09 August Fresh news Modi takes a dig at PM's statement on price rise Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today took a dig at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on the price rise. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a statement yesterday saying since there is deficit in rainfall, price-rise will stay in the country," Modi said at the inauguration of a pipe manufacturing factory near Sanand, 35 km from here. "I was little surprised at the PM's statement, who is an economist and also experienced since he has been elected twice as PM. I believe he should have said that by proper water resources management, we would not let the drought affect our agriculture, NRI in Ahmedabad dies of swine flu, toll rises to 4 A 43-year-old man died of swine flu early this morning at the city civil hospital here, a senior official said. Confirming the first swine flu death in Patel, who had returned from The country has now seen four deaths from swine flu with the number of infected cases rising to 782. Yesterday, 53-year-old Fahmida Panwala from Mumbai and 42-year-old teacher Sanjay Tukaram Kokre from Pune had died of swine flu. Earlier on August 3, 14-year-old schoolgirl Reeda Shaikh also from Pune, had died due to the H1N1 virus. Ambani row won't affect NELP auction: Centre MoU has mother's views on gas * The Union government on Saturday said the legal tussle between the Ambani brothers over supply of gas from the KG basin will have no impact on the eighth round of the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP) auction, where 70 oil and gas blocks are available to Indian and foreign companies. Petroleum minister Murli Deora said NELP was an Indian success story in its endeavour to achieve self-sufficiency in hydrocarbons. "Under the NELP regime, major natural gas production in KG basin commenced from April 2009. With this, the gas production in the country would be doubled, and in monetary terms, it would be about $42 billion." Talking to the media at the first road show of the auction in Mumbai, petroleum secretary RS Pandey said: "There will be no impact because of the Ambani row." Mr Pandey's comments were meant to assure critics who thought the public row between the Ambani brothers and the government's involvement would hurt this round of bidding. "You see the presence here (at the road show). This is self explanatory. I don't see any adverse effect on the bidding rounds," added Mr Pandey. Over 100 firms, including the global giants of the oil and gas industry, attended the road show in Mumbai on Saturday. This includes BG Group of Anil also maintained that Mukesh was unwilling to let Kokilaben settle the dispute. He said: "My respected elder brother has already made it amply clear, both within the family and externally, that he does not visualise any further role for my respected mother in resolving this matter or any other matter.'' At one stage of the conversation, Anil said the family dispute over gas was affecting his immediate family. "Tina (his wife) and Anmol (his elder son) were present during my speech (at the recent RNRL AGM). They so were so emotionally distraught they simply could not hold back their tears. When I reached home, my younger son Anshul was in tears when he saw me.'' Asked about his accusations against oil minister Murli Deora, and why he would favour Mukesh when he was close to the entire family, Anil said, "I have known Murli uncle and Hema aunty (Deora's wife) and their sons Mukul and Milind for several decades...almost my entire life. But more on his relationship with Mukeshbhai and with me perhaps some other time.'' NSE may overtake BSE in marketcap Riding on superior technology and FII preference, the National Stock Exchange is expected to surpass its older counterpart, the Bombay Stock Exchange, in market capitalisation this year for the first time in history. According to a report by global consultancy Celent, 2009 would be the first year when NSE's market capitalisation is expected to exceed that of BSE. "NSE is expected to overtake BSE in market capitalization in 2009. Already far ahead in turnover, NSE is expected to further its lead over its older counterpart, * Gems and Jewellery workers see rise in wages despite layoffs * One person's loss is another's gain, and this truism has been amply borne out of the evidence in the gems and jewellery sector, which is among the worst-hit by the slowdown. While the sector witnessed 1.65 per cent of its workers lose jobs between April and June this year, those whose jobs survived saw their monthly earnings improve by 4.68 per cent during the same period, thanks to overtime allowances, a government survey said. "The increase in income may be because the existing workers are paid overtime allowances," the latest Labour Bureau survey on the 'Effect of Economic Slowdown on Employment in The other sectors that saw an increase in average monthly earnings in the quarter ended June over March 2009, include leather (2.43 per cent), automobiles (5.36 per cent) and metals (2.39 per cent), it said. However, the survey findings show that the workers' earnings, on average, in the country fell 1.3 per cent in the June quarter. Among the sectors that saw a fall in earnings of workers include IT/BPO (2.18 per cent), textiles (1.10), handloom/powerloom (0.63 per cent) and transport (0.02 per cent). The survey said export-oriented sectors like textiles, IT/BPO and gems and jewellery saw maximum job losses, with employment declining by 1.52 lakh, 48,000, and 20,000, respectively.
