Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 236
Palash Biswas
IR- Trade Union movement in India
10 posts - 6 authorsHi all, I am attaching a ppt on trade union movements in India. Hope you find it useful. Regards Smita.
www.citehr.com/51437-ir-trade-union-movement-india.html - 44k - Cached - Similar pages -Trade Union Movement in India: In the aftermath of privatization ...
The trade union movement emerged in India basically as a reaction to the state interventionist or state pluralism model. The economic reforms' package ...
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10 Jan 2009 ... In India the Trade Union movement is generally divided on political lines. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, ...
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The trade unionism in India developed quite slowly as compared to the western nations. Indian trade union movement can be divided into three phases. ...
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History Politics and Society question: Explain the evolution of trade union movement in india? I think you are doing MBA with Madras University DDE, ...
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For the first time in India the Bombay Mill Hands Association was formed on 24 April 1890. This gave impetus to the trade union movement in British India. ...
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Trade Union in India is the primary instrument for promoting the union of trade union movement and championing the cause of working class in India.
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Trade Union Movement in India by Sohail Jawaid. No customer reviews yet. ... Trade Union Movement in India, Sohail Jawaid, JUST ARRIVED Books, Vedic Books , ...
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The tradition of the parallel development of the nationalist and the trade union movement, which had originated in British India continued through the ...
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Delhi working class comes alive in Mridula Koshy's bookHindustan Times - 7 hours ago The best stories are those that are born of the lives of the working class people on the streets, says former professional trade union worker-turned short ... Advantage unionThe Hindu - May 20, 2009 ... when the Union government opened the gates to FDI are Caparo, BMW, Ford India, Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), Nokia and Saint Gobain. Trade union ... Indian election an opportunityBoston Herald - 10 hours ago The fall of the Soviet Union removed two pillars. Successive governments led by the Congress Party and the Hindu nationalist BJP opened up India to trade. ... Capital goods, realty drive Sensex gainsNDTV.com - May 19, 2009 India's largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra surged 13.50% after the company said the workers union at the Nashik plant have withdrawn strike ... Pan-Africanism: Towards a Peoples' UnionNew Era - 5 hours ago All it needs is to be reinvigorated in order to allow the masses to interpret and define the course of a peoples' union. The Pan-African Movement as ... From socialism to free-market, Kamal Nath has come a long wayTimes of India - 1 hour ago SEZ, a designated duty free enclave that is treated as foreign territory for trade operations, has been a bone of contention between the finance and ... Indian election assures stable US allyUnited Press International, Asia - 1 hour ago Hence revising the US nuclear trade-related laws was not totally unusual. It is in the best interest of the United States to strengthen ties with India in ... Afghanistan - the myth they attacked us, some consequencesDaily Kos - May 21, 2009 It's not a mainstream, big, mass movement. So our disproportionate reaction to a small group of well-publicized terrorists and militants will enable or ... Video: US to Aid 1.5 Million Pakistan Refugees  The Associated Press Video: US to Aid 1.5 Million Pakistan Refugees The Associated Press India Votes For Continuity, Not Radical ChangeForbes - May 19, 2009 This produced rural prosperity in a country where 70% of the population is still rural, and where trade controls insulate rural India from the gyrations of ... China's accidental empire is a growing dangerTimes Online - 19 hours ago This is part of a broad move by China into the Indian Ocean, which India has traditionally considered its sphere of influence. ... |
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Poll rout leaves India's communists a spent force
AFP - May 18, 2009The coalition's leading member, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) saw its seat share plunge from 35 to just 15 in West Bengal where it was, ...India Votes For Continuity, Not Radical Change
Forbes - May 19, 2009It no longer needs the Left Front (four Marxist parties) for survival, and so can go ahead with economic reforms earlier vetoed by the left. ...Incas to give reception to visiting former Indian MP
Peninsula On-line - 16 hours agoAbdullakutty recently joined the Indian National Congress after representing Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the parliament for two terms. ...Communist Party of India (Marxist): a key prop of Indian bourgeois ...
World Socialist Web Site - May 19, 2009... stage of India's five-phase, month-long general election we interviewed Communist Party of India (Marxist) Central Committee member AK Padmanabhan. ...The challenge of life after Prabhakaran
Express Buzz - May 18, 2009... the Marxist inspired militant group, Padmanabha's EPRLF. Arrested and tortured by the LTTE, he was released when the Indian Peace Keeping Force arrived. ...CPI (ML) Liberation: A crime against humanity, not a `famous ... Links International Journal of Socialist RenewalCPI hesitates to endorse Karat stand
Thaindian.com - May 15, 2009... May 16 (IANS) The Communist Party of India (CPI) Saturday said it would wait for some time to say whether it endorsed Communist Party of India-Marxist ...
Peace is trickier than war
Hindustan Times - 22 hours agoDiscrimination on account of caste, ethnicity and gender is as dismal as in India. In the Terai, the Madhesis, people of Indian origin, still chafe at de ...India's Left Loses in Strongholds
Wall Street Journal - May 16, 2009Activists of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) march during an election campaign rally in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata May 10, 2009. ...
Bengal comes of age: colourless sari takes over spotless dhoti
Sify - May 17, 2009Finally it is the turn of a colourless sari worn humbly by a lady who has only one agenda in life- to defeat the Marxists in Bengal. ...- F]
Public Sector Units: Restructuring and Reforms
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public sector units are also located in the state of. Maharashtra. Availability of infrastructure ...... for restructuring the public sector units have also ...
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Department of Public Enterprises · Fertilizer Association of India (FAI) · Pandey Committee on Improving Vigilance Efficiency in Public Sector Enterprises ...
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The public sector is the part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the government, ...
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The Central government too is competing with the private sector to sell off profit-earning public sector units embodying crores of rupees of hard-earned ...
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26 Jul 2005 ... NEW DELHI: In a move towards giving more operational autonomy to public sector companies, the Government on Monday doubled their capacity to ...
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16 Dec 2004 ... In the public sector, they tend to be large, often with huge budgets and staffs. Service-providers and operating units are often located at ...
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Contact Information of Public Sector Units in Punjab. List of Public Sector Units in Punjab .... Jeevan Deep Building, Sector 17, Chandigarh ...
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Profit making public sector units should not be privatized for two main reasons. First, because they are major contributors for taxes, and, second, ...
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Palakkad (Kerala), Jan 18 (IANS) Kerala Sunday got its fourth public sector unit (PSU) under the defence ministry for manufacturing military wagons and ...
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10 Mar 2009 ... Board index » Public Sector Units. All times are UTC ... Burning Glass, KPO, iRunway, Pangea3, Evalueserve, Public Sector Units, BHEL, IOCL ...
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ailway Mail Service Trageted for Disinvestment in Indian Post as ...
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, …. development of the entire scenario of disinvestment since 1999. ...
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Palash Biswas. http://troubledgalaxydetroyeddreams.blogspot.com/ ..... LUCKNOW: Disinvestment of the loss-incurring sugar mills in the state seems to be a ...
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opts to tread the middle path-disinvestment without privatisation. ... related tags: chapter palash biswas, destroyed chapter palash, galaxy destroyed ...
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PAY CUTS Imminent as Mass Job LOSS Continues With DISINVESTMENT Ahead. ... Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 167 Palash Biswas . ...
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Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, ... FDI, disinvestment, Privatisation, disinvestment, VRS, ERS, Lpg ...
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6 May 2007 ... Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, ... If disinvestment became a dirty word towards the end of the NDA-BJP ...
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31 Aug 2007 ... Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. ... Disinvestment campaign. South African Police ...
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11 Nov 2007 ... Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, ... May, 2009; Railway Mail Service Trageted for Disinvestment in Indian ...
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12 Feb 2009 ... Palash Biswas. News results for darwin Darwin at 200: The Ongoing .... in the TUNE of Disinvestment and dance with the DRUMs of ECONOMIC ...
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Wrangling continues over Cabinet berths, portfolios
Congress formula not acceptable to us: DMK. New Delhi, May 21 The
Congress on Thursday made it clear to its allies that it was in no mood
to be pushed around over portfolio allocation. After a day of hectic
parleys, it conveyed to the DMK that ...
Social sector boost to be new Govt’s immediate priority
Reforms
push may be slow & steady. New Delhi, May 21 Though the markets and
the industry are gung-ho over the UPA victory, they may have to wait as
the new Government unfolds its immediate priorities. It is likely that
the UPA may not go ...
Bajaj Auto net rises 8% despite slump in sales
Focus to be on domestic market for growth: Rajiv Bajaj. Mumbai, May 21
Reduced raw material cost, a shift in focus to higher priced products
and tax benefits helped Bajaj Auto post an eight per cent increase in
standalone net profit at Rs 130 ...
Inflation rises to 0.61% on higher food prices
New
Delhi, May 21 Inflation edged up in early May on account of higher food
prices, but held near a three-decade low, giving more freedom to the
RBI to take steps to support a slowing ...
Panel favours weekly banking bazaars in remote villages
Mumbai,
May 21 Once-a-week banking facility on the lines of the ubiquitous
‘weekly bazaar/mandi’ in remote areas could turn into a reality in a
couple of years if the recommendations of the High Level Committee ...
As ever, PSUs carry the load during poll time
TRAVEL
AND STAYS. New Delhi, May 21 From the conduct of free and fair
elections to providing accommodation to almost half of the newly
elected Lok Sabha members, the Government always turns to the public
...
Corporate tax collections fall short of revised estimate
Personal
I-T mop-up exceeds estimate. The Centre’s corporate tax collections for
financial year 2008-09 have fallen short of the revised estimate by
about 3.68 per cent. On the other hand, personal income-tax collections
are a tad better ...
Banks gearing up to lend more this fiscal
Eye
growth opportunities in infrastructure with a stable govt. Mumbai, May
21 Banks may revise upwards their lending targets for FY2009-2010 once
the new government outlines its economic priorities through a
Budget/Vote-on-Account, according to ...
IT vendors see more revenues from maintenance services
Cautious
clients holding back on deploying new systems. Bangalore, May 21 Indian
IT vendors are seeing more revenues from application maintenance
services as cautious customers continue to hold back investments on
deploying new ...
Auto sales momentum in early 2009 not a sign of revival
Sector
not out of the woods yet: Pawan Goenka. Mumbai, May 21 Auto sales have
been brisk over the last three-four months but Dr Pawan Goenka,
President of Mahindra & Mahindra’s Automotive Sector, is not
convinced that the turnaround ...
Rice exports: It is more of commercial transactions
PSUs
are routing agents for Govt to monitor volume of shipments. New Delhi,
May 21 On paper, it is a Government-to-Government deal entered mainly
with a view to secure diplomatic goodwill. But in reality, it works out
to any other commercial ...
