Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Web site for civil service aspirants launched

New Delhi, Feb.2 (ANI): A new web site has been launched for civil service aspirants.

Over five lakh Civil Service aspirants preparing for 2010 prelims this year have a lot to cheer about. www.Jeywin.com has launched India’s first online tests for UPSC Civil Services preliminary exams, backed by a robust test engine from Texas-based Impiger Technologies.
With over one lakh questions, and more being added on a weekly basis, Jeywin also offers video lectures to help aspirants prepare for the prelims. Previous years’ question papers, interviews, success tips and NCERT books are other useful resources provided for the candidates.

According to UPSC, 3,18,843 candidates applied for the 2008 prelims.

But experts opine that the global downturn has resulted in a sharp focus on non-IT careers in India and the prestigious UPSC Civil Services has suddenly grabbed the attention of young grads in various disciplines, including engineering and medicine.

It is expected that over five lakh candidates will apply for this year’s preliminary exams scheduled for May 2010. (ANI)

Mumbai's drunk driver: I regret what happened

"Of course I regret what happened. I want to apologise" - these are the first words spoken in public by Nooriya Haveliwala, since she was arrested on Friday night for drunk driving in Mumbai.

Haveliwala, drove her SUV into a police check post on Marine Drive. A motorcyclist and policeman were killed. Four other cops were injured, two of them seriously.

Haveliwala was escorted by the police to her home in Chembur on Monday afternoon. The police wanted to reconstruct the chain of events that led to the accident.

Haveliwala, a beautician, was arrested after the accident and charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Her father told PTI that his daughter was not drunk, and that the machine used for her breathalyzer test was not working.

"Any person who consumes over 430 ml alcohol can either be completely unconscious or semi-unconscious. In fact they can't even walk. But my daughter, wearing high heels, was walking straight. Something is wrong with the machine as the amount of alcohol content it indicated was not correct," Yousuf Haveliwala, who also claims to be a physician, said.

Nooriya's mother, Yousuf said, "She never had any kind of criminal problem. She hardly drinks alcohol. She consumes beer, and that too once a while".

Haveliwala's blood samples have been sent to determine whether she had also done any drugs on the night of the accident.

In Meghalaya, it takes 4 to tango

Meghalaya has been ruled by ‘collision’ governments since 1978, says the state assembly’s website.

A Freudian slip, as parties have always collided with each other, giving the state 23 governments and two phases of President’s Rule in 38 years since it attained statehood in 1972. But on Thursday, the Congress adopted a different strategy for stability: it decided to humour all the aspiring chief ministers.

DD Lapang’s Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government elevated state Congress chief Friday Lyngdoh to the rank of CM. A year back, two former CMs, Donkupar Roy and J.D. Rymbai, were similarly reinstated.

While Lapang defended the move, John F. Kharshiing, spokesperson of the Federation of Khasi States, told HT: “I wouldn’t mind being notified as the fifth CM free of cost if it helps... improve governance...”

In 1978, B.B. Lyngdoh became chief of the Meghalaya United Legislative Party alliance government for less than a month before a lottery among the MLAs tipped the scale in favour of D.D. Pugh.

This was after Lyngdoh and Pugh led a breakaway faction of the All Party Hill Leaders’ Conference (APHLC) to victory after Capt Williamson Sangma — the first CM — switched over to the Congress.

But Lyngdoh ended Pugh’s 13-month run by teaming up with the Congress to form government in May 1979. Lyngdoh’s APHLC and the Congress set a precedent by equally dividing the rest of the term.

In 2001, independent MLA F.A. Khonglam headed the People’s Forum of Meghalaya government after the NCP toppled the 21-month-old Meghalaya Parliamentary Forum government, which replaced B.B. Lyngdoh’s government, which in turn had ousted the Congress in 1998.

Report on 111 fake encounters, NHRC tells Manipur

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Manipur government to furnish dossiers on 111 reported cases of fake encounters in the frontier state.

The apex rights body has also directed the State government to pay Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of RK Sanajaoba, nephew of former Manipur chief minister RK Jaichandra Singh, who was killed in an encounter on October 20 last year.

“Manipur has not been sending any reports about encounter killings,” the NHRC said, acting on a complaint filed by the Asian Centre for Human Rights. It directed the Manipur Chief Secretary to explain why reports were not being forwarded in 111 cases of alleged fake encounters.

In its January 28 order on the case pertaining to Sanajaoba’s killing, the NHRC stated: “The police has put up a theory that it is a case of accidental firing and the person sustained injuries as a consequence of which he died.

The deceased and one other person were returning home on their scooter, which was stopped on the way by some unknown police personnel of Manipur Police which was headed by a lady police officer. In the scuffle which took place one of the policemen took out the weapon and shot him on his chest from point blank range as a result of which he died on the spot.”

‘Sing Vande Mataram for gun licence’

CHANDIGARH: Want a gun in your hand? First, wear patriotism on your sleeves. Trigger-happy people in Bhiwani district of Haryana are now being made to delve into history and political science lessons, with the DM putting those looking for arms licence through a rigorous test from making them sing Vande Mataram and the national anthem to recalling names of the first prime minister and President of India.

DM Vikas Gupta says it is a flurry of frivolous applications that had him sit up and take note. The applicants are mostly between 18 and 27. This is an alarming trend. ‘‘I wanted to ensure that guns should fall in the right hands. So, I devised this test to check their credentials properly,’’ Gupta told TOI.

Most of them did not have valid reasons for asking for a licence. While some cited business rivalry, one said he needed a gun to protect his buffaloes from thieves. Many said it could help them get employment, he said.