Rupee suffers second-biggest fall in history!It is quite Ironical that As the global financial crisis deepened, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said a fast growing India can help the world economy, around which no protectionist barriers should be erected.A FREE Market ECONOMOY ruled by Manusmriti LPG Mafia Zionist Brahaminical hegemony without any Fiscal policy may help the Global Economy just depending on EXCLUSION of the MULNIVASI BAHUJAN NON BRAHMIN 95 percent of Indian Population. No Fundamentals! Production system devastated! Only IT, Service and Realty centred growth! Economic reforms Drive means Opening up of the Indian emerging Market to the Capitalist Zionist Global Economy!Asserting that he has no worries as of now on capital flows, finance ministerPranab Mukherjee has said the government would have to take steps if they go beyond a point.

RBI issues norms for banks, NBFCs to set up infrastructure debt funds!

Nearly 100 accused of Mirchpur Dalits killing in Haryana case and an equal number of escorting policemen today gave a tough time to court staff in smooth handling of judicial proceedings.The presence of prosecutors, defence lawyers and the scribes inside the courtroom made the job of judicial officials difficult as they kept on shouting the names of 97 accused for marking their presence.The security officials, who were extra vigilant in the wake of the September 7 blast at the Delhi High Court, also had a tough job to handle as visitors were frisked throughly.Minutes after Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau concluded pronouncement of the verdict, the accused, who were outside the courtroom, were seen making frantic inquiries from others about their fate.

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - SEVEN HUNDRED TWENTY SEVEN

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24/09/2011

Poverty cut-off: Montek flooded with questions

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has not been spared from the debate on the cut -off income of Rs 31 a day, which qualifies one as being above the poverty line. The Planning Commission's affidavit in the Supeme Court had claimed the amount was sufficient ensure a person was above the poverty line.

Though Ahluwalia is currently abroad, members of the Planning Commission seem to be functioning as a well-knit unit, keeping him updated on the developments. Ahluwalia has been at the receiving end of several messages and notes from members of the Planning Commission, as well as quarters outside the Plan panel.

Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh had yesterday written him a letter, saying the commission's formula to arrive at the poverty line demarcation was flawed. He also questioned how Ahluwalia had a way of identifying the truly poor, given their numbers were not pre determined.

Another note Ahluwalia received yesterday was from Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen. This, however, was less hostile and had enough humour to make the deputy chairman take the bitter pill with a smile.

Sen's email, titled 'Successor to Anna', began with a "wish you were here", went on to compare the Supreme Court affidavit to the Anna Hazare scenario. It said the media had found a successor to Anna Hazare: The Planning Commission affidavit. The note also indicated how the members were kept in the loop, though at least some, like Sen, didn't seem to agree with the idea of the poverty line.

Sen said the media seemed to believe he had something to do with the affidavit, when in fact, he had always argued that the real issue was the criteria for the entitlement to BPL cards, not the estimates of the poor. He said he had been fending off TV debates, saying the affidavit merely clarified what the Tendulkar committee had recommended, and that Rs 32 per day should be seen as Rs 5,000 a month for a family of five. He wrote, "I was not privy to the affidavit finally submitted and would have preferred that this had addressed the real issue before the Supreme Court: Who should be entitled to BPL status, rather than the question how many Indians are poor.''

Sen told Ahluwalia he had been telling the media they should speak to the deputy chairman or the member in charge, Saumitra Chaudhury, "with me out of the loop".

Source: Business Standard

Rupee suffers second-biggest fall in history!

Under attack from Opposition over the finance ministry's note on 2G scam, Congress on Saturday said it was a "routine" communication and BJP was making a "mountain out of a molehill".Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Saturday said that those in the Congress supporting Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram should do so only after the necessary inquiry in the 2G scam case has been done.

RBI issues norms for banks, NBFCs to set up infrastructure debt funds!

The HinduThe Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced guidelines for permitting banks and Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to set up Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDFs), to help meet long-term financing for the sector. File photo

It is quite Ironical that As the global financial crisis deepened, Prime Minister Manmohan Singhtoday said a fast growing India can help the world economy, around which no protectionist barriers should be erected.A FREE Market ECONOMOY ruled by Manusmriti LPG Mafia Zionist Brahaminical hegemony without any Fiscal policy may help the Global Economy just depending on EXCLUSION of the MULNIVASI BAHUJAN NON BRAHMIN 95 percent of Indian Population. No Fundamentals! Production system devastated! Only IT, Service and Realty centred growth! Economic reforms Drive means Opening up of the Indian emerging Market to the Capitalist Zionist Global Economy!Asserting that he has no worries as of now on capital flows, finance ministerPranab Mukherjee has said the government would have to take steps if they go beyond a point.

BHUBANESWAR: India on Saturday successfully test-fired its surface-to-surface ballistic missile'Shourya' from a test range in Orissa, defence ministry sources said.

The 600-km-range supersonic missile was launched at 2.30 p.m. from a canister in a ground launch mode at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in the coastal district of Balasore, about 230 km from here.

"The launch of the missile was perfect like in text book and followed the path exactly to the pre-defined target in the Bay of Bengal," S.P. Dash, director of the test range, said.

Nearly 100 accused of Mirchpur Dalits killing in Haryana case and an equal number of escorting policemen today gave a tough time to court staff in smooth handling of judicial proceedings.The presence of prosecutors, defence lawyers and the scribes inside the courtroom made the job of judicial officials difficult as they kept on shouting the names of 97 accused for marking their presence.The security officials, who were extra vigilant in the wake of the September 7 blast at the Delhi High Court, also had a tough job to handle as visitors were frisked throughly.Minutes after Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau concluded pronouncement of the verdict, the accused, who were outside the courtroom, were seen making frantic inquiries from others about their fate.

A day after the horrific murder of Umesh Kumar Pandey, a toll booth attendant at the toll plaza in Kheri Daula in Gurgaon, was caught on camera, the police have launched a massive manhunt to track down the killers.On the otherhand,the handling of Mirchpur Dalits killing incident by Haryana police today came in for sharp criticisim from a Delhi court which held that the possibility of implication of innocent persons in the sensational case under "political pressure" cannot be ruled out."The possibility of false implication of many of the accused cannot be ruled out on account of political pressure only to work out the present case," Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Kamini Lau said.

The court acquitted 82 of the 97 accused in the case including Vinod K Kajal, the SHO of Narnaud Police station in Hissar district, saying he did not have the ultimate power to take decisions."The manner in which the whole thing (incident) was handled was improper. If he goes in, then some senior officials will also go," the ASJ said.Though the "possibility of extraneous interference cannot be ruled out" in the case, the court said it has acquitted Kajal because neither negligence against him has been proved nor the charge of not performing his duties.The court orally said the fact that another official of the Haryana government could not be held accountable for his "negligence" because of the legal hurdle that a person belonging to SC/ST category cannot be booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act."It is related to office not caste," the judge said.

Times of India reports:
The rupee suffered its second biggest fall in history as the US dollar continued to be sought by investors as a safe asset and expectations of foreign investor inflows were belied. The local currency dropped by Rs 1.24 against the dollar to close at 49.58 and is now expected to further weaken to below Rs 50 against the dollar.

Those planning an overseas vacation will have to spend nearly 10% more than what they would have set aside three months back for their dollar purchase. The weak rupee will make all imports, including oil, more expensive and add to inflationary pressures. Exporters, however, stand to gain as they will now get more rupees for their dollars. The fall in rupee value will also encourage overseas workers to send more money home and park them in domestic deposits.

Forex dealers said that the worst might still be ahead with the three-month forward trading at 50.21 in offshore markets as compared to 49 on Wednesday. Although the rupee is not convertible overseas investors hedge their exposure to rupee in the overseas through transaction in non-deliverable forwards - a future market where there is no delivery of rupee currency, but the exchange difference between spot and future rupee is settled in dollars.

Dealers said that RBI had intervened in a small way after the domestic currency fell below 49.2 but it was not enough to reverse its fall. In Delhi, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the central bank would intervene if the volatility increased. He however denied that the central bank had already sold dollars.

The US dollar has soared in value against most currencies despite the downgrade because the European crisis has made US treasuries a relatively safe investment. For several weeks now Euro zone has been on the brink of a crisis. Default by any of the governments would translate into a banking crisis since European banks hold sizeable foreign debt. Fears of bank defaults has added to illiquidity in the euro zone.

Bankers said that the rupee is worst performing Asian currency having fallen nearly 10% in value in the last three months. The Reserve Bank of India has foreign exchange reserves amounting to $316bn which makes it the seventh largest. However, most of these reserves have been accumulated as a result of RBI buying dollars brought in by portfolio investors. The central bank therefore considers the forex reserves as a liability which may be required if foreign investors chose to exit.

More importantly India is the only country with sizeable reserves and a current account deficit. Also this year the country's total external debt has soared beyond the size of its forex reserves. All these factors add to the weakness of the rupee although prospects for the economy remain relatively good.

"The persistence of high inflation over a number of years is bound to impact the economy's competitiveness, as already evidenced by the rise in the real exchange rate. Furthermore, latest estimates of India's purchasing power parity based exchange rate also show that one needs substantially more local currency to purchase an internationally comparable set of goods" said Taimur Baig, chief economist, Deutsche Bank in a report this week.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Rupee-suffers-second-biggest-fall-in-history/articleshow/10083793.cms

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday in his speech at the United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) said India wants to quicken the pace of its transformation in partnership with the international community. "A fast growing India can expand the boundaries for the global economy," he said, adding developing countries need investment, technology and market access for their products.

Despite global headwinds, Indian economy has been expanding close to 8 per cent, the second fastest growth in the world after China.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Singh said India wants to quicken the pace of its transformation in partnership with the international community.

"A fast growing India can expand the boundaries for the global economy," he said, adding developing countries need investment, technology and market access for their products.

"Up till now I am not very much worried over it because our current account deficit can absorb the type of flows which is taking place," Mukherjee told Indian media in Washington.

"But if it goes beyond a point and if we find that we do not have that absorption capacity then we should have to take the step. But that stage has not yet come," he added.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is arriving here Saturday night to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh amid a raging controversy back home over a note of his ministry on the role of Home Minister P. Chidambaram in the allocation of 2Gspectrum.

Mukherjee, who is expected to meet Manmohan Singh only Sunday, told a a group of Indian journalists in Washington, that he will speak on the issue only when he reaches India Monday.

"I told you that my question is only addressed to that (2G). What is to be told there, I will tell it there (in India), not now," he said.

Mukherjee, who is in Washington to attend the World Bank-IMF meetings over the weekend was scheduled to fly back home Sunday, but changed his plans in view of the controversy, according to diplomatic sources. However, he would be leaving only after fulfilling all his engagements in Washington, officials said.

He is expected to fly to New York Saturday night and stay in the same hotel as the Prime Minister.

Mukherjee had Wednesday acknowledged the existence of the March 25 note that said the airwaves could have been auctioned in 2008 if Chidambaram, then the finance minister, had "stuck to his stand".

He, however, avoided direct comment on the note from his ministry, saying the matter was sub judice.

In the note, the finance ministry says Chidambaram, one of the government's most high-profile ministers, could have prevented spectrum from being given away at throwaway prices by insisting on its auction - implying that presumptive losses worth thousands of crores could have thus been avoided.