Rs 400-cr cover is SET Max defence against ad revenue loss
In
the event of rain and other unforeseen risks. Kolkata, May 21 Every
time an IPL match gets washed out by rain, the broadcasting channel SET
Max may raise an insurance claim of up to Rs 7 crore for loss of ...
Monsoon onset window open for Kerala coast
Thiruvananthapuram,
May 21 Conditions are becoming favourable for onset of southwest
monsoon over Kerala during the next two to three days, an India
Meteorological Department (IMD) update said on ...
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Fiscal consolidation should be budget priority: RBI
Mumbai, May 22 (PTI) Reserve Bank today said the new UPA government, which is slated present the Budget some time in July, should resist pressure for another stimulus as sustained economic recovery would require fiscal consolidation in medium term.
"Given the still soft economy, the pressure to provide more stimulus will persist. While this may help in the near term, the sustainability of recovery requires returning to responsible fiscal consolidation," Reserve Bank Governor D Subbarao said.
The fiscal stimulus packages and other measures initiated by the government to mitigate the impact of global financial crisis on the country have led to a sharp rise in expenditure and fiscal deficit, he said.
"The challenge for fiscal policy is to balance immediate support for the economy with a need to get back on track on the medium-term fiscal consolidation process," Subbarao told a seminar here.
With every percentage point increase in the fiscal deficit, maintaining adequate liquidity in the system becomes that much more difficult, Subbarao said.
"Managing this trade off between our short term compulsions and long term sustainability will be one of the big challenges," he said. PTI
PM's 100-day timeline is our mantra, say new ministers! Dr Singh is the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be returned to office after completing a full term!
About 18 public sector undertakings (PSUs) are expected to hit the
market this year once the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance
(UPA), which is set to form the government at the centre for a second
time in a row, revives the divestment programme.
The new
government is expected to pursue the divestment programme with renewed
vigour after the decisive win of the Congress-led UPA in the 15th Lok
Sabha elections, experts feel.
According to the data compiled by
SMC Capitals, 18 PSUs, with a total issue size of Rs7,405 crore, are
planning to hit the capital market thif fiscal. This includes big
ticket IPOs of Oil India (Rs1,400 crore) and NHPC (Rs2,060 crore),
which are expected to tap the market by September.
With the
stock market already showing signs of recovery, the IPOs of the public
sector units are expected to give a big boost to the capital markets.
With
the burden of fiscal deficit looming and the deficit set to widen
further, the government would concentrate on divesting its stake in
these companies, experts feel.
PSU stocks rallied on Monday,
contributing nearly half of the total gain in investor wealth of
Rs360,000 crore - its second biggest single-day gain ever.
About
46 PSUs reported strong gains (around 10 per cent), adding Rs180,000
crore to investor wealth. Market players are now looking to make gains
from divestments and changes in capital structure of banks and
insurance companies.
The top five PSUs - ONGC, NTPC, NMDC, BHEL and MMTC - together have made the government richer by nearly Rs100,000 crore.
US and ISRAELI Disturbance Agencies Have GOT FREEHAND as Ruling Hegemonies in SOUTH ASIA are in FULL CONTROL and MONOPOLISTIC AGGRESSION Shows NO MERCY!India and Pakistan have begun trading intelligence on Islamic extremists, as a result of the prodding by the US, paving the way for an unprecedented cooperation between the two nuclear-armed South Asian nations.
Dr Manmohan Singh was sworn in for a second term as prime minister on Friday by President Pratibha Patil. The UPA won a clear victory in the general election and has raised hopes of greater Economic Reforms!
From just one seat in Lok Sabha poll five years ago, when many had written her political obituary, to the portals of power in Delhi, the wheel has turned full circle for Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, the stormy petrel of West Bengal politics!
It is quite an IRONY, that two IPS Officers known as GESTAPO Heads in Marxist Brahaminical hegemony, SULTAN SINGH and RACHHPAL Singh monitored MAMATA`s Polling Operation! These Officers Never spared even Mamata and hit her physically! Basu`s Land Revenue Officer Debbrata Bandopadhyaya and the MASSACRE head in Marichjhanpi Genocide, AMIYO Samanto is also a CELEBRATE in Paribartan Brigade headed by Mahashweta Debi who Refrains to discuss SC and OBC issues, though plays CHAMPION for the tribals!
We have to understand the writing between the LINES and the DIVIDE created by Manusmriti Rule and its ICONS!
Mamata Bannerjee ROMPED HOME with Land slide CHANGE! She led the SINGUR and Nandigram Insurrections! Reaching New Delhi, she presented her SOCIALIST Agenda: Food for All, Job for All! She insists on her Anti land Acquisition and Anti SEZ, anti PCPIR Stance and demands PRIORITY to Agriculture! Let us see How she COPES with the Washington Slaves while she as the RAILWAY Minister of India would it find very Hard to lead from FRONT any RESISTANCE whatsoever!
It would be quite AMUSING how our Marxist Friends would React as TRADE UNION, Peasant and Student Movements are in DEEP Freeze for almost Four Decades!
Meanwhile, With slowdown in economic activities, scores of leading SEZ promoters,
including Infosys, Hindalco and NIIT, have been given extension
| |
Ministry for developing the tax-free enclaves.
However, the Board of
Approval headed by Commerce Secretary G K Pillai during its meet on June 2 will
consider proposals for setting up 17 new special economic zones (SEZs),
including those of Larsen and Toubro, Emaar MGF and Gulf Oil Corporation.
The BoA, which will meet soon after taking over of the UPA
government for the second time, also takes up request from realty major DLF for
de-notification of its IT-ITeS SEZs in Gujarat, Haryana, West Bengal and Orissa.
"The developer (DLF) has requested for de-notification ... due to
slowdown in the economy and liquidity crunch in the overall industry," the
agenda document of the meeting said.
The BoA would consider the
proposal of Larsen and Toubro for setting IT SEZ in Mumbai, while Gulf Oil
Corporation has moved application for a tax free zone in Banglore.
Other proposals for new SEZs include Emaar MGF's IT related SEZ in
Kerala.
The CIA arranged for New Delhi and Islamabad to share information on Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group blamed for last November's terrorist attack on Mumbai, the Wall Street Journal reported citing US officials.
The two countries are also trading information on Taliban commanders who are leading the insurgency against Pakistan's government.
"America hopes that when India and Pakistan see that they face a common threat in Pakistan based militant groups," the paper said and quoted US officials to say this could make Islamabad put more focus on the battle at home.
"We have to satisfy the Mumbai question, and show India that the threat is abating," the official involved in developing Washington's South Asia strategy said.
India and Pakistan traded military threats across their border in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, in which terrorists left more than 170 people dead.
Intelligence sharing on Mumbai has led to a somewhat more frequent exchange of information, US and Pakistani officials said. India and Pakistan have shared "a lot" of information with each other about the Mumbai attack, said an official at Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency.
He said the CIA was initially used as a conduit but the two countries now work directly with each other, while keeping the CIA in the loop.
The official cautioned," We're not going to tell them everything we know and they are not going to tell us everything they know. Nobody expects that to happen. But we are talking about (the attack). We were not doing that in December," the official said.
The paper said Washington hopes the cooperation will get a lift from the last weeks victory of the incumbent Congress party, which is seen as more moderate than BJP, which is traditionally more hostile to Pakistan.
A US official said Washington isn't "under any illusions" about the difficulty of erasing decades-old suspicions between India and Pakistan, but sees some progress.
US officials hope that a calming of tensions can allow India's Congress Party government, strengthened by its election victory, to resume peace talks with Pakistan. Some US officials believe Lashkar-e-Taiba orchestrated the assault specifically to undermine the peace process.
The US has been concerned that Lashkar could carry out a second strike on India in a bid to stoke a war.
The US also sometimes bring intelligence on Pakistan's effort to combat militants to India's attention, with Pakistan's consent. Examples include showing Indian officials evidence of progress against militants in the Pakistani regions of Bajaur, Swat and Buner.
Brimming with confidence, the ministers in the new Union Cabinet, some of whom are Congress heavyweights serving a second straight term, on Friday spoke of getting down to business quickly to work on the 100-day timeline set by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The ministers said they were not aware of the portfolios they would get but voiced their commitment to provide a "honest, transparent and well meaning leadership" and work on setting targets and goals for various programmes in 100 days.
"The momentum of the government starts from day one and the action plan to be framed by each ministry sets the tone of the government," stressed Kamal Nath, who said he would be "happy" in any portfolio. "I am looking forward to serve again with honesty and purpose," said the former commerce minister.
Kapil Sibal and Ambika Soni, who had looked after Science and Technology and Culture Departments respectively in the outgoing Cabinet, said the strong mandate given to the Congress and the UPA was an opportunity to bear the responsibility of providing good governance.
Possibly sensing that Environment may come under his wing, Sibal spoke of how India is ready to meet challenges posed by global warming and how it was framing sound policies at the national and global level.
Soni said the Manmohan Singh government in its first five-year term fulfilled all "promises" and the roadmap in the first 100 days in its second term will be a sound platform to vigorously push new policies.
More than 270000 Sri Lankan civilians living in makeshift camps after being displaced during the conflict with the Tamil Tigers are facing "critical" conditions, according to UN humanitarian officials! Sri Lanka’s government ignored mounting calls Friday by international relief organizations for greater access to the country’s swelling refugee camps, as the military continued to weed out suspected former Tamil Tiger rebels hiding among civilians.Even as the end of the war has brought a new flood of refugees in the north in recent days, the United Nations, the International Red Cross and other groups have said that the military’s new restrictions have curtailed their activities and are endangering the lives of a refugee population now estimated at 280,000. In a joint statement Friday, 14 international relief organizations operating in the camps said that the government had restricted the movement of their vehicles in and out of the camps, making it impossible to provide adequate services.
On the other hand,Troops are encircling Taliban militants in their mountain base as well as the main town in the Swat Valley, a Pakistani general said Friday, as the U.N. appealed for $543 million to ease the suffering of some 2 million refugees from the fighting.With skepticism growing about the progress of the month-old army offensive in the northwestern region, the army flew a handful of reporters from foreign news organizations into Swat on Friday.An Associated Press reporter aboard the helicopter saw no cars and few people in the town of Mingora or on roads further up the valley, a former tourist haven just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the capital, Islamabad.
From the air, there was little evidence of the fierce fighting and airstrikes that the military claims have already killed more than 1,000 militants as well as some 60 soldiers.
