Bar council opposes education Bill

Advocates of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to go on strike on Jan 20

Chandigarh, January 12
Terming the Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011, as “undemocratic” and “motivated” to regulate the legal education sector in the county, the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana today opposed the bill.

Now on the call given by the Bar Council of India (BCI), advocates of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh would go on strike on January 20.

Lekh Raj Sharma, chairman, Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, said with this Bill, the Union government had tried to take away the powers of the BCI to regulate the legal education sector of the country.

He added that the Union government was in so hurry for the bill that the new bill was approved without any consultation with the members of Bar.

An emergency meeting has also been called on January 15 in Chandigarh, he added.

Amrik Singh Kalra, secretary of Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, said as per the Advocates Act, 1961, lawyers want to be independent of the government control but the Centre is trying to take control over the advocates and legal education.

He added that the Bar council can smell the hidden agenda of the government in bringing this Bill. With this Bill, the government is planning to allow foreign nationals to practice as advocates in India. The Bar council would also oppose any kind of the hindrance in the smooth functioning of the bodies established under the Advocates Act, 1961, he added.

‘Aap ki Yaad Mein’ a treat for music lovers

Chandigarh, January 12
“Music is divine and musicians play an important role in making any composition magical and immortal,” observed acclaimed Bollywood music-director Uttam Singh while speaking at “Aap ki Yaad Mein”, a musical function, held at the Tagore Theatre here yesterday.

As many as 35 singers and musicians performed during the function. A well-known music director of the region, Atul Sharma and versatile artiste Poorvi Kautish gave a majestic start to the function with Jagjit Singh’s ghazal “Haath chhute bhi toh rishtey nahin chhora karte.”

Uttam Singh performed “Chura liya hai” on violin and also accompanied singers, Dr Pradeep Bhardwaj and Pratika Bhasin, for duets.

Haryana IG (CID) Rajbir Deswal surprised all present with an immaculate rendition of “Voh ham naa thhe”.

Winners of PTC Voice of Punjab Jaspinder, Voice of Chandigarh Neetu Bhalla and veterans, Naresh Jacob and Veenu Kautish, enthralled the audience with their recitals. Music arranger GS Lovely and Sanjeev Kapur also won accolades for their performances.

Man defrauded of Rs 62,000 through net-banking

Another reports defamatory e-mails; cases registered

Chandigarh, January 12
Two cases of cyber fraud were registered in the city today. The first was registered on the complaint of a Sector-15 resident who was duped of Rs 62,000, the money having been siphoned off from his account through net-banking.

The complainant, running a travel agency, had an account with the Sector-8 branch of Induslnd Bank and the money was transferred to an account with the Punjab National Bank at Dimapur in Nagaland.

After the complaint was lodged with the police, investigations revealed that the money had been transferred to a bank account in Nagaland, opened under a fake name of Vitoni Choppy. The case was registered after legal opinion.

It was alleged that the account to which the money was transferred had been opened in the name of Vitoni Choppy, a resident of Xukye village in the Uiuland subdivision.

While Rs 40,000 was transferred on January 2, another Rs 22,000 were transferred on January 4. A case under Sections 66 and 66-C of the IT Act was registered at the Sector-3 police station.

In the other case, Gurmeet Singh Arora, chairman of the ABC Montessori School at Sector 9, alleged that BM Rudhra Mani of Karnataka had defamed him.

According to the complaint, Mani had sent illegal e-mails to Arora’s business associates, franchisees and students’ parents. A case under Sections 66-A of the IT Act was registered today after legal opinion.

No Kaushalya water for Sukhna

Chandigarh, January 11

In a yet another jolt to the UT Administration’s efforts to preserve the city’s landmark Sukhna Lake, the Haryana government has turned down its request to provide water from the Kaushalya Dam in Pinjore to the Sukhna Lake.

The Haryana government, in its recent communication to the UT Administration, stated that it would not be able to provide water from the Kaushalya Dam to fill the Sukhna Lake.

A few months back, the Administration had requested the Haryana government to provide a separate water line from the line which the government was laying from Pinjore to Panchkula to end the water crisis in Panchkula.

A senior official of the UT Administration said they were trying everything to save the Sukhna Lake and in this process, they had also sought the help from the Haryana government.

The official added that rain was the major source of water to the Sukhna Lake and it had not rained well in past year.

