Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - SIX HUNDRED SIXTY
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com/
The government has decided to levy tax on the interest obtained on Post Office savings schemes from the current financial year. TAXATION against the Excluded communities and STIMULUS for the Capitalists, the LPG Mafia Rule under Zionist Brahaminical Manusmriti Apartheid Hegemony toes the policy very old which leaves no scope for FISCAL Policy at all. RBI centred Monetray Policies are meant to benefit the Market Dominating Brahaminical Class only. Beck to back the ANNOUNCMENT of SINGUR BILL and new land policy in Bengal by UPA Partner Mamata Banerjee, Land acquisition for PASCO has started. Push for Private Investment, FDI, INFRASTRUCTURE, UID, RETAIL Liberation, Disinvestment and NMIZ would see the floodgates open in RURAL AGRARIAN India. In India under FREE Market Governance means, EXPANSION of PRIVATE SECTOR and Economic ETHNIC Cleansing!
India needs to raise rates to tackle inflation, says OECD!
Can army kill, rape and yet enjoy immunity? SC poser to govt
New Delhi: Irked by the Centre's diametrically diverse views on army and para military forces' immunity from criminal prosecution in fake encounter killings, the Supreme Court today asked the government to spell out its position on the controversial Armed Forces Special Power Act and other laws.
"You cannot say that an army man can enter any home commit a rape and say he enjoys immunity as it has been done in discharge of official duties," the apex court remarked.
The apex court made the remarks after senior counsel Ashok Bhan, appearing for the Centre, voiced divergent views on two separate encounter killings involving military personnel in J&K and Assam.
In the 2004 Chattisingpora killing in J&K, where seven youth were killed in an alleged fake encounter by Rashtriya Rifles personnel, Bhan sought prosecution of the armymen whereas in a similar alleged fake encounter by CRPF men in Assam, the counsel said they enjoyed immunity.
"How can you adopt diametrically different views?" the bench said, to which Bhan admitted it was "compulsions of his professional duties."
He urged the court to de-link the two issues and deal with them separately.
However, the bench said since "the issue involved vital questions of law relating to public", the matter would be taken up for a detailed hearing immediately after vacation.
Source: PTI
The Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT )) has brought out a notification in this regard recently, which stipulates that any interest earned beyond Rs 3,500 (in case of individual accounts) and Rs 7,000 (in case of joint accounts) will be taxable from the running fiscal.
The CBDT-- which is the administrative authority of the Income Tax Department-- has issued the notification to all the tax collection ranges across the country for implementation.
Taxpayers will have to reflect this investment on their income tax returns.
"Taxpayers who now invest in the post office saving accounts schemes will now have to show the interest earned on this scheme while filing their income tax returns. Interest upto Rs 3,500, in case of single accounts and and Rs 7,000 in case of joint accounts, is exempted," a senior I-T official said.
The Assessing Officer (AO) will compute the tax on the interest earned, beyond the exemption limit, accordingly, he said.
The current interest rates for Post Office savings deposits is 3.5 per cent per annum.
The minimum investment limit in this scheme is Rs 50 while the maximum limit is Rs one lakh for an individual account and Rs 2 lakh in case of a joint account.
Asking India to keep a vigil on spiralling inflation and volatile capital flows, OECD today said the country should further tighten monetary policy to fight price rise.
Paris-based OECD's comments come against the backdrop of India's headline inflation in May touching over 9 per cent, which is likely to force the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to embrace more hawkish monetary policy measures.
"Notwithstanding occasional spells of credit market pressure, further incremental monetary policy tightening is advisable to ensure inflation moderates and to prevent inflationary expectations becoming unanchored," OECD's Economic Survey of India said.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a grouping of mostly developed nations and members of the bloc account for over 60 per cent of global economy.
"We would keep a close watch on developments, both domestic as well as international, in the coming months and make appropriate adjustments as we go along," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said after announcement of May inflation numbers. The inflation stood at 9.06 per cent.
Noting that surging oil and food prices have also resulted in "stubbornly high inflation", OECD said further fiscal consolidation and monetary policy tightening would promote balanced growth.
"This, along with a stabilisation in international commodity prices should lead to a gradual decline in inflation over the course of 2011," the report said.
RBI has hiked key policy rates nine times since March 2010.
According to OECD, in the near term, the Indian authorities need to remain vigilant against the risks of high inflation and volatile capital flows.
Major economies, with the exception of the United States, are losing momentum as the outlook for growth worsens in European and developing countries, the OECD's leading indicator for April showed on Tuesday.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said its composite leading indicator for member countries stalled in April to stand unchanged at March's level of 103.0 points.
The indicator for the euro area fell to 102.8 from 103.1. Brazil, China , India and Russia , which are not members of the OECD, also registered lower readings.
The indicator suggested a "possible moderation in economic activity" in China, slowdowns in Brazil and India and showed the "the first sign of a loss of momentum in Russia", the OECD said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. economy, the world's biggest, continued to grow above trend although not as quickly as the indicator had suggested in March.
In the euro zone, the indicator pointed to a stable pace of expansion in heavyweight Germany but clear signs of slowdowns in France and Italy. Outside the euro zone, the indicator suggested a stable, but slow pace of expansion in Britain.
No reading was given for Japan because of the exceptional economic circumstances the country is facing since it was hit by an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in March.
In its twice-yearly Economic Outlook , the OECD forecast last month that world growth would ease to 4.2 percent this year from 4.9 percent in 2010 before accelerating to 4.6 percent in 2012.
However, since then a stream of data from the United States and Europe have come in on the weak side, leaving many forecasters scrambling to revise down their growth estimates. Figures last week showed an unexpected rise in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits at the beginning of June.
RBI raised interest rates on Thursday for the 10th time since March 2010, keeping up its fight against inflation even as growth slows in Asia's third-largest economy.
The Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate at which it lends to banks by 25 basis points to 7.5 percent, in line with expectations in a recent Reuters poll.
Following are reactions of industry officials:
HD KHUNTETA, CHAIRMAN, RURAL ELECTRIFICATION CORP
"I don't think there will be any major impact of this rate hike as market had already discounted it. In the next 15 days or one month, interest rates are unlikely to go up. But if inflation doesn't come down and RBI resorts to further rate hikes then it will be a difficult situation."
K.R. KAMATH, CMD, PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK
"We will be watching markets and liquidity situation before we take a call on rate hike."
"If inflation is not contained now, it will have a much serious impact on growth later."
PRADEEP JAIN, CHAIRMAN, PARSVNATH DEVELOPERS LTD
"I don't think there would be any immediate impact on prices, while (property) prices are bound to go up. Going forward, if interest rates were to be hiked, somewhere between 25-75 basis points, even then there wouldn't be any impact as property prices are increasing on a year-on-year basis. Further, the demand-supply gap in the sector is still huge."
SC SINHA, EXE DIRECTOR, ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE
"We don't need to raise rates immediately as there is enough liquidity in the market. A higher interest rate will impact credit growth and asset quality and therefore we will hold on to the current rates."
B HARIHARAN, GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR, BALLARPUR IND
"Interest rate cycle is close to its peak and one could expect one more round of 25 bps hike."
"There is no way one can borrow from domestic market to fund expansion as interest rates have shot up. Many investment decisions are being held up by corporate India waiting for interest rates to soften. The rate hike though will impact us only to the extent of borrowings for working capital and our expansion plans will not get hurt as we borrow overseas."
H.M.BHARUKA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, KANSAI NEROLAC
"The paints industry is already seeing moderation in demand and the continuous increase in rates will hurt us further. We are expecting tightening of interest rates to dampen demand from auto and housing sectors."
Orissa to resume land acquisition for Posco after 5-day break
PTI | Jun 16, 2011, 09.09pm IST
BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa government will resume acquiring land for Posco's mega steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district from tomorrow after a five day break, even as agitators plan to oppose it.
"We will resume land acquisition and survey from tomorrow. Everything, however, depends on the weather. As there is a depression over the sea, it may create a problem," Jagatsinghpur district special land acquisition officer Surjit Das said.
Steel and mines minister Raghunath Mohanty said "There is absolutely no use of force for land acquisition. We believe in peaceful industrialisation in the state."
The Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), meanwhile, decided at a meeting to agitate at the entry point to the Dhinkia gram panchayat.
"Our people protested against Posco in the scorching sun. We are prepared to continue the agitation in the rain, PPSS secretary Sisir Mohapatra said.
To prevent a repeat of government officials entering Gobindpur village through the forest while the protests were on at the entry point, Mohapatra said, "This time we will prevent entry to the village from the forest."
Sources, however, said that the land acquisition in Dhinkia area could be delayed due to absence of some senior district officers.
16 JUN, 2011, 12.07PM IST,ECONOMICTIMES.COM AND AGENCIES
RBI credit policy: Benchmark interest rates raised by 25 bps to cool inflation
NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday raised its benchmark rates by 25 basis points to 7.50 per cent, hiked reverse repo rates by 25 bps to 6.50 per cent in a move to arrest surging inflation in Asia's third largest economy.
Other policy rates such as the statutory liquidity ratio and the cash reserve ratio - the minimum quantum of money against deposits which the banks have to retain as cash or specified government securities - have been left untouched.
Some short-term deceleration in growth may be unavoidable in bringing inflation under control and the central bank needs to persist with its anti-inflationary stance, the Reserve Bank of India said in its mid-quarter policy review
"The increase confirms determination of policymakers to continue to fight stubbornly high inflation. We expect at least one more hike this year, in Q3, but there is a possibility of more if inflation doesn't stabilise by then.The RBI statement is hawkish. The comments are likely to keep short INR OIS rates high but may lead to curve flattening as growth slowdown will bring long rates lower. Little impact on the FX seen.", ssid Dariusz Kowalczyk, Senior Economist and strategist at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong..
"A 25 basis points rate hike was warranted. Growth is slowing and the downside risks to growth have increased. Inflation reacts both to rate hikes and growth with a lag, so we had expected 75 basis points of rate hikes for 2011, but we won't add to that. I see the repo rate at 8 percent by December.", opined Ramya Suryanarayanan, Economist at DBS Bank in Singapore.
"Based on the current and evolving growth and inflation scenario, the Reserve Bank will need to persist with its anti-inflationary stance of monetary policy," the central bank said in its mid-quarter review of credit policy.
"Domestically, inflation persists at uncomfortable levels. Moreover, the headline numbers understate the pressures because fuel prices have yet to reflect global crude prices," it said.
India has slowly drifted to a downward growth trajectory projected by slowdown in Industrial Production data that came last week. The latest data showed growth of 6.3 per cent after growth of 13.1 per cent in the same month a year ago. The data was however first of a new series with different base year of 2004/05, new components and weightings.
Slowdown in imports, exports all point towards slowdown in the economy hence further rate hikes will hamper growth in Asia's third largest economy.
Well most traders and analysts expects another 50-75 bps hike for the rest of the year before RBI pull the plug on interest rate hikes.
Weekly inflation data for June showed India's food price index rose 8.96 percent and the fuel price index climbed 12.84 percent in the year to June 4.
Inflation rose higher than expected in the month of May. The WPI rose an annual 9.06 per cent pressuring RBI to tighten monetary policy further and at the same time arresting India's growth in the process. Higher borrowing costs, rising input prices and strict banking rules will make it hard for companies to take credit and in turn impede production activity going forward.
The Reserve Bank of India has raised its policy rate by a total of 275 basis points in ten moves since March 2010. But its rate tightening moves have failed to bring inflation, which was 9.06 percent in May, to its comfort zone of 4-5 percent.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/rbi-credit-policy-benchmark-interest-rates-raised-by-25-bps-to-cool-inflation/articleshow/8872907.cms
Strike at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant called off Published: Friday, Jun 17, 2011, 0:02 IST | Updated: Friday, Jun 17, 2011, 0:22 IST Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI | ||
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Pranab Mukherjee
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Moily accuses Team Anna of disinformation campaign
Asserting that there would be only one draft Lokpal Bill and not two, Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily on Thursday accused the team headed by Anna Hazare of indulging in a disinformation campaign on the deliberations of the civil society-government representatives of the joint committee to draft the legislation.
