Today's Hot Stories - February 22, 2013 - PT education

Today's Hot Stories - February 22, 2013

10 Headlines for Today

(1) Thousands flock to annual MP 'bhoot mela'
(2) BJP calls for shutdown in Andhra Pradesh
(3) Bangladesh cracks down on anti-Islam blogs
(4) T S Vijayan takes over as IRDA chief
(5) Sebi cautions investors, public against dealings with Sahara
(6) Kellogg calls back cereal over glass shards risk
(7) McIlroy, Woods eliminated at Match Play
(8) Torres fails as Chelsea limp through
(9) SFL: Shyam wins welter weight title in style
(10) 14 Olive Ridley turrle nests found along Chennai coast

5 Stories for Today

(1) Terror returns again, on cycle: 14 killed in Hyderabad twin blasts
(2) Horse meat row spreads to Asia
(3) IAP taking pharma funding is illegal: MCI
(4) Jazzed-up Microsoft is cool, say youth
(5) Govt looks to maximize excise collection

(1) Terror returns again, on cycle: 14 killed in Hyderabad twin blasts


It proved to a lull before a terrifying storm. Seventeen months after the last deadly bomb blast at the Delhi high court, two powerful bombs fastened to parked bicycles ripped through Hyderabad's bustling Dilsukhnagar area on Thursday, killing at least 14 persons and injuring 119 others. While no individual or group has claimed responsibility so far, intelligence officers insist that the deadly operation bears the stamp of Lashkar proxy, Indian Mujahideen.

Thursday's bombs triggered back-to-back explosions near popular movie theatres, blowing bodies into the air, flattening shops and houses and triggering panic among scores of injured people who were seen scurrying for cover in all directions with blood oozing out of their heads and legs.

The first bomb went off with a deafending blast near the Dilsukhnagar bus stop at 7.05pm, close to Venkatadri theatre and a minute later, another high intensity blast, near a snack shop close by, flung bodies into the air and left a crater on the tarmac, police and witnesses said. TV channels reported that an unexploded bomb was recovered from the area but there was no confirmation from the cops.

Six months ago, there were low-intensity blasts in Pune which fortunately claimed no casualty. Since the last blast in which people died was in September 2011 in Delhi, a perception of ebbing terror threat had grown which Thursday's Hyderabad bomb attacks have blown to smithereens. With finders being pointed at IM, it seems that terror operatives have regrouped now with deadly intent.

Immediately after the blasts at Dilsukhnagar on Thursday, terrified people ran from the blood-splattered area as glass shards and debris flew. They poured out into the narrow streets causing a stampede as people, including women carrying small children in the arms, ran for safety. Locals rushed to the aid of the injured, writhing and wailing with pain on the streets and sidewalks.

"For a second, I got blinded as there was smoke and darkness all around. Later, I heard women and children wailing around me," said Sudhakar Shetty, who survived the terror blasts with severe burns. "I was cooking in the kitchen of Mirchi Point (an eatery), and wanted to run out along with others but soon realized that I could not move as both my arms and legs were burnt," he said.

At least 25 people were initially rushed to the Osmania general hospital and 15 to the Yashoda hospital in Malakpet, police said. More were taken to two other hospitals. Two days of strike by nurses and group IV staff caught doctors at the emergency ward off guard and some patients even offered to help. But with the CT scan machine not functioning at the hospital, most of the injured could not be scanned for internal hemorrhage. The 108 ambulance service alone shifted 42 injured to various hospitals, an official said.

"I have counted at least nine bodies and many more are injured and crying for help," said a senior doctor at Osmania. Similar scenes were seen at Yashoda and Omni hospitals, where scores of injured were taken for treatment. Immediately after the blasts, phone lines got jammed and people left offices in a hurry, causing huge traffic jams all around. Many shops and business establishments downed their shutters.

Authorities were on high alert since Afzal Guru's hanging on February 9. Apart from Jammu & Kashmir, there were protests against the hanging in Hyderabad. The execution also triggered revenge threats from Pakistan-based militants and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) vowed renewed attacks on Indian cities. Members of the groups at a private gathering organised by the United Jihad Council in Pakistan, while paying tribute to Guru, had also vowed to step up their 'jihad' in Jammu & Kashmir.

It was the third time that Dilsukhnagar has been targeted by terrorists. In 2002, a bomb went off in a scooter parked near Sai Baba temple in the area, killing two people, while another bomb was defused near a foot overbridge in 2007, extremely close to the spot where Thursday's bombs were placed.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dispatched a National Security Guard team to the Hyderabad on a BSF aircraft to probe into the blast and immediately sanctioned Rs 2 lakh each to next of kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 each to those seriously injured. A National Investigation Agency, stationed in Hyderabad also joined the probe.