The lake had not filled to its capacity and therefore, they had sought water from the Kaushalya Dam, he added.

More water in the Sukhna Lake would suffocate the weed that grew in the swamp. The weed would not be able to come above the water level and die.

Sources said the Haryana government had informed the UT Administration the Kaushalya Dam would provide 18.40 cusecs of raw drinking water to Panchkula and adjoining areas and the project cost was around Rs 200 crore.

The project was started to end the water crisis in the Panchkula district and therefore, it would be not possible for Haryana to give water to the UT Administration for the Sukhna Lake, the sources added.

Water crisis in Panchkula
At present, 170 tubewells are the only source of water supply to Panchkula. The present requirement of the town is 24 MGD (million gallons per day). Panchkula is receiving 19.03 MGD from tubewells. HUDA officials had given an estimate that Panchkula needed 3.24 MGD from the Kajauli waterworks and 5.40 MGD from the Kaushlya Dam.

Biggest-ever haul of stolen vehicles

Chandigarh, January 10
The UT police today made its largest-ever seizure of stolen vehicles by recovering 58 vehicles (mostly Boleros and SUVs) and bikes of different makes from six members of an inter-state gang.
The value of the stolen vehicles is said to be Rs 4 crore. The police has identified only 12 of the recovered cars stolen from the tricity and districts of Haryana and attempts are on to identify the rest and trace their actual owners.
The gang was active in Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, UP and Uttarakhand over the past many years, with many of its members arrested time and again by the police of various states.
One of the gang members, Bhim Pattan, has over 100 cases registered against him and confessed to the police that he used to target the cars while he was to appear in courts in various cases registered against him.
A team headed by DSP Roshan Lal comprising Inspector Ranjit Singh Dhillon and Sub Inspector Rajdeep Singh got the lead on December 24 with the arrest of one of its members, Amit Kumar, a resident of Rohtak. He was arrested in a case of fake number plates and his sustained interrogation led the police to crack the gang.
The police then arrested four more persons, identified as Bhim Pattan, Dharam Pal, Suresh Kumar, alias Nintu, and Sunil Kumar. The police then arrested gang member Harvinder Singh, alias Laddi, a resident of Kaithal district in Haryana, and a stolen Maruti Zen was recovered from their possession. Their accomplices, Rambir of Haryana and Paresh of Nagaland, are absconding.
Certain cars were recovered from certain sarpanches in Haryana who, in their ignorance, had purchased the stolen cars.
Accused Dharam Pal's daughter Olympic player: The daughter of an accused Dharam Pal participated in the handball competition in the Beijing Olympics, while his second daughter is an airhostess. His son is doing civil engineering. He is involved in crime since 1995 and faced more than 97 cases for this. He has his own gang, with whom he committed the crime whenever Bhim and other accused Sunil were in jail. Out of the other accused, Amit Kumar, is a postgraduate.

Modus operandi: They used to steal the vehicles and then punch the new engine number and chassis number on the stolen vehicles. Thereafter, they used to prepare forged registration certificate, insurance certificate or used to get the vehicles registered by preparing forged sale letters. While punching engine number and chassis number on the stolen vehicle, the accused person would always keep in mind the series. Interestingly, the gang members stole the vehicles on the date when they used to appear before courts for hearing of their cases. They used to sell it off to laymen through their middlemen in Nagaland and Nepal. The police has recovered an L-key, ignition sockets, punching kit, fake engine and chassis number plates, maker of fake engine number, chassis number plates, paint spray, blank insurance cover notes and sale letters from their possession.

Recovered vehicles: The recovered vehicles include a number of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and high-segment cars comprising 21 Boleros, four Tata Trucks, one JCB machine, one Pajero, one Honda Civic, two Toyota Innovas, two Scorpios, two Tata Safaris, one Chevrolet Tavera, six Hyundai Vernas, one Maruti Swift, one Tata Indigo, one Maruti Zen, three Hyundais, two Mahindra Jeep, one Tata Indica, one Hyundai Accent, two Maruti Altos, one Hyundai Getz, one UVA(Chevrolet), one Tata Ace (loading tempo), Kinetic Nova (scooter), Bajaj Pulsar (motorcycle, Kinetic Honda scooter. These vehicles have been recovered from the purchasers of the stolen cars, the police said.