At a press conference here, Mr. Moily, who is the committee convener, charged the civil society members with coming up with a new version of the Bill at every meeting. "Every time they produce new things from their pocket and expect us to respond."
They were demanding clauses which would necessitate constitutional amendments, while the mandate of the committee was to draft legislation.
Mr. Moily said the demand for inclusion of the conduct of MPs in Parliament was against the provisions of the Constitution. "When we seek clarifications, they maintain that they are not in favour of constitutional amendments and are seeking to draft legislation within the framework of the Constitution."
"6 contentious points"
The Minister claimed that of the 40 specific points raised by them on the contours of the Bill, the government was in agreement with 34. "There are only six contentious points and the government is ready to sit down to negotiate on them."
The government was in favour of bringing in a strong Lokpal Bill with the cooperation of civil society and would make another attempt on June 20 to sort out the differences. If necessary, there could be another session the following day.
The Minister said there was no final word yet on bringing the Prime Minister within the purview of the anti-corruption legislation and consultations within and outside the government on the subject were on.
However, he was not willing to spell out the stand of his Ministry or of the government on inclusion or exclusion of the Prime Minister within the ambit of the Bill on the plea that he could not speak on behalf of the government.
In the event of failure of the two sides to arrive at a consensus on the Bill, then their views on the contentious issues would be sent to the Cabinet.
"But there will be no two drafts," Mr. Moily said, contradicting civil society representative Arvind Kejriwal's statement on Wednesday that two separate drafts — one prepared by the government representatives and the other by the civil society members — would be sent to the Cabinet.
The Minister accused the BJP and sections of civil society of obstructing the war launched by the UPA government on corruption and said it would not be distracted by such attempts.
He took exception to the comment by BJP president Nitin Gadkari that the promise by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to fight against corruption was to be taken as seriously as the resolve of Pakistan to root out terrorism.
"Mr. Gadkari is a pygmy in politics. This is what happens when a small-time politician occupies a high position in national politics. The BJP president is a miserable failure as was evident in the performance of his party in the recent elections in five States."
Keywords: fight against corruption, Anna Hazare, Lokpal Bill
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Bihar's new industrial promotion policy eyes big investment
PATNA: With the Nitish Kumar government giving its nod to the new Industrial Promotion Policy , 2011, the decks have been cleared for big ticket investments even as the fate of investment proposals worth around Rs 1 lakh crore hangs fire due to alleged non-cooperation from the Centre.
The new policy, effective from July 1, 2011, will replace the Industrial Policy of 2006 much before its extended term expires on December, 2011, and will have a thrust on addressing basic problems like shortage of power.
Terming the new policy as "progressive, competitive and quality promoting", Bihar Industry Minister Renu Kumari said it would attract big ticket investment.
"Key areas where we will seek investments on a priority basis are food processing, agro-based industries, tourism, super-specialty hospitals, high and technical institutions, IT, textiles, energy and renewable energy," she said.
The new policy would provide an additional 10 per cent incentive over and above the cap fixed in the earlier policy, the Industry Department said and pointed out that emphasis would be laid on social justice.
According to the policy, if a unit appoints 100 persons in a given fiscal on the basis of the government's reservation policy, the entire employee pension fund (EPF) contribution borne by the company for that year would be fully reimbursed.
Furthermore, a unit with an investment of Rs 500 crore or more would be entitled to a capital subsidy of Rs 33 crore and the same would be applicable in the case of other incentives, the sources said.
The new policy, prepared after a thorough study of the policies in six neighbouring states, has four segments with incentives under each head.
Under the policy, the state government has proposed incentives for pre-production, post-production, taxes and others during the establishment of an unit.
The post-production incentives would include a 50 per cent subsidy on captive power, both on DG sets and power plants, which would go up to 60 per cent in the case of renewable energy and special purpose vehicles set up in industrial clusters or areas for common captive consumption.
Reuter reports, Banks to pass on increase after RBI raises lending rate?
Indian banks are considering yet another rate increase after the RBI raised its key lending rate by an expected 25 basis points on Thursday to clamp down on high inflation.
Most banks had raised lending rates last month, following the central bank's higher-than-expected 50-basis-point rate rise on May 3.
While higher lending rates will take a toll on banks' credit growth and pose risks of higher non-performing assets, bankers said they will have to pass on the increase as their cost of funds has gone up.
"We will have to increase rates because ultimately the cost is going up. That is exactly what the RBI wants - transmission. A 25 basis point rise is a possibility," said N. Seshadri, executive director, Bank of India.
State-run IDBI Bank and Indian Overseas Bank also said they will have to pass on the increase to their customers.
The Reserve Bank raised interest rates on Thursday for the 10th time since March 2010 and said it will persist in its battle against stubbornly high inflation, downplaying worries about slowing growth in Asia's third-largest economy.
A Reuters poll earlier this week forecast the central bank to raise rates by 75 basis points for the rest of 2011, including the latest rate increase.
The RBI said though monetary transmission has been quite strong, there is room for improvement.
"The higher cost of credit is restraining credit growth, but it still remains fairly high, suggesting that economy activity is holding course," the RBI said in its policy statement.
The central bank had forecast banks' credit would grow 19 percent and deposit by 17 percent in 2011-12.
However, loan growth has remained almost flat so far in the current financial year reflecting signs of moderation in overall growth outlook.
Banks' loans grew a mere 1.1 percent since March end, while deposit accretion remained robust at 3.3 percent.
However, bankers are not losing sleep yet and are confident their advances growth will meet the RBI's forecast.
"Even for a moment if the high lending rates reduce the demand for credit, the credit growth will be at the expected RBI level because there are sanctions in the pipeline which will get disbursed," said K.R. Kamath, chairman and managing director of Punjab National Bank .
However, higher borrowing costs could lead to higher NPAs for the banks.
"Rising NPAs is definitely an issue," said Seshadri of Bank of India , adding the state-run bank is unlikely to be aggressive on its loan disbursals given risks of delinquencies.
Bankers expect the RBI to raise rates further even though they are worried that the cumulative impact of the 275 basis points rate hike over the last 15 months could hurt India's investment demand.
Putting growth ahead of inflation now, however, could eventually hurt growth in a big way, PNB's Kamath said.
Bankers and industry representatives, worried about the near-term prospects over growth, met C. Rangarajan, head of the Prime Minister's economic advisory panel, and expressed concerns over the slowdown in the economy and slackening of the investment climate, bankers who attended the meeting said.
Concerned over high rate of price rise, the government today said it is monitoring inflation, which has crossed the 9 per cent mark.
"There is nothing to be alarmed about the current inflation...the government is taking stock of the situation and will take appropriate steps if need be," New Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth told PTI after meeting Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar here.
The Finance Ministry and Reserve Bank have also expressed their worries over high inflation.
The inflation, as per the data on the Wholesale Price Index ( WPI )), went up to 9.06 per cent in May from 8.66 per cent in April following an increase in prices of essential items like fruits, milk, petrol and manufactured goods.
RBI has hiked key policy rates nine times since March 2010 in its bid to tame inflation.
According to a latest report of RBI, "Inflation is likely to continue facing upward pressure".
Experts have predicted that the central bank would raise key policy rates by at least 25 basis points in its mid-quarterly policy review on Thursday to curb price rise.
When asked about a possibility of rate hike by the central bank, Seth said, "I cannot pre-judge what RBI is going to do at this point of time".
Inflation continues to remain high despite RBI's move to raise lending (repo) and borrowing (reverse repo) rates.
Regarding his meeting with Pawar, Seth said it was a courtesy call.
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POSCO
Featured photo S. Korea's Posco to build steel plant in ChinaAFP - 16 hours ago SEOUL - South Korea's top steelmaker Posco said Thursday it will build a joint-venture plant in China's northeastern province of Jil... Images |
India to buy more than 16 C-17 airlifters
The IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik told India Strategic defence magazine in an interview that while the government had accorded approval earlier this month to buy 10 aircraft, the air force was now processing a case for six more of these airlifters. At a later date, "we will add some more," he disclosed but did not specify the number.
He said that IAF's existing Soviet-vintage IL-76 heavy-lift aircraft would last approximately another 10 years, and the induction of the C-17 Globemaster IIIs during this period would be a timely replacement. India has less than 20 IL-76 in a dedicated transport role, while there are six midair refuellers designated Il-78, and another three to house the Israeli Phalcon AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems).
The IAF has to replace the old aircraft and also augment its capability and capacity in accordance with the current and emerging security situation in the region in the foreseeable future.
The Indian government has just cleared the deal for 10 C-17s for $4.1 billion, and together with another six aircraft, the deal would be for around $6.5 billion, inclusive of the 30 percent offset clause.
The US government, and the Congress, has already cleared the deal under the government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme and it would be sealed once the Indian government signs the agreement and the US government issues what is called the LoA, or Letter of Acceptance, possibly by mid-June, to sell the aircraft to India.
Reliable sources, however, say the IAF could opt for eight more aircraft, in which case the deal for the C-17s could touch about $10 billion or so.
A key advantage of the offsets under this programme is assistance by Boeing to set up an approximately $500 million engine-testing wind tunnel for jet engines with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The air chief said that this project should go a long way in helping Indian scientists develop jet engines.
The indigenous capability in India for aircraft engines at the moment is vastly inadequate as it is difficult to master the engine core technology. Despite the acquisition of a very large number of aircraft from the Soviet Union/Russia and France, nobody has shared this expertise despite various collaborative programmes.
Even to test the Kaveri engine for the light combat aircraft (LCA) for instance, facilities in Russia have recently been used.
Notably, although Boeing is the largest manufacturer of civil and military aircraft in the world, it uses engines built by the GE and Pratt & Whitney. But Boeing has the talent and expertise to integrate, and help develop, the best of the aerospace technologies thanks also to its involvement in US space programme, particularly the space shuttles.
About the C-17s, Air Chief Marshal Naik observed that a key advantage of this aircraft is that despite being a huge airlifter with 75-tonne capacity, it can operate from very short and unpaved grassy airfields. As IAF has several small airfields all around, this is a decisive factor in acquiring the C-17, the other being a long-range global capability with mid-air refueling.
As for short landing and takeoff, this capability of the C-17 was demonstrated during the aircraft's trials in 2010. Boeing test pilot Col. Kelly Latimer, a former USAF pilot whose laughter matches the respect she commands in flying this huge aircraft, actually landed and took off in less than 3,000 feet from a small airfield in the mountains.
This writer had the privilege to meet this NASA veteran during a visit to the US. She explained the capabilities of the C-17 in peacetime for humanitarian missions as well as in the battlefield to airdrop special forces personnel, material or to pick up injured and wounded from short unpaved grassy fields in the thick of battle. The area around the landing field has to be sanitized though, as for any transport aircraft or helicopter in a battle zone, with the help of fighter and combat helicopter cover.
According to this writer's understanding, the C-17 also played a decisive role in the recent Operation Geronimo against Osama bin Laden by ferrying the highly-capable
multi-role Chinook MH 60R and Apache helicopters to Afghanistan. These helicopters were deployed in the Navy SEAL commandos strike against Osama's hideout in Pakistan's garrison city of Abbotabad.
Notably, India has played an active role in the international community in disaster relief even with IL-76 aircraft and they have been deployed usefully in crises situations also to help the neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The first IL-76 was flown into India in 1985 by Air Marshal (retd) Ashok Goel, who is now the mentor of 44 and 25 Squadrons which operate this aircraft. (He is also India Strategic's Aviation Editor).
According to Goel, it is imperative for the combat fleet to be supported by highly capable transport aircraft and helicopters. The reach of the combat aircraft is supported and sustained by airlifters, and timely supplies of equipment, supplies and boots on the ground in any operation can only be done by a mix of heavy-lift and other aircraft like the special operations' C-130J Super Hercules.
It may be noted that a modern version of the IL-76, designated just 476, is being developed in Russia and will be out in 2014.
India to test 5,000-km intercontinental ballistic missile by year-end
India will by year-end test its 5,000-km intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), often termed the China killer " for its ability to reach the northernmost areas of that country, the head of a premier defence research agency said on Friday when Defence Minister AK Antony asked for the expeditious development of the Agni-V missile system.
