister

Jairam Ramesh heard this conversation had a boisterous laughter.

-----------------------------

Speaker Meira Kumar has convened an all party

meeting on June 22, to take a fresh initiative to 

evolve a consensus on Womens Reservation Bill

In a letter to all the Political parties represented in Lok Sabha

she stated that the ensuing Monsoon session should take

up the Wormens reservation bill as passed in Rajya Sabha

on March 8 2010. 

Speaker Meira Kumar gave to Lok Sabha on

the International Womens Day.that she will try to

bring a consensus before Monsoon session .

-------------------------------

PAC report submitted by Dr Murli Manohar Joshi 

is all set to be rejected by the Speaker as it does

not been prepared with the laid norms of the

PAC rules. Three meetings were held

between Speaker and the LS Secretariat

Legal experts are being consulted on the wordings

of the rejection statement by Speaker which will

be made on the first day of the Monsoon session.

-----------------------------

Private banks have begun to give "Gift credit cards"

to top bureaucrats as courtesy. The denominations

are ranging between fifty thousands to one lakh.

A new disease is now set in the corridors of power

to get such plastic credit cards, which does not have

a name but just a numerical numbers. This new

practise of swiping the card only at vendors shops

and not at ATMs. This has become a new scam

as many top bureaucrats have now  indulging it.

--------------------------

Monsoon session of Parliament which was slated

for July 11, has now been shifted to July 18.

The cabinet committee on Parliamentary Affairs

is meeting next week to finalise the date

also to bring in Govt bills. Delay is caused

due to Baba Ramdev threat on Lokpal.

Insiders say that whenever the Lokpal bill is

introduced, the Lok Sabha were got dissolved.

Lokpal bill is jinxed, hence Govt wants to delay

further of monsoon session

---------------

ends

radiation norms- sachin pilot intervenes

4^th June, 2011

Expert Group Recommends Much Stricter Radiation Norms for Mobile Handsets and Towers- SACHIN PILOT

Shri Sachin Pilot, the Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, said today that “while telecom is a huge success story in India, we have to ensure that any possible health related effects of radiation emitted by mobile phones and towers are reflected in the guidelines. The final guidelines would take into account the best global benchmarks and scientific evidence on the subject”.

The Government has been sensitive to the issue of possible health-related effects of radiation emissions from mobile towers and phones. In July and August, 2010, Shri Sachin Pilot, conducted consultations on the subject with multiple stakeholders both in the Government and the private sector.  As a follow-up, the Department of Telecommunications set-up an Inter Ministerial Group in August 2010 to evaluate the evidence, revisit radiation guidelines for mobile towers and adopt guidelines for radiation emission by cell phones. This group had experts from Department of Telecom, Ministry of Health, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Environment & Forests and Indian Council of Medical Research.

The Inter Ministerial Group has submitted its report, after placing it on the internet for public comments and suggestions. Salient recommendations of the expert group are;

Mobile Handsets:

·         The Group has proposed revising the limit of 2 watts per kilogram averaged over 10 grams tissue to 1.6 watts per kilogram averaged over 1 gram tissue.

·         Mandatory declaration of radiation level on each mobile handset.

Mobile Towers:

·         Radiation norms which are ten times as strict as the existing ones- from f/200 watts per square meter to f/2000 watts per square meter, have been recommended.

·         Earlier, necessary amendments were carried out in the Access Service Licenses in 2008 mandating self-certification radiation levels of towers to ensure compliance with WHO-endorsed guidelines of International Commission for Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) adopted by India Each instance of non-compliance carries a penalty of Rs.5 lakhs.

·         Till 31^st March, 2011, 5,88,645 out of 6,05,859 base stations had been self-certified. The report is under consideration of Department of Telecom.