Technology saved lives during disasters: SHAR Director
M.Y.S. Prasad, Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (SDSC-SHAR), has stressed the importance of technological advancements in saving lives.
Referring to the furious cyclones that are currently sweeping the coastal districts recently, he said the advent of technology, coupled with disaster preparedness, had helped in saving many lives recently, compared to the Odisha super cyclone. Apart from the remote sensing and communication satellite technologies, he also patted the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) in ensuring minimal loss to human lives.
Speaking on ‘Role of satellite technology and Internet in natural disaster management’ at the foundation day of The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE Tirupati Centre) here on Tuesday, Dr. Prasad proudly mentioned ISRO’s ability to give a clear forecast ten days ahead of any cyclone, which he said, was placed much ahead of the Indian meteorological department.
“The recently-developed radar imaging satellite is a state-of-the-art facility, which has all-weather mapping facility. ISRO has also created a flood hazard zonation atlas,” he pointed out. However, he expressed displeasure that no concrete system or methodology could be devised so far to forecast earthquakes.
“Though USSR and China have attempted, there is not much breakthrough. India has developed a tsunami warning centre at INCOIS and became the third country in the world to join the USA and Japan”, he noted.
On the presence of Satcom network in 22 States, which are well connected to INCOIS, GIS, IMD and SAC, Dr. Prasad expected 408 nodes to be added in the coming years, thus linking district-level networks. This, he hoped, would make forecasts more precise and disaster management more effective.
Srivenkateswara University Vice-Chancellor W. Rajendra felicitated Dr. Prasad, along with SVU Engineering College Principal J.Karthikeyan and ECE head R.V.S. Satyanarayana.
Milk procurement prices hiked
MILK PROCUREMENT PRICE HIKED
The APDDCFL has increased the milk procurement price with effect from December 1.
APDDCFL MD and Vice-Chairman Mohammed Ali Rafath said the purchase price was increased by Rs.5 per kg fat for buffalo milk and Rs.2 to Rs.5 per kg total solids of cow milk over the existing purchase price.
Reserve Bank to recognise SRO
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Tuesday, decided to accord recognition to industry association of non-banking financial companies that are engaged in microfinance (NBFC-MFIs), to function as a Self Regulatory Organisation (SRO), which is having at least one-third of the NBFC-MFIs registered as its members, “at the time of recognition”. This would help industry associations “assuming greater responsibility in ensuring compliance by the Non-Banking Financial Companies that are engaged in micro-finance (NBFC-MFIs), to the regulations,” said RBI in a press release.
No tax on foreign banks converting to WoS
The Reserve Bank of India has clarified that conversion of existing foreign bank branches into wholly-owned subsidiaries in India will not attract capital gains tax or stamp duty.
“In this context, it may be indicated that Government of India has inserted, by the Finance Act, 2012, a new Chapter XII-BB titled ‘Special Provisions relating to Conversion of Indian Branch of a foreign bank into a subsidiary company’ in Income Tax Act, 1961, inter alia, exempting capital gains arising from such conversion from capital gains tax, with effect from April 1, 2013,’’ the RBI said in a release.
On the applicability of stamp duty in the case of conversion of existing branch of a foreign bank into a wholly-owned subsidiary, the RBI pointed out that “a new section ‘8E’ had been inserted in Indian Stamp Act, 1899 vide Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2012 notified in Gazette of India Notification dated January 18, 2013, exempting from stamp duty on any conversion of a branch of a foreign bank into wholly-owned subsidiary or transfer of shareholding of a bank to a holding company in terms of the scheme or guidelines of RBI.’’
This clarification comes in the wake of RBI receiving several queries from foreign banks on capital gains tax and incidence of stamp duty on conversion of existing foreign bank branches into wholly-owned subsidiaries.
The RBI issued the ‘Framework for setting up of wholly-owned subsidiaries by foreign banks in India’ on November 6.
The apex bank had said that foreign banks with complex structures and which did not provide adequate disclosures would have to operate in India only through wholly-owned subsidiaries (WoS) in order to regulate and avoid 2008-type crisis.