" DRDO ( Defence Research and Development Organisation )) has developed a spectrum of missiles with a different range and payload capability. Now, DRDO must demonstrate its capability to reach a range of 5,000 km at the earliest, Antony said at a function at the research agency.
DRDO chief VK Saraswat , who was present beside Antony, said Agni-V will be tested by the end of this year.
Antony also asked the agency to also develop a "credible" Ballistice Missile Defence (BMD) system to intercept enemy missiles that may target India, thereby taking the county into an elite club of nations such as the US.
"The interceptor missile development programme has taken India into an elite club of nations that possess the capability to demonstrate and deploy missile defence. DRDO should now work towards developing a credible ballistic missile defence for our country," Antony told the gathering of defence scientists.
India is in the process of developing its own BMD system and has carried out six tests in the last two years, of which four have been successful.
The BMD programme comprises a two-tiered system called Prithvi Air Defence ( PAD )) for high-altitude interception at 50-80 km and Advanced Air Defence ( AAD )) for low-altitude interception 15-30 km.
India has also inducted its latest 3,000-km Agni-III missile into the armed forces and has begun serialised production of the weapon system.
Agni-III, Saraswat pointed out, is an inducted missile. "So there is no confusion whether or when it will be inducted. Agni-III is an inducted missile. It has completed its complete development and is under production," he added.
15 JUN, 2011, 05.28AM IST,ET BUREAU
Inflation rises to 9.06%, rate hike inevitable
NEW DELHI: India's inflation rose to a higherthan-expected 9.06% in May, highlighting the limits of successive rate increases in taming price rise and raising the spectre the central bank's monetary tightening cycle could now run longer than previously thought. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to review its monetary policy on Thursday, and the latest wholesale price inflation data have all but cemented the possibility of a 25-basispoint increase in policy rates.
A rate increase is a rare event during a mid-quarter review of the monetary policy, and one so soon after last month's shock 50-basis-point increase will underscore the difficulties facing policymakers in battling the inflation monster. The central bank, which has raised rates nine times in the last 15 months, gave a peek into its thinking when it warned of an 'upward pressure' on inflation in a report on Tuesday.
Former RBI governor C Rangarajan , who now heads the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, said he expected the apex bank to look at the inflation issue more seriously now. Ahead of Tuesday's data release, the market had expected the headline inflation to edge up to 8.7% in May from 8.66% in April.
An ETpoll of 13 financial institutions showed that all but one expected a 25-basis-point increase in repo and reverse repo rates-the rates at which the RBI lends to banks and receives from banks for keeping their surplus funds. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. The successive rate increases have helped in slowing the economy-GDP growth slipped to a five-quarter low of 7.8% during the January-March quarter- and possibly even inflation, which has eased from a peak of 11.1% in April last year, but not enough to bring it to the targeted range of 4-5%.
"The tone of the policy is likely to stay ultra-hawkish," Barclays Capital analysts Siddhartha Sanyal and Kumar Rachapudi said.
An imminent revision in fuel prices and higher support prices for food crops will keep the inflation threat at an elevated level, and economists said the RBI will be worried more by signs that manufacturers continue to enjoy pricing power, implying strong demand conditions that could lift prices furthernon-food manufactured products, rose by nearly one percentage point to 7.2% in May from 6.3% in April. Food inflation moderated to 8.4% from 8.7% in April while in the case of fuels, inflation dropped to 12.3% in May from 13.3% in the month before.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/inflation-rises-to-906-rate-hike-inevitable/articleshow/8856118.cms
15 JUN, 2011, 09.56AM IST,NEW YORK TIMES
India faces an unpleasant trinity of moderating growth, high inflation and monetary tightening
NEW DELHI: Central Government, convulsed by a series of corruption scandals, is under increasing pressure to deal with the potentially conflicting challenges of rising inflation and slowing growth.
But any effort to deal with the underlying problems that plague the economy in India runs directly into powerful political interests.
Tuesday, government said inflation increased 9.1 per cent in May, compared with a year earlier, a rate higher than expected.
That came atop troubling economic data indicating country's gross domestic product growth had slowed, as companies spent less, foreign investment dropped and bad loans piled up at some banks.
While country's long-term prospects remain strong, many economists and analysts say the country's central government needs to act quickly to ensure the short-term problems do not intensify. While slower growth could help curb inflation, critics are not confident the government has the policy finesse to address either problem adequately.
India faces "an unpleasant trinity of moderating growth, high inflation and monetary tightening," said Rajeev Malik, senior economist for the investment bank CLSA in Singapore. "It is very important that the government get its act together and begin to do something."
In the first three months of this year, country's annual growth rate of gross domestic product slipped to 7.8 per cent - down from an 8.3 per cent annual rate in the fourth quarter of last year, and short of analysts' predictions.
The central government, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , has been rocked by allegations of corruption and investigations into sweetheart deals worth billions of dollars between government ministers and businesses of various types - most notably one involving the award of wireless communications licenses. The scandals have paralyzed decision-making and stalled development projects.
India, the second-fastest growing major economy after China, continues to have long-term forces that should be in its favor.
The country's youthful population, growing middle class and increased demand - whether for refrigerators and cars, or housing and highways - mean it could become the world's third-largest economy after China and the United States by 2030, Standard Chartered predicted this month. Country's economy is currently ranked 10th, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Still, a recent flurry of negative economic indicators has set the stage for a rocky year. Inflation is a worry in most emerging markets, but critics say lapses and policy missteps by the central government have made the problem especially bad in India.
Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of leading free-market democracies, released a generally upbeat report on India's economic prospects. But it warned that without deeper policy overhauls, the country would struggle to sustain its growth targets.
"Moving to a new level of growth will require renewing the momentum of reforms," said Angel Gurria, secretary general of the OECD. He called for lower barriers to international trade and investment, as well as revamping of the financial sector and the labor market.
Each of those issues is enveloped in a political thicket, though. And the current government has shown little willingness to even try changes. The OECD report highlighted India's low spending on health - just 1 per cent of the country's GDP - and the contrast to the country's high spending on energy subsidies, at 9 per cent of GDP.
Local investment growth slowed in the second half of the fiscal year that ended March 31 to 4.1 per cent, down from a 14.7 per cent rate at the beginning of the year.
Just as worrisome for an emerging economy, foreign investment in the first three months of 2011 fell 32 per cent from the comparable period a year earlier,down to $3.4 billion, on top of a steep drop for all of 2010.
Meanwhile, bad loans are creeping up at some of government-run banks, particularly at the largest, State Bank of India . In the quarter that ended March 31, the bank doubled the amount of provisions for nonperforming assets from the previous quarter, according to Enam Securities in Mumbai.
Car sales, one of fastest-growing economic indicators, slowed in May to their slowest rate in two years, according to the Society of Automobile Manufacturers.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia , deputy chairman of Planning Commission, acknowledged that the economy was growing more slowly than the target annual rate of 9 per cent to 9.5 per cent set by officials.
He said that getting policy reforms on the agenda had been difficult. Reaching growth targets, he said, "is not going to happen automatically - there are things that need to be done."
Inflation, meanwhile, threatens to become an even bigger problem if agricultural productivity does not improve, said C Rangarajan, head of the prime minister's Economic Advisory Council.
The Reserve Bank of India is expected on Thursday to raise its key borrowing rate for the 10th time since March 2010 - to 7.5 per cent from the current 7.25 per cent. The move may further curb growth but have little effect on inflation, analysts said, because a big inflationary force involves structural problems in country's food distribution, subsidies and infrastructure.
Revising interest rates is generally considered a blunt instrument even in organized economies. In India, where the economy is complicated by factors as diverse as fuel subsidies and infrastructure bottlenecks, the RBI's capacity for precision is even more limited.
Even as food prices skyrocket, the government has failed to fix an agricultural distribution system that means about 40 per cent of India's farm output rots before it is eaten, analysts note.
"You still need to develop your farm-to-fork model," said Rohini Malkani, an economist with Citigroup in Mumbai, citing need for improvements in warehousing and transportation. Although the government has noted and discussed these problems, progress has been very limited, she said.
The central government's inaction on infrastructure and food distribution is helping drive up inflation - even as the government is making the problem worse through farmer-friendly policies like raising minimum prices for food and grains.
"Part of the inflation problem is the government's doing," said Malik of CLSA. "They've chosen to improve the terms of trade for the rural economy," he said, "and it is coming at the cost of the urban economy."
But Kaushik Basu, the government's chief economic adviser, said in an interview Monday that inflation was a problem all developing countries were facing. "If you look at emerging economies around the world," Basu said, "India's performance looks pretty run of the mill."
He said recent skepticism about India's growth prospects was overblown.
"Just like you have irrational exuberance, occasionally you have irrational pessimism as well," he said. "My own view is that for the full year, growth will be a little less than what we were forecasting. But all the long-run indicators like investment and savings are going in the right direction."
The government's critics, however, take a harsher view. "The last two years have been a lost opportunity" for India's governing United Progressive Alliance party, Citigroup said this month in a research report.
The party's victory in 2009 fueled high expectations of a strong change-oriented agenda, which would address issues like banking regulation, land acquisition and pension reform. "Two years down the road," Citigroup said, "the UPA has disappointed on most counts."
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/india-faces-an-unpleasant-trinity-of-moderating-growth-high-inflation-and-monetary-tightening/articleshow/8859624.cms
15 JUN, 2011, 10.47AM IST,AFP
Rising food prices changing our eating habits: Oxfam
LONDON: People across the world are changing their eating habits because of the rising cost of food, according to a survey of 17 countries carried out by Oxfam and released Wednesday.
More than half of those questioned, or 53 percent, have modified their diet in the last two years, with 39 percent of those who had changed what they eat blaming higher prices.
In Kenya, 76 percent of respondents said they had changed their diet with 79 percent blaming the price of food. The second highest percentage was in South Africa with 69 percent.
But Western countries have also been affected with 55 percent of people in the United States saying they were no longer eating the same foods as two years ago, and 31 percent of Americans said it was because of higher prices.
Overall, cost was by far the biggest concern about food, with 66 percent citing it as one of their main worries.
The opinion poll was conducted ahead of a meeting of agriculture ministers from G20 countries in France next week when the global food price crisis will be discussed.
Jeremy Hobbs , executive director of Oxfam, said: "Our diets are changing fast and for too many people it is a change for the worst.
"Huge numbers of people, especially in the world's poorest countries, are cutting back on the quantity or quality of the food they eat because of rising food prices."
A Guatemalan resident told Oxfam that poorer inhabitants could no longer afford sugar and a Kenyan national revealed that milk, margarine and jam were all now prohibitively expensive and that rice, beans and meat were heading the same way.
Lula da Silva , former president Brazil , told the charity: "It's not acceptable that a child ever goes without a daily glass of milk.
"It's not acceptable that a child has less than three meals a day, these are fundamental rights."
Oxfam called on G20 leaders to force food prices down by regulating commodity markets and reforming "flawed biofuels policies" which mean too much agricultural land is turned over to the production of biofuels.
The charity also called on G20 leaders to invest in small-scale producers in developing countries.
In total, 16,421 people were interviewed in April and May for the survey.
Mumbai dabbawalas, Vidarbha farmers back Baba Ramdev's fast plans
MUMBAI: Nearly 5,000 dabbawalas of Mumbai and thousands of farmers and farm widows of Vidarbha on Friday extended their support to yoga guru Baba Ramdev's proposed fast against corruption and black money from Saturday.
"Around 5,000 dabbawalas (lunch-box carriers) have extended their moral support to Baba Ramdev," said Raghunath Medge, president of Nutan Dabbawala Trust . Medge, however, lamented that the dabbawalas could not physically join the yoga guru for fast.
"If our dabbawalas also start fasting, around 2,00,000 Mumbaikars will have to go hungry. I wish we had a bigger workforce," he said.
Also extending support to Ramdev's fast against corruption are thousands of Vidarbha farmers and farm widows, 800 of whom will be physically present at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi where Ramdev starts his fast Saturday.
"Around 500 farmers and 300 farm widows will be fasting alongside Baba Ramdev to express their support for his cause," said Kishor Tiwari, who is leading the farmers.