The note, which was apparently shown to Mukherjee and accessed by an application under the Right to Information Act, was prepared by a deputy secretary in the finance ministry and sent to the Prime Minister's Office March 25.

The finance minister was responding to a question about the recent trend in capital flows in the world.

"There are various options. I can't spell out right now, but the fact of the matter is that we are substantially meeting our current account deficit from this flow," Mukherjee said.

"Fortunately, compared to last year the FDI flow has increased substantially. I think it is 133 per cent step up in the last four, five months," the finance minister said in response to a question.

India has attracted USD 14.5 billion in FDI during April-July this fiscal, up 92 per cent in the same period of 2010-11.

Meanwhile, FII inflows since January this year have been just USD 4.3 billion as against USD 39.5 billion in 2010.

Amid concerns over the safety of atomic plants, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made it clear that India will pursue nuclear energy after 'full satisfaction' about this aspect and is ready to work with IAEA to enhance safety and security levels.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Singh said the country has undertaken a thorough review of the safety of nuclear plants in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan in March this year.

"Our plans for utilising nuclear power to meet our energy needs hinge upon full satisfaction about the safety of nuclear energy. We have undertaken a thorough review of the safety of our nuclear plants," he told the gathering.

"We support international efforts under the aegis of the International Atomic Energy Agency to enhance levels of safety and security," the Prime Minister said.

His comments come in the wake of protests in Kudankulam and Jaitapur where people have raised concerns over the safety of the nuclear power plants.

Over 100 people in Kudankulam went on fast demanding scrapping of the nuclear power plant over safety concerns.

Singh observed that nuclear proliferation continues to remain a threat to international security.

CHENNAI: Batting for nuclear power as an alternative green source of energy auguring well for India's future energy needs, a senior scientist vouched for the safety of the controversial Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project, in the eye of a storm following demands for its closure.

Holding that the very design of the power plant was drawn incorporating various requirements, former Vice Chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board(AERB) G R Srinivasan said the power plant was also equipped with some of the most advanced technical and safety features.

"There will be a requirement of almost none or minimum security measures in case of a Fukushima-like incident. The generation station design too is a collaboration of major requirements," he said at a meeting here organised by Chemical Industries Association to discuss the matter.

Further, different independent equipment with individual power supply to monitor various aspects were also in place and even if one of them detected any problem, it will be immediately communicated, he said.

Citing safety concerns, the local villagers and fishermen in and around Koodankulam have been demanding scrapping of the Indo-Russian collaboration project, set to begin commercial production in December with the commissioning of the first of the 2x1000 MWe reactors.

Srinivasan, also a former Director, Projects, Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), said the plant had features such as better seismic and tsunami resistance and could withstand a Fukushima-like accident and others.

Further, higher life and operatability at 90 per cent of the capacity were other features, he said.

Holding that nuclear energy remains the "safest energy source," he said world over, countries such as China and Iran besides India were "going full swing" with the construction of atomic reactors.

With India possessing 25 per cent of the world's thorium deposits, it would help the country generate lakhs of megawatts of power in the next several decades, he said.

"The Action Plan put forward by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free and Non-Violent World provides a concrete road map for achieving nuclear disarmament in a time-bound, universal, non-discriminatory, phased and verifiable manner," he said.

The Reserve Bank on Friday announced guidelines for permitting banks and Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to set up Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDFs), to help meet long-term financing for the sector.
IDFs would be set up either as Mutual Funds (MFs) or NBFCs, RBI said in a statement.
Outlining the parameters for setting up IDF-MF, the central bank said an NBFC sponsoring IDF-Mutual Fund should have a minimum Net Owned Funds (NOF) of Rs. 300 crore and capital adequacy ratio of 15 per cent.
Besides, its net NPAs should be less than 3 per cent of net advances and the NBFCs should have been in existence for at least 5 years and earning profits for the last three years, it said.
Banks and NBFCs would be eligible to sponsor (as defined by SEBI Regulations for Mutual Funds) IDFs as Mutual Funds with prior approval of RBI, it said.
It also said that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has amended the (Mutual Funds) Regulations to provide regulatory framework for IDF-MFs.
Banks acting as sponsors to IDF-MFs would be subject to existing prudential limits including limits on investments in financial services companies and limits on capital market exposure, it said.
The Finance Minister, in his budget speech for 2011-12, had announced setting up of IDFs to accelerate and enhance the flow of long term debt in infrastructure projects for funding the government's ambitious programmes in the sector.
The government has said that the infrastructure sector requires an investment of USD 1 trillion during the 12th Five Year Plan beginning next fiscal. Of this, 50 per cent of the funding is expected to come from the private sector.
As for the setting up of IDF-NBFC by banks and non-banking finance institutions, sponsors of NBFC-IDFs will have to contribute a minimum equity of 30 per cent and a maximum equity of 49 per cent of the IDF-NBFC.
Banks and NBFC-Infrastructure Finance Company (NBFC-IFCs) may sponsor IDFs as NBFCs with prior approval by RBI.
Post investment in the IDF, the sponsor must maintain minimum CRAR and NOF prescribed for IFCs.
The IDF should be assigned a minimum credit rating 'A' or equivalent of CRISIL, FITCH, CARE, ICRA or equivalent rating by any other accredited rating agencies, it said.
Tier II capital cannot exceed Tier I. Minimum capital adequacy ratio should be 15 per cent of risk weighted assets, it added.
Detailed guidelines for setting up IDFs banks and NBFCs would be issued separately, it said.

Despite global headwinds, Indian economy has been expanding close to 8 per cent, the second fastest growth in the world after China.

In the backdrop of protectionist measures in several developed countries, Singh called upon the international community not to let economic slowdown trigger barriers to movement of people, services and capital.

"We should not allow the global economic slowdown to become a trigger for building walls around ourselves through protectionism or erecting barriers ...," he said.

Singh said the world economy is in trouble. "The shoots of recovery which were visible after the economic and financial crisis of 2008 have yet to blossom. In many respects the crisis has deepened even further," he said.

The PM also highlighted the need for reform of governance systems of international financial institutions, stating "deficit in global governance" was one of the several things which can be done collectively.

In the backdrop of protectionist measures in several developed countries, Singh called upon the international community not to let economic slowdown trigger barriers to movement of people, services and capital.

"We should not allow the global economic slowdown to become a trigger for building walls around ourselves through protectionism or erecting barriers ..." he said. Singh said the world economy is in trouble. "The shoots of recovery which were visible after the economic and financial crisis of 2008 have yet to blossom. In many respects the crisis has deepened even further," he said.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the need for reform of governance systems of international financial institutions, stating "deficit in global governance" was one of the several things which can be done collectively.

Expressing concern over the world economy being in trouble, the Prime Minister said the recessionary trends in the US, Europe and Japan are affecting confidence in world financial and capital markets. He said these developments are bound to have a negative impact on developing countries which have to bear the additional burden of inflationary pressures.

His comments come in the backdrop of India battling a near double-digit inflation, which has been exasperated by a sharp fall in rupee value, pushing up the landed cost of commodity imports, including the crude oil. Singh said a spiral in energy and food prices are introducing instability, especially for the developing countries.

"There are still millions living in poverty across the world. Their plight has worsened, for no fault of theirs, due to the global economic and financial crisis of the recent years. The actions of governments around the world are, therefore, under close scrutiny," he said.

Referring to India's progress, he said in the last few decades tens of millions of people have been lifted out of abject poverty, "we are in a position to feed our population better, to educate them better and to widen their economic choices. But we still have a very long way to go".
Singh also pushed for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The Prime Minister also backed Palestine's demand for statehood in his address to United Nations (UN).

Singh also said the Security Council must be expanded to reflect contemporary reality. He also called upon the UN to fight piracy in Red Sea and off the Somalian coast.
He pointed out that the world economic crisis had worsened but that shouldn't become an excuse for countries to build trade barriers.

He also hinted at Pakistan's role in terror without naming it and said the assassination of Pakistani professor Burhanuddin Rabbani had exposed the designs of enemies of peace in Afghanistan.

The Senate voted on Friday morning to reject the House's stopgap spending bill, less than twelve hours after the House'sRepublican leaders had forced it through on their second try.

The Senate vote was 59 to 36 to table the House bill, effectively killing it. Some conservative Republicans joined in rejecting the measure . The House, in the wee hours of Friday morning, had passed its latest version of a stopgap spending bill after rejecting on Wednesday a nearly identical version of the legislation, which is needed to keep the government open after September 30 and to provide assistance to victims of natural disasters. The House vote was 219 to 203. The bill, to finance government operations for seven weeks after start of the fiscal year on October 1, faces problems in the Senate.
23 SEP, 2011, 01.33AM IST, ET BUREAU

2G case: PM Manmohan Singh, Congress temporarily stave off open hostilities between P Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherjee after letter scandal

NEW DELHI: The prime minister and the Congresshave temporarily staved off open hostilities between P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee by mollifying the home minister, who has promised to hold his peace until Manmohan Singh returns from an overseas trip on Tuesday.

The tension between two of Singh's seniormost cabinet colleagues has threatened to become a full-blown fight after the public release of a letter written from Mukherjee's finance ministry to the PMO saying Chidambaram could have done better in the events surrounding the 2G spectrum scandal.

Speaking to journalists on board his flight from Frankfurt to New York, the prime minister said, "I don't know what note you are talking about. The whole 2G matter is before the court.

I don't want to comment on a matter that is sub judice." "As far as Mr P Chidambaram is concerned, as finance minister, he had enjoyed my full confidence and as home minister he continues to enjoy and inspire my full confidence," he said.

Singh spoke to the Tamil Nadu politician on Wednesday night to try and prevent him from reacting to the release of the letter, which is now part of evidence in the Supreme Court that is monitoring the investigation into the 2G mobile spectrum allocation scandal.

The prime minister also spoke to Law Minister Salman Khurshid Wednesday night, deputing him to convey the message that the Congress leadership has no doubts about the home minister's integrity

Khurshid sought to downplay the note from the finance ministry as a paper that "comes from a junior official in the (finance) ministry... it's not a paper that is being sent either by a senior functionary or a minister." he said. The same argument was put forth by Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

The Supreme Court is hearing a petition asking for a CBI investigation into the role of Chidambaram in the 2G scam. On Thursday, Mukherjee said the letter came out into the open because of an RTI application, implying that he had no hand in it. "A sensational news item has come and it is through the exercise of the RTI. A note was sent by ministry of finance to the prime minister.

Somebody demanded it through the use of RTI to have the copy of that note from the prime minister's secretariat and ... fact of the matter is somebody has produced that as a piece of evidence in a particular case," he said in New York.

Chidambaram said in a statement on Thursday that he had spoken to both Singh and Mukherjee. "I have assured the prime minister that I shall not make any public statement on the subject until he returns to India."

The finance ministry's contention in the letter to the PMO was that had he wished, Chidambaram could have insisted that 2G spectrum should be auctioned instead of being given out to first comers, as was eventually done.

In June, news surfaced that Mukherjee had told the prime minister that he suspected his office was being wire-tapped, leading many to conclude that this showed the level of mistrust between the home minister and the finance minister.

