India signs CSC on nuclear damages as Hindutva Forces want Arundhati`s head Since She Voices AZADI for Persecyted Kashmir Halley, the Aboriginal Humanscape in the Himalayas!Defaulter Geelani asked to pay Rs 1.73 crore as IT dues!J&K interlocutors hint at accommodating 'Azaadi' debate!
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Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - FIVE Hundred Fifteen
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India signs CSC on nuclear damages as Hindutva Forces want Arundhati`s head Since She Voices AZADI for Persecyted Kashmir Halley, the Aboriginal Humanscape in the Himalayas!Obama telephones Zardari, discusses steps to tackle terrorism!In a significant step which will enable it to do nuclear commerce, India today signed the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC), which sets parameters on a nuclear operator''s financial liability, at the IAEA in Vienna. The Indian move is seen as an effort towards allaying concerns of American companies on account of the newly-enacted Nuclear Liability law by Parliament.
"We can confirm that the Indian government has signed the CSC this morning," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) press officials told PTI from Vienna. The international convention provides for compensation in case of trans-national implications of a nuclear accident and has been signed by 14 countries, including India.
However, only four countries-- the US, Argentina, Morocco and Romania have ratified the Convention so far. Upon entry into force, the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage would establish a uniform global legal regime for compensation to victims in the unlikely event of a nuclear accident.
No FII inflow cap, but Re checks possible!The Elite Kayastha Brahmin, the Economic ethnic cleansing Gestapo head, Pranab Mukherjee has calrified indicating to promote on the Bubble Economy of shining Sensex of FIIs and FDI, Infinite Foreign capital Inflow!
But undermining the Sovereignty of the Nation and Pushing for so called Economic reforms resultant in Corporate War, AFSPA,Military Option, continuous holocaust and EXODUS and playing in the hands of LPG Mafia and MNCs is considered as Patriotism while any Voice reflecting the Excluded, Persecuted communities, Identities and Nationalities has to be branded as SEDITION as the Zionist, Fascist, Imperialist, Corporate Global Manusmriti Rule of Exclusion, Apartheid, Injustice, Inequality,Ethnic Cleansingand Mass Destruction depend so much so on the Laureates, Knights!
In standing up for dissidents on Kashmir, we stand up for liberal values and free speech for all Indians. We oppose Geelani's Islamism, but we defend his right to ask for a plebiscite. While the so called mainstream Media is chasing the wrong Horse as Vinod Mehta terms the phenomenon and invokes Hind nationalism Aggressive, an edit published in Economic times sounds quite reasonable. Yes, in standing up for dissidents on Kashmir, we stand up for liberal values and free speech for all Indians. We oppose Geelani's Islamism, but we defend his right to ask for a plebiscite! As ET Edit pleads. I watched live debates on NDTV and Headlines Today anchored by none other than great great Barkha Dutt and Arnab respectively. The digressed the topic attacking Arundhati personally under the belt. i was not stunned to hear from person like Madhu Kishwar who hardly rises above her ethnic Identity. But Kashmiri Pundit Prespective in national electronic media rather helps Economc Ethnic Cleansing and boosts RSS branded Blind Nationalism diluting the People`s Voice in Turbulant Kashmir and elsewhere in India.
Sedition complaint filed against Arundhati Roy in Punjab | |
| 2010-10-27 22:10:00 |
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All About: National,Art - Culture,Punjab, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Punjab police, Army, Democratic Front |
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Welcome, ET Edit!
Ahead of his India visit, US President Barack Obama spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari and discussed steps to address the "direct threat" posed by terrorist groups based in Pakistan.
Obama made the telephone call to Zardari yesterday, during which the two leaders agreed that more needs to be done to address the threat posed by terrorists in Pakistan.
The US President, who also discussed with Zardari the results of the third round of the US-Pak Strategic Dialogue here recently, telephoned his Pakistani counterpart days ahead of his maiden India visit.
"Both President Obama and President Zardari acknowledged that more work needs to be done to address the direct threat to our countries posed by terrorist groups in Pakistan," the White House said in a statement.
"They also agreed that the US and Pakistan have worked hard to build an atmosphere of trust and cooperation, and are committed to ongoing efforts to build a stronger, strategic and more collaborative US-Pakistan relationship," the statement said.
Obama emphasised the US commitment and support for democracy and transparency in Pakistan, highlighting that the two countries share an interest in ensuring that democratic traditions in Pakistan are strengthened, the White House said.
"He also acknowledged Pakistan's economic difficulties, and encouraged President Zardari to work to pass key economic reforms, such as tax reform and containing energy subsidies," the statement said.
Obama concluded the call by conveying his intention to visit Pakistan in 2011 and personally welcomed Zardari to visit the US in the coming year.
The White House said the call was made by Obama to consult Zardari on the progress made during the recent US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue and to reinforce America's commitment to partner Pakistan on economic, development and governance priorities.
Moreover, J&K interlocutors hint at accommodating 'Azaadi' debate!
SRINAGAR: The interlocutors appointed for J&K have suggested introducing amendments in the Constitution to accommodate the discussion on the "Azaadi option" for Kashmir.
" India . constitution is a beautiful document and there is room for modification with changing times and we can even recommend for the amendments in the Constitution to accommodate the discussions on the Kashmir issue and to find the solution to the problem in line with the aspirations of the Kashmiris," Radha Kumar, one of the three interlocutors told reporters here at the end of a four-day visit to the Valley on Wednesday.
Saying it is my personal belief, Radha Kumar said, the Constitution has been amended more than 400 times and there is no harm if it is modified further to make it more accommodative.
Importantly, the Indian Constitution and the J&K constitution refer to the region as an integral part of India.
The head of the three-member panel, Dileep Padgoankar while interacting with mediapersons also wished to take leaders of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on board to find the permanent solution to the Kashmir issue.
"Yes we would like to visit PoK to talk to the leadership there to get their point of view on the issue .But there are parts in J&K which do not share the same view as the people in Kashmir valley," Dileep added.
The panel: Dileep Padgoankar, M M Ansari and Radha Kumar, which would undertake visit to the state every month , at the end of present visit , is expected to recommend several measures to be taken by the centre to bring in more credibility to the appointment of interlocutors to diminish the trust deficit of the people in Kashmir.
"We can even recommend the amendments in the Public Safety Act besides ask for release of political prisoners and even ask the centre to allow the peaceful protests in the valley in line with democratic temperament of the country," Dileep Padgoankar said.
Dileep even questioned the logic for imposing section 144 CrPC against holding peaceful protests in the valley. "There is no need of imposing section 144 to quell the assembly of the people for peaceful demonstrations," he added.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/JK-interlocutors-hint-at-accommodating-Azaadi-debate/articleshow/6822524.cms
27 Oct, 2010, 01.02AM IST,ET Bureau
In defence of free speech: Forget charges of sedition
Liberal democracy and free speech are under threat. It is disgraceful that the police are considering arresting Arundhati Roy and SAS Geelani for sedition, following their speeches favouring azadi for Kashmiris. In a free society, charges of sedition are legitimate only in extreme cases, not whenever it is inconvenient. India promised a plebiscite in Kashmir at the time of accession. It later changed its position. But anyone demanding that India stick to its original promise cannot be called seditious. Geelani champions Kashmiris joining Pakistan, but a plebiscite can have no meaning if it does not include the right to canvass support for all possible outcomes. Thousands of agitating Kashmiris, the entire Hurriyat, and the vast majority of the population in the Kashmir valley favour azadi. Can the response be to jail them all? Can this possibly check Kashmiri alienation?
The government claims Kashmir's accession to India is final, but all Indians need not agree. The official manifesto of the Swatantra Party (which merged in 1977 with the Janata Party) called for a plebiscite in Kashmir. Would the government like to jail, with retrospective effect, Swatantra stalwarts like C Rajagopalachari, south India's great freedom fighter and later free India's first Governor General? Many eminent journalists have repeatedly supported a plebiscite or some form of azadi for Kashmir. Dileep Padgaonkar, one of the three interlocutors appointed by the government on Kashmir, has said Pakistan has a role in Kashmir, a position that chauvinists have long denounced as seditious. Will he be jailed too? Arundhati Roy has simply repeated what eminent Indians have said earlier.
Liberalism in India is in danger and all liberal voices need to speak out loudly. MF Husain and Taslima Nasreen were chased out of India. Rohinton Mistry's classic Such a Long Journey has been proscribed as a textbook. These are steps on the road to serfdom. In standing up for dissidents on Kashmir, we stand up for liberal values and free speech for all Indians. We oppose Geelani's Islamism, but we defend his right to ask for a plebiscite.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/In-defence-of-free-speech-Forget-charges-of-sedition/articleshow/6818003.cms
In an embarrasment for BJP, its Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani today opposed the party line by coming out in support of the Kashmir interlocutors , saying it is "childish and churlish" to accuse them of internationalising the issue.On the other hand, the BJP today demanded that the UPA government take the strongest possible action against writer activist Arundhati Roy for her "seditious" remarks on Kashmir and asked the Centre to spell out its policy vis-a-vis Kashmir and the separatists.
Meanwhile,In a significant step which will enable it to do nuclear commerce, India on Wednesday signed the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC), which sets parameters on a nuclear operator's financial liability, at the IAEA in Vienna.
The Indian move is seen as an effort towards allaying concerns of American companies on account of the newly-enacted Nuclear Liability law by Parliament.
"We can confirm that the Indian government has signed the CSC this morning," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) press officials told PTI from Vienna.
The international convention provides for compensation in case of trans-national implications of a nuclear accident and has been signed by 14 countries, including India.
However, only four countries-- the US, Argentina, Morocco and Romania have ratified the convention so far.
Upon entry into force, the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage would establish a uniform global legal regime for compensation to victims in the unlikely event of a nuclear accident.
The CSC provides for establishment of an international fund to increase the amount available to compensate victims and allows for compensating civil damage occurring within a State's exclusive economic zone, including loss of tourism or fisheries related income.
It also sets parameters on a nuclear operator´s financial liability, time limits governing possible legal action, requires that nuclear operators maintain insurance or other financial security measures and provides for a single competent court to hear claims.
According to IAEA, all states are free to participate in the convention regardless of their involvement in existing nuclear liability conventions or the presence of nuclear installations on their territories.
Adopted on 12 September 1997, the convention was opened for signature at the IAEA´s 41st general conference at Vienna that same month and is set to enter into force on the 90th day after date of ratification by at least five States who have a minimum of 400,000 units of installed nuclear capacity.
The government ruled out curbs on foreign portfolio investment into the equity market, but said the central bank may intervene in the forex market to check rupee appreciation that was hurting exports.
"At this time, I am not thinking of putting any cap on FII (foreign institutional investment) inflows," finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said at the annual economic editors conference.
Mr Mukherjee's statement comes just ahead of the G-20 meeting in Korea where heads of the world's largest economies are expected to discuss allegations that some countries are keeping their currency low to spur exports.
Mr Mukherjee acknowledged that the costly rupee hurt exports, but said RBI will take action if needed.
"We have faced similar situations in the past and have overcome them without taking recourse to stringent policy measures," he said.
The decline in September trade deficit to $9.1 billion from $13 billion in August has created room for the government to check inflows if needed without worrying about meeting the gap between exports and imports. The FII inflows in the current year has crossed $25 billion ($20 billion in equity and $5 billion in debt) in the current fiscal with $6.11 billion equity inflow coming in October itself. At this rate, inflows could cross the bumper $61.6 billion inflows seen in 2007-08, when the government was forced to take some tough measures. Currency analysts say the situation is far from alarming.
