All presidential elections so far had witnessed a
contest except for in 1977 when Neelam Sanjeev Reddy
was elected unopposed. Only the first President Dr.
Rajendra Prasad held the office twice in 1952 and 1957.
The President is elected under the Presidential and Vice
Presidential Elections Act, 1952 and the Rules made
thereunder viz. The Presidential and Vice-Presidential
Election Rules, 1974.
World Bank Approves 600 Million Dollar
Assistance Package for India
The World Bank, on June 27, 2007, approves one of its
largest support packages to India with a 600 million
dollars loan and credit designed to transform access to
Financial Services for Indias poorest farmers. The
strengthening of Rural Credit Cooperative Project
supports the Government of Indias programme to reform
and revitalise the countrys rural Credit Co-operative
Banks (CCBs). These include some 31 state Co-operative
Banks, 367 District Central Co-operative Banks and over
100,000 primary Agricultural credit societies. The goal is
to transform them into efficient and commercially viable
institutions responsive to the Financial Services needs of
Indias poorer farmers, including small and marginal
farmers. The problem is particularly severe for small and
marginal farmers, who are among the poorest of Indias
rural dwellers farming, respectively, less than one acre
and between one and four acres of land. World Bank
estimates suggest that some 87 per cent of marginal
farmers and 70 per cent of small farmers have no access
to credit from a formal financial institutions.
The 12 states which have signed the MoU with the
Government of India and the National Bank for Agri-
culture and Rural Development (NABARD) include
Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat,
Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
The loan from the International Bank for Recons-
truction and Development (IBRD) has twenty years
maturity, including a five year grace period. The credit is
provided by the International Development Association
(IDA), the World Banks concessionary leading arm and
has 35 years to maturity and a 10 years grace period. The
loan project would provide small farmers improved
services such as credit, savings, remittances and
insurance.
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS
INS Jalashwa Commissioned
The Indian Navy on June 22, 2007 commissioned
INS Jalashwa, a Landing Platform Dock (LPD).
The ship is the first of its class to be inducted into the
Navy and was acquired from the US, in the process
marking a milestone in the bilateral relationship.
With the induction of INS Jalashwa, formerly known
as USS Trenton, India joins the selected group of
countries operating an LPD, giving the Navy enhanced
capability to move troops and equipments to greater
distances in furthering the countrys maritime interests.
PD/August/2007/191/2 A man who doesnt trust himself can never really trust anyone else.
Its acquisition was approved by the Cabinet Commit-
tee on Security on July 31, 2006.
Telgi given 13-years Prison Term, Fined Over
Rs. 100 crore
Abdul Karim Telgi, the Kingpin of the Multi-crore
Fake Stamp Scam, was on June 28, 2007 sentenced to
rigorous imprisonment for 13 years and fined over Rs. 100
crore by a court in Pune after he
dramatically brokedown while plead-
ing guilty and seeking leniency.
Judge Chitra Bedi of the special
court pronounced the quantum of
punishment in one of the main cases in
the scam, hours after Telgi pleaded
Abdul Karim guilty and repented his actions. The case
Telgi for which Telgi was sentenced was filed
by Bundgarden police in Pune and related to the seizure
of fake government stamps and stamp papers from a car
in 2002.
Railway Reservation Simplified
To simplify issue of train tickets and reach out to
passengers more effectively, the Ministry of Railways has
revised the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) Policy.
Ticket counters can now be established on univer-
sity/college campuses, collectorate premises and at
airports, among others.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation (IRCTC) will provide the technology under
the Corporate Houses Scheme. Institutions seeking to
have the reservation counters on their premises would
have to enter into a memorandum of understanding with
the IRCTC.
In metros, additional PRS centres would be created in
satellite locations.
Percentage of Motor Workers Highest in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka together
account for 54 per cent of the total average daily
employment in Motor Transport Undertakings in the
country.
According to the information provided by various
State Governments and Union Territories to the Labour
Bureau for 2004, Tamil Nadu accounted for the highest
percentage of motor transport workers at 2463 per cent
followed by 2131 per cent in Maharashtra and 826 per
cent in Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh has the highest
percentage of registered Motor Transport Undertakings
under the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961. The state
accounted for 284 per cent followed by 241 per cent in
Assam, 97 per cent in Kerala, 877 per cent in Bihar and
77 per cent in Rajasthan.
The data on statewise distribution of Motor
Transport Undertakings reveals that smaller units,
employing less than 10 workers, constitute 98 per cent of
the total number of undertakings. The bigger units,
employing 1000 or more workers, are only 02 per cent.
Smaller undertakings (employing less than 50 workers)
accounted for 988 per cent of total undertakings but