The core group, which will includes officials from the health, education, home, social welfare and concerned departments, will take steps to deal with the situation arising out of the swine flu outbreak. "We are taking all possible measures, and strictly monitoring the developments across the state," Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said after chairing an emergency meeting of health and education officials to discuss the H1N1 situation in the state. The government will make available the Tamiflu drug to private hospitals to enable them treat the flu cases that they get. Three Terror Threat: The Badminton England on Sunday released a statement saying the eight-member strong team would be returning to "It is a disappointing outcome, especially after we had enjoyed a very good preparation at our holding camp in Mystery continues over Baitullah Mehsud's death Baitullah Mehsud is killed; Baitullah Mehsud is alive", is the tricky and confusing topic for discussion these days in Pakistani cities, towns and villages. All eyes are focused on partially confirmed and mostly unconfirmed developments taking place in the barren and rugged mountainous terrain of Two senior TTP leaders, Hakimullah Mehsud who happens to be Baitullah's cousin and his heir apparent and Maulvi Omer, the TTP spokesmen have denied reports of Mehsud's death but were unable to provide evidence that he is alive. Another Taliban commander, Kifayatullah who claimed to be a close aide of Baitullah Mehsud had confirmed his death two days ago. Confusion about Mehsud's death was not yet over that government and security officials came up with breaking news saying that one of Mehsud's probable successors, Hakiullah Mehsud or Mufti Wali-ur-Rehman Mehsud was killed in a struggle over succession to TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud at a "shura" council meeting in Sara Rogha area of There was no independent confirmation of the reported shooting between Taliban leaders struggling for the top TTP slot but if the news is correct, then how will Taliban overcome their leadership crisis. Former interior minister Aftab Sherpao has said, it is likely, that Sirajjudin Haqqani, son of veteran Taliban leader Jalaluddin Haqqani and Mullah Omer's key person for North and * * A concerned External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today met Indian student Shravan Kumar, who is yet to fully recover from a brutal assault by a group of teenagers here in May, and enquired about his health. The 25-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh, one of the first victims of the racial strikes in N Korean ship's * North Korean ship MV Mu San, now detained at Port Blair for unauthorised anchoring off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Wednesday, had made several voyages between "Initially, they said the vessel had developed a mechanical snag. This turned out to be false. Later, they said their destination ( New chapter in TN-Karnataka ties * Unveiling a sort of statue diplomacy, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on Sunday buried 18 years of bitterness when the bust of renowned saint-poet Tiruvalluvar was opened in Bangalore by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, raising hopes of heralding a new era of cooperation between the two states. Karunanidhi and his Karnataka counterpart B S Yeddyurappa, who took a personal initiative over a month ago during a visit to Chennai to enable today's ceremony near Ulsoor lake in North Bangalore in a Tamil-dominated area, hailed the event as a new chapter in the brotherly relations between the two states. Yeddyurappa, the man who ironically had whipped up emotions on both sides of the border before the 2008 Assembly elections ratcheting up opposition to Tamil Nadu's proposal for a drinking water scheme from the Hogenakkal reservoir, said the event gave confidence that all problems between the two states could be resolved through discussions. As a reciprocal gesture, a statue of Kannada poet Sarvagnya, who wrote 500 years ago, will be opened on Aug 13 in a Kannada-dominated area in Ayanavaram in Chennai at a function by Yeddyurappa in the presence of Karunanidhi. The opening of the statue of Tiruvalluvar, who wrote