"Capital controls are not required right now," said Sunil Sinha, head of research and senior economist at rating agency CRISIL .
The current levels of capital inflows, which exceed financing requirements of the current account deficit, have put pressure on the rupee, resulting in its appreciation over the last few months, the finance minister said adding that current account deficit was likely to be 3% of India's gross domestic product. But if exports, which grew 23.2% in September, gain momentum, managing capital flows could become a challenge.
The RBI has already expressed concerns over rising capital flows, which could further increase after further monetary tightening, which looks imperative in view of the sticky inflation.
The rupee has gained 5.6% since early September due to sustained capital inflows, forcing the central bank to intervene in the forex market for the first time this fiscal year.
The finance minister said there had been a revival in investment and private consumption demand even though economic growth is yet to attain the pre-2008 momentum.
Mr Mukherjee said the economy would soon reach the 9% plus growth levels, but acknowledged that rising prices are a major concern.
"I will try to bring it (inflation) down through whatever mechanism we have... It would be ideal if we have 4-5 %, but (that) may be difficult. I do feel that annualised inflation rate would be around 6%," the finance minister said.
Inflation, which has become a big political issue, fell marginally to 8.6% in September. However, food inflation remained sticky at 15.53% for the week ended October 9.
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Arundhati Roy defends remarks on Kashmir
PTIShare · print · T+ <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article850684.ece?textsize=large&test=1" title="Large Text Size" >T+</a> · <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article850684.ece?textsize=small&test=2" title="Small Text Size">T-</a>
The HinduArundhati Roy at a seminar organised by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) in Srinagar, on Sunday. Photo: Nissar Ahmad
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Remarks made by Geelani, Roy unfortunate: Moily Centre not for filing charges against Arundhati, Geelani Kashmir was never integral part of India: Arundhati Congress asks Arundhati to retract remark on Kashmir Sedition case may be filed against Geelani, Arundhati 8 injured in clashes, curfew in Srinagar's old cityTOPICS
India Jammu and Kashmircrime, law and justice justice and rights
politics
Under attack over her statements on Kashmir, writer Arundhati Roy on Tuesday said she only spoke what "millions of people" in Kashmir have been saying everyday for years.
"Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds," Ms. Roy said in a statement from Srinagar where she is on a visit.
"Pity the nation that needs to jail those who ask for justice while communal killers, mass murderers, corporate scamsters, looters, rapists, and those who prey on the poorest of the poor, roam free," she said.
Her statement came against the backdrop of the government contemplating action against her and hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani under charges of sedition and seeking legal opinion in this regard.
Ms. Roy has made two speeches in New Delhi and Srinagar in the past few days in which she sought independence for Kashmir from India.
The writer said she has read in newspapers that she may be arrested on charges of sedition for her remarks supporting 'Azadi' for Kashmir. "I said what millions of people here say every day. I said what I as well as other commentators have written and said for years.
"Anybody who cares to read the transcripts of my speeches will see that they were fundamentally a call for justice," she said.
Keywords: Kashmir unrest, freedom of speech, sedition case
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article850684.ece
No charges of sedition likely against Geelani, Roy President Obama's visit and the ongoing dialogue with Srinagar, makes the home ministry bury the hatchet on sedition controversy BY Iftikhar Gilani
NEW DELHI: Union home minister, P Chidambaram has finally put his foot down against filing cases of sedition against writer and activist, Arundhati Roy and Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for making "provocative" speeches at a seminar in the Capital last week. The minister has returned the file, from Delhi police, which sought permission to file cases against the two under section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The government has also decided not to take any action against the organisers of the seminar, arguing that it was held after due police permission. Sources in the ministry told Tehelka that the decision was taken at the highest political level, as any action against the seminar and the speakers would have adversely affected the dialogue process with Srinagar, initiated recently by the government, with the help of its three interlocutors.
Though any state police does not need permission of the home ministry to file a case of sedition, the Delhi Police, had forwarded the concerned file to the ministry, after consulting its legal cell, keeping in view the political fall-out of the case. Further, sources said the government did not want to embarrass itself on the eve of the forthcoming visit of US President Barrack Obama. The ministry also fears that action against Geelani and Roy could re-ignite stone-pelting protests in the Valley, at a time when the three newly- appointed interlocutors are touring the state. "That is the last thing we want in the run-up to US President Barack Obama's maiden India visit next week," a source said. Under section 124A of the IPC, 1860, anyone who provokes a feeling of hatred, contempt or disaffection towards a government established by law is punishable. The punishment can be anything between three years imprisonment and a life term along with fine. Though the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been gunning for Arundhati Roy and Geelani since the seminar, at least the writer has received support from various quarters. Social activist and member of Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC), Aruna Roy said, "Just the expression of an opinion without inciting people is not seditious. She has just talked and she has a right to her opinion just as much as anybody else," she said. | ||||||
| Posted on October 27, 2010 | ||||||
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* http://www.tehelka.com/story_main47.asp?filename=Ws271010No_charges.asp
Arundhati Roy's dangerous Kashmiri causeLos Angeles Times - 41 minutes agoOn Tuesday the Indian government took steps to authorize the arrest of author Arundhati Roy for "sedition" because of statements she has made about the ... Sedition complaint filed against Arundhati Roy in PunjabSify - 49 minutes ago... Front (AIATF) has filed a complaint with Punjab police chief demanding registration of a sedition case against Booker Prize winner writer Arundhati Roy. ... Take strongest possible action against Arundhati Roy: BJPHindustan Times - 7 hours agoPTI The BJP on Wednesday demanded that the UPA government take the strongest possible action against writer activist Arundhati Roy for her "seditious" ... Written complaint against Arundhati RoyTimes of India - 7 hours agoNAINITAL: An Uttarakhand BJP leader has submitted a written complaint to police against writer Arundhati Roy for her recent remarks on Kashmir. ... Arundhati Roy Offends the Indian State – AgainWall Street Journal (blog) - Krishna Pokharel - 13 hours agoIn case of Arundhati Roy, winner of the 1997 Man Booker prize for "The God of Small Things," the nemesis has become the Indian state and the touchy issues ... Democracy's WayTimes of India - 1 hour agoTo judge by the brouhaha over whether or not Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy should be booked for sedition for stating that ... Arundhati Roy called a traitor for Kashmiri rights pleaIndependent - Andrew Buncombe - 18 hours agoThe Booker prize-winning writer Arundhati Roy has made a strident defence of comments she made over the disputed ... Govt 'unlikely' to take action against ArundhatiIBNLive.com - 15 hours agoNew Delhi: The Centre reluctant to press charges of sedition against book writer-activist Arundhati Roy for her strong comments on Kashmir, sources said. ... Cops face legal hurdle to slapping sedition charge on ArundhatiTimes of India - Manoj Mitta - 16 hours agoIf they book a sedition case against writer Arundhati Roy, the police will have to prove that her speeches on Kashmir, according to the law laid down by the ... Arundhati Roy Kashmir Statements Trigger InvestigationHuffington Post - 19 hours agoAuthor Arundhati Roy, after making public statements that Kashmir was not a vital part of India, is being investigated by the Indian government and could ... Arundhati Roy is dangerously wrong on KashmirDaily News & Analysis - 19 hours agoThere's a mesmeric, seductive quality to Arundhati Roy's prose. For all its verbiage, it teases, tempts and torments the mind and lures it into the parlour ... Centre not for filing charges against Arundhati Roy, GeelaniThe Hindu - Siddharth Varadarajan - 20 hours agoSPEAKING HER MIND: I spoke about justice for the people of Kashmir, says Arundhati Roy. Here, she is addressing a seminar in Srinagar on Sunday. ... Author Arundhati Roy defends Kashmir statementsAFP - 21 hours agoNEW DELHI — Indian author Arundhati Roy, facing possible sedition charges over remarks she made about disputed Indian Kashmir, said on Tuesday she had only ... Act against Roy, Geelani, demands Kashmiri Pandit groupHindustan Times - 21 hours agoAn organisation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits on Tuesday demanded action against writer-activist Arundhati Roy and separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani for ... Sedition case against Arundhati RoyHindustan Times - 22 hours agoPTI A case of alleged sedition has been filed in a local court against noted writer Arundhati Roy for her controversial remarks on Kashmir. ... Centre treads cautiously on calls for Arundhati's arrestHindustan Times - 21 hours agoAs the Centre prepares to take a final call on booking separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy for "seditious" speeches on Kashmir, ... Action against Roy, Geelani unlikely soonIndian Express - 19 hours ago... Ministry for a fresh legal opinion on whether a case of sedition was made out against Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy. ... Arundhati Roy could face 'sedition' trial over Kashmir commentsTelegraph.co.uk - Dean Nelson - Oct 26, 2010Arundhati Roy, the Booker Prize-winning author, could face trial for 'sedition' over her call for Kashmir's independence. By Dean Nelson in New Delhi The ... Booker winner faces arrest over KashmirNew Zealand Herald - Andrew Buncombe - 1 hour agoNEW DELHI - The Booker prize-winning writer Arundhati Roy has made a strident defence of comments she made over the disputed territory of ... Arundhati Roy may not be charged, we will forget her in few daysFrontier India - News, Analysis, Opinion - 59 minutes agoYesterday, I wrote about why Arundhati Roy should not be taken seriously (Understanding Arundhati Roy Kashmir). She just displayed her regional traits in a ... Why Arundhati Roy may not be charged with seditionNDTV.com - Oct 26, 2010New Delhi/Srinagar: First came the calls for azaadi by separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer-activist Arundhati Roy. Then came rowdy interruptions by ... BJP demands Geelani, Arundhati Roy's arrestHindustan Times - Oct 26, 2010The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday demanded the arrest of separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani and writer-activist Arundhati Roy, terming their ... Arundhati's statements evoke mixed reactionsIBNLive.com - Oct 26, 2010New Delhi: After writer and activist Arundhati Roy's statements stirred wide-spread controversy, Roy claimed she is espousing the cause of all Kashmiris, ... BJP demands arrest of Geelani, Arundhati Roy for seditionSify - Oct 26, 2010People who give statement against India itself, who make efforts against India, legal actions should be taken against (them); Geelani and Arundhati Roy ... LawMin yet to receive file on Geelani, Roy from MHA: MoilyHindustan Times - Oct 26, 2010At the convention on 'Azadi-- The Only Way', Geelani shared the stage with writer Arundhati Roy and pro-Maoist leader Vara Vara Rao among others. ... Writer Arundhati Roy May Be Arrested For Sedition After Kashmir RemarksGPB - Jj Sutherland - 3 hours agoIndian police have been given the go ahead to press sedition charges against author and activist Arundhati Roy. Roy has given speeches in ... Cong refuses to give much importance to Arundhati's remarksHindustan Times - Oct 26, 2010PTI Congress on Tuesday refused to attach much importance to the views of author Arundhati Roy on Kashmir, saying it was "erroneous" to do so as she was not ... Arundhati Roy defends remarks on KashmirThe Hindu - Oct 26, 2010PTI The Hindu Arundhati Roy at a seminar organised by Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) in Srinagar, on Sunday. Photo: Nissar Ahmad Under ... Media should stop paying attention to persons like Arundhati: CongressOneindia - Oct 26, 2010New Delhi, Oct.26 (ANI): Congress party on Tuesday urged the media to avoid giving unwanted attention to individuals like novelist Arundhati Roy who do not ... Police study Arundhati Roy's speechHindustan Times - Oct 26, 2010PTI Police are examining the text of the speech delivered by Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy at a seminar here to decide whether it 'merits legal action ... |
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Jethmalani has taken a position diametrically opposed to that of his party!
