Thirteenth Finance Commission Chairman Vijay
Laxman Kelkar has been appointed as Chairperson of the Finance Ministry’s think
tank National Institute of Public Finance & Policy (NIPFP). He replaces the
former Reserve Bank Governor C. Rangarajan.
Mauritius, often accused of being a route for
round-tripping of funds by Indians, on Monday conveyed to India that it was
ready to support its Special Investigation Team (SIT) to unearth black money.
Ashok Kumar, a 1982 batch IPS officer, is the new
Director-General of Police and head of the police force. He succeeds K.
Ramanujam, who was heading the Tamil Nadu police since May 2011.
The Justice (retired) Mukul Mudgal Committee, probing the
betting and spot-fixing scandals in the Indian Premier League, submitted its
final investigation report on the alleged role of former Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI) president N. Srinivasan and 12 others in a sealed cover
to the Supreme Court on Monday. Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who
represents the committee, told the Bench led by Justice T.S. Thakur, that the
report was ready and sought the court’s permission to file it.
The Bangladesh Supreme Court on Monday upheld the death penalty
to Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mohammad Kamaruzzaman for war crimes that include
mass murder and rape in 1971. The verdict comes a day after Mir Quasem Ali, who
was chief of the Chittagong unit of Al Badr — the pro-Pakistan militia during
the country war of independence — was found guilty of murder, torture and
abductions. Motiur Rahman Nizami, the supreme commander of Al Badr and now
Jamaat-e-Islami chief, was handed the capital punishment last week for his role
in execution of intellectuals, mass killing, rape and loot during the nine
months of bloodshed 43 years ago.
Thirteen years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the resurrected
World Trade Center is again opening for business marking an emotional milestone
for both New Yorkers and the United States as a whole. Publishing giant Conde
Nast will start moving Monday into One World Trade Center, a 104-story,
$3.9-billion skyscraper that dominates the Manhattan skyline. It is America’s
tallest building. It’s the centrepiece of the 16-acre site where the decimated
twin towers once stood and where more than 2,700 people died on Sept. 11, 2001.
China has developed a highly accurate homemade
laser defence weapon system capable of shooting down small-scale drones flying
at low attitude. Characterised by its speed, precision and low noise, the
system is designed to destroy unmanned, small-scale drones flying within an
altitude of 500 metres and at a speed below 50m/s, state-run Xinhua news agency
reported.
When the Mudgal panel was given more time to enable it to file
final report, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for BCCI president Mr.
Srinivasan, who is currently the International Cricket Council Chairman,
objected to the extension, arguing that it affected the valuable rights of his
client and the BCCI. The same hearing had seen the court refuse Mr. Srinivasan
permission to participate in a Board meeting scheduled for September 30.
However, the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was postponed to November 20.
The Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) challenged the postponement in court,
saying it was done against the BCCI’s own constitution. The CAB had alleged
that the AGM was postponed to facilitate Mr. Srinivasan’s return. But the
Supreme Court advised the CAB to wait for the probe committee report.
Lewis Hamilton took a big step towards a second Formula One
world championship on Sunday with his 10th win of the season in a US Grand Prix
that saw Mercedes equal the record for one-two finishes. The Briton stretched
his lead over teammate Nico Rosberg to 24 points with two races and a maximum
of 75 points remaining, a gap that guarantees the title chase will go down to
the final round in Abu Dhabi whatever happens in Brazil.
Last year’s winner Air India will meet State Bank of Hyderabad
(SBH) in the Cup Division final of the RCF-all India PSU Twenty20 cricket
tournament on Tuesday. Sushant Marathe, Prashant Naik and Salman Ahmed helped
Air India chase 160 set by Food Corporation of India (FCI). Anoop Rai, Alfred
Absolom and Ahmed Quadri starred in State Bank of Hyderabad’s 19-run victory
over State Bank of Travancore. The plate final will be played between RCF and
HPCL.
Karnataka’s K.L. Rahul is the front-runner for the much-debated
spot of the third opener in the Indian squad for the four-Test series in
Australia, beginning at Brisbane on December 4. The team will be picked in
Mumbai on Tuesday. With the left-handed Shikhar Dhawan expected to be given
another opportunity to partner the impressive Murali Vijay, the reserve
opener’s spot is up for grabs. The 22-year-old Rahul, who impressed with his
technique and fluent shot-making while notching up a century in each innings of
the recent Duleep Trophy final, has a lot going for him. He appears comfortable
off his back-foot – an essential ingredient on the bouncy tracks down under –
and has time to play his strokes.
Former National champion Mohit Mayur defeated
Chih-Jen Ho of Chinese Taipei 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of the Gondwana Cup
$10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament at the VP Club courts here on
Monday.