Mahashweta Debi, SHUBHOPRASANNO and a group of Civil Society and Brahaminical Intelligentsia leads the GIRAFFE BRIGADE calling CHANGE which means ANNIHILATE MARXISM in Bengal! We are NEVER against the IDEOLOGY but we always CRITICISED Ideological DEVIATION of the BRAHAMINICAL Capitalist Marxists!Since Marxism is REDUCED in Power sharing as AMBEDKARITE Ideology has been, our Comrade FRIENDS take our CRITICISM otherwise and BRANDED all those who dare to criticise the IDEOLOGICAL FLIRTING have BEEN BRANDED as GIRAFFE.
India INCs dictate the TERMS and runs the GOVERNMENT for Global Zionist Manusmriti Apartheid TRI IBLIS satanic ORDER!
The AXIS of Indian ORDER of PHOENIX, the POLIT BUREAU of Indian Manusmriti RULE, PRANAB, ADWANI and BUDDHADEB combined has taken over once again and the SHUDRAYAN, ARYAN INVASION against the ABORIGINAL, INDIGENOUS, MINORITY Communities gets NEW MOMENTUM! LPG Mafia is in POWER once again and we may not have BREATHING Space!
WILL the Trade UNIONS and Social Movements Be ACTIVATED to RESIST Mass DESTRUCTION?
Let Our Comrades Take the LEAD on the STREETS as They have Been DETHRONED!
Coal India is OPEN for AUCTION and Hundred Days` ACTION Plan is Launched to FINISH BHARAT and its STARVING Masses!
I am getting PHONE Calls from our Marxist Friends even before the Poll.
Marxist Minister ANIL SARKAR who launched Mother Language Mission, MATRIBHASHA MISSION organised a Function in SHISHIR manch on 19th may to mobilise the SC, ST and OBC Vote Bank and insisted that I should join the campaign. Understandably I could not JOIN!
He is calling our friends! He is trying his best to get a BREAK THROUGH in the HOSTILE MATUA BASTION in Thakur Nagar with his latest Slogan : MARX, AMBEDKAR, Harichand Thakur and Tagore! He does not quote Chaitanya mahaprabhu and his Love Philosophy in West Bengal nor he worships ANUKUL Thakur in Brahaminical Red Fort of Bengal!
Dalit Smannaya Leader BASUDEV Burman is DEFEATED in RANAGHAT, Nadia and he is ACTIVE for Dalit Cause and REFUGEE Problems once again! Dalit Samannaya Samiti is REVIVED and Dr NITISH Biswas is CALLING Every one to join ably SUPPORTED by KAPIL Krishna Thakur. Kanti Biswas, Upen Kisku, Bilasi bala Sahees and subhash Chakrabarti are trying Hard to get the LOST BASE along with BIMAN Bose and BRINDA KARAT!
Let us wait how much time, the LEFT takes to take the streets as INDISCRIMINATE Land acquisition drive and even the Naya Char PCPIR Project have been postponed to deal with Mamata and PARIBARTAN Brigade!
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday took oath along with 19 cabinet colleagues to begin his second five-year term at the head of a multi-party government in which his Congress party is the overwhelmingly dominant partner after a sweeping win in general elections.
There were four new faces in the first edition of the union cabinet that is expected to be followed up by another expansion of the council of ministers in the next few days. All the others were in the outgoing cabinet. All but two were from the Congress party.
Overseen by President Pratibha Patil, Manmohan Singh, 76, was the first to take oath at a simple and brief function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This is the first time she has administered the oath of office.
Among the new entrants in the cabinet were Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress leader who trounced the Communists in West Bengal, Rajasthan Congress unit president C P Joshi, Congress general secretary M Veerappa Moily, and former Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna.
Indian big business has applauded the election results and is
demanding that the Congress-led UPA use it new political strength to
dramatically accelerate the pace of pro-investor “reforms.” This
includes gutting restrictions on the closing of factories and
contracting out, the whole or partial sell-off of Public Sector Units
(government-owned companies), greater latitude for foreign investment
in the retail sector, the opening up of India’s booming arms industry
to private investment, and the deregulation of banking and financial
services (pensions and insurance).
“Industry,” said Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President Harsh
Pati Singhania, “is happy that we have a verdict which is clear and not
fractured ... This will help the government take quick and decisive
action.
"We already have a 100-day agenda for the new government
and we will hand it over to the prime minister as soon as he takes
charge. Reform will happen with a much faster pace.”
Citing a
massive drop in Indian exports, including a 33 percent drop in March,
the President of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, A.
Sakthivel, urged the government to declare a tax holiday for his
members. “Since the export sector is an employment-oriented industry,”
said Sakthivel, “we should be exempted from paying income tax for five
years.”
The corporate media was equally emphatic in demanding
that the government use its strengthened mandate to press forward with
big business’ agenda. Typical was a Hindustan Times editorial
entitled “Use this historic victory.” It hailed the reduction in the
strength of the regional and caste-based parties, whose factional
struggles and populist promises have at times cut across the agenda of
big business, and especially the Congress’ “liberation” from having to
secure the parliamentary support of the Stalinist-led Left Front, as it
did for the first four years of UPA rule. Declared the Hindustan Times,
“The choices provided by the flotsam of the Third and Fourth Fronts
have been exposed for what they were; at best, professional nay-sayers;
at worst, fly-by-night operators. But with the UPA now without
albatrosses like the Left around its neck, we expect the Congress-led
government to press its foot more firmly on the gas of reforms.”
And
there is no question that the Congress leadership will do just that,
beginning with a budget in late June or July. The chairman of the Prime
Minister's Economic Advisory Council, Suresh Tendulkar, responded to
the election results by saying, "Economic reforms would certainly be on
top of the agenda of the government."
The Obama administration
also welcomed the re-election of the Congress-led UPA. At a US Senate
hearing last week concerning his appointment as the Under Secretary of
State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake said Washington will
soon be making proposals to “strengthen the strategic partnership that
exists between the United States and India.”
The Indian elite
very much views the Indo-US civilian nuclear treaty, which broke the
international nuclear embargo against India and which was negotiated by
Washington and New Delhi with a view to cementing a “global”
partnership, as the signal achievement of the UPA government’s first
term.
Manmohan opts for old hands with clean image
The portfolios were not announced but speculation centred around two names as the next foreign minister -- Kamal Nath, who has been a successful commerce and industry minister and who led the developing nations' charge in the WTO negotiations; and Krishna, who was in many ways responsible for making Bangalore the country's IT capital.
Pranab Mukherjee, who was external affairs minister in the last cabinet, is widely tipped to become finance minister, a portfolio he held 25 years ago, while Chidambaram and Antony are likely to retain their respective portfolios of home and defence.
The prime minister's A-team comprises Pranab Mukherjee, Chidambaram, Antony, Krishna, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Veerappa Moily, S Jaipal Reddy, Kamal Nath, Vayalar Ravi, Meira Kumar, Murli Deora, Kapil Sibal, Ambika Soni, B.K. Handique, Anand Sharma and Joshi.
Besides Mamata Banerjee, the other non-Congress leader who found cabinet berth was Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.
Performance, experience and continuity have been the important criteria that have gone into the making of Manmohan Singh's new cabinet, say party insiders. The prime minister has already chalked out a 100-day action plan for his government.
"In the case of Moily and Ghulam Nabi Azad, they served the party well and were also instrumental in notching up impressive victories in key states," said a senior Congress functionary.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the second round of oath taking will cover include cabinet ministers, ministers of state with independent charge and ministers of state with representation given to allies.
Anand Sharma, who earlier was a minister of state for external affairs and also held independent charge of the information and broadcasting ministry after Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi was hospitalised with a stroke, was promoted to cabinet rank.
So was Bijoy Krishna Handique, who is from Assam and was the minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers and parliamentary affairs.
Heavyweight Arjun Singh has been dropped from the cabinet, and not just because of his poor health. Some of his decisions as human resource development minister have been questioned and he has been accused of sitting over important decisions in the field of higher education, a subject close to the prime minister's heart. Arjun Singh is likely to be made a state governor.
Mamata Banerjee is likely to get railways, a portfolio she has held earlier in the cabinet of prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, while Pawar is set to retain his food and agriculture portfolio.
"I am happy that both the prime minister and the Congress president have recognised my work and that I discharged my work creditably," said Vayalar Ravi, who held both parliamentary affairs and the overseas Indian affairs ministries.
Joshi, who turned the fortunes around for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan by leading the praty to victory in 19 of its 25 seats, admitted he was surprised to get a cabinet berth. "I am humbled and thank the party leadership for reposing faith in me."
After the failure of talks with the DMK on the distribution of ministerial portfolios, crisis managers in the Congress thought it would be best to go ahead with the first round of oath taking where sure-shot cabinet ministers would be included.
With the DMK insisting on seven ministerial berths - three cabinet, two ministers of state (MoS) with independent charge and two other MoS - Congress managers decided they would engage in another round of discussions to arrive at a compromise formula.
The DMK is making a bid for key ministries including surface transport, railways, IT and communications and tourism.
"By this weekend we will sort out matters on berth allocation with DMK. And in the next round we also have to include the youth brigade," said a senior official in the Prime Minister's Office.
Those expected to be inducted in the second round include Salman Khurshid, Jairam Ramesh, Girija Vyas, Vilas Muttemwar and National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah.
Manmohan Singh will retain the portfolios he was planning to allocate to DMK nominees till differences with the key ally are sorted out.
Satyam has 10,000 excess staff: Tech Mahindra
Satyam Computer has 10,000 excess employees in its 40,000-strong headcount, its new owner Tech Mahindra said on Friday.
"Satyam has 10,000 excess manpower. It has close to 40,000 employees. We are looking at least painful ways to take care of this issue," Tech Mahindra CEO Vineet Nayyar told reporters after a meeting all board members.
On other hand, Satyam Board Chairman Kiran Karnik said, "We are not looking at layoffs. But we are looking at the ways on how to mange the cost, handle people and meet the challenges to the bottom line."
Last month, Tech Mahindra had acquired 51 per cent stake in the Hyderabad-based company for Rs 2,990 crore through a transparent auction.
SEZ body says denotification fine if duty benefits refunded
The Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs on Friday said cash-starved
realty major DLF should be allowed to denotify its special
| |
developer is willing to refund the duty-free benefits claimed, even as the
Government will take the final call on the matter on June 2.
"In my
opinion in such cases (DLF), we should not have any issue in
de-notification...If the SEZ developer is willing to refund the entire duty-free
benefits to the Government... because whatever duty was foregone by the
Government would be recovered from the developer," the council's
Director-General L B Singhal said on the sidelines of a PHDCCI seminar
here.