Stating that interlocutor Dileep Padgaonkar and his team's task of finding a "peaceful and lasting solution" to the Kashmir problem is "almost superhuman", Jethmalani said he "fervently" prayed for their success, despite having "serious misgivings".
"Even if they achieve partial result the nation would owe them a debt of gratitude. Neither by acts nor by words we should add to their difficulties," he said.
BJP had accused Padgaonkar of internationalising the Kashmir problem after he said a solution to the issue was not possible without involving Pakistan. The party had also questioned whether he was given the brief to make such statements by the Centre and sought a clarification from the Prime Minister's Office on the matter.
Now, Jethmalani has taken a position diametrically opposed to that of his party.
"It is childish and churlish to attack them for internalising the issue. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by his confabulations with President Pervez Musharraf and recently Foreign Minister S M Krishna confabulating with his counterpart Mr (Ahmad Shah) Qureshi were exactly doing that," Jethmalani said.
"Dialogue with Pakistan is a compulsory legacy of the Shimla Agreement of 1972. We cannot wish it out of existence," he added.
The eminent lawyer, known for his polemical stand on several issues, maintained that India should have more confidence in the "unchallengeable strength of our title deeds, both moral and legal".
Jethmalani suggested that secular democracies should be asked to mediate on this issue as they would "unhesitatingly" accept India's case. "Talks with Pakistan alone so far have not yielded satisfactory results," he said.
"I appeal to everyone to strengthen our three interlocutors," he added.
"When there is an elected government in Kashmir as the result of free and fair elections, how can someone say the state is not an integral part of India? Its nothing but sedition," senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said.
Addressing a press conference in Chennai, he said the country's unity and integrity cannot be allowed to be challenged in the name of freedom of expression and asserted that the crisis-hit state was an integral part of India.
"Parliament had adopted a unanimous resolution that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Nobody is above the law, however big she or he may be. We demand the strongest possible action against Roy," Naidu said.
Such incidents advocating separatism "should be nipped in the bud" he said and blamed the "inconsistent policies of the Congress-led UPA," for the present problems.
"The BJP demands a clear-cut policy from UPA vis-a-vis Kashmir and the separatists," Naidu said, adding any inaction on the part of the government will embolden further separatist elements.
To a query on BJP senior leader Ram Jethmalani supporting Kashmir interlocutors on their comments on Pakistan's role on the issue, Naidu said they were his "personal views and we (BJP) dont subscribe to it."
26 Oct, 2010, 05.32PM IST,ET Bureau
Disinvestment: Pranab says Govt won't disturb markets
NEW DELHI: All set to garner over Rs 15,000 crore from Coal India IPO, the government on Tuesday made it clear that it does not like to over flood the market with PSU issues and sell shares at depressed prices.
"My point on disinvestment is that we will not do anything to disturb the market. We will not like to have a situation where our shares will be sold under-priced," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Economic Editors' Conference here.
He said the government would bring in more PSU issues as and when the market is in a position to accept. "We gave an indicative target as we have a given in our budget Rs 40,000 crore," Mukherjee said.
The government has so far mopped up Rs 1,062 crore by divesting its stake in Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam , and Rs 960 crore through Engineers India FPO this fiscal. Besides, it is set to garner over Rs 15,000 crore from Coal India public issue which closed last week. Last fiscal, the government had raised Rs 23,553 crore through stake sale in Oil India, NMDC, REC and NTPC .
In a background note to the conference, the Finance Ministry said the government is likely to dilute its stake in seven more companies this fiscal, including 10 per cent disinvestment in Indian Oil Corporation in January and later in SAIL in February, to meet the target of raising Rs 40,000 crore.
The public issue of PowerGrid is expected in the second week of November and of Manganese Ore India Ltd towards the end of November.
That would be followed by Shipping Corporation in the first week of December, while Hindustan Copper public subscription would open on the second week of December, according to the background note of Finance Ministry for the Economic Editors' Conference that began today. "The department of disinvestment is hopeful of achieving this (Rs 40,000 crore) number," it added.
The new year will begin with the 20 per cent follow on offering (FPO) of IOC, followed by SAIL's disinvestment in February. "The follow-on public offering by way of disinvestment of 10 per cent of paid-up equity capital of the company (IOC) in conjunction with issue of fresh equity of equal size by the company is expected to open for public subscription in January 2011," the not said.
The FPO by way of disinvestment of 5 per cent of paid up capital of SAIL in conjunction with issue of fresh equity of equal size of the company is expected to open for public subscription in February 2011. The stake sale in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India is also under consideration for the current financial year, 2010-11.
40 yrs after encounter killing of Naxal leader, court finds ex-Kerala top cop guilty of murder!
KOCHI: Forty years after the encounter killing of Naxal leader A Varghese in Kerala's Waynad forests, a court on Wednesday held he was brutally killed and convicted former IGP K Lakshamana of murder but acquitted another top retired police official.
The theory of death of Varghese (43) in police encounter was an advance defence moulded as a pretext to commit the crime, said CBI special court judge S Vijay Kumar , as 74-year-old Lakshamana and 83-year-old wheelchair-bound ex- DGP P Vijayan heard the verdict with their family members.
"... no more evidence is needed, it is proved beyond any shadow of reasonable doubt that Varghese who was caught alive was brutally killed by the first accused (late CRPF constable Ramachandran Nair) who was a stooge of Lakshamana who on his order brought about his plan," he said.
The quantum of sentence will be pronounced tomorrow. Vijayan, who was given the benefit of doubt, said he was happy with the verdict while Lakshamana was taken to the Ernakulam sub-jail. Vijayan was SP when the incident occurred.
The case was resurrected a few years ago after Nair confessed in 1998 that he had shot Varghese at the behest of his superiors Vijayan and Lakshamana. Nair, who had said he made the confession to clear his conscience, died in 2006.
Lakshamana was also an accused in the infamous Rajan murder case, relating to the death of the Calicut Regional engineering college student who disappeared after being taken into custody by police for suspected links with Naxalites on March 1, 1976 during the Emergency.
Lakshamana was, however, later acquitted in the case. After the lifting of Emergency, Rajan's father T V Eachara Warrier fought a long legal battle and investigation following his habeas corpus petition in the Kerala High Court found that Rajan had perhaps died in police custody.
Varghese was gunned downed by police in what they had then called as encounter in the Thiruvenlli forests on February 18, 1970. Judge Vijay Kumar said Nair had committed the murder on the command of Lakshmana, the second accused, who was then DySP.
He convicted Lakshmana of the offence under under IPC section 302 (murder) read with section 34 (criminal act done by several persons with common intention).
The judge said the statement of witnesses has established Lakshamana's presence on the spot of crime and his giving threatening instructions to Nair to kill Varghese.
"Truth by its very nature does not yield to be kept hidden for ever. Truth which has been hither to hidden as covered by the glitter of golden plate, has by now, though belatedly, been discovered. Truth triumphs; Truth alone," the judge observed.
"The offence of custodial murder, be it of an extremist, terrorist or Naxalite , in the hands of police whose duty is to produce him before a court for trial, does not get wiped off merely by efflux of time, be it decades... cannot be justified in a society like ours where a written Constitution as ours reigns," the court held.
Available evidence in this case has withstood the test of time and has convincingly proved the complicity of Lakshamana. Equally the evidence is also not sufficient to prove the involvement of third accused, P Vijayan beyond reasonable doubt, the court held.
CBI took over the case on a 1999 directive from the Kerala High Court after Varghese's brothers approached it citing Nair's confession.
RBI may issue some banking licences this fiscal: Finance ministry
The government today said it expects the Reserve Bank to issue banking licences to some new players this fiscal, with the likes of Reliance Capital , Tata Group and AV Birla Group aspiring to enter the sector.
"RBI will issue banking licences in due course of time. We hope some of the licences will be issued this financial year," Financial Services Secretary R Gopalan told reporters here.
RBI had, in August, brought out a discussion paper on giving out new banking licences to business houses and non-banking finance companies to increase competition in the sector, and to formulate regulations for it.
The apex bank had said it may allow limited entrants, but was apprehensive about the independence and neutrality of banks controlled by industrial houses.
Besides, it disfavoured the entry of non-banking financial institutions with realty interests, and sought public comments on the issue of entry of private players into the banking arena.
Among the corporates which are aspiring for the licence are Reliance Capital, Tata Group, AV Birla Group and L&T. Also, NBFCs like Shriram Finance, LIC Housing, Mahindra Finance and IFCI are keen to start a bank.
Earlier this month, the central bank met representatives from the India Inc, to get industry view on allowing new players in the banking segment.
In a discussion paper titled, 'Entry of New Banks in Private Sector', the RBI also mooted the idea of bringing down the cap on foreign direct investment in banks to below 50 per cent from 74 per cent now.
When asked about finance ministry's take on RBI's proposal to ask foreign banks to operate as fully-owned subsidiaries, Gopalan said the ministry would take a view once the central bank comes out with a paper.
According to banking sources, the RBI may ask foreign banks which have attained a particular asset size to operate as fully-owned subsidiaries, rather than as branches.
"RBI is coming out with a paper. When they come out we will know the various issues and address it," Gopalan said.
Govt may go for disinvestment in 7 more companies this fiscal
The government is likely to dilute its stake in 7 more companies this fiscal, including 10 per cent disinvestment in Indian Oil Corporation in January and SAIL's stake sale in February, to meet the target of raising Rs 40,000 crore.
The public issue of PowerGrid is expected in the second week of November and of Manganese Ore India Ltd towards the end of November.
That would be followed by Shipping Corporation in the first week of December, while Hindustan Copper public subscription would open on the second week of December, according to the background note of Finance Ministry for the Economic Editors' Conference that began today.
"The department of disinvestment is hopeful of achieving this (Rs 40,000 crore) number," it added.
The new year will begin with the 20 per cent follow on offering (FPO) of IOC in January, followed by SAIL's disinvestment in February.
"The follow-on public offering by way of disinvestment of 10 per cent of paid-up equity capital of the company (IOC) in conjunction with issue of fresh equity of equal size by the company is expected to open for public subscription in January 2011," the not said.
The FPO by way of disinvestment of 5 per cent of paid up capital of SAIL in conjunction with issue of fresh equity of equal size of the company is expected to open for public subscription in February 2011.
The stake sale in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India is also under consideration for the current financial year, 2010-11.
Aiming to raise Rs 40,000 crore through disinvestment this fiscal, the government has mopped up Rs 1,062 crore by divesting stake in Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, and Rs 960 crore through Engineers India FPO.
Besides, it will raise over Rs 15,000 crore from Coal India public issue which closed last week.
Last fiscal, it had raised Rs 23,553 crore through stake sale in Oil India, NMDC, REC and NTPC .
The department of disinvestment is in talks with concerned ministries for finalising the quantum of divestment in PSUs like MMTC , Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, Power Finance Corporation , among others.
Defaulter Geelani asked to pay Rs 1.73 crore as IT dues
Income Tax department has asked hardline Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to pay Rs 1.73 crore in tax dues over a period when he had not filed his returns after rejecting his appeal.
