Narendra Modi completes 10 years in office today

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi completes 10 years in office on Thursday. Does his government’s focus on development explain a surge in his popularity?

As Modi begins his tenth year in office on Thursday the talk is only of the state’s growth and development. CNN-IBN explains the significance of some fundamental political changes that are now becoming increasingly visible in Narendra’s Modi’s Gujarat.

“The BJP is in Gujarat and everybody is benefiting. We thought why should we be left out,” said Ayub Chauhan, voter.
Words that are being interpreted as indicative of a fundamental change in Gujarat. Chauhan is among growing numbers of Muslim voters who appear to be voting for Narendra Modi. The BJP’s first ever victory in the Kathlal assembly seat in the recently concluded bypolls being the biggest indicator with a 65 per cent Muslim voter base – the BJP had never won the seat in over 50 years. Modi believes the credit for this tectonic shift should go to development.

“The past one decade has been a decade of growth. Gujarat has scaled new heights in the past decade,” said Narendra Modi.

Modi rode to power in the communally charged 2002 assembly elections, held in the backdrop of the 2002 riots. Despite widespread condemnation, Modi repeated the victory in the 2007 elections.

Barring the Junagadh Municipal Corporation that the BJP lost, Modi’s party has been able to hold all other civic bodies in the past decade.

In the past nine years, Modi has focused on an inclusive growth and development model. But many feel Modi’s dictatorial and confrontationist approach stands against democratic values.

The Kathlal victory has trickled down changes in ticket distribution too. Modi has given tickets to as many as 51 Muslim candidates for the forthcoming civic elections across the state – the highest ever in the state’s history. One of them – BJP candidate A I Saiyed says voters know what is best.

“My honourable chief minister has assured us that peace security and development will be the only issues that will be on our agenda in this area,” assured A.I. Saiyyed, retired Additional DGP and BJP Candidate.

But not everyone is convinced that the change is down to the core. Political scientist Hemantkumar Shah says political success is insignificant unless the core values of democracy are upheld. He even questions the growth rate saying it’s lower than what it was in the 80s.

.”Hitler was also successful and so were Stalin and Indira Gandhi. But democracy concerns values and these have not been protected in Gujarat,” opined Hemantkumar Shah, political analyst.

Modi’s detractors may never forgive him for the 2002 riots, but there is enough evidence that Modi’s popularity has increased over the past decade.

India, Japan hold 2nd round of N talks ahead of PM visit

NEW DELHI: Signifying an important movement forward ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo, India and Japan today held the second round of talks for a civilian atomic cooperation pact that will pave the way for sale of advanced technology by Japanese majors. 

The latest round comes over three months after the launch of talks for civil nuclear cooperation and barely days before Singh's visit to Tokyo from October 24. 

India says to jointly make 250-300 stealth fighters

NEW DELHI: India and Russia will jointly manufacture 250-300 fifth generation fighter aircraft over 10 years, Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony said on Thursday. 

Fifth-generation aircraft are invisible to radar, have advanced flight and weapons control systems and can cruise at supersonic speeds. 

The Russian plane, first test-flown by Sukhoi in January, is Moscow's answer to the U.S.-built F-22 Raptor stealth fighter -- the world's only fifth-generation fighter yet in service -- which first flew in 1997.

Pervez Musharraf confirms India’s claim against Pakistan: MEA

India on Wednesday said former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf’s admission that his country was training terrorists to fight against India in Kashmir is what it had been saying over years.

Reacting to General Musharraf’s reported statement that Pakistan trained militant underground groups to fight against India in Kashmir, the official spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that “this is a widely accepted fact and General Musharraf’s assertion only confirms the veracity of what we have been repeatedly saying over the years.

Ayodhya: VHP lays claim to entire 67-acre plot

NEW DELHI: While it initially hailed the Ayodhya verdict as a Hindu victory which had paved the way for a Ram temple, the VHP has now turned around by describing the same judgment as completely uncalled for as none of the parties involved had asked for a division of the disputed land. 

Stating that the party will settle for nothing less than a grand temple, VHP leader Ashok Singhal on Tuesday told TOI that allotment of land also to Nirmohi Akhara and Sunni Waqf Board was wrong and the temple could come up only on the entire 67-acre plot of land. 