Those who occupy ringside seats in the fights that punctuate Pranab-Chidambaram relations conceded that it was not easy to shrug off the headlines about the deepening spat. While it is certain to ensure that the 2G spectrum scandal spotlight stays firmly on the UPA government, it will provide fresh ammunition to the opposition to take direct hits at senior members of the government.

Manmohan calls for U.N. reform to address global crisis

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APPrime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday.

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International community grappling with "negative dimensions" of globalisation, Dr Singh says

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for changes in the structure of the United Nations to address a deepening global crisis which has generated "great uncertainty and profound change".

"Till a few years ago", Dr. Singh said in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, "the world had taken for granted the benefits of globalisation and global interdependence". But now, he noted, "we are being called upon to cope with the negative dimensions".

"Economic, social and political event in different parts of the world", he said, "have coalesced together and their adverse impact is now being felt across countries and continents".

There was, the Prime Minister said, a "deficit in global governance" which necessitated "a stronger and more effective United Nations".

"For this", he argued, "the United Nations and its principal organs, the General Assembly and the Security Council, must be revitalised and reformed". The Prime Minister underlined the need for "early reform of the Security Council".

Dr. Singh said "the development agenda must be brought firmly back to the centre-stage of the United Nation's priorities".

In his speech, the Prime Minister provided a broad-brush account of the key drivers of global instability.

He noted that "the traditional engines of the global economy, such as the United States, Europe and Japan, which are also the sources of global economic and financial stability, are faced with continued economic slowdown".

In addition, he said, there was "unprecedented social and political upheaval" in West Asia and North Africa; food and energy prices "are once again spiralling and introducing fresh instability"; long-standing disputes like the Palestinian question remained unresolved; terrorism remained a major challenge; piracy threatening the Indian Ocean's shipping lanes was escalating.

Finally, he said, "iniquitous growth, inadequate job and education opportunities and denial of basic human freedoms are leading to growing radicalisation of the youth, intolerance and extremism".

Dr. Singh devoted a substantial part of his speech to addressing the growing reliance on the use of force by western powers to engage with political conflicts, often legitimised as humanitarian interventions.

He said that global responses to the crisis would only succeed "if our efforts have legitimacy and are pursued not just within the framework of law but also in the spirit of law".

"The idea that prescriptions have to be imposed from outside is fraught with danger," the Prime Minister said.

Keywords: U.N. General Assembly session, Manmohan address, UNSC expansion, permanent membership, G4 demand

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2482253.ece

Day after defence, government in crisis mode

SMITA GUPTA
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The HinduUnion Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P. Chidambaram. File photo
A day after Congress spokespersons and Ministers — significantly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself — came out strongly in Home Minister P. Chidambaram's defence, the government remained in crisis mode, with conflicting signals emanating from the party.
Party spokesman Manish Tewari stressed he had nothing to add to what had been said on Thursday. But a key functionary, when asked whether the overwhelming support Mr. Chidambaram had received from the leadership indicated that he was secure, told The Hindu cryptically, "Nothing can be said at this stage. We will have to wait for the Prime Minister's return." To another query whether Mr. Chidambaram's future would depend on what happened in courts, he repeated: "Nothing can be said at this stage."
It was against the backdrop of confusing signals at home that sources told The Hindu that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee — a key figure in the current controversy — decided to rearrange his schedule in Washington, where he is attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, so that he could fly to New York on Saturday night and confer with the Prime Minister on Sunday on the simmering crisis over the 2G spectrum issue. Dr. Singh is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday. (A press conference Mr. Mukherjee was scheduled to address in Washington on Sunday was advanced to Friday.)
PMO 'generous'
Meanwhile, back in Delhi, with RTI activist Vivek Garg — incidentally the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party's RTI Cell — who accessed the Finance Ministry note to the Prime Minister's Office, clarifying that he had made a general request to the PMO and, to his surprise, received a pile of documents, Congress sources were asking why the PMO was "so generous" in releasing so many confidential files.
Sources close to Mr. Mukherjee said he felt that he was being unfairly portrayed as party to a note intended to "fix" Mr. Chidambaram, and that publicising it in no way helped him. He is also believed to have underlined the fact that the document was "merely a background note" sent to the PMO in response to a request from that office.
All this comes against the backdrop of a growing dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister in both the party and the government. A Cabinet Minister said: "No one is questioning the Prime Minister's integrity, but everyone is asking: 'Why did he not act earlier to stem the rot?'" He also pointed out that with the Anna Hazare movement having separated Dr. Singh from the middle class constituency he had brought to the Congress — visible in the 2009 general elections — the party no longer saw him as being an asset.
If there was a time when senior party functionaries stressed that Dr. Singh could be replaced only by general secretary Rahul Gandhi, now those voices are gradually becoming softer. They say there is no way Mr. Gandhi will enter the picture at a point when the party and the government are looking so weak, but at the same time stress that a change at the top cannot be ruled out if things get worse over the next few months. A party functionary said: "It is in this context that people are sharpening their knives against Mr. Chidambaram. If he does not remain Home Minister, the Prime Minister will get weaker — and that is what an influential section in the party now wants."
Keywords: 2G scam, spectrum pricing, Finance Ministry note, JPC, P.C. Chacko, Pranab Mukherjee, P.Chidambaram
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2480175.ece

BJP steps up attack on Chidambaram

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Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha addresses a press conference at the party office in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: V. Sudershan

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2G scam: CBI records Jaswant Singh's statement If we had Jan Lokpal, Chidambaram will be in jail now: Hazare JPC seeks copy of Ministry note to PMO on 2G scam Day after defence, government in crisis mode Vital evidence in favour of Raja: Shourie PM must explain, says BJP

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crime, law and justice corruption & bribery
inquiry

The former Finance Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Yashwant Sinha, on Saturday demanded that the Supreme Court order the Central Bureau of Investigation to look into the role played in 2007-08 by the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in relation to the allotment of telecom licences and 2G spectrum in January 2008.

"The Supreme Court must order investigation against P. Chidambaram [current Home Minister]. It must also order that the Prime Minister's role be investigated [in the 2G matter]. If this is not done, it will be a blow ['dhakka'] to justice," Mr. Sinha said.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP office here, he said Mr. Chidambaram had "completely changed" his initial stand that the licences and spectrum must be auctioned. This change of stance has now been established by the documents made public through the Public Accounts Committee's draft report on the subject and through documents revealed through the Right to Information Act. It was only after rounds of meetings with the then Minister for Telecommunication and IT A. Raja that he gave up his insistence on "market discovered" prices for spectrum and came to agree with what Mr. Raja had been maintaining all along.

"Mr. Chidambaram must be sent to jail and put in the same cell where Mr. Raja is [lodged]. [We believe] the Prime Minister is fully complicit [in this]." In fact, Mr. Sinha expressed his admiration for Mr. Raja who had "kept the Prime Minister informed of what he was doing at every step. His [the Prime Minister's] silence meant approval."

There were several questions that could be posed to the Prime Minister such as why he agreed to the ad hoc cut-off date for applications for telecom licences?

He also attacked the Prime Minister for "defending Raja to the hilt" till Mr. Raja was sent to jail, and now for "defending Mr. Chidambaram." "When Mr. Chidambaram is sent to jail, he will defend only himself," he remarked.

Mr. Sinha justified the changeover from licence fee telecom regime to revenue sharing during the NDA government's tenure as well as the entry of Reliance into the telecom market (describing the perception that it was a backdoor entry as a "mis-statement").

He wondered why the CBI had thought it fit to take a statement from the former Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, on the telecom policy during the NDA regime and why Mr. Chidambaram had not been asked for his statement.

Keywords: 2G scam, CBI probe, Chidambaram role, Finance Ministry note, BJP demand, Yashwant Sinha

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2482073.ece?homepage=true

Centre mulls incentive package for exporters

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The HinduSOPS AWAITED: Containers being stacked at Kochi port in Kerala. File photo: K.K. Mustafah
Government likely to restore interest subsidy to maintain competitiveness in global markets
Worried over the impact of dipping currency, rising interest rates and change in economic conditions, the Centre has decided to come out with an incentive package for exporters in order to help them to deal with the emerging situation and be competitive at the international level.
Exporters are reeling under the impact of high interest rates, something that is making them uncompetitive in the international market.
Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said the incentive package could be announced in two-three weeks. "Times have changed, budget conditions have changed. In another week Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) will end. We need to rejig that package also. Secondly, interest rates have radically changed between last year and now," Mr. Khullar said.
The Commerce Secretary said the exchange rates have also severely impacted the foreign currency-denominated credit. "Now what we have to do is to put together a package which would look at how do you address interest rate hike, how do you address access to foreign currency denominated credit and issues relating to packaging credit and then of course the question of incentives and reshuffle," he added.
The Ministry had already cautioned exporters that despite exports registering a handsome growth of over 54 per cent to $134 billion in the April-August period, there could be a downslide in view of the worrying economic conditions in the U.S. and the sovereign debt problem in Europe. The package, which was given post-2008 financial crisis by way of subsidised interest rates, was withdrawn in March this year.
Officials in the Commerce Ministry said the government was likely to restore the interest subsidy for exporters to maintain the country's competitiveness in the global market. Small exporters may get subsidy between 3.5 per cent and 3.75 per cent, whereas for large corporates it may be 2 per cent subvention, the official added. The Commerce Ministry is currently engaged in discussions with the Finance Ministry to work out the finer details of the incentive package.
Meanwhile, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ramu S. Deora said that by and large new Duty Drawback rates were on expected lines except few aberrations. Welcoming the Duty Drawback Rates for 2011-12, he said the new rates were on the parameters announced by the Finance and Revenue Secretary on September 16.
"Since these rates cover all the products of DEPB Scheme also, exporters would be able to factor the revised rates effective October 1 while quoting for new orders," he said. He said that the federation was having an exclusive meeting with Revenue Secretary and CBEC on October 28 in New Delhi and on October 29 in Mumbai to have inputs of members on newly announce rates as Ministry of Finance was keen to address the concern of the exporters on the new Duty Drawback Rates, particularly for items which have moved from DEPB to Duty Drawback.
Keywords: Central Government, incentive packages, exporters, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar
http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/article2482409.ece

Internet as important as food, air and water: survey

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Cisco has revealed in a study that one in three college students and young professionals consider the Internet to be as important as fundamental human resources such as air, water, food and shelter. This study is based on the second annual Cisco Connected World Technology Report that examines the relationship between human behaviour, the Internet and networking's pervasiveness in 14 countries across the globe.
In a teleconference held here on Thursday, Mahesh Gupta, Vice-President, Business-Borderless Networks, Cisco (India and SAARC), said about 33 per cent across the globe and 95 per cent Indian college students and young employees admitted that Internet was as important in their lives as water, food, air and shelter. More than half of the respondents globally (55 per cent of college students and 62 per cent of employees) said they could not live without the Internet and cite it as an "integral part of their lives."
On the social life, people had indicated that Internet was more important to them than dating, going out with friends or listening to music. Mr. Gupta said within certain countries, including India, updating Facebook was ranked as the highest priority than socialising. About 91 per cent of college students and 88 per cent of employees globally had Facebook account. The other interesting factor was that two-thirds of students and more than half of employees (58 per cent) felt that a mobile device (laptop, smartphone or tablets) was the most important technology device in their lives. For young employees, India came second globally when it comes to importance of mobile device usage (71 per cent), behind the U.K (74 per cent), but ahead of Australia (66 per cent), China (62 per cent) and the U.S. (62 per cent).
In India, 68 per cent of young employees preferred to use smartphone and consider it as their most important device.
Keywords: Cisco, internet, Cisco Connected World Technology Report
http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/article2482416.ece