Hyderabad is not new to terror attacks as three previous blasts killed scores of people. The first in May 18 2007, killed 14 people, including five in police firing at Mecca Masjid and in the second attack, which were twin blasts in Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat on August 25 2007, 42 people had died.

Source: The Times of India

(2) Horse meat row spreads to Asia


The fallout from Europe's horse meat scandal has spread outside the continent, with an imported lasagne brand pulled from the shelves in Hong Kong and a new row over the treatment of horses farmed in the Americas.

A host of top players have been caught up in the spiralling scandal including Nestle, the world's biggest food company, top beef producer JBS of Brazil and British supermarket chain Tesco.

Hong Kong authorities ordered ParknShop, one of the biggest supermarket chains in the city, to remove lasagne made by frozen food giant Findus, one of the firms at the centre of the scandal. The product was imported from Britain and made by French firm Comigel.

Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety said on Wednesday that the item "might be adulterated with horse meat which has not undergone tests for veterinary drugs".

The chain, owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing, has about 280 stores in Hong Kong and the neighbouring gaming hub of Macau.

Source: The Times of India

(3) IAP taking pharma funding is illegal: MCI


The Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) has been flouting Medical Council of India regulations on two fronts--one it has been accepting funding from the pharma industry in direct contravention of the rule that no medical association or doctor may accept any freebie or funds from the pharma and healthcare industries. Two it has violated the code of ethics prohibiting endorsement or promotion of any brand.

The annual report of the IAP 2012 giving accounts up to March 31, 2012 showed that it had received over Rs 2.7 crore from the pharmaceutical industry. According to the IAP treasurer, Dr Pravin Mehta's statement in the report, the academy's annual expenditure is about Rs 2.77 crore and its income from subscription or membership fees and interest on investment is about Rs 1.77 crore. Thus, industry contributions constitute a significant share of funds for the academy.

However IAP secretary general Dr Sailesh Gupta stated that the general understanding was that MCI regulation was about individual doctors not accepting funds or gifts and not about associations. "All associations take money from the pharma industry. It is impossible to conduct training for members and other activities and programmes without money from the industry. There is nothing hidden about the funds we take. Or else, why would we put our audited accounts showing the funds taken in the public domain? If the MCI says it is illegal for associations to take money, we will abide by the law," said Dr Gupta.

MCI secretary Dr Sanjay Shrivastava was categorical that it was illegal for associations of doctors to take funds from companies. "It's illegal and if we get a complaint, we will take action. We cannot take suo moto action unless the issue is brought to our notice."

The IAP being a member of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) is involved in deciding immunisation schedule and selection of vaccines to be included in the NIP. Any vaccine included in the NIP would mean millions of doses of that vaccine being purchased using public funds, a bonanza for the manufacturers.

"The industry funding is not for promoting vaccines to individual paediatricians but to get them approved for the NIP. This is a long term investment for the vaccine industry. For instance, in the case of the pentavalent vaccine, there was opposition to its approval in the NTAGI meeting and then approval was given for its use in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the state-funded vaccination programmes. IAP was one of the main proponents. If IAP had opposed the move, there would have been a problem. Such considerations do not go into the approval of drugs other than vaccines," pointed out Dr C M Gulhati, editor of the Monthly Index of Medical Specialties. In fact, Dr Rohit Aggarwal, IAP president 2012, took credit for "convincing the government for inclusion of pentavalent vaccine in NIP" in his message in the annual report. Dr Aggarwal was not only president of IAP but was also the chairperson of the IAP Committee on Immunisation.

In yet another instance of IAP support for a vaccine manufacturer, it flouted MCI regulation against endorsing brands by issuing a public statement (available on its website) endorsing vaccines of Panacea Biotech. In 2011, WHO removed the pentavalent vaccine manufactured by Panacea Biotech from its list of prequalified vaccines due to "serious inadequacies in quality assurance processes". IAP came to the rescue by stating: "The currently marketed products of M/s Chiron Panacea Vaccines Pvt. Ltd. including the brands, Easyfive, Ecovac4, and EnivacHB are absolutely safe and effective." It added that even the WHO had stated that there was no evidence of quality or safety defects with batches already distributed.

Similarly, last month, when a doctor's complaint against GSK's rotavirus vaccine advertisement was upheld by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) for claiming that existing practices like hand washing did not help and that vaccination alone could reduce the incidence of rotavirus infection, IAP swung into action. IAP president, Dr Rohit Aggarwal, stated in several media reports that hand washing could not help prevent rotavirus infection "as the transmission is mainly through airborne droplets". However, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta clearly states on its website page on rotavirus that transmission is mainly by fecal-oral spread as the virus is shed in high concentration in the stool of the infected person. The National Health Service of the UK also states that rotavirus is spread in faeces and is most often spread when someone who is infected does not wash their hand properly after going to toilet. In this context, IAP's statement against hand washing seems to be misleading and meant to help the vaccine manufacturers.

