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- HDFC Standard Life COO Resigns from his Post
- IRDA sets example by penalizing HDFC Standard Life Insurance
- Telecom Companies move to Supreme Court against TDSAT verdict
- Supreme Court bans Tourism in Jarawa tribal reserve
- Pranab Mukherjee in trouble over his allegedly Forged Resignation Letter
- Abu Jundal discharging his religious Duty during 2008 Mumbai attacks
- Nupur Talwar knocks Supreme Court for Getting Bail in Aarushi Murder Case
- Air India Pilots Strike to end on Thursday Afternoon
- Vice Presidential Elections to be organised on August 7
- You should Fart to get rid of High Blood Pressure
| HDFC Standard Life COO Resigns from his Post Posted: 03 Jul 2012 04:30 PM PDT COO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Paresh Parasnis has resigned from his post . When Queried about his resignation, Parasnis without confirming or denying the news told IANS: “I do not want to comment now on that.” However, company officials told IANS that Parasnis’s resignation has nothing to do with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s (IRDA) Thursday order penalising the life insurer a whopping sum of Rs.1.47 crore. The penalty is for rejecting 21 death claims in violation of the directions of the insurance regulator and also for excess payments made to distributors, including four group companies HDFC, HDFC Bank, HDFC Securities and HDB Financial Service, for services like selling policies, marketing expenses and others. Though the IRDA has been penalising insurers in the recent times for various violations, one official has put it as “IRDA’s penalty mela”, saying the order on HDFC is unique. For the first time, IRDA has explicitly ordered a company to debit the shareholders’ account and not the policy holders’ account so that the cost of regulatory non-compliance is not loaded on the policy holders. The IRDA has also reprimanded HDFC Standard Life for various other violations in its order issued last week. HDFC Standard Life is a joint venture between India’s HDFC Ltd and the UK’s Standard Life.  |
| IRDA sets example by penalizing HDFC Standard Life Insurance Posted: 03 Jul 2012 03:30 PM PDT IRDA has set an example by setting a penalty on HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company for rejecting 21 death claims under its home loan protection policy under the 90-day exclusion condition. Last week a Rs.1.47 ($333,000) crore penalty imposed by IRDA on HDFC Standard Life Insurance. The IRDA had specifically asked the company to delete the clause while approving the product in 2003, but the company sold its policies with that clause till April 2011. For the first time IRDA has explicitly ordered a company to debit the shareholders’ account and not the policy holders’ account so that the cost of regulatory non-compliance is not loaded on the policy holders. HDFC Standard Life is a joint venture between India’s HDFC Ltd. and Britain’s Standard Life. The balance fine (Rs.42,00,000) is towards payment of excessive remuneration to its distributors including four group companies – HDFC Ltd., HDFC Bank, HDFC Securities and HDB Financial Services- in contravention of the regulations and for other violations. “Perhaps the next action could be that if one goes by the trend. Initially, the IRDA levied just a fine. It then started multiplying the fine amount with the number of violations. Now it has asked HDFC Standard Life to debit the penalty levied to its shareholders’ account,” D. Varadarajan, a Supreme Court lawyer who specialises in company and insurance laws, told IANS. Though IRDA has the power to cancel the licence of an insurer for violating its regulations, this is too extreme a step and will have a wide-ranging impact, he added. The appointment of the CEO and an actuary of an insurance company needs IRDA’s approval, officials said. “It is a wake up call for the share holders and independent directors of all life insurers to sit up and look at the happenings in their companies. The boards of all insurance companies should start asking more probing questions of the managements on operations,” the head honcho of a private life insurer, preferring anonymity, told IANS. “The penalty is harsh. A fine of Rs.500,000 each for 21 claims is very steep,” S.L. Mathur, secretary general, Life Insurance Council, a self-regulating body of life insurers told IANS. “Violation of ‘file and use’ directions is a serious issue. Further rejecting death claims under a clause that the regulator had asked to be removed is nothing but atrocious,” a senior industry official told IANS, preferring anonymity. “We have gone through our entire database. Only 21 claims had been rejected. The IRDA inspection was done in 2010 and we have progressed further from there,” HDFC Standard Life executive director and chief operating officer Paresh Parasnis told IANS over the phone. “The IRDA order may not stand legal scrutiny. As per the charge, the violation is only that of file and use of norms relating to the home loan product. It is only one violation. Levying penalty is not a simple formula of multiplying the number of rejected claims with the maximum penalty permissible under the law,” Varadarajan said. However, some senior industry officials are of the view that IRDA was lenient on HDFC Standard Life as it considered 21 instances of violations (number of rejected claims) instead of the number of policies sold with the 90 days exclusion condition. Though IRDA has ordered HDFC Standard Life to settle the rejected claims within 30 days, the claimants can still approach the consumer courts and claim punitive damages for deficiency in service, said Varadarajan.  |
