Thiruvananthapuram, July 11 (IANS) Former scientist Nambi Narayanan, who had a harrowing time after being made an accused in the infamous ISRO espionage case, has said that he is happy that the truth behind the case has surfaced during his lifetime.

“I knew that I had done no wrong, and when the Supreme Court has exonerated me, it is enough for me. I was sure that the truth would come out one day, and I am happy it has come during my lifetime only. I don’t think I want the wrongdoers to be punished for what they did to me. I don’t even want an apology from them,” said Nambi Narayanan, the retired scientist, who was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2019.

He was reacting to media reports that surfaced on Wednesday detailing the charge sheet in the conspiracy behind the ISRO espionage case filed by the Delhi unit of the CBI at the CBI Court here, which said the entire case was nothing but a fabricated story.

The charge sheet revealed that the case originated based on a concocted story created by then Circle Inspector S. Vijayan.

It was further said that the team leader of the probe team, the now retired Director General of Police Siby Mathews, ordered the arrest of the veteran scientist Narayanan without any evidence.

Among the five officials named in the CBI charge sheet are Mathews, Vijayan, then Deputy Superintendent of Police K.K. Joshua, and the then Intelligence Bureau officers Jayaprakash and R.B.Sreekumar, who retired as the Gujarat Director General of Police.

This charge sheet filed by the CBI came after the Supreme Court in 2018 directed a three-member committee under retired Supreme Court judge D.K. Jain to probe if there was a conspiracy among the then police officials to falsely implicate Narayanan.

The ISRO espionage case surfaced in 1994 when Narayanan was arrested on charges of spying along with another senior official of ISRO, two Maldivian women, and a businessman.

The CBI exonerated Narayanan in 1995, and since then he has been fighting a legal battle against Mathews and other police officials.

Mathews was later promoted to the rank of Director General of Police and took a voluntary retirement scheme, months before he was to have superannuated and become the Chief Information Officer of the state. He has since retired from that post and is now settled in the state capital city.

Incidentally, this case took place when the factional feud in Congress between the K. Karunakaran and the A.K. Antony factions led by Oommen Chandy was at its peak.

Karunakaran had to quit the office in 1995 after it was found out that he was shielding his close aide and senior police officer, Raman Srivastava, who later became the state police chief. After retirement, he served as an advisor to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ( 2016-21).

–IANS

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Jaipur, July 11 (IANS) Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Diya Kumari, presenting the state budget in the Assembly on Wednesday, made a series of announcements, including four lakh recruitments in five years, construction of nine greenfield expressways, new tourism policy and reduction in VAT on cooking gas and CNG from 14.5 per cent to 10 per cent.

She said that more than 1 lakh recruitment will be made in the current year.

Deputy CM Kumari proposed a new ‘Youth Policy-2024’ and announced apprenticeship/internship programmes and Artificial Intelligence-based counselling for youth.

The development of an integrated system for additional resource mobilisation in online gaming, e-commerce and OTT platform services was also announced for this segment.

In her 2-hour 51-minute budget speech, the Deputy CM made many significant announcements for different segments including youth, women, and others.

She proposed the construction of nine greenfield expressways stretching to more than 2,750 km in the state.

Deputy CM Kumari also proposed the ‘Industrial Policy 2024’ based on the concept of Ease of Doing Business (EoDB).

She further proposed an Export Promotion Policy and Garment and Apparel Policy to boost exports.

The Deputy CM also proposed the development of a Textile Park in Bhilwara, Ceramic Park in Bikaner, Industrial and Logistical Hub near Bandikui in Dausa, Solar Panel Manufacturing Park in Pali, Biomass Pellet and Chemical Manufacturing Park in Banswara, Tiles Manufacturing Park in Kishangarh and Handicraft Park in Jodhpur.

The budget further proposed setting up new solar parks in Bikaner’s Pugal and Chhatargarh and Jaisalmer’s Bodana.

Deputy CM Kumari announced that all government offices in the state will be connected to solar energy in a phased manner. Also, more than two lakh houses deprived of electricity will be provided domestic electricity connections in the next two years, she said.

Tap water will be supplied to 25 lakh rural homes this year by spending Rs 15000 crore, the Deputy CM said.

She further said that the state government will also provide loans at low interest rates to women working with self-help groups. For meritorious students, the state government proposed free tablets and the internet.

Further, it was announced that a defence manufacturing hub will be established in the state.

Under a new tourism policy, the Deputy CM proposed setting up the state tourism development board as well as a heritage conservation board to develop archaeological places and heritage sites.

Rajasthan Mandapam will be developed on the lines of the Bharat Mandapam of Delhi and like Kashi Vishwanath, a corridor of Khatu Shyam Ji temple will be built at a cost of about Rs 100 crore, she said.

Deputy CM Kumari announced that Vice Chancellors in universities would be called ‘Kul Guru’.