Listing
While allowing foreign banks to list their subsidiaries in the local stock exchanges, the RBI had prescribed that the minimum paid-up equity capital or net worth for a WoS would be Rs. 500 crore.
However, it gave the foreign banks operating in India before August 2010 the option to continue their operations in branch model.
There were 43 foreign banks in India with a network of 333 branches as of March 2013. At present, foreign banks have presence in India only through branches.
Israel’s Iran dilemma
The era of traumatised alienation is over. The United States and Iran have embarked on a new phase in their relationship. It is marked by bilateral negotiations, handshakes, smiles, side-by-side flags and significant compromise, including United States acquiescence to a “mutually defined enrichment program” for Iran in any long-term agreement and an Iranian commitment that “under no circumstances” will it “ever seek or develop any nuclear weapons.”
The six-month interim deal between major powers and Iran, renewable for a further six months pending a full accord (for a period to be defined), freezes Iran’s nuclear programme about where it is — at a technologically advanced point short of militarisation. But it fast-forwards American-Iranian relations and may thereby redraw the strategic map of the Middle East.
This explains Israel’s over-the-top “nyet,” its insistence that a deal heading off escalation makes the region more dangerous. Israel is the status-quo Middle Eastern power par excellence because the status quo cements its nuclear-armed domination. Any change is suspect, including popular Arab uprisings against despotism. As changes go, this U.S.-Iranian breakthrough is big, almost as big as an Israeli-Palestinian peace would be.
Just as the United States has had to adapt to a world where its power is unmatched but no longer determinant, Israel will have to do the same. With enlightened leadership, this adaptation could strengthen the Jewish state, securing the nation through integration in its region rather than domination of it. For now, Israel is some way from this mindset. Its overriding prism is military. It was important that President Obama set down a marker, as he has through this deal, one that may spur new strategic reflection in Israel. (An Israel already alarmed by isolation is not about to embark on a Samson-like military strike against Iran.)
Let us be clear. This is the best deal that could be had. Nothing, not even sustained Israeli bombardment, can reverse the nuclear know-how Iran possesses. The objective must be to ring-fence the acquired capability so its use can only be peaceful.
This aim has been advanced through holding Iran’s low-grade uranium at current levels, eliminating or diluting 20-per cent enriched uranium, stopping installation of new centrifuges, halting construction at the Arak heavy-water reactor and intensifying international inspection. In return, Iran gets sanctions relief worth about $6 billion to $7 billion. It gets to inch back toward the world, which is where the vast majority of its young population wants it to be and where the West has an interest in seeing it, because contact fosters moderation and isolation spurs extremism. As Mr. Obama said, “Ultimately, only diplomacy can bring about a durable solution to the challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear program.”
The strategic divergence between the United States and Israel is not merely tactical. The admirable John Kerry, whose commitment to this diplomatic endeavour has been exemplary, was not altogether frank on this point.
The United States has acknowledged that any lasting accord must concede a limited enrichment programme to Iran. The agreement speaks, under an eventual long-term agreement, of an Iranian nuclear programme that “will be treated in the same manner as that of any non-nuclear weapon state party to the NPT” — so putatively placing Iran in the same category as Japan or Germany, other signatories of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty with enrichment programmes. Israel, to the contrary, wants zero Iranian enrichment and Libyan-style nuclear dismantlement.
The United States is prepared to conceive of an Islamic Republic fully reintegrated in the community of nations, with equal rights. That state of affairs is a very long way off. Iran will not swiftly shake off the suspicions its actions and (sometimes vile) words have aroused. Nor should it be allowed to. But Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry are ready to entertain Iran’s rehabilitation.
Not Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu, who wants to keep Iran down. “Push us down, that is all I hear when I listen to Netanyahu,” one Stanford and Harvard-educated Iranian businessman told me. He has a strong belief that drawing Iran closer to the world is essential, a strong dislike of the Iranian regime, and a strong sense of outrage at Israel’s contempt for Iran’s national aspirations.