FDI in pharma sector: Anand Sharma seeks PM's intervention

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The HinduUnion Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma during a meeting in New Delhi. File photo
Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh protesting against the current move to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in pharmaceutical sector through automatic route pleading this would badly dent the efforts to ensure access of generic drugs to the common man.
Pleading for putting in place a policy, much against the wishes of Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry, to have government control on approval of takeovers in the pharmaceutical sector, Mr. Sharma has written to Dr. Singh seeking a review of the policy to allow 100 per cent FDI through automatic route. The Union Health Ministry has also backed the move by the Commerce Ministry expressing fears that rash takeovers of Indian companies by multinationals would raise the healthcare cost in the country. The Commerce and Industry move has the support of the domestic drug lobby, something which is being strongly opposed by multinational pharmaceutical firms.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) had first raked up the issue on compulsory licensing in August 2010. Following this, the Union Cabinet constituted a committee under Planning Commission member Arun Maira to consider and recommend measures conducive for promotion of Greenfield investments in the sector and for positioning India as a leading quality drug research, development and manufacturing destination.
However, in his letter to Dr. Singh, Mr. Sharma said, "Considerable time has elapsed in the process of constituting the committee and finalising its terms of reference. The deliberations of the committee also appear to be getting prolonged. In the meanwhile, there have been continuing reports of further possible takeovers of Indian pharmaceutical firms by MNCs. I am not asking for a roll-back in the FDI policy, but only a procedural filter.''
India has seen some big ticket pharma deals in recent years. In June 2008, Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd acquired New Delhi-based Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd for nearly $5 billion. Two years later, US-based Abbott Laboratories bought the healthcare solutions business of Piramal Healthcare Ltd for $3.72 billion.
"Since over the last few years, Indian generic drug makers have posed a threat to MNCs, it (acquisitions) is a concerted attempt to blunt the challenge of generics,'' Mr. Sharma has said.
Keywords: Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, FDI, pharma industry
http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/article2476548.ece

BSNL loss triples to Rs.6,000 crore

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computing and information technology telecommunication service

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) has reported a loss of around Rs.6,000 crore in 2010-11, which is up three times compared to Rs.1,822 crore reported in 2009-10, while its total revenues also declined to Rs.28,876 crore, a dip of around 10 per cent from Rs.32,072 crore.

According to unaudited results of BSNL, the loss for 2010-11 stood at Rs.5,997 crore, mainly due to hefty outgo on employees' salary and expenses borne by the government-owned telecom firm for procuring 3G and BWA spectrum. BSNL paid Rs.18,500 crore for getting 3G and BWA licenses. Notably, BSNL had reported the highest net profit of over Rs.10,000 crore in 2005-06.

Keywords: BSNL loss, VRS scheme

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2473269.ece

Coal Ministry approves allotment of five blocks to NTPC

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Union Coal Minister, Sriprakash Jaiswal on Wednesday said the Coal ministry had given in-principle approval for allotment of five coal blocks to four NTPC thermal power plants in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.
"We have in principle approved to allocate five coal blocks to NTPC. The identification of the coal blocks is still underway," Mr. Jaiswal told reporters on the sidelines of Round Table Conference on Coal organised by India Energy Forum here.
The coal blocks would be allocated through government dispensation route to NTPC's four power projects — 500 MW in Rai Bareilly, UP; 1,600 MW at Kudgi in Karnataka; 1,600 MW at Gajmara in Orissa and 3,960 MW at Barethi in Madhya Pradesh. NTPC has 15 coal-based and seven gas-based power stations, besides six joint venture or subsidiary power projects across the country. In May, Coal Ministry de-allocated 14 coal blocks and one lignite block awarded to public sector companies like NTPC, besides three private firms, over their failure to develop the same for captive use.
Earlier, speaking at the conference, Mr. Jaiswal stressed on urgent need to facilitate production of coal through proactive measures to meet increasing demand of coal.
Expressing concern over slow progress of captive coal mining projects, Mr. Jaisawal said that early solutions need to be found for various problems facing the coal sector so that the economy can go ahead with the planned growth rate and the coal sector is enabled to play its rightful role in fuelling this growth.
Mr. Jaiswal said keeping in view the indigenous availability and demand estimated by CEA for power utilities in future, Ministry of Power should plan for higher imports. Separately Power Ministry must also examine the need for existing plants to be retro-fitted in order to absorb higher percentages of imported coal.
He said both public and private companies are suffering due to delays in obtaining environmental and forestry clearances in addition to the constraints in land acquisition and R&R. However, he noted that coal mining has left adverse impact on the environment over the period and the credibility of the sector needs to be improved in this regard by adopting best practices.
He said cooperation of the Railway in early implementation of identified rail infrastructure projects in potential coalfields for coal evacuation including additional rolling stock is a critical area in enhancing domestic production. In a number of cases coal companies are willing to fund the cost of the projects as there is no dearth of resources.
Keywords: Sriprakash Jaiswal, NTPC, coal supply, thermal power
http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/article2473500.ece

2G scam: CBI records Jaswant Singh's statement

VINAY KUMAR
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Shanker ChakravartyBJP leader Jaswant Singh, at Parliament House, during Monsoon Session. File Photo: Shanker Chakravarty
As part of the probe into 2G spectrum allocation between 2001 and 2007, the Central Bureau of Investigation has recorded the statement of former Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh.
CBI sources said that recording of Mr. Singh's statement was completed by the agency this week. He was the Finance Minister during the National Democratic Alliance regime and was heading the Group of Ministers on the issue of limited mobility and spectrum allocation.
The CBI had told the Supreme Court earlier this month that there had been violation of allocation norms during the Bharatiya Janata Party regime. Recently, the CBI had also recorded statement of another former Telecom Minister, Arun Shourie.
Mr. Singh has said in the past that no irregularities were committed during his tenure. "If somebody deliberately digs out and alleges that there is irregularity then I am saddened," he had told journalists earlier this month.
The agency has registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) to look into the role of the then Telecom Ministers who were at the helm of affairs between 2001 and 2007. BJP's Arun Shourie and late Pramod Mahajan were heading the Telecom Ministry between 2001 and 2003 and Dayanidhi Maran took charge of the Ministry when the United Progressive Alliance government came to power in 2004. The UPA government has maintained that it followed the telecom policies which were introduced by the NDA regime.
Keywords: 2G spectrum scam, Jaswant Singh, CBI probe, CAG audit report, Telecom Ministry
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2481874.ece

Vital evidence in favour of Raja: Shourie

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The Union Finance Ministry's note to the Prime Minister's Office on the allocation of 2G spectrum is a crucial piece of evidence in favour of the jailed former Communications Minister, A. Raja, according to the former Communications and Information Technology Minister, Arun Shourie.
Speaking on the sidelines of a function here on Friday, Mr. Shourie said there seemed to be a "civil war" between senior Ministers in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet and the Prime Minister appeared to be at a loss in handling the issue.
Dr. Singh did not even seem to be aware of such a letter until it surfaced now, he noted.
Mr. Shourie sought to know the stand of Union Ministers Kapil Sibal and Pawan Kumar Bansal on Mr. Raja's arrest. If there was zero loss as claimed by them, why was it that the Central Bureau of Investigation had arrested the former Minister, he asked.
Responding to a question on the CBI saying there was no coercion on the part of the former Telecom Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, in the Aircel deal, he suggested that there could have been inducement.
Mr. Shourie said he was ready to face the CBI. He had publicly declared that he would appear before the investigating agency.
He attributed the success of the Lokpal movement to the 2G scam and the way the Union government handled it.
Keywords: 2G spectrum scam, spectrum pricing, spectrum allocation, A. Raja, P. Chidambaram

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2480085.ece

In 2007 secret note, Pranab warned PM about telecom policy problems

SANDEEP JOSHI
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PTIUnion Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. File photo

NEWS

JPC seeks copy of Ministry note to PMO on 2G scam PM must explain, says BJP Pranab rushing to New York to meet Manmohan Congress closes ranks behind Chidambaram BJP wants PM to act against Chidambaram Jayalalithaa demands Chidambaram's resignation Pranab note links Chidambaram to 2G price decision Note sent by Ministry of Finance to PMO on allocation and pricing of 2G spectrum Pranab refuses comment on letter to PM on 2G pricing Raja has been vindicated, says DMK No question mark on Chidambaram: Khurshid Congress refutes Swamy's allegation against Chidambaram Judge: TRAI report to CBI on 2G loss surprising Manmohan, Chidambaram aware of dilution of shares by Swan, Unitech: Raja 2G case: CBI opposes Swamy plea in Supreme Court Chidambaram enjoys my full confidence: PM

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computing and information technology telecommunication service
wireless technology
crime, law and justice corporate crime
corruption & bribery
politics

It seems that Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had an inkling in 2007 itself that the manner in which the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) was handling the issue of granting newtelecom licences and distributing spectrum would put the government in trouble.

In a 'Top Secret' letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 26, 2007, just two weeks before licences were allotted to new companies at 2001-prices in January 2008, Mr. Mukherjee, who was then External Affairs Minister and also head of the Group of Ministers on spectrum-related issues, including pricing, highlighted the urgency of the government having a "clearly stated policy" on issues of telecom licences and spectrum.

Significantly, what the DoT was following in 2008 was the policy framed in 1999 despite the fact that the cellular market had grown leaps and bounds from 2003.

"While it is the prerogative of the government to frame, revise and change the [telecom] policy, it is also the responsibility of the government to do so in a transparent manner and then follow the stated policy in letter and spirit. Thus, it is essential for the DoT to issue the new norms immediately so that the spectrum allocation is done in a transparent manner," Mr. Mukherjee wrote to Dr. Singh.

The letter, a copy of which is with The Hindu, was accessed by activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal through the RTI route.

Pointing to divergence of views among various government agencies and departments on telecom licences and spectrum allocation, even as the DoT was gearing up to issue new licences in 2007-08, Mr. Mukherjee told the Prime Minister that in August 2007, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) suggested "revised norms which were stringent than the earlier ones," while in October 2007, the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (a nodal agency under DoT) recommended even more stringent norms. Similarly, a third committee set up under the Additional Secretary (DoT) is taking another look at the norms.

Mr. Mukherjee clearly pointed out that there was no new notification from the DoT on these issues. "No notification post-March 2006 has been issued so far. It is clear that the notified norms so far are only those issued in March 2006," he said.

Referring to various court cases filed by telecom/operators on spectrum allocation, he had warned that "it can lead to problems if we do not have a clearly stated policy and norms in this regard…While under the existing policy the government may keep on issuing new licences, the criteria for the grant of licences may be strengthened and put in [the] public domain at the earliest."

However, Mr. Mukherjee also said the DoT "may continue to follow this [existing] policy till any further changes are made in this regard." Interestingly, a file noting on this issue by the Prime Minister's Private Secretary on December 28, 2007 stated that "PM wants it examined."