DLF has sought the denotification of four of its IT/ITeS SEZs
that were to come up in Haryana, Gujarat, Orissa and Kolkata, due to slowdown in
the economy and liquidity crunch in the overall industry.
The
decision on the denotification would be taken on the June 2 meeting of the Board
of Approval (BoA) in the Commerce Ministry.
Singhal further said, "If
no activity has taken place from the developer's side and no duty-free benefits
have been claimed by the SEZ developer, in that case too, we should not have any
issue in denotification."
He, however, added that the final decision
lies with the BoA.
SEZ developers get service tax relief
Special Economic Zone developers now will no longer have to go through
the process of claiming refunds on service tax paid on
| |
the tax free enclaves.
However, the services provided
by entities outside the zone to units in SEZ will continue to attract 10 per
cent service tax even as they will be entitled to claim refund later.
"The exemption
developer or units of SEZ shall be provided by way of refund of service tax paid
on the specified services used in relation to the authorised operations in the
SEZ except for services consumed wholly within the SEZ," the government said in
a notification.
Further, the
Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said the developer or unit of an SEZ
will maintain proper account of receipt and utilisation of the taxable services
for which exemption is claimed.
On March 3, the government had
directed payment of service tax on all services allowing exemption by way of
refund, the Export Promotion Council on EoUs and SEZs Director General L B
Singhal said.
"However, now
the services consumed within the SEZ will not attract service tax," he
said.
Maoists end House blockade, Nepal set to form govt
KATHMANDU: As Dr Manmohan Singh was being sworn in as India's new prime minister in New Delhi, in Kathmandu, it was finally curtains for Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, who left with all guns blazing as he took on in a final fight in parliament on Friday all enemies and detractors, including Singh's United Progressive Alliance government.
After remaining paralysed for 21 days due to continuous Maoist disruption, Nepal's interim parliament was finally allowed to sit on Friday, setting in motion the process to elect a new prime minister on Saturday.
An emotional Prachanda, who had announced his resignation in the same house on May 4, sang his swan song, defending his nine-month-old government and former guerrilla party against charges of authoritarianism and describing its collapse as a "naked conspiracy by reactionaries".
The former revolutionary, who had remained underground in Assam, Punjab, Bihar and New Delhi during much of his 10-year "People's War", accused India of behaving like a bullying big brother and refusing to change its perspective of Nepal, that had been drawn on the foundations of the humiliating Sugauli Treaty signed in 1816 between Nepal and the British East India Company.
He also defended his first foreign trip to China after assuming office as a bid to try a different tack in international relations as the elected prime minister of a federal democratic republic but said it had failed.
The outgoing premier's other two predictable targets were the chief of the army, Gen Rookmangud Katawal, whom his party had tried to sack, and the President, Dr Ram Baran Yadav, who foiled the attempt by reinstating the sacked general. Also in the line of fire were the four parties in his coalition cabinet, including the communists, who will form the new government after Saturday's election.
Calling the presidential step "unconstitutional, undemocratic and unethical", Prachanda flayed the army chief, raising questions about his closeness to the palace and controversial role during the deposed king's rule.
The parties were dismissed as "betrayers" who, he informed the house, had agreed to remove Katawal but later turned "180 degrees" after "hearing voices from heaven, or being remote-controlled or due to magic".
Prachanda alleged that there was a conspiracy against his government with an anti-Maoist propaganda feeding fears that his guerrilla army was collecting arms and would soon stage another war. The intention behind it was to impose president's rule and deploy the army, he said.
Despite the provocations, the former revolutionary said his party would not leave the peace process or the task of writing a new constitution.
Whether the Maoists mean to fight the war till the bitter end by propping up a prime ministerial candidate would be clear Saturday when the house begins accepting nominations. Unless there is a major upheaval, veteran communist leader and former deputy prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal would be elected Nepal's new PM with 23 of the 25 parliamentary parties having agreed to support his nomination.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Nepal-PM-quits-guns-blazing/articleshow/4566093.cms
Last phase of Sri Lanka war killed 6,200 troops - govt
* Military casualties: over 6,000 dead, nearly 30,000 injured
* 22,000 Tigers killed in same period-military
* U.N. secretary-general en route to Colombo
By C. Bryson Hull and Ranga Sirilal
COLOMBO, May 22 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka has for the first time made public its heavy casualties from the last phase of the 25-year war, as the U.N. chief flew to the island on Friday to push for a rapid end to a lingering humanitarian crisis.
Officials said over 6,000 soldiers were killed and nearly 30,000 injured since a battle in July 2006 that the military marks as the start of "Eelam War IV", the final stage of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Sri Lanka declared total victory over the LTTE on Monday after killing off its leadership and remaining fighters in a climactic final battle in the northeast of the island.
Nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians who followed or were taken by the Tigers as the military relentlessly cornered them, are now in crowded displacement camps after fleeing in the final months of what was Asia's longest modern war.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on his way to Sri Lanka, will call on the government to allow aid agencies to have full access to the camps and push for a political solution, U.N. officials said.
"Since (the July 2006 battle at) Mavil Aru, 6,261 soldiers have laid down their lives for the unitary status of the motherland and 29,551 were wounded," Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the state-run Independent Television Network.
Troops killed 22,000 LTTE fighters during Eelam War IV, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.
The LTTE had fought to create the separate nation that it called Eelam -- the Tamil word for homeland -- in northern and eastern Sri Lanka
The government had previously given casualty figures only erratically, and stopped reporting them entirely last year, mindful of a public that might not stomach heavy losses.
TENS OF THOUSANDS DEAD
The United Nations this week said the conflict had killed between 80,000-100,000 people since it erupted into full-scale civil war in 1983 -- including unofficial and unverified tallies showing 7,000 civilian deaths since January.
Pro-LTTE groups say thousands of civilians died in the last few weeks as a result of indiscriminate shelling and firing by Sri Lankan troops.
The government does not give a civilian casualty figure, but says it did not use heavy weapons in the final months and blamed the Tigers for civilian deaths. It says the United Nations numbers were inflated by the LTTE to secure pressure for a truce.
Western governments and the United Nations human rights chief have called for probes into potential war crimes and humanitarian rights violations by both sides.
Ban's chief of staff, in Sri Lanka since last week, said the world body's first priority was the welfare of refugees.
"I don't think we need to be straight away rushing into all kinds of allegations," Ban's chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, told reporters in Colombo. "The idea is to say that in the conduct of all these things, we have to tell them there are norms."
U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes has said the camps are up to international standards with the exception of restrictions on freedom of movement. The military says it needs time to weed out Tiger infiltrators before it can allow that.
On Thursday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told visiting Indian envoys that he planned to have most people returned to their homes within six months. [ID:nCOL432964]
He also called for all Sri Lankans to be magnanimous, to ensure the victory over the LTTE was not viewed as a defeat of the Tamil minority.
"The government's efforts should necessarily be anchored on its discussions with diverse Tamil groups and their representatives regarding the future political solution through a credible devolution of power," Nambiar said.
Sri Lanka has committed to begin implementing devolution of political power to Tamils as laid out in the 22-year-old Indo-Sri Lanka Accord brokered by India in its first attempt to stop a war watched keenly by its own 60 million Tamils.
Sri Lankan Tamils lost the favoured status they enjoyed under the British colonial government when it handed power over to the Sinhalese majority at independence in 1948. Tamils suffered discrimination and abuse under several subsequent governments. (Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau in Frankfurt; Editing by David Fox)
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP463682
Reliance Energy joins hands with the World Bank
ET Bureau
MUMBAI:
Reliance Energy, a power distribution arm of Reliance Infrastructure, joined
hands with the World Bank to develop the world class power infrastructure in the
unorganized developments in its licensed distribution area in the suburban
Mumbai.
As a part of this joint initiative,
the company would undertake its first project in the unorganized developments of
Shivajinagar area of Govandi in Eastern Mumbai
suburb.
The World Bank as an administrator
to the scheme christened as Global Partnership on Output – Based Aid
(GPOBA), has entrusted Reliance Energy, being a licensed power distributor in
the area, to execute the project in Shivajinagar,
Govandi.
As a part of execution of the
programme, the company will start developing power distribution infrastructure
in a planned and systematic ways. This would include several initiatives like
laying down new distribution network; installing electricity meters to ensure
authorized and metered power supply, etc. The work is expected to start after
the monsoon.
The Company, though getting aid from
the World Bank under the programme, would be substantially investing in creating
the world class infrastructure for the project. The initiative, when completed,
is expected to be beneficial to around 26000 households in the concerned
areas.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Infrastructure/Reliance-Energy-joins-hands-with-the-World-Bank/articleshow/4556915.cms
Tata Group cos to invest Rs 2,000 cr to set up logistics parks
PTI
NEW
DELHI: Tata Group firms Drive India Enterprise Solutions and Tata Realty and
Infrastructure plan to set up logistics parks across the
| |
investment of Rs 2,000 crore which will mark their foray into the
sector.
The two companies would
set up 7-8 logistics parks with a total warehousing space of 38.5 million sq ft
in the next four to five years, Drive India Enterprise Solutions CEO Ajay Chopra
told reporters here
today.
"Tatas intend to enter
this space (logistics and warehousing) to effectively exploit the emerging
landscape and become a market leader in this
space.
"While Tata Realty and
Infrastructure (TRIL) will make an investment of Rs 2,000 crore and set up
infrastructure at the parks, Drive India will be the service provider in these
parks," he said.
However, he
declined to give details on how TRIL would raise the proposed
investment.
The companies would
set up parks in Gurgaon, Kolkata and Nagpur initially. Another one would be
built in the vicinity of either Hyderabad or Chennai, he said.
Liquidity roll back needed when growth picks up: RBI
ET Bureau & Agencies
MUMBAI:
India will need to roll back excess liquidity from the banking system when
economic growth picks up, Duvvuri Subbarao, the head of the Reserve Bank of
India, said at The Financial Management Summit ’09 hosted by The Economic
Times in Mumbai on Friday.
Sensex up 14.1% on week; best in 17 yrs
| Font Size |
Reuters
Posted: May 22, 2009 at 1721 hrs IST
Mumbai The BSE Sensex rose 1.1 per cent on
Friday and took gains for the week to 14.1 per cent, its most in 17
years, buoyed by hopes for pro-market reforms after the ruling
coalition won general election last weekend.
Manmohan Singh is set to be sworn in later in the day
as the prime minister for a second term, along with his new cabinet and
the outlook for the market would depend on how quickly they are able to
push asset sales in state firms, ease rules for foreign investment and
boost sagging growth.