"The court has allotted 3,500 square feet of land each to all the parties involved. This is not enough to accommodate even the garba griha of the grand temple which is proposed to be built at the site. We are confident that the High Court ruling will be set aside by the Supreme Court," Singhal said. 

Despite fears being expressed in public that talk about a grand temple will only vitiate the atmosphere, Singhal maintained that Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas will not settle for a lesser structure. 

After the initial euphoria over the judgment, which went on to justify the birthplace of Lord Ram as exactly the place under the central dome of the demolished Babri mosque, the VHP seems to be slowly hardening its stand again. 

Making it evident that the VHP was not on the same page as Nirmohi Akhara on the issue of proposed temple, Singhal brushed aside statements by Akhara leaders suggesting that they were ready for a respectable structure for Lord Ram instead of a "bhavya mandir". 

"There is no question of settling for anything less than a grand temple. In any case, we believe Nirmohi Akhara should not have been given any share in the disputed land. We want a temple which is similar in size and grandeur to the Akshardham temple in Delhi which is spread over 70 acres," Singhal said, adding that only the VHP-affiliated Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas could build the temple at the spot as it had that authority from Ram Lalla himself. The Nyas has announced that it will approach Supreme Court against the verdict. 

The VHP also did not sound hopeful about renewed attempts to solve the issue out of court. "The Congress is talking about an out-of-court settlement but we are not sure if all parties will agree," added Singhal.

We did train militant groups to fight against India: Musharraf

London, Oct 5 : Pakistan had trained militant groups to fight against India and 'the government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir', former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has said in a candid admission.

In an interview to Der Spiegel, Musharraf said militant groups "were indeed formed" to fight India in Kashmir.

He said: "The government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir."

To a query on whether the Pakistani security forces trained the militants, Musharraf said: "The West was ignoring the resolution of the Kashmir issue, which is the core issue of Pakistan. We expected the West - especially the United States and important countries like Germany -- to resolve the Kashmir issue. Has Germany done that?"

The 67-year-old former Pakistan army chief, who masterminded a coup in October 1999 and overthrew the Nawaz Sharif government, pointed out that whenever Pakistan was in turmoil, "everybody looks to the army. But I would suggest that the times of military coups in Pakistan are over".

On the present government in Pakistan, he said that "everybody can see what they are doing".

"Pakistan is experiencing a deep economic decline -- in other areas, as well. Law and order are in jeopardy, extremism is on the rise and there is political turmoil. The non-performance of an elected government is the issue."

On present Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the man who succeeded Musharraf, the former president said: "I made him chief of the army, because I thought that he was the best man for the job."

To a query on his political future, Musharraf said: "No risk, no gain. We unfortunately have a culture of vendetta and vindictiveness in Pakistan. But there is no case of corruption or fraud or anything against me at the moment."

"My political opponents, especially Nawaz Sharif, would love to create a case against me - that I am corrupt or have committed fraud or some such. They do their best to achieve that, but they haven't succeeded. Even if they did, I would reply in court. Risks need to be taken."

He made it clear that he wasn't leading "a hermit's life" in Britain.

"I meet people here and in Dubai and receive accurate feedback. I launched my Facebook page eight months ago and today I have more than 315,000 fans. And hundreds of Pakistanis called into a TV show in which I collected money for the flood victims. They donated $3.5 million. Do you think they are doing this because they hate me?"

He lamented that the West blamed Pakistan "for everything".

"Everybody is interested in strategic deals with India, but Pakistan is always seen as the rogue".

He strongly criticised disgraced Pakistan nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan and called him a "characterless man".

On Pakistan's nuclear weapons, he said: "This capability is our pride and it will never be compromised."

To a query on whether he might meet the same fate as that of Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated on her return to Pakistan, he said: "Yes, that is a risk, but it won't stop me. I am happy here in London. I am earning good money, but Pakistan is my country."

CWC meet after Ayodhay verdict

New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Congress Working Committee on Tuesday discussed the party's strategy and future course in the aftermath of the Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ayodhya title suit case, party sources said.

The CWC, party's supreme decision making body, was meeting here for the first time after the Sept 30 verdict on the case.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are among the top leaders participating in the meet which is also expected to discuss the situation in the Kashmir Valley.

The party is expected to come out with a strategy on the Ayodhya issue at a time when parties like Samajwadi Party and LJP are trying to win support of Muslims on the matter.

