Palash Biswas
 Times Now.tv | Obama to stop outsourcing, India Inc worried IBNLive.com, India - New Delhi: President Barack Obama's latest stand on outsourcing is worrying India- with the US already in recession and the President's announcements ... India Inc voices its concern over Obama's outsourcing plan India Inc feels heat, no tax breaks for outsourcing cos Obama’s tax policy to hit outsourcing |
Disinvestment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Disinvestment of India
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Starvation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Starvation is a severe reduction in vitamin, nutrient, and energy intake, and is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation (in ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starvation - 75k - Cached - Similar pages -Resource starvation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
14 Jan 2009 ... In computer science, starvation is a multitasking-related problem, where a process is perpetually denied necessary resources. ...
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Somewhere around 85% of these starvation deaths occur in children 5 years of age ... One person every 2 seconds needlessly dies from starvation, water borne ...
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www.youtube.comStarvation
14 Aug 2006 ... Complete starvation in adults leads to death within eight to 12 weeks. In the final stages of starvation, adult humans experience a variety ...
www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/starvation.jsp - 53k - Cached - Similar pages -India Together: Starvation in Orissa - 19 July 2008
19 Jul 2008 ... Several cases of starvation deaths have been reported in Orissa, especially in areas with high tribal populations. ...
www.indiatogether.org/2008/jul/pov-starve.htm - 71k - Cached - Similar pages -The Hindu Business Line : Starvation threat looms as food, fuel ...
14 Jul 2008 ... Hunger and starvation should have ceased to exist when Engels law, or the growth of non-food expenditures with a rise in income, is at work. ...
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Behind grandiose initiatives lurks the spectre of starvation ... The spectre of starvation-related deaths haunts tribals elsewhere too. PRIYANKA KAKODKAR ...
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Siege fuels starvation fear. Siroy stares at food ‘insecurity’; Ukhrul police to file current status. KHELEN THOKCHOM ...
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Govt identifies 16 PSUs for disinvestment, 6 may go public!With only two days left in the last session of the 14th Lok Sabha, the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today cleared the proposed amendments to the Land Acquisition Act and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy!According to sources, the GoM has accepted the rural development ministry’s demand to stick to the 70:30 formula for land acquisition for industry, after rejecting suggestions of a parliamentary panel, Left parties and some state governments.
ISRAEL has emerged as the GREATEST Supplier of Arms and Weapons to INDIAN ARMY replacing RUSSIA! FIIs have to gain most from the STIMULUS announced by the WORLD BANK FACE PRANAB in Indian parliament.
India: Politics of Starvation - Social and Economic Policy ...
12 Nov 2002 ... The starvation deaths in Kashipur and Baran are just the tip of the iceberg. Hunger is widespread in India. It is said that at least 50 ...
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India has new nightmare: Epidemic, starvation. 28 Dec 2004, 1839 hrs IST, Josy Joseph, INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK ...
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7 Mar 2005 ... HA-02-2005: INDIA: Starvation deaths occurring in Murshidabad district, West Bengal INDIA: Starvation death; government inaction and neglect ...
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27 Mar 2007 ... Starvation and India’s Democracy will be of interest to researchers in economics, political science, philosophy, development studies and ...
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4 Jan 2005 ... CARE plans three phases of response: initial, mid-term, and long-term. We are distributing large volumes of locally procured relief supplies ...
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Starvation In India. - Do we know this, is or just choose to ignore?
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Starvation deaths and ‘primitive tribal groups’ .... India Environment Portal by Centre for Science and Environment is licensed under a Creative Commons ...
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In the past 12 months the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has documented at least 29 cases of starvation deaths from India. ...
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Global armament and aerospace firms are flocking to India which is offering rich pickings in military contracts worth tens of billions of dollars despite an economic slowdown. India and Israel have been hobnobbing with each other for the past many decades but the world at large has been unmindful of their hush hush activities. Likewise, hidden ties with both USA and Israel have not seen light of the day and only recently details of these ties have been unravel lest. It will be recalled that on November 25, 2008, Mumbai terrorists did their job meticulously well by provoking every possible ally in the world. Away from prying eyes, kickback allegations and political sensitivities, India and Israel continue to quietly expand their already
expansive defence ties, with joint R&D projects ranging from missile systems to ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) platforms as well as arms deals.
"We have a very special defence relationship with India. It's now moving towards joint development of equipment. There are several new projects in the pipeline,'' Major-General Ehud Shani (retd), the chief of Israeli defence export and cooperation agency Sibat, told TOI on Thursday.
India is already the largest customer of Israeli weapon systems, notching up imports worth over a whopping $8 billion since the 1999 Kargil conflict. From UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and anti-missile defence systems to night-vision capabilities and advanced radar systems, India has bought them all from Israel.
So, it's no wonder that Israeli companies are present in full strength in the ongoing Aero India-2009, displaying even their latest offerings like the G-550 "conformal'' AWAC (airborne warning and control system) at the show here. But with both India and Israel careful about keeping their defence ties under wraps, the Israeli companies are not conducting high-voltage publicity campaigns like others to grab eyeballs.
The third-generation G-550 AWAC, however, is one of the main attractions of Aero India. Only two of these AWACS, with a Gulfstream business jet as the basic platform, have so far been inducted into the Israeli air force, said Yair Ramati of the Israel Aerospace Industries.
India, in turn, will get the first of its three `Phalcon' AWACS, ordered for IAF under a $1.1-billion deal in March 2004, before the middle of this year, said Israeli officials. The AWACS, coupled with the nine more Israeli EL/M-2083 Aerostat radars being ordered to add to the two already inducted, will give India potent "eyes in the skies'' to detect enemy air intrusions much earlier than ground-based radars.
"Israel specializes in ISR platforms, the need for which has become even greater after 26/11. It is one of the few countries which gives us top-notch defence technology without strings attached, even though it charges quite a bit,'' said an Indian defence ministry official.
Major examples of the increasing focus on the joint Indo-Israeli projects are the ones to develop a supersonic 70-km range Barak-2 medium range surface-to-air missile (MR-SAM) for the Indian Navy at a cost of Rs 2,606 crore and its longer range 120-km variant (LR-SAM) for IAF for Rs 10,000 crore.
It has gained notoriety for starvation-driven deaths. It has gained notoriety for child-selling, again starvation-driven. The Congress, which promised to ...
Cow is national wealth Organiser, India - India is an agrarian country where the majority of population is brought up in the villages. The farmer’s prime source of livelihood is agriculture, ... |
Handmade in India: Traditional Craft Skills in a Changing World Fibre2fashion.com (subscription), India - In just one recent month, four skilled and talented traditional artisans in this southern Indian state died from starvation, and two more committed suicide ... |
Maize shortage should not cause starvation, there are other foods Business Daily Africa, Kenya - Today, curry is a local English delicacy when in fact it has its origins in India. There are other delicacies that have been imported and over time become ... |
 AFP | India's snake charmers bite back AFP - The union's leader, Raktim Das, said thousands of snake charmers were "on the verge of starvation" having been deprived of their sole source of regular ... |
 Hindu | An antidote to bland approval Hindu, India - While the EU as a who le rightly focuses on poverty alleviation — India has 400 million people in apparently permanent near-starvation — the EC has ... |
 India Today | Food price rise added 100 million to starvation: Pratibha Hindu, India - Bangalore (IANS): The sharp rise in food prices in India last year has pushed an additional 100 million people into starvation, President Pratibha Patil ... 'Population policy needs a re-look' Patil for fresh look at govt's population policy President calls upon people to emulate works of Siddaganga Swamy |
STATEMENT OF KAREN PARKER, JD - To COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ... TamilSydney.com, Australia - UNICEF has had emergency feeding centers for children who are grossly underweight and facing death by starvation, but it is uncertain if they also have been ... |
Non-resident Odiya alleges centre continuously neglect Orissa’s ... Orissadiary.com, India - In a Email letter to the Prime minister of India Manmohan Singh, with it's copy to the President of India Smt Prativa Patil and Congress President Sonia ... |
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The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India have urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to scrap a multi-billion dollar contract for missiles being placed with an Israeli company as it could “subvert” the indigenous missile development programme.
In a letter to Dr. Singh, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and CPI general secretary A. B. Bardhan said the Rs. 10,000-crore contract placed with Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) was “surprising” because that company was being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation on allegations of bribery and corruption in the anti-ship Barak missile system deal.
Pointing out that the Prime Minister was informed about alleged kickbacks and use of middlemen in the Barak deal earlier, the two leaders wanted to know why the company was allowed to operate whereas other firms such as the (formerly) Swedish Bofors and South African Denel were blacklisted when similar allegations of kickbacks and middleman had surfaced.
This is a POWERFUL mapping of STIMULUS STARVATION only comparable to the frame to frame Indian reality exposed and so irritating for the ruling hegemony just reminiscent of DURBAN Anti APARTHEID Conference where Indian caste system was also considered as APARTHEID!
The new Land Acquisition Bill cleared by the group of ministers is likely to be tabled in the Parliament tomorrow. The bill provides for rehabilitation before displacement.
The Land Acquisition Policy was enacted to ensure greater safety to people displaced as a result of rehabilitation projects. This has been cleared by the Cabinet. But some clarifications were needed and had gone to an Empowered Group of Ministers. Today, the Empowered Group of Ministers also cleared the bill.
Commenting on one of the key aspects of the bill that says “private party to acquire at least 70% of the land before the state government chips in,” Arun Nanda, Executive Director of M&M, said, this clause is quite feasible.
The Union cabinet today approved the Nayachar chemical hub in Bengal, one of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s showpiece projects.
It was one of the three Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs) to get the clearance. The others are at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and at Dahej in Gujarat.
“Proposals accepted from the state governments have been approved. This is subject to the existing funding rules,” home minister P. Chidambaram said after the meeting.
Infrastructure for the Bengal hub requires investments of Rs 25,000 crore, which will be from PCR Chemicals Pvt Ltd.
Firms are expected to invest another Rs 75,000 crore in setting up units in the hub, which will create around 10 lakh direct and indirect jobs.
Though it has come to be identified with Nayachar island, the bulk of the hub will be in mainland Haldia. Of the total area of 250 sq km, only a fifth will be at Nayachar.
PSU bank stocks, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India fell by between 1.78% to 5.48%.There was acute shortage of dollar finance and despite RBI directive to the banks, no PSU banks are able to offer it.
Days before the next general elections are called, a crucial meeting took place in New Delhi to decide on the fate of Sterlite’s call option for the government’s stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco). Senior officials said the government is unlikely to sell its existing 49% stake to Sterlite Industries. They add that mediation efforts over Balco have failed. The call option has been declared illegal by the Attorney General, something that had been challenged by Sterlite in the Delhi High Court.
Disinvestment may be back on the agenda of the next government with the Budget setting a modest target of selling stakes in five public sector undertakings (PSUs). CNBC-TV18 has learnt that as many as 16 companies have been identified for disinvestment and around 6 PSU may go public.
 Fresh News | Recovery of economy in October: Chidambaram Hindu, India - NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday predicted an upturn in the Indian economy in the beginning of October, the third quarter of 2009-10 ... India's economic upturn to begin October: Chidambaram India's Economy To Find Upturn By October- Chidambaram Chidambaram hopeful of upturn in economy by Oct |
 Thaindian.com | Nifty shies away from 2800 ahead of F&O expiry Times of India, India - Market has so far not reacted strongly to the negative ratings of Indian economy. After S&P revised India’s credit rating to negative from stable, ... Global markets, stimulus lifts Sensex; M&M up Sensex trims losses, banking recovers Markets open in the green |
Indian economy may witness upsurge by 2010-end: IIMA director Times of India, India - 24 Feb 2009, 2032 hrs IST, PTI AHMEDABAD: The Indian economy could witness an upsurge, and be back on growth trajectory by end of third quarter this year as ... 'Indian economy to bounce back in the third quarter' Developing countries could see a turnaround in 2010: IIM-A director |
 Outlook | HIGHLIGHTS - Govt cuts duties, taxes as economy slows Reuters India, India - Due to the strong export linkages with these economies, it is likely that the Indian economy may feel further impact in coming months. ... India Inc welcomes duty cuts, says it will boost demand Government keen on restoring business confidence: Pranab Stocks seen sharply higher on global cues, stimulus boost |
It's RBI's Turn to Perk up Economy: Moody's Outlook, India - Moody's Economy.Com, an arm of Moody's group, projected that growth in the Indian economy will further decline to 6.1 per cent in the October-December ... Cost of funding stimulus package worries Moody's Moody’s sees further slowdown in March quarter India may be forced to cut spending: Moody's arm |
 ABC News | Tiger economy slowing but still roaring along, relatively speaking CBC.ca, Canada - But for the most part there is still a Cinderella quality to the Indian economy that makes Slumdog Millionare look like more than just a Bollywood fairytale ... 'It's our destiny to win the award' Slumdog scripting brand new history Slumdog's day |
 Maktoob | India Lowers Taxes, Straining Finances as S&P May Cut to Junk Bloomberg - He said the fundamentals of the Indian economy “remain strong.” “Such sizeable budget deficits are unsustainable,” said Rajeev Malik, regional economist at ... 'Fiscal consolidation gains wiped out' S&P lowers India outlook on weak public finances S&P may lower India rating to junk if fiscal deficit widens |
 Moneycontrol.com | What does the Consumer Confidence Index do? Moneycontrol.com, India - The CNBC-TV18 Boston Analytics Consumer Confidence Index is carefully designed to reflect the aspects of the Indian economy like employment, inflation, ... |
India think-tank cuts FY09 growth estimate to 7.1 pct Reuters India, India - ... slowdown in trade, transport, hotels and communications, think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in its monthly review for February. ... GDP in FY10 may grow at 7%: CMIE |
 Business Standard | POLL - India's Dec qtr GDP growth seen slowing to 6.2 pct y/y Reuters India, India - On Tuesday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told parliament the full impact of global recession was yet to unfold, and the Indian economy may feel further ... Subir Gokarn: Re-visiting growth drivers Asia Pac AM +ve on Indian construction, agriculture space India third most appealing investment spot in Asia  TSE:TRI-B - TSE:TRI |
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That apart there are several other companies which the government is examining for disinvestment. In fact another five odd companies have ready prospectus – the Draft Red Herring Prospectus are ready and if a political decision is taken then they could probably also be listed sometime by June next year.