Some analysts believe the market is overbought
after it leapt more than 17 per cent at the start of the week following
the unexpectedly easy election win. The BSE index has risen 73 per cent
from a 2009 low in early March and has climbed for 11 weeks in a row in
the longest winning streak in four years.
"Valuations have become high, but people are
buying because they may be left out otherwise," D.D. Sharma, vice
president at Anand Rathi Securities, said.
The BSE index ended up 150.61 points at 13,887.15,
with gainers and losers evenly matched. Trading was choppy with the
index falling 0.9 per cent at one stage.
Brokerages and investment houses polled by Reuters
expected the benchmark to reach 15,750 by the end of December, gaining
another 13 per cent.
"There are so many desperate buyers because
nobody is betting on the market going down. You will see people buying
at every dip from now," Sharma said.
Energy giant Reliance Industries, private-sector
lender ICICI Bank and infrastructure firm Larsen & Toubro led the
market higher after a lower start.
Reliance, which has the biggest weight in the main
index, rose 3.1 per cent to 2,183.10 rupees, while private-sector
lender ICICI gained 4.5 per cent to 702.80 rupees.
Larsen & Toubro climbed 4.7 per cent to 1,301.40 rupees.
The market has largely been powered by foreign
funds, which have pumped about $5 billion into the market in the past
two months, including more than $1 billion in this week.
Outsourcers Tata Consultancy and Wipro, which get
most of their revenue from overseas, fell about 2 per cent as the rupee
climbed past 47 to a dollar to its highest since December.
The rupee is set to extend its gains in the
remainder of 2009 after rising sharply this week following the ruling
Congress-led coalition's decisive victory in the elections, a Reuters
poll showed.
Asian shares eased after a drop on Wall Street
overnight on fears the United States, with its increasing budget
deficit and weakened economy, could lose its AAA rating.
Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.4 per cent, while MSCI's measure of other Asian markets edged down 0.02 per cent.
European shares were higher after falling more than
2 per cent in the previous session. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top
European shares was up 0.4 per cent at 1117 GMT.
Indian IT firms see glimmer of hope
Agencies
Posted: May 22, 2009 at 1403 hrs IST
angalore Financials on the mend and signs the
world economy is not falling off the cliff are good news for India's
high profile IT outsourcing industry but that's still not enough for
the sector to regain its past glory.
Many customers of India's software services exporters,
who had so far chalked up impressive rates of growth, are struggling to
stay afloat, have gone bankrupt, or are tackling severe cost cuts,
leaving them little room to boost technology spending.
Add the risk to earnings from the rupee trading at
five-month highs, the end of a decade-old tax holiday next year on
major technology facilities and pressure on bailed-out clients not to
outsource jobs and the outlook becomes more messy.
"The economic downturn is so severe that people
are not making decision on investments and they are cancelling new
project works. It's very tough time for these guys," said John
McCarthy, principal analyst for Forrester Research.
"The golden age of massive profits for offshore companies is over."
Powered by an army of low-cost, English-speaking
workers, India's $60 billion IT outsourcing sector provide services
ranging from managing complex computer networks and call centres to
software coding to maintaining technology operations.
Indian software services firms came out of the
2000-2002 technology spending bust with sales growing up to 50 percent
a year as they won over companies to contract out inefficient
operations instead of managing them in-house.
But as global companies scramble to chalk out new
business strategies in the post-Lehman world, cautious is the buzz
word, especially for longer-term contracts worth millions of dollars.
COMMUNICATION : IF YOU HAVE TEARS SHED THEM NOW
Brahminical bid to kill 2 crore Bengali Dalit refugees
SIDDARTH BARVE, QCC DEPT., BPCL, “A” INSTALLATION,
SEWRE-FORT ROAD, SEWREE, BOMBAY - 400 015
This refers to the complaint (DV, April 16, 2009) by one of our
very angry brothers Ashutosh Thakur from Hooghly (“DV
ignoring plight of Bengali Dalits”) and he writes in
his concluding statement that “……. I don’t
want to a be subscriber of Dalit Voice. Please stop sending
it.”
I wish to bring to your notice that four years ago my article
was very promptly published in DV, “Genocide of 2 Crore
Bengali Refugees”. I remember this very well because
you had written me in very strong words why I had delayed in sending
such a sensitive information. I was extremely happy with your strong
words because I could feel the sensation, anger and concern in
you with regards to the 2 crore Bengali refugees who are denied
citizenship by the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2003. But despite
of your concern for our Bengali brethren, Ashutosh Thakur has vented
his anger on DV and the only reason he must not have read my article
published in DV.
BRAHMINICAL COMMUNISTS
On May 9, 2003, L.K. Advani introduced the Citizenship Amendment
Bill, 2003 in Parliament when the BJP Govt. was in power and the
Congress and the Leftist parties were in the opposition. When this
Bill was passed in Parliament on Jan. 9, 2004, a very surprising
observation came to light. The Congress, especially Pranab Mukherjee,
and the Leftist parties, were more happy to back the BJP govt.
in passing the Bill and after the Bill was passed all these Brahminical
parties were celebrating the event. It was very shocking and suspicious
for us and we were sure that this Bill had something to do with
the life of aboriginal Indians. Hence we wanted to get some more
details of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2003.
DALIT-MUSLIM UNITY IN BENGAL
I need not tell you that due to the movement started by Harichand-
Guruchand Thakur, our aboriginal (Mulnivasi) Bengali people
got educated and slowly and gradually upliftment of the downtrodden
masses took place in Bengal when a similar movement was undergoing
in Maharastra under the leadership of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule. As
a result of this movement great people from the Namashudras, Pandokhatriayas
and Rajbansi castes become leaders and Bengal was governed in British
India by our people along with the Muslim League. People like Jogendranath
Mandal, Mukand Bihari Mallik, Panchanan Burman, Rasiklal Biswas,
Darikanath Baruri, Nagendra Narayan Roy, Bir Birsa, Gayanath Biswas,
Raibahadur Sriniwas and many more emerged in Bengal which made
history.
And the biggest history that was created by these people
was electing Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar to the Constituent Assembly.
In the first election in March 1946, Dr. Ambekar’s Schedule
Caste Federation contested many seats in India but except Jogendranath
Mandal no one could get elected. In the same year (June, 1946)
election to the Constituent Assembly was declared and only those
candidates who had won in the March 1946 general election were
eligible to vote for the member of the Constituent Assembly. As
only one member of the Schedule Caste Federation, Jogendranath
Mondal, had won from Bengal it was very difficult for Dr. Ambedkar
to contest the election for the Constituent Assembly from Maharashtra.
Dr. Ambedkar become very depressed since he thought that his dream
of getting elected to the Constituent Assembly was shattered and
he could not do anything for the downtrodden of this country. His
last chance of serving his people was over.
SARDAR PATEL ATTACKS DR. AMBEDKAR
The Congress and Vallabhbhai Patel made a very sarcastic statement:–
“We have now permanently shut not only the doors but also
the windows of the Parliament for Ambedkar”.
Salt was rubbed on the wounds of Babasaheb, he was hurt to the
core. At such a difficult time Jogendranath Mandal along with the
great Bengali leaders got Dr. Ambedkar elected to the Constituent
Assembly in a by-election from Kholna, Jassor, Barisal, Dhaka,
Faridpur and Maimansing (all these places are now part of East
Pakistan i.e. Bangladesh).
The Congress and the Hindu Maha Sabha members were hurt by the
act of our “great leaders” from Bengal and therefore
to destroy the power of our people which they enjoyed with the
Muslim League, the Congress and the Hindu Mahasabha started a conspiracy.
On March 15, 1947, the leader of Hindu Mahasabha, Shyam Prasad
Mukherjee, called for a big meeting of the upper castes of Bengal
and said:
“We cannot live under the power of the Backward Castes and
the Muslims and it is an insult and hence Bengal shall be divided”.
HINDU CONSPIRACY TO DIVIDE BENGAL
From March 15, 1947 to July 2, 1947, 75 meetings to divide Bengal
were organised and you will be surprised to know that 56 meetings
out of the 75 were organised by the power-hungry Manuvadi Congress
to divide Bengal into East and West Bengal. When the division of
India took place the “two- nation theory” was developed:where
a majority of the Hindus resided that part of the country should
be with India and where the majority of the Muslims stayed should
go to Pakistan, It is shocking that when the partition took place
Kholna, Jassor, Barisal, Dhaka, Faridpur and Maimansing, where
over 78 % of Hindus (mostly Namosudaras, Pandokhatriayas and Rajbansi)
lived and from where Dr. Ambedkar was elected to the Constituent
Assembly, was separated from India and given to Pakistan. A historical
blunder against the two-nation theory took place. Jogendranth Mandal
tried his best to save this split but it was foiled by the brahmanvadi Congress.
After the division of Bengal our people who became a minority
in East Pakistan faced lots of hardship at the hands of Muslims.
Thinking we are Hindu and to avenge what was going on in West
Pakistan and North India, the Muslims of East Pakistan burnt
our houses, killed innocent children and our mothers and sisters
had to face mass raping and killing.
The award was given to our people for no fault of theirs by the manuvadi Congress.
When things were not good, to hide their sins and with crocodile
tears the Congress, Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and Dr. Rajendra Prasad
made a statement that if the Hindus of East Pakistan are not safe
there, they can migrate to India and citizenship shall be granted
to them with ease. Later, our Bengali brethren started coming to
India as refuges. An unwanted guest in his own motherland.
HINDU HATE THEORY
The refugees who had come from Pakistan — the Punjabis and
Sindhis — who belonged to the upper castes were given huge
amount of money, property at low rate, land and settled in comfort
in big cities and one place. But our brethren were settled in places
like Kalahandi, Chandrapur, Andaman forest and dirty locations
where they had to face the miseries and poverty, they were always
on move and did not have any documentary evidence to prove.
The Brahmanvadi Congress, BJP and all Hindu terrorist
parties know fully well that the Bengali refugees are “low
castes” but deliberately they spread through the print and
electronic media that the Bangledeshi refugees were Muslim and,
therefore, the people — even the SC/ST of this country — have
started hating them thinking them to be outsiders and nothing to
do with them.
The Hindus were thus successful in creating a hate theory
against the refugees.
We in Maharashtra are not even aware of the plight of our Bengali
brethren leave aside fighting for them. In 1955, the Citizenship
Bill was passed by the Indian Parliament which stated that the
citizens of undivided India who had to leave this country due to
the partition, if such people want to come back to India or migrate
to India, they are entitled to become citizen of India and their
children who will be born on the Indian soil will be natural citizens
of this country. The second part of the Bill also stated that the
former citizens of India who have surrendered their citizenship
and settled abroad will continue to be citizen of this country
and shall not be liable for the citizenship of India unless they
surrender their foreign citizenship and apply for Indian citizenship
(in short dual citizenship will not be allowed).