The two parties have expressed their disappointment over the verdict.

The CWC is also expected to underline its policy aiming at elections in some states, including Bihar.

The Jammu and Kashmir situation - A primer for the interlocutors

By Salim Haq, New Delhi, Oct. 5 : The Government of India's decision to appoint interlocutors to seek out various shades of opinion in Jammu and Kashmir in a bid to break the deadlock in the state could not have come a moment too soon.

The separatists call the shots and dictate the daily schedule of the people and the government. The mainstream political parties have been marginalised. There is no meeting ground between what the separatists want and what the government is willing to concede. Normalcy is measured on day to day, if not on an hourly basis.

Where the separatists score points is by their argument that Kashmir is a political problem and not about economic packages or jobs; that Delhi is not serious about the resolution of the problem; that Delhi makes a pretence of talking only when faced with an adverse ground situation; and that once the situation improves, even the pretence is dropped; that's why India has to be blackmailed though violence to address the issue and, the violence has to be sustained, to ensure that Delhi remains interested and engaged.

Delhi's position that it can talk only when the ground situation becomes normal, though logical, has very few takers simply because of Delhi's past track record of not doing anything once the situation improves. With Vajpayee's "within the ambit of humanity", Narasimha Rao's " Sky is the limit" rhetoric coming to naught, it is hardly surprising that Manmohan Singh's "Anything within the parameters of the Indian Constitution" does not strike a chord.

Measures merely to restore normalcy, announcing economic and employment packages, important as they are, have not lead to sustainable normalcy for decades. For that, the basic issue of the sentiment of azadi, of the alienation, of the perceived reneging on promises of plebiscite would have to be addressed. In a word, the separatists continue to flourish precisely because Delhi continues to shy away from addressing the political aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

This time, however, the position could be different because of the multi-track approach that Delhi has adopted. A positive beginning has been made by the visit of the All Party Delegation (APD) and followed up by the announcement of an eight-point package. These, if implemented, would restore a semblance of normality while the proposed appointment of interlocutors has the potential to address the political problem.

The interlocutors who are to be appointed must be men/women of stature, integrity and credibility and seen to represent the country as a whole. Only then, would they be able to genuinely engage the various shades of opinion in Jammu and Kashmir. The worst thing the government can do is to appoint interlocutors on the basis of party politics or with an eye on electoral politics in India.

The interlocutors would have their job cut out for them. They could do well to focus on two broad areas --. One -- finding ways and means to address the political problem of Kashmir; and the second, to undercut the separatist strength.

The starting point for addressing the political issue is to recognise that there is a problem. By merely calling Kashmir 'atoot ang' hasn't made it an 'ang' let alone an 'atoot ang'. India can no longer adopt an ostrich-like attitude and pretend that a problem doesn't exist or that it will go away on its own. It won't. 63 years should have been a long enough time to convince anyone that without addressing the issue head on, it will continue to fester.

As the Babri Masjid verdict has shown, India has come a long way. Just as the people of India want the Mandir-Masjid issue put behind them, so too, Kashmir must be put behind us if we are to prosper. There is enough maturity in India today to allow the Kashmir issue and calls for azadi to be addressed head on. The continued side-stepping the issue does not do India proud anymore. And, neither does the continued use of the gun. This has only further alienated the people and totally dimmed any positive idea of India from their imagination.

The next step is to evolve a consensus, cutting across party lines, on what the problem is and its diverse strands - Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism, UN resolutions, continuing lack of emotional attachment to India, persistent azadi sentiments, lack of governance, Article 370, dilution of autonomy, portions of the state being under Pakistan's illegal occupation, Kashmiriyat being replaced by increasing Islamic overtones and so on.

Once there is a broad national consensus on the contours of the problem, discussions can be held on how to address each of these issues. There is enough political acumen and wisdom in India to do so.

The interlocutors must determine why is the sentiment of azadi so persistent and what does it actually mean and to whom. My two part article titled The Jammu and Kashmir Situation - the Azadi Debate has some pointers.

The second area for the interlocutors to look at is how to narrow the space for the separatists so that the ordinary people of the Valley are able to live their lives peacefully and in a sustainable manner.