Diplomacy involves compromise; risk is inherent to it. Iran is to be tested. Nobody can know the outcome. Things may unravel but at least there is hope. Perhaps this is what is most threatening to Mr. Netanyahu. He has never been willing to test the Palestinians in a serious way — test their good faith, test ending the humiliations of the occupation, test from strength the power of justice and peace. He has preferred domination, preferred the Palestinians down and under pressure.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry have invited Netanyahu to think again — and not just about Iran. Nothing, to judge by the hyperventilating Israeli rhetoric, could be more disconcerting. Nothing is more needed. Cheap allusions to 1938 are a poor template for Israel in the 21st century. — New York Times News Service
Iran is to be tested. Nobody can know the outcome. Things may unravel but at least there is hope. Perhaps this is what is most threatening to Mr. Netanyahu.
From economic ties to strategic partnership
Asia’s balance of power will be determined principally by events in East Asia and the Indian Ocean. In this light, the emerging Indo-Japanese entente is likely to help shape Asia’s strategic future as much as China’s ascent or America’s Asian “pivot.” Japan and India, as Asia’s natural-born allies, have a pivotal role to play in preserving stability and helping to safeguard vital sea-lanes in the wider Indo-Pacific region — a region defined not only by the confluence of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, but also by its significance as the global trade and energy-supply hub.
Landmark event
The India visit of Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko from November 30 promises to be a landmark event in the already fast-developing partnership between Asia’s two leading democracies, which are strategically located on opposite flanks of the continent. In the more than 2,600-year history of the Japanese monarchy — the world’s oldest continuous hereditary royalty — no emperor has been to India, although India has traditionally been referred to in Japan as Tenjiku , or the heavenly country.
Customarily, the Japanese Emperor’s visit to any country is highly significant because it symbolises a watershed in relations with that nation. It was in recognition of the momentous nature of the royal trip that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed Ashwini Kumar as his special envoy with Cabinet rank in August to “prepare for the upcoming visit” of the imperial couple, and for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit early next year. Indeed, the India tour could be the last overseas visit of Emperor Akihito, who has undergone coronary and prostate cancer surgeries in the past decade and will turn 80 a couple of weeks after he returns home from Chennai.
India has been specially chosen for an imperial visit to signal Japan’s commitment to forge closer ties. Japan is already doing more for India than any other economic partner of this country: it is the largest source of aid, and is playing a key role in helping India to improve its poor infrastructure, as illustrated by the Japanese-financed Western Freight Corridor, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, and the Bangalore Metro Rail Project. Tokyo is also keen to add concrete strategic content to the bilateral ties.
The relationship, remarkably free of any strategic dissonance or bilateral dispute, traces its roots to the introduction of Buddhism in Japan in the 6th century CE. The Todaiji Temple in the ancient capital city of Nara is home to Japan’s most famous and biggest statue — a great gilt bronze image of Lord Buddha. The statue’s allegorical eyes-opening ceremony in 752 CE was conducted by a priest from India in the presence of Emperor Shômu, who declared himself a servant of the “Three Treasures” — the Buddha, the Buddhist law, and the monastic order. Japan’s cultural heritage from India via China extends to Sanskrit influence on the Japanese language.
Japanese still bless a newly married couple by reciting an ancient proverb that they are the best bride and bridegroom across the three kingdoms of Kara (China), Tenjiku (India) and Hinomoto (Japan). In fact, Akihito, as the crown prince, came with his wife to India in 1960 on a honeymoon trip. During that visit, he laid the foundation stone of New Delhi’s India International Centre and planted a sapling at the Japanese Embassy that has grown into a huge tree.
Today, the contrast between the disciplined Japanese society and tumultuous India could not be more striking. India has the world’s largest youthful population, while Japan is ageing more rapidly than any other developed country. And whereas India has always valued strategic autonomy, Japan remains a model U.S. ally that hosts not only a large U.S. troop presence but also pays generously for the upkeep of the American forces on its soil.
Yet, the dissimilarities between the two countries increase the potential for close collaboration. Japan’s heavy-manufacturing base and India’s services-led growth — as well as their contrasting age structures — make their economies complementary, opening the path to generating strong synergies. India’s human capital and Japan’s financial and technological power can be a good match to help drive India’s infrastructure development and great-power aspirations, and catalyse Japan’s revival as a world power.
