Madhu Koda's net assets worth nearly Rs 1 crore

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ew Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, facing charges of money laundering of over Rs 2,000 crore, had put his net assets at nearly Rs one crore at the time of the Lok Sabha polls.

In 2005, Koda had movable assets worth Rs 13 lakh, and by 2009, they rose to over Rs 94 lakh. His immovable assets also doubled to over Rs four lakh during this period.

These disclosures were made by Koda himself -- first in the affidavit he filed with the Election Commission at the time of contesting the Assembly elections in 2005 and then earlier this year when he fought the Lok Sabha polls.

Koda won on both the occasions -- from Jagannathpur in 2005 and Singhbhum this year as an Independent candidate.

According to the affidavits, his cash holding of about Rs 30,000 in 2005 also rose to Rs 13.

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AI employees stage protest march to Parliament

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ew Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) A section of Air India pilots, technicians and employees today marched to Parliament demanding immediate government action to save the cash- strapped national carrier.

The employees, holding Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav responsible for the present condition of the airline, also demanded his removal and regularisation of the payment of their due salary and productivity linked incentive.

"We do not want to go on strike, but the way we (the employees) were being held responsible for the present situation, our patience has ran out, so if we do not get any response from the management we will be forced to go on strike from November 24, as decided," Indian Commerical Pilots' Association (ICPA) President Captain Shailendra Singh said.

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NASA signs agreement with ISRO to use data from Oceasat II

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ashington, Nov 19 (ANI): The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US has entered an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to use data from the Indian satellite Oceansat-II.

The agreement will pave the way for NASA to use data from Oceansat-II for its research, education, weather forecasting, and other activities aimed at the public good.

The agreement in this regard was signed by Michael Freilich, Director Earth Science Division, NASA and Ranganath Navalgund, Director, Space Application Centre, on the sidelines of Sixth Plenary Session of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO).

Oceansat-II, which was launched in September, was designed to provide service continuity for operational users of the Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) instrument.

The satellite contains eight bands of the OCM to study ocean biology, Ku band pencil beam, Scatterometer to measure sea surface wind vectors and radio occultation sounder for atmosphere. (ANI)

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FDs for girls, pension for unmarried women in Assam

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n a display of gender generosity, the Assam government has doled out fixed deposit certificates to 2000 girls belonging to economically weaker sections while announcing a pension scheme for unmarried women aged 45 years or more.

A year after the Majoni (little girl) scheme was launched, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi formally distributed FDs of Rs 5,000 each to 2000 girls from Kamrup and Kamrup Metro districts on Wednesday evening.

The FD, gifted on condition that parents allow their daughters to study beyond puberty, can be encashed when a beneficiary turns 18. The money is expected to grow to Rs 25,000-30,000 by that time to fund each girl's education in government-run institutes.

"If a society has to march ahead, the girl child has to be nurtured and taken care of in the formative years so that they becoming economically independent at 18," Gogoi said while handing out the FDs. "We want to wipe out illiteracy among the womenfolk and to prevent early marriage, and this can done if their education is ensured."

According to the 2001 census, Assam's literacy rate is 64.28 per cent. But while the male literacy rate is 71.93 per cent, only 56.03 per cent females are literate. Most girls in the state drop out between classes V and X.

Underscoring the need for birth control - Majoni is indirectly aimed at keeping the family size small - Gogoi said his government would consider raising the FD amount if revenue realization increases. The scheme is expected to cost the government Rs 150 crore for nearly 2.80 lakh girls born every year.

According to Social Welfare Minister Akon Bora, the FD scheme would be extended to 25,000 girls in each of Assam's 27 districts from next month. "We have also decided to launch by December 15 three new schemes for women belonging to poor families," he said.

Besides a pension scheme for unmarried women aged 45 years or more, the government would be doling out Rs 10,000 to each BPL widow and Rs 4000 to a pregnant woman from economically disadvantaged communities.

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