The police is also examining the role of the employees of different registration authorities and some agencies (dealers) into the cases of tampering of chassis and engine numbers.

The registration certificates prepared with forged sale letters, engine and chassis number will be deleted from the record of the registration authorities concerned after proper verification.

Main accused opened Bolero in 90 seconds
The prime accused Bhim Pattan demonstrated to the police the swiftness with which he opened the locks of Bolero jeeps. The entire operation of opening the lock with a scale, an L-key and inserting an ignition socket takes a little over one minute for him. However, cars with central locking and gear locks were not easy to unlock for him and old cars were on his priority list, said the police.
‘Son selected in Delhi Police’
Prime accused Bhim Pattan’s son was selected as a sub-inspector in the Delhi Police recently, but is yet to join, as a writ petition is pending against him owing to his father's criminal past. Pattan's daughter is pursuing LLB at his hometown in Hisar. His second son has cleared state eligibility test for the post of teacher. Bhim Pattan (46) is the kingpin of the vehicle-lifters and is involved in crime since 1991. He has more than 100 cases registered against him so far. He has 70 gang members working under him who are wanted by the police of various states. He used to steal cars while appearing before courts of various states. "Stealing vehicles is a business for him, he has no remorse and still says he will take to the crime again after getting released," said an investigating officer.
Hollywood parallel
Seeing the size of recovery of stolen vehicles, a top cop made a comparison of the catch with a famous Hollywood flick ‘‘Gone in 60 Seconds”, released in 2000, starring Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie. Cage, a master car thief, is forced to return to Los Angeles and steal 50 cars in 72 hours for a British boss

National School Games: Chandigarh team assaults Kerala players during match

Injured admitted to Government Multi-Speciality Hospital in Sector 16; Referee declared the match, in which the Kerala team was leading, a draw

Chandigarh, January 10
A semi-final match during the 57th National School Games that was being held at DAV Senior Secondary School in Sector 8 turned violent when 10 players of the Kerala handball team were assaulted by players of the rival Chandigarh team here today.

All players were taken to the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital in Sector 16 only when they informed their community members about the violence. The sports officials acted as mute spectators even as members of the Kerala team were being thrashed with bats, wickets and hockey sticks during the match.

The scuffle began when the Kerala team was leading with four points. The injured players alleged that their team was leading, but the match referee declared the match as draw and said that both teams had secured 13 points each. It was alleged that as the Kerala team players made queries from the referee, players of the Chandigarh team attacked them, resulting in injuries to Kerala players.

The injured included 10 players and two coaches of Kerala School Handball team. The scuffle lasted for some time, following which the team members were sent to their camp residence in Government Model Senior secondary School in Sector 26 in a bus. The manager of the Kerala team Shiabin informed their relatives in Kerala, following which the Kerala Sabha in Chandigarh was informed. It was only then that the police was called and the injured players were taken to the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16. Their X-ray examination was conducted and some of them sustained sprains on their arms and legs.

The injured included Kerala team captain Deljo David, vice-captain Vishnu Prasad and others, besides two coaches Rajiv and Sashi.

The police said the medical examination of the victims was being conducted. UT Home Secretary Anil Kumar also reached the hospital. A case will be registered only after legal opinion.

Officials mute spectators
The injured Kerala players were taken to the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital in Sector 16 only when they informed their community members about the violence. The sports officials acted as mute spectators even as members of the Kerala team were being thrashed with bats, wickets and hockey sticks during the match.
Match today

In a late-night development, the sport authorities announced that the match between the two teams would be played again on Wednesday at 9 am.

Merchant Navy Officer Academy fined Rs 50,000

Chandigarh, January 9
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-I slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on the Swami Vivekanand University of Merchant Navy (now Merchant Navy Officer Academy) for its failure to provide onboard deck training to a resident of Mohali.

The district forum comprising president PD Goel and members Rajinder Singh Gill and Madanjit Kaur Sahota also directed the opposite party to refund Rs 3,15,000, besides Rs 10,000 as the cost of litigation.

The complainant, Arvind Kaur, submitted that after being allured by the advertisement regarding the deck cadet course (pre-sea training) by the opposite party, she approached them for getting her son, Mohit Arora admitted in the said course, culminating into the licence for continue discharge certificate, upon which placement of the candidate would be made on the ship.