How? The very fact of addressing the political issue openly, not shying away from uncomfortable questions and issues, would take the wind out of the sails of the separatists. Not addressing such issues in the past has conveyed the impression that perhaps the state's accession was dubious. It is time to put at rest any such residual doubts that are being kept alive by Pakistan and the separatists.

The one danger is of the interlocutors playing off the azadi sentiments in a section of the Valley Muslims against the 'atoot ang' sentiment of the Jammu population, Hindus and Muslims alike. On the contrary, what needs to be done is to unify the Jammu sentiment of being with India with those in the Valley who neither want a merger with Pakistan nor want an azadi whose colour is green. It is this sentiment that is at present underground, scared of articulating its point of view that has to be identified, nurtured and emboldened. The interlocutors must be aware of this essential constituency, actively seek it out and give it a voice.

The interlocutors must also factor in that a conducive atmosphere sought to be created by the package has been opposed and dismissed out of hand by the separatists precisely because they cannot thrive in an atmosphere of normalcy. While the people want a return to normalcy to pursue their lives, the separatists will not let them. The interlocutors must, therefore, reach out to the people and motivate them to oppose the continuing calendar of protests. The people have to be convinced and assured that it is only by marginalising the separatists, that they would be able to access the benefits of secularism, democracy, equal opportunity and economic growth that India has to offer.

The interlocutors have a tough task ahead of them. The sooner they begin, the better it would be all around.

The time has come for a mature India to address the Kashmir issue squarely, resolve it and put it behind us. It is only then that we could justifiably say with pride that Kashmir is our 'atoot ang' and the people of the Valley accept that they are indeed so

Oil-for-food scam: Supreme Court dismisses Natwar Singh's plea

New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the petitions filed by former Union Minister Natwar Singh seeking supply of documents of Volcker and R S Pathak Committees which had probed his alleged role in Iraq oil-for-food scam.

A bench comprising Justices B Sudarshan Reddy and S S Nijjar said the petitions seeking documents are delaying tactics on the part of Natwar Singh and his son Jagat Singh.

The bench ordered for the expeditious disposal of the proceedings before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and said that no adjournments should be given on unreasonable grounds.

They had filed an appeal against a Delhi High Court decision rejecting their plea.

Earlier, the High Court had dismissed the petition of the former External Affairs Minister and his son embroiled in Iraq's oil-for-food scam for direction to the ED to provide them with all documents related to the scam.

The court had said it is not illegal on the part of the government not to provide them all the documents.

The scam led to the ouster of Natwar Singh from the Cabinet in 2004 for his alleged role.

The Paul Volcker Committee was set up by the United Nations in April 2004 to probe corruption and fraud in its oil-for-food programme in Iraq, in which Singh's name allegedly figured as a beneficiary

Indian lost test tube baby race to Edwards by 67 days

CHENNAI: As news of a British researcher winning the Nobel prize for pioneering in vitro fertilization spread through the Indian scientific community on Monday, there was introspection about a lost opportunity which may have brought recognition for the work of Indian researchers.

On October 3, 1978, barely two months after the birth of the world's first IVF baby Marie Louise Brown, India had also produced its own — Durga alias Kanupriya Agarwal. Brown's scientific father, Robert G Edwards, professor emeritus at University of Cambridge and hailed as the father of IVF, has now been honoured with the Nobel prize in medicine.

But the West Bengal-based Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyay went on to face an inquiry by the West Bengal government in December 1978, before committing suicide on June 19, 1981, after the state refused to recognize his achievement. Senior scientists and gynaecologists across the country mourned his death on Monday and many urged the centre to correct a historical error by honouring him.

Mukhopadhyay devised the same technique as Edwards without knowledge of the parallel research in UK. The difference was that Edwards was 67 days ahead of him. Besides, the Indian did not have any collaborators nor did he document his work. "While Dr Edwards had documented every step right from animal studies, Dr Subhash had nothing. And in science, no claims can be proved without documents," said Dr Jayashree Gajaraj, former president, Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society of India (FoGSI).

"It hurts to see that the efforts of an Indian have gone unrecognised," said former Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology chief Dr P M Bhargava, who was part of the committee that formulated the IVF lab guidelines
.

India will soon start to outpace China: Economist

WASHINGTON: India will soon start to outpace China, thanks to a young and growing workforce and its "much-derided democracy" says The Economist.

