1993 Bombay bombings

he 1993 Bombay bombings were a series of 13 bomb explosions that took place in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India on Friday, 12 March 1993. The coordinated attacks were the most destructive bomb explosions in Indian history. The single-day attacks resulted in over 250 fatalities and 700 injuries.^[4]

The attacks were coordinated by Dawood Ibrahim, don of the Bombay-based international organised crime syndicate named D-Company.

Ibrahim is believed to have ordered and helped organise the bombings in Bombay, through one of his subordinates, Tiger Memon. The bombings are also believed to have been financially assisted by the expatriate Indian smugglers, Hajji Ahmed, Hajji Umar and Taufiq Jaliawala, as well as the India smugglers, Aslam Bhatti and Dawood Jatt. The Indian authorities have also alleged the involvement of the Pakistani intelligence agency, ^] Several of the terrorists received arms, ammunition and explosives training in Pakistan or were recruited from Dubai, UAE.

Asghar Yusuf Muquddam and Shahnawaz Qureshi, who have been found guilty for involvement in the blasts pleaded for leniency, claiming that they were not terrorists and were emotionally driven to participate in the act. Mukadam claimed that the main conspirators took advantage of his "frame of mind" after the demolition of Babri Masjid and the subsequent riots, alleging police partiality during the riots. "Vested interests" instigated him to act as he did. Quareshi was trained in Pakistan to handle arms and ammunition. He and Muquddam parked the explosive filled vehicle at Plaza cinema, Mumbai which resulted in 10 deaths and 37 injuries. Qureshi reached Pakistan via Dubai, where he claims he was taken "under the pretext of providing ... an alternative job". He claims that his house was set on fire during the riots

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1993 Mumbai Bomb Blasts: Actor Sanjay Dutt Sentenced to Five Years in Jail; Yakub Memon Gets Death

The actor was sentenced to six years in jail after he was convicted by a special TADA court in 2007 for illegal possession of a 9 mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle. He was acquitted of the terror charges under the now defunct Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. 

The apex court on Thursday said that it agreed on the acquittal on terror charges, but upheld the conviction for illegal possession of arms. The court reduced the jail term from six to five years for Sanjay. The actor has already spent 18 months in jail and is currently on bail. He has not been granted probation and will be sent back to jail to serve three years and six months. However, the actor has been given an option to file a review petition.

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On 12 March, 1993, 12 bomb blasts rocked Mumbai killing 257 people and injuring more than 700. The explosions also caused damage to property worth ₹27 crore.

The apex court also upheld the death sentence of Yakub Memon in the Mumbai serial blasts. Calling Memon as the prime accused in the case, the SC said, "We have no doubt about Memon's role in the blasts."

Yakub is the brother of Tiger Memon who along with Dawood Ibrahim is said to have masterminded the Mumbai blasts. Both Tiger and Dawood fled India after the blasts. The apex court also commuted the death sentences of 10 others to life.

The court also came down heavily on Pakistan. It lashed out at Pakistan saying, "The accused were trained in bomb making and to handle sophisticated weapons in Pakistan," and added, "Managementand conspiracy of blasts were done by Dawood Ibrahim and others."

The SC said that the Pakistan's Intelligence agency ISI was also involved in the blast. 

source wikipedia 

Andhra Pradesh Budget 2013- 14 Presented by Finance Minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy: Highlights

Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, the Finance Minister of Andhra Pradesh on 18 March 2013 presented the budget for the year 2013-14 to the Andhra Pradesh legislature.

Budget 2013-14 of Andhra Pradesh at a Glance

• For the financial year 2013-14, government proposes an expenditure of 161348 crores Rupees. Non-plan expenditure is estimated at 101926 crores Rupees and Plan expenditure at 59422 crores Rupees. 

• The estimated revenue surplus is 1023 crores Rupees and fiscal deficit is estimated at 24487 crores Rupees at 2.85 percent of GSDP
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• First ever exclusive Agriculture action plan was presented to the Legislature.

• The revised estimates of 2012-13 indicate a revenue surplus of 1685 crores against the budgeted revenue surplus of 4444 crores Rupees. The fiscal deficit is estimated at.21129 crores Rupees which would be 2.86% of GSDP. 

• The Gross State Domestic Product of Andhra Pradesh (GSDP) at current prices for the year 2012-13 as per the Advance estimates is 738497 crores rupees - an increase of 12.72 percent over the quick estimate of the GSDP of the previous year.

• The interest subvention scheme of Vaddileni Runalu is launched for the benefit of the farmers. An allocation of 500 crores rupees is made in the budget.

• A provision of 6128 crores rupees is proposed in year 2013-14 for Agriculture and Allied Sectors.

• The allocation for Social Welfare department is 4122 crores rupees in 2013-14. The allocation has been increased by 1445 crores Rupees over 2677 Rupees crores allocated in the year 2012-13.

• Five Districts i.e. Rangareddy, Hyderabad, East Godavari, Ananthapur and Chittoor are selected for implementation Aadhar Enabled Payment of all benefits in the first phase.

• Under the economic support schemes, Government is implementing the SC action plan so as to provide assistance to 66213 beneficiaries with an outlay of 423.86 crores rupees.

• For improving health infrastructure in tribal areas, Government have sanctioned buildings for (59) PHCs, (238) Sub-Centres and (19) CHNCs with a cost of 45.97 crore Rupees under NRHM.

or u can go with full details click here  : source file 
http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/andhra-pradesh-budget-2013-14-presented-by-finance-minister-anam-ramnarayana-reddy-highlights-1363700247-1

Union Cabinet approved Electronic Services Bill

The Union Government on 18 March 2013 approved a bill that is directed towards providing access to all central and state government services such as passport, ration card and driving licences electronically, especially the Internet, within eight years. 

The bill will be of directive nature and mandate the government organisations to start providing all services for citizen within eight years time through electronic medium. 

The (central and state) governments will notify the service that they will provide electronically in next 5 years. They will be given extra three years after five years to ensure all services all provided electronically. 

The bill is supposed to bring more transparency in the system as the electronic delivery of services will help rein in corruption. 

The Electronic Service Delivery bill was brought before the Cabinet to bring it in sync with Citizens Charter Bill or The Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011, and was approved by Union Cabinet on 7 March 2013.

10-Year Iraq War Timeline

Within a few years of the invasion, Iraq spiraled into chaos, fueled by a growing insurgency and the increasingly deadly sectarian fighting between Sunnis and Shiites. Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians lost their lives, with some estimates as high as 100,000.

Although the level of violence is no longer what it was when the U.S. military was in Iraq, terrorist bombings are still a common occurrence in Iraq. It is believed that as many as 200 Iraqis died in violent attacks in February.

And althoughAnd the divide between Sunnis and Shiites is reflected in the political stalemate generated by the increasingly authoritarian government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite.

But in 2003, the world's attention was focused on whether Saddam Hussein would give into U.S. and international pressure to give up the weapons of mass destruction he was believed to possess.

Within a year after the invasion, it became clear that Hussein's regime did not possess weapons of mass destruction. Congressional investigations determined that the Bush administration had made the decision to rid Iraq of the weapons based on a huge intelligence failure. Iraq had no such weapons. Hussein had disassembled his chemical and nuclear programs years before, but had kept even his own generals guessing about what his regime possessed.