Kabul: Afghanistan’s senate has endorsed a death sentence handed down by a court to a reporter and journalism student accused of blasphemy, the parliament media office said on Wednesday.
The senate, called the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders), issued a statement on Tuesday backing last week’s decision by the Balkh province primary court and criticising international pressure over the case, an official said.
The court sentenced Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, to death for distributing articles downloaded from the Internet that were said to question the Quran and the role of women in Islam. AFP
TCS’ UK subsidiary wins £100 million BPO order
Mumbai: The UK-based subsidiary of India’s largest software services firm, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), has secured a £100 million (Rs783 crore) order from Canada’s Sun Life Financial Inc.
Diligenta, will deliver business process outsourcing (BPO) services to Sun Life Financial (SLF). The services are expected to commence in May this year, and are estimated to be £100 million over the life of the contract, TCS said in a communique to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
“The deal with SLF, underlines the strength of TCS Diligenta strategy, launched in 2006. Our vision was to establish a centre of excellence in the UK to capitalize on the growing BPO trend and to cultivate new opportunities in this sector,” TCS UK and Ireland vice-president and country head A.S. Lakshminarayanan said.
Shares of TCS gained 0.28% to close at Rs865.65 on the BSE. PTI
Kerala forms panel to probe HMT land sale
Thiruvananthapuram: The cabinet in Kerala on Wednesday constituted a high-level committee headed by state chief secretary P.J. Thomas to look into the sale of 70 acres of land by public sector HMT Ltd to Mumbai-based private company, Blue Star Realtors, to set up a Rs4,000 crore Cyber City at Kalamassery in Kochi.
The committee comprising secretaries in revenue, industry, IT, registration and law departments, has been asked to recommend further steps to be taken on the deal within a week, state chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan said during the cabinet briefing.
The government was committed to protect public lands and recover them from landgrabbers, he said. Irregularities, if any, in the HMT land deal and also in any previous land deals would be found out, Achuthanandan said. PTI
Sonia urges cadre to make NREGA a success
New Delhi: Following reports of serious lapses in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), Congress party chief and chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, urged her party workers to help make a success of the scheme.
In a letter published in party publication, ‘Congress Sandesh’, Gandhi wrote, “Some reports suggest that the NREGA has not been systematically implemented...our party cadre must come forward and work with NGOs involved in the sector to weed out corruption and mismanagement.”
The scheme, which guarantees an adult from a rural household 100 days of employment at minimum wages annually, was launched two years ago in 200 districts. Ashish Sharma
Essar to raise $2 bn, ramp up unit by March