couplets on all areas of life--politics, righteousness and love, an idea conceived by the Bangalore Tamil Sangam, was halted in its tracks since 1991 when the worst anti-Tamil riots broke out in Bangalore and some other parts of Karnataka after differences flared up between the two states over the sharing of Cauvery waters. Rajmata grandkids extend stay in The grandchildren of Rajmata Gayatri Devi would camp in the "The contents of the Will apart, there is no clue with whom she has left the Will and who would be its executor. It has to be established that the Will duly signed by the Rajmata and with three witnesses should have a clear and specific mention that it was the last Will of testament. If she had not issued any other Will in the past even that has to be mentioned for clarity and objectivity. After obtaining the succession certificate for herself, grandson Devraj and grand daughter Lalitya Kumari for the succession of the estates of late Jagat Singh all three of them were entitled for a share of one third each. But now after the death of Rajmata her one third share in the estate of Jagat Singh would pass on to Devraj and Lalitya. The fact remains that now after the death of Rajmata by normal course of succession Devraj and Lalit should inherit the properties. But if Rajmata in her Will had given it to somebody else the grand children would not have any say. It was her wish and her Will of testament". said Kesri Nandan Jain, who is a lawyer of the royal family for more than four decades.. "Yes, I shall have to be in Jaipur for long duration along with my sister Lalitya as a lot of formalities Will have to completed. I shall continue to live in Lilypool and the staff is fully extending me all the support. I have been overwhelmed by the support that I received from the nobles and distant relations of the family in this sad and testing hours. I have no idea whether Rajmata Gayatri Devi has left a Will and who is the executor. We shall cross the bridge when it comes and we are not giving any thought on it." Said Devraj. But like Priyamvada Birla, the widow of MP Birla who willed herestate and properties to Rajendra Singh Lodha as she had no issues ofher own nor did she adopt anybody. But in her lifetime Priyamvada issued too many Wills of different nature and is some of the Wills issued by her there was no mention of Lodhas as the beneficiary. Now a number of person in Birla clan have moved to the court saying that the Will that Lodha possessed was fake and they had the real Will. Similarly if Rajmata had left too many Wills naming different persons as beneficiaries this would go for legal scrutiny meaning years and years spent in court room. Visitors a large number of them wearing white bundgullas and sportinga white turban turn up for the daily condolence sitting at the City Palace. But most of them have sympathies with Devraj and Lalitya and they feel they should get their dues. Landslide kills 46 in north At least forty-six people were killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, police said on Sunday. Three villages in the hilly Pithoragarh district were swept away in the landslide after a cloudburst on Saturday, local police official M.S. Sathnam said. Seventeen bodies have so far been recovered, he said, with rescue efforts on Saturday by local emergency personnel and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police hampered by bad weather. "It has stopped raining now, and rescue work is underway in full swing," he said. NSA gets charge of ties with The India-China boundary talks have just been elevated into a high level strategic dialogue. National Security Adviser MK Narayanan and Chinese state councilor Dai Bingguo will now be presiding over the highest level of strategic dialogue between the two countries. The NSA is effectively taking over management of ONGC orders probe into blow incident The Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has ordered a probe into the partial blow of hydrocarbon gas from its well near Bhayli village here, a top company official said. "Action will be taken against those found responsible for the lapses after the inquiry," R S Sharma, ONGC chairman and managing director, who visited the site, told PTI yesterday. The incident took place on Friday evening in the ONGC Cambay rig during a drilling routine. Cambay is a sub-asset of ONGC's Ankleshwar asset in Trinamool cadres clash with police near Mangalkot Burdwan was on the boil once again on Saturday as Trinamool Congress's Mangalkot Abhiyan turned violent, with party supporters clashing with the police and burning down police vehicles after being stopped from entering the disturbed areas in Mangalkot. The police resorted to a lathicharge and lobbed tear gas shells to control the unruly crowd. Both policemen and Trinamool supporters were injured in the clash. The Trinamool blamed CPM cadres for the violence, saying