The cover story on "How India's growth will outpace China's" in its latest issue attributes "India's surprising economic miracle" largely to its private sector saying, "the country's state may be weak, but its private companies are strong."

Despite the poor headlines generated in the run up to the Commonwealth games, "India is doing rather well," the internationally regarded magazine said noting, "Its economy is expected to expand by 8.5 percent this year."

"It has a long way to go before it is as rich as China - the Chinese economy is four times bigger- but its growth rate could overtake China's by 2013, if not before.

"Some economists think India will grow faster than any other large country over the next 25 years. Rapid growth in a country of 1.2 billion people is exciting, to put it mildly," it said.

Citing demography as one of the two reasons why India will soon start to outpace China, the magazine noted "China's workforce will shortly start ageing; in a few years' time, it will start shrinking."

"That's because of its one-child policy - an oppressive measure that no Indian government would get away with."

"India is now blessed with a young and growing workforce. Its dependency ratio - the proportion of children and old people to working-age adults - is one of the best in the world and will remain so for a generation," it said.

India's economy will benefit from this "demographic dividend", which has powered many of Asia's economic miracles.

"The second reason for optimism is India's much-derided democracy," said The Economist noting, "Indian capitalism is driven by millions of entrepreneurs all furiously doing their own thing.

"Since the early 1990s, when India dismantled the "licence raj" and opened up to foreign trade, Indian business has boomed."

"Ideas flow easily around India, since it lacks China's culture of secrecy and censorship. That, plus China's rampant piracy, is why knowledge-based industries such as software love India but shun the Middle Kingdom,"

"Given the choice between doing business in China or India, most foreign investors would probably pick China, The Economist said.

Inflation above comfort zone: RBI deputy guv

MUMBAI: A Reserve Bank of India deputy governor on Tuesday expressed concern about inflation that he said persists well above the Reserve Bank's comfort zone. 

"The current inflationary scenario in India, which, as they have been saying in our recent assessment, is not very reassuring," said Subir Gokarn , whose remit is monetary policy. 

"The current inflation scenario is a cause of concern, as the inflation rate persists well above the upper bound of the comfort zone," he said in a speech at a private equity conference. 

Gokarn said normalisation of monetary policy was now near completion, and further policy action would depend on upcoming data on growth and inflation. 

The RBI has raised interest rates five times this year. 

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark government bond rose two basis points after his statements while the one year Overnight Indexed Swap (OIS) rose eight basis points to 6.64 per cent. 

"An unavoidable consequence of runaway inflation, however we define it, is that drastic action by the central bank and also by the government is needed to rein it in, which is bound to disrupt growth process," Gokarn said. 

Dealers said Gokarn's remarks strengthened the possibility of a rate hike at the RBI's next policy review, on Nov. 2. 

The RBI last raised its repo rate, at which it lends to banks, on Sept. 16 by 25 basis points to 6 per cent. Many analysts expect another quarter-point increase by year-end. 

"Food and energy price shocks have been a regular part of the economic landscape and may continue to be so in the future," he said. 

India's annual food price inflation continued to quicken in mid-September as heavy rains disrupted supplies. 

Wholesale price index inflation for August eased to 8.51 per cent and the central bank has forecast it to fall to 6 per cent by the end of the fiscal year in March. The WPI index was in double-digits for five months through June. 

Inflation data for September is due to be released on Oct. 14. 

Gokarn also said the central bank will respond to capital flows only if there are signs of disruption. 

Foreigners have bought a record $19.7 billion of Indian equities this year, with about one-third of that happening since the start of September.

Germany wants talented Indian workers

NEW DELHI: Germany wants talented Indian workers and appropriate visas for that will not be a problem despite stringent immigration rules, the chief minister of the European country's second largest state has said. 

"We are fascinated by the energies of young Indian people. We want them to be a part of Germany's growth. India and Germany share common values on strategic issues and have strong democracy and rule of law," said Niedersachsen Chief Minister David McAllister. 

"We are also interested in more Indian investment coming in to Germany, including my own state," McAllister, who is the political head of Germany's second largest state by area with Hanover as capital, told IANS in an interview. 

The chief minister, who is all of 39 years and represents a state that is also called Lower Saxony, said the visa issue was a part of the ongoing discussions for the proposed India-European Union free trade agreement. 