| Telecom Companies move to Supreme Court against TDSAT verdict Posted: 03 Jul 2012 02:30 PM PDT Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has delivered a split verdict in the 3G roaming case in which mobile operators had challenged a government order asking them to stop offering services beyond their licensed zones through mutual roaming pacts. The two members of the bench, comprising chairman Justice (retd) S.B. Sinha and member P.K. Rastogi, had different views on the order, with one favouring the department of telecom that held the roaming pacts illegal while the other supporting the operators who had challenged it. The TDSAT is short of one judge as the technical member has retired. Following the ruling, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is all set to issue fresh notices to the operators. As the tribunal said both sides can appeal to a higher court, the operators are likely to move the Supreme Court. “We will most certainly look up at options including moving the Supreme Court once we receive a communication from the DoT,” Rajan Mathews, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), told IANS. Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular had entered into roaming agreements to offer 3G services such as video calling, mobile TV and multi-media gaming in areas where they did not have 3G spectrum. The DoT had last December asked the operators to terminate their 3G roaming agreements calling those illegal. The department also said the government was losing revenue because of the agreements. The operators had then moved the tribunal challenging the DoT order, saying it would harm customers and investment in the sector. Tuesday’s judgement, however, would not affect the services being offered by these operators at the moment. Following the orders, shares of Bharti Airtel shot up 3.21 percent at Rs.319.80 while that of Idea Cellular by 4.57 percent at Rs.81.25.  |
| Supreme Court bans Tourism in Jarawa tribal reserve Posted: 03 Jul 2012 01:30 PM PDT Supreme Court has barred any commercial and tourism activity either by the government or private operators within a five km radius of the Jarawa tribal reserve in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. An apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya in their order Monday said that any breach of this restriction would amount to contempt of court. The court said this while referring to the notification issued by the Lt. Governor Andaman and Nicobar Islands which declared as a “buffer zone” an area of five km radius around the reserve. Earlier, tour companies were running safaris through Jarawa jungle every day and wealthy tourists paid police to make the women – usually naked – dance for their amusement. This footage, filmed by a tourist, shows Jarawa women being told to dance by an off-camera police office. A cellphone clip more than 3 minutes long obtained by a British newspaper shows half-naked girls dancing for a man who appears to be an Indian police officer. A second clip shows men in military uniform milling around the girls. A video of Jarawa women being ordered to dance for tourists in return for food came to light last month, causing outrage the world over. Police have repeatedly denied accusations.
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| Pranab Mukherjee in trouble over his allegedly Forged Resignation Letter Posted: 03 Jul 2012 01:03 PM PDT
Opposition BJP has raised objection on this episode by releasing both Mukherjee’s reply to their objections submitted to the returning officer and his resignation letter sent to ISI president to buttress the point that the signatures in the two documents were visibly not identical. Click here to view the Resignation Letter of Pranab Mukherjee to ISI. Click here to view other Signature Samples of Pranab Mukherjee BJP leader Ananth Kumar said: “(ISI president) M.G.K. Menon has to clarify to the country whether it is his (Mukherjee’s) signature on the (resignation) letter. If it is not, what is the mystery about it? The onus is on Menon.” “The resignation (as ISI chairman) filed by Mukherjee is fabricated; and it is unfortunate that people contesting for such high office are indulging in such kind of activities,” he added. Sangma’s lawyer and BJP leader Satpal Jain, who had argued the petition against Mukherjee before the returning officer, said: “It is ironical that our objection to his candidature was rejected and his nomination was accepted. This (decision) is illegal.“ Jain noted that Mukherjee, having been elected as ISI chairman by the institution’s council, has effectively quit office only after the council accepts his resignation letter. “Our battle has just begun,” Jain said, when asked for a future course of action. Mukherjee, who was away in Lucknow campaigning, was not available to react to Sangma and his team’s allegations against him. The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) has described as “untrue” the BJP’s allegation that UPApresidential candidate PranabMukherjee’s letter quitting as its chairperson was “fabricated”. “This is untrue. The letter is still in my custody. I know his signature. It cannot be forged,” the Kolkata-based institute’s director Bimal Roy told IANS. Roy said Mukherjee had June 20 sent his resignation from the chairman’s post to President Pratibha Patil. “I received it on June 22. I even had a talk with Mukherjee on the issue before he filed his resignation,” Roy said. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who along with Home Minister P. Chidambaram argued Mukerjee’s case before the returning officer, said: “The objections raised by Sangma were taken up by the returning officer and we filed our reply attached with the resignation by Mukherjee and its acceptance by the ISI. These were considered and the objections turned down,” he said. He said the UPA candidate had prepared himself to contest the presidential poll after his name was cleared and hence the resignation was given on June 20 to the ISI president. “The resignation was accepted the same day by the president. The council, which meets only in four months, can ratify the resignation at its next meeting. The institution’s consititution does not talk about the means of resignation. Hence, the ISI president can accept the resignation,” he argued. The controversy, however, resulted in the extension of last day of scrutiny by a day to Tuesday, which is permitted under the law. Sangma’s lawyer Satpal Jain accused Mukherjee of remaining “silent” on when he submitted the resignation letter. “Pranab has not mentioned when he gave it (resignation letter). He is silent on it,” Jain said. He said that that Mukherjee was elected by the ISI’s council and not by the president of the of ISI so his resignation should have been ideally accepted by the council. Citing the Constitutional article, Jain said: “Holding the office of profit and contesting the presidential election is not valid and amounts to disqualification of candidature. According to constitution, the exception is for contesting the parliamentary election.” “It is ironical that our objection to his candidature was rejected and his nomination was accepted . This is illegal,” he added. ( With Inputs from Agencies)
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| Abu Jundal discharging his religious Duty during 2008 Mumbai attacks Posted: 03 Jul 2012 12:30 PM PDT
The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist from Beed in Maharashtra has confessed to being amongst those directing the 10 Pakistani terrorists who docked in Mumbai on the night of Nov 26, 2008 and unleashed mayhem till Nov 28, sources in the investigation team said. Jundal, who was arrested at the airport here on June 21 after his deportation from Saudi Arabia, is being interrogated by several investigating teams, including the Intelligence Bureau, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad team and a special Delhi Police team. He has shown no regret for the Nov 26-28, 2008, attacks, in which 166 people, including several foreigners, were killed and 238 injured. “Jundal has no regret for the deaths of 166 people in the 26/11 attack. He explained the deaths, saying that in the way of god people have to sacrifice not only their life but also leave their homes, relatives and family too,” an officer in the interrogation team told IANS. Jundal, who loves to expound on Islam and offers namaz five times a day during which he rubs his forehead against the floor as a true devout, told interrogators that the 2008 Mumbai carnage was “a part of his devotion for his religious duty called jihad”. He told interrogators that the word jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression “striving in the way of god (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)”. Asked why he had chosen India for jihad, Jundal is believed to have told interrogators, “It’s a religious war with those who are unbelievers in the mission of Muhammad…. especially for the purpose of advancing Islam and repelling evil from Muslims.” He has been forthcoming in his replies regarding the role played by the LeT in the attack, but “tends to mumble” when it comes to the role of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, say investigators. He has told them that he is only a member of LeT, and his bosses chose the specific targets for jihad. He also said there were other mujahideen – persons engaged in jihad – like him who were selected to execute plans. The planning for 26/11 was done sometime in 2003, Jundal has said. He had been tasked to recruit Indian Muslims for jihad and those hailing from non-Hindi speaking areas were taught to speak Hindi by him. During 2006, when investigators unearthed a major arms and explosives consignment in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Jundal, who was part of the team taking the deadly goods to Mumbai, managed to escape, said sleuths. Though police were on his trail, he managed to flee to Bangladesh. “He crossed into Bangladesh and then travelled onwards to Pakistan, all with the help of Pakistani intelligence operatives,” an investigator told IANS. “As he was well versed with Mumbai due to his native place being Beed in Maharashtra, Jundal was deputed to recruit and train the ten terrorists involved in 26/11 attack,” the official said. An unrepentant Jundal told investigators that if he gets another chance, he will repeat the terror attack as it would help him get a place in jannat (heaven) through jihad. Investigators are trying join the dots in the entire 26/11 conspiracy and execution by connecting Jundal’s activities – from his early days as part of the LeT camp in Nepal, and later when he attended camps in Muridke and Thakot in Pakistan – to his directing the Mumbai attack from the Karachi control room along with LeT chief Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi and some ISI officers.  |
| Nupur Talwar knocks Supreme Court for Getting Bail in Aarushi Murder Case Posted: 03 Jul 2012 11:35 AM PDT
Nupur Talwar has challenged the May 31 Allahabad High Court order rejecting her bail plea. The apex court while rejecting Nupur Talwar’s plea for reviewing its order asking her and her husband Rajesh Talwar to stand trial in the case, had June 7 asked her to apply afresh for bail. Aarushi, 14, was found murdered at her parents’ Noida residence May 16, 2008. The body of her domestic help Hemraj was found the next day on the terrace of the house. A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special ourt in Ghaziabad had framed charges against the dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the double murder case. A CBI court has charged the Talwars under sections 302/34 (murder with common intention) and 201 (destruction of evidence with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In addition to these, the court charged Rajesh Talwar under section 203 (giving false information in respect of an offence committed) of the IPC. The apex court Jan 6 rejected their plea challenging the CBI court order disallowing the closure report by the probe agency and also a plea for further trial Rajesh Talwar.  |