There are 4-5 other companies, which are also being looked at, but there are balance sheet issues with these companies – their books of accounts need to be cleaned, some legal issue and liabilities that need to be addressed.
According to some officials, if the new government were to take a call on going ahead with disinvestment, then around June there would be at least 16 PSUs which would be up and ready for minority stake sales if not privatization.
Meanwhile, disinvestment may be back on the agenda of the next government with the Budget setting a modest target of selling stakes in five PSU’s. There are also reports that as many as 16 companies including Pawan Hans, Cotton Corporation, Rites, Cochin Ship Yard, TCIL, Manganese Core India among others may go public after June 2009, after the new government takes a political call on whether to proceed with disinvestment.
Government is planning to list at least five public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the stock markets after a similar effort last year had to be
shelved at the last moment when the stock markets tanked following the global financial meltdown.
Disinvestment secretary Rahul Khullar, however, said a decision to launch the IPOs will be taken by the new government in May-June, while all preparations have been made. Last year the government had given a go ahead to a dozen-odd PSUs to go public and all of them had initiated steps to disinvest.
"The PSUs had started early in 2008-09 to launch their public issues. However, by the time they were to launch the issue, the market had already tanked," Khullar said.
Finance Secretary Arun Ramanathan said the government was closely watching the trickle-down effect of the first two stimulus packages and will respond to the evolving situation. “Our challenge is to implement the first two packages effectively,” Ramanathan said adding that it was constitutional propriety that did not allow fiscal announcements to be made in the Interim Budget.
The government on Monday proposed to raise Rs 1,120 crore by selling part of its stakes in six public sector companies including RITES, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) and Cochin Ship Yard, in the fiscal 2009-10.
The six public sector companies are Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES), Cochin Ship Yard, Telecommunications Consultants India, Manganese Ore India Limited (MOIL), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), t he government said in its interim budget for the next fiscal starting April 2009.
Even as the Steel Ministry has received proposals for disinvestment in RINL and MOIL from the government, it has not yet worked out the modalities for it.
“The process for disinvestments in the two companies is underway. However, we have not yet decided how to go about it,'' a senior Steel Ministry official said, adding merchant bankers have been roped in to prepare a road map for disinvestment.
As of now, the government holds a 100 per cent stake in Mini-Ratna PSUs RINL and MOIL. The PSUs work under the administrative control of the Steel Ministry
Indian equities were firm on Wednesday following gains in global markets led by the US and the third fiscal stimulus package announced by the government in the form of cuts worth Rs 30,000 crore in service tax, excise duty and countervailing duty on imports.Cheaper TV sets, phone bills, housing, visits to the beauty parlour. Such is the consumer bounty arising from the third fiscal stimulus package announced by the government on Tuesday in the form of cuts worth Rs 30,000 crore in service tax, excise duty and countervailing duty on imports.This package is likely to be followed up with interest rate cuts by the central bank. The excise duty rate on all products, on which it has been 10%, will come down to 8% while service tax has been reduced 2% across the board to 10%. Customs duty exemption on naphtha imports for power generation has been extended beyond March 31, as well.
In line with the excise duty reduction from 10% to 8% for trucks and auto components, Ashok Leyland will pass on the full benefit to its customers.
The stimulus package, the third in a row, after the ones announced on December 2 and January 7, came as part of acting finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s reply to the debate in Parliament on the interim budget presented on February 16. These rate cuts as well as the 4% cut in excise duty announced in December will continue beyond March 31, as well. The Lok Sabha passed the interim budget after Mr Mukherjee’s reply to the debate.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) will be one of the biggest gainers in the financial sector from the reduction in service tax. At the retail
level, insurance buyers and bank customers will see a sharp reduction in costs because of the service tax cut.
“FIIs will see their brokerage costs come down because of the lower service tax. Unlike corporates registered here, FIIs do not have any output service tax liability in India against which service tax payments can be offset. So, the two-percentage-point reduction will result in an equivalent cost saving,” PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Prasad Paranjpe said.
He added that other entities will also gain as they will save on working capital. With the reduction in taxes, the amount they have to remit and claim for offset will be lower. After telecom, where the impact will be the highest across industries, the benefit will be for insurance buyers.
Retail insurers will see their motor car insurance premium and mediclaim premium come down by 2%. In life insurance, the savings will be marginal since service tax is not applied on the component of the premium that goes toward savings. Banking charges, including those on credit cards, loan processing charges and forex charges will come down. In short, any fee charged by a bank will come down.
Banks have been lobbying for service tax exemption on the income they earn from agency commission from the government. Banks receive commission for collecting and remitting taxes and distributing government pension. In most transactions where the service tax is imposed, the tax is imposed on the service provider and is passed on to the user.
In the case of service tax on government commission, the service tax amounted to a reduction in the commission as the service tax was borne by the banks. Banks have been seeking an increase in commission from the government.
Tuesday’s tax cut proposals will force the government to forgo an additional Rs 30,000 crore over and above the Rs 60,000-crore dent in the original Financial crisis revenue estimates for the current fiscal in Budget 2008-09. slowing economy and lower profits by India Inc will only worsen the financial situation for the government coffers in the months to come. The effective cut in the current fiscal would be 6%, factoring in the 4% across-the-board slashing of excise duty in December. Tuesday’s cut in excise duty and service tax would apply only on items that attracted a 10% excise rate.
These cuts would cause a Rs 30,000-crore revenue loss to the exchequer, which has already forgone revenues of about Rs 40,000 crore on account of indirect tax concessions during the current financial year. Tuesday’s booster package would translate to a revenue loss of Rs 14,000 crore on service taxes, Rs 6,600 crore on account of customs and countervailing duty and Rs 8,500 crore on account of excise duties for an entire year (up to March 31, 2010).
On the indirect tax front, Customs and excise duty reductions, first introduced to combat inflation and then to spur consumption, have taken a toll on collections already hit by the economic slowdown. The government had exempted crude oil imports from Customs duty in June with global oil prices reaching records highs of $147 a barrel.
And see the DRAMA enacted in parliamentary LIVE REALITY SHOW!
The Satyam scam on Wednesday rocked the Lok Sabha as opposition members walked out of the House dissatisfied with an assurance by Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta that investigating agencies were working on a war-footing to unravel the fraud and book the guilty.Gupta's statement that "all the investigating agencies are working on war-footing and are in full command of the investigation", failed to assuage the feelings of opposition members who wanted to know why the regulators had failed to detect the fraud which was going on for past several years.
Following heated exchange of words between the opposition members and treasury benches, members of the NDA and Left parties staged a walkout.
Earlier, while winding up a discussion on the Rs 7,800-crore scam, Gupta recalled the steps taken by the government since admission of fudging of accounts by the founder chairman of the company B Ramalinga Raju on January 7.
Denying allegations of lack of coordination among the investigating agencies probing the scam, he said, "SEBI, Registrar of Companies, SFIO teams are working closely...no evidence of any non-cooperation by state or central agencies".
The Ambani brothers are in trouble.
The Centre today informed the Lok Sabha that companies owned by Mukesh and Anil Ambani —Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Infrastructure, respectively —were under the scanner.
Reliance Petroleum is facing an investigation for insider trading, while Reliance Infrastructure has been charged with violating foreign exchange regulations.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Petroleum (RPL) was one of the 19 companies against which market regulator Sebi had received complaints of insider trading, stand-in finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a written reply.
“In the last three years, including the current year (up to January 31, 2009), Sebi is in receipt of complaints alleging insider trading in the shares of 19 listed companies. One of (them) is against Reliance Petroleum, an oil-based company,” he added.
Responding to another question, minister of state for finance Pawan Kumar Bansal said the Reserve Bank had referred to the enforcement directorate cases against Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd for the misuse of external commercial borrowings (ECBs).
“The RBI referred the violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) relating to two ECBs ($360 million and $150 million raised in July and November 2006, respectively) to the enforcement directorate on November 7, 2008 for necessary action,” Bansal said.
The Anil Ambani group was facing a probe for parking a part of the proceeds raised through the ECB issues in fixed deposits and debt mutual funds, which was not permitted by the guidelines at that time, he added.
Mukherjee today said the market regulator had received complaints of insider trading against nine companies in 2006, six in 2007, three in 2008 and one in 2009. However, he did not name any company except RPL.
Sebi has asked the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange to examine trading in the RPL scrip in both the cash and derivatives markets on November 1 and November 29, 2007, when the stock price touched a life-time high of Rs 295 on the BSE.
India’s fiscal deficit has ballooned as the government tries to counter the impact of the global economic downturn on the economy, which has already slowed considerably. The economy is expected to expand at 7.1% in the year to 31 March, after growing by at least 9% in each of the previous three years. On the other hand, it is claimed though the overall economic situation has dampened investor enthusiasm, the economy’s strong fundamentals, coupled with a consumption-driven economy, will provide comfort to long-term investing in India, according to a survey by Deloitte.
The survey on private equity investments in the past six months has showed that sectors driven by domestic consumption and infrastructure are likely to see maximum deal activity.
The number of participants who expect that valuations would fall in coming months has increased from 66% in the first half of 2008, to 75% in the second half, the survey found out.
Gold prices to touch Rs 17,000 per 10 grams by Aug: Assocham
GOLD is the BASE of INDIAN Social System and CULTURE. Gold is a MUST for any Indian marriage! What should do the helpless Parents who have to marry of their daughters?
With investment opportunities in stocks and realty waning due to the global economic meltdown, gold prices are likely to touch Rs 17,000
per 10 grams by August, an industry body said today.
Similarly, silver prices would also soar to Rs 24,000 a kg by the same time, as assessment study by industry body Assocham said.
"Since property, stocks, mutual funds, government securities and bonds are hardly offering attractive returns to investors due to the meltdown in the economy, investments in gold and silver would continue to grow and restrict at Rs 17,000 per 10 grams and Rs 24,000 a kg, respectively by August 2009," it said.
However, gold and silver would subside to fall to realistic levels of Rs 12,000 per 10 gram and less than Rs 17,000 a kg by January 2010 onwards, it pointed out.
The assessment on 'Prospects of Bullion Trade' for the next six months, carried out by Bullion Trade Committee headed by bullion expert S K Jindal, anticipated that peak crisis in stocks, realty and other secured markets would gradually start fading away by August and until then, gold and silver will continue to lure investors for their surpluses.
POLL BONANZA is the latest BLITZ!
West BENGAL BPL people have been assured of RICE for RS TWO per KILO only while PDS nonexistent! West Bengal government released stimulus package ahead of polls!The state government will spend Rs370 crore in the next fiscal to subsidize rice sold to 19 million poor through the public distribution system!The West Bengal government on Monday announced a Rs5,106 crore package under which it will sell rice at Rs2 a kg to the poor, and spend on housing, rural power supply, health care and education. The aim of the package is to mitigate the effects of the economic downturn, state finance minister Asim Dasgupta said, adding that it is “just a coincidence” that such a situation had arisen before the general election due in the summer.The state government will spend Rs370 crore in the next fiscal to subsidize rice sold to 19 million poor through the public distribution system. It put aside Rs500 crore under the package to buy land for industrial units.Dasgupta also announced that the state government would be spending Rs1,000 crore till March 2010 to boost housing for the poor, both in rural and urban areas. He did not, however, indicate how this money would be spent. The state also proposes to spend Rs450 crore for rural electrification and Rs375 crore on building rural road connectivity in 2009-2010.The state government said 50,000 new primary school teachers would be recruited, and that it would spend Rs100 crore till March next year to build new schools. Under the package, the health sector and backward areas of the state would receive Rs200 crore each in fiscal support.
Inaugruation and funding, laying foundation like TWISTERS change the geography of the Nation while TOILET MEDIA, PRINT as well as ELECTRONIC are engaged in INFINITE TOILET TRY collecting THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN Revenue!West Bengal government goes on national TV to woo investors!The state government is buying prime time slots on CNBC-TV18, NDTV 24x7, etc., to air promotional campaigns! Whoe MONEY is this after all spent for CPIM GAIN?West Bengal’s Marxist-controlled government is using television to spread the word that the state remains a friend of investors, attempting to overcome the damage done to its image by the organized resistance to land acquisition for big-ticket projects in Singur and Nandigram.
Economic slowdown or depressing job scenario, IIM Calcutta remains unfazed. Brilliance has bagged a crore yet again, and although there is no official confirmation on it, campus news suggests that a pre-placement offer (PPO) has crossed the magical Rs 1 crore mark and unless it gets topped in the current round of placements, it may as well steal the thunder for IIM-C this year.
It is a global investment bank that has made this offer and eddies around the campus suggest it’s Barclays, for a plum London posting. Once again, officialdom at IIM-C is observing the strictest silence ever and there is no way of knowing if what the rumours suggest is true. Indeed, IIM-C hasn’t till date released the official slot zero figures!