they, along with the police, stopped them from moving forward. The already tense situation is likely to worsen as Congress leaders plan to visit Mangalkot on Sunday. "We had to stop them from entering the disturbed areas because Section 144 is imposed there. But Trinamool supporters tried to break the barricades and move forward. They then hurled bricks injuring four policemen," said Burdwan SP R Raj Shekharan, adding that the situation was under control. It all began with a Trinamool Youth Congress rally at Khudrun near Mangalkot, more than 5 km from the villages where Section 144 has been imposed. The rally started at around 3 pm and was addressed by Madan Mitra and Suvendu Adhikary, the president of Trinamool Youth Congress. Around 4 pm, Trinamool leaders decided to march forward and visit the villages affected by political violence. However, the police stopped them about 3 km from Majhigram, where Section 144 was imposed. The Trinamool leaders protested and its supporters broke the police barricades. Stones were also pelted at the CPM branch office in Khudrun. Armed Forces Tribunal becomes a reality Serving and retired military personnel will no longer need to run to civilian courts to get redressal of their grievances, with the long-delayed armed forces tribunal (AFT) finally becoming a reality on Saturday. Inaugurating the AFT, which will adjudicate cases connected to service matters as well as appeals against court martial sentences, President Pratibha Patil said the tribunal would enhance the speed at which justice can be provided to military personnel. "I am confident the tribunal will meet the challenges of administering justice in a fair and equitable manner,'' she said. "The Act establishing the tribunal does not bind it to the Civil Procedure Code and, hence it provides for flexibility in procedures as long as they are in conformity with the principles of natural justice,'' she added. The 9,800 or so cases pending in different high courts, filed by serving or retired military personnel, will now be transferred to AFT, which will have the powers of a high court. Its verdicts will, of course, be open for challenge in the Supreme Court. AFT will have 15 courts in all, with three each in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Lucknow, and one each in Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai and Kochi. Bigamy report aimed at Hindus' * The Law Commission report on bigamy was not so much on the Muslim law as on the need to amend the Hindu law in terms of a SC verdict, which ruled that conversion to Islam would not allow a man to have a second wife without divorcing the first. Law Commission member Tahir Mahmood clarified this in a bid to allay ''grave misunderstandings'' among Muslims on its report. As evident from its title, 'Preventing bigamy via conversion to Islam', Mahmood said the report suggested an amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act on the lines of the 1995 SC judgment in Sarla Mudgal's case blocking Hindu men from using Islam as a licence to acquire a second wife without getting their first marriage dissolved. The Law Commission recommended incorporation of Sarla Mudgal law in the Hindu Marriage Act as Hindus continued to marry under the cover of conversion to Islam despite the 1995 verdict. In a statement, Mahmood claimed, The Muslim law on bigamy, or the state of bigamy among the Indian Muslims, was not at all the issue before the Commission. As for the Law Commission's reference to the reforms made by Islamic countries, Mahmood said, ''The true nature of the Muslim law on bigamy, which insists on equal treatment of co-wives and does not at all allow forsaking the first wife without divorce in search of a new one, was explained only in this context.'' Who's playing Blame it on bad excuses. South Block's best explanation for the Sharm el-Sheikh "blunder" was bad drafting. That means the poor language skills of some of our top diplomats led Amartya finds changes in *If Nitish Kumar can't stop smiling today, nobody can blame him. He just got a certificate from Amartya Sen. Speaking at a seminar in The certificate came six months after Sen had pointed to the decline in law and order and the failure to build infrastructure as the reasons behind Bihar's plight during a February lecture trip to Nitish has twice written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that instead of food grain, he would prefer a mechanism through which beneficiaries would get cash to prevent corruption in the public distribution system (PDS). Answering a question on whether a universal instead of a targeted system of PDS would be better, Sen said it was not a question of which one was better but how the system was designed. At present, the Centre provides food grain at cheaper rates through ration shops only to select segments of the population, such as the poorest of the poor, the poor