"Also, thousands of farmers and farm widows in 116 Vidarbha villages will sit on a relay fast everyday near the gram panchayat office of each village," he added.
Mumbai volunteers of India Against Corruption (IAC), that mobilised thousands to sit on a relay fast during Anna Hazare's fast against corruption, will join citizens at Mumbai's Azad Maidan Saturday in a solidarity fasting with Ramdev.
"Tens of thousands of stickers have been distributed to government and private offices and shops to sensitise citizens against the evil of corruption," an official from IAC said.
"National heroes like Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev have shown way for democratic agitation against an insensitive government and its select officials, and we will support them in their fight," he added.
Ramdev, who enjoys a huge following for offering cures for many lifestyle-related diseases through yoga, plans to begin his fast in New Delhi's sprawling Ramlila Ground to demand measures to curb corruption and bring back black money stashed in banks abroad.
Social activist Anna Hazare, who went on a fast in April to press for a strong anti-graft Lokpal bill, extended his support to Ramdev and also denied any rift with the yoga guru, but cautioned him against "government tactics".
Uninor subscriber base crosses 25 mn, leaves behind its peers
Subscriber base of new telecom company Uninor has crossed 25 mn mark by end of May, 2011 and the company became the eighth largest telecom operator in the country on subcriber base in April.
"Our long-term ambition is to establish ourselves among the top six operators in each of our circles. There is some distance to go till we reach that goal, but we are encouraged by the progress we are making," Sigve Brekke, Managing Director, Uninor said in a statement.
Based on subscriber base report of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India , Uninor has taken over its competing companies who got approval along with it and even crossed subcriber base of state-run telecom company MTNL .
The other five operators that lagged behind UNinor in April are CDMA player MTS, GSM operators Videocon, Loop, S Tel and Etisalat DB.
"Total subscription base is now bigger than at least one incumbent in 8 of its 13 commercially operational circles," the company said in a statement.
Sharing its customer base, Uninor disclosed that it had 4 mn mobile phone subscriber base in UP East, close to 3 mn in UP West, 2.8 mn in Bihar and 2.4 mn in West Bengal.
These service area together contributed almost 48 per cent of the total subscription base, the statement said.
The other leading service area for the company are Andhra Pradesh with 2.3 mn subscriber base, Maharashtra with 2.19 mn and Gujarat accounted for 1.96 mn mobile phone customers of the company.
Uninor launched its commercial service in eight telecom circles in December, 2009. With the launch of an additional five circles, the company reached its current commercial footprint of 13 circles in June, 2010.
Corruption hurting India's image abroad, says Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy
At a time when the country is grappling with a spate of scams, Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy has said that corruption issues has taken a toll on India's goodwill abroad.
"... the goodwill for India that exists a couple of years ago, has gotten diminished now. There is no doubt. It is absolutely clear," Murthy said in response to a question on whether issues of corruption are damaging India's reputation abroad.
In an interview to a television channel, Murthy, who would step down as Infosys Chairman later this year, said "there is no doubt" that India's good will has come down globally due to corruption issues.
"... I meet on an average about 30-40 new people every month and and out of that I would say at least about a third have spoken to me on that, in other words about 10-12 people every month," Murthy, a well reputed business leader, said.
Stressing that he was not criticising the country, Murthy said that these are "the facts that I have received from outside people. These are not my words or my perceptions".
Murthy's comments come at a time when there are rising concerns about corruption issues adversely impacting India's business environment.
In recent times, a spate of scams, including those related to 2G spectrum allocation and Commonwealth Games, have come to light.
On the handling of the Lokpal issue, Murthy said the Government could have done a better job in dealing with the civil society demands.
"... for the UPA to kind of put themselves in such a situation is sad.
"I personally feel that a party led by somebody of the stature of Sonia Gandhi, or a coalition led by somebody extraordinary like Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee who is another fantastic minister, I personally feel they could have done a much better job in dealing with the demands of the civil society," he noted.
Murthy said that what civil society is asking for is something good for the country. "All that they are saying is that no one should be above the law," he added.
16 JUN, 2011, 11.01PM IST, SUTANUKA GHOSAL,ET BUREAU
West Bengal needs a full-fledged R&R policy: ICC
KOLKATA: The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on Thursday released a report on 'Involuntary Rehabilitation & Resettlement' which says that the existing rehabiliation and resettlement (R&R) policy of West Bengal government should be converted into full-fledged R&R policy for giving boost to overall industrial growth and social development .
At present, the state government's policy formulated in 2008 by West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) is applicable to those cases where WBIDC functions as the monitoring and implementing agnecy. The package has largely been formulated keeping in view the various industrial parks the WBIDC is currently setting up across the state.
The ICC panelists felt tha Bengal predominantly being an agriculture-based economy, making land available in the rural and semi-urban areas for new large industrial projects, remains a challenge, and there has to be concerted efforts to implement large industrial projects through participative consultations with all relevant stake holders in the future.
The report also dealt with the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement policy, 2007 of India. ICC recommends that there is a need for conversion to R&R Act/Law from R&R Bill, proactiveness of the bureaucracy, formulation of independent authority under experts, addressing rehabilitation along with resettlement among others.
If Tatas don't invest in West Bengal, there are others: Congress
The Tatas were welcome to invest in West Bengal , but if they did not there were others who would, Congress, the alliance partner of the Mamata Banerjee government, said today.
"If the Tatas want to invest they are welcome, but if they don't that doesn't mean that there is none other to invest in the state," WBPCC President Pradip Bhattacharya told reporters here.
"West Bengal had the maximum industrialisation during the term of Bidhan Chandra Roy, but there was no Tata at that time," Bhattacharya said.
The Tatas will have to understand the ground reality and if they want to set up a factory in the 600-acre at Singur then there is no problem. They are welcome but they will have to abide by government rules, he said.
Bhattacharya lauded the efforts of the state government to return the land at Singur to farmers who had unwillingly parted with it for the now-abandoned Tata Motors Nano project.
"The effort of the state government to return the land to unwilling farmers is creditable and shows its intention to work honestly for the people," he said.
Speaking on the recent developments in the country, Bhattacharya said, "Some political parties are trying to destroy democratic institutions and Congress will launch a full fledged movement to reach out to the people."
The movement would be launched on July 1 here where Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would be present, he said.
Rahul Gandhi has all the qualities for becoming a good PM: Digvijay
Rahul Gandhi has got "all the qualities and capabilities" that are required to become a "good" Prime Minister, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said.
"Rahul has got all those qualities and capabilities that are needed for a good Prime Minister", Singh, who has been working closely with the young leader, who turns 41 on June 19, told reporters.
Replying to a question, Singh said no leader on his own says that he wants to become the Prime Minister and all this depends upon the overall situation and circumstances.
Describing Rahul as "quite mature", Singh said he has got the understanding of social and political issues. Besides being a member of the Gandhi family, he has the qualities of head and heart to strike rapport with people, he said.
Singh, who is in charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh, dismissed suggestions that BSP supremo Mayawati, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav or the BJP leaders could be termed his rivals.
"He competes with himself, not with others", Singh said when asked as to who is Rahul's main competetor in politics.
Dismissing opposition charges that Rahul indulges more in theatrics than in real action, he said, "Rahul works with the courage of conviction. He works with commitment and confidence".
Singh, who had a meeting today with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, declined to divulge what transpired between them saying it was a "routine" affair.
Lokpal bill will be drafted by June 30: Chidambaram
Even as the civil society members of the Lokpal bill joint drafting committee called the meetings a "drama", Home Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday said the proposed legislation will be drafted by the deadline of June 30.
"On behalf of the government we want to reiterate what we have been saying: it is our intention to draft a strong and sound Lokpal bill, and we will complete it by June 30," Chidambaram said at a press conference.
Differences emerged between the two sides in the seventh meeting of the committee Wednesday with the civil society members alleging that the government was attempting to "bulldoze" its version of the bill.
Inclusion of the prime minister and judiciary within the ambit of the proposed Lokpal are among the points of main differences between the two sides.
Lokpal bill deadlock: Hazare threatens fast from Aug 16
A day after talks on Lokpal Bill got deadlocked, Anna Hazare today accused the government of having no intention of enacting a strong anti-corruption law and said he will undertake an indefinite fast from August 16 if a diluted legislation is brought.
Hazare alleged that the government had "backtracked" on the promises that it will agree to all the suggestions forwarded by the civil society members.
He told reporters that he was "surprised" that the government wants civil society members to give a separate draft of the bill which will be brought before the cabinet along with that of the government.
"If there have to be two drafts, then why was this joint committee formed. They could have told us earlier. Our draft was known to them. Why waste so much of time? It is clear that the government has no intention to bring an effective bill," Hazare said.
Alleging that the government had gone back on assurances given to him to persuade him to withdraw his hunger strike in April, he said, "I will resume my fast on August 16....if the government tries to suppress us like in the case of Ramdev, we are prepared for that," he said.
"We are ready to face lathis and bullets. I am ready to sacrifice my life for the sake of the country," he said.
However, the Hazare camp made it clear that they will attend the meetings of June 20 and 21 to see what the government has to say on the issue.
Hazare's aide Arvind Kejriwal said the government has "frittered away a huge opportunity" to frame a strong bill and take credit for it. "What the government is now bringing is not a Lokpal Bill but a 'Jokepal' Bill."
16 JUN, 2011, 07.33PM IST, BANDEVIKA,ET BUREAU
Japan to give Rs 7,361 crore for infra projects in India
NEW DELHI: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to Rs 7,361 crore as a soft loan to India for various infrastructure projects in India. The loan will cover six development projects in the areas of power, transportation, forestation and energy to support India's efforts to improve its infrastructure.
The loan amount will also focus of projects that will help accelerate the spread of new and renewable energy and energy conservation projects using Japanese technology .
The projects include two power projects in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh respectively, Bangalore metro rail project, a bio diversity project in Rajasthan, an energy saving project for small and medium industries and a renewable energy project.
The Japanese commitment comes at a time when the Indian government was skeptical of Japanese contribution on account of the recent devastation in the country due to earthquake and tsunami.
"I hope that this will send a positive message that our level of assistance towards India will remain stable even after earthquake and tsunami that have recently hit our country," said Shunichi Yamanaka, chief representative of JICA in India.
JICA, as an aid donor agency of the Japanese government, provides concessionary loans (ODA loans), grant aid, and technical cooperation to countries. It has supported many projects in India, the most significant of which is the first two phases of the Delhi metro rail project. It has also agreed to support the phase 3 of the Delhi metro is expected to cost Rs 28,000 crore covering 6 corridors that are part of the plan as of now.
MFIs in India need USD 200 bn: ASSOCHAM
BANGALORE: Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India on Thursday said the financial needs of the micro-finance institutions (MFIs) in India are estimated to reach USD 200 billion and hence new sources of finance are required for them.
"The financial needs of MFIs are estimated at USD 200 billion in the long term," ASSOCHAM President Dilip Modi said during a national conclave on 'Micro-finance: Strangulate or Regulate', organised by the industry body here.
"New sources of financing are therefore essential and private investors will certainly be playing a key role in their growth", he added.
Modi said the issues of alternate funding, reduction in operating costs, restricting indebtedness and income criteria need to be fine-tuned and supported for healthy and vibrant growth of MFIs.
ASSOCHAM expects that introduction of multi-purpose national identity cards would revolutionise the micro-finance sector by bringing down transaction costs.
The present quantum of micro-finance can be enhanced by sustained efforts on the part of financial institutions, self-help groups and interested NGOs, it added.
Karnataka's Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadish Shettar said after Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka is the second fastest growing State in the country for micro-finance activities.
The State has 27 MFIs with 32 lakh clients, in addition to more than 30 lakh members of some 2.32 lakh self-help groups, Shettar said.
| Timeline of articles Number of sources covering this story
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'Karnataka second top destination after Gujarat'
BANGALORE: Karnataka ranks as number two top investment destination in the country after Gujarat with 1,528 projects worth Rs 9.1 lakh crore underway, according to industry body ASSOCHAM.
In Gujarat, 1,455 projects worth Rs 13.35 lakh crore are underway, ASSOCHAM officials said.