She was to deposit Rs 3,15,000, out of which Rs 1,55,000 was for the pre-sea training and an amount of Rs 1,60,000 was to be deposited before the start of the course. She deposited Rs 1,55,000 and her son was issued various certificates regarding the training and the onboard training was to commence from November 4, 2009, but the same was not started. She approached the opposite party through her husband who asked her son to deposit the remaining fee of Rs 1,60,000.

She further alleged that her son was taken to Bangkok (Thailand) on March 12, 2010 on the assurance that the continue discharge certificate would be issued there. Before departing, a sum of Rs 1.60 lakh was also taken by the opposite party and her son was issued certificate to work onboard of Panamanian Ship for a period of three months and thereafter, received a letter through the opposite party from one Hailong Shipping and Investment Development Vietnam for the onboard training, starting from May 3, 2010.

According to the complainant, many commitments were made regarding the continue discharge certificate and licence to board, but no development took place and her son has to stay at Bangkok. Thereafter, he was taken to Cambodia where her son had to stay for one month and returned back on expiry of his visa.

According to the complainant, the certificates issued by the opposite party were fake and had no recognition for imparting the said training, besides having no authority to issue the said certificates. She requested the opposite party to refund Rs 3,15,000 deposited with them, but to no effect.

The counsel for the opposite party pleaded that on completion of the pre-sea training course, requisite certificates were issued to the candidate. Thereafter, they provided certificate to the candidate for joining the “onboard training”, without any delay. It has been pleaded that the complainant has failed to deposit Rs 1,60,000 for the onboard training of the candidate and only Rs 1,47,200 was paid on March 15, 2010, that, too, after the completion of the training and issuance of the transitory certificate in February, 2010.

It has further been pleaded that the complainant’s son returned to India without consulting the opposite party and failed to reach the company’s office by the stipulated date i.e. May 12, 2010. They further asserted that the institute of the opposite party is duly recognised and the certificates issued by them are genuine.

Pafex told to pay Rs 5,000 by Consumer Court

Chandigarh, January 9
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-I slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on Pafex (Prakash Air Freight Private Limted) for its failure to deliver a parcel.

The district forum comprising president PD Goel and members Rajinder Singh Gill and Madanjit Kaur Sahota has also directed the respondents to pay Rs 2,195 on account of the loss suffered by the complainant.

The complainant, Dilpreet Singh, submitted that he approached Brijesh Sareen, Shiv Shakti Stationery and Couriers at Panjab University (Opposite party no 2) for sending a parcel containing some clothes and shoes to his cousin at Jhansi. He showed his parcel to the opposite party no.2, who asked him to pack it properly, which he did accordingly and gave it to the opposite party No.2. He said after three days, he received the packet and found that one pair of shoes, costing Rs 2,195, was missing from the packet. His cousin went to the office of opposite party No.1 at Jhansi, but it told him to contact their Chandigarh office, from the where the courier was booked. When he approached the opposite party no.2 and asked him about the parcel, he replied that it was done in a hurry. He made irrelevant excuses and asked the complainant to talk to branch manager of the opposite party No.1 in Chandigarh. It is averred that he called the branch manager, who told him to meet the opposite party No.2 who offered only Rs 500 as compensation.

The counsel for the opposite party No.1 pleaded that the transaction in question is without any declaration of goods in respect of the goods claim, hence the complainant cannot be allowed to take advantage of his own wrong. It is further pleaded that courier had been duly delivered and no item of the couriered goods of the complainant had been lost. At the time of taking delivery of the impugned shipment, the consignee pointed out no irregularities and admittedly the delivery slip was signed in token of receipt and acceptance of the shipment in good order. Furthermore, as per the terms and conditions of the consignment note, the liability of the opposite party No.1, if any, is limited to Rs 100 only.

Initially, the opposite party no 2 appeared in person and sought time to file reply/evidence but subsequently, did not appear and suffered ex-parte.

The forum observed that the non-appearance of opposite party no.2 as well as non-filing of reply, despite appearing on three dates of hearing and then suffering ex-parte order, shows that opposite party no.2 did not want to say anything in its defense or to contest the claim of the complainant and the allegations made by the complainant are true.

Reducing traffic congestion on UT Admn agenda

Chandigarh, January 9
Upgrade of road infrastructure and public transport and reduction in traffic congestion is high on the agenda of the UT Administration this year.

