Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - SIX HUNDRED SEVENTEEN
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com/
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FDI in India Statistics
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61% investors believe India markets will outperform global peers!
Wiki disclosures inspired Indian anti-graft movement: Assange
No differences over names of committee members: Anna Hazare
NEXT PHASE of LPG MAFIA Era Begins amidst Gandhian Super Fraud as FII make investments worth Rs 6,700 cr in Apr!Brahamin Pranab just set the Mood with his Budget and Financial reforms as he heads almost all the Parliamentary Committees and EGOMs. Economic Reforms have to be PUSHED Hard with Complete Free Market Corpoarate Control and Excellent Mind Control. Taxation Structure as well as Planning infrastructure EXCLUDE Majority Masses as Governance and Legislation makes Constitution IRRELEVANT. What Anupam Kher Pleads for, that is already a reality as Indian Constitution is KILLED! The issue of independent directors required on the board of oil major ONGC is likely to be resolved soon and the Government plans to offload stake in the company, along with PFC and SAIL, in this quarter itself. The Indian equity market witnessed a see-saw motion in the first few months of 2011, but a significant number of Indian investors believe it will outperform global indices in 2011.
Quite Ironically,The Reserve Bank of India has said concerns on the front of income distribution and poverty alleviation cannot be met without full-scale expansion of banking and other financial services. RBI deputy governor KC Chakrabarty said while the Indian growth story was impressive, there were concerns on issues like income distribution and poverty alleviation , where lot remained to be done.Mr Chakrabarty pointed out that India ranks 119th among 169 countries on the 2010 Human Development Index published by the United Nations Development Programme. "We compare poorly on almost all indicators such as life expectancy, education and per capita income.
Meanwhile,Revelations by the WikiLeaks are having a positive impact, believes its founder Julian Assange , who claims that the publication of secret US embassy cables by the Indian media had helped inspire an anti-graft movement in the country. Questioned at a public debate about the whistleblowing organisation's own transparency, Assange told an audience of 700 people, many of them supporters: "We are directly supported on a week-to-week basis by you. You vote with your wallets every week if you believe that our work is worthwhile or not. If you believe we have erred, you do not support us. If you believe we need to be protected in our work, you keep us strong".
Anna Hazare Sunday denied any differences among the activists on who would be made member of the joint committee for drafting the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill.
"People have been saying there are differences among members of the committee, I want to say it was a small difference and it has been sorted. I talked to (yoga guru Baba) Ramdev, he raised that Kiran Bedi is not in the committee. Kiran Bedi had refused to be in the committee long back," Hazare said at a press meet here, a day after breaking his five-day long fast for drafting a strong Lokpal Bill.
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"We needed those people in the committee who were involved in the drafting of the Jan Lokpal Bill, we have to defend the clauses of the bill in front of the committee. So we have kept those who have knowledge of law and were involved in drafting of the bill," Arvind Kejriwal , who is a member of the committee and was involved in drafting the Jan Lokpal Bill said at the Press Club.
Apart from the father-son duo, the committee has Anna Hazare, retired Supreme Court judge N. Santosh Hegde and activist Kejriwal representing the civil society.
"We are in the process of resolving the independent director issue in ONGC. The follow-on public offer (FPO) of the company is likely to come in the quarter ending June," a Finance Ministry official told PTI.
9 APR, 2011, 03.52AM IST,ET BUREAU
Free diesel prices when inflation falls to 5%: Kaushik Basu
KOLKATA: India's chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu batted for freeing diesel prices if inflation eases to a comfortable level of around 5%. He said deregulation of diesel prices would have a sobering impact on inflation in the long run, although it could lead to short term spikes.
"I personally believe diesel prices ought to be freed before long," Basu said. "As soon as you liberalise diesel prices, you will see a short-term rise in prices across board. In the long-run, inflation will go down if you liberalise diesel prices. So, the government has to time the decision well," he said.
Basu said inflation should ease to 5% in a couple of months from now. The Cornell University professor does not expect any sustained rise in global crude prices hereon and this is one of the assumptions behind the 5% inflation projection.
The February inflation was 8.3% and Basu expects it to ease to 7% for April. "RBI measures takes six to nine months to have an impact," he said. The Reserve Bank of India has raised key policy rates eight times since March 2010 in an attempt to rein in rising prices.
Basu said the government has decided to make a conscious attempt to bring down the country's debt-GDP ratio to 65% in the next three years from a 74% level now. A lower debt-GDP ratio will help improve fiscal condition.
The economist said that though India was on a high growth trajectory, inflation and corruption were the two big clouds looming over the country. While the government was trying to bring down inflation, corruption needed to be attacked for which certain changes in bribery laws are needed, he said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/free-diesel-prices-when-inflation-falls-to-5-kaushik-basu/articleshow/7922532.cms
SAIL FPO to hit market by May-end
The much-awaited Rs 8,000 crore follow-on public offer of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is set to hit the capital market by the end of next month, a source close to the development said.
"The FPO will hit the market by May-end. This is final," the source said on condition of anonymity.
However, attempts to contact SAIL Chairman C S Verma went unanswered.
The FPO of SAIL, in which the government holds a stake of a little over 85 per cent, has failed to meet repeated deadlines since December last year due to unfavourable market conditions and problems with merchant bankers.
The delay in SAIL's FPO thwarted the achievement of the government's divestment target for the previous fiscal. Compared to the target for Rs 40,000 crore fund generation through disinvestment in state-owned firms, the government could only raise more than Rs 22,000 crore.
The government has set a target to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment in state-run firms in the current fiscal as well.
The expected date for submission of a red herring prospectus to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) could not be ascertained, but it is likely to be filed within the first fortnight of next month, the source said.
Verma had on March 16 said that SAIL would file the red herring prospectus (RHP) in May for its forthcoming follow-on public offer. "It may happen sometime in May," he had said when asked about the company's plan to file the RHP.
Banking licence draft guidelines in next 15-20 days: Finance Ministry
The Reserve Bank will bring out a second draft of the proposed guidelines for issuance of new banking licences in the next 15 to 20 days, the Finance Ministry said today.
"Second draft guidelines for new bank licences in next 15 to 20 days," Financial Services Secretary Shashikant Sharma told reporters here.
The Finance Ministry will have a look at the draft guidelines and comments will be invited before the final guidelines are notified.
In the Budget 2011-12, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said the RBI plans to issue guidelines for the grant of new banking licences before the close of the last financial year, by March 31, 2011.
In the last Budget, it was announced that the Reserve Bank of India would consider giving traditional banking licences to private sector players, he had said.
Following the announcement made by the Finance Minister, the Reserve Bank had brought out a discussion paper in August, 2010, on giving out new banking licences to business houses and non-banking finance companies, besides regulations for the same to foster greater competition.
The RBI also sought to know "whether industrial and business houses could be allowed to promote banks." Furthermore, it sought stakeholders' views on whether NBFCs should be allowed to convert into or promote banks.
The RBI has received comments on its discussion paper from all stakeholders.
Various entities like Reliance Capital , IndiaBulls, Religare, IL&FS, IDFC , IFCI and Aditya Birla Financial Services are reported to be mulling an entry into the banking space.
At present, India has 26 public sector banks, seven new private sector banks, 15 old private sector banks, 31 foreign banks, 86 regional rural banks, four local area banks, 1,721 urban cooperative banks, 31 state cooperative banks and 371 district central cooperative banks.
Lokpal Bill draft to be ready by June 30: Moily
MYSORE: The government appointed committee to draft the Lokpal Bill has set June 30 as the deadline to complete the task, law minister M Veerappa Moily said on Sunday.
Moily, who is also the covener of the committee, said the government was keen to introduce the bill in the monsoon session of Parliament.
"If all cooperate, the bill will be passed in the monsoon session itself," he told reporters here.
Moily said Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has welcomed the Lokpal Bill and wants chief ministers of all states to extend support to it.
The Union minister was later conferred with an honorary doctorate by the Mysore University in recognition of his services to the country.
Common man, Hazare stand by Anupam Kher
Renuka Vyavahare, TNN | Apr 10, 2011, 05.39pm IST
Social networking, micro-blogging sites are flooded with messages supporting Anupam Kher.