Nearly 44 per cent of the 1,528 projects in Karnataka are in manufacturing sector followed by 22.4 per cent in services, 15 per cent in power and about 14 per cent in real estate.
The projects are in different stages of implementation, said ASSOCHAM (The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India) in its study titled 'Karnataka - Next Growth Leader in the Making', unveiled here today.
The study was jointly released by ASSOCHAM President Dilip Modi, Co-Chairman of ASSOCHAM Southern Regional Chapter, J Crasta and ASSOCHAM's Secretary General, D S Rawat.
Investment flows into manufacturing sector marked a 107.8 per cent jump during 2010 compared to the previous year while those in services sector registered a healthy growth of 76.5 per cent.
Investments in real estate and irrigation sectors witnessed 30.2 per cent and 19.3 per cent, respectively.
"We appreciate the efforts made by current leadership to realise the growth potential", Modi said. "ASSOCHAM believes that Karnataka needs to build further on its present strength".
Singur Bill
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14 JUN, 2011, 05.59AM IST, DHEERAJ TIWARI,ET BUREAU
Four sick PSUs on govt's 'fast track' selloff list
NEW DELHI:A government panel will soon review four sick public-sector companies - Hindustan Cable , Richardson & Cruddas, Hindustan Machine Tools and Tungabhadra Steel - to fast track the disinvestment process. The committee, set up by the ministry of heavy industries, will consider outright sale or revival of these units through joint ventures . There are 27 sick companies under the administrative control of the ministry. "We would be looking at all possibilities . In some cases it can be outright sale, while the option of revival through a joint venture will also be explored," said a senior official with the ministry of heavy industries.
The government plans to raise Rs 40,000 crore through divestment in public-sector companies in the current financial year to cut high fiscal deficit. It has been delaying sale of shares in some profitable companies because of stock market volatility. The move to fast-track stake sale is a shift from the earlier government's agenda of disinvestment only through public offers. This year, the government has only managed one public issue -5 % selloff in Power Finance Corp - that brought it Rs 1,162 crore.
The cabinet has cleared another stake sale, that in Scooters India. The government will soon invite expressions of interest for Tungabhadra Steel. "Already two public sector companies, Kudermukh Iron Ore and NDMC , have shown interest. We are hoping that private players will also be interested," the official said. Karnataka-based Tungabhadra Steel's hydel plant generates 5.5 million units of power every year. The company has about 88 acres of prime land. "The company has about 100 employees on its rolls but its operating cost is very high. An outright sale is one option for this company," the official said.
The company, which manufactures hydro mechanical equipment, generates revenues of about Rs 1.5 crore annually from its mini-hydel plant. The case of Richardson & Cruddas is likely to be taken up by the month end. The company has about 73 acres of prime land, mostly in Mumbai. "We will soon hold discussion with the Maharashtra government on the land issue, as a large part of it is under encroachment ," the official said. The company , with accumulated losses of about . 300 crore, was cleared for closure in 2003. The committee will also review the cases of Hindustan Cable, which has been sick since 2002, and HMT Bearings.
14 JUN, 2011, 05.49AM IST,ET BUREAU
Pranab calls for immediate end to secrecy at banks
NEW DELHI: India on Monday made a strong pitch to end banking secrecy and sought more teeth in multilateral measures to deal with abusive transfer pricing. "We cannot say with certainty that bank secrecy is over in all cases," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at a tax conference jointly organised by his ministry and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in New Delhi. The government is under pressure to crack down on tax evaders . The issue has taken centerstage in Indian politics with civil society organisations demanding quick action to get back black money stashed away in foreign bank accounts.
Mukherjee said some countries had agreed to end banking secrecy only from a prospective date and were unwilling to share information on past bank transactions, raising questions about the efficacy of existing legal provisions for exchange of banking information. He said there was a considered view that tax havens and low-tax jurisdictions helped fuel the global financial crisis, and that their opaque system and curbs on information exchange were matters of concern. "Concerns are not only on account of protecting revenue base, but also linked to financing of activities that are detrimental to national security interest," Mukherjee said. India is currently negotiating banking information exchange agreements with notax or low-tax countries to help it check tax crimes. Mukherjee stressed on the need to revisit the existing legal framework developed by the OECD in this regard.
On bribery in the private sector, the minister said a law to tackle it would be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament. India must introduce such a law as it has ratified the UN convention against corruption. The Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill , 2011 prohibits accepting and giving ratification to or by foreign public officials. Mukherjee said tax competition , driven by the presence of tax havens, was helping people park income outside their countries . He reiterated India's commitment to pursuing all necessary steps in coordination with countries on this issue.
The finance minister said that varied inter-company transactions , increased global business restructuring and location of companies in various tax jurisdictions had brought challenges to the tax administration on transfer pricing rules. Mukherjee sought stiff measures to check illicit outflows from developing countries and exploitation of their natural resources through abusive transfer pricing schemes.
Transfer pricing refers to the pricing of assets, tangible and intangible , services, and funds transferred within an organisation in a cross-border transaction . Misuse of this system by companies often leads to loss of revenue from natural resources for developing nations. Mukherjee said India had already overhauled its transfer pricing administration and tightened the procedures provisions to check misuse to shift profit to another country.
13 JUN, 2011, 10.38PM IST,ET BUREAU
Farm loans up in 2010-11; low enlistment of new borrowers a concern
NEW DELHI: Farm credit flow has registered a quantum jump during 2010-11, accordign to figures put out by the government, although apprehensions have been expressed that there is urgent to enlist new loanees rather than give credit to time and again to the same borrowers. Credit institutions disbursed Rs. 4,26,531 crore during the year against the target of Rs.3,75,000 crore, an official statement said here.
Agency-wise, Commercial Banks with disbursal of Rs. 3.14 lakh crore are on the top followed by Cooperative Banks with Rs 69,000 crore and Regional Rural Banks with Rs 43,000 crore.
Officials said that in order to enlist new borrowers among small and marginal farmers and meet the credit flow target for the current financial year ( 2011-12) has been fixed at Rs. 4.75 lakh crore. Banks have been asked to step up direct lending, especially to small and marginal farmers.
The government has been providing crop loans at concessional interest rates since 2006-07. In the current financial year (2011-12), the government is providing interest subvention by 3%, thus bringing down the effective rate of interest to 4% per annum. This interest subvention is provided to those farmers who repay their short term crop loans on time.
In 2009-10 the subvention rate for timely repayment of crop loans was 1% which was raised to 2% in 2010-11 and further to 3% this year.
Over the years, agriculture credit flow has registered significant jump. It has gone up from Rs. 86,981 crore in 2003-04 to Rs. 4,26,531 crore in 2010-11.
Break up of credit financed by different agencies is as under: (Rs. in crore) 2009-10 2010-11 Sr. No. Name of agency Target Achievement Target Achievement 1 Coop Banks 45,000 63,497 55,000 69,076 2 Commercial Banks 2,50,000 2,85,000 2,80,000 3,14,182 3 RRBs 30,000 35, 217 40,000 43,273 Total 3,25,000 3,84,514 3,75,000 4,26,531
16 JUN, 2011, 10.44PM IST,REUTERS
India, China to resume defence contacts frozen for a year: Source
NEW DELHI: India will resume defence ties with China on Sunday when a military delegation will travel to Beijing , a year after New Delhi suspended such meetings over a visa spat , a government source said on Thursday.
China had in August denied a visa to an Indian general in charge of operations in the disputed Kashmir region. The Indian source said that as part of the compromise with Beijing, the delegation would be headed by another general.
"If you've agreed to my point, I can't run you down to the ground. They have to save face, as the Chinese say," the source said, declining to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
"But after this trip, things will be back on track," he said, referring to the resumption of defence exchanges.
India protested in 2009 against a Chinese embassy policy of issuing different visas to residents of Indian Kashmir. New Delhi bristles at any hint that Kashmir, where a separatist insurgency has raged for two decades, is not part of India.
India and China, emerging rivals for resources and global influence, have fought a war over a disputed border and have limited military ties. China also occupies a part of Kashmir which India claims as its own.
The eight-member delegation will be in China till June 24 and will also visit Urumqi, the capital of the restive Xinjiang province that abuts Kashmir, the Indian source said.
16 JUN, 2011, 09.02PM IST,REUTERS
Citi says 360,000 accounts hacked in May cyber attack
NEW YORK: Citigroup Inc said a cyber attack in May affected almost twice as many accounts as the bank's figures had initially suggested, as major US lenders come under growing pressure from lawmakers to improve account security.
A total of 360,083 North American Citigroup credit card accounts were affected by the breach, the third-largest US bank by assets said in a statement released late on Wednesday.
Of those affected, some 217,657 customers were reissued with new cards along with a notification letter, while the remaining accounts were either inactive or had already received new cards earlier, the bank added.
Citigroup had earlier said that about 1 per cent of its North American accounts were affected. The bank's annual report puts the total number of its customers at 21 million.
"It is mainly due to the actual number of accounts being more than what's in the 2010 annual report as well as variances such as some of the accounts being closed," United States-based Citi spokesman Sean Kevelighan said in an emailed response.
Customers had their names, account numbers and contact information accessed, but Citi said that "data critical to commit fraud was not compromised" and that other consumer banking online systems were not accessed.
Citigroup also said it identified "the majority" of accounts compromised within seven days, adding that the information was accessed on the accounts by May 24 but that it only started notifying customers of the breach on June 3.
"What Citi should have done upon finding out is to call for a press conference to announce the news, reassure customers that they take this in utmost seriousness, and to personally reach out the affected accounts," said Li-May Chew, associate research director at IDC Financial Insights.
LUCRATIVE TARGETS
The bank is the latest in a growing list of companies to face cyber attacks in recent months, with Sony , Google Inc and Lockheed Martin all having suffered under hackers this year.
In response to the latest bout of attacks, many banks have stepped up their security effort, with two Australia-based banks -- ANZ and Westpac -- replacing their customers' "SecurID" electronic keys earlier this month.
"Cyber hackers are no longer interested in just stealing money directly," said Edison Yu, industry manager at consultancy Frost and Sullivan.
"They are more interested in stealing peripheral information such as contact details and ID numbers that can be sold on the black market later," Yu said, adding that the global black market for email addresses and national ID numbers is now worth about $5 billion, making it a lucrative area for hackers looking to steal contact information.
Regulators in many countries have also been preparing new measures on data security, with the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp in the United States saying last week she may "ask some banks to strengthen their authentication when a customer logs onto online accounts."
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority also said it requires banks to have risk management systems to ensure the adequacy of their security systems.
"Banks are expected to continue to review their security measures in place to enhance the controls, where appropriate, on an ongoing basis," said an HKMA spokeswoman.
16 JUN, 2011, 06.28PM IST,ET BUREAU
Coal Ministry revokes mining licences of NTPC, DVC
NEW dELHI: The coal ministry on Thursday issued orders to revoke mining licences of five blocks of NTPC, Damodar Valley Corp and Jharkhand State Electriciy Board .
Of the five coal blocks, three -- Chatti Bariatu, Chatti Bariatu (South) and Kerandari- belong to NTPC. The company denied offering any comment.
The coal ministry had last month announced decision to revoke licences of 15 coal and lignite blocks, 12 of which belonged to state-run companies. On June 1, letters were issued to three companies Bhaidyanath Ayurved Bhavan, Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corp and Bhatia International for cancellation of five blocks.
Chatti Bariatu and Kerandari coal blocks were allocated to NTPC in 2006, while Chatti Bariatu (South) coal block was given to public sector firm in 2007.
The other two blocks are Damodar Valley Corp's Saharpur Jamarpani and Jharkhand State Electricity Board's Banhardih. While Saharpur Jamarpani was allocated in 2007, Banhardih was given in 2006.
The move is followed by recommendations of a review committee on progress of coal blocks. The panel had originally recommended de-allocation of 31 coal blocks held by 26 firms including Tata Steel , NTPC, Hindalco and Nevyeli Lignite Corporation. The de-allocated blocks would be allotted to Coal India Ltd or its subsidiaries for mining.
Trades Union Congress
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Court asks CBI to probe another Gujarat shootout
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court Thursday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the killing of Sadiq Jamal Mehtar, an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant, in a 2003 shootout with the state police.