HINDU CONSPIRACY
To make the life of our Bengali brethren still worse, Home Minister
Advani, the CM of Assam and ASSU got together in Delhi on March
19, 1999 and a meeting was held at the Home Ministry where the
framework for declaring the Bengali refugees illegal was decided.
It was decided that the children of the Bengali refugees who were
born between 1971 and 1986 will be treated as illegal migrants
to this country and very harsh and strong action will be taken
against them including extraditing them outside India and under
no circumstance they will be given citizenship of this country
even if they wish to register as citizens of this country. From
this day the conspiracy started in the Home Ministry and they started
working on the Amendment to the Citizenship Bill, 1955.
BLACK BILL PASSED
The Amendment Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on May 9,
2003 by Home Minister Advani and it was sent to Pranab Mukherjee
for his response so that the same can be passed.
On Jan.9, 2004, BJP got the Bill passed with the help
and full support of the Congress and the Left parties.
This Bill is a Black Bill for our Bengali Mulnivasi brethren
because it stated that under no circumstance the refugees from
Bangladesh can get citizenship of this country and strict legal
action will be initiated against them by the govt. With this, over
2- crore Bengali refugee brethren will be affected and will face
difficulties which they must not have thought about.
The BJP, Congress and the Left parties did not stop here.
They wanted to rub salt on our wounds and hence in the same Bill
they gave dual citizenship (double citizenship) to the people
of the higher caste who are staying in 16 different countries
so that they never face any problem, send money to India so that
the Hindu terrorist organizations use them and kill us and vote
in the election for the Brahmanwadi BJP or Congress
and get elected easily on their votes.
REPORT TO WAMAN MESHRAM
This is the biggest conspiracy that has taken place against our
people but still not even the educated Bengali brothers of the
SC/ST and OBC are aware of this fact, leave aside the uneducated
and poor Bengali who are going to be thrown out of the country.
To project the plight of our Bengali Mulnivasi brethren
we brought this along with documentary evidence to the notice of
Waman Meshram, President of BAMCEF. Having come to know the plight
of the people due to whom Dr. Ambedkar was elected to the Constituent
Assembly and due to which we are a liberated lot, Waman Meshram
gave top priority to this subject and a national conference on
this subject was organised to educate the people, mostly non-Bengalis
living in 6 lakhs villages in India, that the Mulnivasi Bangladesh
refuges are our blood and we shall fight to the last to resolve
the crises of their citizenship.
We in the BAMCEF are trying to make people aware of this Hindu
conspiracy so that concrete steps are taken to stop this mass genocide
and we have succeeded in doing it throughout the country.
Last year (2008), BAMCEF held conferences in Cuttack, Orissa.
BAMCEF has put the subject – “Citizenship Amendment
Act, 2003 and the plight of Mulnivasi Bengali” on the very
first day of the conference along with international networking
subjects so that the delegates from international level understand
the plight of our Bengali brethren and internationalize the subject.
BAMCEF did not stop here. After the first day a documentary CD
was shown to all the delegates who had come from various parts
of the country – Marinchzappi.
This very powerful documentary showed the genocide and
plight of the Mulnivasi Bengali in Marinchzappi where
thousands of peaceful Bengali brethren were killed along with
their children and family by the Jyoti Basu’s Govt. in
1978.
Today we have succeeded in projecting this cause not only in front
of the SC/ST / OBC and convinced minorities in 6 lakh villages
in India but also in 33 countries across the world.
NEED TO I NTERNATIONALISE REFUGEE PROBLEM
But the problem cannot be solved on a national level and the manuvadi people
in power, who have created this problem for our Bengali brethren,
will never come forward to solve it as it is beneficial to them.
This is a gross violation of human rights and hence the problem
need to be projected at the international platform - the UN. We
think that this can be possible only with the support and backing
of people like you. We in BAMCEF are hopeful that leaving aside
all the differences among the SC/ST/OBCs of Bengal if we come together
on this social platform then only we can stop the fast-approaching
genocide of our dear brethren.
As a Maharastrian and Ambedkarite it is my duty to inform the
people. I have been firmly supported by my colleagues — Palash
Biswas, Shivani Biswas, K.L. Biswas, Bala and Meena Bala who inspired
me to flight.
STOP READING BRAHMIN PAPERS
I request my brother Ashutosh Thakur to vent his anger in a more
positive manner, not to stop reading Dalit Voice but immediately
stop subscribing to Anand Bazar Patrika, Aaj Kal, Jugantar, Pratidin, Statesman, Basumati,
etc. and all the Brahmanwadi vulture media which are the
biggest source of false information on the subject, maligning our
great leaders.
Due to statements made by these toilet papers thousands of my
Bengali brethren are arrested for extradition from the country
and taken away and the most shocking news they have so far not
reached Bangladesh.
You should not be surprised if a mass graveyard is discovered
in the years to come.
I request everybody including DV and Ashutosh Thakur to join hands
on a social platform, internationalize the subject, expose the Brahmanvadi Congress,
BJP and Communists and destroy the dreams of our enemy who are
bent on killing our 2 crore Bengali brethren. I thank Ashutosh
Thakur for giving me an opportunity to pen down this article without
which I could not have written a single line.
So far I am not a subscriber of Dalit Voice but now please
except me as subscriber of Dalit Voice and let me know
my contribution towards the same.
http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/may_a2009/articles.htm
India's key new ministers
 A total of 19 ministers have been sworn in in the first round |
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been sworn in at the head of a new Indian government in the capital, Delhi.
A 19-member cabinet has taken the oath of office at a ceremony at the presidential palace in Delhi.
The
first list includes some Congress veterans and two important allies. No
portfolios have yet been announced. More ministers will be added in the
next few days.
Here are some of the key figures:
The Indian PM, often derided by the opposition BJP as weak, stunned
his critics when he led Congress party to a decisive victory in the
elections.
Widely regarded as the architect of the country's
economic reforms programme in the early 1990s, many say he is the best
man to lead India in these times of global economic recession. A
studious former academic and bureaucrat, he keeps a low profile and is
viewed as perhaps the cleanest politician in India.
The first
Sikh to hold the top post, Mr Singh became prime minister after
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi turned down the post in 2004. The biggest
triumph during his first five-year-rule was to bring India out of
nuclear isolation by signing a landmark deal with the US.
Lacking
in charisma, Mr Singh has never won a popular election - he has always
been a member of the upper house - but he enjoys popular support from
the masses who respect him for his integrity and intelligence.
The foreign minister in the outgoing government, Pranab Mukherjee,
is the Congress party's man for all seasons. He is an accomplished
politician whose popularity cuts across party lines. And that makes him
invaluable when it comes to negotiating with tricky and temperamental
political allies.
 Mr Mukherjee's popularity cuts across party lines |
Although he has been an MP in the Rajya Sabha - the upper house of
parliament - for the past four decades, he won a popular election to
the Lok Sabha - the lower house of parliament - for the first time in
2004.
Besides the foreign ministry, Mr Mukherjee has also
served as the finance minister, the defence minister and the industry
minister at various times in the past.
The diminutive
politician enjoys great stature - his loyalty and competence have
endeared him to Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.
The suave, articulate politician from the southern Indian state of
Tamil Nadu has had successful stints as the finance minister as well as
the interior minister.
The Harvard-educated lawyer spent the
first four years of the last government as the finance minister and the
Indian economy grew rapidly under him.
 Mr Chidambaram is known for his efficiency |
Mr Chidambaram is a firm believer in free trade and is known for his
daring scheme to halt tax evasion. He is well known for his pro-market
reforms and for his bold steps to abolish red tape.
His
reputation for efficiency resulted in him being appointed the home
minister after the deadly Mumbai attacks in November last year.
His
critics accuse him of being arrogant and say he is not known to have
the ability to reach out to party cadres, perhaps a reason why he came
close to losing the recent election. In the end, he won with a small
margin of about 3,500 votes.
Senior Congress party leader AK Antony was India's defence minister
and has been a three-time chief minister of the southern state of
Kerala.
The 68-year-old politician is known for his clean
image. According to reports, he would cancel defence contracts at the
whiff of controversy. Analysts say during his tenure, violence in
Kashmir touched new lows and his policies have made him popular with
the army.
As defence minister, he toured most forward areas
including the Siachen glacier - often described as the highest
battlefield in the world - and came up with measures to improve the
living conditions of soldiers.
But critics say he delayed purchase of gear and equipment for the armed forces, affecting their battlefield capability.
Sharad Pawar is the head of the ally, the Nationalist Congress
Party. He is one of the few politicians to enjoy support from parties
across regions and ideologies. He was brought into Congress by former
PM Rajiv Gandhi. And in 1991, he became defence minister under PM
Narasimha Rao.
In 1999, he protested against Sonia Gandhi's
foreign origin and broke away from Congress. But five years later he
was back with his old ally, entering the governing coalition United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) on the eve of the 2004 polls.
Not
trusted by many in India's political class, Mr Pawar is known to be
ruthless and ambitious. As political parties negotiated ahead of the
recent elections, Mr Pawar's supporters floated his name as a prime
ministerial candidate. But with Congress getting a decisive mandate in
the elections, Mr Pawar will have to contend with a ministry for the
moment.
Will Mamata Banerjee give sleepless nights to PM Manmohan Singh?
That's a question many in India are asking as the mercurial chief of
the regional Trinamul Party drives a hard bargain for ministerial
posts.
 Ms Banerjee is known for being temperamental |
Ms Banerjee with her 19 MPs is an indication of the waning
popularity of the Communists in the state of West Bengal. Exactly three
years ago, her party seemed to be a spent political force and she was
considered something of a "political oddball".
But in the past
couple of years, she has steadily made inroads into the leftists'
territory. She has led successful campaigns against the state
government's initiative to acquire vast tracts of agricultural land in
Singur and Nandigram in south Bengal for the car and chemicals
industries respectively. Both projects were withdrawn in the face of
resistance.
Taking up the issues of small farmers, Ms Banerjee
became a cheerleader for Bengal's rural poor. However, her relationship
with the Congress is expected to be stormy. Soon after the elections,
she said she wanted early assembly elections in West Bengal, a demand
Congress may not be able, or willing, to grant.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8063285.stm
India's PM faces tough agenda
By Paranjoy Guha Thakurta Indian economic analyst |
 The Congress party's pro-poor policies paid off in the election |
As the new Indian government is sworn in, it is clear it will have to confront major challenges to revive its sagging economy.
The
fact that Prime Minister-elect Manmohan Singh is a renowned economist
will certainly help the world's largest democracy counter an economic
slowdown.