‘Natural and indispensable’
For India, Japan is a critical source of capital and commercial technology. Indeed, there cannot be a better partner for India’s development than the country that was the first non-western society to modernise and emerge as a world power, spearheading Asia’s industrial and technology advances since the 19th century. Dr. Singh has underscored the importance of also building security collaboration with it, saying Indians “see Japan as a natural and indispensable partner in our quest for stability and peace in the vast” Indo-Pacific region.
For a politically rising Japan that is beginning to shed its pacifist blinkers, India is central to both its economic-revival and security-building strategies. After prolonged economic stagnation, Japan faces difficult challenges, including a shrinking population, a spiralling public debt, a fundamentally deflationary environment, and a security dilemma compounded by constraints arsing from the U.S.-imposed, post-war Constitution. However, Mr. Abe’s dynamic leadership and control of both houses of parliament is aiding his moves to place Japan on the right track.
Japan and India, as energy-poor countries heavily reliant on oil imports from the unstable Persian Gulf region, are seriously concerned over mercantilist efforts to assert control over energy supplies and the transport routes for them. So the maintenance of a peaceful and lawful maritime domain, including unimpeded freedom of navigation, is critical to their security and economic well-being. That is why they have moved from emphasising shared values to seeking to protect shared interests, including by holding joint naval exercises.
These facts explain why India and Japan boast the fastest-growing bilateral relationship in Asia today. Since they unveiled a “strategic and global partnership” in 2006, their political and economic engagement has deepened at a remarkable pace. Their free-trade pact, formally known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), came into force in 2011. They have even established an alliance to jointly develop rare-earth minerals so as to reduce their dependence on China.
The level and frequency of India-Japan official engagement have become extraordinary. In addition to holding an annual Prime Minister-level summit, the two also conduct several yearly ministerial dialogues: A strategic dialogue between their Foreign Ministers; a security dialogue between their Defence Ministers; a policy dialogue between India’s Commerce Minister and Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; and separate ministerial-level energy and economic dialogues. And, to top it off, they also hold a trilateral strategic dialogue with the United States.
According to Dr. Singh, “India and Japan have a shared vision of a rising Asia.” Translating that vision into practice demands strengthening their still-fledgling strategic cooperation and working together to ensure a pluralistic, stable Asian order.
Japan, in keeping with its pacifist Constitution, does not possess offensive systems, such as nuclear submarines, large aircraft carriers, and long-range missiles. But with the world’s sixth largest defence budget, it has a formidable defensive capability, an impressive armament-production base, and Asia’s largest naval fleet, including top-of-the-line conventional subs, large helicopter-carrying destroyers, and Aegis-equipped cruisers capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
India — the world’s largest arms importer that desperately needs to develop an indigenous arms-production capability — must forge closer defence ties with Japan, including co-developing weapon systems and working together on missile defence. The most stable economic partnerships in the world, such as the Atlantic community and the Japan-U.S. partnership, have been built on the bedrock of security collaboration. Economic ties that lack the underpinning of strategic partnerships tend to be less stable and even volatile, as is apparent from China’s economic relationships with India, Japan and the U.S. Through close strategic collaboration, Japan and India must lead the effort to build freedom, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Against this background, the Emperor’s visit promises to live up to Mr. Abe’s hope of being a “historic event.” It is likely to herald an enduring Indo-Japanese strategic partnership.
(Brahma Chellaney, a geostrategist, is the author, most recently, of Water, Peace, and War )
For a politically rising Japan that is beginning to shed its pacifist blinkers, India is central to both its economic-revival and security-building strategies.
Iran, Pakistan to fast track gas pipeline
Iran and Pakistan Tuesday decided to fast track discussions on the long-delayed gas pipeline project to formulate a road map and a more realistic time schedule for the implementation of the project. The original deadline was December 2014 but Pakistan has been unable to start construction on its share of the pipeline owing to lack of funds. It had asked for $2 billion from Iran for the project earlier.
An official statement said this was one of the important outcomes of a meeting between Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister’s Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs and Muhammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehran on Tuesday.