The investigative agency was given the directive by a single judge bench of Justice M.R. Shah.
Mehtar was killed in the early hours of January 13, 2003, near Galaxy Cinema in Ahmedabad city by broadly the same band of policemen of the Ahmedabad Crime Branch which is now in the dock for the alleged staged shootout of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife as well as Ishrat Jahan and three others.
This is the third suspected staged encounter case to be handed over to the CBI. The first case was the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauserbi, followed by that of his associate and key eyewitness Tulsi Prajapati.
The investigation of the killing of Mumbai college girl Ishrat Jahan and three others has already been handed over to the special investigation team (SIT) set up by the Gujarat High Court.
Justice Shah rejected the Gujarat government's plea that the Mehtar case be handed over to a special task force (STF) constituted by it. An independent investigation was essential as senior police officers were implicated in the case, the court ruled.
The court also dismissed the state government's plea that a seven-year delay in filing an appeal by the brother of Mehtar created issues of credibility. Crime never dies, the court said.
Mehtar was projected by the police to be an operative of Lashkar-e-Taiba on a mission to assassinate Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia.
However, questions over the killing surfaced in 2003 itself when Mumbai-based journalist Ketan Tirodkar told a court that Mehtar was killed in a staged shootout.
Source: IANS
Satellites to verify China's claim on Brahmaputra: India
New Delhi: India Thursday said it has satellite imagery proof that China was building only a run-of-the-river dam for power projects on the Brahmaputra river and that it posed no threat to Assam or Arunachal Pradesh.
"India today has assets and satellites that produce superb, high-calibre imagery and we have ascertained from our own sources of information and imagery that China is only building a run-of-the-river dam at Zangmu in middle reaches of Yarlung Tsango (as the Brahmaputra is called in Tibet)," a top government official said here.
Stressing that the clarification this time on the Chinese dam was different, the sources pointed out that all along India had only quoted Chinese foreign minister or the prime minister's assurances in this regard to state that there was no danger of diversion of the Brahmaputra's waters.
"We don't just discuss or just trust...we also verify," the official said, noting that India had the satellite capability for the last three years now. India launched Cartosat-2 satellite, having a very high resolution, in 2007.
China is likely to complete the work on the dam by July 2012 after which the water will flow through the dam, the sources said, noting that till such time the work is complete, a temporary dam in the midstream of the river had been done to aid construction.
"However, the river channels on either side of the dam continue to flow," they said.
"The government doesn't feel concerned or alarmed over the dam. But that doesn't mean we not make noise if any diversion takes place," they added.
The clarification came even as External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters after his meeting with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi earlier in the day that China has assured India it is only building a run-of-the-river power project on the Brahmaputra in Tibet and that it would not divert the river.
"As a result, the question of diversion or storage of the water doesn't arise," Krishna said, assuring that India was monitoring the development though satellites to verify reports on its own.
"So when this is the case, my earnest suggestion to the governments of Assam as also Arunachal Pradesh is they should go ahead and prepare the necessary project reports in order to utilise the Brahmaputra water to the maximum benefit of the people," he said, adding that the states should prepare a plan in consultation with the Planning Commission and other agencies.
Gogoi said there were reports of diversion of the Brahmaputra water by China, and this could have an adverse ecological impact on his state. "I have discussed this with Krishna and he told me ... there will be no impact and there will be no shortage of water," Gogoi said.
Pointing out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier announced the creation of a northeastern river water authority, Gogoi said Arunachal Pradesh had not agreed to the idea.
"The purpose (of the authority) is the full utilisation and proper management of waters, whether for irrigation or power. We (Assam) are contemplating having an (authority) of our own. We have constituted an expert committee also," he added.
Government sources pointed out that the number of catchment points for the Brahmaputra inside India was huge and that the quantum of water that flows into India from China was "much, much lower" than the outflow from India to Bangladesh.
"We have enough water for all our development works and for the future too. Harnessing the water resources is in our hands. We have to do it for irrigation, power and flood control," the source said.
No dam, only power project on Brahmaputra: China
China has assured India it is only building a run-of-the-river power project on the Brahmaputra that would not divert the river, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said Thursday.
"Chinese authorities have conveyed to us that it is going to be a run-of-the-river project and there is going to be no reservoir. As a result, the question of diversion or storage of the water doesn't arise," Krishna told reporters after meeting Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi here.
Krishna said China had conveyed to India it was going to have a "run-of-the-river" power project and there was no question of diverting the Brahmaputra waters.
He also said India was monitoring the development though satellites to verify reports.
"We have been monitoring through our satellite pictures as well as in our interaction with Chinese authorities. We also have made verification of our own," he said.
"The question of any water being impounded is not there. "So when this is the case, my earnest suggestion to the governments of Assam as also Arunachal Pradesh is they should go ahead and prepare the necessary project reports in order to utilise the Brahmaputra water to the maximum benefit of the people," he added.
Krishna noted that Gogoi had explained the problem of floods in the Brahmaputra as "a constant source of worry". "They (Assam) will have to prepare a plan in consultation with the Planning Commission and other agencies so that Brahmaputra water will be put to good use for the benefit of the two states," he added.
Gogoi said there were reports of diversion of Brahmaputra water by China, and this could have an adverse ecological impact on his state. "I have discussed this with Krishna and he told me ... there will be no impact and there will be no shortage of water," Gogoi said.
"We are having problems of flooding also. We are very much concerned about containing the water (by China) and possible soil erosion also." Pointing out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier announced the creation of a northeastern river water authority, Gogoi said Arunachal Pradesh had not agreed to the idea.
"The purpose (of the authority) is the full utilisation and proper management of waters, whether for irrigation or power. We (Assam) are contemplating having an (authority) of our own. We have constituted an expert committee also," he added.
Source: IANS
Corporate hotshots face untried challenges
Bloomberg UTV, India's premier business news channel has announced the second season of 'The Assignment'. With some of India's finest professionals daring to take on 'The Assignment', this unparalleled business reality show presented by Nokia, has roped in super model Nethra Raghuraman as the anchor. The show goes on-air on Bloomberg UTV early July.
Season 2 of this hugely popular business reality show challenges 13 of India's finest professionals, to take on untried and untested assignments outside their comfort zones. Continuing its core philosophy of bridging the gap between the two significantly distinct sectors of the Indian landscape, this season of The Assignment will see participants from a diverse range of professions stepping into unchartered markets, catering to hitherto unlikely audiences.
On the one hand there are highly-trained professionals schooled in India and abroad catering to the most discerning, evolved audiences in urban India. While on the other there is an audience that has only heard about these experts from peers, read about them in the papers or seen them on TV. The Assignment brings these two worlds together and challenges these experts in fields ranging from advertising to media, fashion designing and IT, to serve audiences in tier II towns who've never been exposed to such quality of expertise.
Can these hotshots who've mastered their trade and firmly positioned themselves on the map be able to cater to the expectations, demands and favor of the audiences at the heart of India?
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Deepak Lamba - Business Head, Bloomberg UTV said, "Inspired by an overwhelming response from our viewers and advertisers, we are back with the second season of The Assignment. Our objective is to delight our viewers with an exciting format which combines the best of education with entertainment. In keeping with our promise of being the Blunt. And Sharp. business news channel, our efforts like The Assignment will continue to strive towards strengthening our innovative programming while fulfilling the business news needs of our viewers."
Not new to assignments herself, mutli-faceted super model, Nethra Raghuraman said, "Hosting The Assignment will be an exhilarating experience and an inspiring challenge for me and I'm grateful to the channel for the opportunity. It will be refreshing to bring hotshot experts out of their comfort zones to try and execute activities in a totally unknown environment. I look forward to a lot of excitement and enthusiasm from the participants while they undertake these untried and untested challenges and work their way to success in the task."
In its new season, The Assignment promises to enthrall the Indian viewer with yet another stellar programming innovation brought to life only on Bloomberg UTV.
Source: Bloomberg UTV
Decision on Telangana in a week, Pranab assures Congress leaders
New Delhi/Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader and union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday night assured Congress leaders from Telangana that the party would take a decision on the statehood issue within a week.
The Congress leaders hoped the party would take a positive decision on their demand for separate Telangana state but warned the leadership that if it failed to do so they would be forced to chalk out their own action plan.
More than 50 leaders including MPs, state ministers and legislators met Pranab and Ahmed Patel, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's political adviser, in the national capital. The meeting lasted for 75 minutes as the two senior leaders gave a patient hearing to the delegation.
Satisfied with the talks, some state ministers and MPs told reporters that Mukherjee assured them that he would apprise Gandhi of their sentiments once she returns to Delhi.
After a 'disappointing' meeting with union Home Minister P. Chidambaram earlier in the day, the talks with Mukherjee and Patel provided some relief to the Telangana leaders.
They claimed the senior leaders agreed with them that a decision on the issue can't be delayed any further.
Telangana leaders, who have set June 30 as the deadline for the leadership to take a decision, warned that if it failed to take a positive decision soon the party would be wiped out in the region.
MP Madhu Goud Yaskhi said they made it clear that it was their last meeting on the issue. "We told them that we will not come again and submit representations on the issue. We will come only if the party invites us for taking a decision on formation of separate state," the MP from Nizamabad said.
Earlier, Chidambaram failed to give any assurance to the Telangana leaders, who were also unhappy over the hasty manner in which home minister left for another meeting.
The home minister told the delegation that the government can take a decision only after a decision by the party.
Telangana leaders demanded the government abide by its Dec 9, 2009 statement on the issue and table a bill in the ensuing parliament session to carve out a separate state.
The MPs had last week called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who assured to discuss the issue with the party leadership.
Jupalli Krishna Rao, a state minister, resigned earlier this month while some other ministers are planning to follow suit if the centre delays a decision on the issue.
Following a hunger strike by Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao, the centre on Dec 9, 2009 had announced that the steps for formation of a separate Telangana state will be initiated.
As the statement sparked protests in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, the government went on the backfoot and decided to have wider consultations.
The government later constituted the Srikrishna committee which suggested six options, including formation of a separate Telangana state and maintaining status quo.
Source: IANS
Govt Lokpal bill is Jokepal: Team Anna
Anna Hazare to fast again from Aug 16 at Jantar Mantar; Gandhian slams government for U-turn. Interestingly, Law Minister Veerappa Moily said there will be no two drafts on Lokpal Bill. Later, Home Minister P Chidambaram said that a sound and strong Lokpal bill will be drafted by June 30.
New Delhi: Anna Hazare on Thursday threatened to go on hunger strike from August 16 alleging "backtracking" on Lokpal bill but the government refused to yield, saying it cannot allow creation of a "parallel" structure.
Amidst hardening of positions by both sides, the government made it clear that it would come out with a "strong and sound" draft of Lokpal bill by June 30 irrespective of whether civil society activists cooperate.
A day after talks in the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill got deadlocked, Hazare accused the government of having no intention to enact a strong anti -- corruption law and that it had "backtracked" on the promises that it will agree to all the suggestions forwarded by the civil society members.
Hazare, whose hunger strike in April had evoked nationwide response which rattled the government, said he will undertake an indefinite fast from August 16 if a diluted legislation is brought.
Shortly after press conference by Hazare and his team, ministers in the drafting committee P.Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid hit back at the civil society, making it clear that the government will not succumb to threats.
"You cannot threaten and negotiate at the same time...This is not the way forward...The government is not going to get diverted by abuses and slander," HRD Minister Sibal said at a press conference.
Home Minister Chidambaram said, "I don't think anywhere in the world, fasting is the way to draft a bill."
He asserted that many of the demands of the Hazare team cannot be accepted because a structure parallel to the government cannot be allowed.
Lokpal bill will be drafted by June 30: Chidambaram
Even as the civil society members of the Lokpal bill joint drafting committee called the meetings a "drama", Home Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday said the proposed legislation will be drafted by the deadline of June 30.
"On behalf of the government we want to reiterate what we have been saying: it is our intention to draft a strong and sound Lokpal bill, and we will complete it by June 30," Chidambaram said at a press conference.
Differences emerged between the two sides in the seventh meeting of the committee Wednesday with the civil society members alleging that the government was attempting to "bulldoze" its version of the bill.
