ISRO is all set to launch India's ambitious Mars Orbiter Mission from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh a shortwhile from

now. The PSLV C-25 carrying the Mangalyaan will lift off at 2.38 PM from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The 44 metre tall PSLV C-25 will carry the 1337 kg MARS orbiter into the elliptical orbit which is 23,500 km from the earth. The purpose of this mission is to develop technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission. The spacecraft to Mars uses the least amount of fuel or a minimum energy transfer orbit functioning of the satellite. More from our correspondent: It is a matter of pride for every Indian and a sense of achievement for every scientist at ISRO to witness the elegant take off of PSLV C 25 in its Mangalyaan Mission. More than hundred media persons from all over the world have gathered at Sriharikota for the launch. ISRO which had ensured successful flights of more than 100 rockets including 23 successful missions of PSLV has to its credit sending Chandrayaan and also injecting 35 rockets of 16 other countries including UK,Germany, France, Israel, Italy,Japan and Korea. What more India will find for itself whether there is life in Mars,about the Martian atmosphere, the presence of gases, water, ice, biological possibilities and also about the presence of craters and volcanoes. Mars which is 400 million KM from the earth is always intriguing and an amazing object for research. Joy reporting from ISRO, Sriharikota. <><><> In Bangladesh, 158 BDR jawans have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2009 BDR Mutiny case. The verdict of other accused is being read out. A Special Trial court today sentenced 251 BDR jawans to jail terms ranging from 3-10 years for the murder of 73 people including 59 army officers including the then DG of the Bangladesh Rifles during the BDR Mutiny in its headquarters in Pheelkhana in Dhaka .The mutiny shook the nation in Feb from 25-26th in 2009. 241 have been acquitted. Security officials said over 1,000 policemen and members of elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) forces are guarding the makeshift court complex at old Dhaka. <><><> In Rajasthan, filing of nominations for assembly elections began in all 200 constituencies with the issuance of notification today. Nomination papers can be filed till the 12th of this month. The scrutiny will take place on the 13th and nominations can be withdrawn by the 16th of November. Polling will take place on 1st December. Our correspondent reports that the Election Commission is expecting 10 to 15 per cent increase in polling percentage this time following a voters awareness campaign. Special vehicles Matdata Express are going in villages and small towns to spread awareness among voters. Special Folk songs, dances and street plays have been prepared to publicize importance of voting. In Sikar district Chaupals are also being used for this purpose. Many schools are participating in this work and oath letters have been sent to parents through children that they will definitely use their voting right. The election commission is using modern communication techniques like whatsapp and voice sms also to aware people. According to Chief Election Officer Ashok Jain more

than 16 lakh youth will use their voting right for the first time in this election. Anurag Vajpeyi AIR NEWS Jaipur <><><> The Election Commission has deployed four different types of observers to ensure free and fair elections in Chhattisgarh. These are General, Expenditure, Police and Awareness Observers. More from our correspondent: For Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, the Election Commission has deployed one General Observer in each of the 90 constituencies to ensure the implementation of Model Code of Conduct. Moreover, THIRTY Expenditure Observers have also been appointed to keep an eye on the election expenses of all the candidates in the state. Besides, ONE Police Observer has been deployed in each of the TWENTY SEVEN districts to give reports on Law and Order situation. Similarly, NINE Awareness Observers have also been deployed to monitor the ongoing SVEEP Programme of the Election Commission and also the cases of PAID News. These Observers are giving their reports directly to the Election Commission. Vikalp Shukla/AIR NEWS/ Raipur. <><><> In Jharkhand, 25 Improve is Explosive Devices, IEDs have been recovered in Latehar district. Police said, the explosives were recovered in the Comandi Jungle area. The search operation is still on to recover more land mines. Police have been carrying out anti-naxal operations in Latehar district for the past few days. <><><> Four Assam government ministers today visited Goalpara district to take stock of the situation following the killing of 7 innocent people by Garo militants on Sunday night. The team instructed district administration to take all steps to arrest the culprits. They also met some of the injured persons in hospital. Goalpara district administration has imposed indefinite night curfew from 7pm to 6 am along the Assam and Meghalaya border. More from our correspondent: The Assam and Meghalaya police is likely to draw a strategy on joint combing operation against militants. The militants from Meghalaya have been indulging in violence activities mostly in Goalpara and Kamrup district of Assam for past a few years. But the Assam police find it very difficult to locate them after the crime as the militants managed to escape to Meghalaya. Police sources said that tomorrows meeting will discuss this vital issue. 53 security companies have also been deployed to ensure smooth polls to be held from 13th of this month. Manas Pratim Sarma/AIR NEWS/Guwahati. <><><> The 12th edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas will be held in New Delhi from the 7th to 9th of January 2014. The theme of this convention is -- engaging diaspora - connecting across generations-- with a special focus on the younger generation. Announcing this at a press conference in New Delhi today, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said the government is expecting participation of over one thousand five hundred delegates in the three-day annual event. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate

the convention and President Pranab Mukherjee will give his valedictory address. He said Pravasi Bharatiya Samman will also be bestowed on 15 persons during the convention. <><><> In Bangladesh, 167 BDR jawans have been sentenced to death for their involvement in 2009 BDR Mutiny case. <><><> President Pranab Mukherjee has called for strengthening district and local administration to contain communal violence. Addressing Probationary IPS officers at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad, the President said the ability of the district administration is to notice possibility of such communal tensions at the initial stage to take measures at the opportune time to contain the violence. Mr. Mukherjee reiterated that the government is committed to dealing with the left-wing extremism in a comprehensive manner. Emphasizing the need for a reactive to proactive police, the President asked officers to be a partner in growth, development and peace in the days to come. He also said, Justice JS Verma Committee recommendations on police reforms are under government's consideration. <><><> The National Human Right Commission has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh and the district magistrate of Muzaffarnagar to submit a report on the fresh violence in the district. NHRC Chairman Justice KG Balakrishnan told this to reporters in New Delhi that the commission has given two weeks time to them to submit the report. <><><> A domestic help working at BSP MP Dhananjay Singh's residence in New Delhi was today found dead with several injuries on the body. After this, police have detained the leader's wife Jagriti Singh for questioning. Police sources said that Jagriti Singh had been allegedly torturing her maid, who was working at her residence, for the past 10 months. They said, the maid died early this morning due to injuries allegedly inflicted by the MP's wife. They said that Jagriti Singh will be formally arrested once police establishes the exact cause of death after postmortem which will take place later in the day. The MP's wife is being questioned apart from other servants working in the house. Dhananjay Singh has said that he came to know about the case today itself. <><><> In a major relief to CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, a CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram today dropped him and five others from the list of accused in the SNC-Lavalin corruption case. The case dates back to mid-1990s when Pinarayi Vijayan was the power minister. Allowing the discharge petition of Vijayan and the others, CBI special judge R Raghu said the prosecution had failed to establish the fraudulent intention, abuse of official position and element of cheating attributed against them in awarding a contract to Canadian company SNC Lavalin to renovate three power plants in the state. <><><>

Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Iswardas Rohani died of cardiac arrest in Jabalpur today. He was 67. The Ruling BJP had announced his candidature from Jabalpur Cantt segment for the upcoming assembly elections. <><><> Power generation has again started at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu. Its site Director RS Sundar said that the power generation had been stopped temporarily for checking the parameters. Our correspondent has filed this report: The generation of power in the Kudankulam nuclear power plant started again after clearance from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board experts. Power generation was stopped to check the turbine generator. By this week end the power generation will be raised to 350 to 400 Mega watt according to site Director R S Sundar. The power generation will slowly be increased to 500 MW, 750 MW, 900 MW and then finally 1000 MW by year end. K DEVI PADMANABHAN/AIR NEWS/ TIRUCHIRAPALLI <><><> Sri Lankan Navy arrested 30 Indian fishermen north of Coast of Nainativu Island near Jaffna today. Sri Lanka Navy Spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said, the fishermen and their 7 trawlers were captured when they were found to be trespassing into Sri Lankan waters and poaching. More from our correspondent: The number of Tamil Nadu fishermen in Sri Lankan custody has once again crossed the hundred mark. Before this arrest, a total of 73 Indian fishermen were in Sri Lankan custody on judicial remand. So far this year 435 fishermen and 84 trawlers from Tamil Nadu have been captured by the island Navy on charges of poaching. According to Sri Lanka Navy Spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya, the fishermen will be handed over to the Fisheries Department officials later today at Kankesanthurai to be produced before a Magistrates court for further legal action. ABHISHEK DAYAL/AIR NEWS/COLOMBO. <><><> Remaining weak in afternoon trade, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange stood 173 points, or 0.8 percent in negative territory, at 21,066, a short while ago. Earlier in the morning, the Sensex had fallen 105 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 21,134, as funds and retail investors booked profits, amid weakness in the regional bourses. The 30-share Sensex had gained almost 670 points in the previous five trading sessions. Stock markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea had dropped between 0.4 percent and 0.8 percent, today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 0.2 percent in yesterday's trade. <><><> The rupee fell by 12 paise in early trade today, to 61 rupees 86 paise against the dollar. The fall was attributed to fresh dollar demand from banks and importers, amid strengthening of the US currency overseas. In the previous session on Friday, the domestic currency had lost 24 paise to close at more than two-week low of 61 rupees 74 paise.

The forex and money markets were closed yesterday on account of Diwali-Balipratipada. <><><> Oil prices edged higher in quiet Asian trade today as dealers hunted bargains while keeping an eye on a supply glut in the United States. New York's main contract West Texas Intermediate for December delivery gained four cents to 94.66 US Dollars a barrel in mid-morning Asian trade, while Brent North Sea crude for December climbed nine cents to 106.32 Dollars . Crude inventories in the United States have climbed for the past six weeks, to about 28 million barrels, raising concerns about oversupply in the world's largest economy and top crude consumer.