She said that a ‘PM Unity Mall’ will be built in Jaipur to promote ODOP (one district one product). A budget of Rs 100 crore has been allocated for this.

Engineering colleges of Bharatpur, Bikaner and Ajmer will be developed as Rajasthan Institute of Technology with Rs 300 crore. Basic facilities including libraries and toilets will be developed in schools at a cost of Rs 350 crore, the Deputy CM said.

In the budget, arrangements have been made for Atal Udyam Yojana for the youth. Rs 25 crore has been announced for startups.

Also, a Rs 200-crore corpus fund will created as e-Vehicle Promotion Fund under the Electric Vehicle Policy.

In the budget, the government has estimated a revenue receipt of Rs 2.64 lakh crore, revenue expenditure of Rs 2.90 lakh crore and revenue deficit of Rs 25,758 crore.

The fiscal deficit is estimated at 3.93 per cent of the GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product).

–IANS

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Shimla, July 11 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh government has allocated Rs 201 crore for the construction of a state-of-the-art milk processing plant in Kangra in collaboration with the National Dairy Development Board, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday.

He said the plant in Kangra’s Dhagwar will have an initial capacity of 1.50 lakh litres per day (LLPD) which could be further expanded up to three LLPD. “This fully automatic plant aims to produce a variety of dairy products such as curd, lassi, butter, ghee, paneer, flavoured milk, khoya and mozzarella cheese,” he said in a statement.

According to the statement, the project is expected to enhance the economic prosperity of farmers in Kangra, Hamirpur, Chamba and Una districts.

The CM added the project would benefit the dairy farming community and contribute to the state’s economy. “As the project unfolds, it is poised to bring prosperity to the dairy farming community and ensure that farmers get good value for their hard work,” he said.

CM Sukhu said the initiative aligns with the government’s commitment to farmer welfare. “Once the milk processing plant begins operations, the government also plans to start production of milk powder, ice cream and various types of cheese at this plant,” he added.

–IANS

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Imphal, July 11 (IANS) Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Wednesday said whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the state or not should not be made an issue as the state government is in close touch with him round the clock.

Talking to the media on the sidelines of the extended executive meeting of the state BJP, he said that the visit of the Prime Minister to Manipur is not an issue and depends on the situation and was critical of some quarters who are making it an issue.

Biren Singh, who holds the home portfolio, said: “We are keeping in touch with the PM round-the-clock and working under his guidance. All security-related, relief, and other works are being planned and performed as per the Prime Minister’s advice and approval.”

The Chief Minister also disclosed that reconciliation efforts between the Meitai and Kuki-Zo communities are going on to evolve a solution to the ethnic crisis.

Manipur Chief Minister’s statement came two days after Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s day-long visit to the ethnic violence-ravaged state. Gandhi urged the Prime Minister to come to Manipur and talk to the people who have suffered from the ethnic strife since May last year.

–IANS

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Guwahati, July 11 (IANS) With a reduction in the intensity of rain during the past few days, the overall flood situation in Assam is slowly improving, even as five more people died in five districts on Wednesday and 14.38 lakh people remain affected in 27 of the state’s 35 districts, Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials said.

However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday forecast heavy rainfall over parts of central, northeast, and east India during the next few days.

According to the ASDMA officials, the number of affected people has come down from over 24.20 lakh in 30 districts as on July 5.

One drowning death each was reported from Dhubri, Dibrugarh, South Salmara, Dhemaji, and Cachar districts, taking the toll to 84.

The ASDMA officials said that the flood water also inundated over 39,898 hectares of crop area in 2,580 villages in 27 districts while over 11.28 lakh domestic animals have also been badly affected.

Out of the 27 flood-affected districts, Dhubri, Cachar, Barpeta, Darrang, Goalpara, Golaghat, Sivasagar, Majuli, and South Salmara are the worst hit.

The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger level at Neamatighat, Tezpur, Guwahati, and Dhubri, while Burhidihing, Disang, and Kushiyara rivers are also flowing above the danger level in many places.

ASDMA officials also said that over 45,620 people are sheltered in the 365 relief camps opened by the district administrations, while 156 more relief distribution centres are functioning in different districts. Several National and State Disaster Response Forces teams, Fire and Emergency Service personnel, police forces, the AAPDA Mitra Volunteers of ASDMA and volunteers from various NGOs, have also been deployed for the rescue and relief operations.

According to officials, the second wave of floods caused major damage to agricultural land and standing crops, fisheries, and infrastructure including roads, bridges and culverts. They said that road communication has been affected due to floods and surging waters washed away bridges and damaged roads and embankments.

District administrations are providing food and other essential materials to the affected people.

Like previous years, wild animals in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) were largely affected by the flood as a large area of the park has been submerged and park authorities continued their efforts to rescue the animals and to prevent poaching. KNPTR Director Sonali Ghosh said that so far, 135 wild animals have been rescued while 163 animals, including deer, rhino, and hog deer, have drowned in flood waters.

–IANS

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