The IT sleuths, who had swooped on residences of Geelani and his family members in 2002 and seized valuable items including a diamond-studded watch gifted by Pakistan Government, had raised a tax demand of over Rs 1.5 crore.
Geelani challenged the demand and approached the Commissioner of Income Tax (appeals) for review of the case and also sought a waiver, saying he did not earn anything other than the pension from Government of Jammu and Kashmir and from agriculture land.
The case dragged on for nearly three years and recently the appeal was dismissed after which he was asked to deposit Rs 1.73 crore as tax liabilities by the end of 2010.
Geelani, who heads the breakaway faction of Hurriyat Conference, has still the option to go to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT).
The Tax Department had raised the demand of Rs 1.73 crore against the firebrand Jamaat-e-Islami leader after giving him ample opportunities to furnish answers to a questionnaire about his sources of income.
The questionnaire followed an assessment of Geelani's wealth by the department following a series of raids conducted at his house and other places in June 2002.
The department had raided Geelani's house and other places of his kin on June 9, 2002 and seized Rs 10.2 lakh and 10,000 US dollars in cash, vouchers showing purchase of substantial amount of jewellery, a diamond-encrusted watch inscribed with "From Pakistan Government" besides documents pertaining to purchase of property and vehicles.
Geelani had shown an annual income of Rs 17,100--Rs 7,100 as pension from the state Assembly as a former MLA and Rs 10,000 as agriculture income.
However, according to the assessment made by the Income Tax Department, the monthly expenditure of Geelani allegedly ranged from Rs one lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh as he had 15 servants at his house and his wife had confirmed that she used to get Rs 25,000 per month for kitchen expenses.
When asked to comment, Geelani said he had not received the notice as yet and would like to first understand the grounds of rejection before reacting.
India-US may ink shale gas tech pact during Obama's visit
India plans to sign an agreement with the US for cooperation in exploiting unconventional shale gas reserves during President Barack Obama's visit next month.
"There have been some discussions... we hope to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) during US President's visit," Oil Minister Murli Deora said at the Economic Editors Conference in New Delhi.
India does not have technology to exploit shale gas, an unconventional gas trapped in sedimentary rocks and the US is a pioneer in the field.
Oil Secretary S Sundareshan said New Delhi was looking at cooperation with the US in ascertaining shale gas resources base in the country and formulating a policy framework for beginning shale gas exploration.
The agreement is expected to be signed with the US Geological Survey for knowledge-sharing in the area of shale gas.
India is looking at launching first round of auction of shale gas bearing areas by end of 2011.
India intends to see a boom in shale-gas exploration that has fuelled more than $39 billion acquisitions in the US by companies, including Reliance Industries .
Obama is visiting Mumbai and New Delhi during November 6-8 to deepen ties with the world's second-fastest-growing major economy after China.
Shale gas is trapped in geological shale formations and was previously very difficult to extract. But US firms have developed technologies to crack these tight rock formations, making output of the gas economical.
Energy-hungry India, which is 75 per cent dependent on imported oil, hopes to replicate the success seen in the US with its own shale gas reserves.
Shale gas deposits in India are expected in basins in western, central and northeastern parts of the country. Primarily, focus is on three basins -- Cambay (in Gujarat), Assam-Arakan (in the North-East) and Gondwana (in central India).
US did not share information on Headley, asserts Pillai
Home Secretary G.K. Pillai Wednesday said that India was disappointed that the US did not share information on Pakistani-American terror suspect David Coleman Headley , now in US custody, for conspiracy in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks .
"They did not share Headley's name. Had they done so, at least after the horrific Mumbai attacks, Headley could have been nabbed as he travelled to India in 2009 March," Pillai said in an interview to CNN-IBN.
Asked about media reports that the US did not act even after one of Headley's wives tipped off anti-terror officials about his militant links, Pillai said: "You could say we were disappointed that the name of David Headley was not shared, if not pre-26/11 at least post-26/11, so that at least when he came subsequently to India at that time we could have nabbed him here."
Pillai said the government is prepared for any eventuality during the four-day India visit of US President Barrack Obama starting Nov 6.
He said the government does not have any intelligence report of any 26/11 type attack during Obama's visit.
"But definitely, we do believe that the visit of the US president to India is, shall I say from the publicity point if view, large enough for people to try and create something, even if it's not in some place nearby where Obama would be there but could be somewhere else."
"Therefore, we have to take all adequate precautions," the home secretary said.
Pillai said the sharing of intelligence between India and the US has increased considerably.
"We have also signed the counter-terrorism initiative...we are getting into new areas of cooperation, not just in intelligence but like training of our forensic scientists so that there is a better investigation of terrorism cases, also cooperation in many other aspects of terrorism," he added.
Pillai said he did not see any impact of the US pressure on Pakistan reflected on the activities of militants in Kashmir.
"Whatever they have...they have been putting some pressure, we really haven't seen any real action insofar as groups that are coming and creating trouble for us in Kashmir," he said.
He said there was fear that incidents of killing of civilians like in Chittisinghpora in Kashmir on the eve of then president Bill Clinton's visit in 2000 would be repeated.
"That's the type of fear we have that innocent civilians will be killed and the blame would then be put. Like last time, the entire blame was put on the Indian Army having conducted that and all indications are that the propaganda machinery would be out to do almost the same, and therefore we are being careful."
The home secretary said, "Militants would like to try and see if they can have any spectacular incident which they could then get worldwide attention on that".
"And we are taking whatever precautions we can to see that no innocent civilian lives are lost," Pillai said.
V K Shunglu gets SC judge status to probe CWG mess
Government has conferred the status of a Supreme Court judge on V K Shunglu , head of the two member high-level probe committee, to go into the alleged financial irregularities in the Commonwealth Games with greater authority.
The order enhancing the status of Shunglu, a former Comptroller and Auditor General, was issued by the the Cabinet Secretary, which also provides for the member Shantanu Consul, to enjoy the status of Secretary to the Government of India.
Consul, who retires this week end from the government as Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, will join the HLC as its member, after October 30.
The committee will have the authority to summon officials, inspect records, call evidence and to look into all the official documents pertaining to the mega sporting event that came under sharp focus following allegations of massive corruptions.
Sources said that the Shunglu panel has been given a "free hand" to decide its course of action including probe procedure, manpower requirements and appointments of advisers and counsels to further investigations.
They said the Ministry of Sports has been asked to extend all possible support to the Committee, set up by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 15 to investigate the scam and submit its report within three months.
The committee will examine the "weaknesses in management, alleged misappropriation, irregularities, wasteful expenditure and wrongdoing in the conduct of the Games and recommend action".
It would also probe the issues relating to the effectiveness of the organisational structure and governance for organisation, preparation and conduct of the Games at all levels, including the Organising Committee and its key functional areas.
The Committee will also probe the role of international or national advisors/consultants/officials of the Organising Committee in conducting the Games.
The Shunglu panel will also consider any complaint from public, duly supported by documents, concerning the conduct of the Games.
27 Oct, 2010, 08.11PM IST, Joe A Scaria,ET Bureau
On Kashmir, US is caught between two friends: Cohen
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pakistan and India may both be anxious about the US stand on Kashmir , particularly when the K-issue is on the boil again, but foreign policy expert Stephen Cohen of the Brookings Institution, Washington DC feels the US in fact has no regional policy on Kashmir.
"The US has no regional policy on Afghanistan or Kashmir", Cohen said here, pointing out that it was a matter to be solved by India and Pakistan, with the US having its own friendly links with either country.
The US, he said, was concerned about two serious threats, namely the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Al Qaeda in Pakistan, and pointed out that had Pakistan not had nuclear capability, the matter would not have acquired such a dimension of importance.
Speaking here ahead of US president Barack Obama's visit to the country, Cohen said India had some decades ago enjoyed the bipolarity of those days, "benefiting from Soviet weapons and US aid", and playing one against the other from time to time. He said India took on a bolder stand in the 1990s by showing nuclear defiance at a time when the big powers were pushing for non-proliferation.
Explaining the warmth of relationship that Pakistan enjoyed with the US, Cohen said that on a larger perspective Pakistan being a moderate Islamic state lend itself to being an ally of the West, while India has been seen as an ally to the East as a balancer of a rising China. Taking a critical view of the US policy for the region, Cohen said the US was "unable or unwilling to have a coherent South Asia policy".
In the backdrop of president Obama's visit, Cohen said there were many serious issues on which the two countries could collaborate, and that the US would be seeking to know whether India would be a global partner on issues like environment, terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
Cohen, who has co-authored Arming without Aiming: India Modernizes its Military, said any weakening of the Pak state could pose strategic problems for the US, and that in some ways China was not seen as an inevitable threat, but also as a potential.
The enlarged presence of Indians in the US and the increasing amount of bilateral business engagements between the two countries would make the relations between the two countries more vibrant, he said.
India's 'Look East' policy has strategic goals
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three-nation visit to Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam marks a reassertion of India's resolve to pursue its "Look East Policy" to achieve its strategic, geo-political and economic goals.
The signing of a commitment to expand trade with Malaysia next week, a number of pacts with Vietnam and an understanding with Japan on nuclear energy are the highlights of his tour.
That the Look East Policy - begun in the nineties under then prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in whose government Manmohan Singh was the finance minister - has received priority is clear from Manmohan's decision not to visit New York this September for the UN General Assembly, an ideal venue for world leaders to hold bilateral discussions on the sidelines.
The man who pushed for the free trade agreement (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) wants to reach out to a 550 million-strong consumer market that exudes a magnetic appeal to the world's industry. Besides the large consumer base, the region is rich in raw materials and energy, which India badly needs for its future development.
India has obvious constraints in its own region, where the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has not done too well. It is hardly surprising that India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna recently pointed to the dynamic growth rates posted in trade and investment in East Asia and Southeast Asia.
Cooperation between India and ASEAN has moved at a fast pace since India launched its economic reforms and the Look East Policy in the 1990s. India was a full dialogue partner at the fifth ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in 1995 and became a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum in 1996. India and ASEAN have held summit meetings annually since 2002.
Manmohan will be at the eighth ASEAN-India summit in Vietnam next week.
An FTA with ASEAN signed in August last year in Thailand will boost the group's economic and trade relations with India. India's trade with ASEAN has surged from $39.08 billion (RM122 billion) in 2007-08 to $45.34 billion in 2008-09. There is great potential for trade and investment between India and ASEAN.
Forming the backdrop of the Manmohan visit to the region was one last month by President Pratibha Patil to Laos and Cambodia. Not only were cultural agreements signed but business talk was also conducted.
The state visits have, in the past, been largely ceremonial in nature. But, now, business delegations accompany the head of state. Patil's delegation had 45 business people. This is a recent trend and constitutes a significant change that allows economic ties to drive bilateral and multilateral relations.
Patil said the engagement with Cambodia and Laos was set to substantially expand, and would be taken forward bilaterally and through ASEAN. In Laos, India extended a credit line of $72.55 million to finance two power projects. In Cambodia, Patil signed two agreements, the first between the comptroller and auditor-general of India and the National Audit Authority of Cambodia, and the second for a $15 million credit line between EXIM Bank and the Cambodian government for Phase II of the Stung Tassal water development project.
Cambodia is the country coordinator for India in ASEAN and will occupy the ASEAN chair in 2012, when India hosts the commemorative India-ASEAN summit in New Delhi.
World has enough space for growth ambitions of India, China: PM
PUTRAJAYA ( MALAYSIA): Setting a positive tone ahead of his meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said there is "enormous" possibility of India and China working together as the world has enough space to accommodate the growth ambitions of both the countries.