Inclusion of the prime minister and judiciary within the ambit of the proposed Lokpal are among the points of main differences between the two sides.
No two drafts on Lokpal Bill: Moily
Government today ruled out sending two drafts of Lokpal Bill to the Union Cabinet in the wake of strong differences with the civil society which it accused of "obstructing" the fight against corruption.
Addressing a press conference here, Law Minister Veerappa Moily, who is also the convener of the joint Lokpal drafting committee, said if the representatives from both the sides fail to iron out differences during the next meeting on June 20, then their respective views would be sent to the Cabinet.
"But there will be no two drafts...we never said you produce your bill, we (will) produce our bill. That distortion is absolutely incorrect. That is absolutely baseless," he said.
He was contradicting civil society representative Arvind Kejriwal's statement yesterday that two separate drafts -- one prepared by the Government representatives and the other by civil society members -- would be sent to the Cabinet.
Accusing the civil society representatives of "changing their demands", Moily said "it will not help. We have to confine ourselves to the mandate of a joint drafting committee."
He said the government has agreed to 34 out of 40 principles laid down by the civil society for a strong Lokpal Bill. Moily also said that there is no final word yet on the inclusion of the Prime Minister in the anti-corruption legislation.
The Minister said while the UPA was committed to storm out corruption, BJP and members of the civil society were trying to obstruct its effort. "My intention is not to hurt sentiments of people including both from the civil society and the BJP. They are obstructing UPA's war against corruption," he said.
Anna slams Centre, Govt in a huddle
Amid growing differences with civil society members on the proposed Lokpal Bill, the government on Thursday held a series of meetings to formulate a strategy to handle the ticklish issue.
Union Minister Kapil Sibal and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hours after Anna Hazare accused the UPA of "playing tricks" with people of the country and questioned the rationale behind sending two versions of Lokpal Bill to the Cabinet for consideration.
However, both the leaders remained tightlipped on what transpired in the meeting. The Group of Ministers on Media also met at noon and is learnt to have decided to follow a 'wait and watch' policy to the unfolding situation and not be hurried in its response.
A day after the "deadlocked" meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill, Hazare alleged that the government was "playing tricks" and he would have to restart protest if a "weak" anti-corruption legislation is cleared by the government.
After the government and civil society failed to achieve any common ground at the sixth meeting yesterday, it was decided to forward two versions of the Bill to the Cabinet for its consideration.
Digvijay Singh, however, objected to the remarks saying the government has an "open mind" but the civil society members should also understand that there is a Parliament that frames rules.
Dismissing suggestions that the government was pre-determined on the issue, he said that there would have been no joint drafting committee had this been the case.
Civil society members should change attitude: Digvijay
Amid growing differences with civil society members on the proposed Lokpal Bill, the government on Thursday held a series of meetings to formulate a strategy to handle the ticklish issue.
Union Minister Kapil Sibal and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hours after Anna Hazare accused the UPA of "playing tricks" with people of the country and questioned the rationale behind sending two versions of Lokpal Bill to the Cabinet for consideration.
However, both the leaders remained tightlipped on what transpired in the meeting. The Group of Ministers on Media also met at noon and is learnt to have decided to follow a 'wait and watch' policy to the unfolding situation and not be hurried in its response.
A day after the "deadlocked" meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill, Hazare alleged that the government was "playing tricks" and he would have to restart protest if a "weak" anti-corruption legislation is cleared by the government.
After the government and civil society failed to achieve any common ground at the sixth meeting yesterday, it was decided to forward two versions of the Bill to the Cabinet for its consideration.
Digvijay Singh, however, objected to the remarks saying the government has an "open mind" but the civil society members should also understand that there is a Parliament that frames rules.
Dismissing suggestions that the government was pre-determined on the issue, he said that there would have been no joint drafting committee had this been the case.
"We are absolutely open and I think the so-called civil society members who have assumed the responsibility of the country's entire civil society have to understand this is a Parliamentary democracy," Digvijay Singh said.
"There is a Constitution, a Parliament which frames the law and rules and which is accountable to people. So they should understand the nuances on this."
Noting that there are eminent people in the Joint Committee to draft the bill, he said that the civil society members should not say that "either the Government is with them or against them. "This kind of attitude will not help," Singh said.
The Congress leader also dismissed BJP chief Nitin Gadkari's barbs at Ms Gandhi on the issue of fighting corruption saying "Gadkari is a person, who need not be responded to".
Source: PTI & IANS
UPA 'playing tricks' with people on Lokpal, alleges Anna Hazare
New Delhi: Accusing the UPA of "playing tricks" with the people of the country, Anna Hazare on Thursday questioned the rationale behind sending two versions of Lokpal Bill to the Cabinet for consideration.
Mr. Hazare also said he would have to restart the protest at Jantar Mantar if a "weak" anti-corruption legislation is cleared by the government, which he alleged was going back on its promises.
A day after the "deadlocked" meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill, the Gandhian said, "If you want to have two drafts, then what was the need for setting up a joint committee?
"They (government) have wasted our time. We had our draft ready earlier and they too had theirs. They why did they not bring this to the Cabinet earlier. The government is playing tricks," Mr. Hazare alleged.
After the government and civil society failed to achieve any common ground at the sixth meeting yesterday, it was decided to forward two versions of the Bill to the Cabinet for its consideration.
While the government maintained that a single draft along with a note on issues of divergence will be forwarded to the Cabinet, the civil society side insisted that the Council of Ministers should deliberate on two draft Bills.
Mr. Hazare alleged that the government did not have the "will" to enact a strong Lokpal Bill which has provisions to send corrupt people to jail.
"What is the point of according sanction to a weak bill? If a weak bill is passed, then we will have to protest.
If it is a weak bill, then there is no gain for the people," he said.
Mr. Hazare alleged that the government was wasting time.
"Bringing Lokpal Bill is not in government's mind. We are not getting any personal benefit from this. What is the point of having such a draft that cannot help India get rid of corruption," he said.
Mr. Hazare said a strong anti-corruption regime will benefit the poor of the country.
"If they bring a wrong bill, there will certainly be agitation," he said. "We will have to start a Jantar Mantar-kind of agitation again. The government is moving away from its commitments."
In April, Hazare sat on an indefinite hunger strike to press the government for a strong Lokpal bill, which envisages bringing the prime minister, judges and bureaucrats under its purview. The government had to bow to the demand after seeing the mass movement and formed a 10-member drafting committee to thrash out the finer details of the bill.
Lokpal Bill: One panel, two drafts
Source: PTI
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Lokpal Bill: One panel, two drafts
New Delhi: The differences between the government and Team Hazare on the Lokpal bill widened Wednesday with the joint drafting committee deciding that the two sides will prepare their own versions of the anti-graft legislation for consideration of the cabinet.
The seventh meeting of the 10-member panel of government and civil society representatives, which is drafting anti-corruption legislation, ended on a bitter note. Civil rights activist Arvind Kejriwal accused the government of dishonest intentions, while Prashant Bhushan said there were "too many fundamental differences between" them and the government.
After a marathon meeting that lasted over two hours, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal admitted that "there were areas of strong divergence of opinion" between the civil activists and the government.
"It is clear that there are strong areas of divergence. We have agreed to meet again June 20-21," Sibal, a member of the joint drafting panel, told reporters.
He said the government intended to get the civil society members' version on the issues of divergence and discuss these at the next meeting.
"If we think there is no consensus, we will forward the draft with both versions," he said.
He, however, emphaisised that the draft Lokpal bill will be ready by June 30.
The Lokpal bill drafting talks have also been hit over the insistence of civil society activists, led by Anna Hazare, that the prime minister should be brought under the ambit of Lokpal and that it should have a multi-layered structure with powers of prosecution and investigation.
Kejriwal, one of the key members of Team Hazare, said there were many points of differences and the two sides had agreed on preparing two drafts.
"One draft will be prepared by us and the other draft will be prepared by the government ministers. The last meeting is June 20-21," he said.
Kejriwal said both drafts would be presented before the cabinet. "But we don't have much hope as it is their cabinet," he added.
"It seems that the government has already made up its mind on the matter. There is no discussion in the meeting and the government is just giving its decisions," he alleged.
He said it appeared that the government was pretending for the past one and a half months. "It had already made up its mind."
Prashant Bhushan said: "The cabinet will decide which version to take, with what modifications, to be presented to parliament."
The two sides have been engaged in a bitter war of words for the past few weeks.
Anna Hazare, who has threatened to go on indefinite fast again if the Lokpal bill is not passed by parliament by Aug 15, said the meeting was "very good."
It was also Hazare's birthday Wednesday. He turned 74.
Dwelling on the issues discussed at Wednesday meeting, Kejriwal said the government insisted on having only an 11-member Lokpal and not a supporting structure.
"We said that how can 11 members take all the decisions? How will Lokpal be able to give decision if it is deluged with thousands of cases? It is certain that the government wants to kill the Lokpal before its birth."
He said unlike the present system where an officer charged with corruption faces two inquiries - by the department and by the Central Bureau of Investigation - there should be only one probe by Lokpal.
"The Lokpal should carry out the inquiry. The prosecution wing of the Lokpal should file the case in the court. But they did not agree to it," he said.
However, striking a conciliatory note on one of the key demands of civil rights activists, Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily told a TV channel that the issue of inclusion of prime minister in Lokpal's ambit was under active consideration of the government.
In Bhopal, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh called upon Hazare not to fast repeatedly over the issue of corruption due to his age.
Wishing Hazare on his 74th birthday, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said: "I wish him on his birthday, but would say that his age does not allow him to sit on fasts."
"But if they want it anyway, younger people like Arvind Kejriwal or Prashant Bhushan should fast," he said.
"If he (Hazare) does fast, it would be like Nattha of 'Peepli Live'," Digvijay Singh said, referring to the Bollywood film on farmer suicides.
Hazare has said he would go on a fast if the Lokpal bill is not passed by Aug 15.
Team Hazare had not taken part in the last meeting of the panel following police action on supporters of Baba Ramdev in the capital.
Source: IANS
Satellites to verify China's claim on Brahmaputra: India
New Delhi: India Thursday said it has satellite imagery proof that China was building only a run-of-the-river dam for power projects on the Brahmaputra river and that it posed no threat to Assam or Arunachal Pradesh.
"India today has assets and satellites that produce superb, high-calibre imagery and we have ascertained from our own sources of information and imagery that China is only building a run-of-the-river dam at Zangmu in middle reaches of Yarlung Tsango (as the Brahmaputra is called in Tibet)," a top government official said here.
Stressing that the clarification this time on the Chinese dam was different, the sources pointed out that all along India had only quoted Chinese foreign minister or the prime minister's assurances in this regard to state that there was no danger of diversion of the Brahmaputra's waters.
"We don't just discuss or just trust...we also verify," the official said, noting that India had the satellite capability for the last three years now. India launched Cartosat-2 satellite, having a very high resolution, in 2007.
China is likely to complete the work on the dam by July 2012 after which the water will flow through the dam, the sources said, noting that till such time the work is complete, a temporary dam in the midstream of the river had been done to aid construction.
"However, the river channels on either side of the dam continue to flow," they said.
"The government doesn't feel concerned or alarmed over the dam. But that doesn't mean we not make noise if any diversion takes place," they added.
The clarification came even as External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters after his meeting with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi earlier in the day that China has assured India it is only building a run-of-the-river power project on the Brahmaputra in Tibet and that it would not divert the river.
"As a result, the question of diversion or storage of the water doesn't arise," Krishna said, assuring that India was monitoring the development though satellites to verify reports on its own.
"So when this is the case, my earnest suggestion to the governments of Assam as also Arunachal Pradesh is they should go ahead and prepare the necessary project reports in order to utilise the Brahmaputra water to the maximum benefit of the people," he said, adding that the states should prepare a plan in consultation with the Planning Commission and other agencies.
Gogoi said there were reports of diversion of the Brahmaputra water by China, and this could have an adverse ecological impact on his state. "I have discussed this with Krishna and he told me ... there will be no impact and there will be no shortage of water," Gogoi said.
Pointing out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier announced the creation of a northeastern river water authority, Gogoi said Arunachal Pradesh had not agreed to the idea.