External relations secretaries at IIM-C declined to comment, saying that all final placement figures haven’t got collected yet. Still, as ET tapped all possible sources, information suggested that this particular PPO was for a quantitative associate role in Barclays’ London trading desk.
Forex reserves comfortable, no direct impact on economy: Finance Ministry
The country's foreign exchange reserves are at a comfortable level and the economy will not be directly impacted, the Finance Ministry
told Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
"Since the foreign exchange reserve position continues to be at comfortable level, there is no direct impact on the economy," Minister of State for Finance P K Bansal said in a written reply to a query in the Parliament.
The government's assurance comes at a time when the reserve position has actually taken a significant hit falling about 15 per cent in a little more than five months.
The foreign exchange reserves comprising foreign currency assets (FCA), gold, special drawing rights and reserve tranche position with International Monetary Fund (IMF), declined from USD 295.31 billion at the end of August 2008 to USD 251.53 billion on February 6, 2009, the minister said.
Explaining the cause of reduction in foreign exchange reserves, the Bansal said, "Intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the foreign exchange market to smoothen exchange rate volatility and valuation changes due to inter se movement of US dollar against other currencies were major factors responsible for decline in foreign exchange reserves."
United States of America follows the NATIONALISATION Policy while dealing with RECESSION. Govt. stakes in BANKRUPT TO BE CITIGROUP have to be raised. contrarily, the Washington Planted GOVERNMENT of INDIA opts for Mass SCALE DISINVESTMENT of PSUs!
Louisiana's Indian American Governor Bobby Jindal is expected to offer a spirited criticism of the Democrats' stimulus plan while stressing on the need to forge bipartisanship in Washington during the official Republican response to President Barack Obama's address to Congress.
"Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt," Jindal will say, according to advance excerpts released by the Republican National Committee on Tuesday.
Obama accused of cronyism for choosing fundraiser as envoy
But the rising Republican star will also hit on themes similar to what Obama campaigned on last year, including the need for Washington lawmakers to come together.
But no body in INDIAN POLITY, Intelligentsia or parliament seems to be DARING enough to CHALLANGE the STIMULUS which kills the Parlaiment, The Constitution, The democracy, sovereignity and Freedom and the PEOPLE of India! Nevertheless, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) continued his sharp criticism of the stimulus signed into law last week, as the man some Republicans view as the potential savior of their party used his response to President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress last night to challenge the vision laid out in the recovery package.
 Hindu | Cognizant looking inward to boost business opportunities Hindu, India - CHENNAI: Cognizant, one of the fastest growing IT services and BPO (business process outsourcing) providers, has begun exploring opportunities to enhance ... ‘Infra management, BPO to drive IT sector growth’ CTSH |
IBM Tops India's Outsourcing Market InformationWeek, NY - While most of those workers are focused on IT projects outsourced from the US, an increasing number are being tasked with servicing IBM's growing roster of ... |
 IT Examiner | Quit or shift to outsourcing division, says Syntel Pune IT Examiner, India - In the past week, around a dozen engineers have resigned from the company, while 43 opted to join the Knowledge Process Outsource (KPO) division. ... Syntel Promotes Keshav Murugesh to Chief Executive Officer SYNT |
MindTree Named To 2009 Global Outsourcing 100 List EFYTimes (press release), India - An independent panel of leaders in outsourcing chose MindTree as a Leader amongst a full spectrum of outsourcing services companies ranging from information ... Pitney Bowes Recognized by Outsourcing Professionals Ci&T Recognized on International Association of Outsourcing ... SEI Named to Global Outsourcing 100 PBI - EPA:MLACO |
Will Slumdog benefit Bollywood? Economic Times, India - Unless, of course, one sees Hollywood outsourcing as being of benefit to the local industry. But as we have seen in the past few months of the global ... |
No issue with outsourcing: Standard Chartered CIOL, India - Slowdown, reduced IT spends and a fog around outsourcing made deeper by recent political and protectionist weather. All this seems to be the zeitgeist for ... Mentors every CIO needs Technology and Your Company's New Business Model Improving IT processes still trumps cost cutting: Gartner IT |
 Sify | India's SEBI eases share norms, seen helping Satyam Reuters - 7, when its founder and chairman Ramalinga Raju quit after disclosing that profits had been overstated for years at the New York-listed outsourcing firm ... Besieged Satyam to Seek Investors Satyam sees decision on investor in 6 to 8 weeks Satyam seeking new investors, auditors BOM:500376 |
Book of job: How to get one India Infoline.com, India - A recent poll by the Outsourcing Career Center found that almost 95% of new outsourcing jobs are not advertised publicly. In IT and ITeS, it is not just ... |
900 new jobs as outsourcing firm doubles its Northern Ireland ... Belfast Telegraph, United Kingdom - Privately owned outsource contact and call services centre Gem will start recruiting within the next three months. All the new posts are to be filled by ... |
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Fiscal stimulus measures announced by India are steps in the right direction and production has started picking up in some sectors, including cement and steel, the finance minister said on Wednesday.Govt to take more steps to boost housing sector!
“This sector (housing) will be kept under a close watch & additional measures would be taken as necessary to promote an accelerated growth trajectory,” Pranab Mukherjee said
Addressing lawmakers in parliament, Pranab Mukherjee said the government needed to return to fiscal consolidation at the earliest opportunity.
India's fiscal deficit is expected to swell to 6 percent of gross domestic product in the year to March after the government increased spending and cut duties to prime a slowing economy.
The government of INDIA on Tuesday cut factory gate duties and service taxes to spur slowing economic growth.
Industry lobbies and trade bodies welcomed the measures and have promised to pass them on as price reductions to stimulate consumer demand.
“The measures will lead to revenue loss of Rs13,000 crore in service tax, Rs8,500 crore in excise duty and Rs6,600 crore in customs duty,” Central Board of Excise and Customs chairman P.C. Jha said.
A cut in excise automatically lowers import cost of goods through a reduction in the so-called countervailing duty, which is linked to the Cenvat rate. As excise duties are levied on ex-factory prices (or the price of goods at the factory), the impact of a reduction is disproportionately large at the retail level.
“It (a Cenvat cut) has a spiral effect. Customs duty will also go down and the overall reduction is more than 2%,” Pratik Jain, executive director, indirect taxes, at audit and consulting firm KPMG, said.
The third cut in Cenvat in the last one year since the 2008-09 budget has led to halving of the Cenvat rate to 8%. With the expected revenue loss of Rs8,500 crore, collections from excise duty in 2008-09 are likely to dip below Rs1 trillion to Rs99,859 crore, close to level of excise collections in 2004-05, the year the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government came to power.
Looking ahead: Pranab Mukherjee. Ramesh Pathania / MintThe revised estimates in Mukherjee’s 16 February budget speech projected the fiscal deficit in 2008-09 to be Rs3.26 trillion, or 6% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Tuesday’s measures raise it to 6.51%.
“Even though the signals are encouraging, the full impact of the recession in other parts of the world, specially Europe and Asia, is yet to unfold. Due to strong export linkages with these economies, it is likely that the Indian economy may feel further impact in the coming months,” Mukherjee said, explaining the reason for a cut in taxes a week after presenting the interim budget.
Tuesday’s measures mark the third fiscal package since December. The previous rounds also included a large dose of monetary policy measures which were clubbed with fiscal measures.
“I am quite stunned. It is totally unprecedented and it is great. My guess is 80-90% of goods would be covered (by the Cenvat cut),” Vivek Mishra, partner, indirect tax, at audit and consulting firm Ernst and Young, said. This was the first time the service tax rate has been cut since its introduction in 1994, he added.
Makers of consumer goods were pleased by the indirect tax cuts. “The development should boost consumer sentiment (just) as it did last time in December when a 4% (percentage point) cut in excise duty was announced”, following which several companies announced price cuts, said R. Zutshi, deputy managing director, Samsung India Electronics Ltd. “Now again, some benefit will be passed on to consumers.”
“The further reductions in excise and service tax by 2 percent(age points) and extension of the earlier 4% (percentage point) cut in excise duty beyond 31 March 2009 will go a long way in stimulating consumption demand” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of industry lobby Confederation of Indian Industry in a press release.
Makers of industrial equipment said the cuts would help revive investment demand.
“The duty cut will be completely passed on to the clients. Though it will make power projects cheaper, it will also affect our turnover, which will come down. In order to bridge the gap, we will manufacture more,” said K. Ravi Kumar, chairman and managing director of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.
The cuts in tax rates announced in the three fiscal stimulus packages over the last three months are to extend into the next financial year and will remain in force until the next government chooses to change them. As a result, the fiscal deficit for 2009-10, as projected in last week’s budget speech, is almost certainly set to widen from Rs3.32 trillion, or 5.5% of GDP.
In Kolkata, The MRXIST Government has done to ensure the VOTE BANK as well as GESTAPO based POLL machinery with PAY HIKE via FIFTH PAY Commission. A whopping Rs 5,106-crore fiscal stimulus ahead of the elections should sound magnanimous even to the most cynical citizen. But a cursory look at the outlay reveals the hollowness. For most of the schemes announced on Monday were either ongoing or part of the budgetary allocation for the forthcoming fiscal. Apart from coughing up an extra Rs 370 crore to dole out rice at Rs 2 a kg to some two crore people below poverty line (BPL), there are only a few schemes that burden the state exchequer.
Calling the fiscal stimulus a "poll gimmick", Opposition leader Partha Chattopadhyay said: "Why didn't they distribute rice at this cost when Amlasol happened."
Naturally, people have started questioning each of the 33 schemes declared in the package. For instance, the rural electrification scheme for which finance minister Asim Dasgupta has projected an outlay of Rs 450 crore is an ongoing one and jointly implemented by the state and the Centre. Similarly, the Rs 500 crore kept to set up a land bank is quite vague as there is no such thing.
On the other hand, SEBI eases share norms, seen helping Satyam!Ironically enough, Former Union Communications Minister Sukhram was sentenced on Wednesday for three years imprisonment by a Delhi Court for amassing disproportionate assets worth Rs 4.25 crore during his tenure in P V Narasimha Rao Government. The Court also imposed a fine of Rs two lakh on the former minister and ordered the forfeiture of his illegal assets worth Rs 4.25 crore. However, Special CBI judge V K Maheshwari, granted bail to the 82-year-old Congress leader on furnishing a personal bond and surety of Rs 50,000 each.
India's market regulator has eased the norms for preferential allotment of shares by some companies, a move that should help fraud-hit outsourcer Satyam Computer Services to find a strategic investor.The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said its rules on pricing of preferential share issues would not be applicable to companies that have been granted exemption by the regulator.Preferential allotment of shares are usually at the average price of a company's stock over six months, or two weeks, whichever is higher.The regulator said this rule would not be applicable to a company where the SEBI board had granted relaxation for "substantial acquisition of shares and takeovers".
SEBI's statement, which was issued late on Tuesday, can be found at:
here
On Feb. 13, SEBI had said it would ease takeover rules in certain conditions. It did not say specifically how it would change the rules or mention Satyam, saying it would consider plans submitted by a target firm that met it requirements for an exemption.
Last week, Satyam won approval from the Company Law Board to increase its authorised share base and bring on board a strategic investor through a competitive auction, with the option to also make a preferential issue of shares.
Satyam has been struggling for survival since Jan. 7, when its founder and chairman Ramalinga Raju quit after disclosing that profits had been overstated for years at the New York-listed outsourcing firm in India's biggest corporate scandal.
Following are highlights of a statement by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
GLOBAL ECONOMY AND INDIA:
* Even though the signals are encouraging, the full impact of the recession in other parts of the world, Especially Europe and Asia, is yet to unfold.
* Due to the strong export linkages with these economies, it is likely that the Indian economy may feel further impact in coming months.
EXCISE DUTY CUTS, EFFECTIVE TUESDAY:
* Earlier reduction in excise duty rates by 4 percent points extended beyond March 31, 2009.
In addition, the general rate of central excise duty will be cut from 10 percent to 8 percent.
* The rate of central excise duty on bulk cement lowered from 10 per cent, or if higher 290 rupees per tonne, to 8 per cent or 230 rupees per tonne.
SERVICE TAX LOWERED:
* The government is keen to restore business confidence in the services sector.
* Service tax on taxable services reduced from 12 percent to 10 percent.
* To provide relief to the power sector, naphtha imported for the generation of electricity has been fully exempted from basic customs duty. This exemption is being extended beyond the end of fiscal 2008/09.
Ceiling on states' fiscal deficit had been lifted to 3.5 percent of gross state domestic product for 2008/9. This has been extended to the new fiscal year starting April and may be reviewed further.
* To spur the development of infrastructure and employment generation, this is being extended to 2009/10 with the possibility of a further review in the coming months.
American firms will no longer get any tax breaks if they move their jobs to India and elsewhere in the world as President Barack Obama has decided to ‘restore a sense of fairness’ to the US Tax Code. The Obama administration is getting ready to conduct "stress tests" on the nation's biggest banks to judge whether they can hold up if the recession were to worsen.... Wall Street headed for a mixed open Wednesday as investors looked for clues about the economy after two back-and-forth days in the market.... Oil prices rose above $40 a barrel Wednesday after the Federal Reserve chief said U.S. banks will not be fully nationalized and that the U.S. economy may emerge from recession by year-end.... China plans to build up a "Big 10" group of globally competitive automakers, led by General Motors Corp. partner Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp., an industry association said Wednesday....
"We will restore a sense of fairness and balance to our tax code by finally ending the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas," Obama said in his first address to the joint session of the US Congress.