"We certainly hope the norms will be liberalised, once the free trade agreement is signed. The real concern, actually, for Germany is the flow of cheap labour from India. We are not concerned at all about skilled workers." 

McAllister, soon after the interview, also took pride in displaying some glitzy new Volkswagen cars, the headquarters of which is at Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony, as also a couple of Skodas. They were in display at the German Embassy. 

The chief minister, incidentally, is a member of Volkswagen's supervisory board, which overseas such car marques as Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Automobili Lamborghini, Seat, Skoda and Scania. 

"Apart from trade and economic ties, we also want Indian students to come to my country and study there. For the matter of convenience, we are now focusing on English as the medium of instruction at our universities," he said. 

"And in the case of students, there is no problem at all in getting visas."

'Indo-US nuke trade unlikely to start unless India signs CSC'

WASHINGTON: American companies, that had played a key role in the passage of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, are unlikely to indulge in nuclear trade with India unless New Delhi becomes a party to an international convention on supplementary compensation for nuclear damage, a Congressional report has said. 

"US firms will likely be very reluctant to engage in nuclear trade with India if the government does not adhere to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), which has not yet entered into force," said the independentCongressional Research Service (CRS) in its latest report to the Congress on the implementation of the civilian nuclear issue. 

CRS is the bipartisan research wing of the US Congress which prepares periodic report on various issues for American lawmakers. The report was sent to lawmakers on September 28. 

National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon who was in Washington last week had announced that India will sign CSC. 

The CRS informed Congressmen that US companies have not yet started nuclear trade with India. 

"New Delhi had reportedly insisted that India and the United States conclude an agreement on a reprocessing facility in India before New Delhi would sign contracts with US nuclear firms," it said. 

"However, the countries announced March 29 that they had concluded the agreement. The Administration submitted the subsequent arrangement to Congress May 11. The proposed arrangement shall not take effect if Congress adopts a joint resolution of disapproval," the report said. 

The CRS report said the administration has characterised civil nuclear cooperation with India as a "win" for nonproliferation because it would bring India into the "nonproliferation mainstream". 

In short, the Administration is proposing that India should be courted as an ally in US nonproliferation policy, rather than continue as a target of US nonproliferation policy. 

According to this reasoning, India should become an ally for three reasons: past policies have not worked; India has a relatively good nonproliferation record; and India could be a useful ally in the nonproliferation regime. 

At the same time, it said some observers are concerned that India may not support US nonproliferation policies sufficiently to warrant nuclear cooperation, particularly where the US faces its greatest nuclear proliferation threat - Iran.

Indian shooters bag two golds at Commonwealth Games

NEW DELHI: After Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang bagged gold for the men's 10 m air rifle pair's event, Anisa Syyed and Rahi Sarnobat won second gold medal for India in 25m standard pistol pairs event at the 19th Commonwealth Games on Tuesday. 

Earlier, Abhinav Bindra and Gangan Narang fired in unison and shot a Games record 1193 in men's 10m air rifle event to give the country its first gold medal. 

The pair together scored 1193 to break their own record, which they had set four years ago inMelbourne, by notching up 1189. 

World record holder Gagan, coming off a none-too-impressive season, shot a spectecular sequence of 99, 100, 100, 99, 100, 100 to total a grand 598, while Beijing Olympic gold medalist, Bindra's series read 100, 98 ,99, 100, 99, 99 for a total of 595 in the first shooting event of the Games. 

England's James Huckle and Kenny Parr (1174) won the silver medal while Bangladesh's Abdullah Hel Baki and Md. Asif Hussain Khan (1173) had to be content with bronze. Both teams, however, were far behind the Indian dup of Bindra and Gagan. 

"Many thought I am a dictator, since I had imposed a gag order on the shooters prior to the Games. But whatever I was doing, I was doing for the country. And we have got the reward for that," said national coach Sunny Thomas. 

Thomas, however, cautioned that, instead of basking in glory, it would be wise to focus on the coming events. "This was easy but I am sure the coming events are going to be difficult. I am happy that both Gagan and Abhinav shot well today. It's certainly a good start for India and we hope to maintain the momentum," Thomas said. 

In another event, Sanjay Kumar entered into the final of Greco-Roman 74kg style of wrestling. 

Anil Kumar qualified for the finals of the Greco-Roman 96kg style of wrestling.