Singh, while replying to a question on India-China relations after delivering a lecture on 'India's Development Experience', kept aside the controversial issues like stapled visas over which the two countries had a war of words yesterday.
"India and China are both fast growing economies. China happens to be the largest trading partner of India even though there is imbalance (in China's favour)," he said.
Singh said he was often asked whether India and China were competitors and he responded by saying that there are "enormous possibilities" for the two countries to work together.
"The world is large enough to accommodate the growth ambitions of both India and China," he said, adding his government was approaching the relations with China with this approach.
The Prime Minister skirted the controversial issues that plague the bilateral relations like issuance of stapled visas by China to people from Jammu and Kashmir over which India is angry as it sees the action amounting to questioning its sovereignty.
China started the practice of issuing the stapled visas about two years back and the issue triggered a major row in July this year when Beijing wanted to give such a visa to India's Northern Area Commander Lt Gen B S Jaswal.
India responded by suspending high-level defence exchanges for which Lt Gen Jaswal was travelling to Beijing and has repeatedly made it clear that these will remain on "pause" till China reverts to its earlier position on Jammu and Kashmir.
The issue is expected to figure in talks that Singh will have with Wen in Hanoi on Friday, the first top level contact since the July incident. The two leaders will be in the Vietnamese capital for ASEAN Summit.
Earlier, in his 'Khazanah Global Lecture', Singh said when he was a student, few dreamt that India and China or other Asian nations would catch up with the industrialised world. "Today, few doubt that a fundamental change in the global economy is underway."
He said dynamic emerging economies are growing rapidly despite a period of slow growth in the industrialised world.
US can do little for India's success or failure: think tank
WASHINGTON: The US can contribute only marginally to India's success or failure, suggests a US think tank as it advised Washington to focus on global issues that will also affect India's longer-term interests.
"Most of what the US government can do for India lies in the broader global arena, and most of what India needs at home it must do for itself," says the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in a new report.
Authored by the think tank's Nuclear Policy Programme Director George Perkovich , the 54-page report notes that as President Barack Obama prepares to visit India next month, he faces criticism that his administration has done too little to enhance US-India relations.
The report titled "Toward Realistic US-India Relations" argues that expectations for a partnership between the two countries in the near term are unrealistically high and overlook how their interests, policies, and diplomatic style will often diverge.
"US policy cannot do much to help India's rise, but it can inflict major damage on global problem-solving efforts if it defers too readily to the narrow, often mercantile demands of the current relationship," writes Perkovich.
"Rather than maintaining the pretence of partnership, a truly pro-India policy would acknowledge that India has different near-term needs and interests as a developing country than does the United States, even as it recognises that each will benefit in the long run from the success of the other," he writes.
Key Conclusions:
* Interests are divergent. Careful analysis of the US and Indian interests does not show a close convergence in some key areas, and in cases such as China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, they differ in how to pursue shared interests even when both states benefit from each other's successes.
* Democracy can divide. Shared democracy is said to make the US and India "natural allies", but domestic politics and economics often keep each state from adopting policies that would befit a partnership.
* Bilateral relations should not be used to contain China. Emphasising military competition with China, as some do, is counterproductive.
* Nuclear energy cannot transform the relationship. The civil nuclear cooperation agreement between the two countries has not turned the relationship into a partnership, as envisioned.
But it has undermined US leadership credibility in trying to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime.
25 Oct, 2010, 09.14AM IST, Rajat Pandit,TNN
Navy to shop for maritime patrol aircraft, spy drones
NEW DELHI: With terror as well as conventional threats emanating from sea remaining a clear and present danger, India wants to keep hawk-eyed tabs on the entire Indian Ocean Region (IOR). And, if required, "kill" any threat before it approaches Indian shores.
After finalizing the acquisition of 12 P-8I Poseidon long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft for $3.1 billion, the Navy has now re-launched the hunt for six to eight new medium-range surveillance (MRMR) planes and additional spy drones . The defence ministry floated global RFIs (request for information) for the MRMR aircraft, with an operating range of over 350 nautical miles, and HALE (high-altitude, long-endurance) unmanned aerial vehicles, with a service ceiling above 40,000 feet and endurance over 25 hours, earlier this month.
The radar-packed LRMR and MRMR planes, both of which will also be equipped with anti-ship and submarine warfare capabilities in the shape of deadly missiles, as well as the UAVs form part of Navy`s plan for an effective three-tier aerial surveillance grid in the IOR.
This comes at a time when the government, jolted out of its slumber by the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai, is also going in for a major upgrade of the Coast Guard`s air wing.
In addition to the existing 24 Dorniers and 21 helicopters, the government has approved 42 new aircraft for the Coast Guard, which is also holding trials for six MRMR aircraft with Beriev-200 and Bombardier-Q400 being the contenders in the Rs 1,100 crore project. Then, Navy is all set to get its communication and surveillance satellite, with an around 1,000 nautical mile footprint over IOR , in what will be India`s first dedicated military satellite.
To be launched by ISRO soon, the geo-stationary satellite will ensure a quantum jump in Navy`s C4ISR (command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) capabilities. By networking all its warships, submarines and aircraft among themselves as well as with operational centres ashore through high-speed data links, the Navy hopes to detect maritime threats in real-time to ensure swift retaliatory action.
This is necessary since India has a vast 5,422-km coastline, 1,197 islands and 2.01 million sq km of Exclusive Economic Zone, which will increase to around 3 million sq km after the delineation of the continental shelf, apart from its primary area of strategic interest stretching from Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait.
As was first reported by TOI, the defence ministry recently cleared the acquisition of four more P-8I Poseidon aircraft, which will add to the eight such LRMR planes already contracted from Boeing under the $2.1 billion deal inked in January 2009. The first P-8I is slated for induction in early-2013.
Incidentally, the MRMR procurement process had also begun some years ago but it got derailed due to a single-vendor situation. The naval staff qualitative requirements for the MRMR planes are now being drafted afresh.
Obama likely to visit only Delhi, Mumbai during India visit
WASHINGTON: Mumbai and New Delhi are most likely to be the only two cities that US President Barack Obama would be visiting during his maiden India trip next month.
This was stated by highly placed sources ahead of the formal announcement of his schedule by the White House.
If he visits only two cities, Obama would be following his predecessor George W Bush, who also travelled to just New Delhi and Hyderabad during his three-day stay in India in 2006.
But this would be unlike the visit of Bill Clinton to India in 2000 when he travelled to Agra, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Mumbai, besides New Delhi - five cities in total.
Informed sources said that discussions were held on a number of other Indian cities including Amritsar - where an advance team had gone; but the White House finally decided to opt for only New Delhi and Mumbai, which it thought would be the best way given the time constraint.
However, this would be for the first time that a US President would be landing in India other than New Delhi. He is most likely to arrive in Mumbai in the wee hours of November 6.
The exact time is unlikely to be disclosed because of security reasons.
In Mumbai, he is likely to kick-off his public engagement with some kind of commemorative events for the 26 /11 victims. Thereafter he is likely to meet top CEOs of India and the US; which is part of his agenda to give a major thrust to economic ties between the two countries.
"It has been the business sector, both Indian and American, that has helped shape this extraordinary US-India strategic partnership.
"It led to this moment in history when the two countries now are truly going to embark on a partnership of mutual respect," said Ron Somers, President of the US India Business Council, which has been asked by the White House to host a summit of Indian and American business leaders.
India, other emerging mkts more optimistic on tackling climate
Emerging market economies, including India and China, are more optimistic than the rest of the world in terms of concern, personal commitment and the belief that climate change can be stopped, a survey by HSBC Holdings Plc said.
According to HSBC's "Climate Confidence Monitor", one in three people in Vietnam, India and China believe that climate change can be halted, compared to just one in twenty in developed economies such as France and the UK.
Moreover, two thirds (64 per cent) of respondents in China claimed that they have been making significant efforts to contribute their bit in reducing climate change, compared to 23 per cent in the UK, 20 per cent in the US and 11 per cent in Japan.
"The climate business sector is growing fast and emerging markets are leading the way. Governments are pushing ahead with decarbonising their economies and businesses are responding by producing more low carbon goods and services," HSBC Europe, Middle East and Global Chairman Stuart Gulliver Businesses said.
The survey further said that climate change is one of the top three concerns globally, on a par with economic stability and terrorism. In Hong Kong and Vietnam, climate change is the number one concern.
"Over half of respondents in Brazil, India and Malaysia strongly agreed their country would prosper and new jobs would be created by responding to climate change," the report said adding the scene is less optimistic in the UK and the US, where a third of people believe business opportunities and economic prospects presented by climate change is encouraging.
The survey, which included response from over 15,000 respondents across 15 markets also called for greater business investment to address climate change.
27 Oct, 2010, 06.35PM IST, Sudeshna Sen,ET Bureau
Does success of CIL IPO spell end of foreign listings by Indian cos?
India's capital markets have more than come of age to meet growing domestic demand for capital, with BSE and NSE nudging aside international favourites like New York and London stock exchanges, finds a report from the City of London Corporation examining capital raising trends from emerging markets, India, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa.
"Brazil and India's local capital markets will be the primary venues for Indian firms to raise capital, unless there are compelling reasons to go abroad," the report, produced by Trusted Sources. However, India Inc's enthusiasm for overseas acquisitions will continue to be the biggest driver for foreign listings by Indian companies, finds the report.
Released on the eve of a visit to India by Nick Anstee, the Lord Mayor of London, who represents the financial services sector, the report finds that while demand for investment capital from emerging markets is expected to grow, increasing sophistication of local markets pose a long-term threat to the dominance of centres like New York and London.
The BSE and NSE will be the main avenues for capital raising over the next few years, and can handle jumbo issuances of about US$3-4 billion without the support of dual or follow-on GDR listings, as was necessary in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In Russia or Mexico, the markets are still not large and liquid enough. The reason behind this is that foreign investors who can use the QIP route are "increasingly willing to buy equity in local primary markets rather than wait for GDR or ADR issuances," says the report.
Foreign investors put in US$4.3 billion in primary markets compared with US$8.4 billion in secondary markets in 2010 in India. This route to raising capital has saw 62 QIP issues raising US$9.2 billion. However, Indian companies' outbound activities will ensure that many continue to opt for foreign listings, while specific sectors will continue to gravitate to their natural investor base, both for a sophisticated after market and higher valuations. Indian firms invested US$17.5 billion outside India in FY2009 and US$12 billion in FY2010, according to the report.
New York and London still remain the top choices for most emerging market issuers, while Hong Kong and Singapore are emerging as destinations mainly for China facing stocks. New York remains a favourite for Mexico, and among Indians, for technology and banking stocks. London is the preferred destination for energy, commodities, mining, metals, and renewable energy companies from India.
While renewable energy stocks have higher valuations than in India, in mining and metals there is a cluster of existing companies like Vedanta and Essar providing a ready made sectoral investor and analyst base. Singapore is likely to emerge as the hub for real estate and REITS.
In terms of M&A, the motivation for Indian companies expanding abroad to list in their target markets is to raise their profile and reputation among host consumers, suppliers, financiers and investors, finds the report. Debt costs and forex risk might also be more favourable, especially if the local debt for acquisition is in the local currency as the acquired firm. Another motivator for overseas issues is that ADRs and GDRs are non-voting stock, but domestic QIP issues are voting stock.
27 Oct, 2010, 05.44PM IST,ET Now
Market may touch new highs
Does it seem like the quarterly numbers that we are seeing are going to take us further high and are we going to see new levels anytime soon?
Ajay Parmar : I think if you look at the numbers corporate numbers have been very good but even if you look at, if you really want to see the new highs you have to really see whether the macro factors are supporting you or not. I believe on the macro side interest rates I do not think will go up to a great level, take inflation we think that it can be around 6% or so which is very reasonable.
Look at the fiscal deficit, I think that is also almost constraint so I believe that if macro things are working in your favour, we should see the new highs now when I think that is a belief that one can take it. But the corporate is also doing very well domestically macro numbers on India is doing very well. Overseas I do not see bigger worries coming from the US. In fact the dollar seems to be weakening which is again good for the stocks. Fourth thing comes from the euro, I think the euro worry seems to be also receding so it looks like positive right now.
India must improve infrastructure to compete with China: Narayana Murthy
BANGALORE: India needs to improve its infrastructure significantly if it has to compete with China, said N. R. Narayana Murthy , non-executive Chairman of Infosys Technologies .
Addressing an All India Management Association (AIMA) Conference here, Murthy said that improved efficiency and lowered costs are the only way India can compete with cheaper countries for IT and IT-Enabled Services (ITES).
"At this point of time, to be able to compete with a country like China and even countries like Vietnam and others who happen to be even cheaper than India, it's not going to be very easy unless we improve our infrastructure significantly, unless we enhance the efficiency of our supply chain, and at the same time bring down the cost of those services. It's not going to be easy for India to compete with these countries," said Murthy.
Murthy added that the Indian IT industry is growing at the rate of 20 percent per annum, and in the next decade would reach a figure of 300 billion dollars.
"The industry grows at 20 percent per annum. In the next decade, we can reach that figure clearly of 300 billion dollars from the current figure of what is 50 billion dollars, or so. On the other hand, if we grow at 10 percent, then we can indeed do that in, perhaps, in about 16-17 years. And most often we have performed better than what the projections have said. Therefore, I think we are all quite positive that there will be great opportunities," added Murthy.
He said that the areas where incremental opportunities can be seen are the public sector and governance. The second area for such opportunities would be from emerging markets as against the developed world and the third would be relatively newer fields like appliance, computing, firmware, genomics, healthcare and the digital economy.
Critical issues being faced by the knowledge and professional services industry in India today were discussed at the conference and a road map was developed to stay ahead of the global competition.
India's 60 billion dollars outsourcing industry employs over two million people and accounts for five percent of the country's economic output.
27 Oct, 2010, 07.39PM IST,REUTERS
Farm minister to talk to state govts on multi-brand retail FDI
NEW DELHI: India's Farm Minister Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday he would talk to state governments about the country opening up its multi-brand retail sector to foreign direct investment .
India's retail sector is largely closed to foreign firms and favours small family-run stores, with 51 percent of FDI allowed only in the single-brand retail sector. Multi-brand retail is restricted to cash-and-carry or wholesale outlets.
Opening up the sector would ease massive supply bottlenecks that have contributed to keeping inflation stubbornly high in India, Asia's third-largest economy.
27 Oct, 2010, 05.03PM IST,REUTERS
Forex intervention involves costs: RBI
MUMBAI: Intervention in the foreign exchange market to stem sharp appreciation in currencies has costs, Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Wednesday.
Buying dollars adds liquidity to the banking system, which aggravates inflation . Sterilising resultant liquidity can push up interest rates, which in turn attracts further inflows, the Reserve Bank of India governor said.
"Managing currency tensions will require a shared understanding on keeping exchange rates aligned to economic fundamentals, and an agreement that currency interventions should be resorted to not as an instrument of trade policy but only to manage disruptions to macroeconomic stability," Subbarao said.
Since the start of September, the rupee has risen by nearly 6 percent on the back of $11.7 billion in foreign fund inflows in stocks, attracted in part by the country's largest ever IPO, a $3.5 billion share sale by Coal India.
The Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies agreed on Saturday to move towards market-determined exchange rates and to pursue the full range of policies needed to reduce excessive external imbalances.
Ultra-low interest rates in developed markets have sent a flood of funds to higher-yielding emerging markets in search of higher returns, putting upward pressure on currencies and prompting several countries to impose capital controls.
The rupee, which hasn't gained as much as its Asian peers this year, has risen by 4.6 percent in 2010, helped by a record $24.7 billion foreign fund inflows into equities. In 2009, net equity portfolio inflows were $17.5 billion.
Subbarao said managing capital flows is not a problem that should be managed only by emerging market economies.
"In as much as lumpy and volatile flows are a spillover from policy choices of advanced economies, the burden of adjustment has to be shared," Subbarao said.
He also said that it is unrealistic to expect emerging market economies to carry the full burden of lifting global growth.
26 Oct, 2010, 10.28AM IST, Deepshikha Sikarwar & Vinay Pandey,ET Bureau
ONGC may go off selloff list; govt likely to cap sale at 40k cr
NEW DELHI: The government is not keen on raising more than the budgeted Rs 40,000 crore this year from stake sales in public sector firms, said a government official, indirectly hinting one of the proposed big-ticket offers could be pushed to next year.
"There is no need for us to do more (than Rs 40,000 crore) this year," a finance ministry official said, adding that a strong programme next year will help fiscal consolidation. Oil and gas producer ONGC looks the most likely candidate to be moved from the list of companies to hit the market this year.
"If the government decides to stick to this year's divestment schedule, it could raise more than Rs 60,000 crore. It has already raised more than Rs 17,000 crore this year, helped by the hugely successful Coal India offer. Proposed mega offers from Indian Oil Corporation and Steel Authority of India will help the government achieve the target. As a strategy it is not bad to spread it (disinvestment) out," said DK Srivastava, director of Madras School of Economics. He said the momentum is there due to good market conditions and robust inflows. He, however , cautioned that a thorough assessment of the market conditions needs to be carried out.
The Rs 1,00,000-crore windfall from sale of 3G and broadband spectrum, against the Rs 35,000-crore target, has given sufficient cushion to the government to meet the Rs 55,000 crore extra expenditure in the first supplementary demand for grants. Tax collections have also beat budgeted estimates in the first six months of the fiscal, indicating the government will exceed the target for the whole year. Gross tax collections are budgeted to grow at 17.9% in the current fiscal to Rs 7,47,000 crore. In April-September , the total tax collection rose nearly 30% to Rs 3,32,000 crore.
At the end of August 2010, the fiscal deficit was 39.7% of the budgeted amount, compared with 45.5% at the same time last year.
The finance ministry has already reduced the gross borrowing for the current year by Rs 10,000 crore, as it expects robust revenues to reduce the borrowing requirement. Meeting its fiscal deficit target for the next year will also be a priority for the government, which has targeted a cut in deficit to 4.8% of the gross domestic product next fiscal year from the 5.5% budgeted in the current year.
The cut in the fiscal deficit would require a strong contribution from divestment. Stake sale in ONGC could set the tone for a good selloff programme next year.
Better-than-expected selloff proceeds this year could help the government reduce the fiscal deficit by a few basis points, but will make things difficult next year as new companies would have to be lined up. The government can use the disinvestment proceeds for expenditure on social sector until Match 2012. After that the proceeds will go to the National Investment Fund, which will not help in bridging the fiscal deficit.
26 Oct, 2010, 07.14PM IST,REUTERS
Govt warms to Wal-Mart's retail push
NEW DELHI: The government sounded a positive note on Tuesday on opening up to foreign direct investment in the massive but politically sensitive multi-brand retail sector by global players like Wal-Mart and Carrefour . Food Processing Minister Subodh Kant Sahai backed calls by Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, to open up parts of the tightly regulated $450 billion retail sector and said this may happen next year.
"I am in favour of it because this will give market-driven farming to farmers," Sahai told reporters at an event attended by visiting Wal-Mart Stores Chief Executive Mike Duke. India's retail sector is largely closed to foreign firms and favours small mom and pop stores, with 51 percent of foreign direct investment allowed only in the single-brand retail sector. Multi-brand retail is restricted to cash-and-carry or wholesale outlets.
Opening up the sector would ease massive supply bottlenecks that have helped keep inflation stubbornly high.
"It is very much on (the) agenda," Sahai said referring to opening up the multi-brand retail sector to foreign investment. "Let's see, by next year," Sahai said, when asked about the time frame for such a move. Still, it is not the first time the government has hinted at possibly relaxing the rules. Over the past few years the government has moving forward on reforms only to backtrack in the face of local opposition.
Wal-Mart, in partnership with India's top telecoms group Bharti Enterprise, operates four cash-and-carry outlets in India. India, which along with China is leading annual economic growth among major economies, is increasingly a hot investment destination for global companies keen to tap into the massive, decentralised yet heavily regulated market.
POLITICAL MINEFIELD
An estimated 40 percent of India's farm produce spoils before reaching consumers -- an alarming statistic in a country where millions go hungry. Cold storage is scarce and expensive. With mom-and-pop stores accounting for over 90 percent of domestic trade, the issue remains a political minefield for a ruling Congress party fearful of losing its populist appeal through potential job losses and protests from farmers.
Many local retailers still oppose relaxing restrictions for fear that global titans will drive local stores out of business.
But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has begun to speak more positively recently on relaxing the rules, hoping the benefits of such a move -- creating thousands of jobs and reining in inflation by curbing waste -- would douse political opposition.
25 Oct, 2010, 06.42AM IST,ET Bureau
Tata Motors pips RIL to emerge as India's top brand
You don't get to drive past Reliance Industries everyday. But that's exactly what Tata Motors has done in the 2010 edition of India's Most Valuable Brands survey. The Tata Motors-Jaguar-Land Rover combine, with a valuation of $8.45 billion, has over taken Reliance to top the list of the 50 most valuable corporate brands in India.
BrandFinance, a London-based global brand valuation firm, did the study in exclusive partnership with The Economic Times.
The brand valuation of Tata Motors-JLR grew 172% over its 2009 value of $3.1 billion when it was at No. 5 in the pecking order. Reliance, the petrochemicals-to-retail major, saw a10% erosion in its brand value at $7.04 billion, down from $7.8 billion in 2009.
BrandFinance used the relief-from-royalty method to value the top corporate brands in India. This methodology assumes that a company does not own its brand and needs to license it from a third party. The net present value of the future revenue flow from such licensing is treated as the brand valuation.
The practice of putting a financial value to a brand, which is essentially an intangible asset, is gaining traction in India Inc. Large business houses like the Tatas, Godrej and Infosys have also started using this.
It serves many purposes. First, it takes the brand from the exclusive purview of the marketing chief of a company and brings it to the attention of its CEO, CFO and the board. This comes in handy particularly at the time of making or managing acquisitions.
Secondly, managements also get an objective tool to measure how well or how poorly they have managed a brand, which often offers a competitive advantage. "A brand-led business design and investment thesis is not a fancy option but a necessity to deliver on the business' full potential," said Unni Krishnan, managing director of BrandFinance India.
The top 50 Most Valuable (Company) Brands, 2010, were drawn up from consumer-facing corporate brands listed on BSE. Companies such as Hindustan Unilever, which own a large portfolio of brands, were not included.
25 Oct, 2010, 01.52AM IST,ET Bureau
India's most valuable brands 2010
On the face of it, India Inc's leading brands seem to have done quite well in 2009-10 — a year when the world economy was on its knees, gasping for breath in the aftermath of a recession. In such a year, the combined brand value of the top 50 companies rose 15% to $76 billion, according an annual survey of India's Most Valuable Brands by BrandFinance, in an exclusive partnership with The Economic Times. The figure had remained stagnant at $67 billion last year over $66.8 billion in 2008.