and people above the poverty line. Sen lauded the UPA government's schemes and pointed out scope for improvement in almost all of them. Unwilling to comment on the right to food act passed this week in Parliament, the economist said he needed to see it before he could admire it. But he did point out that if right to food is achieved, there could be an argument that the national rural employment guarantee scheme will not be needed. If Nitish Kumar can't stop smiling today, nobody can blame him. He just got a certificate from Amartya Sen. Speaking at a seminar in Answering a question on whether a universal instead of a targeted system of PDS would be better, Sen said it was not a question of which one was better but how the system was designed. At present, the Centre provides food grain at cheaper rates through ration shops only to select segments of the population, such as the poorest of the poor, the poor and people above the poverty line. Sen lauded the UPA government's schemes and pointed out scope for improvement in almost all of them. Unwilling to comment on the right to food act passed this week in Parliament, the economist said he needed to see it before he could admire it. But he did point out that if right to food is achieved, there could be an argument that the national rural employment guarantee scheme will not be needed. If Nitish Kumar can't stop smiling today, nobody can blame him. He just got a certificate from Amartya Sen. Speaking at a seminar in Answering a question on whether a universal instead of a targeted system of PDS would be better, Sen said it was not a question of which one was better but how the system was designed. At present, the Centre provides food grain at cheaper rates through ration shops only to select segments of the population, such as the poorest of the poor, the poor and people above the poverty line. Sen lauded the UPA government's schemes and pointed out scope for improvement in almost all of them. Unwilling to comment on the right to food act passed this week in Parliament, the economist said he needed to see it before he could admire it. But he did point out that if right to food is achieved, there could be an argument that the national rural employment guarantee scheme will not be needed. Prachanda denies that he said US-India planned Maoist chief Prachanda has rubbished media reports that he said that He said the news report was "false and ill intended" with the aim to damage his party's relations with neighbouring as well as other friendly countries in the world. The news report may be aimed at foiling the Nepalese peace process and constitution making process, he said, according to Maoist mouth piece Janadisha. News reports few days back had said that Prachanda had made a sensational charge that Hooda's move on Sikh body politically- Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today decried his Haryana counterpart' Review of peace treaty, trade to top agenda of Nepal FM's visit Review of the 1950 Indo-Nepal friendship treaty, discussing ways to prevent cross-border terrorist and criminal activities and boosting trade ties will top the agenda in her maiden official visit to "The focus of the visit will be on enhancing trade relations and increasing Indian investment," the Minister, who will leave on Monday for * Air Plans to rake in Rs 900 cr from marketing engineering, cargo & training services * Cash-strapped National Aviation Company (Nacil), which runs Air The committee allowed the airline to rework wages and also set up a committee overseen by additional secretary (expenditure) Vilasini Ramachandran and key finance ministry officials to work out a financial package for Nacil. Jadhav, in his first official press briefing recently, said the airline planned to start earning profits within 24 to 36 months. He also announced that 54 flights a day would become low-cost services under the brand name Air India Express, its international no-frills arm. Air * Maruti zips past eighty-lakh- * Embarking on its journey 25 years ago with just over 800 units, country's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki * Former bureaucrat asks YSR to review KG basin gas allocation * NHPC public issue fully subscribed in 5 minutes *The initial public offering of the State-run hydro-power firm, NHPC, was subscribed 3.54 times on the first day. The issue, consisting of 168 crore shares, is the largest issue in terms of number of shares. The offering was fully subscribed in the first five minutes of trading. At the end of the day, the issue had received 594.09 crore shares, according to data available on the NSE. The issue will close on August 12. The issue was subscribed mainly by qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), who will be allotted 60 per cent of the issue. "This issue will see a lot of interest from FIIs as they perceive the secondary market to be overvalued, and would