Keywords: 2G scam, spectrum allocation, P. Chidambaram, A. Raja, Supreme Court, Subramanian Swamy, Finance Ministry note, Pranab-Chidambaram rift, UPA government

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2477129.ece

24 SEP, 2011, 10.57PM IST, REUTERS

US, China pressure Europe, warn of cascading default

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WASHINGTON: The United States and China piled pressure on Europe on Saturday to get to grips with its debt crisis before it risks causing bank runs and pushing the global economy into ruinous recession.

The US Treasury chief, in his most explicit warning to date about the crisis, said it was time for the European Central Bank to step up and take a central role to get it under control.

World financial markets have been wracked by fears the Greek debt crisis could overwhelm other euro zone countries and their banks, but took some comfort on Friday from signs of new resolve by European officials to bolster defenses after nearly two years of what many see as half-hearted action that has policy-makers talking openly of possible Greek default.

"The threat of cascading default, bank runs, and catastrophic risk must be taken off the table, as otherwise it will undermine all other efforts, both within Europe and globally," U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a speech at the International Monetary Fund.

"Decisions as to how to conclusively address the region's problems cannot wait until the crisis gets more severe."

Geithner's warning was echoed by China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan, but with an added twist that countries running big deficits, like the United States, also must act responsibly.

"The sovereign debt crisis must be resolved promptly to stabilize market confidence, and forceful and credible fiscal consolidation measures are needed in relevant economies to alleviate sovereign debt stress," Zhou told the IMF.

The semi-annual gathering of the IMF and World Bank is dominated by worry about the risk that Europe now poses to the rest of the world. As European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet put it on Friday: "We (the euro zone) are the epicenter of this global crisis."

Financial markets are highly anxious about potential defaults by countries like Greece and other heavily indebted European nations and the possibility that Europe's banking system could be at risk given the size of their holdings of debt issued by weak euro zone countries.

"European governments should work alongside the ECB to demonstrate an unequivocal commitment to ensure sovereigns with sound fiscal policies have affordable financing, and to ensure that European banks have recourse to adequate capital and funding to win the full confidence of their depositors and creditors," Geithner said.

The United States has been pushing for a heightened role for the ECB -- the central bank for the 17 nations using the euro as their currency. Washington has pointed to the way that the Treasury and the Federal Reserve cooperated to bolster the financial sector during the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Geithner and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke met on Friday with top officials from the European Central Bank and other national central banks from Europe, in part to discuss international financial regulatory reform.

The tempo of warnings to Europe to come together on a solution to its debt issues -- either by avoiding any defaults or by protecting its financial system against the consequences -- has gathered steam but leaders still need time to respond.

"They have six weeks to resolve this crisis," British Finance Minister George Osborne said on Friday, referring to the need to hammer out a definitive plan by the time Group of 20 political leaders meet in Cannes, France, in November.

Geithner said on Saturday indebted countries need time to "demonstrate fiscal discipline" but urged speed in implementing changes to a 440-billion-euro European Financial Stability Facility that were agreed in July and suggested consideration should be given to even more changes.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/us-china-pressure-europe-warn-of-cascading-default/articleshow/10108259.cms

23 SEP, 2011, 05.20PM IST, REUTERS

Global crisis: Why China can't and won't save the world

The most China can realistically do for the struggling global economy is to ensure its own growth holds up, and that won't be nearly enough to lift the world.

Visions of China putting its $3.2 trillion in reserves to work by launching another government spending spree or buying up European bonds ignore the political and economic reality that China, like any other country, puts its own needs first.

Right now, China's economy doesn't need more stimulus and its leaders are wary of making bad bets on European debt, which means if conditions worsen in the United States or Europe, China would respond only if and when trouble shows up at home.

But even if you sweep aside domestic considerations and imagine Beijing announced $600 billion in government spending, like it did after the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008, there is little chance it could deliver the same economic boost.

What ended the post-Lehman panic was a globally synchronised, massive infusion of government spending and interest rate cuts. The United States and Europe cannot deliver significant doses of either right now, and China alone can't compensate.

"China to the rescue? Mission impossible," said Jun Ma, Deutsche Bank's chief economist for China, based in Hong Kong.

To offset the impact of a 3 per cent drop in US and European growth, China would need to increase its own growth by 18 per cent, he said.

WHAT CHINA MAY DO

The image of China riding to the world's rescue after Lehman misses a critical point: China's response made sense for China. That it also came at an opportune time for the rest of the world was a bonus.

Back then, China, the United States and Europe were on the same page. Lower interest rates and higher government spending were the logical policy choices in every major economy as confidence evaporated and global trade collapsed.

24 SEP, 2011, 05.46AM IST, AMITI SEN & RAVI TEJA SHARMA,ET BUREAU

Setting aside revenue department's advice, government allows stake sale in SEZs

NEW DELHI: In a big relief for SEZ developers, the government has decided to allow them to sell stake in their projects, setting aside revenue department's argument that it would amount to transfer of land that is not permitted.

Three proposals for dilution and transfer of promoter's equity deferred earlier, following objections by therevenue department, were cleared this week by the board of approval for SEZs, a government official has said.

The BoA has representatives from commerce, finance, agriculture and other key ministries.

"The BoA decided to go with the legal department's views on the issue and permit stake sale. All three pending proposals were cleared," a commerce department official told ET.

The BoA clearance has come for DLF Ackruti Info Park's request for sale of shares to a foreign investor, an amalgamation proposal by Sterling and Aachvis Softech's request for change/transfer of equity.

"We are happy with the decision as it has not only led to clearance of pending proposals, but has opened the door for future stake sale by developers at a time when SEZs are facing a cash crunch," said a developer who did not want to be named as the minutes of the BoA meeting are not yet in the public domain.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/setting-aside-revenue-departments-advice-government-allows-stake-sale-in-sezs/articleshow/10099282.cms
24 SEP, 2011, 05.27AM IST, DEVIKA BANERJI,ET BUREAU

Over two-thirds of central government's 150 welfare schemes face axe

NEW DELHI: As many as two-thirds of central government's 150 welfare schemes could face the axe as part of moves to sharpen the focus of such social initiatives and slash administrative expenses.

Acommittee chaired by Planning Commissionmember B K Chaturvedi has drawn up a list of 100 schemes funded by the central government that will either be withdrawn or merged with other programmes.

The list of such welfare schemes will be collapsed into to around 50, with much of the cull happening in those run by the labour and agriculture ministries.

"We are looking at the large proliferation of centrally sponsored schemes and are working on a way to merge schemes that have similar objectives while doing away with others," Chaturvedi told ET.

The move comes at a time when the government is bracing for challenges posed by dwindling revenues and a widening fiscal deficit in a slowing economy.

Most schemes figuring on Chaturvedi's list have suffered stagnant allocations, which too have not been utilised fully because of weak administrative set ups. Newer and better-designed programmes with similar objectives have overshadowed many of these schemes.

Programmes run by the ministries of agriculture and labour will shrink the most as a result of the move.

The ministry of agriculture--implementing 51 centrally funded programmes with a total outlay of Rs 15,034 crore--has itself worked out a restructured set of 10 schemes, which it says will be able to cover all the development activities in the sector.

The ministry of labour has 27 such programmes that are likely to be merged or restructured into 8-10 schemes.

"These ministries have a lot of schemes that have been clouded by the presence of other bigger schemes, which have better designs and more holistic objectives," a Planning Commission official said. "Therefore, many existing schemes can be merged into bigger ones."

For instance, with the introduction of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), most of the schemes focusing on food grains or infrastructural issues have become redundant.

"RKVY has become the biggest programme under the ministry," an official in the agriculture ministry said.

The official said trimming the list of programmes under the ministry would also help in saving the scarce resources.

"We will save on administrative costs. The saving could be in the range of 15-20% of the current cost. More importantly, we can use existing administrative capacity to better more significant schemes," the official said.

The Planning Commission had flagged the need to streamline programmes at the beginning of the 11th Five-Year Plan too. But no concrete follow-up action was taken.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/over-two-thirds-of-central-governments-150-welfare-schemes-face-axe/articleshow/10099159.cms

24 SEP, 2011, 03.00AM IST,

India Inc needs a strong enforcement mechanism, a well-defined regulatory structure

Pratibha Jain

Successive corporate scams have prompted governments around the world, including in India, to develop a stronger legal and regulatory framework that governs and regulates business and corporate transactions. Some of the central issues, while regulating the working of corporations, include the clarity of laws, rules and regulations; roles, responsibilities and jurisdictions of regulatory institutions and coordination among regulatory bodies.

First, let us look at the clarity of laws. The purpose of a regulatory mechanism is to ensure proper conduct of business transactions without undermining efficiency and productivity. With inconsistent interpretation and enforcement of laws and retrospective regulatory amendments, it is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to plan their strategy to invest in India. For example, the income-tax department's approach in the recent Vodafone and Aditya Birla Nuvo cases questioning the established market practice of foreign investors investing in India through a Mauritius subsidiary to save on capital-gains tax at the time of exit from the investment has created uncertainty in the investment climate in India.

Nearly 60% of foreign investment in India has been made through Mauritius for over a decade. The income-tax department orders have left both Indian corporates and foreign investors struggling to understand what is an acceptable form of tax structuring under law for investment in India. Similarly, recently, the RBI has sent notices to a few companies noting that put options in favour of foreign investors, where the investor has the right to sell his shares to the investee at a pre-determined price, are considered external commercial borrowings and, as such, not permitted under the Fema.

These options have been widely used by foreign investors while investing in India. Such a reinterpretation of existing market standards can lead to loss of confidence in the legal and regulatory structure, which may have a direct effect on foreign direct investment coming into India. According to the World Investment Report, 2011, by Unctad, FDI has shrunk by more than 31% in India in 2010.

Moving to the second issue of responsibilities of regulatory institutions, India fared well in the recent global economic crisis largely due to robust regulatory oversight of the Indian financial sector by our regulators. Indian regulators did not permit complex over-the-counter derivative transactions and subprime mortgages, the two main causes for the crisis on Wall Street. But on the flip side, right now when India is well poised to become a safe haven for FDI, largely due to its good performance during the global financial crisis, lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities of various regulators and their jurisdiction has become acause for concern and uncertainty.

Instances of conflict over jurisdiction among regulators and possible overreach of regulators into areas traditionally not covered by them include Sebi and the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (Irda) sparring over jurisdiction, and Sebi claiming jurisdiction on the issue of optionally fullyconvertible debentures by an unlisted entity.

Significant effort is required on the part of policymakers to define the powers of various regulators clearly and on the part of regulators to understand and stay within their jurisdiction. The recent Competition Commission of India's (CCI) order against DLF, wherein the CCI chose to demonstrate regulatory self-restraint in not expanding its scope and jurisdiction to cover irregularities committed by DLF that were not 'anti competitive' is a welcome trend, particularly when it could have used the argument of the 'interests of the consumer', which is statutorily provided to CCI more widely.

Lastly, coordination and interaction among regulatory bodies is also vital, given the overlapping jurisdiction of various regulators. There are sectors where such coordination has worked smoothly. To obtain a non-banking finance company registration from RBI, a financial firm will need clearance from any other regulator that regulates it. This clearance is secured by the RBI from various regulators and the applicant does not have to go to multiple regulators to obtain approval.