To a nation reeling from recession and facing long-festering problems, President Barack Obama has a simple reminder: "We are not quitters."Brace yourself: The recession is projected to worsen this year. The country stands to lose a sizable chunk of economic activity in 2009 as consumers at home and abroad retrench in the face of persistent economic troubles. And the U.S. unemployment rate - now at 7.6 percent, the highest in more than 16 years - is expected hit a peak of 9 percent this year.That gloomy outlook came from leading forecasters in the latest survey by the National Association for Business Economics to be released Monday. The new estimates are roughly in line with other recent projections, including those released last week by the Federal Reserve.
Whatever the problems, the new president promised in the first prime-time speech of his term, "We will rebuild, we will recover and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."
Standing before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Obama optimistically sketched an agenda that began with jobs, then broadened quickly to include a stable credit system, better schools, health care reform, reliable domestic sources of energy and an end to the war in Iraq. Specifics will follow, he said, although he conceded more billions may be necessary to stabilize the banking system.
More than Danny Boyle, more than the eight Oscars for the film he directed, Slumdog Millionaire, Hollywood's entertainment media was enchanted by the cast of Indian kids who added such energy to the movie!
Meanwhile, Buoyed by cuts in excise duty, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Wednesday snapped a two-day falling trend by gaining over 80 points on fresh buying in blue-chips led by the auto sector. The Sensex, which lost 2.4 per cent in the last two trading sessions, gained 80.50 points at 8,902.56, after touching the day's high of 8,995.04.
Buying activity picked up on expectations that the government's decision to reduce direct and indirect taxes might boost industrial demand.
The 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 28.60 points at 2,762.50 and touched the day's high of 2,789.35 points.
In probably the last pre-poll bonanza, the government may cut diesel price by Rs 2 a litre in a "day-or-two" but there would be no reduction in petrol prices.
Government wants to announce the price reduction, on top of the Rs 4 a litre cut in two installments since December, before General Elections are announced, an official said.
"The Cabinet may meet in a day-or-two to decide on the reduction," he said. "Most likely, the Cabinet may meet tomorrow."
A reduction in diesel price would pull down inflation and make goods transportation, especially fruits and vegetables, cheaper.
However, there would no reduction in petrol rates, which in two installments had already been slashed by Rs 10 a litre.
State-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are selling petrol at almost break-even point while they make Rs 3.26 a litre profit on diesel sales.
"There is a scope for reduction in diesel rates only," the official said. On petrol, the margins are just Rs 0.08 per litre.
The three firms are currently making Rs 36 crore per day profit on diesel sales, enough to negate the Rs 24 crore per day loss on kerosene and Rs 9 crore on domestic LPG.
Kerosene is being sold at a loss of Rs 11.70 per litre and LPG at Rs 77.51 per 14.2-kg cylinder.
Complimenting the resilience displayed by Indian industry in dealing with the slowdown, Home Minister P Chidamabaram said the country's economy is likely to find an upturn by October this year.
"By the beginning of the third quarter of 2009-10, by October, we will find an upturn in the economy," Chidamabaram, who was Finance Minister till November last year, said while presenting the National Tourism Awards here.
"The present downturn is temporary. Our growth rate is expected to be well over seven per cent," he said noting that despite a downturn in global scenario, India has managed to achieve seven per cent growth. He attributed this to domestic consumption and demand.
Commending the performance of Indian businesses and industry during the global downturn, the Minister said India stood out as a "shining example" of a resilient economy when the world was engulfed by economic gloom.
"We owe this resilience of Indian business and economy to its ability to quickly adjust to changing times. But in no other country, I have seen businessmen adjusting so rapidly (to the situation). That is why we were able to hold our head high," he said.
During difficult times, Chidambaram advised that one should take "hard decisions" like cutting prices as a "natural response" to the downturn.
Predicting that a worsening fiscal position because of repeated tax cuts would further weaken investor confidence in India, Moody's said now it is for the RBI to take measures to revive the economy. Moody's Economy.Com, an arm of Moody's group, projected that growth in the Indian economy will further decline to 6.1 per cent in the October-December period of 2008, the data for which would be out on Friday.
"India's growth momentum is easing, and the policymakers must act to support the economy. However, given the government is cash strapped, it is time for the RBI to join in again in reviving the economy," the firm said in a statement here.
The threat of protectionism just won't lie down, despite repeated promises of political leaders to refrain from raising barriers to trade.
For many policy-makers and economists, attempts to save jobs by blocking imports and promoting exports at the expense of competitors could wreck efforts to tackle the economic crisis.
In the latest examples, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on the European Union to protect its industries in the same way the United States does, and an economist at a Chinese government think-tank said Beijing should make contingency plans to retaliate against the United States for protectionism.
"There is one global threat that could really derail all the effort that is being already applied to control this major crisis and of course that huge threat is protectionism," said former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.
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DOWNWARD SPIRAL
Globalisation -- the integrated world economy -- makes the crisis devastating even without protectionism, as weakness in one country is transmitted to another through lost exports.
Germany -- the world's biggest exporter -- suffered its biggest fall in gross domestic product since reunification in 1990 in the last quarter of 2008 thanks to a sharp drop in exports, the government announced on Wednesday.
Japan's exports nearly halved in January from a year earlier as the global recession deepened.
And China, the world's second biggest exporter, suffered a record 17.5 percent fall in exports in January, figures two weeks ago showed.
But the fall in imports was even bigger -- 43.1 percent -- reflecting sagging domestic demand and boosting China's trade surplus: a red light for those in the United States and Europe calling for protection against unfair competition.
But raising barriers against trade could intensify that downward spiral in exports, output and jobs.
"We can have a perverse cycle of negative feedback between recession and protectionism, and unfortunately this is no longer a reminiscence of the 1930s but a possible scenario," said Mexico's Zedillo, now an economics professor at Yale University.
In a speech to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, Obama renewed the pledge that the biggest economies would refrain from erecting trade barriers.
"We are working with the nations of the G20 to restore confidence in our financial system, avoid the possibility of escalating protectionism, and spur demand for American goods in markets across the globe," he said.
But since leaders first called late last year to avoid protectionism, a series of measures -- now being tracked by the World Trade Organisation -- has thrown sand in the wheels of global commerce.
The most prominent is the "Buy American" provision in the $787 billion U.S. stimulus bill, requiring the use of U.S. steel and other goods in government-funded infrastructure projects.
President Barack Obama watered this down to meet the letter of the international trade law, but the fact is it will shut big emerging economies like Brazil, India and China out of the U.S. government procurement market -- precisely the countries the United States wants to see open up to American goods.
It was this that Sarkozy had in mind when he called for matching European protection.
But France and the broader European Union are no novices when it comes to protecting their own markets.
Sarkozy upset EU partners with a plan to support French carmakers provided they keep factories open in France, and the European Union outraged other farm producers with its reintroduction of export subsidies for dairy products.
China too is the frequent target of complaints that it blocks access to its markets or gives unfair help to exporters.
For politicians faced with voters worried about their jobs or eager to see government bailouts deliver the goods at home, the populist response is tempting.
But it can also turn out to be more costly.
For instance favouring domestic producers in the capital-intensive steel industry over more competitive foreign rivals leaves less money for other job-creating projects.
Trading volume remained restricted as the market, which was increasingly tracking global cues, adopted a cautious approach with the general elections approaching, brokers said.
The US Standard and Poor’s 500 Index jumped 4 per cent in New York, the most in a month, as the US Federal Reserve said there was a "reasonable prospect" the current recession will end this year.
They said shares of metal and auto firms rose on expectations that the excise and service duty cuts would boost sales, while banking stocks were firm on renewed hopes of an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank soon.
About 1,000 American firms, which have moved their jobs abroad, are expected to be affected by the proposed move to do away with a particular provision of the country's tax code that allows them to pay lower taxes for profits repatriated from foreign shores.
The opponents of the tax code, mostly comprising of Democrats, have been demanding to abolish this provision for a long time, saying it was encouraging the companies to ship jobs aboard and eliminate the local positions.
According to various estimates by economists, corporate tax code may account for up to 3 million jobs abroad.
Way back in 2004, the US Congress had allowed a one-year repatriation tax holiday which reduced the 35 per cent tax rate on foreign earnings of American companies to just 5.25 per cent.
The decision to end tax breaks for corporations that send US jobs overseas will have an adverse impact on India Inc which benefited a lot because of the outsourcing boom.
Among the major companies which have shipped jobs to foreign countries such as India include General Electric, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Pepsico, Honeywell and IBM.
Earlier this month, two senators had expressed concern over lobbying by multinational corporations to allow firms with offshore funds to move their money back to the US at a discounted tax rate.
"In 2005, over 300 billion dollars in offshore funds were brought back and were subject to a 5.25 per cent tax rate instead of the normal 35 per cent rate, which means Uncle Sam missed out on billions in needed tax revenues," the Senators had said in a letter.
They also added that ‘such tax holidays not only reduce US tax revenue in the long run, but create new incentives for US multinationals to send more jobs, funds and facilities offshore’.
In their election campaigns, both Obama and Hillary Clinton, who is now the US Secretary of State, had said that tax break was encouraging companies to outsource American jobs to foreign countries.
A recent analysis by the Congressional Research Service showed that out of the 12 top repatriating companies, 10 cut jobs even before the recent economic downturn, the Senators said.
Going by estimates, foreign affiliates of American firms created nearly 1,00,000 jobs on an average in low-cost developing nations during the period from 1992 to 2005.
In 2004, the then Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry had rallied against companies which were exploiting the tax system to ship jobs to low-wage countries, including India.
Moody's expects the RBI to keep trimming the repo rate, which is the rate at which banks borrows money from the RBI in the short term, to 4 per cent from the current level of 5.5 per cent.
"Compared with the government, the central bank certainly has more room to exercise its policy tools. For growth to remain strong, the central bank needs to ensure ample liquidity and low interest rates," it said.
Inflation has markedly decelerated in the recent weeks, and interest rates must follow suit to maintain a loose monetary policy stance, the statement added.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said it was closely monitoring the economic scenario and would take "appropriate policy action as may be necessary".
RBI Governor Duwuri Subbarao Sunday met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and "assured him that the Reserve Bank is constantly monitoring the situation", a bank statement said.
"The governor briefed the minister on the evolution of the global financial crisis, the outlook for the global economy and the response of the advanced and the emerging economies to the crisis based on his meetings with the other central bank governors in Basel, Switzerland, in January and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in February," the RBI said.
The RBI has taken several monetary steps to ease out liquidity crunch in the financial system, including successive cuts in key interest rates like the repo rate - the interest charged by the RBI on borrowings by commercial banks. The repo rate currently stands at 5.5 percent.
Faced with the problem of surplus wheat stocks, the government will in the next 10 days decide on lifting ban on export of wheat products and increasing stock limits.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, food and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said as against the requirement of 110-120 lakh tonnes of wheat a year for public distribution system (PDS), the stocks in government godowns is 226 lakh tonnes. Similarly, against the buffer norm of 40 lakh tonnes, the current buffer stock was about 130 lakh tonnes, he said. “We are faced with the question of how to dispose this stock,” he said, adding “Too much stock is a problem for this country today.”
According to advance estimates, wheat production will be comfortable this year. “We should be ready to procure more wheat than last year,” he said. The farm minister said the government had previously placed restrictions on wheat to ensure adequate availability of the foodgrain. These included open door import without duty, banning of export of wheat products and placing of stock limits.
With adequate availability, there has been suggestions of removing these restrictions, he said. “We would be able to take a view on all these issues in 10 days’ time.” Mr Pawar said the government has raised the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat to Rs 1080 per quintal this year from Rs 1,000 previously.
Wheat price in the open market was the same as a year back because of ample stocks with the government and largest ever procurement and production. “Price of wheat is not a serious problem in our country because of ample stock availability,” he said.
Quoting a report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the minister said because of high support price of wheat, Indian grain is unlikely to be competitive in the world market without an export subsidy.
Mr Pawar said currently the production of wheat was sufficient to meet the domestic demand. However, to cope up with the expected increase in demand during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2007-2012), it has been targeted to enhance production of wheat to 83.6 million tonnes by 2012 through the national Food Security Mission.
Industry lobby Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Monday urged the government to set up a separate export
promotion council (EPC) for India's automotive industry to help it achieve higher share in the global market.
"A separate EPC with the primary objective of helping the Indian auto sector to achieve 5 percent share in global trade in the next 10 years needs to be created," the chamber said in a statement.
According to UN estimates, India currently accounts for about 0.5 percent of the gross annual auto exports, marginally up from 0.2 percent in 2000.
Among developing countries, India stands sixth in the global auto exports, trailing behind China, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey and Thailand.
China is leading the market among developing countries with 4.4 percent share.
India has recently undertaken mass export activities with South Korean carmaker Hyundai's Indian operations leading the bunch as the biggest exporter.
"Indian automotive industry needs to diversify its destinations of exports for which this council would be instrumental. Currently, India does not export significant amount of automotive items to some of the major importing countries like Australia, Canada, Russia and Saudi Arabia," it added.
Labour ministry, EPFO 'clueless' on number of pensioners
The EPFO's handling of data for the country's pensioners and their vital social security statistics has come under severe criticism from
a parliamentary panel which has asked the government to develop a database of all existing and new entrants to the organisation's pension scheme.
The committee has termed the Employee Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) data on number of pensioners subscribed to the Employee's Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995 as "inflated and imaginary".
Top officials of the labour ministry and the provident fund organisation were unable to explain how calculations for pensionary liability were arrived at without knowing the number of pensioners in the country.