prefer to invest in new offerings," said Mr Jagannadham Thunuguntla, Equity Head at SMC Capital. Portions for HNIs and retail investors received a rather subdued response. The former was subscribed by 0.006 times and the latter 0.09 times. "Retail investors and HNIs usually enter into an IPO on the last day of the issue," said a merchant banker to the issue. When asked if the nationwide public sector bank strike would have affected subscriptions, he said it would have impacted the number of QIBs subscribing but not retail investors. The price band for the issue was Rs 30-36. The NHPC IPO follows the Rs 30-crore issue of Adani Power, which was subscribed 21.59 times last week. Oil NHPC IPO: Invest at cut-off * The NHPC initial public offer (IPO) is ideally suited for long-term investors. Hydroelectric projects, by their nature, have long gestation periods of 5-7 years. On the existing generation capacity and financial profile, the offer appears to be fully priced. Valuations could, however, undergo a change as the company gradually commissions the different projects that are under implementation over the next four years and as the return on equity improves. There are a number of positives to recommend an investment in this IPO not the least of which is the 12 per cent gap between demand and supply of electricity in the country. NHPC's established record in implementing hydropower projects, its good operating performance and the fact that all of its capacity has been tied up with different customers through power purchase agreements are pluses. Existing capacity of 5,175 megawatt (MW) will almost double in the next four years as new projects totalling 4,292 MW are commissioned. With a further 4,565 MW of projects awaiting government clearances, NHPC is expanding rapidly in an industry that is set to undergo a lot of changes, mostly favourable to the generators. For instance, some of NHPC's future projects, either in whole or in part, will sell power on a 'merchant basis'. Given the large deficit in availability of power and the active part played by traders such as PTC India, generators such as NHPC can hope for higher realisations. Given that its fuel cost is next to nil, NHPC sold its power last year at an average price of Rs 2.03 per unit. Though this is an advantage in the merit-order despatch system where the cheapest power is picked up first, it also means that the company is not able to capitalise on the supply shortfall. NHPC has the advantage of its projects being located on perennial rivers and it has managed a capacity index of 95 per cent on an average. This is a major plus given that the northern grid, where NHPC sells most of its generation, is extremely starved for power. Not surprisingly, some of its projects such as Chamera II in Himachal Pradesh have managed to earn a handsome sum as fees for meeting excess demand over that projected by the consuming State electricity board. That said, NHPC also suffers from some blemishes that could, if not managed well, scar its financial performance and balance-sheet. Thanks to a historical reliance on equity funding through government grants, NHPC carries a huge equity base of Rs 11,182 crore that will increase to Rs 12,300 crore after the public offer now. A large quantum of equity funds is locked up at any given time in ongoing projects and this does not earn any return till the projects are commissioned. The result is that the company's return on equity is a poor 7 per cent despite it earning an assured return of 14 per cent on its equity till last year (15.5 per cent from this fiscal for the next five years) as per regulatory norms. Peers such as NTPC boast of a return on equity that is double that of NHPC's. The picture could change for the better in the next few years due to two reasons. First, NHPC has been off government grants since the last two years and its projects are now funded on 70:30 debt:equity with the equity coming from internal accruals. Second, as the projects under construction now start generating returns, the return on equity will gradually improve. NHPC's projects are implemented in difficult physical terrain that are also often environmentally sensitive and hence require numerous government clearances. Given this, delays in commissioning projects are not uncommon, leading to big cost and time overruns. For instance, the 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower project in Arunachal Pradesh was originally scheduled to be completed in September 2010 but the company now expects to commission it only by December 2012. The 240 MW Uri II and 160 MW Teesta Low Dam IV projects are also on a delayed schedule. Incidentally, these are among the projects that are proposed to be part-funded from the IPO now. The increased costs have to be approved by the regulator, failing which the company will have to bear the burden. The central electricity regulator