UT Adviser to Administrator KK Sharma said the administration was all set to start work on certain plans aiming at reducing congestion on the city roads as well as upgrade of road infrastructure to smooth traffic flow.

“Work would be initiated in the direction of constructing underpasses at certain points and under bridge at Hallo Majra soon to smoothen traffic flow on the roads. Besides, we also take steps to upgrade public transport system by adding about 90 new low-floor buses to the fleet of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU),” said Sharma.

Sharma added that to bring people, who use private vehicles to public transport, new routes would be worked out apart from increase in frequency of the local buses on these routes.

When asked whether or not some of the roundabouts be removed to check the congestion on certain points, Sharma said there was no plan to remove any of the roundabouts but some of them could be contracted if needed to be.

“In fact, these roundabouts ‘calm’ the traffic flow so there is no plan of removal of any of the existing roundabout in the city,” said Sharma, adding that improving the traffic scenario as well as road infrastructure in the city would be one of the main focus of the administration this year.

Running gave me a second life: Fauja Singh

Marathon legend Fauja Singh runs with participant
 at Panchkula on Sunday. 

Panchkula, January 8
“Running has given me a second life,” said 100-year-old Fauja Singh, a veteran athlete, for whom athleticism is the only thing he knows, loves and prays. Here to flag off the 2nd Panchkula running and living marathon, including a cross-country half marathon (21.097 km), cross-country (10 km) and cross-country (5 km), the athlete was seen promoting sports among the youth.

“I was a zamindar before shifting my interest in athletics. All a person needs is to work hard and sincerely; diet and kits are exceptional things,” said Fauja Singh.

Adding further, “I have been to many places, including Lahore, during my early days. Even in England, people run not only for fun but to overcome their problems. Everyone should get themselves engaged in one activity or the other,” said Singh.

Fauja Singh was also seen narrating his experiences to the people surrounding him. Fauja further added, “My speed has gone slow due to my growing age. I am not facing any physical illness and all I want to see is young blood of the country fit.”

On the other hand, the athlete also feels a special attraction towards the City Beautiful. “I have been to many places, including abroad, the people here are as good as the city. I hope to see a big event been organised here,” said Fauja.

Earlier the veteran athlete completed a small round with the participants. A total of 150 participants participated in the run. The cross-country run started from a hotel in Panchkula and passed through trails along the Ghaggar.

“It was a great fun to participate in the run, however, the overall patch was not good, but somehow I managed to complete. My favourite patch for running is the area adjoining the Sukhna Lake,” said Stephen from South Africa, who is currently residing in Chandigarh.

Awards comprising T-shirts, water bottles, belts and other running gears were given to the first three finishers in each of the runs as well as to the first veteran finisher and first woman finisher.

PCA recommends disciplinary action against policemen

Lethargy and delay in case of forgery against PGI staffer

Chandigarh, January 8
The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) has recommended disciplinary action against police officers of the Sector-11 police station for their lethargy and delay as they sat on a complaint of forgery against a PGI employee for two years.

In its order, the PCA stated, “In view of the lethargic approach and inordinate delay in investigation, the SSP is requested to take disciplinary action against the police officers of the Sector-11 police station responsible for lethargy and delay.”

“It is a serious matter concerning a premier medical institute. The complaint deserves urgent, serious and fair investigation. Lots of evidence appeared to show, prima facie, that an order was never issued by the department, but was fraudulently created,” said Justice NK Aggarwal, Chairman, PCA.

As per the complaint filed by Surinder Chadha, his niece Priyanka allegedly committed forgery as PGI employee while applying for leave several times. The complaint stated that she applied for medical leave in January, 2009, but went to Canada without informing the employer.

As per the allegations, Priyanka allegedly forged an office order dated March 23, 2009, purported to have been issued by the PGI director, granting her earned leave for 30 days from April 24, 2009, to enable her to appear in the CAMRI examination in Canada.

The office order was shown to have been endorsed to Priyanka by the head of her department, the accounts branch. It was alleged that the document was fraudulent.

A police report was lodged by the chief security officer with the PGI. The complainant alleged that the police had not made any progress even after a report regarding forged signatures of the senior administrative officer with PGI was forwarded to the department of radio-diagnosis on October 21, 2009.

The PCA observed that the senior administrative officer with the PGI had written to the Under-Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, stating that Priyanka had applied for visa to Canada on a forged document, which was never issued by the office.