Mr. Aziz is in Tehran to participate in the 21st Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the 10-member Economic Cooperation Organization. It was agreed that comprehensive technical commercial proposals on the gas pipeline would be discussed in Tehran between Inter-State Gas System Ltd of Pakistan and the Iranian nominated company — Tadbir Energy Gaspar Iranian Co. — in the first week of December. This will be followed by ministerial level discussions.
The two Ministers reviewed in detail bilateral cooperation, regional and global issues, the statement said. Both sides emphasised the need to put greater focus on bilateral economic relations. It was also agreed to hold the next round of Joint Ministerial Commission in Tehran early next year.
Road map, more realistic time schedule to implement the project being worked out
New Zealand judge rejects climate refugee plea
A New Zealand judge on Tuesday rejected a Kiribati man’s claim that he should be granted refugee status because of climate change.
Ioane Teitiota and his wife moved to New Zealand from the low-lying Pacific island nation in 2007. He argued that rising sea levels make it too dangerous for him and his family to return to Kiribati.
Immigration authorities twice rejected his claims, so he appealed to the High Court.
In his decision, Judge John Priestley said Teitiota did not fit the definition of a refugee under international guidelines because he was not being directly persecuted.
The judge said if he broadened the definition, millions more people worldwide suffering from natural disasters or warfare would be eligible to become refugees.
Deportation likely
Since moving to New Zealand, Teitiota and his wife have had three children. All five are now likely to face deportation, as citizenship is not automatically granted by birth in New Zealand.
The judge said Teitiota and his children might have mounted a case to stay on humanitarian grounds had they not overstayed their visas.
‘Staying illegally’
“Unfortunately for the applicant, because he has chosen to remain illegally in New Zealand, he is, under current law, precluded from applying for an immigration permit on humanitarian grounds,” he said.
Kiribati, an impoverished string of 33 coral atolls located about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, has about 103,000 people and has been identified by scientists as among the nations most vulnerable to climate change.
Scientists’ report
Two months ago, an international panel of climate scientists issued a report saying that it was “extremely likely” that human activity was causing global warming, and predicted that oceans could rise by as much as 1 meter (3.3 feet) by the end of the century. If that were to happen, much of Kiribati would simply disappear.
But the judge said that was not argument enough.
“The history of the last 3,000 years of human kind records huge movements of people, driven in some cases by overpopulation or scarce resources,” he said.
“But the globe is currently divided between independent sovereign states which would certainly resist unimpeded migration across state boundaries.” — AP
Man not a refugee as he was not being directly persecuted, said judge
“If definition is broadened, millions will be eligible to be refugees”
New clues may re-write the history of Buddhism
The discovery of a previously unknown wooden structure at the Buddha’s birthplace suggests the sage might have lived in the 6th century BC, two centuries earlier than thought, archaeologists have said.
Traces of what appears to have been an ancient timber shrine was found under a brick temple that is itself within Buddhism’s sacred Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini, in southern Nepal.
Asokan temple
In design it resembles the Asokan temple erected on top of it. Significantly, however, it features an open area, unprotected from the elements, from which it seems a tree once grew — possibly the tree where the Buddha was born.
“This sheds light on a very very long debate” over when the Buddha was born and, in turn, when the faith that grew out of his teachings took root, said archaeologist Robin Coningham in a conference call.
It’s widely accepted that the Buddha was born beneath a hardwood sal tree at Lumbini as his mother Queen Maya Devi, was travelling to her father’s kingdom to give birth.
Many scholars contend that the Buddha — who renounced material wealth to embrace and preach a life of enlightenment — lived and taught in the 4th century BC.
“What our work has demonstrated is that we have this shrine [at Buddha’s birthplace] established in the 6th century BC” that supports the hypothesis that the Buddha might have lived and taught in that earlier era, said Mr. Coningham.
Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence techniques were used to date fragments of charcoal and grains of sand found at the site. Geo-archeological research meanwhile confirmed the existence of tree roots within the temple’s central open area.
Mr. Coningham co-directed an international team of archeologists at Lumbini that was funded in part by the Washington-based National Geographic Society, which plans to telecast a documentary, “Buried Secrets of the Buddha,” worldwide in February.