However, there are other instances of overlap of jurisdiction and lack of coordination among regulators, which makes an investor run from pillar to post to get necessary approvals. For instance, the department of industrial policy and promotion, which comes under the purview of the ministry of commerce and industry, is mandated to formulate policy for FDI. However, the implementation and approvals for investment are the mandate of FIPB, which comes under the purview of ministry of finance.

So, if there is a clarification required on an aspect of FDI policy, there is lack of clarity on who should be approached. To complicate matters, since FDI policies overlap with Fema, the FIPB as a practice more often than not would pass a query to RBI for their view.

Going ahead, there is a clear need for rationalisation of jurisdictional authority of corporate regulations. It is imperative for any well-developed financial system to have a robust, transparent and accountable regulatory mechanism.

In India, our primary securities regulator, Sebi, and the CCI have appellate bodies where the decisions made by these bodies can be challenged. However, the RBI does not have such an appellate body, in which case the aggrieved party has to rely on the discretionary reliefs through writ petitions. A well-defined regulatory structure with a strong and predictable enforcement mechanism is the need of the hour for Indian financial markets.

(The author is head of banking, finance & public policy at Nishith Desai Associates)
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/india-inc-needs-a-strong-enforcement-mechanism-a-well-defined-regulatory-structure/articleshow/10097876.cms

22 SEP, 2011, 04.42AM IST, DEEPSHIKHA SIKARWAR & APURV GUPTA,ET BUREAU

Tax treaty rejig on hold as Mauritius faces political crisis

NEW DELHI: Political instability in Mauritius has offered a breather to foreign institutions that route investments to India through the island nation. Areview of the tax treaty between the two nations, which offers benefits to foreign institutional investors registered in Mauritius, is unlikely to be taken up immediately.

"A comprehensive review of the treaty looks difficult," an Indian government official said. India has close ties with Mauritius where the ruling coalition was hit by a string of resignations last month, including that of the finance minister, reducing it to a slim majority. At this juncture, Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam is unlikely to raise the issue of review of the tax treaty.

"A large number of FIIs (foreign institutional investors) are registered in Mauritius and contribute significantly to the inflow due to various incentives available through this route," said Sharad Rathi, associate director of Almondz Global Securities, a boutique investment bank.

Indian tax authorities are keen on bringing Mauritius residents on a par with domestic investors who pay a 10% capital gains tax on shares sold within a year of purchase. New Delhi also wants safeguards to curb treaty shopping, a practice where residents of a third country enjoy beneficial tax treatment under the Indo-Mauritius treaty. India loses an estimated over $600 million a year in revenues on account of the tax provisions in double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius.

"Any development that clears ambiguity and uncertainty related to taxation policies between the two countries will act as a breather for the market," Rathi added. Talks were scheduled for August or September after Mauritius agreed to participate in a joint working group meeting. However, both governments could be wary of changing the policy at this juncture.

"Governments of both countries are wary on tweaking the policy. For Mauritius, this is a source of employment and capital formation, and for India a source of substantial inflow through participatory notes for its capital markets, " said the head of global operations & compliance at a UK-based full service investment bank that also has a presence in Mauritius.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Prakash Chandra had said in July that the ministry of external affairs was working towards exact dates for the talks... "We expect this to happen in August and September."

The India-Mauritius DTAA provides for taxation of capital gains arising in India from the sale of securities in Mauritius, and since the island nation does not tax capital gains, it leads to zero taxation. However, tax experts say this may not be the end of the road.

"The government has already introduced provisions such as General anti-avoidance rule, or GAAR, and treaty

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/tax-treaty-rejig-on-hold-as-mauritius-faces-political-crisis/articleshow/10072615.cms

28 MAY, 2011, 03.42AM IST,

Are the units 1 & 2 of Tarapur safe?

K S PARTHASARATHY

The rarest of rare occurrence of a strong earthquake and a devastating tsunami caused the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Countries all over the world decided to have a close look at their own reactors, especially those of earlier vintage. The first two nuclear power reactors at Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS 1&2) went commercial in 1969. Are these Indian reactors safe? Safety of Indian reactors has been under constant review.

When TAPS 1&2 completed 32 years of operations, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) directed Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to assess the actual condition of the plant vis-a-vis current safety requirements. AERB reviewed the operating experience, ageing management programme and assessed the residual life of all safety related components and systems of these reactors.

Subsequently, AERB included seismic re-evaluation in the review. NPCIL and AERB used the safety report INSAG 8 titled "Common Basis for Judging Safety of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) Built to Earlier Standards" of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and NUREG 800 issued by US-NRC as the standard review plan along with AERB documents for the analysis. They verified whether adequate redundancy and diversity is provided for the safety systems of TAPS and considered defence-in-depth, physical and functional separation of components and common cause failure vulnerabilities.

First order assessments based on the examination of surveillance specimens indicated that the Reactor Pressure Vessels are safe. Non-replaceable components such as suppression pools, reactor containment, common chamber and other civil structures were found in healthy state. NPCIL put in place a programme to inspect them regularly. AERB reviewed the seismic re-evaluation of structures, systems and components of TAPS 1 & 2, carried out by NPCIL using IAEA Safety Reports Series No. 28 on 'Seismic re-evaluation of existing nuclear power plants'.

NPCIL remedied the shortfalls. During the planned shutdown between October 2005 and February 2006, NPCIL implemented the following safety upgrades: Installation of three new diesel generators of higher capacity and unit-wise segregation of power supplies to avoid common cause failures; segregation of some other shared systems such as those for shutdown cooling and fuel pool cooling; addition of an independent set Control Rod Drive pumps to strengthen the emergency feed water supply to the reactor; addition of a supplementary control room and extensive upgradation of fire protection systems.

Since NPCIL addressed the outstanding safety issues satisfactorily, AERB determined that the reactors are safe to operate and renewed their authorization for operation in February 2006.

The Fukushima accident provided a wake up call to the nuclear industry to consider the impact of simultaneous occurrence of natural disasters on the safety of the plants. AERB has set up a specialist committee to review the capability of Indian nuclear power plants to withstand earthquakes and other external events such as tsunami and cyclones.

NPCIL set up a committee to review the safety of TAPS 1&2. As a short term measure, NPCIL will augment regular training for emergency operating procedures, mock up drills, disaster management training and make provisions for self sufficiency at site for 7 days without any external help.

As the primary containment volume to power ratio for TAPS 1&2 is ten times more than that of Fukushima-Daiichi Unit 1, pressure will build up more slowly in TAPS 1&2. Passive system for decay heat removal is adequate to cool the reactor core in 8 hours. TAPS has procedures in place to handle complete loss of power at site.

As a matter of abundant caution, NPCIL may inert the containment of TAPS with nitrogen to prevent hydrogen explosions. Hydrogen explosions due to metal water reactions caused significant damage at Fukushima.

Though the probability of occurrence of a tsunami and severe earthquake at Tarapur site is negligible, NPCIL decided to improve the reliability of power supply, raise tsunami resistant walls around emergency diesel generators and tanks, provide mobile diesel generators inside the plant, relocate station black out DG at higher elevation, and make provisions for power supply from CNG or gas generators outside the plant through overhead cables.

NPCIL plans to provide water sources, suction from intake canal, underground raw water tank and an overhead tank away from site to ensure reliable core cooling, Other measures include provision for coolant injection into feed waterlines, reactor pressure vessel, drywell and suppression pool and secondary side inventory. NPCIL will address issues related to hydrogen management and passive recombiners. Taking a cue from Fukushima, NPCIL will also review the arrangements for spent-fuel pool management.

(The author is a former secretary of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, government of India)
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/newsbyindustry/energy/power/Are-the-units-1-2-of-Tarapur-safe/articleshow/8613962.cms

24 SEP, 2011, 07.40AM IST, V RAGHUNATHAN,ET BUREAU

Common man plagued not only by corruption, but also by corporates

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The common man in our country is plagued not only by corruption, but also by the many corporates that take him for granted, showing little regard to the minimal responsibility they owe their customers.

The common man in our country is plagued not only by corruption, but also by the many corporates that take him for granted, showing little regard to the minimal responsibility they owe their customers. Last month in these columns (Wake Up, Irda, ET, August 27), I wrote about a phoney insurance product that screamed for Irda to sit up and take notice. Sit up and take notice it did, by sending out a missive to all the insurance companies calling for the details on such questionable products.

Irrespective of what may or may not happen, Irda was at least responsive. Not so, most corporates. At best, they solve a customer's complaint on products and services, only if the customer is really persistent, or ups the ante on the complaint, and often that, only if he or she is really powerful or has high nuisance value. Lesser mortals are left to fend for themselves. At least that is the pattern. Let us take a couple of examples from the financial sector - public and private. First, the highly-respected State Bank of India(SBI).

In the era of computers, one expects the customer service to improve; not deteriorate. But that has not been the case. For instance, at maturity of a fixed deposit (FD), when one found that the matured amount did not tally with the face value of maturity written on the FD certificate, one was told that it was on account of deduction of TDS. A layman may accept that as a reasonable explanation and the bank may get away with it. But a closer inspection revealed that the sum one had actually received was, in fact, even lower. Probing the matter further, one learnt that because the TDS was deducted from one's annual terminal value, it was not reinvested annually. Had the bank charged the TDS to one's savings account, the invested principal would have remained intact.

When challenged, the bank formally 'clarified' that according to its chartered accountants, the TDS must be deducted at 'source' and since the source of the customer's income is the FD, TDS must be deducted from the FD and not from the savings account! Again, a lay person would perhaps buy that as a reasonable explanation and move on. But when one challenged this view in a communication to the chairman of SBI pointing out the absurdity of this argument, as charging the TDS to the savings account rather than the FD account of the same customer in the same branch of the same bank can hardly violate the TDS norm, and that the bank had an obligation to give the choice of where to debit the TDS to the customer, the problem was corrected within 24 hours. So much for the views of their chartered accountants! But what about millions upon millions of less financially-savvy customers of this and most other banks?

They continue to be shortchanged by the banks because savings accounts pay a much lower interest than the FDs, and this laziness costs them less in customising their software! That's not all either. When customers close their FDs ahead of maturity, they receive 1% lower interest retrospectively . This is standard. Now, Form 16A issued by the banks for the interest income reflects the TDS deducted at the original interest rate. In the year when customers close their FDs ahead of maturity, ideally Form 16A should make a retrospective correction for the excess TDS charged earlier because now the customer is earning a lower rate of interest . But banks, rarely if ever, do this - at least not SBI - unless you spend a whole lot of time and effort. And how many folks would understand this issue and have the savvy to take up the matter energetically with the banks? And if you don't , for the banks, it is business as usual. See what I mean?

And we aren't even talking yet of the complete indifference of the banks to the customers' need for variable interest rates on FDs. Your home loans and car loans keep getting more expensive every time the RBI hikes the repo rate; banks all but refuse to lend on fixed rate; but the poor customers will continue to get the same fixed interest rates on their FDs - rates often lower than the inflation! Why hasn't the banking industry yet offered the option of variable FD rates in tandem with repo rate to the depositors? Now for the second example of another venerable group in the financial services sector that many of us regard as the gold standard in the financial services industry: the HDFC group.