issues a five-year tariff policy that governs NHPC's tariffs. The 2009-2014 policy, while increasing the return on equity to 15.5 per cent from 14 per cent earlier, has changed the method of computation of annual fixed cost recovery in a manner that is adverse to NHPC. Incentives for generation beyond the design energy level have also been capped at Rs 0.80 per unit. Given the large public interest involved in the sector and also the huge demand-supply gap, it is likely that the regulator will play an active role which may not always work to NHPC's interests. The offer price band of Rs 30-36 does not leave much on the table for investors in the near-term.. The PE multiple of 30 at the lower end of the price band is almost the same as that of Jai Prakash Hydro and higher than NTPC's PEM of 21 based on historical earnings. In price-to-book- NHPC fixes IPO price band at Rs 30-36 *The price band of the state run power company National Hydroelectric Power Corporation has been fixed at Rs 30-36; the company in its filing with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) said the public issue will open on August 7 and will close on August 11. The company plans to raise a maximum of Rs 6,048 crore from its 168 crore-share issue. This IPO will lead to a five per cent Government divestment in the PSU and a fresh issuance of 10 per cent. The NHPC IPO will be the first PSU issue after Rural Electrification Corporation came out with its Rs 1,639 crore issue in February last year. A third of the proceeds will go to the Government's National Infrastructure Fund and the remaining funds will be used by the company. Satyam fraud: Law will take its own course, says Khurshid * Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday maintained that prosecution proceedings against the erstwhile management of Hyderabad-based Satyam for alleged misappropriation of funds was receiving the government's "undivided attention" and the law would take its own course. Inaugurating a conference on corporate meltdown organised by apex chamber Assocham here, Mr Khurshid also revealed that the Department of Company Affairs (DCA) was awaiting a committee report on the diversion of funds by Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties -- the firms co-promoted by Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju – and accordingly prepare for a suitable and appropriate action against the guilty without any delay. "Any aspect, any dimension relating to their [Maytas and Satyam] relationship is under investigation ... Reports would be made available whether money has been siphoned off and then the law will take its own course …The core issues are accountability of people in Satyam and we now want to give undivided attention to prosecution, Lauding the fair and transparent corporate governance practices of Indian Inc., Mr Khurshid said that their accounting practices, by and large, are fundamentally strong and the government would neither suspect the industry nor undermine its role. However, it would pause first and then swing into action if malpractices are brought to the notice of the Department of Company Affairs. Pawar asks States to check hoarding, blackmarketing * Union Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday urged States to use their powers and take effective steps to put down the sudden spurt in prices of essentials and also advised them to control fodder prices. "Unless effective steps are taken to prevent blackmarketing and hoarding, we will not be able to control the price situation," he said. At the conference of State Chief Secretaries to discuss the situation created due to deficit rainfall, he reminded the State bureaucracy that the powers to check hoarding and black marketing lay with them: "I call upon you to use these powers effectively to ensure that no blackmarketing or hoarding takes place." The meeting, convened by Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekar, was also addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The issue of drought and price rise of essentials would also be discussed at the meeting of Chief Ministers, convened by the Prime Minister here on August 17 to discuss national security. This would be followed by a meeting of State Fertiliser Secretaries on August 20 and of State Agriculture Ministers here on August 21. Pointing out that the production of pulses this year at 14.66 million tonnes almost matched last year's level of 14.76 million tonnes, he said 2.6 million tonnes of pulses had already been imported this year. "Therefore there is no reason for prices to rise in this fashion merely on a supply-demand gap." Mr. Pawar said the country faced a deficiency of 25 per cent in monsoon rainfall with higher deficits in northwest and northeast regions. "A negative fallout of this has been a shortfall in paddy sowing to the extent of nearly 6 million hectares with only 58 per cent