In what clearly seems like an issue being created out of a non-issue, the public has stood by actor Anupam Kher whose house and acting school was vandalized blaming it all to his alleged anti-constitutional statements.
Stones were pelted at Anupam's house and acting school and a privilege motion was moved against Kher in this regard in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. The actor was horrified by the incident as he completely denied making any derogatory comments against the Indian Constitution.
On 6th April on a news channel the actor had said, "Agar samvidhan change karna hai, to samvidhan change hona chahiye." Our constitution has been amended before and if need be, we should change it since we are a global market now and we need to evolve with times.
"I am surprised that members of Maharashtra's Legislative Assembly passed a privilege motion against me without any documentary proof. It has been alleged that I had stated that the Constitution should be thrown out. I totally deny having made such a statement." The channel on which the actor said if need be, the constitution needs to be revisited, too stood by the actor and proved how his words were twisted by some politicians.
Post the controversy, support is coming in from all quarters to Anupam Kher. Public, Bollywood filmmakers are in favour of Anupam Kher who believe the Indian constitution does entitle 'freedom of speech' to its citizens and if Anupam spoke his mind, he didn't have to be treated like that.
Anupam Kher, we are with you, Vandalism to the house is a blatant violation of decency in public life, This attack on Anupam is totally made-up and wrong, Its sad that some sponsored gundas doing this kind of things and making others feel afraid.....but majority have woken up, Manmohansingji Anna se haar gaye to badala anupamkher se?, Anupam Kher is made out to be a scapegoat. The people who insult constitution everyday are creating a fuss" read few of the many messages that were addressed to Anupam Kher on a micro blogging site.
Few websites which represent the common man, also supported the actor by showing the video clip, footage of the show on which Anupam spoke about the Constitution of India to prove how he has been wrongly targeted.
Speaking about the support he has been getting, Anupam Kher said, "Had I really said what I have been accused of saying by few politicians, I would have accepted my mistake. I am mature enough to do that but why should I apologize for something I have not even said!"
Thanking his supporters he added, "THANK YOU ANNA HAZARE SAAB for showing the TRUTH to World in your Press Conference. Thank you my Fellow INDIANS for your faith and love."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Common-man-Hazare-stand-by-Anupam-Kher/articleshow/7933946.cms
Filmmakers support Anupam Kher
TNN | Apr 10, 2011, 05.33pm IST
Anupam Kher's statement regarding the Constitution of India didn't go down well with many.
The actor hurt sentiments of the Indian Government by his remarks on a television channel. Kher had to face their ire by being slapped with a breach of privilege motion at the Maharashtra Assembly and also having his house and office attacked by some miscreants.
The veteran actor is upset over being misconstrued and is trying hard to clear the air and the people who are standing by his side at such trying time is his fans and friends from the film fraternity.
On one hand he has fans that are up and about on social networking sites extending their support by sharing with friends Kher's views, opinions and explanation about what he said. And on the other he has filmmakers like Shekhar Kapur, Anurag Basu and Vivek Agnihotri amongst others standing up for him.
Commenting on the twists and turns in the event, Anurag Basu said on his micro-blog, "The Constitution which allows rapist NCP leader like Dilip Wagh and Padamsinh Patil (murderer) to get elected in the Houses of parliament should be looked into and amended.
He further pointed out that the entire episode is nothing but a game plan to garner attention and political mileage. "There is nothing wrong in what Kher saab said. This is NCP's ploy to gain political mileage and get Jai Bhim Sena on roads," Basu said.
Voicing his views on the Indian constitution, Shekhar Kapur said, "The Constitution of India is one of the best in the world, except the politicians pay no heed to it unless it suits their own agenda. Our system has failed our Constitution and therefore the people of India."
Upset on hearing about the attack at Anupam Kher's house, actor and comedian Ashwin Mushran said, "Is no one bothered about this attack on Anupam Kher? If we are outraged at corruption we should also be outraged at the thug culture."
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, who along with Kher was present at Jantar Mantar along with Anna Hazare, also stood by Kher.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Filmmakers-support-Anupam-Kher/articleshow/7933908.cms
ONGC does not meet market regulator Sebi's listing norms of having equal number of functional and independent directors and the government had planned to withdraw both its nominees from the board to meet the requirement and push the FPO.
But the move would have led to ONGC losing its coveted Navaratna status , which gives the company board autonomy to approve investments of any size for projects, and enables it to invest up to Rs 1,000 crore in a joint venture.
The government plans to sell 5 per cent stake or 427.77 million equity shares through the FPO to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore. It was to hit the market in March, but was deferred.
The official further said that PFC is likely to be the first public issue of the current fiscal, followed by SAIL.
Meanwhile, Disinvestment Secretary Sumit Bose said, "We hope to come out with the public issue of PFC, SAIL and ONGC in the first quarter of the current fiscal."
State-run Power Finance Corporation's Rs 6,000-crore FPO is likely to hit the market in the second week of May and the company has already filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Sebi.
The government holds 89.78 per cent stake in the firm. It had divested 10 per cent through initial public offer (IPO) in 2007. The company will infuse 15 per cent fresh equity, while the government will dilute its 5 per cent stake.
Besides, the much-awaited Rs 8,000-crore FPO of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is set to hit the capital market by the end of next month.
The FPO of SAIL, in which the Government holds a little over 85 per cent, has failed to meet repeated deadlines since December due to unfavourable market conditions and problems with merchant bankers.
In SAIL, in the first phase, besides raising Rs 4,000 crore by divesting 5 per cent stake, the steel giant would raise fresh equity of the same proportion. In the second phase, it will sell another 10 per cent through FPO.
The government has set a target of Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment in state-owned firms this fiscal, up from over Rs 22,000 crore mopped up in 2010-11.
Betting big on the Indian equity markets, foreign fund houses have made a net investment of over Rs 6,700 crore in just four trading session of April this fiscal.
"That dynamic feedback, I say, is more responsive than a government that is elected after sourcing money from big business every four years," the Guardian quoted the Australian as saying in his first formal public appearance since being arrested in December following accusations of rape and sexual assault.
The WikiLeaks founder, who is currently appealing against his extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault, told the audience at a packed debate organised by the New Statesman and the Frontline Club that whistleblowing was essential in a democracy because "the only way we can know whether information is legitimately kept secret is when it is revealed".
He cited the examples of Vietnam and "the disaster that was the Iraq war", saying that if whistleblowers had had the courage to speak up earlier about both conflicts, "bloodbaths" could have been avoided.
He said he "could speak for hours" about the impact of the publication of leaked US embassy cables, much of it through the Guardian, and that leak's positive impact.
The Hindu newspaper had in recent weeks published 21 front pages based on so-called "cablegate" revelations, Assange said, leading to the Indian opposition walking out four times from the Parliament and a growing anti-corruption movement in the country.
A US embassy cable made public by WikiLeaks had suggested that the UPA government had allegedly paid bribes to buy MPs in support of a trust vote on the Indo-US nuclear deal, creating a furore and prompting denials by the government.
But political commentator Douglas Murray , director of the centre for social cohesion, challenged Assange over the website's sources of funding, its staffing and connections with the Holocaust denier Israel Shamir, who has worked with the site.
"What gives you the right to decide what should be known or not? Governments are elected. You, Mr Assange are not."
Till April 8, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are gross buyer of shares worth Rs 20,519.40 crore, while they sold equities worth Rs 13,769.90 crore, resulting in a net investment of Rs 6,749.60 crore or USD 1.51 billion, as per the data available with the capital markets regulator Sebi.
According to analysts, FIIs have been pumping funds into emerging markets like India because of their strong growth potential and feels that in the coming days too, the foreign fund houses may keep investing in the Indian bourses.
"The FII inflows in April have been strong. This may be because of expectation of good corporate results," SMC Capitals Equity Head Jagannathan Thunuguntla said.
Besides, foreign fund houses were negative on debt market and pulled out Rs 2,940.80 crore or USD 665.07 million. This takes the overall net investments by FIIs into stocks and bonds to a total of Rs 3,808.80 crore or about USD 850.63 million.
In January 2011, overseas investors had pulled out Rs 4,813.2 crore from stock market and outflow continued in February too with Rs 4,585.5 crore taking out from equities but the scenario changed in March, when they were net investors of equities worth Rs 6,749.60 crore.
This has taken the gross purchases of equities in the country by FIIs so far this year to over Rs 1.88 lakh crore. After taking into account the outgo of Rs 1.84 lakh crore, overseas investors have made a net investment of Rs 4,248 crore.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows plunged 25 percent in April-January period to USD 17 billion Y-o-Y. The figure was more alarming in January when it nosedived 48 percent to USD 1.04 billion.
Attributing the recent decline to primarily global factors, Nomura India Vice-President and economist Sonal Varma said following the 2008 crisis, other emerging markets too saw sharp drop in FDI inflows but picked up steam after two years unlike India.
"Of the USD 12-billion decline in FDI inflows between 2008 and 2010, around 60 per cent was due to weak inflows into services spaces like computer software and hardware, financial services, banking, and construction," Varma said.
"The sharp drop in inflows into banking and other financial services is unsurprising as the crisis led firms to restructure operations. As a result, share of infrastructure in total FDI inflows rose to 24.7 per cent in 2010 from 16.3 per cent in 2007 and that of manufacturing rose to 32.1 per cent from 19.6 percent, despite an fall in the absolute numbers in FY11," he said in his report.
While globally, overcapacity, credit crunch, fragile growth and increased risk aversion led multinational corporations to curtail investment, locally, the environment sensitive policies pursued appear to have affected the investor sentiments, he said.
"Delay in framing a land acquisition law has also hurt. In addition, the country's cost-competitiveness may have taken a hit due to deteriorating quality of infrastructure, elevated inflation, a skilled labour shortage, rising wage costs and corruption," Varma pointed out.
Other factors like tax issues (income tax notice on Vodafone), delay in USD 9.6-billion Carin-Vedanta deal, many corruption cases are also said to be keeping off investors.
Shedding some fresh light into the fall, Varma said in fact the fall is not as hard it is being made out to be as the decline in more of a definitional issue than actual.
Quoting an ISID research report, he said, under 50 per cent of FDI inflows between September 2004 and December 2009 can be termed as FDI in the purest sense. The rest bear a greater resemblance to volatile portfolio flows, these comprise round-tripping, and private equity/venture capital/ hedge fund related inflows.
"For instance, only 13 per cent of inflows into realty and construction can be termed FDI, which helps explain why measured FDI inflows into this sector dropped sharply after the crisis."
Mauritius, Singapore, US, Britain, the Netherlands, Japan, Germany and the UAE are the major investors here.
In April-January 2009-10, USD 22.9 billion flew in as FDI. In FY10, it declined to USD 25.88 billion from USD 27.33 billion in the previous fiscal. The sectors that attracted FDI include services (financials and non-financial), telecoms, housing, realty, construction and power during this period.
Apart from the services, said Varma, the other areas that saw sharp dip include realty, infrastructure and manufacturing, with the deepest fall being into the real estate space.
At present, share of FDI as percentage of GDP is a measly 2.5 per cent in the country. With a view to increase this, and to discourage hot money inflows by way of FII funds, Government recently scrapped a set of cumbersome norms that entailed the foreign partner first getting the NOC from his domestic JV partner if it wanted to enter into a similar business with a new partner.
According to a Franklin Templeton Global Investor Sentiment survey, 61 per cent of the Indian investors surveyed think the domestic bourses will do better this year than global indices.
Moreover, 82 per cent of respondent are optimistic that the Indian stock market will do better than the rest of the world over the next 10 years.
In the first three months of 2011, the Indian stock market market has fluctuated on concerns of surging global crude oil prices and inflation at home. Last year, it gave a returns of about 15 per cent to investors.
Enthusiasm for global markets is also on the rise, with half of the respondents planning to invest outside their home country in 2011.
"The survey clearly shows the growing optimism in India about the state of the economy and growth prospects. Despite this confidence in local markets, it is interesting to note that many people are considering increasing their global exposure over the coming years. We believe this is a positive trend as it helps Indian investors diversify their portfolio across countries and asset classes," Franklin Templeton India President Harshendu Bindal said.
Out of over 13,000 people surveyed in 12 countries, 60 per cent of global respondents think their own country's stock market will increase in 2011. And 33 per cent believe it will perform better compared with the rest of the world. This indicates the growing preference to invest outside their domestic markets in the coming years.
Globally, 34 per cent investors currently invest outside of their domestic market, while that number jumps up to 50 per cent when looking at 2011.
"With an improved global economic outlook, investors are increasingly looking worldwide for investment opportunities. A diversified portfolio today is no longer just a mix of asset classes but also a mix of geographies," Franklin Templeton Investments President and CEO Greg Johnson said.
When it come to long term investment, Indian respondents (53 per cent) believe that mutual funds are best suited to meet long-term goals, such as retirement and children's education.
Indian respondents believe patience and timing are the most important factors for successful investing in stock markets.
The survey found stark regional differences in opinion on whether the best investment opportunities exist in emerging versus developed markets. A majority of those in Asia (8 per cent) and Latin America (61 per cent) believe the best investment opportunities over the next 10 years will be found in emerging markets.
Europeans are almost evenly split with 53 per cent looking to emerging markets, while in the US and Canada , only 37 per cent opined that emerging markets are going to provide the best returns in the decade ahead.
Deregulate saving bank interest rate: Assocham
Industry body Assocham has said that deregulation of interest rates on saving accounts would increase competition among banks and benefit customers.
RBI recently announced that it will come out with a discussion paper on deregulation of interest rates on savings accounts.
Banks, at present, pay 3.5 per cent on savings deposit. Besides saving bank accounts, the RBI also monitors interest rates on non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits.
Assocham said that as the country pursues high growth strategy while braving pains of high inflation, a large savings community is facing severe negative returns from bank deposits.
"Let there be a competitive environment where cost reduction determines the capability, and not regulated interest getting access to low-cost funds," it said.
It said that a substantial portion of Rs 53 lakh crore worth of deposits with Indian banks are in saving accounts. At the same time, bank advances total Rs 41 lakh crore, showing a deposit-credit ratio of 73 per cent.
Corporates and banks can afford to absorb a part of this to improve the return for this set of depositors, Assocham said.
'Pressure to tackle graft has shifted Govt focus from reforms'
Global banking giant Stanchart has said that public outcry to tackle corruption has diverted the government's reforms agenda, which is considered essential for sustaining high growth.
In its 'The India Chartbook: Q1 2011' report, the banking major also said that the country's democratic structure and strong media will help tackle the menace of corruption.
"Pressure to tackle the twin issues of corruption and inflation has diverted the focus from expediting reforms. Widely discussed legislation allowing increased FDI in the insurance and retail sectors is yet to be taken up," it said.
StanChart, however, added that the democratic spirit of India along with strong institutions and acts could act as a deterrent.
"The country's democratic structure, with a strong media and a Right to Information Act, has caused corruption issues to receive a high degree of exposure. The positive aspect is that this scrutiny might help to reduce future instances of corruption," it said.
Stanchart's observations come at a time when the four-day long fast by social activist Anna Hazare and his supporters forced the government to agree on formation of a joint committee consisting of ministers and civil society representatives to draft an effective Lok Pal Bill.
The banking behemoth, which had last week projected the country's economic growth to fall to 8.1 per cent in 2011-12 from the expected over 8.5 per cent in 2010-11.
"The FY12 budget includes some reformist measures, including changing the kerosene and fertiliser subsidy to a direct cash transfer to people below the poverty line. This, along with the rollout of the Unique Identification (UID) number system in August 2011, could potentially transform the efficiency of subsidy distribution," StanChart said.
"Political issues have dominated headlines in India over the last six months, and the focus is unlikely to change, at least for the next two months," StanChart said.
It said that the political scene in India started heating up in late 2010, when several cases of corruption were unearthed including the issue of 2G spectrum sale and Commowealth Games.
"While India has faced corruption scandals in the past, the scale and number of incidents this time have provoked a strong response from opposition parties... Alleged corruption cases overshadowed even the usually more emotive issue of inflation, which has been persistently high," it said.
It also said though Right to Education bill has been passed, the Right to Food Act is still mired in controversy.
'Manufacturing policy stuck on inter-ministerial differences'
The proposed manufacturing policy has been stuck due to inter-ministerial differences, with the opposition coming mainly from the Labour and Environment ministries, Industry Secretary R P Singh has said.
In an interaction with CII,Singh expressed disappointment with the resistance to the policy draft from the ministries.
"Lot of opposition is coming. Each department is saying no no our work is sovereign. Labour and environment departments...they all say our authority is sovereign and sovereign functions can not be delegated to a third party," he said.
The draft policy suggested that industries in National Manufacturing Investment Zones (NMIZs) - big enclaves which could even subsume special economic zones - should be given flexibilities to downsize labour.
Likewise, the draft suggested changes in the environment laws which come in the way of investment.
Singh said that while different departments of the government perform statutory functions but "nobody can call them sovereign functions. No department is willing to redeem its authority and that's an unfortunate thing."
Allaying concerns, he said, the objective of the policy is not to repeal the labour laws altogether. "But let us come out with an alternative mechanism through which industry can self regulate," he added.
The policy aims to help in attract overseas investments besides increasing the share of manufacturing in the economy.
India aims at increasing the share of manufacturing sector, which contributes over 80 per cent in the country's overall industrial production, from 16-17 per cent to 25-26 per cent of the gross domestic product by 2020.
EGoM to finalise food security bill on April 25
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) is likely to finalise the much-awaited draft of the food security bill at its meeting on April 25, even as the issue related to the number of poor households remains unresolved.
According to a formula being worked by EGoM for sharing the subsidy, the centre would bear the burden of providing cheaper foodgrain to 8.1 crore poor households, while the states would chip in for another 2.9 crore households.
"The EGoM on food security is likely to meet on April 25 to finalise the draft legislation, wherein the Centre would share the subsidy burden for the BPL households recognised by it and remaining funds requirement would be met by states," said source close to the development.
The bill, which seeks to provide legal entitlement for cheaper food grains to poor households, has been hanging fire because of differences between the centre and states over the poverty estimates.
While the Tendulkar Committee, appointed by the Planning Commission, has recently said that there were 8.1 crore Below Poverty Line (BPL) households in the country, the states have issued 11 crore BPL ration cards.
Currently, the centre supplies every month 35 kg of rice and wheat at subsidised rates to 6.52 crore BPL families through ration shops.
The draft bill is likely to propose cash transfer of subsidy to the BPL card holders' account, instead of providing cheap foodgrain. The cash transfer is likely to be done through smart cards.
Earlier, following differences between the Sonia Gandhi headed National Advisory Council and the Rangarajan Committee, the EGoM on food met on March 17 and deferred its decision on the feasibility of providing legal entitlement of cheaper foodgrain to the poor under the proposed legislation.
The PM's panel on the proposed Food Security Bill headed by PMEAC Chairman C Rangarajan had differed with the National Advisory Council (NAC) on the issue of sustained availability of such a largesse to the poor.
The source said the Prime Minister's Office wants to fast track the Food bill and has directed the Food Ministry to place the reports prepared by NAC and the Rangarajan Committee before the EGoM to resolve differences and reach a final view.
The NAC has suggested providing legal entitlement to 75 per cent of the population, which includes both "priority" and "general" household category.
The Rangaranjan Committee, which examined the NAC's proposals, has raised concern over the availability of foodgrain if large number of beneficiaries are covered under the proposed law.
The Committee's view was to provide a legal entitlement to certain "priority" households alone.
9 APR, 2011, 12.13PM IST, VIJAY GURAV,ET BUREAU
India Inc takes rights issues route to raise funds
MUMBAI: After companies like EIH and Suzlon Energy successfully raised funds through rights issues last year, more companies are expected to follow suit since market conditions have improved over the previous year. More than 30 companies have already applied for Sebi approval for rights issues while 40 more firms have announced proposals over the past six months, according to premier market research firms.
"If economic conditions improve and the market recovery continues, we may see more companies enter the rights issue market in the near future," said Mehul Savla, director of Mumbai-based boutique investment banking firm Ripplewave Private Equity. A rights issue is one of the mostpreferred fund-raising methods as there are no restrictions and a company can price the issue attrac-tively , thereby benefiting both promoters and shareholders .
Promoters have the advantage of raising their shareholding in a company through the rights offer since such a route is exempted from the annual limit of 5% applicable under Sebi's creeping acquisition guide-lines , said Mr Savla. Also, a rights offer is a traditional method of raising funds where all shareholders of an existing company, including promoters, institu-tional and the public, are offered equity or convertibles, mostly at a discount to the market price. The rights are tradable and can be renounced.
According to Delhi-based primary market tracking research firm Prime Database, 32 companies have already sought Sebi approval for raising Rs 1,781 crore through rights issues. Gayatri Projects, JK Paper , Ankit Metal and Elpro International are a few examples, where companies are planning to raise funds between Rs 100 crore and Rs 400 crore.
"A rights issue is a cost-effective and convenient method through which a company can reward its shareholders by offering shares at an attractive discount," said Jyothi Prasad, a senior vice-president at broking firm Asit C Mehta . "Given the pricing advantage, the possibility of getting a positive response from shareholders is higher, unlike other issues such as a follow-on offer (FPO), provided the company is fundamentally good," she added.
In 2010-11 , there was a 15% rise in fund mobilisation through rights issues due to bullish market conditions in the first half of the year. About 24 companies raised Rs 9,594 crore compared with Rs 8,321 crore raised by 29 companies in the previous year. Significantly, 50% of the amount was raised by banks, including Central Bank of India, SBBJ, SBM, Karur Vysya Bank and Karnataka Bank .
The largest rights issue in that year, according to Prime Database, was from Central Bank of India which raised . 2,498 crore. Suzlon Energy , REI Agro and EIH were a few other examples of the past year's top fund-raising companies.
Cos raise Rs 9,594 cr via rights issue in 2010-11
Indian companies raised Rs 9,594 crore through rights issues last fiscal, an increase of 15 per cent vis-a-vis the 2009-10 mop-up, primary market tracking firm Prime Database today said.
"Mobilisation of resources through rights issues recorded a 15 per cent increase in the recently concluded fiscal 2010-11... By amount, the year saw Rs 9,594 crore being raised, compared to Rs 8,321 crore that was raised in the previous year, 2009-10," Prime Database CMD Prithvi Haldea said in a statement.
However, the amount mopped up is lower than the Rs 12,622 crore raised in 2008-09 and much lower than the Rs 32,519 crore mobilised in 2007-08.
In terms of the number of rights issues, according to Prime Database, the year witnessed only 24 companies adopting the route to raise funds, 17 per cent lower than the previous year, which saw 29 issues.
The largest rights issue in the year was by Central Bank of India (Rs 2,498 crore). The other Rs 1,000 crore-plus issues were by Suzlon Energy, REI Agro and EIH .
Significantly, nearly 50 per cent of the mobilisation, at Rs 4,776 crore, was done by the banks.
In addition to Central Bank of India, rights issues were floated by State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (Rs 780 crore), State Bank of Mysore (Rs 583 crore), Karur Vysya (Rs 458 crore) and Karnataka Bank (Rs 457 crore).
"The manufacturing and services sector preferred increasingly to use the QIP and the preferential issues route," Prime Database added.
The new fiscal (2011-12) promises some action on the rights front. According to Prime Database, 32 companies have already applied for or have obtained SEBI approval for raising Rs 1,781 crore.
In addition, there are at least another 40 companies who have in the last six months announced their plans to tap the rights market and may firm up their plans in the near future.
The flotation plans of all these companies are, of course, subject to a stable, if not a buoyant, secondary market.
If bribed, buy biryani but don't give vote: Mamata
HABIBPUR: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Sunday cautioned the people in West Bengal that efforts could be made to bribe them for votes and advised them to have biryani and snacks with the money offered, but "don't give your vote".
"They will try to give bribe, offer money and will ask you to vote for them. Take the money and have snacks and biryani with it. But don't give them a single vote. Vote only for Trinamool and alliance candidates," Banerjee chuckled while addressing her first public meeting here in Malda district for the upcoming assembly elections.
Banerjee, the union railway minister , also termed the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders touring the state as fair-weather friends.
She appealed to the people "not to waste a single vote" on the BJP.
"They are all fair-weather friends. You won't find them during the crisis of Nandigram, Singur, Netai, Nanoor. You will only find them during the election season. Don't waste your vote by voting for BJP. They are immaterial in Bengal politics," said Banerjee.
"The state BJP has teamed up with the CPI-M (Communist Party of India - Marxist) to grab a few votes. Every time they do the same thing. This time also they are trying to do that," she alleged.
Banerjee also described the independent candidates fielded by dissident Congress leaders as "agents" of the state's ruling CPI-M who want to benfit the Marxists by cutting into the opposition vote bank.
Several Congress leaders, especially in Malda and Murshdabad, who were not happy with alliance between the Congress and the Trinamool, have decided to field independent candidates.
The Trinamool has fielded 227 candidates while its alliance partner Congress has 65 for the six-phase polls in the state beginning April 18.
Drafting of Lokpal Bill to be videographed: Anna Hazare
A day after he ended his fast demanding a stronger anti-graft Lokpal Bill , social activist Anna Hazare Sunday said the process of formulting the act will be videographed and the procedures will be made public.
"The committee will start its work on the draft from April 16, the procedures will be videographed and made public. The procedure will be totally transparent, from formulation to the time after it is passed and selection of Lokpal," Hazare told reporters.
"If people find out any shortcoming they can point this out," he said.
Stating that questions were being asked if the bill will solve the problem of corruption, Anna Hazare said that if not 100 per cent, it will solve the problem of corruption upto 90 per cent.
"People ask if it will solve problem of corruption, if not 100 per cent, it will solve the problem 90 per cent. The rest will be done through the medium of electoral reforms and decentralisation of power," he said.
10 APR, 2011, 02.39AM IST, TR VIVEK,ET BUREAU
Business lessons from IPL: Franchise model is risk free
The euphoria over the world cup win is yet to die down. Workers at the Wankhede may still be clearing the confetti. MS Dhoni and his mates will only now start to feel the aches and creaks. But a breather for cricketers and fans alike will have to wait.
For, the annual travelling circus called the Indian Premier League-the grand setting of big bucks and bigger egos-is back in town.
As the franchised cricket league enters its fourth season, sailing through a third of the 10-year ownership given to privately held teams by BCCI, there is no better time than now to assess the return on investments made by some of the biggest corporate houses and canniest business minds in India.
A recent joint study by ET and Brand Finance, a global consultancy, pegs the overall brand value of IPL at nearly $3.7 billion. The brand value of top bananas like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings has shot up to $57 million and $55 million.
Still, there is no ducking the inevitable question: is the IPL making money for the team owners? The big sixes and cheerleaders apart, the IPL still conjures up visions of big money thrown around for ownership in 2008. India Cements won the bid for the Chennai franchise for $91 million.
Reliance Industries won the bid for Mumbai Indians at $111.9 million. And considering that this season's player auctions (telecast live to add to the drama) where some of India's richest pursued Gautam Gambhir and Piyush Chawla with blank cheques in hand, it is easy to assume that the cost of losing would be near-bankruptcy or being denied entry into The Belvedere or The Chambers.
Truth is the IPL business model is remarkable in its simplicity. Indeed, the sources of income for teams are guaranteed and stable, and avenues for expenditure limited and fixed. It is a business that B-school students could run without bleeding money. And it's as risk free as a batsman milking off-spinners for four runs an over in the middle overs of a one-day international.
How it works
When India Cements' vice-chairman N Srinivasan won the Chennai franchise, baffled analysts were eager to grill him on why a manufacturing company that requires high capital expenditure 'fritter' money on cricket.
One analyst quizzed Srinivasan why he hadn't mentioned that the company was going to earmark such a huge amount for a non-core activity when he was trying to raise money from the domestic markets through a qualified institutional placement.
10 APR, 2011, 06.16AM IST, SAUMYA BHATTACHARYA & KAMYA JAISWAL,ET BUREAU
Why MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar & Yuvraj Singh would have excelled in an office
Career planning, leadership styles, skill development or team building. These are not the thoughts that cross your mind when you watch your favourite sport. Definitely not when you are engrossed in something as rare as India playing in the cricket World Cup final.
But what if some of the most interesting and meaningful lessons for doing well at work are to be found on the cricket field? This is what the CEOs , talent identifiers and HR executives told ET on Sunday. Saumya Bhattacharya and Kamya Jaiswal explain what the conduct and performance of India's three cricketing icons tell us about doing well at work.
Ms Dhoni: Leading Change
The Achievement: Transformed a team which had delivered its worst performance in a World Cup-knocked out in the group stage in 2007-into world champions with minimal changes. Demonstrated success in just six months
He is not the best batsman. He is probably not the best wicketkeeper India can have. Yet he turned out to be better than all of these - MS Dhoni is the best team builder and hence the most effective leader in the cricketing world. He transformed a team of champions into a champion team.
Even in April 2007 - the lowest point of Indian cricket in the recent times-the team was packed with individual stellar performers. Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Sehwag, Kumble.... But collectively, the team wasn't firing. It had ignobly exited the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006 and was thrashed by South Africa in the same year. It was like an office team that had the most experienced and the best-paid professionals, but was not able to perform collectively. What do you do when you are either a part or head of such a team?
According to Thomas Varghese, CEO, Aditya Birla Retail, the biggest career lesson from Dhoni's conduct is the art of reposing faith in youngsters. "Dhoni has picked up his team and backed them over a long period. This is a remarkable quality I saw in KV Kamath too," says K Ram Kumar, executive director, ICICI Bank .
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/why-ms-dhoni-sachin-tendulkar-yuvraj-singh-would-have-excelled-in-an-office/articleshow/7930283.cms
Ramdev backtracks, says no problem with Bhushans on the panel
HARIDWAR: After raising the issue of nepotism in the newly-appointed joint committee on Lokpal Bill, yoga guru Baba Ramdev today backtracked saying that he had no problem with inclusion of father-son duo Shanti and Prashant Bhushan in the drafting panel.
"The question of nepotism was raised by the media and not me. When I was asked about it, I said that though we have played a role in the Jan Lokpal Bill movement, we had no say in the formation of the committee," Ramdev said.
"I do not have a problem with inclusion of Shanti and Prashant Bhushan in the panel. We trust Annaji's (Anna Hazare's) judgement on the matter. I only said volunteers wanted Kiran Bedi on the panel," he said.
Ramdev, who had joined the agitation which led to the government agreeing to form a joint committee with civil, society representatives to draft Lokpal Bill,had objected to the inclusion of the Bhushans, both lawyers, in the panel, alleging it showed nepotism. "Why is there nepotism in the committee? Why both father and son are accommodated in the committee?" Ramdev had asked.
Bedi, a former IPS officer , said she did not want to be part of the panel at all and wanted the experts to do their job.
"This is an A-plus team. Only those people can be part of this committee who know the government's functioning and can help in making a law that will look into all aspects of fighting large-scale corruption," Bedi said.
In a bid to assuage Ramdev, Hazare today said he will talk to the yoga guru as at this juncture, it is important to take the country together to fight corruption.
"I will request him (Ramdev) not to think like that. We will all take the country ahead together. There is love for the country inside him. I will tell him not to think of a person or individual and only keep the country in mind," the 73-year-old activist, who ended his 98-hour-long fast yesterday, said.
Govt to stick to fiscal deficit target of this fiscal: FinMin
The government today said it will continue to focus on fiscal consolidation and would stick to the deficit target for the current fiscal, despite the uncertainty over global crude oil prices.
"We are on the fiscal consolidation path. We don't want to occupy more space in the public borrowing, and we will stick to our fiscal deficit target and our revenue deficit target," Finance Secretary Sushma Nath said at a CII conference here.
Crude oil prices, especially Brent , is ruling above $ 120 per barrel amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget speech has projected fiscal deficit of 4.6 per cent of GDP during the current fiscal of 2011-2012.
"For the year 2011-12 I have kept it (fiscal deficit) at 4.6 per cent of GDP, which improve upon my own target of 2011-12, indicated in the fiscal roadmap presented in the last budget," Mukherjee had said.
The Finance Minister pegged the revenue deficit target at 1.8 per cent of GDP.
At the same time, the government's dependence on market borrowings has come down to Rs 4.17 lakh crore for 2011-12 against Rs 4.47 lakh crore last fiscal.
Nath said, "questions were raised in Parliament after the Budget was presented and also in media doubting the figure, which we have shown in the Budget. I must tell you we are very confident of our figures."
On the subsidy front, the finance secretary said, "yes, there are some issues but with the new scheme of targeting subsidy better, we are confident of containing our subsidies also."
Speaking about farm sector, she said the government was conscious of the risks in agriculture sector and that whenever a public investment would be needed in the sector, there would be no resource constraint.
She added it was the actual implementation on the ground, which was a great concern for the government, as the states were sitting on more than Rs 1 lakh crore of cash balances.
9 APR, 2011, 03.56AM IST,ET BUREAU
Socially inclusive growth can succeed if governance failures are addressed: Pranab Mukherjee
NEW DELHI: Socially inclusive growth can succeed only if governance failures and corruption are addressed, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday.
"Governance failures and corruption in the system affect the poor disproportionately and an inclusive development agenda cannot succeed without addressing these issues," Mukherjee said at the CII National Conference in New Delhi.
The finance minister's comments come in the backdrop of social activist Anna Hazare's protest for changes in the Lokpal Bill, the proposed anti-corruption law. Hazare's campaign to give the law more teeth has won widespread support, with hunger strikes and candlelit vigils being held in different cities.
"I appeal to Anna Hazare to end the fast and participate in the informal committee," Mukherjee said on the sidelines of the conference.
Acknowledging that there were gaps in the country's development and governance efforts, the finance minister said the benefits of good intentions and policies could reach the people only if they were acted upon. "The country's economic development should be more holistic to bring about sustained improvement in living standards, access to affordable healthcare and social security," he said.
FM said the greatest challenge before the country was to create and sustain more and better opportunities for the youth. "It is equally important that the available public resources are effectively used. We are conscious that if these resources have to bear fruit, we have to tackle issues of governance and service delivery," Mukherjee said.
According to the minister, there was a need to ensure that the macroeconomic balance of the economy was strengthened through a focus on fiscal consolidation. "The notion of inclusive growth relates to equality of opportunity to all, for a productive and meaningful life with freedom and dignity, and it is much broader than the objective of poverty alleviation," he said.
Mukherjee urged India Inc to join forces with the government to address areas such as capacity growth in key infrastructure and core industries, making elementary education available to all and improvement in its quality to raise transition and retention at middle school and at secondary level. He said it was not only the resources that businessmen generated for the public cause and through their philanthropic work, but also their managerial skills that help in making development processes effective.
"The success of inclusive development and, the very sustainability of the growth momentum in the coming years depends on the availability of skilled manpower," he said.
Govt to soon announce manufacturing policy
The government on Friday said it will soon unveil a national manufacturing policy , which aims at attracting overseas investments and increase the share of the sector in the economy.
"We had completed all inter-ministerial and stakeholders consultations. I hope, we will be able to do it soon," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said at a CII function here.
The government aims at increasing the share of manufacturing sector from 16-17 per cent to 25-26 per cent of the GDP by 2020. Manufacturing contributes over 80 per cent in the country's overall industrial production.
Sharma said that soon Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will chair a meeting on the proposed policy "and after that we will give India its first National Manufacturing Policy".
Under the upcoming policy, the government has proposed to set up integrated green-field mega-investment zones to attract global investment and latest technologies.
The minister said increasing manufacturing share in the Indian economy is a priority as millions of skilled workforce is expected to join the segment in the near future.
The new policy would also help in attracting more foreign direct investment into the country, he added.
Talking about the strategy paper on exports, which aims at doubling India's exports to $450 by 2014, Sharma said that the policy will be unveiled soon.
India's exports this fiscal are likely to increase to $235 billion, from $178.6 billion in 2009-10.
On the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a new international treaty being framed by a group of developed nations, the minister rejected such attempts and said India would not accept any such attempts to discuss intellectual property rights outside the multilateral WTO framework.
India is strongly opposing this pact, saying that it would have far-reaching implications for non-members of ACTA. The countries such as the US, EU, Japan, Australia, Canada and New Zealand are discussing the pact.
"Few countries will group together and try to change what is and will always be a multilateral regime called the TRIPS a
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8 APR, 2011, 01.17AM IST, AMITI SEN,ET BUREAU
Radioactive contamination: No ban, but stricter checks on food imports from Japan
NEW DELHI: India will not ban food imports from Japan immediately as no item has yet tested positive for radioactive contamination . All food imports, however, will now need mandatory 'no-radiation' certification from the Japanese authorities and also face radiation checks once they enter India.
An inter-ministerial meeting chaired by commerce minister Anand Sharma on Thursday decided that there was not enough reason to impose a blanket ban on food imports at the moment but gave directions for weekly reviews, a commerce department official told ET.
Officials from the health ministry, the ministry of external affairs, the department of atomic energy, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) and the food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) attended the meeting.
"It has been decided that 100% of food imports, irrespective of the region it comes from, have to go through radiation checks in the country and need certification of no-radiation at departure," the official said.
The FSSAI, the country's food safety and standards authority of India, on Tuesday had given an advisory stating that there should be a three months ban on food items from Japan.
The advise followed decision by a number of countries including the US, China, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Canada to ban food imports from areas around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant affected by the earthquake and the tsunami that hit the country last month.
"We are wholly aware of the threat aspect and would ensure that no harmful imports happen. But at the same time we do not want to have a knee-jerk reaction to the problem," the official said. The FSSAI had already identified laboratories for testing samples of imported food items.
These include Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology in the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Shriram Institute for Industrial Research, New Delhi, and Monarch Biotech, Chennai, in this regard.
"As soon as we get information of contaminated products coming in, we will indeed give ban orders," the official said. The directorate general of foreign trade notifies all decisions on imports and exports including imposition of bans.
India's imports of food items from Japan is a very small part of total annual imports of about $7 billion from the country. The key food items imported from Japan in the past few months, though in small quantities, are soybean curd, dried noodles, boiled mushrooms, radish paste, cooking sauces, roasted seaweed, flavoring extracts, tea bags, wheat flour, yakult, food additives and tofu.
8 APR, 2011, 01.11AM IST,ET BUREAU
FM Pranab Mukherjee tells swiss counterpart Johann N Schneider-Amman to expedite revised DTAA
NEW DELHI: India has asked Switzerland to expeditiously ratify the amended double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) to facilitate exchange of information on funds parked in Swiss banks by Indian nationals.
"This (ratification of the DTAA) would put the institutional framework in place which, in turn, would result in sharing of the information between the two countries and further strength the economic relationship between the two nations," finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told the visiting Swiss economic minister Johann N Schneider-Amman who called on him on Thursday.
The amended Indo-Swiss DTAA is going through the process of Parliamentary approval which could take another couple of months, the Swiss minister told reporters at a business seminar organised by industry body Ficci later in the day. "I assume we will be ready from the Swiss side as well to conclude the agreement by the end of this year," Schneider said.
When asked whether the amended DTAA will allow the country to part with more information on bank deposits, the minsiter did no offer a clear answer. "We have in place a legal position that already allows us to support each other and with the new tax agreement in place we can better support the usual partnership." he said.
India and Switzerland had signed a protocol last year for amendment of the DTAA which would help the government in tracing black money by getting more information on money stashed away outside the country.
The Swiss minister asked India to open up the insurance and banking sectors. Meanwhile, the proposed free trade agreement between India and the four-member EFTA bloc, that includes Switzerland, is also likely to be concluded during the year, giving a further push to growing bilateral trade.
India and Switzerland expect to conclude an FTA as part of the India-EFTA (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Leichtenstein) broad-based trade and investment agreement by the end of the year, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said.
Schneider said over 170 Swiss companies have their JVs or subsidiaries in India and create about 60,000 jobs, mainly in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. "I am convinced that this FTA will further enhance the long-term winning partnership between India and Switzerland to the benefit of our nations, our economies, our businesses, our workers and our people," he said.
It was a faulty fire alarm, says Kaiga Director
NDTV Correspondent, Updated: April 10, 2011 22:08 IST
Vista 90 is Here – The Most Powerful Petrol Hatch in its Class.Blink it & You'll Miss it
"There was spurious fire alarm, from the inaccessible area where without shutdown entry cannot be made. No abnormality was found," said J P Gupta, Director, Kaiga Nuclear plant.
No one has been injured and there has been no radioactive leak. The reactor is now cooling down and the plant's operator says there is no possibility of a Fukushima type of accident.
But this isn't the first scare at Kaiga. In 2009, nearly 100 workers fell ill after an insider laced drinking water with radioactive tritium.
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PrintThat criminal case is yet to be solved.
After the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan, India has ordered a safety review of all its 20 reactors. Even the Prime Minister has called for greater transparency. But after this latest scare at Kaiga, will the nuclear establishment come clean?
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Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/it-was-a-faulty-fire-alarm-says-kaiga-director-97622?cp
Supreme Court to hear Binayak Sen's bail plea on Monday
The Supreme Court will hear on Monday the bail plea of civil rights activist Binayak Sen, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of sedition and links with Naxalites.
Dr. Sen, 61, has challenged the order of the Chhattisgarh High Court, which had rejected his bail plea on February 10.
A professional doctor and a pass-out of the prestigious Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, Dr. Sen has sought bail contending that the trial court has erred in convicting him when there was no substantial evidence.
A bench of justices H.S. Bedi and C.K. Prasad had on March 11 agreed to hear Dr. Sen's plea and had sought the response of Chhattisgarh government within four weeks.
Opposing Dr. Sen's bail plea, the state government in its affidavit had said that the activist should not be granted any relief as he has deep links with hardcore Naxalites.
"He (Sen) provides active support and co-ordinates in spreading the base of CPI (Maoist) in the country. Apart from providing logistic support, he exchanges information and material directly and indirectly with the Naxalites in the area of Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa and propagates Naxal ideology," the affidavit filed by the state government said.
According to the state government, Dr. Sen helped Naxal leaders in arranging accommodation in Raipur and through his wife Elina Sen also helped open bank accounts of hardcore Naxalites Shankar Singh and Amita Shrivastava.
Dr. Sen, vice-president of People's Union of Civil Liberties, was convicted for sedition and sentenced to life imprisonment along with Naxal ideologue Narayan Sanyal and Kolkata businessman Piyush Guha for colluding with the Maoists to establish a network to fight the state.
Dr. Sen's conviction and sentence had led to outrage in many quarters, including international human rights bodies.
Family members of Dr. Sen, PUCL activists, and two members of the European Union were present in the high court during the hearing. The EU had earlier sought the high court's permission to attend the hearings.
Full text of Nobel laureates appeal for Dr. Binayak Sen's release
Forty Nobel laureates have given a call for the release of Dr. Binayak Sen on bail immediately, and for expeditious hearing of his case. This is the full text of their appeal.
February 8, 2011
Appeal for Indian Medical Doctor, Binayak Sen
We, the 38* undersigned Nobel Laureates, respectfully express our astonishment and dismay at the unjust life sentence handed down last month in India to a fellow scientist and human rights advocate, 61-year-old Dr. Binayak Sen.
We note that, when Dr. Sen was on trial in 2008 and many of us appealed for his release on bail, a year later the Supreme Court of India concurred with our opinion and ordered his immediate release. Several months after voicing our concern about Dr. Sen's detention, one of us traveled to Chhattisgarh; met government officials; consulted Dr. Sen's family, lawyers, and colleagues; visited his remote clinic to learn more about his selfless work with the Adivasis; and, after a few days and many hours spent waiting in the Raipur prison yard, finally met with Dr. Sen himself in the presence of the prison warden.
We have seen that Dr. Sen is an exceptional, courageous, and selfless colleague, dedicated to helping those in India who are least able to help themselves. Yet his recompense has been two years in prison under difficult conditions, a blatantly unfair trial lasting two years in the so-called "Fast Track" Sessions Court, an unjust conviction of sedition and conspiracy, and condemnation to life imprisonment.
We earnestly hope that our renewed appeal is heard. We know that there are leaders in India who have the power, humanity, patriotism, and decency to speak out against this injustice. We entreat those leaders to act now, to urge Dr. Sen's immediate release on bail, and insist that this time his appeal is heard without delay under the highest standards of Indian law.
Surely, those who would see the largest democracy in the world survive and thrive can do no less at this crucial time for both Dr. Sen and for the future of justice in India.
Respectfully,
Peter Agre, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2003
Kenneth J. Arrow, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, 1972
Richard Axel, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2004
David Baltimore, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1975
Martin Chalfie, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2008
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1997
Robert Curl, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1996
Johann Deisenhofer, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1988
Richard R. Ernst, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1991
Edmond H. Fischer, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1992
Walter Gilbert, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1980
Roy J. Glauber, Nobel Prize in Physics, 2005
Paul Greengard, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2000
David J. Gross, Nobel Prize in Physics, 2004
Roger Guillemin, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1977
Dudley Herschbach, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1986
Antony Hewish, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1974
H. Robert Horvitz, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2002
François Jacob, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1965
Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, 2002
Eric R. Kandel, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2000
Lawrence R. Klein, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, 1980
Roger D. Kornberg, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2006
Sir Harold W. Kroto, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1996
Finn E. Kydland, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, 2004
Yuan T. Lee, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1986
Rita Levi-Montalcini, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1986
Roderick MacKinnon, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2003
Sir James Mirrlees, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, 1996
Joseph E. Murray, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1990
Douglas D. Osheroff, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1996
John C. Polanyi, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1986
V. Ramakrishnan, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2009
Sir Richard Roberts, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1993
Jens C. Skou, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1998
Jack Steinberger, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1988
Sir John Sulston, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2002
Charles H. Townes, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1964
Klaus von Klitzing, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1985
Torsten N. Wiesel, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1981
*After this appeal was released two additional Nobel Laureates requested to sign it, bringing the total number of signatories to 40 as of 18h EST on Tuesday, February 8. Their names are included above.
FDI policy: Opening the floodgates
In a quiet move that constitutes one more step in its long-term effort to dismantle regulation of foreign direct investment in the country, the government has advanced the process of liberalisation quite significantly. It has decided to drop the condition inadequately defined in its Press Release as the need for "prior approval in case of existing joint ventures/technical collaborations in the 'same field'".
This opaque statement needs clarification. Prior to the recently issued Circular 1 of 2011 from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the Ministry of Industry, any foreign investor who had entered into a joint venture, technology transfer or trademark agreement with an Indian partner prior to January 12, 2005, had to obtain special approval from the government before undertaking any new independent investment or entering into a new technology transfer or trademark agreement with a different partner in the same field. When doing so, the foreign investor and/or the existing partner had to establish that the new proposal "would not jeopardize the existing joint venture or technology transfer/trademark partner".
The importance of this clause needs to be emphasised. When in the early post-Independence years the government pressured foreign firms into entering into collaboration with Indian partners rather than setting up wholly owned subsidiaries or affiliate firms, there were two important factors, among others, that motivated it. The first was the need to strengthen the still young and inadequately experienced industrialist class in India, by mediating the relationship between domestic players and the foreign firms on whom the former were dependent for technology and foreign finance. The second was to provide some basis for technological learning, since domestic managers and technologists would in joint venture enterprises play a role in transferring technology, adapting it if necessary and operating it under local conditions. Subsequently, this requirement of partnership was strengthened by making it necessary under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act for foreign firms to hold only 40 per cent or less of equity in most industries, if the foreign invested firm had to be eligible for national treatment. This was aimed at eroding foreign influence over their local joint ventures.
In practice, of course, most foreign firms used their control over technology to sabotage this effort. Since the use of patented technology by the domestic joint venture had to be licensed, foreign firms wrote into technology transfer agreements clauses that limited the ability of domestic partners to unbundle and adapt the technology, let alone seek to improve upon it through investment in Research and Development (R&D).
The net result was that though there was some development of indigenous technological capability, that process was slow because of restrictions on the nature of technology use. Moreover, domestic firms needing the implicit or explicit link with known foreign brands as tools in the competitive battle with rivals were unwilling to break away from their foreign partners and use the knowledge they had acquired to strike out on their own. Hence, every time technology was upgraded and/or modernised as part of the competitive effort, a new technology agreement had to be signed with the foreign partner, which was at all times far ahead of the domestic subsidiary in technological terms.
The foreign partner, on the other hand, benefited from the domestic partnership, inasmuch as it allowed it to use the skills of major Indian firms when it came to dealing with an interventionist government and local labour, for example, and especially when it came to accessing the domestic market for credit. Large firms were built with small infusion of foreign capital, allowing significant repatriation of profits and royalties on the basis of a limited amount of investment and substantial borrowing.
Matters changed after liberalisation, which substantially diluted regulations with regard to foreign equity caps and technology transfer, and relaxed the prerequisites for national treatment. Now, foreign firms are permitted to claim and repatriate a larger share of domestic profits based on a larger share in equity ownership. They can also ensure complete protection of frontline technology through direct control, rather than through patents and licensing agreements. With foreign equity caps relaxed and flexibility increased, foreign firms increasingly wanted to opt out of the collaborations they had entered into earlier. There were clearly two routes. One was to buy out Indian shareholders or partners. The other, when this was not possible, was to set up a wholly new venture to which technology of more recent date and/or relating to new products was transferred.
Given the obstacles that were set to technological learning by domestic partners and their resulting dependence on the foreign partner for technologies of more recent date, the former were in no position to compete on equal terms with their erstwhile collaborators. The pressure on them to sell-out was high. Where there were attempts to resist, as in the case of Dabur and Hero, for example, the foreign collaborator attempted to set up a wholly new venture.
It was in circumstances like this that the "prior approval" clause served a purpose. It allowed the government to rule in favour of domestic partners who had served their collaborators well, but who on account of path dependence were not in a position to compete with them. It was a way of continuing with the protection afforded to weaker domestic players, without discriminating against the foreign partner.
By doing away with the approval clause the government is overturning this whole edifice and paving the way for two potential developments. The first is one where domestic industrialists choose to sell out convinced that it would be too difficult for them to face the competition. The second is one where they refuse to sell, and foreign partners, with their newly granted freedoms, choose to set up their own sole control subsidiaries or majority ventures with pliant partners to outcompete their erstwhile collaborator. Both of these trends would alter the industrial landscape with a far greater presence of foreign firms than earlier, and a smaller presence of India industrialists in high technology areas. It would also mean that technological capabilities acquired in the past are now rendered useless and little technological capacity acquisition would take place in the future. India would merely be the location for transnational production seeking to cater to its large domestic markets and a supplier of skilled labour to enhance the control over technology of transnational firms.
The argument being given for this shift with its adverse implications for industrial self-reliance and indigenous technological capability generation is that India needs to stall the decline in foreign direct inflows into the country. Such flows are privileged over portfolio flows since FDI flows are seen as reflecting a long-term interest of the foreign investor in domestic productive activity.
It is indeed true (see Chart) that India is experiencing a decline in FDI inflows when compared to the FDI surge over the 2007-08 to 2009-10 period. But these figures are misleading. Over the liberalisation period as a whole portfolio inflows have been far more important than FDI flows. And even in the period of high FDI inflows, the figures reflect a definitional discrepancy. In the early 1990s India moved to a definition of foreign direct investment where the acquisition of a stake of 10 per cent in a company by a single non-resident investor is adequate for it to be characterised as a firm with foreign direct investment control. In actual fact, many portfolio investors are in the wake of liberalisation acquiring stakes of 10 per cent or more in domestic firms, exploiting the lax regulatory framework. As a result a substantial chunk of portfolio investment geared to garnering capital gains through speculative investment gets registered as foreign direct investment. That it is not. And India does not need this capital for balance of payments reasons either.
To use this argument to undermine the hard won, even if limited, advances on the technological front is therefore completely unjustifiable.
Keyw
ords: economy watch, foreign direct investment
Anna Hazare
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100 % FDI allowed in some areas of farm sector
Tuning the policy norms further to attract declining foreign investment, in a significant development, India on Thursday announced allowing 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the agriculture sector including seeds, plantation, horticulture and cultivation of vegetables.
According to the circular by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion released on "Consolidated FDI Policy -- Circular 1 of 2011", 100 per cent FDI has been now allowed in development and production of seeds and planting material, floriculture, horticulture, and cultivation of vegetables and mushrooms under controlled conditions. The policy will come into effect from Friday (April 1).
Besides, animal husbandry (including of breeding of dogs), pisciculture, aquaculture under controlled conditions and services related to agro and allied sectors have also been brought under the 100 per cent FDI norm. Similarly, the tea sector has also been brought under the 100 per cent norm.
The DIPP has imposed certain conditions for companies dealing with development of transgenic seeds and vegetables wanting to take the 100 per cent FDI route.
According to the circular, when dealing with genetically modified seeds or planting material the company is supposed to comply with safety requirements in accordance with laws enacted under the Environment (Protection) Act on the genetically modified organisms; any import of genetically modified materials, if required, shall be subject to the conditions laid down vide Notifications issued under Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992; the company shall comply with any other law, regulation or policy governing genetically modified material in force from time to time; undertaking of business activities involving the use of genetically engineered cells and material shall be subject to the receipt of approvals from Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) and Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM); the Import of materials shall be in accordance with National Seeds Policy.
Further it states the term "under controlled conditions'' covers the following: Cultivation under controlled conditions' for the categories of floriculture, horticulture, cultivation of vegetables and mushrooms is the practice of cultivation wherein rainfall, temperature, solar radiation, air humidity and culture medium are controlled artificially. Control in these parameters may be effected through protected cultivation under green houses, net houses, poly houses or any other improved infrastructure facilities where microclimatic conditions are regulated anthropogenically.
In case of animal husbandry, the term under controlled conditions includes: rearing of animals under intensive farming systems with stall-feeding. Intensive farming system will require climate systems (ventilation, temperature/humidity management), health care and nutrition, herd registering/pedigree recording, use of machinery, waste management systems. Poultry breeding farms and hatcheries where microclimate is controlled through advanced technologies like incubators, ventilation systems etc.
In the case of pisciculture and aquaculture, it includes: aquariums hatcheries where eggs are artificially fertilised and fry are hatched and incubated in an enclosed environment with artificial climate control.
Keywords: FDI, agriculture
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2G scam: SC to pass order on public prosecutor's appointment on Monday
The Supreme Court will on Monday pass an order on the appointment of a special public prosecutor for holding the trial of former telecom minister A Raja and other accused in the 2G spectrum case.
The apex court will also pass direction for holding the trial in the case on day-to-day basis without any adjournments to bring to justice all persons involved in the scam.
A bench of justices A.K. Ganguly and G.S. Singhvi had on April 8 said that it would pass a formal order on appointment of senior advocate U.U. Lalit as special public prosecutor on April 11.
"We would make it clear in our order that the special court would hold trial on day-to-day basis and no adjournment on any basis would be allowed," directed the bench.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had earlier filed its first chargesheet against Raja and some of his close aides in connection with the scam.
Besides, the four accused - Raja, former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's former personal assistant R.K.Chandolia, and Swan Telecom (now DB Etisalat) chief Shahid Usman Balwa, the CBI has also framed Gautam Doshi, Saurabh Papadiya, Hari Nayar, Sanjay Chandra and three companies - Unitech ,Reliance Communications and Swan Telecom.
All the accused have been booked under sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 109 (abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence, and where no express provision is made for its punishment) of the Indian Penal Code.
Raja was forced to resign from the Union Cabinet last year after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) faulted him for undervaluing spectrum to favour companies who were largely ineligible for 2G spectrum, and added that the government had probably lost Rs.1.76 lakh crore in estimated revenue.
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