"The purpose (of the authority) is the full utilisation and proper management of waters, whether for irrigation or power. We (Assam) are contemplating having an (authority) of our own. We have constituted an expert committee also," he added.
Government sources pointed out that the number of catchment points for the Brahmaputra inside India was huge and that the quantum of water that flows into India from China was "much, much lower" than the outflow from India to Bangladesh.
"We have enough water for all our development works and for the future too. Harnessing the water resources is in our hands. We have to do it for irrigation, power and flood control," the source said.
No dam, only power project on Brahmaputra: China
China has assured India it is only building a run-of-the-river power project on the Brahmaputra that would not divert the river, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said Thursday.
"Chinese authorities have conveyed to us that it is going to be a run-of-the-river project and there is going to be no reservoir. As a result, the question of diversion or storage of the water doesn't arise," Krishna told reporters after meeting Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi here.
Krishna said China had conveyed to India it was going to have a "run-of-the-river" power project and there was no question of diverting the Brahmaputra waters.
He also said India was monitoring the development though satellites to verify reports.
"We have been monitoring through our satellite pictures as well as in our interaction with Chinese authorities. We also have made verification of our own," he said.
"The question of any water being impounded is not there. "So when this is the case, my earnest suggestion to the governments of Assam as also Arunachal Pradesh is they should go ahead and prepare the necessary project reports in order to utilise the Brahmaputra water to the maximum benefit of the people," he added.
Krishna noted that Gogoi had explained the problem of floods in the Brahmaputra as "a constant source of worry". "They (Assam) will have to prepare a plan in consultation with the Planning Commission and other agencies so that Brahmaputra water will be put to good use for the benefit of the two states," he added.
Gogoi said there were reports of diversion of Brahmaputra water by China, and this could have an adverse ecological impact on his state. "I have discussed this with Krishna and he told me ... there will be no impact and there will be no shortage of water," Gogoi said.
"We are having problems of flooding also. We are very much concerned about containing the water (by China) and possible soil erosion also." Pointing out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier announced the creation of a northeastern river water authority, Gogoi said Arunachal Pradesh had not agreed to the idea.
"The purpose (of the authority) is the full utilisation and proper management of waters, whether for irrigation or power. We (Assam) are contemplating having an (authority) of our own. We have constituted an expert committee also," he added.
Source: IANS
Al Qaeda names Ayman al-Zawahri as new leader
Cairo: Al Qaeda has selected its longtime No. 2 to succeed Osama bin Laden following last month's U.S. commando raid that killed the terror leader, according to a statement posted Thursday on a website affiliated with the network.
Ayman al-Zawahri, who will turn 60 years old next week, is believed to be operating from somewhere near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He is the son of an upper middle-class Egyptian family of doctors and scholars. His father was a pharmacology professor at Cairo University's medical school and his grandfather was the grand imam of Al-Azhar University, a premier center of religious study.
In a videotaped eulogy released earlier this month, Mr. al-Zawahri warned that America faces not individual terrorists or groups but an international community of Muslims that seek to destroy it and its allies.
"Today, praise God, America is not facing an individual, a group or a faction," he said, wearing a white robe and turban with an assault rifle leaned on a wall behind him. "It is facing a nation than is in revolt, having risen from its lethargy to a renaissance of jihad."
Mr. al-Zawahri also heaped praise on bin Laden, who was killed in a May 2 raid by U.S. Navy SEALs in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad, and criticized the U.S. for burying him at sea.
"He went to his God as a martyr, the man who terrified America while alive and terrifies it in death, so much so that they trembled at the idea of his having a tomb," he said.
Al Qaeda gave no details about the selection process for bin Laden's successor but said that it was the best tribute to the memory of its "martyrs." The statement announcing Mr. al-Zawahri's succession was filled with the terror network's usual rhetoric, vowing to continue the fight against what it called "conquering infidels, led by America and its stooge Israel, who attack the homes of Islam."
The group also said it will never accept Israel's legitimacy and will continue to support Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq and North Africa, and the al Qaeda statement declared support for this year's popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria and Libya.
"We encourage the people of Islam to rise up and continue the struggle, persistence and devotion until all the corrupt and oppressive regimes imposed by the West are gone."
Source: AP
Prince Harry to return to Afghan combat duty
London: Britain's Prince Harry would soon return to combat duty in Afghanistan as he has been cleared as an Apache helicopter pilot, the Sky News reported.
The 26-year-old prince - now a British Army captain - spent 10 weeks in Afghanistan's Helmand province in 2008. But his deployment was cut short. It is now understood he is keen to return to the country.
A royal family spokesman said Harry's deployment would be a matter for the army decide on when his final training comes to an end in 2012.
"Harry is an army pilot and will deploy wherever the army chooses to send him. His course finishes in 2012 and after that his deployment will be a matter for the army chain of command," he said.
A ministry of defence spokesman did not confirm or deny the report. "We cannot comment on the deployment of individual service personnel."
But reports say top defence officials and the queen have given permission for Harry to return to Afghanistan.
In 2008, the prince directed fighter jets to drop bombs on Taliban positions in Helmand.
But his deployment ended abruptly when websites broke a media ban and reported details of his presence.
Asked what his aim would be after qualifying as an Apache pilot, the prince said: "My goal is to serve my country like everybody else in the British forces. I count myself very, very lucky to have the chance to fly helicopters and even luckier to have the chance to fly the Apache. It's a fantastic piece of kit, it's like flying a robot."
Source: IANS
IT outsourcing shifting to outcome-based model: Nasscom
Bangalore: India's IT industry body Nasscom chief Som Mittal has said that after the economic crisis, traditional IT outsourcing model in India is undergoing a fundamental shift to an outcome-based model.
Mittal said that India's IT outsourcing companies are expected to deliver double-digit growth by the end of the year. He is forecasting that revenues from the sector will rise at least 15% to about $70bn this year as customers in the US and Europe resume spending after the global economic downturn.
However, despite the projected growth, Mittal admits that India's traditional IT outsourcing model is experiencing a fundamental shift.
"We've now moved to an outcome-based model" - being paid on performance, rather than one based solely on the number of people deployed on any one job," he says.
"That is giving outsourcers an incentive to be more efficient." HCL Technologies director Bindi Bhullar reinforced what Mittal said.
Bhullar said, "One interesting trend is that buyers are becoming more sophisticated in their purchasing of IT services, looking for more outcome based pricing models.
"As a result, the frequency with which executives approve major consulting deals casually during a round of golf is diminishing. Instead, several developing trends are shaping client expectations for the client-consultant relationship. These trends include more centralised purchasing, better information sharing among clients and higher skilled IT workers."
Meanwhile, analysts warned that above-average wage rises that the IT outsourcing industry in India is witnessing could become a concern in future. According to research firm Gartner principal analyst Arup Roy wages have risen about 15% a year.
Roy said while India still remains a low-cost destination, that advantage is "depleting with every passing year". "The problem is that investors have got used to growth of 20-25 per cent. Investors will have to reset their expectations."
Source: BPO Watch India
Strike at Maruti: Settlement in sight
New Delhi: An amicable settlement to the 13-day old strike at Maruti Suzuki India's Manesar plant was in sight today as an agreement is being drafted after hectic talks between management and workers, brokered by the Haryana government.
CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said a settlement was in sight to strike, which has resulted in production loss of 12,600 units estimated to be valued around Rs 630 crore.
"I have spoken to Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda several times and finally an agreement is being drafted," the CPI MP told PTI here.
As per the agreement, which is being worked out, all 11 sacked employees are likely to be reinstated and there will be no reference to the management's decision of not allowing trade union activities at the plant, Dasgupta claimed.
At the time of filing the report company officials and striking workers said the talks were still on.
The shares of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) today fell 1.74 per cent to close at Rs 1,189.45 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Yesterday, Haryana Chief Minister met top MSI executives, including Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi, and was understood to have assured the firm of the state government's support in not letting formation of second union.
Dasgupta, however, said workers in about 65 factories in the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt will "work empty stomach" on June 17 and hold a two-hour tool-down strike on June 20 between 11am and 1pm to support the striking employees of Maruti.
Source: PTI
RBI hikes policy rates by 25 basis points to fight inflation
Mumbai: Continuing its efforts to check price rise, the Reserve Bank today raised key short-term lending and borrowing rates by 25 basis points for the 10th time since March, 2010, a move that could make auto and home loans expensive.
While the short-term lending (repo) rate has been raised to 7.5%, the borrowing rate has been hiked to 6.5%. Subsequently, the marginal standing facility (MSF) has also gone up by 25 basis points to 8.50%.
Other rates and ratios have been kept unchanged. The policy initiative, the RBI said, "is expected to contain inflation and anchor inflationary expectations by reining in demand side pressures."
Inflation stood at over 9% in May, much above the central bank's comfort level of 5-6%.
The measures, the RBI said, would also help in mitigating the impact of "potentially adverse global developments."
The central bank further said it would continue with its anti-inflationary stance to arrest price rise.
"Based on the current and evolving growth and inflation scenario, the RBI will need to persist with its anti-inflationary stance of monetary policy," it said.
Source: PTI
ONGC to sell 30% stake in K-G block
Mumbai: Nearly four months after Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) signed a deal with British Petroleum (BP) for getting BP's technology for deep-sea exploration, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is in talks with BG Exploration and Production, India, and Italian exploration and production major, ENI, to sell up to 30 per cent stake in its Krishna-Godavari DWN 98/2 block. Cairn India is already a 10 per cent partner in the block.
The block is right next to the KG-D6 block of RIL in the K-G basin, off the east coast.
RIL in February sold 30 per cent stake in 23 of its oil and gas blocks to BP for $7.2 billion, as part of a long-term deal that involves a total investment of $20 billion.
When contacted, two board members of ONGC confirmed that the company has been in discussions with BG and ENI for technological assistance and is willing to offer up to 30 per cent in the block. "Giving away more will result in losing control and, in turn, our decision-making ability. We want an international partner who can get us the technology for deep-sea exploration. Both BG and ENI have it. These players are experts in deep water and know exactly how to go about the routine of the block," one of the board members said.
He added the discoveries in KG-DWN-98/2 and three in adjacent blocks together hold 6.37 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of in-place reserves. RIL's KG block holds in place reserves of 11.3 tcf.
ONGC, along with its partners, plans to spend around Rs 36,000 crore on developing the block.
When contacted, the BG India spokesperson said, "We did visit the data room. We will take a call on this as and when we hear from ONGC."
KG-DWN-98/2, which has 10 gas discoveries, was awarded under the New Exploration Licensing Policy, which allows ONGC to farm out a participating interest (equity stake) to foreign firms. ONGC plans to tie up its KG basin discoveries with six gas finds in neighbouring 1G block and is seeking approval from the oil ministry. The ministry, however, is taking time to grant approval.
Block 1G was given to ONGC on nomination basis. It cannot sell stake to any firm and can at best involve a foreign firm as a service contractor.
ONGC has partnership with BG India in three blocks in KG offshore, two operated by ONGC and one operated by BG. Petrobras and ENI have also partnership in one block each.
In 2007, ONGC farmed out 15 per cent interest in the block to Brazil's Petrobras and 10 per cent to Norway's Statoil.
Both however, gave up the partnership due to delay in seeking approvals from the oil ministry for their respective farm-ins.
ONGC is keen to fast-track development of discoveries in the basin, given the forecast rise in India's unmet gas demand. "We have not been able to discover a giant field in on-land area. But we have been successful in bringing two new basins -- Krishna-Godavari and Cauvery located in south -- on the hydrocarbon map of India," the official added.
ONGC has entered into a period of exploration for appraisal after completing the exploration MWP commitments in block KG-DWN-98/2. The company plans to start producing 25-30 million standard cubic metres per day of gas from the block in 2016-17.
The blocks is divided into two discovery areas -- -the Northern Discovery Area (NDA) consisting of the Padmawati, Kanakadurga, Annapurna, N-1, D/KT, U, A, W and E gas finds in water depths ranging from 594 metres to 1,283 metres and the Southern Discovery Area consisting of the UD-1 discovery falls in ultra-deepwater with a depth of 2,841 metres.
Source: Business Standard
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