Quicktakes — Pawar is JPSC chief

NEW DELHI: Sharad Pawar has been nominated as chairman of the 30-member Joint Parliamentary Select Committee (JPSC) which has been asked to...

NEW DELHI: Sharad Pawar has been nominated as chairman of the 30-member Joint Parliamentary Select Committee (JPSC) which has been asked to study the new broadcasting bill.

The committee, which includes 20 members from the Lok Sabha, has been asked to present its report to parliament in the first week of the monsoon session. The bill, introduced on the last day of the budget session, stipulates among other things that all satellite and terrestrial broadcasters have to obtain a license and abide by the code laid down by the proposed autonomous broadcasting authority of India.

RS members dead

NEW DELHI: N Giriprasad, deputy general secretary of CPI and leader of the party in Rajya Sabha, and M Aram, a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha passed away this morning. While Giriprasad died following multiple organ failure, Aram death came of a cardiac arrest.

13 die in accident

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LUCKNOW: At least thirteen persons were killed and 22 others injured when a Tata mini bus rammed into a tree in Mewari village in Mau district this morning. Police said the accident occurred when the driver of the bus lost control and hit a roadside tree, killing nine persons on the spot.

Quake relief

JABALPUR: Prime Minister I K Gujral today released Rs five crore to the Madhya Pradesh government as an interim measure to provide relief to the people affected by the devastating earthquake. A team of seismo-tactomics division (Nagpur-Maharashtra) has also arrived here for a systematic survey of the quake hit areas. Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government today appointed S Lakshminarayanan as the acting chief secretary to look after the rescue and relief operations of the quake hit areas in Mahakoshal region of the state.

Ghandat bail plea

MUMBAI: In a major development in the Rs 4.68 crore Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank scam, the sessions court rejected the anticipatory bail application of bank chairman and Independent MLA Sitaram Ghandat and seven others here today. Sessions judge S A Basu however restrained the arrest of Ghandat and others till May 28 to enable them to move the High Court.

CR locals

MUMBAI: Central Railway will not operate local train services between Thane and Kalyan on Sunday. However CR will operate normal services between VT station and Thane and from Kalyan onwards. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation has made arrangements for bus services between Thane and Kalyan.