| Air India Pilots Strike to end on Thursday Afternoon Posted: 03 Jul 2012 09:53 AM PDT
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh responded positively to the development. “The high court direction on the strike has endorsed the views of the government that the pilots should call off the strike unconditionally and report back to duty. The government is committed to the welfare of the employees of Air India, including pilots,” said Singh. The strike, which caused Air India revenue loss of over Rs.615 crore and stranded thousands of passengers to East Asia and Middle East, is the second longest in the country’s aviation history. The aviators are demanding the reinstatement of their 101 sacked colleagues and recognition of their union – Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG). These issues will be considered by the chief labour commissioner (CLC), the pilots said. The pilots’ decision to end the strike came after the Air India management assured the court that it would “sympathetically” consider their grievances. “Serious effort has been made by this court to settle the dispute. Counsel for both the parties have assured this court that they will be extending full cooperation in this regard to their respective clients,” Justice Khetrapal said while disposing of the plea of the striking pilots. “The Air India management shall sympathetically consider the grievances of pilots, including the aspects of reinstatement of those pilots whose service has been terminated consequent to this strike,” the judge said. The striking pilots will have to give joining reports and terminated pilots will have to give “willingness to join duty” report to the Air India management and the court within 48 hours. The court also told the pilots and Air India management to appear before conciliating officer and CLC N.K. Prasad July 6 at 4.30 p.m. The court posted the matter for July 9 when the conciliating officer will submit a report. “All pilots belonging to the IPG will give an affidavit to the court stating their willingness to join back duties. The CLC will conduct a meeting between us and the Air India management to sort out our issues. We are confident that a resolution will be found soon,” Rohit Kapahi, committee member of the IPG, told IANS. After they call off their strike, the aviators would first have to get their fitness checked by a team of doctors and only after that they will they be allowed to go through a mandatory route flying check. In the route flying check, the pilots, who have not flown an aircraft over a period of 30 days, will operate a flight with a check (instructor) pilot who will oversee their performance. After the process, the pilots resuming duty will be assigned a flying schedule. The strike started May 8 when pilot members of the IPG went on a mass sick leave, protesting the move to provide Boeing 787 Dreamliner training to their colleagues and pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines. During the strike, the grounded fleet of Boeing 777s, unused manpower and absence from key routes hit the airlines’ chances of a financial turnaround. The strike also crippled Air India’s international operations. The striking pilots had started an indefinite hunger strike June 24 here. Five of the 11 fasting pilots were hospitalised.  |
| Vice Presidential Elections to be organised on August 7 Posted: 03 Jul 2012 09:45 AM PDT While, The War of Presidential Post has taken new shape, EC has just announced the date for Vice Presidential lections. The election for India’s next vice president will be held Aug 7. “VP election schedule has been announced. Poll, if required, will be on Aug 7. The counting, if required, will be on the same day,” an election commission official said. While the notification will be issued July 6, the last date of filing nominations is July 20, the poll panel said in a statement. The date for the scrutiny of nomination is July 21, while the last date for the withdrawals is July 23. Vice President Hamid Ansari is set to complete his tenure on Aug 10. Speculation was rife that he would be named for the post of president after Pratibha Patil completes her tenure in July. But the UPA named former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee as its nominee.  |
| You should Fart to get rid of High Blood Pressure Posted: 03 Jul 2012 05:30 AM PDT Though most of us may find it quite embarrassing in case we were caught breaking wind, a new study has in fact suggested flatulence could help patients with high blood pressure. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, US, have found that hydrogen sulphide in flatus – informally known as a fart – is also produced by an enzyme in blood vessels where it relaxes them and lowers blood pressure, The Sun reported. Hydrogen sulphide — a toxic gas generated by bacteria living in the human gut — has been shown to control blood pressure in mice. Those with higher levels of the gas had lower blood pressure than rodents with less. Researchers at a Chinese university in Nanjing are trying to work out whether this could be used to create a treatment for people suffering from high blood pressure. Yao Yuyu from the university’s Zhongda Hospital said: “Despite the treatment’s potential, using gas to treat high blood pressure has yet to be tested on humans. “The effective dosage could prove difficult to establish due to the difference in size between humans and mice.”  |
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