However, Dr Gupta of IAP insisted that the IAP was careful to ensure that there was no conflict of interest. "All our committee members have to sign conflict of interest statements. We make sure that there is no illegal promotion of products of the companies that give us funds."

It remains to be seen whether the MCI will step in to set things straight and stop violation of its own regulations.

Pharma industry funds for IAP

Company Funds given in lakh Rs
Johnson and Johnson - 118.4
Merck - 98.6
Wyeth - 13.3
Sanofi Pasteur - 11.4
Zuventus - 11
Glaxo SmithKline - 5
X-ray Biocom - 4.5
Serum Institute - 3
Pfizer - 2
Total - 267.2

Source: The Times of India

(4) Jazzed-up Microsoft is cool, say youth


Microsoft Corp is cooler than you might think.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that just under half of 853 respondents between the age of 18 and 29 thought Microsoft is cooler now than it was a year or two ago.

The software maker, often derided in Silicon Valley for failing to dream up products that captivate a new generation of social media and mobile savvy consumers, managed to pip Facebook in the survey - only 42 percent of young adults thought the world's largest social network is cooler now than in the past.

Twitter scored 47% below Microsoft's 50 percent.

Part of Microsoft's lift appears to stem from a well-coordinated marketing blitz around its all-new Surface tablets, which have revamped the familiar Windows interace with a tile-based, mobile app-friendly look and feel.

Its Xbox gaming console and "Kinect" accessory, which can respond to gestures and voice commands, has in the past year also burnished its image around younger consumers.

Apple still scored well in the Reuters/Ipsos poll, the first in a series that aims to measure brand perception and usage over time for major consumer tech brands. About 60 percent of 18- to 29-year-old respondents still thought Apple was cooler now than in the past.

Source: The Times of India

(5) Govt looks to maximize excise collection


Government has dashed off excise recovery notices worth several hundred crores of rupees to scores of manufacturing entities, mainly in the automobile sector, and is eyeing many other industries, following a Supreme Court order in a central excise dispute with Fiat India.

The tax department's move, which includes sending cost auditors to several companies, comes against companies that sold goods at a discount. Even cola companies are said to be on the radar as the government is trying to maximize tax collections to bridge the fiscal deficit.

The rush to collect tax follows an order by the apex court a few months ago in a dispute involving central excise and Fiat India where the tax department had argued that the car company should pay duty on the "normal value" of the car or the price at which the car is usually manufactured instead of the discounted price. Fiat was selling cars to distributors at a price which was lower than the production cost to "penetrate the market". The court ruled in favour of the tax department and said the commercial cost of manufacturing the cars was not being reflected in the assessable value and, therefore, it cannot be accepted as the "normal price".

The court ruling covers the period starting 2007 until the time the government introduced concept of transaction value, which is the price actually paid for the goods and includes any amount liable to be paid by the buyer to the company. While several car makers - including Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra - have already been approached by the excise department, officials said the order would apply to the entire manufacturing sector. "There is no problem wherever there is MRP-based sales. But in case there is a discount involved, then we will have to look at it," said a commissioner-rank officer. Tax consultants too said that the ruling is being applied to the entire manufacturing sector.

When contacted, several auto companies, including Mahindra & Mahindra, confirmed that the tax department had approached them to recover additional taxes. "Requested data in respect of this matter has been furnished," a spokesperson for M&M said. Auto industry lobby Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) has raised the matter with the finance ministry, while expressing reservations over the move. "This may lead to a lot of hardships, and may increase litigation. The auto industry has already made a representation to the government, and we are in favour of the transaction value method as the basis for working out the excise duty. This is mainly the cost at which a vehicle is billed to the dealer," said Shekar Viswanathan, vice chairman (external affairs) at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, who is also leading the Siam committee on indirect taxes.

Viswanathan said the new rule also seeks to find out the profit margins on a model, and for all this the excise department is in the process of appointing cost auditors to look into internal workings of companies. "We fear that this might compromise competitiveness of individual companies as internal cost data holds sensitive details. The government should bring about an Ordinance or a clarification in the Budget to have clarity on the matter."

M&M also expressed uncertainty over the move. "We do not know yet what view the excise dept will take in this regard and hence cannot comment on fairness of it. So far the excise assessment was very straight-forward because it was done on the basis of invoice, so there was no ambiguity. If the excise is levied on the basis of cost, reams of data will have to be shared and yet there will be no clarity on which cost is allocated to which vehicle and in what proportion because all costs are not direct costs," the company spokesperson said.

Among the cola players, Coca-Cola did not respond to a questionnaire, while Pepsi said it had not received a communication from the tax department. "We have not received any communication from the excise department in the said matter and hence will not be able to comment. However, we would like to reiterate that PepsiCo as a responsible corporate citizen adheres to all Indian laws and regulations including taxation," a PepsiCo India spokesperson said.

Source: The Times on India

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