What will benefit the leadership of the Congress
party (to which Mr Singh belongs) even more is that the country's
centre-left "grand old party" is leading a coalition government with a
comfortable majority.
Congress alone has 206 MPs out of the 543 in the Lok Sabha or lower house of parliament.
Whereas
political analysts had anticipated a fractured mandate, Indian voters
delivered an unexpectedly decisive one in the country's 15th general
election, the outcome of which became known last Saturday.
Slowing economy
Aged
76 and having undergone a recent heart bypass surgery, Mr Singh was
formally elected by his party's lawmakers as their leader on Tuesday
after elections that were spread out over five phases in a blistering
hot April-May, the biggest exercise of its kind on the planet.
In
his acceptance speech, Mr Singh said that among his main tasks was the
challenge to revive the economy, create jobs and ensure that the
benefits of growth reached the underprivileged in the world's
second-most-populous nation state.
 Congress has the benefit of a large electoral mandate |
"There is some slowing down of investment and employment generation.
We have to revive growth and make it even more inclusive," he said as
party MPs thumped their desks in the central hall of parliament in
Delhi.
The Indian economy, after having grown by a record 9%
four years in succession for the first time since the country became
politically independent in 1947, has slowed down to 6%-7% over the past
year or so.
Industrial production has declined and exports have fallen by one third.
Millions
of jobs, especially in export-oriented industries such as textiles,
garments, gems, jewellery, leather and handicrafts, have been lost in
recent months as recession-hit Western markets for such products have
disappeared.
Whereas India is the second-fastest growing
economy in the world among large countries after China, a substantial
section of the country's 1.1 billion people is extremely poor - at
least one out of four survives on less than $1 a day and more than two
out of three Indians live on $2 a day.
"The five years in front of us could well be a decisive half-decade," Mr Singh said on Tuesday.
He
added: "If we can sustain the growth rates of the last five years, we
can reduce poverty, create new employment, accelerate rural development
and industrialisation and transform the lives of our people... We must
grasp the nettle firmly and forge ahead."
Agricultural successes
The
rate of growth of India's economy picked up from the early-1990s after
a phase of "liberalisation" and reduction of controls that had been
presided over by Mr Singh who became finance minister in an earlier
Congress government after a long stint as a technocrat and academic.
Despite
the market friendly policies pursued by Mr Singh and some of his
colleagues, there is a substantial section in the Congress party that
remains wedded to the party's socialist past.
 Mr Singh has made economic recovery one of his key concerns |
After Mr Singh became prime minister for the first time five years
ago, his administration was attacked by his political opponents on the
right (that is, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party) as well
as the Left (namely, the Communist parties that withdrew support to the
government last July over the nuclear deal with the United States).
However,
the just-concluded elections have made both right and left considerably
weaker after a mandate that is widely perceived to have been in favour
of centrist policies and political stability.
The challenge for
Mr Singh's government will be to meet the aspirations of India's
youthful and upwardly mobile middle classes while widening social
safety nets for the poor, specially those living in rural areas.
The pre-election manifesto of Congress has promised subsidised cereals for the poor.
The
first Singh administration had written off agricultural loans worth
700bn rupees ($15bn) and also initiated a legally guaranteed employment
programme for 100 days in a year for families in rural areas, both of
which have apparently paid the Congress rich electoral dividends.
Troubled neighbourhood
In
many respects, the tasks that lie ahead for the newly-elected regime
are evident and these are to revamp the country's inadequate social
infrastructure (notably basic health-care, sanitation and primary
education) as well as its rickety physical infrastructure (electricity,
drinking water facilities and roads).
 Burma is one of many less-than-stable neighbours |
On the foreign policy front, Mr Singh will have to deal cautiously
with neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan, where Islamic
fundamentalists are threatening to overrun both countries.
In
Sri Lanka, the quarter-century militant movement to create a new nation
for ethnic Tamils living in the northern part of the island may have
been finally crushed by the military, but problems of providing
humanitarian assistance for thousands displaced by the conflict
continue.
Governance in another country neighbouring India,
Nepal, is yet to stabilise after the Maoists withdrew from government
following differences with army bosses.
In Burma, the military
junta remains firmly entrenched despite periodic outbursts of protest
from pro-democracy forces that have rallied around Nobel peace laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for more than a
decade.
Among India's neighbours, Bangladesh is arguably the
most politically stable after the pro-India Awami League was elected to
power with a sweeping majority in December.
In order to ensure
political stability in a restive subcontinent while protecting India
from the worst ravages of the ongoing worldwide economic crisis,
Manmohan Singh has more than enough on his plate as he commences his
second term as prime minister.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8062882.stm
KEY STORIES
As it happened: How events unfolded on the day Congress swept to victory
BACKGROUND
Results in full
How many seats did the parties and coalitions win?
FEATURES AND ANALYSIS
VIDEO REPORTS
Singh thanks voters for victory
Congress party start celebrations
How votes are counted in India
India election train's last stop
WEBLINKS
Elec. Commission Congress party BJP Shiv Sena Party Samajwadi party AIADMK DMK Telugu Desam CPI(M) CPI BSP (unofficial site) Trinamool Cong. Nationalist Cong. |
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ISI's approach to India has to change: Mullen
| Font Size |
Agencies
Posted: May 22, 2009 at 1028 hrs IST
Washington
Observing that the ISI and its strategic approach has been to foment
towards India and Afghanistan, a top US military official on Friday
said the Pakistani intelligence agency has to change its outlook.
"Pakistan created the ISI and its strategic approach
as been to foment towards India, foment towards Afghanistan and in
their insecurity in that regard, the ISI has a mission," Chairman Joint
Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said.
"A lot of that will change, I believe, long-term
if they have more confidence in their own security," Mullen said in
response to a question in his appearance before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee.
Mullen said he has expressed his concern to the Pak leaders about the links between ISI and the Taliban.
"I have had lengthy discussions with Pak civilian
and military leadership, the military leadership is critical here and
what I've watched and certainly expressed this concern and my belief
has been for some time that I believe the ISI has to change its
strategic approach in order for progress to be made over the long
term," he said in response to a question from Senator Feingold.
Mullen said, "What General Kiyani has done and the
civilian leadership has done has changed out the leadership of that
organisation, almost the entire leadership, not just Pasha, but the
principle directorates are all people that General Kiyani trusts. We've
had this discussion. This has happened over the last six months."
"So I think this is going to take some time. The
ISI is very supportive in ways and constructive in ways that we concur
in. There are still challenges about connections with militants and
their support of those militants as well, and I have constantly address
those concerns, will continue to do that," Mullen said.
The top US military leader, who has been visiting
Pakistan almost every other month in the past one year, said: "The ISI
is an organisation that as long as last summer I have talked publicly
about needing to change its strategic direction."
At a very high level it gets to the question of
how Pakistan ensures its security. "It has historically done that by
agitating both in Afghanistan and in India. To the degree that they are
secure, they feel good about their security in the future, I think that
argues for and presents potential for a strategic shift," he argued.
"That said, there is a grey area in the ISI that
many of us don't understand. Clearly those kinds of connections that
you talked about have been there. And they need to cease at some
point," Mullen said.
During the testimony, several Senators questioned the commitment of the ISI and its continued links with the Taliban.
"In April we saw reports coming out that the ISI in
Pakistan was actually assisting the Taliban. That was April, just last
month. Now I understand that the Pakistanis are on an offensive, but
I'm wondering what is ISI's role here at this point in time?
"How engaged are they, because when I look at
those reports, when I look at the release of the video of our CIA
director which should have been a private meeting, and obviously was
meant to undercut whatever that conversation was, and when I look at
the set of circumstances of acquiring nuclear weapons, when we are
giving money, money is fungible at the end of the day, it makes for a
concern for me," said Senator Robert Menendez.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/ISIs-approach-to-India-has-to-change-Mullen/464204/
Burma's Suu Kyi claims innocence
 Diplomats were allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday |
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, on trial for breaking the terms of her house arrest, has told a
court she committed no crime, her lawyer says.
She spoke as prosecutors ended their case days earlier than expected, lawyer Nyan Win said.
Ms Suu Kyi had been due for release on 27 May, but the charges she faces carry a maximum of five years in jail.
Observers say Burma's military rulers are using the charges to keep her in jail during an election due next year.
She
faces an accusation that she allowed US national John Yettaw to stay in
her home, breaching the conditions of her latest period of house
arrest.
Mr Win said the presiding judge officially accepted the
charges at the end of the prosecution case - which came much more
rapidly than people had expected.
Prosecutors had been expected
to call 22 witnesses, but the lawyer told the BBC's Burmese service
that in the event far fewer had actually taken the stand.
He said the judge asked Ms Suu Kyi whether she was guilty, and she replied: "I have no guilt as I didn't commit any crime."
The
trial, which is being held behind closed doors at Rangoon's Insein
jail, is expected resume on Monday when her defence will present its
case.
'Assassination dream'
Mr Yettaw, who swam across a lake to reach her house, is also on trial in Insein jail.
|   |
He is reported to have testified that he made the visit because he had dreamt that she was going to be assassinated.
Ms Suu Kyi's lawyers say she tried to send the man away but he refused to go.
He was then allowed to stay only because he said he was exhausted.
The ruling generals say the incident was a stunt designed to embarrass the government.
Foreign
Minister Nyan Win was quoted as saying the incident had been fabricated
by "internal and external anti-government elements" to "intensify
international pressure" on the regime.
International condemnation
Ms Suu Kyi's trial opened on Monday behind closed doors.
Burma's
ruling junta allowed some diplomats and journalists into the
proceedings on Wednesday, only to bar them again the following day.
Governments and rights groups have condemned the trial - and diplomats have said they expect Ms Suu Kyi to be found guilty.
The Nobel laureate has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.
The
party she leads, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won the
country's last general election in 1990 - but she was never allowed to
take power.
The ruling generals have scheduled an election for
next year - but have written a new constitution which carves out a
major role for the military in any new government.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8063817.stm
India remains a great long-term profit play. But global investors
should beware of the near-term exuberance that followed that nation’s
weekend elections.
The Indian market zoomed 17% on Monday on the news that the Congress Party had been re-elected
with an increased majority. It’s certainly true that some of the other
alternatives - for example a weak leftist Third Force coalition
including the spectacularly corrupt Mayawati Kumari (India’s richest politician, a keenly fought title) - would have been worse.
Nevertheless, you have to remember that the Congress Party (also known as the India National Congress, and referred to by its initials, INC)
is responsible for most of India’s woes, both recently and in the 60
years since independence, and that putting it back into power is
unlikely to bring much of a step forward - economically speaking.