It was the HDFC (Standard) Life that had issued a savings-linked insurance product called HDFC Savings Assurance Policy described in my column last month, which had zero insurance content, and after the product was well past the halfway mark of its life, was losing the investor about 20% of the sum invested! When challenged, after some initial demur, the company did agree to pay 6% interest to the one specific complainant. The sum turned out to be computed on simple interest basis!

In this day and age! Another challenge, another round of negotiations, and finally the issue was resolved. But what about those thousands who have not challenged the product or do not understand such nuances? I am still awaiting a response to a letter and an email to the non-executive chairman of HDFC Life suggesting a recall of the product in the best traditions of a group that is supposed to set the benchmark for good corporate governance.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/common-man-plagued-not-only-by-corruption-but-also-by-corporates/articleshow/10100073.cms

20 SEP, 2011, 07.24AM IST, ABHEEK BARMAN,ET BUREAU

China GDP growth surging ahead of India's

Last week, the government opened the door for Indian companies to borrow yuan-denominated funds from Chinese lenders. Sure, it limits the total amount of such loans to a modest $1-billion-worth every year, but the amount isn't important. The idea is one whose time has come.

China is already India's largest trading partner, with goods and services worth $60 billion moving back and forth, and growing about 40% every year. Indian companies and businesses are heavily invested in China, buying everything from electric turbines to faux-Italian furniture from the factory of the world.

The world's largest bank, measured by market valuation, is no longer in the West. At $234 billion, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China now enjoys that distinction. Last week, it set up shop in Mumbai, again, with a modest initial investment of $100 million, most of which it plans to lend to Indian telecom, power and infrastructure companies that do business with China.

There's only one direction that trade and investment between the two Asian giants can go: north. Given that, it makes sense for New Delhi to let local businesses borrow in the Chinese currency.

One thing that emerged from the rubble of 2008's financial meltdown and the long recession that followed, was China's ambition to make its renminbi yuan a reserve currency that could hold its own against the dollar or the euro. Is this ambition feasible? Have India's policymakers taken a step on the road to the rise of the Redback?

Though it makes sense for Indian businesses to transact in the yuan while dealing with their Chinese counterparts, that's no guarantee that the yuan is poised to dominate currency markets. The biggest obstacle is the Chinese government, which maintains controls to the movement of capital into and out of the country, hobbling the yuan's acceptability as a major currency. Beijing also keeps a tight leash on the range in which the renminbi can move against other traded currencies. But over time, some of these controls could go and the renminbi could gain wider, well, currency.

Indians know that Beijing is driven by an almost unquenchable thirst for raw materials: oil, coal, iron ore and other minerals. Indian companies, mostly state-owned oil giants, have encountered their Chinese counterparts in faraway Africa, and come away from bidding battles with black eyes.

But that's only part of the story. Around 20 years ago, shaken by the uprising in Tiananmen Square and the implosion of the Soviet empire, the Chinese Communist Party took a long, hard look at the threats that it could face in future. The most obvious one was popular discontent arising from disparities in wealth: China's eastern coastal areas are many times wealthier than its vast interior provinces. What if the hinterland rose against the coast?

A study, which became influential among mandarins in Beijing, argued that America was wealthy and peaceful because it had two coastlines, the Atlantic in the east and the Pacific in the west. China, it argued, had only one coastline and needed access to another, 'warm water' coast to link its hinterland to trade and prosperity.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/china-gdp-growth-surging-ahead-of-indias/articleshow/10048813.cms
22 SEP, 2011, 06.51AM IST, RAM SINGH,

New Land Law: Riddled with loopholes

he government has introduced the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2011, in Parliament. The Bill fails to address fundamental causes behind disputes and litigation over compensation. Moreover, like the existing law, it has provisions that can be misused by states to favour companies at the expense of the rights of farmers and forest dwellers.

An excessive use of the emergency clause is not the only abuse of the current law by states. Often, land is acquired, ostensibly for government use, but is eventually transferred to companies. Property owned by powerful people is exempted from acquisition. Indeed, the recent controversies over land acquisitions in the Uttar Pradesh, Haryana andKarnataka are due to such misuse.

The proposed law allows states to continue with these practices. For example, Section 87 allows for midway denotification. Section 96 gives states unbridled power to transfer acquired land to private companies and individuals, if 20% of the resulting profit is shared with the owners. Such transfers are consistent with Section 93 that governs postacquisition changes in land use, as long as the land is used for the same or a 'related' purpose. For instance, land acquired for industrial development can be transferred to a special economic zone (SEZ).

Similarly, land acquired for urban development can be transferred to builders for housing projects, without violating the proposed law. The initial purpose can be defined strategically to justify several other uses as related purposes. It is crucial to prohibit postacquisition transfers of land to private entities. If acquired land remains unutilised, it should be returned to the owners.

As for direct acquisition for companies or large-scale purchases by them, the Bill mandates rehabilitation and resettlement for affected families. At the same time, it dilutes the crucial public-versus-private distinction. The all-inclusive definitions of 'infrastructure' and 'public-purpose' permit state intervention in acquisition and transfer of land to companies for all sorts of commercial activities.

State intervention is advocated to protect the interests of small and ill-informed owners, and to overcome hold-up of useful projects by owners. These arguments assume a benevolent state. The history of land acquisition in India shows that the decision-making of the state is highly susceptible to capture by the rich and powerful. The risk of hold-up is overplayed. Compulsory acquisition is justified for projects that are location specific and face land assembly problems like roads, railways and port projects. For real estate, hotel and entertainment projects, there is no justification for forcing people to part with their land.

The Bill is seriously deficient on the issue of compensation and litigation. The compensation is determined on the basis of circle rates or the average price of saledeeds of similar land, whichever is higher. The present law is identical in this regard. But land acquisition collectors (LACs) invariably award compensation on the basis of circlerates, which are perpetually well below the market rate as well as sale-deed rates. There is no reason to believe that in future, LACs will behave differently. Indeed, an extensive litigation under the current law is due to the fact that the LACs and courts use different basis for determining compensation.

While the LACs use circle rates, courts tend to use relatively high-value sale deeds. Consequently, the court awards are substantially higher, inducing the affected parties to litigate. However, the burden to prove the market value is on the owner, notwithstanding the fact that all the relevant information, like records of sale deeds, land type and so on, is solely possessed by the government. The owners have to extract the relevant information from uncooperative babus. Clearly, such a system favours only the resourceful; the poor can't afford to litigate.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/new-land-law-riddled-with-loopholes/articleshow/10073434.cms

Full coverage

Satellite Falls to Earth, but We Know Not Where

New York Times - Kenneth Chang - ‎46 minutes ago‎

A dead NASA satellite, intently tracked by people around the world over the last couple of days, finally fell back to Earth — and NASA is still not quite sure when and where it crashed, although the Pacific Ocean seems like a good ...

NASA tries to pinpoint where pieces of UARS satellite fell

Los Angeles Times - ‎56 minutes ago‎

NASA officials are working to determine where pieces of a 6-ton climate satellite fell after its fiery plunge into the atmosphere early Saturday morning over the Pacific Ocean. It's still unclear where more than 20 pieces of debris landed after the ...

NASA Satellite Falls to Earth, But Debris Location Still a Mystery

National Geographic - Traci Watson - ‎48 minutes ago‎

Defying predictions one last time, NASA's doomed UARS satellite dove through Earth's atmosphere late last night over the North Pacific Ocean, off the US West Coast, the space agency says. (Also see "Space Debris: Five Unexpected Objects That Fell to ...

Nasa searches for scraps of crashed satellite in Pacific Ocean and Canada

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NASA: Satellite debris has hit Earth

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Nasa's satellite breaks up, plunges to earth

Times of India - ‎6 hours ago‎

CAPE CANAVERAL: A six-tonnes Nasa science satellite plunged through the atmosphere early on Saturday, breaking up and possibly scattering debris in Canada, NASA said. There were reports on Twitter of debris falling over Okotoks, a town south of Calgary ...

Derelict NASA satellite falls back to Earth

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NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, out of gas and out of control after two decades in space, plunged back into the atmosphere early Saturday, heating up, breaking apart and presumably showering chunks of debris along a 500-mile-long downrange ...

Huge Tumbling Satellite Expected to Fall to Earth Friday Night, NASA Says

Fox News - ‎3 hours ago‎

| AP An artist's concept of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) satellite in space. The 6 1/2-ton satellite was deployed from space shuttle Discovery in 1991 and decommissioned in December 2005. NASA's dead six-ton satellite fell to Earth ...

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Timeline of articles

Number of sources covering this story

	NASA tries to pinpoint where pieces of UARS satellite fell ‎56 minutes ago‎ - Los Angeles Times
	NASA: 6-ton satellite hits Earth; location unknown ‎10 hours ago‎ - The Associated Press
	Falling six-ton satellite headed toward Earth ‎16 hours ago‎ - Reuters
	Guessing Game Continues for Rogue NASA Satellite ‎22 hours ago‎ - International Business Times
	Shuttle accident cut plans to retrieve now-falling satellite ‎Sep 23, 2011‎ - USA Today
	VIDEO: Satellite threat '1 in 20 trillion' ‎Sep 23, 2011‎ - BBC News
	Satellite due to 'crash' on Earth ‎Sep 22, 2011‎ - BBC News
	Calculating the (Unlikely) Odds of NASA Satellite Casualties ‎Sep 22, 2011‎ - PhysicsCentral.com (blog)
	North America Safe From NASA's Doomed 6.5-Ton Satellite ‎Sep 22, 2011‎ - Fox News
	FEMA Prepared for Dead NASA Satellite's Plunge to Earth in Mere Days ‎Sep 21, 2011‎ - Fox News

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24/09/2011

World's Worst Dictators

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The recent spring of discontent in the Arab world has witnessed the ousting of some of the world's most powerful dictators - from Tunisian head of state Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and most recently, the Libyan autocrat Muammar al-Gaddafi. Take a look here at some of the world's most hated dictators, many of whom continue to hold the reins even today.

World's Worst Dictators

Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe) - Under his rule unemployment and inflation in Zimbabwe rose to an all time high, while a majority of the public have accused Mugabe of blatant racism against white people

Robert Mugabe, a former President of Zimbabwe, is single handedly responsible for the crisis that Zimbabwe is in today. Since 2000, GDP has declined by roughly 40% in part due to hyperinflation and land reform.
Prior to its suspension in the year 2009, the Zimbabwe dollar has suffered from the second highest hyperinflation rate of any currency in modern times.

24/09/2011

Day after Iran blasts US, India reiterates close ties

A day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad triggered a US-led Western walkout from the UN General Assembly with a combative speech, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met him in a reiteration of their close ties regardless.

Day after Iran blasts US, India reiterates close ties

"The previously planned meeting basically focused on our bilateral relationship," Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters Friday when asked if the meeting with Ahmadinejad coupled with Indian support for Palestine would have an impact on New Delhi's ties with Washington.

The two leaders did not discuss Palestinian President Mahoud Abbas's speech making a historic bid for UN membership bid for an independent state of Palestine earlier Friday, but they both "reiterated their support for the Palestinian attempt to seek membership of UN," he said.

In fact, during this meeting between the two leaders after a long time, Manmohan Singh accepted in principle Ahmadinejad's renewed invitation to visit Iran. The dates of prime minister's visit are to be worked out, but Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar will be visiting shortly, Mathai said.