The top 50 brands may have gained $9 billion in value, but in reality only five companies accounted for as much as $8 billion of that increase. (see chart – Top Gainers). More importantly, just one company, Tata Motors, registered a $5.3 billion growth in the value of its brand – single-handedly accounting for about two-thirds of the value growth of the top 50 companies.
This, at once, brings two questions into play. First, how did Tata Motors manage to unlock so much value in an intangible asset called brand? And second, where did other companies miss out and how are they now planning to grow the value of their brands?
The answer to the first largely lies in its ability to unlock some value of Jaguar and Land Rover brands. "JLR was part of a larger conglomerate (Ford). So the market couldn't value them (at the time of the deal)," says Carl-Peter Forster, CEO and MD Tata Motors.
The second question is engaging India Inc like never before. New global compulsions are forcing large business groups, like the Tatas for example, to take a complete re-look at the way brands have been managed. The group is now looking to craft an all-new architecture for global brand management. "The Tata name is a valuable brand property and is now like a landscape that has to be nurtured to come up beautifully," says R Gopalakrishnan, executive director of Tata Sons.
Business families such as Godrej, Dabur and GMR have drafted guidelines on how scions starting new business ventures can and cannot use the brands. They are seeing themselves as mere custodians of brands — an asset that needs to be preserved and nurtured for perpetuity.
According to Amit Burman, non-executive vice chairman of Dabur India , the Burman family has decided that no member who plans to float a new venture in his individual capacity would use the brand Dabur. "It is only when all the family members collectively set up a new venture would they be allowed to use the brand," he says.
A few are exploring brand holding companies pretty much along the lines of holding companies that control the equity a family has invested in group companies. "We have divided group companies according to product segments and each company uses brand Godrej for that category alone," says Adi Godrej. For instance, Godrej Consumer Products owns the brand for only FMCG, while Godrej & Boyce owns Godrej brand only for the consumer durables. So, if tomorrow, Godrej Consumer enters a new category other than FMCG, it will not use the brand Godrej.
Sectors like IT that have so far competed on the India's `low-cost advantage' are now figuring out that a stronger brand equity can help find better traction with customers and help earn better profit margins.
25 Oct, 2010, 12.19AM IST, Deepshikha Sikarwar,ET Bureau
Microfinance to get a regulator in NABARD
NEW DELHI: A worried government has put on fast track the proposed bill to regulate micro-lenders, as it seeks to ensure that over-regulation by states does not kill the sector that is envisaged to play a big role in furthering financial inclusion.
The finance ministry could move a bill in the winter session of Parliament that will make Nabard responsible for regulation of all non-profit microfinance institutions structured as trusts, cooperatives, or mutual benefit societies.
"Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has put the bill on priority list for winter session," a finance ministry official told ET.
At present, micro-lenders follow the relevant sector law, depending on the way they are structured. The new law will treat microfinance as a separate business and will also consider bringing non-banking finance companies in the microfinance sector under the ambit of the legislation. The decision to fast-track the bill follows the October 15 ordinance, or emergency law, issued by Andhra Pradesh that imposed severe restrictions and debt restructuring obligation on lenders following a spate of suicides that were blamed on coercion by micro-lenders to recover their dues.
Learn diversity of culture for betterment of society: Prez
Neelabh Srivastava Mumbai, Oct 27 (PTI) President Pratibha Patil today asked students to learn about their culture, ethos and the eco- system besides studying their regular textbooks to pave way for a better society. "I would encourage you to learn about the diversity of our country in culture, languages, customs, ethos and traditions.
It is this richness and multiplicity, which makes India a unique and great nation. "Moreover, we are a democratic nation, in fact the world''s largest democratic nation.
The students, representing the coming generation, must avoid narrow creeds and seek to build a path for the betterment of society," she said addressing students of one of the oldest schools of the country. Terming the schools as "the basic pillars" for the nation, the President said, "The stronger a system of school education, greater the prospects of progress of a country.
" President said the students'' objective should be to become intellectually competent and technically skilled to contribute to the nation''s progress. "Young students and the youth of the country, therefore, must channelise their skills in developing balanced personalities with positive attitudes," she said, releasing a commemorative postage stamp on the Cathedral and Connon School, founded in 1860, here.
The school was pioneered and funded by a city philanthropist, barrister and editor, John Connon and named after him posthumously. The President also asked parents and teachers to inculcate in students the habit of reading.
"You (students) must use your time in school to learn as much as possible. You should develop a habit of reading, not only textbooks, but also newspapers and literature.
India is a storehouse of knowledge. "We should teach our children to respect nature for our own good.
We must sensibly use its resources, work to conserve its rich flora and fauna, as well as adopt environment friendly approaches," she said. The alumni of the school includes industrialists JRD Tata, Ratan Tata, Rahul Bajaj, scientist Dr Homi Bhabha, actors Rahul Bose, Kareena Kapoor, politicians Arun Jaitley and Milind Deora.
Maharashtra Governor K Sankarnarayanan, Deputy Chief Minister Chagan Bhujbal and Union Ministers of State for IT and Communication Sachin Pilot and Gurudas Kamat were also present. "Students should prove that talent and skills develop a country and not ethnic background," Kamat said.
PM asks RBI to look into Malaysian Islamic banking model
Ajay Kaul and Jaishree Balasubramanian Kuala Lumpur, Oct 27 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the Reserve Bank should look into Islamic banking practices in Malaysia, amid pressure on the central bank to introduce such a system in India. "There have been from time to time demands for experimenting (with) Islamic banking.
I would certainly recommend to RBI, which is looking into the question, to look at what is happening in Malaysia in this regard", he said when asked whether India would like to learn something of Islamic banking from Malaysia. Singh, who is on a visit here, earlier held wide-ranging talks on economic and strategic issues with his Malaysian counterpart Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak.
The pressure has been mounting on RBI to introduce Islamic banking, a kind of interest free banking system, in the country. The move could fetch billions of dollars in investments from countries in the middle-east.
Currently, close to USD 1 trillion is being managed by about 400-500 Islamic banks worldwide and by 2020, the figure is expected to touch USD 4 trillion. According to projections by global consultant McKenzie, investment surplus in the West Asian region is expected to be around USD 9 trillion by 2020.
Currently the investment surplus is around USD 1.5 trillion. Recently, Muddassir Siddqui, Partner and Head of Islamic Finance, Middle East, SNR Denton and Company urged the Indian government to open interest free banking on pilot basis.
"We held close interactions with finance ministry and RBI officials. We hope the ice is breaking.
There was no time frame for setting up Islamic banking. We are hopeful permission would be granted very soon," Siddqui had said.
The judiciary, however, is not favourably disposed towards Islamic banking institutions in India. The Kerala High court had in April this year directed the state government and its institutions not to participate financially or otherwise in the financial company modelled on the lines of Islamic bank.
Too much freedom of speech in India, says Farooq Abdullah
New and Renewable Energy Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah Tuesday said there was 'too much freedom' in India which is being misused to 'destroy' the nation.
'There is too much of freedom in India that some Indians are themselves taking advantage of this and destroying the country. There are no limits to the way they are using this freedom,' Abdullah told reporters here in response to a query on the government looking into the possibility of sedition charges against author-activist Arundhati Roy for advocating the secession of Kashmir.
'The country has given the freedom, it is up to them how they use this freedom. It is for them to realise what is right and what is wrong. What to say and what not to say is for a person to decide,' he said.
Kashmir Police are reportedly examining the text of Roy's speech made at a seminar in Srinagar Sunday in which she said that Jammu and Kashmir was never an integral part of India and that British imperialism was replaced in 1947 by Indian colonialism. She shared the podium with the Syed Ali Geelani, the hardline Hurriyat separatist leader.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday demanded the arrest of Geelani and Roy, terming their remarks on Kashmir as 'objectionable' and 'an attack on the country's integrity'.
ICC signs deal with MoneyGram International for 2011 WC
International Cricket Council today signed a five-year commercial deal, including a local level sponsorship of the 2011 Cricket World Cup in the subcontinent, with a global money transfer major MoneyGram International. As per the agreement, MoneyGram will have a presence at all ICC cricket tournaments around the world during 2011-2015.
"More immediately, MoneyGram will be a local partner level sponsor of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, which takes place in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka from February 19 to April 2, 2011," said Juan Agualimpia, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of MoneyGram International. "MoneyGram is delighted about our long-term sponsorship with the ICC. MoneyGram''s brand and services are well known in ''cricket countries'' and we are glad we can align ourselves with the heritage of the sport and bring ourselves closer to our customers," said Agualimpia.
"It is wonderful that MoneyGram has retained its involvement as a local partner for our flagship event, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011."
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Pak violates ceasefire, opens fire on Indian posts in Poonch
Times of India - - 5 hours agoJAMMU: Pakistan on Wednesday violated the ceasefire agreement and opened heavy fire on forward Indian positions in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir, army sources said, adding no casualty or loss has been reported so far. ...Pak troops fire rockets at Indian posts;along LoC
Hindustan Times - 5 hours agoPakistani troops fired rockets and mortar shells at Indian border posts in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Wednesday, officials said and added that Indian troops retaliated, leading to an exchange of fire. The firing started around 3.30 pm at ...India accuses Pakistan army of 2nd cease-fire violation in Kashmir in 4 days
The Canadian Press - 4 hours agoSRINAGAR, India — India on Wednesday accused the Pakistan army of firing rockets and mortars on half a dozen Indian army positions in a second violation of their cease-fire agreement in Kashmir this week. There were no casualties on the Indian side, ...Pakistan violates ceasefire in Poonch district
Oneindia - 4 hours agoJammu, Oct 27: Pakistani troops again violated ceasefire and opened firing, showered rockets and mortar bombs in the Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu Kashmir's Poonch district, on Wednesday, Oct 17. According to the official sources the firing was lasted ...Pakistan troops shell Indian posts at LOC
Zee News - 6 hours agoJammu: Pakistani troops once again violated the ceasefire by shelling Indian positions with mortar bombs, rockets along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch sector on Wednesday, defence sources said. ...Pak troops resorted to indiscriminate firing in Poonch sector of J&K
All India Radio - 2 hours agoIn yet another incident of ceasefire violation, Pakistani troops resorted to indiscriminate firing on Wednesday afternoon on forward Indian posts in Krishna Ghati sub-sector of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. According to reliable sources, ...Pak violates ceasefire, fires at Indian posts
IBNLive.com - 6 hours agoJammu: Pakistani security forces allegedly violated the ceasefire at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday afternoon and fired at three Indian posts. Heavy Firing from the Pakistani side started in Poonch district of the state at 3:30 ...LoC: Pak fires at Indian posts
indiablooms - 3 hours agoJammu, Oct 27 (IBNS) Pakistan on Wednesday allegedly violated the ceasefire at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and fired at three Indian posts. Heaving firing was reported at Krant, Kirpa and Ravi posts of Poonch district on Wednesday ...Pakistani troops fire at Indian posts
Sify - 6 hours agoJammu, Oct 27 (IANS) Pakistani troops once again violated the ceasefire by firing at Indian posts in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch sector Wednesday, defence sources said. Pakistani troops opened machinegun fire at Indian posts along the Line of Control ...Pakistan to share its vision at PDF meeting : Kaira
Associated Press of Pakistan - 2 hours agoLONDON, Oct 27 (APP)- The British Kashmiris on Wednesday observed 27th October as Black day by holding a protest rally outside the Indian High Commission in Central London this afternoon. This protest was organized to express solidarity with the people ...