"Regarding number of pensioners in the country, two different replies quoting different figures i.e. 29.53 lakh at one place while 15.20 lakh at another have been given," the parliamentary panel noted.
When the panel had sought to learn about the absence in data of new entrants who opted to join the new scheme instead of the 1971 Family Pension Scheme, the ministry replied that such data is not maintained as the number of such persons would be very "few" and most would have their benefits only after 37 years of service.
'Slumdog' an example of India's soft power: PC
Upbeat over the multiple Oscar feat of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that it won't be "very long" for a movie made by an Indian to get global cinema's highest recognition. Chidambaram, who was eloquent about India's "soft power", said the country of a billion people "adopted" Briton Danny Boyle's film as its own though it "may not be an Indian film".
Monday was a "red letter" day in the history of the country when ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ won as many as eight Oscars with A R Rahman picking up two of them, he said.
"'Slumdog Millionaire' may not be an Indian film. But a nation of billion people adopted it as an Indian film.
"How long it will take for an Indian film produced by an Indian and directed by an Indian director to bag the Oscar? It will not be very long," he said during the presentation ceremony of the National Tourism Awards in New Delhi.
Warning against underestimating India's soft power, Chidambaram said India has a wide varieties to showcase its soft power which includes art, music, film and Bollywood among others.
POLL - Inflation seen at 3.31 pct on Feb. 14
India's annual inflation rate is seen falling to its lowest in nearly 15 months at 3.3 percent in mid-February as cheaper fuels reduce prices of manufactured products, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.
The median forecast is for a rise of 3.31 percent in the wholesale price index in the 12 months to Feb. 14, compared with 3.92 percent in the week ended Feb. 7.
If realised, it will be the index's lowest reading since Nov. 24, 2007, when it was 3.11 percent.
The central bank expects annual inflation to be below 3 percent by March 31, the end of the 2008/09 fiscal year, with some analysts predicting it will be even lower.
The data is due around noon on Thursday.
"We expect inflation to fall on account of continuation of second-round impact of fuel price cuts on manufactured product prices and a high statistical base," said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda in Mumbai.
The inflation rate fell from above 5 percent in the last week of January after India cut its state-set retail fuel prices by up to 11 percent.
Economists expect the central bank to cut interest rates again in the near term, prompted by falling inflation and slowing economic growth in Asia's third-largest economy.
Sonal Varma, economist at Nomura Research, expects the Reserve Bank of India to cut both its key lending and borrowing rates by 50 basis points by end-March and by a further 100 basis points by mid-2009.
Bernanke sees possible US recession end in 2009
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday he sees a "reasonable prospect" for an end to the deep US recession this year if the Top 10 US bank failures numerous rescue and stimulus programs work as intended.
In his semiannual economic address to Congress, Bernanke was guarded in his outlook and noted that the US economy is in the midst of a "severe contraction" that has continued into the first quarter of 2009.
Despite numerous downside risks to the outlook, Bernanke said a variety of initiatives appear to be steadying jittery financial markets, and if these work as intended, the recession could end in 2009.
"It is essential that we continue to complement fiscal stimulus with strong government action to stabilize financial institutions and financial markets," he said.
"If actions taken by the administration, the Congress, and the Federal Reserve are successful in restoring some measure of financial stability -- and only if that is the case, in my view -- there is a reasonable prospect that the current recession will end in 2009 and that 2010 will be a year of recovery."
Global forum for preserving jobs to tackle recession!
Stimulus packages must target job creation, preservation and social protection as central to quick growth and thus economic recovery, underlined a high level forum of 11 Asian nations, gathered to analyse critical policy response to tackle economic slowdown.
The meeting, "Responding to the Economic Crisis — Coherent Policies for Growth, Employment and Decent Work in Asia and the Pacific", was convened by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), with participants from the Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other UN agencies, at Philippines' capital city Manila.
"The crisis is severe and we haven't seen the worst of it. The poorest and most vulnerable could be severely hit by its brutality as it spreads. To be effective, we must ensure that assistance reaches all levels of the society, and most importantly to the working poor," ILO's Regional Director for Asia and Pacific Sachiko Yamamoto said in a statement released here.
Calling for coherent regional and international responses to the crisis, Yamamoto added, "a strong message came from the meeting for coherent and co-ordinated responses taking into account social as well as economic factors."
Practical measures called for during the meeting included protecting jobs; targeted support to rural and agricultural economy, and for vulnerable groups like migrant workers, informal sector workers, women and young people; collective bargaining and social dialogue for negotiating wages, temporary lay-offs and severance packages.
The Central Board of Trustees of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) today recommended that its interest rate should remain at 8.5 per cent for the year 2008-09 even as trade unions were demanding at least a one per cent increase. The decision to retain the same rate of interest for EPF subscribers as last year was taken in the 186th meeting of the board. It was chaired by minister of state for labour and employment, Mr Oscar Fernandes, who is also chairman of the board.
Representatives of labour unions, who attended the meeting, were however in favour of a higher rate of interest. Representatives of the AITUC, Citu, BMS, HMS, AIUTUC and the All India UTUC registered their dissent on this issue in the presence of the minister. They said the rate of interest had been kept the same despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s promise of 9.5 per cent.
The EPF board also considered the coverage of contract employees under the EPF Act and better extension of social security cover to existing employees, but decided to take these issues up later after soliciting more views. About 70 per cent of the EPF Organisation’s Rs 33,000 crore corpus are deposited with the government’s special depository schemes
With inflation falling below four per cent, the Prime Minister's advisory panel today said there was room for the Reserve Bank to signal further interest rate cuts to spur industrial growth, which turned negative for the second time in December this financial year.
“There is room for rates cut by the RBI,” Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, chairman, Mr Tendulkar said. He, however, declined to specify the percentage of rate cuts that he expected, saying the decision was with the RBI's domain and the apex bank “will take a call on that”.
After more than a year, inflation fell below four per cent to touch 3.92 per cent by the end of the first week of February from close of 13 per cent in August 2008, raising hope for the central bank to slash rates.
The industrial production has contracted for the second time in December by two per cent.
Before this, the industrial output fell for the first time in 15 years in October 2008 by 0.3 per cent.
RBI Governor, Dr D Subbarao, had himself said in Tokyo: “There certainly is room for cutting rates.”
Even though the RBI has released over Rs 4,00,000 crore into the system by a series of cuts in policy rates and other tools, it refrained from making any changes in key rates in the third quarterly review of its monetary policy.
Union commerce and industry minister, Mr Kamal Nath, had also said: “(The) RBI is looking into the monetary policy and will perhaps respond to it (sliding inflation).” India's largest private lender ICICI Bank CEO, Mr KV Kamath, had said: “When inflation is going towards two per cent, there is scope for interest rates to go down.”
When asked whether the fiscal deficit would be a problem for India in the next few years as pointed out by the financial services firm Goldman Sachs, Mr Tendulkar said: “I do not subscribe to that at all.”
On Friday, Goldman Sachs had said in a research report that India's deficit would not come down substantially over the next few years due to increase in spending, especially on higher wages and unemployment benefits as well as a large increase in the governments interest burden.
The report added India's fiscal deficit, including both the Centre and the states, would be among the highest in the world. It is likely to be 10.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in the current fiscal and 10 per cent in the next fiscal.
The Reserve Bank of India is constantly monitoring economic conditions and will take action as needed, Governor Duvvuri Subbarao told the finance minister after his recent meetings abroad with other central bank heads.
The RBI said on its website www.rbi.org.in that Subbarao met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday night and briefed him on the economic situation.
"The governor briefed the finance minister on the evolution of the global financial crisis, the outlook for global economy and the response of advanced and the emerging economies to the crisis," based on his meetings with central bank governors in Basel last month and Kuala Lumpur in February, the RBI said.
Inflation fell to its lowest in more than 13 months in early February, dropping below 4 per cent, which analysts said made it more likely the central bank would cut rates to support faltering growth.
In Tokyo last week, Subbarao said there was room to cut rates, but the question was when and by how much.
After a series of cuts since October, the bank's key lending rate, the repo, stands at 5.5 per cent, while the reverse repo is at 4.0 per cent.
The economy is expected to grow 7.1 per cent in the fiscal year ending Mar. 31, slowing from 9.0 per cent in the previous year.
Promoters, MFs shady deals in focus
25 Feb 2009, 0233 hrs IST, Santosh Nair, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: The abrupt resignations of senior investment officials at a couple of asset management companies recently could turn the spotlight on some
of the ‘deals of convenience’ struck between promoters and fund managers during the latest boom.
Such transactions, mostly involving mid-sized companies, helped promoters boost valuations of their firms while the fund house gained by way of inflows into its equity schemes.
According to dealers at institutional broking houses, a few fund houses, including some of the big names in the industry, are now left with at least half a dozen such ‘lemons’ in their portfolios.
In some cases, the promoters had verbally committed to buy back the shares later at a pre-decided price, but are now unable to do so because of liquidity problems. The fund houses are stuck with these shares, because there are no takers in the market for these ‘high fliers-turned-fallen angels.’ “The holdings in such companies are not huge compared to the size of the portfolio,” says a broker.
“But looking at the fundamentals, or rather the lack of them, it is intriguing how these stocks made it to the portfolios of mutual funds. When the market was booming, nobody objected, because the returns were too good to resist. But if the downturn persists, some uncomfortable questions are bound to be raised.”
In one instance, a mid-sized textile group invested around Rs 300 crore in equity schemes of three fund houses with an understanding that at least 50% of that money should be used to buy shares of the flagship firm through the open market. The fund houses obliged and the stock price surged as a result of open-market purchases.
In this case, mutual funds were sensible enough to exit the stock in time. But investors trying to piggy back on the fund houses ended up burning their fingers. The stock is now down 75% from its peak level seen last year. And while the promoter may have used company funds to ramp up the stock price, it will reflect in the balance sheet, alongside the entry ‘investment in mutual funds’.
“If highly-rated fund managers are willing to back a little-known company, it automatically results in the re-rating of the stock,” says a dealer at an institutional broking house. “Little wonder then that promoters are willing to pay a ‘premium’ to get a fund house on board,” he says.
In such transactions, fund houses buy the shares directly from the promoter, instead of doing it through the open market. Promoters of mid-cap companies usually hold 4-5% stake through unofficial channels, which are not reflected in the shareholding pattern as disclosed to stock exchanges.
The shares, held through entities indirectly controlled by promoters, are offered to fund houses. For instance, if the stock price is around Rs 100, the deal may be struck at Rs 80. And while the trade will be entered on the screen at Rs 100, the difference will be returned to the fund house in cash, or by way of some quid pro quo deal.
India Inc's M&A value dips 53% in 4 yrs
The blood bath in the stock market has pulled down the current market valuation of corporate India's mergers and acquisitions by a whopping USD 24.04 billion, in just four years time.
During 2005-08, listed Indian companies have been involved in M&A activities worth USD 45 billion, but the current mark-to-market value of such M&As is down to USD 20.96 billion, indicating a loss of 53 per cent, SMC Capital said in a report.
"Though M&As are meant more for long-term strategic reasons, a loss of USD 24.04 billion is lot of money to completely ignore. Nevertheless, the overall M&A experience by Indian corporates turning sour, raising questions about the very rationality of such aggressive M&As," SMC Capitals CEO Jagannadham Thunuguntla said.
The unprecedented bull market, which encouraged Indian corporates to make brisk, aggressive M&As, was also one of the key reason for fall in its valuations, as during the four-year time (2005-08) the equity market went through a rough patch.
A yearly comparison shows that the listed M&As of 2005 are performing relatively better with current mark-to-market return of negative 6.68 per cent. However, the listed M&As of 2006, 2007 and 2008 are bleeding severely with losses as high as 62.84 per cent, the report said.
The loss in the M&A space was across the board, except telecom, which posted healthy returns of 21.76 per cent, while the biggest loser was the auto sector, which gave negative returns of 81.23 per cent.
"At a time when many high profile M&A deals such as Tata SteelCorus, Tata Motors-Jaguar & Land Rover, Suzlon-REPower have seen significant wealth erosion, Telecom emerged as the only stand out industry with healthy returns posted in the transaction of Vodafone's investment into Bharti," it added.
Nearly 85 per cent of the listed M&As during 2005-08 are posting losses. There were 54 deals in the period under review, out of which as many as 46 are in losses.
Only eight deals representing 15 per cent have been able to post profits and these deals were from sectors like energy, manufacturing, oil and gas and telecom.
Deals that reported profits were NTPC-Ratnagiri Gas, GAIL-Ratnagiri Gas, Vodafone-Bharti, Tata Power-Arutmin, Holcim-HCC, Bharat Petroleum-Encana, Indian Oil-IBP Company.
All the other sectors under review, barring telecom, that posted negative returns are aviation (69.94 per cent), Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (44.09 per cent), energy (37.07 per cent), hospitality (75.72 per cent), IT and ITeS (57.87 per cent), manufacturing (62.71 per cent), media and entertainment (78.66 per cent), oil and gas (16.81 per cent), pharma and healthcare (67.10 per cent).
Reliance to acquire oil storages in US
Reliance Industries will soon acquire clean storages in the US East Coast and Gulf Coast to sell huge volumes of fuel, a senior official said, putting in place its global infrastructure that will cement its swing-supplier role.
"We are looking for storages in the East Coast, the Gulf Coast and the West Coast... We are under process to acquire in East Coast and the Gulf Coast," the company official, who declined to be named due to company policy, said.
A Reliance spokesperson said: "We are looking for clean storage capacity in the US".
