Daily News Notes (AIR)

· Dr. Singh stressed the need to focus on implementation and governance to improve effectiveness of government programmes. The Prime Minister said that 1, 87,000 crore rupees are being spent on major flagship programmes for inclusive growth. Dr. Manmohan Singh said that the Approach paper for the 12th plan rightly notes that using a combination of private-public partnership in the current plan is necessary to achieve the desired results. Dr. Singh said a new Land Acquisition Legislation is necessary which strikes a balance between the need for fair compensation to those whose land is acquired and at the same time Land Acquisition should not become an impediment in meeting the needs for infrastructural development, industrial expansion and urbanisation. After the nod by the Planning Commission, the document will be placed before the Union Cabinet for consideration before being taken up for discussion and final approval by the country's highest policy-making body, the National Development Council.
· Meanwhile, Anna Hazare continues his fast on fifth day today to press for his demand for a strong Lokpal.
· Five terrorists and an Army officer were killed and two jawans injured as troops foiled a major infiltration bid near the Line of Control in Gurez sector of the Kashmir Valley today. . It was one of the biggest infiltration bids by the terrorists from PoK this year.
· In Chhattisgarh, at least 11 policemen and the driver of the vehicle in which they were traveling, have been killed in a Naxal attack. none of the bodies of the Naxalite killed has been recovered so far.
· Stealth frigate, INS Satpura was commissioned today by the Chief of Naval staff Admiral Nirmal Verma. that the indigenous warship has been designed by the navy and built by Mazgaon Dock Limited. Satpura can achieve a speed over 30 knots per hour and is equipped with state of the art weaponry.
· The nation is fondly remembering former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 67th birth anniversary today. The day is also being observed as Sadbhavna Diwas. Rajiv Gandhi was a visionary who strived for a nuclear free world and took initiative for nuclear disarmament. Rajiv Gandhi as a Prime Minister had made a representation at the United Nations in 1985 urging nuclear disarmament.
· Mrs Mira Kagti of Assam, Dr. S.A. Thasleem Sulthana of Andhara Pradesh and Dr.Mallika Nadda of Himachal Pradesh have been awarded the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award for the year 2010. The award is given every year to three individuals who make outstanding contribution in the field of Child Protection, Child Development or Child Welfare.
· In a historic move today, New Delhi and Dhaka today began the process of signing of boundary strip maps for the India-Bangladesh land boundary. . Both the High Commissioners began the process of signing a total of 1,129 strip maps pertaining to the demarcated area of the India-Bangladesh boundary as stipulated in the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement.