Pranab versus Montek`s Priorities!Contrary to Presidential Address to the Nation,Montek `s top Most priority is to to restore investor confidence!Government to Revive SEZ!CAG's final report not naming the PMO!

Pranab versus Montek`s Priorities!Contrary to Presidential Address to the Nation,Montek `s top Most priority is to to restore investor confidence!Government to Revive SEZ!CAG's final report not naming the PMO!

Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter:792

Palash Biswas
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President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday called for making Indian economy a launching pad for the "second freedom struggle" to eradicate hunger, disease and poverty.In his first address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day, he also said that inflation, particularly high food prices, remains a cause of worry in this growth story, including in the areas of infrastructure and agriculture.It could sound a little bit socialist reminiscent of Indira Age. But the Free Market Genocide economics replicating failed US Imperialist  War economy has no such destination. Rather, instead of the constitutional political face of the Nation, the World Bank incarnation in government and extra government reflect the objective truth. Contrary to Presidential Address to the Nation,Montek `s top Most priority is to to restore investor confidence!On the other hand, the President is concerned to sustain the democratic institutions which are, in fact dead in a corporate regime ruled by Extra  Constitutional elements like Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia! Anger against corruption is legitimate but there will be chaos if street protests become endemic, Pranab Mukherjee warned on Tuesday in his first public speech as India's new President.In a speech with distinct political overtones, the President said that constitutional institutions should not be derailed.Mahamahim rashtrapatiji, beg your pardon, constitutional institutions are already derailed to push for economic Ethnic Cleansing under genocided culture!However the Presidential Address ends to justify the Economic reforms which does not contradict Montek at all!How can be the economy risilient as claimed for so long as our currency is linked to dollar?The rupee depreciated by 29 paise to 55.63 against the dollar in early trade on Tuesday, extending losses for the third day in a row on the Interbank Foreign Exchange on continued demand for the American currency.United states of America is the Supreme Power ruling the Globe with its unchallenged Military might and the people of America do starve!We the people of India have to live on Rs. Seventeen or Rs. Thirty Two whatever the amount prescribes the planning Commission. The definitions are changed at will to fix the statics and continue the grand Growth story with the false effective revenue deficit manipulation.Free Market has to be expanded at the cost of Nature, Environment and People!

On the other hand citing democratic institutions sound amusing as The CAG's final report on the coal block allocations will be tabled in the Parliament on the August 16. The report is not naming the Prime Minsiter's Office (PMO) PMO or the states and the blame is put solely on the steering committee, reports CNBC-TV18's Pallavi Ghosh quoting sources.

Our President, the ex finance Minister, the ex head of most of EGOM and policy making committees,Mukherjee further said that "two decades of steady economic reforms have contributed to improvement in average income and consumption levels in both rural and urban areas.If truth lies in his statement, why should he explain a new set of resolution on the eve of independence day, in his first Presidential address to the nation, I wonder.

"There is new found dynamism in some of the most backward areas, bringing them into national economic mainstream. If our economy has achieved critical mass, then it must become a launching pad for the next leap.

"We need a second freedom struggle  this time to ensure that India is free for ever from hunger, disease and poverty," Mukherjee said.

Recalling the earlier times of the Indian economy, Mukherjee said the average annual growth rate was just one per cent between 1900 and 1947.

However, a quantum leap forward has taken the current growth rate to over 8 per cent.

"... today, despite two great international crises that rocked the world and some domestic dips, we have posted an average growth rate of more than 8 per cent over the last seven years," he said.

The Planning Commission on Tuesday said the biggest challenge before India is to improve investment climate, and the initiative taken by the government in setting up a review panel on GAAR has sent the right signal.The government has approved 63 proposals of foreign companies, including Louis Vuitton and Marks and Spencer, for retailing in single brand in the country so far.The government will soon come out with new norms to revive Special Economic Zones (SEZs), which have lost sheen after the imposition of certain levies and the proposal to take away tax incentives.

Mukherjee further said that  leaders like Subhas Chandra Bose and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru believed that "free India would become, by example, an alternative model for a post-colonial world through economic equity and a social revolution inspired by harmony between communities that had been misled into hostility".

"I am not a pessimist  for me, the glass is always half full, rather than half empty. I would go to the extent of saying that the glass of modern India is more than half full," he said, while lauding the country's working class, farmers, industrialists from private and public sector and politicians among others.

Shrugging off concerns that environment protection was coming in the way of economy's growth, Mukherjee said he did not believe that there was any inherent contradiction in protecting environment and economic development.

"As long as we heed Gandhiji's great lesson: there is sufficient in the world for man's need but not for man's greed, we are safe. We must learn to live in harmony with nature.

"Nature cannot be consistent  we must be able to conserve her bounty during the many seasons of plenty so that we are not bereft during the occasional bout of scarcity," the President said.

"Anger against the bitter pandemic of corruption is legitimate, as is the protest against this plague that is eroding the capability and potential of our nation," the president said in his Independence Day-eve address to the nation.

"There are time when people lose their patience but it cannot become an excuse for an assault on our democratic institutions," he said, in an apparent reference to anti-corruption movements of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev.

Mukherjee said there is a need to fast-track the creation of high quality infrastructure and to extend green revolution to across the country.

"Notwithstanding the tremendous pressure of an adverse external environment, our economy today is more resilient and confident. Yet there are several gaps that need to be bridged.

"Green revolution has to be extended to the eastern region of our country. Creation of high quality infrastructure has to be fast tracked. Education and health services have to reach the last man at the earliest. Much has been done, a lot more remains to be done," he said.

Whereas,"Globally there is an environment that investors are nervous. It is very important that we should do the most we can to present a positive picture of our economic situation that we are welcoming foreign investors," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.He was speaking to reporters after a meeting with Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

Ahluwalia further said the initiatives taken by the Prime Minister to set up a new committee on the controversial General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) has sent a signal which has been received well by the investors.

Introduction of GAAR, which was proposed by then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Budget 2012-13 to check tax evasion, had triggered outrage by foreign investors following which its implementation was postponed till April 2013.

Later, Prime Minister Manmoham Singh set up an expert committee to address the concerns of investors and come out with report by September end.

On the concerns expressed by rating agencies on India's fiscal health, Ahluwalia said the government is taking steps to fast-track the infrastructure project clearances and come out with credible fiscal consolidation roadmap.

"On the issue of implementation of major projects, the govt will take appropriate measures...I do not think that we have high deficit, or we had. The real concern we have is that do we have credible policy," he said.

The Finance Minister had last week made it clear that his uppermost duty was to regain the confidence of all stakeholders.

"...Obviously, wherever necessary, our policies have to be modified or fine-tuned to meet the expectations of different stakeholders," Chidambaram had said.

He had also sought advice of former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar and two other experts to formulate fiscal consolidation roadmap.

The Centre's fiscal deficit has ballooned to 5.76 percent of GDP in the last fiscal on account of high fuel subsidy outgo. The government has not been able to decontrol diesel prices even after taking in-principle decision.

The Centre hopes to bring down the deficit to 5.1 percent of GDP in the current fiscal but the task seems difficult in view of rising oil, food and fertiliser subsidy bills.

Planning Commission has decided to lower annual growth target for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) to 8.5 percent from 9 percent envisaged earlier in view of sluggish economy and fragile global recovery.

"The Commission is of the view that annual growth target should be 8.5 percent in the 12th Plan as it will be difficult to achieve 9 percent", a source privy to the development said.

It would suggest lowering of the annual growth target at meeting of the full Planning Commission on September 15. The meeting would be presided over by the Prime Minister.

The growth target for the agriculture sector, however, would be retained at 4 percent for the five-year Plan period, the source said.

As regards the manufacturing sector, the source said, the growth target could be increased to 10.5 percent in view of the initiatives being taken by the government to put in place the National Manufacturing Policy. Earlier, the Commission had pegged the sector's growth at 9.8 percent.

The Plan document will finally be approved by the National Development Council (NDC) to be convened sometime in October.

The decision to lower annual growth target for 12th Plan follows economic slowdown and declining industrial growth in the current fiscal. Due to the impact of global problems and slowing exports, the industrial production during April-June declined by 0.1 percent. In June, it dropped by 1.8 percent.

The economic growth rate plunged to a nine-year low of 6.5 percent in 2011-12 and it is not likely to improve this fiscal. The Reserve Bank has projected the growth rate at 6.5 percent, lower than its earlier estimate of 7.3 percent.

In view of the ongoing problems in the global economy, especially in the US and eurozone area, the exports plunged by 14.8 percent, recording the steepest fall in the last three years.

Meanwhile,Commerce Secretary S R Rao said his ministry has held a series of meetings with the Revenue department officials on the matter concerned to revive SEZ drive!.

"We are on the verge of getting a closure on the issues. I think in maximum 4-5 weeks, you should be seeing the new rules kicking in," he said.

The government had imposed Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) and Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) on SEZs in 2010-11, which were earlier exempted from almost all levies.

Due to imposition of these levies, there has been a visible slowdown in growth of export from SEZs.

The Direct Taxes Codes (DTC) being considered by Parliament proposes to do away with the income tax exemption given to them and instead link tax sops to investments made in them. Profit-linked benefits were the main attraction of the SEZ scheme.

The initial phase of SEZ scheme, launched in 2006, saw developers lining up in big numbers for projects.

To boost investor confidence in the zones, the government is planning incentives for developers who want to set up SEZs in remote and undeveloped areas.

According to sources, the government is considering to relax minimum land area requirement for different categories of SEZs, besides extending the benefits of export schemes to SEZ units, that are already available to entities outside the zone.

Exports from SEZs stood at Rs 3.65 lakh crore in 2011-12. With investment of Rs 2.02 crore, these zones provide employment to over 8.45 lakh.

Overseas shipments from the 153 operational tax-free havens have come down to 12 percent of the country's total exports in 2011-12, from about 30 percent in the previous years.

Various foreign brands are functioning in the retail market for the past few years, Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The single brand labels which plan to strengthen include Dolce and Gabbana, Christian Dior Couture, Marks and Spencer, Louis Vuitton and Hermes International have been approved under the single-brand retail trade.

In January this year, India hiked the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in single-brand retail to 100 percent from 51 percent.

"In single-brand product retailing, foreign investment up to 100 percent is permitted with prior government approval and subject to specified conditions," Thomas said.

On Monday, the government had also said it had received six proposals from foreign brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Promod and Damiani, for single-brand retail trading with up to 51 percent foreign equity participation.

Besides, the two proposals - Pavers England and IKEA Group - had been received for 100 percent FDI in single-brand retail, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma had said. No decision had been taken on these proposals, he had added.

"... Six proposals (from Fapa Company, Samoa; Promod SAS, France; Tommy Hilfiger, The Netherlands; NA Pali Europe SARL; Brooks Brother Group, USA and Damiani International, The Netherlands), have been received for single-brand retail trading with up to 51 percent foreign equity participation," he said.

Till May, the total FDI equity inflows in the single brand retail trade were meager Rs 204.07 crore.

Tue, Aug 14, 2012 at 18:34
Coalgate caused a loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore: CAG
The CAG's final report on the coal block allocations will be tabled in the Parliament on the August 16. The report is not naming the Prime Minsiter's Office (PMO) PMO or the states and the blame is put solely on the steering committee, reports CNBC-TV18's Pallavi Ghosh quoting sources.
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/coal-scam-causedlossrs-186-lakh-crore-says-cag_745213.html


The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) final report on the coal block allocations will be tabled in the Parliament on the August 16. The report is not naming the Prime Minsiter's Office (PMO) or the states and the blame is put solely on the steering committee, reports CNBC-TV18's Pallavi Ghosh quoting sources.

The report on coal blocks allocation suggests that it could be an even bigger embarrassment than the 2G spectrum allocation scam with top private companies making a windfall of Rs 1.86 lakh crore due to lack of bidding.

The final draft of the CAG report on the coal blocks allocation, says that the allocation of captive coal mines from 2004 to 2006 was not transparent. Notably, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held the Coal Ministry portfolio from 2006 to 2009.

It further said that a six-year delay in moving to competitive bidding led to huge losses to the state.

The CAG report lists Tata group, Naveen Jindal group, Essar group, Abhijeet group, Laxmi Mittal's Arcelor and Vedanta among the beneficiaries.

However, CAG does not mention the role of the PMO and state governments in the coal blocks allocation.

The auditing watchdog has blamed the steering committee recommendations that gave away captive coal mines without bidding.

The CAG report has said that the delay in introducing competitive bidding, first suggested in 2004, led to major benefits to the private sector, but the rules for auction only got finalised six years later in 2012 after a series of controversies.

Till 2004 June, only 39 blocks were allotted, but in order to improve the production, 142 allotments were made between July 2004 and 2006 to private and government companies.

The CAG says the allocation made by the steering committee was not transparent and helped many private players. As many as 15 blocks given to private players did not even start production till March 2011.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is also investigating the coal scam. Initial reports of the investigating agency suggest they are looking at the role of state governments in allocating without bidding.

(With inputs from Ibnlive.com)

Full text of President Pranab Mukherjee's address to the nation
Following is the full text of President Pranab Mukherjee's address to the nation.

My fellow citizens:

It is a great privilege to address, for the first time, my fellow Indians living within our country and in a hundred corners across the globe, on the 65th anniversary of our independence. Words cannot adequately express my gratitude to the people and their representatives for the honour of this high office, even as I am deeply conscious of the fact that the highest honour in our democracy does not lie in any office, but in being a citizen of India, our motherland. We are all equal children before our mother; and India asks each one of us, in whatsoever role we play in the complex drama of nation-building, to do our duty with integrity, commitment and unflinching loyalty to the values enshrined in our Constitution.

2.It is important to remember, on Independence Day, that in the age of empires freedom was never given; it was taken. It was won by a generation of giants, led by a mighty man of destiny,Mahatma Gandhi, who fought with selfless, unflinching conviction against the mightiest power in history, with a moral force that transformed political thought and whose reverberations echo in great events all around us today. If the rise of European colonisation began in 18th century India, then the rallying cry of "Jai Hind!" also signalled its end in 1947. The final call to victory, "Jai Hind!" was given by Subhas Chandra Bose, fondly known to every Indian as "Netaji". Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu and many others charted the roadmap of independent India. These extraordinary men and women sacrificed their todays for our tomorrows. That tomorrow has come, and there is a question we must ask ourselves: have we honoured the great vision of these stalwarts, as a nation and as a society?

3.I was a toddler when Netaji, as Rashtrapati of the 51st Session of Indian National Congress in Haripura, on the banks of the river Tapti, reminded us that "our chief national problems are eradication of poverty, illiteracy and disease". His speech echoed through my home, as it did through millions of others. My father was a freedom fighter and through those long years when freedom seemed an illusion, we were sustained by faith in ourselves, in our leaders, in the strength of non-violence, in the courage of Indians liberated from fear. But we knew then, as we do now, that freedom must mean both bread and dreams.

4.Netaji and Nehruji believed that India could seize the future by an application of synthesis, samyavada, of what might seem on surface to be implacable opposites. They believed that free India would become, by example, an alternative model for a post-colonial world through economic equity and a social revolution inspired by harmony between communities that had been misled into hostility. Propelled by freedom of faith, gender equality and economic justice for all, India will become a modern nation. Minor blemishes cannot cloak the fact that India is becoming such a modern nation: no faith is in danger in our country, and the continuing commitment to gender equality is one of the great narratives of our times.

My fellow citizens:

5.I am not a pessimist; for me, the glass is always half full, rather than half empty. I would go to the extent of saying that the glass of modern India is more than half full. Our productive working class; our inspiring farmers, who have lifted a famine-wrecked land to food-surplus status, our imaginative industrialist entrepreneurs, whether in the private or public sector; our intellectuals, our academics and our political class have knit together a modern nation that has leapt, within mere decades, across many centuries in economic growth and progressive social legislation.

6.We cannot appreciate how far we have travelled, until we understand from where we started in 1947. As Jawaharlal Nehru pointed out so often, in his speeches and prose, India was not a poor country when our independence was snatched away. No one, I may add, travels thousands of miles to conquer a poor country. Statistics published by contemporary international scholars are proof for sceptics. In 1750, seven years before the fateful battle of Plassey, India had 24.5% of World Manufacturing Output while United Kingdom had only 1.9%. In other words, one in every four goods on the world market was manufactured in India. By 1900, India had been left with only 1.7% of World Manufacturing Output and Britain had risen to 18.5%. The western industrial revolution was in its incipient stages in the 18th century, but even in this regard India slipped from 7 to 1 in per capita industrialisation in that period, while Britain vaulted from 10 to 100. Between 1900 and 1947 India's economic growth was an annual average of 1%. From such depths we climbed, first, to 3% growth, and then took a quantum leap forward: today, despite two great international crises that rocked the world and some domestic dips, we have posted an average growth rate of more than 8% over the last seven years.

7.If our economy has achieved critical mass, then it must become a launching pad for the next leap. We need a second freedom struggle; this time to ensure that India is free for ever from hunger, disease and poverty. As my pre-eminent predecessor Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, speaking from this platform on the 18th anniversary of freedom, said, "Economic progress is one of the tests of democracy."

8.If progress falls behind rising aspirations, particularly of the young, rage will manifest itself. We are a nation that is becoming younger both in age and spirit; this is an opportunity as well as a challenge. The young thirst for knowledge that will lift their skills; and for opportunity that will put India on the fast track to the first world. They have the character; they need the chance. Education is the seed; and economy is the fruit. Provide good education; disease, hunger and poverty will recede. As I said in my acceptance speech, our motto must be: All for knowledge and knowledge for all. Vision cannot be an open-ended vista; it must be focused on our youth.

My fellow citizens:

9.Notwithstanding the tremendous pressure of an adverse external environment, our economy today is more resilient and confident. Two decades of steady economic reforms have contributed to improvement in average income and consumption levels in both rural and urban areas. There is new found dynamism in some of the most backward areas bringing them into national economic mainstream. Yet there are several gaps that need to be bridged. Green revolution has to be extended to the eastern region of our country. Creation of high quality infrastructure has to be fast tracked. Education and health services have to reach the last man at the earliest. Much has been done, a lot more remains to be done.

10.The monsoon has played truant this year. Large areas of our country are in the grip of drought, some others are devastated by floods. Inflation, particularly food inflation, remains a cause of worry, While our food availability remains healthy, we cannot forget the plight of those who made this possible even in a lean year; our farmers. They have stood by the nation in its need; the nation must stand by them in their distress.

11.I do not believe that there is any inherent contradiction in protecting our environment and economic development. As long as we heed Gandhiji's great lesson: there is sufficient in the world for man's need but not for man's greed, we are safe. We must learn to live in harmony with nature. Nature cannot be consistent; we must be able to conserve her bounty during the many seasons of plenty so that we are not bereft during the occasional bout of scarcity.

12.Anger against the bitter pandemic of corruption is legitimate, as is the protest against this plague that is eroding the capability and potential of our nation. There are times when people lose their patience but it cannot become an excuse for an assault on our democratic institutions.