Kashmir interlocutors hint at considering 'Azaadi' option
Times of India - - 7 hours agoImportantly, Indian constitution as also Jammu & Kashmir constitution unequivocally mention the region as an integral part of India.Interlocutors on Kashmir to take all stakeholders on board Indian ExpressCurfew restrictions relaxed in Srinagar and Handwara districts of Jammu-Kashmir
Sify - 1 hour agoCurfew restrictions were relaxed on Wednesday evening in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar and Handwara districts while situation remained under control across ...Curfew in Srinagar areas to prevent protests Times of IndiaCurfew imposed in four districts of Kashmir Economic TimesJammu celebrates state's accession with India
Sify - 6 hours agoJammu, Oct 27 (IANS) Celebrations marking the 63rd anniversary of Jammu and Kashmir's accession with India continued in Jammu for the second consecutive day ...India Digest: China Sticks to Stapled Visas for J&K Wall Street Journal (blog)Pak violates ceasefire, opens fire on Indian posts in Poonch
Times of India - - 5 hours agoPak troops also violated ceasefire on September 28 and 29 in the Krishna Ghati sub-sector in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.Pak troops fire rockets at Indian posts;along LoC Hindustan TimesJ&K govt forms committee for saffron development in the state
IBNLive.com - 3 hours agoPTI | 07:10 PM,Oct 27,2010 Srinagar, Oct 27 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir government has today constituted a Project Management Committee for the "National ...UN urged to implement its resolutions on Kashmir
Kashmir Media Service - 6 hours agoMukhtar Ahmad Waza in a statement issued in Srinagar described October 27 as the blackest day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir.J&K should bear expenses of patients with eye injuries: CPI(M)
Daily News & Analysis - 9 hours agoPlace: Srinagar | Agency: PTI The Jammu and Kashmir unit of CPI(M) today asked the state government to bear all expenses of treatment of two students, ...J&K fears rise in attacks around Obama's visit
Times of India - 22 hours agoNEW DELHI: Terror outfits may not only create trouble in Jammu and Kashmir in the run up to US President Barack Obama's visit to India, but also try to show ...Winter nip in Delhi as mercury dips
Sify - 3 hours ago'Snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir and the wind pattern over northwest India have brought down the temperatures in Delhi. This is the first indication that ...China rebuffs India, says it policy on J&K visas unchanged
IBNLive.com - Oct 26, 2010PTI | 05:10 PM,Oct 26,2010 China has been issuing stapled visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir since 2008. The policy had its biggest fall out when China ...Kashmir wary of Chittisinghpora repeat during Obama visit
Hindustan Times - Oct 25, 2010Jammu and Kashmir has asked security agencies to watch out against a Chittisinghpora type massacre during US President Barack Obama's visit next month, ...J&K fears rise in attacks around Obama's visit Times of IndiaJ&K police fear terror attacks ahead of Obama's visit Times of IndiaJ&K police personnel to be promoted
IBNLive.com - Oct 26, 2010PTI | 06:10 PM,Oct 26,2010 Srinagar, Oct 26 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Police has decided to promote 88 of its personnel, including 18 Sub-Inspectors and 62 ...Omar meets Chidambaram, discusses J&K situation
Kashmir Dispatch - Oct 26, 2010New Delhi, October 26: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah after participating in the meeting of Standing Committee on National Integration ...Jammu & Kashmir govt gives thrust to tourism, horticulture, agriculture: CM Daily News & AnalysisJ&K: Omar to hold meet on security NDTV.comJ&K Cabinet promotes IAS, KAS officers, approved road map for arrears of 6 Pay ...
GroundReport - - 1 hour agoIn another decision, the Cabinet accorded Special Scale to 18 Selection Grade Officers of Rs. (37, 400-67, 000) with grade pay of Rs.Two hideouts busted in JK
Indian Express - 7 hours agoArmy troops and police on Wednesday busted two hideouts and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition in Rajouri and Ramban districts of Jammu and Kashmir, ...Defaulter Geelani asked to pay Rs 1.73 crore as IT dues
Economic Times - 5 hours ago... case and also sought a waiver, saying he did not earn anything other than the pension from Government of Jammu and Kashmir and from agriculture land.JKNPP celebrates Oct 27 as National Integration Day
IBNLive.com - 5 hours agoPTI | 05:10 PM,Oct 27,2010 Jammu, Oct 27 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party today staged a rally here to mark October 27 as 'National ...Jammu & Kashmir Bank Q2 profit rises by 22 pc
Economic Times - Oct 25, 2010MUMBAI: Private sector lender Jammu & Kashmir Bank today recorded a 21.6 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 163.2 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal, ...JK Bank posts H1 net profit of Rs 309 Cr Rising KashmirJammu all set to celebrate accession day
Sify - Oct 25, 2010Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party also is celebrating Oct 27 as Vijay Divas, when the accession was finalised. Other groups, like the Jammu Bar ...Parties, outfits hold rally in J&K on accession issue Daily News & AnalysisFidayeen alert in J&K Economic Times''Quarters being prepared for Kashmiri Pandit employees in J&K''
IBNLive.com - Oct 26, 2010... in order to provide accommodation to Kashmiri Pandits selected under Prime Minister's employment package, a Jammu and Kashmir minister said today.More results for Jammu and Kashmir »
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Daily News & An...Civil N-Liability Act text has problems: Kakodkar
Hindustan Times - 9 minutes agoPTI Hailing India signing the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) by India, former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar on Wednesday said the text of Indian Civil Nuclear Liability Act itself has some problems. ...India Signs Nuclear-Liability Pact
Wall Street Journal - - 2 hours agoNEW DELHI—India on Wednesday signed an international convention on nuclear energy accident liability, a move aimed at soothing tensions with the US over the countries' civil nuclear partnership ahead of President Barack Obama's visit ...India signs nuclear liability pact, a US demand
Reuters - 7 hours agoVIENNA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - India signed an international treaty governing global civil nuclear liability on Wednesday, a step sought by Washington to reassure US suppliers entering the country's fledgling $150 billion atomic power market. ...
Civil Nuclear Liability Act itself has some problems," Kakodkar told PTI on the sidelines of AD Schroff Memorial Lecture on "Towards our safe and secure Energy Future" organised by the Forum of Free Enterprise.more by Anil Kakodkar - 9 minutes ago - Hindustan Times (3 occurrences)India Signs International Nuclear Accord That May Ease GE Entry
Bloomberg - - 5 hours agoIndia signed an international nuclear liability accord that aims to shield technology suppliers from damages in the event of an accident, protection that companies including General Electric Co. don't ...Nuclear accident: India signs CSC
Oneindia - 6 hours agoNew Delhi, Oct 27: To get the compensation in case of trans-national implications of a nuclear accident, India signed Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) in Vienna on Oct 27. CSC, which sets parameters on a nuclear operator's financial ...Ahead of Obama visit, India signs n-liability pact
Sify - 3 hours agoVienna/New Delhi, Oct 27 (IANS) Ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit, India Wednesday signed a global pact on nuclear liability in Vienna, a key step that will assuage concerns of US companies and enable them to resume nuclear trade with New ...India signs CSC on nuclear damages
Hindustan Times - 8 hours agoPTI In a significant step which will enable it to do nuclear commerce, India today signed the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC), which sets parameters on a nuclear operator's financial liability, at the IAEA in Vienna. ...N-liability bill under scanner
Hindustan Times - Oct 26, 2010Talks are on between US companies and officials of India's top nuclear agency, the Department of Atomic Energy, to find a way to commercialise an agreement signed two years ago by the governments of the two countries. "They are meeting even as we speak ...India signs IAEA nuclear liability treaty
indiablooms - 1 hour agoVienna, Oct 27 (IBNS): India has finally signed a convention that rules the financial liability of civil nuclear operators and suppliers worldwide, a step that is expected to make it easier for foreign suppliers to do business here. ...Ahead of Obama visit, India signs global nuclear convention
Sify - 4 hours agoNew Delhi, Oct 27 (IANS) Ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit here, India Wednesday signed the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage at the IAEA in Vienna, a key step that will enable US companies to resume nuclear trade ... - » Indices
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Half stories, half truthsHindustan Times - 1 hour ago Sanjay Kak is a Kashmiri Pandit who has made an evocative documentary, Jashn-e-Azadi, which captures various forms of protests in the Valley and traces the deep sense of alienation of Muslims. The word azadi, in that film, acquires a meaning far deeper ... Take strongest possible action against Arundhati Roy: BJPHindustan Times - 7 hours ago PTI The BJP on Wednesday demanded that the UPA government take the strongest possible action against writer activist Arundhati Roy for her "seditious" remarks on Kashmir and asked the Centre to spell out its policy vis-a-vis Kashmir and the separatists ... Written complaint against Arundhati RoyTimes of India - 8 hours ago NAINITAL: An Uttarakhand BJP leader has submitted a written complaint to police against writer Arundhati Roy for her recent remarks on Kashmir. The complaint was submitted with Mallital police station on Wednesday by Pushkar Singh Dhami, vice chairman ...
Sedition complaint filed against Arundhati Roy in PunjabSify - 1 hour ago Chandigarh, Oct 27 (IANS) The All-India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) has filed a complaint with Punjab police chief demanding registration of a sedition case against Booker Prize winner writer Arundhati Roy. The AIATF has raised objections over ... Arundhati Roy's dangerous Kashmiri causeLos Angeles Times - 58 minutes ago On Tuesday the Indian government took steps to authorize the arrest of author Arundhati Roy for "sedition" because of statements she has made about the territory of Kashmir. In response, Roy, a Booker Prize-winning novelist, says she has simply called ... Cops face legal hurdle to slapping sedition charge on ArundhatiTimes of India - - 16 hours ago NEW DELHI: It is not enough to accuse her of creating "disaffection or feelings of enmity against the government". If they book a sedition case against writer Arundhati Roy, the police will have to prove that her speeches on Kashmir, according to the ... Centre not for filing charges against Arundhati Roy, GeelaniThe Hindu - - 20 hours ago SPEAKING HER MIND: I spoke about justice for the people of Kashmir, says Arundhati Roy. Here, she is addressing a seminar in Srinagar on Sunday. NEW DELHI: The Union government has no intention of filing criminal charges against Hurriyat leader Syed ... Indian colonialism replaced British imperialism: Arundhati RoyTimes of India - Oct 24, 2010 SRINAGAR: Advocating the right to self-determination for the people of Kashmir, author-activist Arundhati Roy on Sunday contended that in 1947, British imperialism was replaced with Indian colonialism which "continued to subjugate the people of India". ... Sedition charges: Delhi Police finds grounds against RoyEconomic Times - Oct 25, 2010 NEW DELHI: Delhi Police's legal officers have recommended filing of sedition charges against Hurriyat hard-liner Syed Ali Shah Geelani and activist-author Arundhati Roy under Section 124 A of the IPC for publicly advocating separatism at a seminar here ... Sedition case may be filed against Geelani, ArundhatiThe Hindu - Oct 25, 2010 PTI The Union Home Ministry has given the go-ahead to the Delhi Police to file a case of sedition against hardline Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer-activist Arundhati Roy. However, it is far from clear whether the police will ... All 140 related articles »
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