Day after Iran blasts US, India reiterates close ties

Though the two leaders did not discuss the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, another issue of divergence with the US, "they discussed a whole series of projects between the two countries, including potential cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons," he said.

But Mathai was quick to reassure that Manmohan Singh's meeting with the Iranian leader and India's support for Palestine and the absence of a meeting with President Barack Obama did not reflect a cooling of ties between India and the US.

Like other Indian officials before, he too attributed the reason for Manmohan Singh not meeting Obama to "the fact that the Prime Minister arrived after the President left."

Day after Iran blasts US, India reiterates close ties

But India and the US are planning a meeting between External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, possibly Monday, after Manmohan Singh leaves for home.

In his speech blasting the US Thursday, Ahmadinejad questioned whether Islamist terrorists were behind the Sep 11, 2001 attacks on the US.

Blaming the West for a list of ills throughout history, from slavery to the two world wars and the global economic crisis, he also criticised the Obama administration for killing Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Source: IANS

23/09/2011

India reiterates 'unequivocal support' for Palestinian state

United Nations: Amid a last-ditch American effort to head off a Palestinian bid for membership in the United Nations, India has reiterated its absolute "unequivocal support" for a Palestinian state.

India reiterates 'unequivocal support' for Palestinian state

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who arrived here Thursday to address the United Nations, sent a letter Sep 19 to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas assuring him of India's full support at the UN, India's permanent representative to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri , told the strong India media contingent present here.

There are all indications that Abbas, after his address to the UN General Assembly Friday, would inform UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon that the Palestinian authority stands ready to assume the responsibility of a state, he said.

Efforts were also on to persuade Abbass not to approach either the General Assembly or the UN Security Council for full membership of UN at this stage amid efforts to facilitate direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Puri said.

Speeches at the UN in support have not left Palestine with many choices, he said. The United States too would prefer not to cast a veto if the matter comes up before the Security Council. But if left with no choice they too appeared ready to veto the move.

India reiterates 'unequivocal support' for Palestinian state

Noting that India was the first non-Arab State to recognise Palestinian state as far back as 1988, Puri said Manmohan Singh had in his letter reiterated that India will support the Palestine cause.

"India's support for Palestine state is 100 percent, unequivocal," Puri said in response to a question and if it comes to a vote "India will vote for it the General Assembly and the Security Council."

"There is no question of India coming under pressure on the Palestine question," he said.

Indications are that in the General Assembly that Palestine could seek enhancement of their observer entity status to a non-member observer status, Puri said. "Which way it would go - to the General Assembly or the Security Council - was an issue of negotiations - tactic," he said.

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts were on at the UN to persuade Abbas to refrain from bringing the Palestinian issue to a head with suggestions that direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations could be jump started.

Source: IANS

23/09/2011

Manmohan Singh plunges into hectic diplomacy at UN

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh begins a hectic round of diplomacy here Friday ahead of his address to the United Nations focusing on terrorism, the economic slowdown and the vexed Palestine issue.

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Manmohan Singh plunges into hectic diplomacy at UN

Manmohan Singh, who arrived here Thursday afternoon, is set to hold five bilateral meetings during his five-day stay in New York.

Starting with a meeting with the new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Friday morning he meets with the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the new Nepalese Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai.

He would also be meeting with the president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, the newest nation to join the world body.

India's Permanent Representative at the UN Hardeep Singh asked the media not to read too much into Manmohan Singh not meeting President Barack Obama during his current trip.

"It was simply a scheduling issue," he said noting Obama had left New York before Manmohan Singh landed. But both leaders are going to be present for the upcoming G-20 summit in Cannes in November and Manmohan Singh will have many opportunities to meet Obama as also leaders of UK and France there and other international meetings.

Manmohan Singh plunges into hectic diplomacy at UN

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna Thursday attended a meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) foreign ministers and a symposium to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the African National Congress.

"This is the century of Asia and Africa," he said at the event on South Africa's contribution to the fight against racism and xenophobia.

"The new dawn that the freedom fighters of India and the African National Congress dreamed about is upon us. We walked together in the walk to freedom; we now continue this journey into a better future for our two nations and for the entire world."

Speaking at another high level event on conflict prevention at the UN Security Council organised by its current president Lebanon he said there really is no sustainable alternative to political processes.

"The primary focus of the United Nations should the facilitation of a political settlement", he said stressing "the time tested principles of national consent, impartiality, fairness and equity in all conflict prevention activities that the UN may undertake."

Source: IANS

24/09/2011

Pranab for concrete steps to tackle global economic problems

Amid fears of a second dip recession, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that "concrete steps" will have to be taken to deal with the situation as there is no ready made formula to address the problems.

Pranab for concrete steps to tackle global economic problems

"We are in a situation when international economic situation is very difficult. There is a lurking doubt whether a second dip recession is going to take place and what role international financial institutions and all the organisations (will play) to overcome the crisis," Mukherjee said in an interaction with Indian journalists in Washington yesterday.

"There has been no ready made suggestion or formula but everybody (has) underlined the need of taking concrete steps," he added.

Mukherjee, who is here to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, said crisis has manifested in different forms in different parts of the world.

"The general tendency in the advanced world is that the expected level of recovery has not taken place, though the process of recovery began after the 2008 crisis. But it was fragile, uneven and very poor, not of very high order," he added.

Pranab for concrete steps to tackle global economic problems

"(In) Some of the emerging market economies, the recovery was quick. First was of course China, followed by India, followed by Latin America, followed by some of the African countries, including South Africa. But there, the problems are high rate of commodity and fuel prices, inflation pressure, effecting the growth and also destabilising the fiscal consolidation process," he said.

Mukherjee, who during his stay here had several bilateral meetings with his counterparts from France, Japan, Sri Lanka and Iran, besides meeting the World Bank President, said volatility in stock and commodity prices has led to erratic capital inflows.

Attributing volatility in capital flows to easing of monetary policies in some developed countries, Mukherjee said, "The problem is complex and there is no simple solution or outcome of these."

"In various meetings so far, we have exchanged our views, shared our perception and expressed our desire to tackle the problem collectively," Mukherjee said.

He added that G-20 finance ministers will discuss the issues at their meeting in Paris in October ahead of the leaders summit at Cannes in November.

Mukherjee yesterday attended the Plenary Session of Annual Meeting of IMF and World Bank. He also attended the joint International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) and World Economic Forum meetings consisting of 24 Ministers and 24 CEOs.

Source: PTI

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday made a powerful call for early reform and expansion of the UN Security Council ''to reflect contemporary reality'' and asked nations not to allow the global economic slowdown to trigger protectionism through various barriers.

*Participating in the High Level Segment of the world body after a gap of three years, Singh made an address to the General Assembly in which he also made it clear that the fight against terrorism cannot be selective and has to be fought on all fronts. After meetings of the G-4 countries including India, Brazil, German and Japan pushing for reform of the UNSC in which India wants to be a permanent member, the Prime Minister said the world needed a stronger and more effective UN. "We need a United Nations that is sensitive to the aspirations of everyone - rich or poor, big or small. For this the United Nations and its principal organs, the General Assembly and the Security Council, must be revitalised and reformed." "The reform and expansion of the Security Council are essential if it is to reflect contemporary reality. Such an outcome will enhance the Council's credibility and effectiveness in dealing with global issues. Early reform of the Security Council must be pursued with renewed vigour and urgently enacted," Singh said in his 15-minute address. Singh said terrorism continued to rear its ugly head and take a grievous toll of innocent lives. "New threats to international security have emerged," he said and added "we will succeed if we adopt a cooperative rather than a confrontationist approach. "We will succeed if we embrace once again the principles on which the UN was founded - internationalism and multilateralism." In the midst of controversies raging over the issue of "interventions" in the trouble spots of the Middle East, Singh said the observance of the rule of law is as important in international affairs as it is within countries. "Societies cannot be reordered from outside through military force. People in all countries have the right to choose their own destiny and decide their own future," the Prime Minister said. The international community, he said, has a role to play in assisting in the processes of transition and institution building but the idea that prescriptions have to be imposed from outside is fraught with danger. "Actions taken under the authority of the United Nations must respect the unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of individual states," he said.'' As a seasoned economist whose views on international economy is much sought after in the global power corridors, Singh touched on the current situation saying the "world economy is in trouble". "The shoots of recovery which were visible after the economic and financial crisis of 2008 have yet to blossom. In many respects the crisis has deepened even further." Singh said the traditional engines of the global economy such as the US, Europe and Japan, which are also the sources of global economic and financial stability, are faced with continued economic slowdown. Recessionary trends in these countries were affecting confidence in world financial and capital markets. These developments, he said, are bound to have a negative impact on developing countries which also have to bear the additional burden of inflationary pressures. "Declining global demand and availability of capital, increasing barriers to free trade and mounting debt pose a threat to the international monetary and financial system. Questions are being asked about the efficacy of the Bretton Woods institutions," he said. The Prime Minister said countries should not allow the global economic slowdown to become a trigger for building walls around themselves through protectionism or erecting barriers to movement of people, services and capital. "Effective ways and means must be deployed to promote coordination of macro economic policies of major economies. The reform of governance systems of international financial institutions ought to be pursued with speed and efficiency," he said. Singh said the development agenda must be brought firmly back to the centrestage of the United Nations' priorities. "We need a much more determined effort to ensure balanced, inclusive and sustainable development for the benefit of vast sections of humanity. Each of us can contribute to this task but we can achieve far more if we act in partnership," he said. "It is vitally important that through our actions and deeds we renew people's faith in the charter and objectives of the United Nations. I am confident we can do this through statesmanship, foresight and collective efforts, India stands ready to play its part in this noble endeavour," Singh said. "We have to pay particular attention to Africa. Africa's richest resources are not its minerals but its people. We have to empower them and open the doors for them to human advances in technology, education and skill development," he said. Singh said the United Nations should lead efforts in the area of food security. "We need more cooperation in agricultural technologies, water conservation, land usage and productivity and stability in commodity prices," he said. Emphasising on the need for a peaceful external environment to grow, he said the fight against terrorism must be unrelenting. There cannot be selective approaches in dealing with terrorist groups or the infrastructure of terrorism. Terrorism has to be fought across all fronts. In South Asia, he said, there are encouraging signs of cooperation in the area of security as exemplified in India's cooperation with Bangladesh. Such cooperation is adding to the security of both our countries. Singh said in the last few decades India has lifted tens of millions of its people out of abject poverty. "We are in a position to feed our population better, to educate them better and to widen their economic choices. But we still have a very long way to go," he said. The Prime Minister said India would wish to quicken the pace of its transformation in partnership with the international community. Singh said a fast-growing India can expand the boundaries for the global economy, and a plural and secular India can contribute to tolerance and peaceful co-existence among nations. Singh said developing countries need investment, technology and market access for their products. They need assistance in the areas of education, health, women's empowerment and agriculture. He said during the recently-held fourth UN-Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Conference, India has strengthened its partnership with the LDCs through significantly enhanced lines of credit and assistance in capacity building. The Prime Minister said the perspectives that he had outlined today were the ones that guided India's actions in the Security Council since India became a non-permanent member of the Council in January this year. "There are millions living in poverty. Their plight has worsened, for no fault of theirs, due to the global economic and financial crisis of the recent years. The actions of governments around the world are therefore under close scrutiny.

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