13.Institutions are the visible pillars of our Constitution, and if they crack then the idealism of our Constitution cannot hold. They are the interface between principles and the people. Our institutions may have suffered from the weariness of time; the answer is not to destroy what has been built, but to re-engineer them so that they become stronger than before. Institutions are the guardians of our liberty.

14.The vigilance on our frontiers has to be matched with vigilance within; we must restore the credibility of those areas of our polity, judiciary, executive and legislature where complacency, exhaustion or malfeasance may have clogged delivery. The people have a right to express their discontent. But we must also understand that legislation cannot be wrenched away from the legislature or justice from the judiciary.

15.When authority becomes authoritarian, democracy suffers; but when protest becomes endemic, we are flirting with chaos. Democracy is a shared process. We all win or lose together. Democratic temper calls for dignity of behaviour and tolerance of contrary views. Parliament will live by its own calendar and rhythm. Sometimes that rhythm sounds a bit atonal; but in a democracy there is always judgement day, an election. Parliament is the soul of the people, the "Atman" of India. We challenge its rights and duties at our peril.

16.I say this not in a spirit of admonition, but as a plea for greater understanding of the existential issues that lurk behind the mask of the mundane. Democracy is blessed with a unique opportunity for redress of grievances through the great institution of accountability - free elections.

17.Old fires that threaten the stability of our nation have not been fully doused; the ash continues to smoulder. It is particularly painful for me to witness the violence in Assam. Our minorities need solace, understanding and protection from aggression. Violence is not an option; violence is an invitation to greater violence. Concrete attempts have been made to heal the wounds of Assam, including the Assam accord conceived by our young and beloved former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. We should revisit them, and adapt them to present conditions in the spirit of justice and national interest. We need peace for a new economic surge that eliminates the competitive causes of violence.

18.It is a fact of our geopolitical environment that some problems transcend borders. SAARC was created 27 years ago to find solutions through dialogue, and by mutual cooperation create the rapid economic growth that is the only long-term answer to problems like migration and uneven development. SAARC must acquire vigour to fulfil its mandate.

19.The SAARC should be a major instrument in the common war against terrorists. Great success is possible by international cooperation. All SAARC nations must cooperate to bring to justice those who believe in mayhem against innocents. There is no other way towards peace on the subcontinent.

20.I am proud of our brave armed forces and our valiant police forces, who have done so much, at such great personal risk, to curb this menace of terrorism. It is their vigilance which has prevented more havoc. If we sleep in peace it is because they are awake and vigilant in the desolation of desert and mountain and forest; and in the vast loneliness of the seas. I salute their commitment and their patriotism. It is heartening that the armed forces not only guarantee our peace, but also produce medal winners at Olympics. I congratulate all who have done their nation proud at the recently concluded Games, by winning as well as by participating. The number of trophies may not be too large but it is a remarkable improvement upon the last count, Four years later, when I hope to address you again, I am sure, we will celebrate a medals spring.

My fellow citizens:

21.If there is one man in history whose name is synonymous with peace, then it is Gandhiji, the architect of our independence. India is a land of plenty inhibited by poverty; India has an enthralling, uplifting civilization that sparkles not only in our magnificent art, but also in the enormous creativity and humanity of our daily life in city and village. When Indira Gandhi reached for the stars, she believed that this would be within the grasp of India in just another generation. But there is neither a present nor a future, except in a climate and culture of national unity and brotherhood.

My fellow citizens:

Let us leave behind the way of hatred, violence and anger; Let us put aside our petty quarrels and factions. Let us work together for our nation with the devotion of a child towards a mother. Let us repose our faith in this invocation from Upanishads:

May God Protect us. May God Nourish us. May we Work Together with Vigour and Energy. May our Studies be Brilliant. May there be no Hostility amongst us. May there be Peace Peace Peace. Peace must be our ideology, progress our horizon.

JAI HIND!