It was not immediately clear if Reliance would lease or buy the storages.
The Reliance official did not disclose the timeframe or the capacity of the proposed storages, but trade sources said the size could be about 200,000-250,000 cubic metres (cu m) and the deal expected to take place by end-March.
The firm would use the storages to market huge volumes of oil products from its recently commissioned 580,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery, owned by subsidiary Reliance Petroleum.
The new plant, sited next to the group's existing 660,000-bpd refinery, has turned Reliance's Jamnagar complex into the world's biggest oil facility.
Reliance has also recently started gasoline trading operations in the United States, adding liquidity to physical trading. The office located in Texas will trade gasoline both on the US Gulf Coast and New York Harbor markets.
"Southeast Asia is surplus, Europe is almost flat and the US is the only market where they can sell the products. They may float their own brand at a later date," said a trade source.
Reliance recently commissioned its clean storage facility at Ashkelon terminal in Israel to tap Mediterranean and European markets.
It has also leased 100,000 cu m of clean oil products storage in Singapore from Dutch oil and chemicals storage operator Royal Vopak NV, industry sources had earlier said. Reliance has also leased clean oil storages in the Caribbean.
The International Energy Agency in its latest report said that the Asian oil product supply picture is set to change in the coming months with the start up of Reliance's new refinery.
"India is expected to export 25 medium range cargoes of gas oil a month, displacing mostly Japanese and Korean volumes," it said.
Interim trade policy may make rules easier for exporters
The government is likely to remove several procedural bottlenecks for exporters in the interim foreign trade policy to be unveiled by
Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath here on February 26.
The policy, though interim in nature, will address immediate concerns of exporters who are facing shortfall in demand for Indian goods in the recession-hit overseas markets like the US, a Commerce Ministry official said.
Exporters may be given more time to meet their export obligations in return for duty-free import of machinery and reimbursement of taxes without waiting for export proceeds.
The interim measures would be announced as an annual supplement to the five-year policy 2004-09 that was unveiled by the UPA Government at the beginning of its tenure.
The foreign trade policy lists the procedures, incentives for exports as also import rules. Though the policy has a five -year tenure, the government keeps changing the rules depending on the fast-changing trade scenario. For instance, the government had banned export of wheat and other food articles last year in the wake of high inflation.
It would be up to the new government to announce a full- fledged trade policy, the official said.
India's exports would be growing at lesser pace this fiscal as demand in the buying markets is slowing. Exports totalled USD 162 billion in 2008-09.
Maytas Infra diverted public money to group entities: Govt
The government has alleged that Maytas Infra has diverted money raised from public to the group companies owned by Ramalinga Raju.
Lobbying begins for Maytas Infra board seats
IFCI, which holds 17% stake in Maytas Infra, pitched for a seat on the new board of Maytas Infra, whenever it is reconstituted. Funnier side of Satyam saga!
Govt to wrest control of two maytas boards
Institutional lenders led by IL&FS and banks had demanded supercession of the Maytas Infra Board, fearing risk of their loans to these entities. Funnier side of Satyam saga! | Satyam's Development Centres
Gammon finds takers on Maytas Infra takeover talk
Investors have reacted positively to reports that Gammon India is in race to take over Hyderabad-based Maytas Infrastructure. Factors for successful M&As
Gammon in race to acquire Maytas Infra
The logic of the takeover bid is that Maytas-a virtual damsel in distress now-has lots of projects, both inside and outside the state.
400 employees quit Maytas in 2 months
Over 400 employees are believed to have quit the co in the past 2 months, following the Satyam-Maytas aborted deal in Dec. Job-cuts: A blessing in disguise
Maytas Infra lenders fail to get HC reprieve
The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a joint ICICI Bank-IDBI Bank appeal seeking an injunction on the various parties dealing with Maytas Infra.
Two Hyderabad players to take over Maytas Infra
Two Hyderabad-based investors have emerged as strong contenders for taking control of Maytas Infrastructure. Satyam: Full Coverage | Lighter side of Satyam
Stay against invoking guarantees sought
Maytas Infrastructure’s lenders have moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court in order to stop clients of the company from invoking bank guarantees.
Maytas attempts to restore investor confidence
Maytas Infra said it would set up a "task force" to restore investor confidence and provide assistance in managerial activities.
CID searches Maytas companies offices
AP CID began searches at some of the offices of Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties.
Maytas Infra CEO P K Madhav resigns
P K Madhav, the Whole Time Director & CEO of Maytas Infra, tendered his resignation owing to personal reasons.
Satyam's board was divided on Maytas deal
The unanimous approval of Satyam's erstwhile board to the Maytas deal was not unanimous in letter and spirit.
Maytas grew fastest under YSR
Maytas Infra registered a phenomenal growth under the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy regime as compared to the previous TDP government.
Maytas investor mulls legal options
Infinite India, which had invested Rs 600 crore in Maytas Properties in February 2008, is considering options that could include legal proceedings against Maytas Properties for breaching the investment agreement.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/quickieslist/3987377.cms
FDI cap in mortgage guarantee cos at 49%
21 Feb 2009, 0309 hrs IST, Rajat Guha, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: The government has asked the US-based mortgage insurance company Genworth Financial to divest 51% stake in its Indian arm to domestic
partners, following the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India to limit foreign direct investment in mortgage guarantee firms at 49%.
In asking the US company to divest majority stake, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) reversed its 2006 decision to allow Genworth to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in the country.
As per the RBI guidelines issued in February last year, the FIPB decided to limit FDI in mortgage guarantee companies. The guidelines prohibit a foreign investor to hold more than 49% equity stake in such a firm, a senior official in the department of industrial policy and promotion (Dipp), who didn’t wish to be named, said.Mortgage guarantee is an insurance tool that helps an individual in buying a house with minimal down payment.
Normally, banks extend housing loan after the buyers agree to pay 20% or more of the total amount. The property is purchased in the name of the bank and the buyer makes the payment in instalments. If the buyer stops paying instalments, the mortgage guarantee firm protects the lender from the financial loss. As lenders have the protection, they are able to offer more mortgage loans with lower down payments.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Foreign-Trade/FDI-cap-in-mortgage-guarantee-cos-at-49/articleshow/4163987.cms
PUBLIC SECTOR REVISITED
- The trouble is not government ownership, but interference
Commentarao
S.L. Rao
More regulation
In the last six months, there has been a sea-change in views about government ownership. Privatization is no longer seen as a universal panacea for the inefficiencies of ownership by the government. It is the interference by the government in management that has to go, not necessarily the ownership.
The financial meltdown in the United States of America and the revival measures required have transformed opinions. Many banks and financial institutions are now owned by the US government (as they have been in India for over 40 years). The regulatory system for the financial sector that was created during the Great Depression by Roosevelt is in shambles.
The Federal Reserve could not foresee the overextended situations of much of the financial sector. Finance products became like currency, no longer representing intrinsic value of the assets they represented as confidence in the system. Housing loans were given with little checking because the lenders thought they were risk-free, with the property market on a constant high. Merchant banks, venture capitalists, brokers and banks, bundled housing mortgages into packages (‘products’) that were the sub-prime mortgages. No one knew what value and quality they actually represented. Similarly, the securitization of debts from credit cards, mortgages, foreign exchange futures, created ‘products’ whose intrinsic values no one knew. These were also rated by rating agencies, which are unregulated for their judgments. These ‘products’ were traded and insured. The insurers did not know their real values.
The stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, had little idea of the risks being taken because of computerized ‘programme trading’ in stock market arbitrage and portfolio insurance. Similarly with foreign exchange-based products, with options and futures that were increasingly speculative and with little capital backing from the trading or lending institution. Brokers and many other institutions were into speculative trading, basing themselves on complex mathematical models of markets that assumed normal curves for their risk and values, but did not take account of the volatility at the ‘tails’ of the normal curve. The regulatory system (Federal Reserve, SEC, rating agencies, the self-regulated accounting profession) could not keep pace with the flow of money, the new products created at dazzling speed and becoming huge, and the entry of non-banking institutions with low capitalization into large volumes of financial trading. These products were beyond the ken of regulators accustomed to a slower and less complex environment. A regulatory system that worked for 70 years was unable to understand or regulate this new situation. The federal government was ‘hands-off’ under the Republicans and, under Clinton towards his closing years, relied on Alan Greenspan. He is responsible for the housing bubble, with rising house prices due to the constant lowering of interest rates, destroying savings habits and pushing up asset values. Public ownership of failing financial institutions was the only way to save the American economy.
Transparency, regulation that is tough and up-to-date on market developments, ensuring that every stakeholder knows the score, can deter private owners or representatives of the government as owner. They can be made to perform and to behave.
In India, the complexity of financial markets is yet not there. The regulators (the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India) have got stronger, because of personalities and the transparency of regulated entities. Over the 1990s, recapitalization of nationalized banks helped their ability to lend. Service improved. The “loan melas” of past years, allowed by compliant RBI governors, could not happen. Venugopal Reddy, a strong RBI governor, made inflation control his priority despite government pressures to reduce interest rates and go for growth. He used relatively high interest rates to keep inflation down despite rising government fiscal deficits. But the government’s desperation to increase foreign exchange reserves through foreign institutional investment inflows led to the “irrational exuberance” of stock markets, as funds ebbed and flowed, and then were recently withdrawn to shore up the head offices of foreign banks and FIIs. This led to sudden declines in rupee values. Government ownership of banks and strong financial regulation by the RBI countered the policies of the government. But government policy created volatility in stock markets and pushed down the rupee’s foreign exchange value.
Public sector enterprises did not have the backing of a powerful regulator like the RBI to keep predatory hands of government representatives from meddling with their operations. Ministers and their bureaucrats continue to exert “ownership”. The excuse is that they have to report to Parliament; though it is rare for Parliament to discuss the performance of PSEs. The excuse of parliamentary reporting gave these government representatives a free hand to interfere in staff appointments, investments, purchases, and competitive strategies.
The problem with PSEs is not ownership but the behaviour of the government representatives with the enterprise. Politicians and bureaucrats treat a PSE as their personal fiefdom and use it to benefit themselves, promote their ideology, promote lackeys, and prevent the enterprise manager from functioning autonomously. The plight of Air India and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited are good examples. Air India was prevented from replacing old aeroplanes for over 10 years, while private competitors were licensed to take over the domestic market and foreign airlines the overseas market. Some of the ‘owners’ must have personally benefited. Even ‘good’ PSEs like BHEL have been failing to deliver equipment on time and to keep pace with technology because of government interference. Expansion of power supply was a casualty.
Privatization removes financial burdens from the government (except when they fail, and the government has to pump in huge amounts to prevent the economy from collapsing). For example, the public-private partnership running the earlier fully government-owned Delhi electricity distribution has significantly improved performance while removing a major financial burden from the Delhi administration. The Gujarat electricity system is under full government ownership and under a proactive chief minister; it has achieved similar results under government ownership. Not ownership, but the autonomy of managements and their accountability are what matters.
Preventing ministerial and bureaucratic interference in PSEs, putting them under independent regulatory surveillance, appointing the best people to run them, and paying them well, can make PSEs perform well even under government ownership. Changing legislature rules so that only reports have to be placed on the table of the legislature concerned but not discussed, and creating an independent regulatory commission to oversee PSEs to ensure accountability of their managers, are essential.
All enterprises must work within a framework of regulations and overall control by a board with a majority of independent directors. The directors must be courageous enough to ask questions. This is ‘corporate governance’. Regulators — the RBI, Sebi, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the registrar of companies, the Central electricity regulatory commission, the telecommunications regulatory authority of India and others to come, and a new regulator for PSEs — and subservience to the shareholders, must be the mantra for public and private enterprises. Experiments to distance the government from the management of PSEs have failed. The annual MoU between the government and the PSE, and navaratnas with more autonomy, failed. The holding company did not insulate the subsidiaries from the government. The joint sector worked well in Maruti, Delhi electricity distribution and other instances.
Privatization was a desperate solution to distance government from managements of public enterprises. It is not the only way to improve public enterprise performance.
The author is former director- general, National Council for Applied Economic Research
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090223/jsp/opinion/story_10560725.jsp
The bitter aftertaste of lunch-box economics
G.S. RADHAKRISHNA
Hyderabad, Feb. 22: Gopala Rao had hired five cooks and 20 assistants for his bustling catering service that fed software professionals of 10 IT companies.
Since 2002, the science graduate with a masters degree in computer applications has been delivering packed food — south Indian, north Indian and Chinese — in two Omni vans twice a day.
Rao, in his late-forties, supplied 1,000 meals to each of the 10 companies daily and earned a minimum of Rs 75,000 a month after expenses. He also operated a mobile canteen-on-pavement offering piping hot idlis, dosas and vegetarian noodles at the dead of night to techies who came out after late shifts.
Since November, Rao’s fortunes, like those of his clients, have slipped.
Five of his 10 clients cancelled their contracts in November, some others followed suit the next month. Rao sold his catering business in January when Dell, the last company he had as client, scrapped its contract with him.
“My contract has been scrapped as employees are bringing their own lunch boxes and I have opted out of business,” he said.
Rao now sells fruits and pickles on the pavements of Hitec City aided by his wife and son, an engineering student who helps out in the evening. His monthly earnings have come down to around Rs 22,000.
The relatives he had engaged in his catering business have all returned to their native villages in Guntur.
Rao’s tale of despair is being echoed across the service sector that had flourished around Hitec City, the hub of cyberabad.
The hundreds of guesthouses and service apartments that had mushroomed are now almost empty with occupancy rates plummeting to around 30-35 per cent because of the cost-cutting measures adopted by the companies.