Condemned to Slow Growth
For more than 40 years after independence - albeit with one short
exception - India was ruled by the Congress party and condemned to slow
economic growth. Then, after 1991, then finance minister Manmohan Singh began opening up the economy. However, growth had already slowed again in the mid 1990s and it was only under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998-2004 that India removed many of its longstanding statist obstacles to growth, and began to enjoy economic growth rates comparable to those of China.
The Vajpayee government was rejected by the Indian electorate in
2004, in a stunning act of electoral ingratitude second only to Britain’s shocking 1945 rejection of Winston Churchill, who had helped engineer the Allied victory in World War II.
Since 2004, India’s Congress Party has been back in power under
Singh - this time as prime minister - in a coalition with the left. The
nation’s leadership has made endless promises of reform, but has really
accomplished very little. Economic growth has continued to be rapid,
largely because of the Vajpayee government’s reforms, which were
particularly extensive during that administration’s last two years in
power in 2002-2004. The Congress Party’s main achievements were run-ups
in both public spending and the fiscal deficit, the latter of which
seems likely to run at a rate of about 12% of gross domestic product
(GDP) for the 2009-2010 period - if state deficits are included.
By the 2009 election, Vajpayee had retired, and his successor as BJP leader - L.K. Advani
- was both old and associated with the party’s Hindu nationalist wing,
so it’s not surprising that the BJP failed to make progress. The
collapse of support in the election for the mostly leftist third
parties is itself a good sign, making a swing back to the BJP under new
leadership more likely whenever the next election occurs, probably in
2014.
|
In the five intervening years until that happens, India will have to
endure a Congress Party government, either under current Prime Minister
Singh, or possibly under newcomer Rahul Gandhi
- grandson of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which would make him
the latest member of the Nehru/Gandhi dynasty to hold that office.
Don’t Expect Reforms
Congress’ claim to reformism becomes especially thin when you look
at the party’s allies. For example, West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress
led the violent opposition to Tata Motors Ltd.’s (NYSE ADR: TTM) “Nano” automobile plant in that state. Tata had managed to do a deal with Bengal’s Communist state government to produce the revolutionary $2,000 car,
but the Trinamool Congress was able to force Tata to relocate the plant
to Gujarat at a cost of more than $500 million, delaying the full
production of the Nano by more than a year. In the recent elections,
Trinamool, in alliance with the national Congress Party, was rewarded
with 26 of West Bengal’s 42 parliamentary seats, and its leadership
will doubtless be part of the new government.
The new government’s policy is thus unlikely to be very reformist,
especially as it rejoices in the support of the egregious Mayawati. In
welcoming the election win,
Prime Minister Singh indicated further areas where India’s public
spending and transfer payments needed to be increased, with no
suggestion that privatization or reining back the immense public-sector
deficit were a priority. It’s thus likely that the Indian government
will continue as an ever-increasing drag on the economy, with a funding
crisis possible if public spending increases too much.
In such an environment, it is unlikely that India’s 8% average
growth rate of the last five years can continue; the average of the
next five years is much more likely to be in the 4% to 5% range,
possibly with an acute foreign exchange crisis at some point. There’s
no question that India’s stock market - trading at a Price/Earnings
(P/E) ratio of roughly 20 - is expecting much better than this. That
means it’s time to step back.
When - and How - to Make Your Play
Once the euphoria has dissipated, and the Indian market has dropped at least 30% from its current level, to below 10,000 on the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex Index, Indian shares will once again be worth looking at, if only because of the country’s immense long-term-growth potential - an upside great enough to overcome even the immense drag of most of its governmental shortcomings.
At that point, the heavy capital investors such as Tata Motors
should be avoided, because of the unpredictability of capital
availability in a capital market whose savings can be sucked into the
government’s immense maw. Look instead at such non-capital-intensive
exporters (the exchange rate is likely to remain relatively weak) as
the software company Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq ADR: INFY), or global pharmaceuticals producer Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. (NYSE ADR: RDY).
Both stocks are currently somewhat expensive, with Infosys trading
at about 18 times the consensus analyst estimate for forward earnings,
and Dr. Reddy’s roughly 14 times. But both stocks should be purchased
for long-term growth during periods when investor enthusiasm for the
Indian market has had a chance to cool down.
[Editor's Note: When Slate
magazine recently set out to identify the stock-market guru who most
correctly predicted the stock-market decline that accompanied the
current financial crisis, the respected online publication concluded it
was Martin Hutchinson, a veteran international investment banker who is
one of Money Morning's top forecasters.
It was no surprise to our readers: After all, Hutchinson warned
investors about the evils of credit default swaps six months before the
complex derivatives did in insurer American International Group Inc.
Then, last fall, Hutchinson "called" the market bottom.
Now Hutchinson has developed a strategy for investors to invest their way to "Permanent Wealth" using high-yielding dividend stocks.
This strategy is tailor-made for an unpredictable stock market that's
backdropped by an uncertain economy. Just click here to find out about this strategy - or Hutchinson's new service, The Permanent Wealth Investor.]
News and Related Story Links:
- Money Morning News Analysis:
India’s Election Lifts Markets, May Boost Global Trade Talks. - Wikipedia:
Atal Bihari Vajpayee. - Wikipedia:
Mayawati Kumari. - Tata Motors Nano:
Official Web Site. - Wikipedia:
Manmohan Singh. - Money Morning News Analysis:
Auto Industry moves to India and China. - Wikipedia:
Bharatiya Janata Party. - Money Morning Special Investment Report (Part II of II):
Special Report: Hit the BRICs for a Global-Investing Double Play. - Wikipedia:
India National Congress. - Wikipedia:
United Kingdom General Election (and defeat of Winston Churchill) of 1945. - Money Morning News Analysis:
Protest at Tata Plant Evidence of Indian Identity Crisis. - Wikipedia:
L.K. Advani. - Money Morning News Analysis:
India’s Reliability Provides a Razor Thin Edge Over China. - Wikipedia:
Rahul Gandhi. - Wikipedia:
Indira Gandhi. - Bombay Stock Exchange:
Official Web Site. - Money Morning News Analysis:
With its Surprise Interest-Rate Cut, India Puts Itself “Ahead of the Curve,” India Expert Rahemtulla Says.
http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/05/20/india-elections/
Singh May Set Record in India Asset Sales After Election Victory
By M.C. Govardhana Rangan
May 22 (Bloomberg) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,
who began his second term this week, may set a record for
selling state assets as he revives efforts that were foiled by
his former communist allies, bankers and analysts said.
The new administration could start by resuming share sale
plans for NHPC Ltd., India’s largest producer of electricity
from water, explorer Oil India Ltd. and fuel retailer Hindustan
Petroleum Corp., according to Mumbai-based brokerage Religare
Capital Markets Ltd.
Singh may sell $20 billion of state assets in the next five
years as he tries to plug a budget shortfall, said Rashesh Shah,
chief executive officer of Edelweiss Capital Ltd. After a
privatization wave that netted a record $6 billion between 1999
and 2004 to a government led by Singh’s main opponents, sales
slumped during his first term as communist allies thwarted plans.
“Sales by this government will be significantly higher
than the previous record,” S. Subramanian, head of investment
banking at Enam Financial Consultants Ltd. in Mumbai, said in an
interview. Mumbai-based Enam has managed share offerings for
state-owned companies including Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd.,
CMC Ltd. and Power Finance Corp.
Singh’s Congress party-led coalition faces a fiscal deficit
that’s more than double the government target and an economy
growing at the slowest pace since 2003.
The nation will sell stakes in companies as promised by the
Congress party’s election manifesto, P. Chidambaram, who was in
charge of the finance and home ministries in Singh’s previous
administration, said on May 18. Singh, the first premier to win
re-election after serving a full term since 1971, doesn’t need
the Communists’ support for his new administration after winning
the backing of 322 lawmakers in the 545-seat lower house.
‘Right to Own’
“The Indian people have every right to own part of the
shares of public sector companies while the government retains
majority shareholding,” the election manifesto said. Still,
Congress “rejects the policy of blind privatization” followed
by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies, it said.
Singh, 76, raised 67 billion rupees ($1.41 billion) from
selling stakes in NTPC Ltd. and Rural Electrification Corp. of
India Ltd. during his first term, according to India’s
Department of Disinvestment. Then-finance minister Chidambaram’s
plans to sell shares in companies including Bharat Heavy
Electricals Ltd., India’s biggest maker of power equipment, and
National Aluminium Co. were blocked by the communists in 2006.
The previous Singh administration waived farm loans, raised
government employees’ salaries for the first time in 12 years,
cut taxes and increased spending on roads, ports and other
infrastructure as it sought to revive economic growth and shore
up support before the election. That strained state finances as
the economic slowdown hurt tax collections.
Strained Finances
India’s fiscal deficit reached 6 percent of gross domestic
product in the year ended March 31, surpassing the 2.5 percent
government target.
The prospect of a wider budget shortfall prompted Standard
& Poor’s to say in February that India’s spending plans were
“not sustainable” and the nation’s credit rating may be cut to
junk if finances worsen.
“The government will now have the ability to look at
disinvestment seriously in the context of the fiscal deficit,”
S. Ramesh, chief operating officer of Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.’s
investment banking unit, said in an interview. “The numbers can
be significant.”
Raising 100 billion rupees from share sales and initial
public offerings in the financial year that began April 1 would
help cut the fiscal deficit by a quarter-point, according to
Religare estimates.
NHPC, Oil India
Companies in which the government had planned to reduce its
holding through an IPO, only to scrap the proposals, may be
first in line for sales, Religare said in a May 12 research note.
Such firms include NHPC, which had expected to raise 55 billion
rupees, RITES Ltd., and Oil India, the brokerage said.
The nation’s Disinvestment Committee had also previously
recommended cutting stakes in Shipping Corp. of India Ltd.,
National Buildings Construction Corp., Projects & Equipment
Corp., Hindustan Shipyard and Electronics Corp. of India, making
them likely candidates during Singh’s second term, Religare said.
Delivering on asset sales pledges may reassure foreign
investors that Singh is also serious about economic reforms
aimed at making India more competitive. Overseas funds bought
$3.1 billion of Indian equities so far in May, the most in a
month since October 2007, according to Bloomberg data.
“There’s a huge backlog of offers that will get cleared
now,” said Ravi Sardana, senior vice president of ICICI
Securities Ltd. “It is also a good message for global
investors.”
To contact the reporters on this story:
M.C. Govardhana Rangan in Mumbai at
grangan@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: May 21, 2009 14:31 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=a6wV9a3RE4i4&refer=india
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