“Prof. Deepak Pental has broken his own previous record of shamelessness. Never before in the history of Delhi University has a person clung to the office of Vice-Chancellor after the expiry of five-year term without any grant of extension by the Visitor. The shameful self-appointment has ceased to shock because he continues to violate the law of the land in delaying and derailing investigation into and action against the criminal sale of radioactive material as scrap”, alleged DUTA in a press conference today.

The teachers’ body also blamed the ministry of Human Resource Development for the situation. “The HRD Minister Kapil Sibal used to visit foreign universities but he does not give a look to Indian universities like Delhi University, where irregularities, violation of statutes and ordinances have become daily norms. The HRD minister has become a mute spectator in the whole episode”, DUTA President Aditya Narayan Mishra said. He said that teachers will hold a Dharna on September 13th and march to MHRD if the Prof. Pental continue with VC office ‘illegally’.

A gold medallist will now get Rs.20 lakh while silver medallists will be awarded Rs.10 lakh. The bronze medal winners will take home Rs.6 lakh.

Sports minister M.S. Gill made this announcement at the Conference of State Ministers for Youth Affairs and Sports held here Tuesday.

Gill appreciated the efforts made by states in the implementation of Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA).

The State Sports Ministers unanimously resolved that there was an urgent need for enacting a National Sports Act for promoting good governance practices in the National Sports Federations (NSF), including professional management, financial accountability and good electoral practices.

They also recommended the setting up of a National Sports Dispute Redressal Tribunal to ensure speedy resolution of sports disputes, including player’s grievances. It was noted that a large number of countries have sports legislation in place to regulate the activities of sports federations and facilitate proper sports development.

The Minister appreciated the innovative work done by the Madhya Pradesh government in setting up several professionally managed sports academies for which they have been awarded Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar for 2010.

He announced that from now onwards one award will be earmarked for the best performing state in sports development.

Gill also said that efforts are on to add over one lakh rural youth clubs to the present number of three lakh.

ians

Amit Dasgupta, consul-general of India in Sydney, said it was in acknowledgement of the work being done by the university in providing a safe environment for Indian students.

Dasgupta said education and globalisation are both key in spreading messages against violence.

“Gandhi was born in India, but he belongs to each and every one of you,” Dasgupta said.

Dasgupta, Vice-Chancellor Fred Hilmer and New South Wales Treasurer Eric Roozendaal unveiled the sculpture at a ceremony attended by people from the Indian and other communities.

IANS

The services of these teachers will be regularised with effect from April 1, 2011, a state government spokesman said.

IANS

“At a ceremony held today at Rashtrapati Bhavan, P.J. Thomas was sworn in as the CVC,” said a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement here.

Thomas succeeded Pratyush Sinha, a 1969 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, who demitted office Monday after a four-year tenure as the CVC.

IANS

The Aug 21 election had produced Australia’s first hung parliament in 70 years.

Independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor announced their decisions to back Julia Gillard as prime minister, while Bob Katter said he was backing the Coalition, but indicated that his decision would have been different had Kevin Rudd still been the Labor leader.

All the three independent MPs met Gillard and Abbott Tuesday morning before they announced their decision.

Gillard later said her government will be held to higher standards of accountability as a result of the deal struck with the independents.

She thanked all the independents, including Bob Katter who decided to back the opposition Coalition, for the “tone and tenor” of their negotiations.

“So let’s draw back the curtains and let the sun shine in, let our parliament be more open than it was before,” Gillard was quoted as saying by The Age.

She also thanked Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for the “common courtesy” of telephoning her after Windsor and Oakeshott made clear they would back Labor.

“Ours will be a government with just one purpose, and that’s to serve the Australian people,” she said.

“We will be held to higher standards of transparency and reform and it’s in that spirit I approach the task of forming a government.”

She said she would be in a position early next week to swear in a new ministry.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd would be offered a portfolio but she declined to say what it would be. “I gave Kevin Rudd a commitment that he would be a senior member of my ministerial team, a cabinet minister, as he will be.”

As part of the agreement with the independents, Gillard promised to give regional Australia “its fair share”.

“The next round of health and hospitals funding will be focused and dedicated to regional Australia,” she said.

The government will ensure its national broadband network will have “uniform wholesale prices across the country”, while regional Australia would also be given priority as the network rolls out.

Labor would govern in the best interests of the Australian people, Gillard said.

“I know that if we fail in this solemn responsibility, we will be judged harshly when we next face the Australian people at the next election.”

(Agency)

Many at the Panjabrao Deshmukh Agricultural University did that, some perhaps for the first time.

The university authorities then offered to take responsibility for the conduct of the students. Thus, a few with ‘chappals’ were permitted inside the venue.

Gandhi, who flew in from New Delhi, interacted with around 500 students, mostly post-graduates, on several issues.

He touched upon – at times seeking students’ views – politics, education, agriculture and corruption, a Congress office-bearer said. “The mood was casual and the students were very enthusiastic.” The meeting lasted nearly 75 minutes.

IANS

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had Sunday unveiled a new format for the next season with 10 teams split into two groups and the cap on team spending increased to $9 million. The teams will be allowed to retain four players in their squads from the last event – a maximum of three Indians and two foreigners.

“New IPL rules a bit confusing. Two new teams added (good). All players should go into pool to make it fair for everyone. Simple and straight,” Khan tweeted Tuesday.

The fourth season of the IPL will have 10 teams after the addition of two new teams. There will be 74 matches in total, compared to 60 earlier this year.

The format needed to be changed after the inclusion of two new franchises – Pune Warriors and Kochi.

IANS

The tree, symbolising the best of Indian tradition, has been in the making for the past three months with almost 500 artisans and 300 weavers employed. The green prop is sure to grab eyeballs during the opening gala Oct 3.

The tree is the brain child of designer Madhu Jain who collaborated with model-turned-actor Milind Soman, also a state level athlete, eight years back to form Project M – a foundation that works towards promoting art.

The Games organising committee (OC) invited the two to make something unique for the opening ceremony which would highlight weavers of India and promote India’s rich heritage.

“We have done a lot of research on this project. The tree will have the best from Indian tradition,” Jain said.

“The focal point here is that India has a 2,000-year-old rich tradition and we will be showcasing this to the world. We will never get a platform like this to reinforce brand India to the world,” said Jain.

With a lot of criticism surrounding preparations for the upcoming CWG, Jain says: “Unfortunately, people and the media are only pointing at the things that are not done. There are so many things that are running on schedule, but no one is paying heed to it.

“So many people are rehearsing and performing – there is a lot of hard work which is going behind making CWG a success. One should look at those things and appreciate and write about it as well,” said Jain.

“We, as Indians, have to put our best foot forward as it (Games) is the country’s prestige issue,” she added.

IANS

A study has found that examination results of those who used the social website while working, even if it was on in the background, were 20 percent lower than non-users.

Researchers now say the study weakens the theory that young people’s brains are better at multi-tasking, according to the Daily Mail.

Paul Kirschner, one of the authors of the study, said: “The problem is that most people have Facebook or other social networking sites, emails and maybe instant messaging constantly running in the background while they are carrying out other tasks.”

“Our study, and other previous work, suggests that while people may think constant task-switching allows them to get more done in less time, the reality is that it extends the amount of time needed to carry out tasks and leads to more mistakes.”

The research team studied 219 students aged between 19 and 54 at an American university.

Facebook users among them had a typical grade point average (GPA), a score from zero up to four, with an average of 3.06. Non-users had an average GPA of 3.82.

Those who did not use the site said they devoted more time to studying.

Three quarters of Facebook users said they didn’t believe spending time on the website affected their academic performance.

IANS