The team’s peer-reviewed findings appear in the December issue of the journal Antiquity , ahead of the 17th congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies in Vienna in August.
Ruins
It’s not unusual in history for adherents of one faith to have built a place of worship atop the ruins of a venue connected with another religion.
But what makes Lumbini special, said Mr. Coningham, is how the design of the wooden shrine resembles that of the multiple structures built over it over time.
Equally significant is what the archeologists did not find: signs of any dramatic change in which the site has been used over the ages.
“This is one of those rare occasions when belief, tradition, archaeology and science actually come together,” he said. — AFP
Geneva success impacts Saudi-Iran ties
Regional rivalry has acquired a sharp sectarian edge in recent years.
The success of nuclear talks in Geneva have triggered the first signs of a possible de-escalation of tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, whose regional rivalry has acquired a sharp sectarian edge in recent years.
In their first official remarks after Iran and the six global powers signed a nuclear deal in the early hours on Sunday, Saudi authorities signalled that a potential opportunity had been created to improve regional security.
“If there is goodwill, then this agreement could be an initial step toward reaching a comprehensive solution to Iran’s nuclear programme,” said the Cabinet in a statement.
The Saudis also hoped that the Geneva agreement would lead to the removal of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons, from West Asia — a veiled reference to Israel — and the Gulf region, which includes Iran. The cautious welcome accorded to the Geneva deal marks a significant shift, at least on paper, from previous positions adopted by Saudi officials, who had expressed deep reservations, if not hostility, to a possible thaw in ties between Iran and the West.
As the talks in the Swiss city were under way, Saudi ambassador to Britain Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz warned that the Kingdom would not “sit idly by” if world powers failed to halt Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Appeasement hasn’t worked in the past, and I don’t think it will work in the 21st century,” he was quoted as saying.
Some analysts say rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia escalated following Iran’s growing influence in Iraq and Lebanon — two countries with a majority Shia population, as well as Syria, where the majority is Sunni, but the leadership is Alawi, a Shia offshoot.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have openly supported the armed opposition against the government of President Bashar Al-Assad that is heavily backed by Tehran.
In Iran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has reached out to his oil-rich Gulf neighbours, including Saudi Arabia — his initiative adroitly timed with the commencement of the Geneva conference.
The Minister proposed establishment of a formal structure, functioning under the United Nations system that would bring together eight littoral countries of the Gulf region working on a common and expanding agenda. “The challenges and opportunities that we face are enormous. They range from environmental degradation to sectarian tension, from extremism and terrorism to arms control and disarmament, and from tourism and economic and cultural cooperation to confidence-building and security-enhancing measures.”
Beyond the political, the fall-out of Geneva accord, which includes the partial lifting of sanctions, has begun to spark some commercial activity in Iran.
Bloomberg is reporting that Iranian rial has gained almost 4 per cent against the dollar in the unregulated market since the deal was signed early on November 24. Hossein Ghazavi, a former Iranian deputy central bank governor, was quoted as saying the agreement would “provide international and regional financial institutions a freer hand to consider more finance for projects and trade in Iran”.
The National Human Rights Commission has ordered Maharashtra Chief Secretary to arrest Pune Police Commissioner Gulabrao Pol for disobeying its orders in the case of rights violation of a Scheduled Caste man. The commission said Mr. Pol should be asked to be present in front of the Commission in January.
Kishan Namdev Godke has alleged police inaction over the abduction and killing of his son on April 30, 2007.
However, Mr. Pol said the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Pune rural region. “I will take up the matter with the Chief Secretary and NHRC,” he told reporters on Monday.
A press release from the NHRC stated: “The National Human Rights Commission has taken a serious view of the casual and mechanical approach adopted by the Commissioner of Police, Pune, Maharashtra, that too in a matter relating to the human rights violation of a person of Scheduled Caste.”
The NHRC stated the matter was taken up during open hearing on Scheduled Castes matters by the Commission at Nagpur in January, 2013 but no response was filed by the Commissioner of Police, Pune on the day of hearing. Since then, in spite of repeated reminders, Mr. Pol has not responded to its directives in the case.