“I have to dispose most of my assets as I cannot maintain them,” said Kondappa Reddy, a landlord who operated two guest houses and 10 service apartments.
Nearly 70 per cent of the service apartments have put up “for sale” notices. Real estate prices are down: a 1500sqft flat in and around the software corridor, that would have cost Rs 1.2 crore in the beginning of 2008, is now being offered for less than Rs 35 lakh.
“I am shocked at the gloom and change that the downturn has brought to Hyderabad,” said Neil Goblins, a visiting software professional from Ireland. He is, however, happy that he could hire a service apartment for less than $10 dollars a day very near his place of work. A year ago, the same place would have cost at least thrice as much.
According to statistics available with the Software Technology Park of India and the Hyderabad Software Exporters Association, almost 85,000 techies — of whom 5,000 are at the senior management level — have lost their jobs in Hyderabad since March 2008.
With layoffs and severe cost cutting measures in place, techies have now taken up teaching, some have opted to become grocers and even canteen operators.
Andhra Pradesh has some 445 engineering and 740 MCA colleges which have become shelters for some local jobless software professionals who are offering to teach at half their IT salaries.
“In the last few years, we could get only aged techies to teach in our faculties. Now we have a fair number ready to teach at half the salaries,” said Janardhan Rao, office-bearer of a consortium for engineering colleges.
The highest salary the engineering colleges have offered is just Rs 45,000 per month, that too on contract, Rao said.
The impact can be felt on other sectors as well. Almost 40 of the 75 and odd eateries around the Hitec City have shut down operations.
Many retail outlets selling fashion jewellery, electronic goods and apparels, which kept doors open 24x7 to cater to the techie crowd, have now returned to the normal work hours.
Most IT companies, particularly BPOs, have imposed restrictions on car pool and banned in-house catering, flower decorations and weekly on-floor recreation.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090223/jsp/frontpage/story_10577409.jsp
Life changes in tech towns
Slump forces rent tweaks
AJAY SUKUMARAN
Bangalore, Feb. 22: The economic downturn is driving down house rentals in India’s IT capital, allowing more and more working people to move to cheaper houses or re-negotiate rents, striking better bargains with their landlords.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090223/jsp/frontpage/story_10577436.jsp
London (IANS): The coming Indian general election is likely to lead to a Left leaning government led by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, a leading pollster predicted on Monday.
21 Feb 2009, 0052 hrs IST, ET Bureau
remains untouched by the economic slowdown.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News-by-Industry/Telecom-adds-15-mn-telecom-users-in-Jan/articleshow/4163653.cms
23 Feb 2009, 1920 hrs IST, Saikat Das, ET Bureau
Become your own financial planner
Get set for long-term investment
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erosion in retail investor portfolio from the Sensex peak of 21,000.
Also Read
? Investors continue pull out from India; Asia sees inflows
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? MNCs ahead of Indian cos in dividend race
? No default zone: Companies with lesser credit risk
The underlining message for a retail investor is to keep close watch on every global movement and to analyse its near-term/immediate implications on Indian markets.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Recession-an-eye-opener-for-investors/articleshow/4178088.cms
23 Feb 2009, 1020 hrs IST, Vijay Gurav, ET Bureau
payout.
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Its dividend outgo works out to Rs 38 crore on an equity of Rs 5 crore, resulting in a payout ratio of 51%.
According to analysts, most MNCs have a higher payout ratio, as they are cash-rich and have little or no debt. Pharma and FMCG sectors are likely to be resilient to the economic slowdown.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Analysis/MNCs-ahead-of-Indian-cos-in-dividend-race/articleshow/4172030.cms
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bhubaneswar, Feb. 22: A university to be built by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (Icfai) would be the first-of-its-kind initiative in the state with the cabinet clearing the draft legislation almost three years after the MoU was signed.
Earlier, there were reports that the cabinet had deferred the matter to the next meeting to re-examine the draft bill.
Icfai had signed an MoU with the state government on March 20, 2007, to set up the university. The institute of higher learning, with a total investment of Rs 150 crore, was supposed to be completed within three years of signing the MoU.
“However, we had problems with land acquisition near Jatni, resulting in the delay We have now identified a fresh patch of 50 acres between Bhubaneswar and Khurda,” said Samad Noorus, the Icfai official in charge of Orissa.
The university proposes to admit 1,000 students in various disciplines, including engineering and management studies. Icfai would buy its own land for the institute, which would house a sports complex, recreational facilities and utility centres. “We have not asked for funding help from the government. We just expect the government to help us frame the legislation,” said Noorus
Icfai has sponsored universities in different states under respective legislation. Uttaranchal, Tripura, Sikkim, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Jharkhand have passed bills facilitating the establishment of Icfai universities in their respective states. Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan have already issued letters of intent to the university in their states. The university would develop necessary human resources required in the wake of IT, ITES, BPO and KPO centres that generate avenues for employment to local youths, said Noorus.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090223/jsp/frontpage/story_10566019.jsp
Pay windfall for govt staff
SUDHIR KUMAR MISHRA
Ranchi, Feb. 22: The state government today agreed to implement in toto the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. A formal decision to this effect was taken by the governor’s advisory council.
Now, state employees will get the revised central pay scale with effect from January 1, 2006. Their arrears accumulated since September 2008 would be paid along with their salary for February 2009.
It has also agreed to give 40 per cent of the arrears amount accumulated between April 1, 2007, and August 1, 2008, during this fiscal and the rest 60 per cent in the next financial year. The arrears accumulated between January 1, 2006, and April 1, 2007, will be paid in two equal instalments in 2010-11 and 2011-12, respectively.
For the settlement of disputes, if any, a high-powered committee headed by a member of the revenue board has been constituted. The state finance secretary and secretaries of the departments concerned would be the members of this committee.
Soon after the creation of Jharkhand, state government employees were granted central pay scales. The government, too, had agreed to implement the recommendations of central pay commissions.
However, when the Sixth Pay Commission was announced, the state government budged slightly from its previous stand. Though it agreed in principle to grant them the revised wages effective since January 1, 2006, the actual benefits were to be given from April 1, 2007.
Among other things, the state government has adopted the Centre’s juvenile justice law. It has also decided to pay uniform allowances in cash to forest guards and rangers. Forest guards will, henceforth, get Rs 3,000 per annum and rangers Rs 3,500.
For speedy disposal of disputes under the electricity law, the special courts in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Dumka and Medininagar (Daltonganj) would now be headed by additional district judge rank officials. The advisory council today sanctioned these posts.
In the Jharkhand State Rural Development Authority, 33 posts have been created. Its chief executive officer will now be a secretary-rank official. So long, this position was being held by retired persons.
The Administrative Staff College in Hyderabad would be the consultant for preparing the action plan for the implementation of the JNNURM schemes and model municipal law. A consultancy fee of Rs 5.54 lakh would be payable for preparing the action plan and other Rs 9.91 lakh for the model municipal law.
To evolve modalities to improve revenue earnings for municipalities, National Institute of Business and Finance has been made consultant for a fee of Rs 25 lakh.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090223/jsp/frontpage/story_10576818.jsp
Pranab barb at Mamata
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Pranab Mukherjee with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha
Calcutta, Feb. 22: Pranab Mukherjee today accused “some people” of putting up “self-created obstacles on the road to the state’s development” at the foundation stone laying for the East-West Metro, two days after Mamata Banerjee urged him not to attend the programme.
When Mukherjee, foreign minister and state Congress president, spoke in Salt Lake, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was by his side. “It is sad that some people are putting up self-created (atmakrita) obstacles on the road to the state’s development. One shouldn’t bring narrow politics into development activities. Our main objective is to work for people’s welfare,” he said.
Mukherjee had asserted yesterday that he would attend the programme, no matter what Mamata, his prospective election ally, said.
In the pre-election season, such posturing is not uncommon. Leaders of prospective allies are known to adopt seemingly irreconcilable positions in public to strengthen respective bargaining positions before formal seat-sharing talks begin.
On Friday, the Trinamul Congress chief said: “It’s un-fair to unveil projects with the polls round the corner. I appeal to Pranabda not to share the dais with the chief minister.”
Today, Mukherjee had a word of caution for Mamata’s brand of politics. “People don’t accept those who try to stall development projects simply for opposition’s sake.”
On the dais, Mukherjee and Bhattacharjee were seen speaking to each other for some time. Mukherjee said: “We may have political differences but they have to be put on the backburner for development projects. Those voted to power have to be accepted… this is the cardinal principle of our democratic set-up.”
At a news conference in Mamata’s house this evening, MLA Partha Chatterjee said “Banglar nayak (Bengal’s hero)” was “acting as the CPM mouthpiece”. “We didn’t see him in Nandigram or Singur. But he is often with CPM leaders in foundation stone-laying ceremonies now.”
Asked if Mukherjee’s statements could jeopardise talks on the alliance, Chatterjee said: “That is a different issue. The decision will be taken at the highest level.”
The chief minister heaped praise on Mukherjee. “With- out him, the East-West Metro would not have seen the light of day. He saw to it that the Centre cleared the project.”
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090223/jsp/bengal/story_10577187.jsp
Bed rest, with inaugurations for breakfast
G.C. SHEKHAR
Chennai, Feb. 22: At 85, M. Karunanidhi may have set a world record — for inaugurating the highest number of projects from a hospital bed.
The chief minister has been happily pushing buttons, unveiling projects through videoconferencing and launching into speeches while recovering from spinal surgery at Sri Ramachandra Hospital, surrounded by doctors and family.
In the past one week alone, he has opened a grade separator built by the National Highways Authority in Chennai, a hospital in Union home minister P. Chidambaram’s constituency Sivaganga and a river-linking project in Tirunelveli.
Today, he made a mobile call to Union communications minister A. Raja, which was relayed through speakers at the Chennai telephone exchange, to kick off telecom major BSNL’s 3G services. True to style, he made a speech as well.
Karunanidhi has also threatened an indefinite fast in hospital unless the state’s lawyers, agitating against a police baton-charge on the high court premises, agree to resolve the crisis that has closed all state courts.
His demonstration that “ill” need not mean “indisposed” comes at a time Kerala chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan is believed to be considering “sick leave” in hospital to skip a CPM function.
There is, however, sound political logic behind Karunanidhi’s hectic hospital schedule. Once elections are announced, the model code of conduct will bar inaugurations. The chief minister, therefore, has told officials and his party’s Union ministers to line up all possible inaugurations and foundation-stone programmes before March 2.
He cannot be finding his job too unpleasant. The DMK stalwart has never fought shy of inaugurations or felicitations despite lower-back pain pinning him to a wheelchair for the past year. He would often sit for over three hours at such programmes, thus aggravating his backache and necessitating the February 11 surgery to relieve a compressed disc.
A senior minister denied that Karunanidhi wanted to hog the limelight in spite of his ailment. “This merely shows our leader is active even from a hospital bed. It’s we who are badgering him out of eagerness to see his name recorded for posterity, linked with all major projects.”
Working from sickbed is not new to Tamil Nadu’s politicians. Karunanidhi’s great rival, M.G. Ramachandran, had won the 1984 Assembly polls from a New York hospital after a kidney transplant.
Since doctors have advised Karunanidhi to avoid travel, he may take the videoconference route even to campaign rallies. He might share the dais with Sonia Gandhi at one or two rallies, though, sources said.
His threat of a fast came after lawyers announced a hunger strike on Monday demanding central forces in the high court complex. The court also issued a notice to the police asking who had ordered the baton-charge.
“Let bygones be bygones…. I urge the lawyers not to fall prey to certain political parties,” Karunanidhi said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090223/jsp/nation/story_10577468.jsp
Land and losers
Towards a course correction?
Two months after a gentle yet firm nudge by Amartya Sen, West Bengal may eventually abide by the tenets of the market economy. Hopefully, it will not be shortchanged as it was in Singur. It bears recall that an exposure by this newspaper two years ago had revealed that the Tatas were offered land at a lower price for the Nano in lieu of an additional allotment for a hospital complex in Rajarhat. Such rigmarole, born out of an ignorance of the market economy and an overriding anxiety to placate the investor, ought now to end with the government deciding not to allot land to the private sector at throwaway prices, and not even if a public-private partnership is on the anvil. So it is that the private partners will have to shell out 95 per cent of the value of the land for the proposed health centres on unused land in Birbhum and Nadia. The state stands to gain from the new rules of engagement that ought to have been devised at least two years ago as part of the new economic policy. It could at least have avoided such double whammy as in Singur, where the government was first shortchanged by the investor and in the fullness of time, deprived of the product. It has lost on both counts ~ revenue as well as the people’s car.
Not wholly unrelated is the industries minister’s announcement that compensation for land-losers will be paid “at one go” instead of three instalments as now. This certainly marks a step forward, though it falls short of Professor Sen’s prescription that it is the investor, and not the government, that should acquire the land “if you believe in a market economy”. Compensation and the method thereof are crucial aspects of the new economic policy that ought long ago to have been finalised. If only to avoid the serial fiascoes, bloody strife and the eventual setback to industrialisation.
Probe this charge
More than a money scandal
Allegations of corruption fly thick and fast whenever there is a change in the political complexion of government. Rajasthan has had more than a fair share of them after BJP prima donna Vasundhara Raje was ejected from power in the pink city. No less a person than party stalwart and the nation’s former Vice-President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, has called for probes. Most of the demands can be listed under the “political” head, and evaluated accordingly. But now comes a charge so terribly different that it can be ignored only at the peril of the thousands of avian attractions that winter at the universally renowned Keoladeo National Park ~ the Bharatpur bird sanctuary in popular parlance. And it is being levelled by a man whose credentials and commitment can hardly be questioned, five years ago he had petitioned the apex court over the stoppage of the water supply to the park. Now noted environmentalist Harsh Vardhan contends a diversion of the funds the Planning Commission had sanctioned, partly allotted, for creating a channel to take water from the Panchana dam to the endangered wetland. Diverted to? The completion of a power project in Jhalawar ~ the constituency from where the ex-CM’s son was returned to the Lok Sabha! While the details of his complaint to the current chief minister are disgusting enough, his thrust is not limited to bringing the guilty to book. Work must immediately commence on the Panchana-Keoladeo conduit he insists: nature came to the rescue of the park courtesy a lavish monsoon in 2008, there is no assurance of the same this year.
While the drying up of Bharatpur and the disappearance of the tiger from Sariska would highlight Vasundhara’s failure on the wildlife front, they only typify the indifference of most political leaders to conservation ~ Narendra Modi has his own take, he thwarts experiments at providing an alternative habitat to the Asiatic lion because they are “Gujarat’s pride”, even if under threat. Almost all sanctuaries are under-protected against their greatest threat, man. Be it the poacher on encroaching communities. New Delhi has yet to host a union minister of environment and forests capable of inspiring counterparts in the states, prime ministerial intervention has only transitory effect. If only our netas would nurse game reserves as they do their constituencies! On second thoughts, though, scratch that.
Loser takes all
Even to the brink of the grave
Variety they say is the spice of life. And men with an overload of moolah seem to have no trouble finding enough spice to bring variety to their lives. True the harems went out with the maharajahs (some Arab sheikhs still do themselves pretty well we hear), but the modern business tycoon does manage a mistress or two. One Chinese tai-pan maintained wife and five ladies of pleasure quite comfortably, giving each of the “extras” a lavish apartment and liberal expense account. But profligacy has its own pitfalls, and when Wall Street collapsed last year it brought down many a business house all across the planet. And for Mr Fan of Qingdao the winds of fortune ceased to blow. The economic meltdown meant he had to literally tighten his belt. Dumping the wife is not the easiest option (some blokes would insist it’s the best one), so he decided to retain just one of his five playthings. Now maybe the chap couldn’t trust his instincts, or he wanted to play terribly fair: he organised a beauty contest among the five, and engaged a modeling instructor to select the winner. Defeat was taken sportingly, one loser taking Fan and his fan club for a pleasure drive on a mountain road. Then vengeance provided the power-steering, she swerved off a cliff in a murder-cum-suicide bid. Retribution can be nasty, the plotter perished. The others lived to tell the tale ~ after the cops suspected it was not the accident they initially claimed.
The moral of the story is that it re-confirms the theory “Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned”, and echoes the several stories which caused Kipling to observe that “the female of the species is more deadly than the male”. Yet there must be some recognition of Fan’s pre-meltdown nerve to dangle five on a single string. Some years ago a BJP man was ranting away in the Rajya Sabha over what he described as dangerous demographic trends, “Muslims had four wives, you see”. A normally equally “fundamentalist” Islamic neta smilingly corrected him, “Yes, they were permitted four, but most of them struggled to keep even one happy!”
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=3&theme=&usrsess=1&id=244721
2009-02-23 [15:44:28 hrs]
The Composite Scheme of Arrangement between Consolidated Finvest & Holdings Ltd, Jindal India Finvest & Holdings Ltd and Jindal India Powertech Ltd has been approved by the shareholders and still pending with the high court for sanction.
Since, Jindal Powertech was in urgent need of money, the board has called Rs. 2 per share from its shareholders making its paid up Share of Rs. 4 per share. Following this, Consolidated Finvest and Jindal Powertech have decided to amend the ratio or merger between the two from 5:1 to 2.5:1.
MRF declares lock out at Puducherry plant
23 Feb, 2009 [03:43 PM]
MRF Ltd has declared lock out at the manufacturing plant situated at Puducherry with effect from February 22, 2009 on account of labour unrest in the....Read More
Tata Capital to give preference to retail investors
23 Feb, 2009 [03:30 PM]
Tata Capital will give preference to retail investors in its ongoing non-convertible debentures issue that is scheduled to close on Tuesday. ....Read More
ONGC strikes oil in KG basin
23 Feb, 2009 [03:25 PM]
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has discovered oil in the hydrocarbon-rich Krishna Godavari (KG) basin, which may turn out to be significant for the country’s....Read More
Bharat Heavy Electricals gets $635 mn order
23 Feb, 2009 [03:24 PM]
State-run firm Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd said on Monday it had received a 31.5 billion rupee ($635 million) order for supplying two 600 megawatt plants for....Read More
Aditya Birla Retail to up pvt labels biz revenue to 10-15%
23 Feb, 2009 [03:22 PM]
Aditya Birla Retail is targeting 10-15 per cent revenue from its private labels business in the next two-three years and plans to set up 250 supermarket....Read More
Sahara India to sponsor Indian boxers
23 Feb, 2009 [03:21 PM]
After its success at the Beijing Olympic Games last year, Indian boxing received a major boost on Monday as Sahara India decided to sponsor 13 boxers.....Read More
http://www.taratv.com/business.php?task=full&newsid=4538
Idols and jewellery stolen from a temple in West Bengal Hindu, India - Suri (WB) (PTI): Altogether 14 idols of Radha Krishna and Gopal were stolen from a temple together with a small amount on jewellery at Purandarpur village ... |
Jar full of human foetuses found in West Bengal Hindu, India - Kolkata (IANS): Four human foetuses were found in a glass jar in a West Bengal village Tuesday, police said. Residents of Lavpur village in West Bengal's ... Human foetuses found dumped in a jar |
 Calcutta Telegraph | GJM challenges West Bengal government Times of India, India - 24 Feb 2009, 1335 hrs IST, PTI SILIGURI(WB): The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, fighting for separate statehood, has challenged the West Bengal government to go ... TIME TO STEP IN |
 Calcutta Telegraph | West Bengal announces schemes to tackle recession Hindu, India - KOLKATA: West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta on Monday announced schemes worth Rs. 5106 crore for several sectors, including a Rs. 1000 crore scheme ... A Rs5000cr sop opera in Bengal West Bengal government releases stimulus package ahead of polls Special Article |
 Calcutta Telegraph | Impost yield: Bengal doubly good The Statesman, India - 24: Tax collection in West Bengal grew by 23.9 per cent in the past year ~ nearly double the national growth rate of 12.9 per cent over the same period. ... Bengal circle direct tax collection rises 23.8 percent |
 Nhatky.in | West Bengal EC, political parties hold LS poll preparedness meeting All India Radio, India - The Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, Mr. Debasish Sen will preside over the meeting. The meeting will discuss on booth-wise voters list, ... West Bengal EC to review Lok Sabha poll preparedness today Like ’04, 4-phase polls likely West Bengal CPI-M approves candidates list for Lok Sabha polls |
SC comes to rescue of people in West Bengal whose homes were ... Indlaw.com, India - Coming to the rescue of thousands of people in West Bengal whose homes were demolished or were to be demolished after abolition of zamindari system in the ... |
 guardian.co.uk | BSF on high alert along Indo-Bangla border NDTV.com, India - PTI The BSF sounded a high alert along the 2216-km international border between West Bengal and Bangladesh following Wednesday's rebellion in Bangladesh ... India puts on high alert four states bordering Bangladesh Speaker hopes Bangladesh turmoil will end soon BSF on high alert along Indo-B'desh border |
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West Bengal slides from rank 4 to 13 in industry list of investment hotspots
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Subrata Nagchoudhary
Posted: Feb 23, 2009 at 0259 hrs IST
Kolkata With Lok Sabha elections approaching, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been going all out to hardsell rapid industrial growth but an all-India study released today by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has just confirmed West Bengal’s worst fears: the state slipped from rank 4 in 2007 to rank 13 in 2008 in terms of industrial investment plans.
Independent inquiries by The Indian Express also showed that for the first time in five years, actual investment in industrial projects in the state dipped sharply. While in 2004, industrial projects implemented totalled around Rs 2,244 crore, it climbed to Rs 5,072 crore in 2007. But until February 2009, actual investments in the state fell to around Rs 3,600 crore, down by over Rs 1,400 crore.
The ASSOCHAM study attributed the reason for the sharp dip in investment plans by corporates to the “social unrest” in Nandigram and Singur. This is what D S Rawat, ASSOCHAM secretary general, observed: “Nandigram and Singur unrest are entirely responsible for this shocking development as corporates seem to have desisted coming to West Bengal.”
The ASSOCHAM study meter tracked that “robust investment” plans worth Rs 2,43,489 crore were made by India Inc. for Bengal in 2007. But it fell to Rs 90,095 crore in 2008, a fall of 63 per cent during January-December 2008, compared to the corresponding period in 2007.
Despite the Nano setback and the economic slowdown, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has, in rapid fire sequence, announced projects worth over at least Rs 25,000 crore for the state. Senior bureaucrats in the government say more are in the pipeline.
While Bhattacharjee has maintained “we will break the barrier, Industry will happen in Bengal whatever the hurdles,” there is a perceptible change in strategy. One significant plan is to fast-forward projects free from land acquisition problems. The new thrust zone is Durgapur-Bankura-Purulia where the land acquisition process had until now been free from disturbances, primarily because vast tracts were either barren and unutilized.
Professor Asish Bhattacharya of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta says: “Land continues to be an issue along the Ganges. But hope is not totally lost. Projects elsewhere in the state are taking off and this shows that the state continues to attract investment. Things would get better if the government could do away bureaucratic hurdles and solve land problems.”
But the slowdown has impacted India Inc’s Bengal plans. The JSW (Jindal Steel) project, with an investment commitment of Rs 35,000 crore in a 10 MTPA integrated steel plant at Salboni, was forced to announce postponement of its work following blockage of funds from banks.
Biswadeep Gupta, the company’s Managing Director in Kolkata, said: “We had to slow down targets as banks are not releasing funds. But as far as future prospects are concerned, there is still huge potential for the state. Of course, the effect of Nano has had a far-reaching impact on investors about Bengal.”
In the real estate sector too, some major investment plans by companies like DLF have been deferred.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/West-Bengal-slides-from-rank-4-to-13-in-industry-list-of-investment-hotspots/426917/
Promoters hike stakes in meltdown
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Bijith R
Posted: Feb 23, 2009 at 1200 hrs IST
Mumbai As investors cut their equity exposures in the last quarter of 2008, promoters of nearly 600 listed companies had raised their stakes substantially. Promoter holdings went up in a wide band, between 10% and 300%, during the panicky quarter after the Lehman Brothers’ collapse.
Market experts reckon that with promoters of a vast number of companies pledging a part of their stakes with various banks and financial institutions, the sudden downturn in the equity market had forced them to interfere aggressively in the market to avoid margin calls from their pledgees. Some are also using this downturn to increase their stakes at lower levels and pledge more shares to meet their working capital needs and buoy up their share prices.
According to the latest shareholding pattern for the quarter ended December 2008, filed with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), promoters of leading large cap companies like Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata Motors, Bajaj Electricals, Bajaj Financial Services, Hindalco Industries and UTV Software Communications increased their stakes in the range of 9% to 41%.
The promoters of Tata Motors, who have pledged 8% of their paid-up capital, have increased their stake by 41.21%---from 33.34% in the quarter ended September 2008 to 47.08% in December 2008. Similarly, the promoters of UTV Software, having pledged 23% of their paid-up capital, increased their stake by the same percentage.
Tata Motors management would have had to shell out Rs 4,000 crore had they thought of increasing their stake in the company in the first half of last year when the Sensex was running between 18,000 and 21,000 points. In the last quarter of the year, when the share price tumbled to Rs 150 levels, it would have cost the promoters just about Rs 988 crore to raise their stake.
The promoters of UTV Software increased their stake from 60% levels in September to around 83.25% in December 2008. So, while the promoters share grew by 71 lakh shares, they also pledged around 78 lakh shares (the date is not known). Once again, the promoters would have to shell out Rs 639 crore had they taken this step in the first quarter of the previous year. But they got it all for roughly Rs 145 crore in the December quarter when the share price tanked to Rs 210 levels.
“Post-September, when the hedge funds and FIIs started heavy selling in the market, promoter buying has definitely helped stabilise the stock prices. It is also quite possible that with promoters of many companies pledging their stakes, they had to resort to heavy buying to avoid the payment of margin money to their pledgees”, said Amitabh Chakraborty, president–Religare Securities Ltd.
However, Ramdeo Agarwal, MD, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd, feels the promoters raising their stakes is a very positive signal to the domestic and foreign investors about the underlying value of the company.
“Promoters buying their own shares during the equity downturn would definitely give confidence to the investors. At these lower levels; promoters putting in their money indicate a company’s underlying values and long-term bottom for the stock.” In many small- and mid-cap companies, promoters had increased their stake by 200% to 300% during the December quarter. Among them are Pradeep Metals Ltd, JIK Industries Ltd, Goldstone Infratech Ltd, Pan India Corporation Ltd and Vas Infrastructure Ltd.
However, going forward, few market players believe the promoters would step in as aggressively as they did in 2008, given the liquidity crisis being experienced by the corporate India.
“The scenario has entirely changed now with the US credit market crisis worsening and the global economic slow down setting in. Now the promoters would not be having that kind of cash with them to aggressively interfere in the market in 2009”, says Alex Mathew, head of research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Promoters-hike-stakes-in-meltdown/427032/
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