India must fully tap investment potential of NRIs, PIOs: Pranab

JAIPUR: Citing example of China, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that India too needs to fully tap the investment potential of NRIs and their entrepreneurial skills and promote inclusive growth. 

"We have not yet reaped the full benefits of India's great diaspora. The most obvious area remains that of investment and entrepreneurship. For instance, in China a large chunk of foreign direct investment has come from overseas Chinese," he said, while addressing the 10thPravasi Bhartiya Divas in Jaipur. 

Though there have been "large ticket investments" by NRIs and PIOs, he said, "it is far less than the potential and perhaps too concentrated on the formal sector. Rather, we must pursue an alternative model. One that is more balanced and holistic in a socio-economic sense". 

Overseas Indians, he said, should increase their contribution in social and economic areas like education, healthcare, and skill development and supplement the efforts of the government to promote inclusive growth. Mukherjee made these remarks while addressing a gathering of about 1,900 Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs). 

The non-resident Chinese have been playing a major role in the development of China and invest substantial in the domestic economy. 

Indian government, Mukherjee said, has been trying to improve the access of the poor and the vulnerable to vital public services by creating entitlements backed by limited legal guarantees which include the right to information, the right to work in rural areas and the right to education. 

Efforts, he added, were made to put in place right to food law which would ensure subsidised foodgrain for the poor population. 

Mukherjee said India does not require just financial contributions from its diaspora, but dedication of time, ideas and endeavour. 

On the economy, he said that though the year 2011 has been "an eventful one", India's achievements over the last few years have been commendable. 

"Though we have witnessed ups and downs, this period has transformed our country and catapulted it into the centre stage in the world...We are widely recognised as a major driver of global growth," he said. India is a member of the G20 and, within the G20, it is considered a part of the systemically most important 7. On the issue of brain drain, the Finance Minister said "the movement of the diaspora is no longer unidirectional as it was in the past. What started as a brain drain, has now become a brain gain, not just for India but the world as a whole". 

Today mobile Indian professionals and entrepreneurs, Mukherjee said are contributing across the global economy and enhancing its resilience in these troubled times. 

"Many have also returned to the home turf and are engaged in its socio-economic fabric. Still others have set up enterprises or professional relations that span national boundaries," he added. The entrepreneurial skills of the Indian business community settled abroad are a matter of envy for other nations, he said. 

Foreign firms are increasingly aware of the sharp business acumen of the Indian entrepreneur and managers. "They have come to respect our business houses and practices," Mukherjee said.

NRIs will get right to vote in Indian elections, promises Manmohan Singh

JAIPUR: Fulfilling a long-standing demand of its diaspora, India on Sunday said it would allowNRIs to vote and participate in the election process. 

"Pursuant to the law that was enacted to enable Non-resident Indians to vote in our national elections, the government has issued notifications for registration of overseas electors under the Representation of People Act, 1950," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. 

"This constitutes the first major step to enable Indian residents abroad to participate in our election process," the prime minister said while addressing the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divasdiaspora meet here. 

He said the diaspora plays an important role in the growth and development of the country. The government recognises it, and was committed to address their concerns and fulfil their demands. 

"The government and people of India recognise and value the important role being played by Indian communities living abroad. We believe that Indian diaspora has much more to contribute to the building of modern India," the prime minister said. 

"We propose to facilitate, encourage and promote this engagement. Over the past year, we have taken a number of steps towards this end," he added, as he formally inaugurated the 10th annual diaspora meet, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) here. 

Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said NRIs would be able to exercise their franchise in upcoming elections. 

"Indian nationals living abroad can now exercise their franchise in India at the time o f the elections," Ravi said. 

Now those NRIs who have registered with the embassies of their respective countries of stay, would be eligible to vote in the upcoming assembly elections in five states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. Polls will take place in these countries between Jan 28 and March 3. 

Ravi said objective of the government was to further increase engagements with diaspora. "Our objective is to raise the level of engagement to go beyond mere investment related issues and address a broader agenda." 

"We believe that this will provide the vast majority of you the opportunity to benefit from as well as contribute - each in your own way - to India's development story," the minister said. 

Later talking to media person, Ravi said this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is the largest congregation of Indian diaspora. 

He said almost 1,900 delegates from around 60 countries were participating in the three-day event.