of the normal area having been sown till date. Sugarcane coverage is also less and is a matter of concern as prevailing climate conditions is likely to affect production. The sowing with regard to coarse grains, though better than paddy, is still a matter of concern. In this situation, there is immediate need to protect the standing crops from further damage by providing supplementary irrigation." He advised States to create fodder banks and adopt price control measures to ensure that fodder was made available at a reasonable price. If there were areas where no further edible crops could be grown, cultivation of fodder crops may be done. The Minister announced at the meeting that as a one time measure the government had allowed States to use Truthfully Labelled seeds under alternate cropping plants. According to him though the government was comfortable with 253 lakh tonnes of wheat and 323 lakh tonnes of rice, inadequate public stocks could fuel inflationary tendencies, therefore procuring adequate stocks for the Public Distribution System was of crucial importance. * A night with new wife may have cost Mehsud his life * It was probably his desire to spend a night with his second wife that proved fatal for Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone attack at his father-in-law' Taliban commander denies shootout, says alive A Pakistani Taliban commander who the government said was involved in a deadly shootout with a rival commander denied on Sunday that there had been any fighting and said both he and the rival were alive. The comments by Wali-ur-Rehman add to a volley of unverifiable claims and counter-claims by the government and the Taliban that have surrounded the reported death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a U.S. missile attack on Wednesday. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said on Saturday that Taliban commander Wali-ur-Rehman had been involved in a shootout with rival Hakimullah Mehsud, and that there were reports one of them died. Wali-ur-Rehman, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location to a Reuters reporter who had spoken with him several times before, denied that any council meeting, or shura, had taken place to decide on a successor to Baitullah Mehsud. "There are no differences. There was no fighting. We both are alive, and there was no special shura meeting," he said. Hakimullah Mehsud had earlier denied that Baitullah Mehsud had been killed by the * * "We have planned 18 hotels in the first five years and 80 in 10 years with a total investment of Rs 3500-4000 crore," Premier Inn India Managing Director Aly Shariff told PTI. He said the company has formed a joint venture with real estate player Emaar MGF, which will bring in the initial investment. "Our JV partner will bring in the investment initially, However, we will raise money through debt later," Shariff said. The hotel chain would begin with the metros and gradually expand to cover leisure destinations as well. . Nine killed in helicopter, plane collision over N Y * Nine people, including five Italian tourists, were killed on Saturday when a small plane clipped a helicopter over Debbie Hersman, the chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said in a briefing the helicopter had been located and marked with buoys and investigators were using side-scanning radar to try to locate the aircraft. The NTSB's 10-member investigation team suspended operations at nightfall and would resume the search on Sunday at 7 a.m. (1100 GMT), Hersman said. She said the team hoped to be able to remove the debris from the river on Sunday. While the NTSB does not expect to find recording equipment in the wreckage because small aircraft are not required to carry them, Hersman said investigators expected to be able to determine the cause of the crash by interviewing air traffic controllers and reviewing air traffic control and radar data. Hersman said another Thiruvalluvar statue unveiled in *The statue of Tamil saint- poet Thiruvalluvar was unveiled on Sunday in Speaking at the ceremony Yeddyurappa said, "I have cleared everything. The question of a bandh does not arise. People are going to support in the entire state. We are continuing with the programme of unveiling the statues of Thiruvalluvar and Sarvajna." Bangaloreans did not respond to the shutdown call given by pro-Kannada outfits who have expressed unhappiness over the unveiling of the statute. Earlier, the Karnataka High Court had issued an order warning against calling for a shutdown or indulging in acts of violence by any organisation. The dispute has a long history, The Karnataka Tamil Sangam had wanted to install the statue of Thiruvalluvar since 1968, and accordingly had placed request before every Chief Minister who had ruled the state till 1991. In 1991, then Chief Minister S.Bangarappa and his cabinet colleague K.J. George took a special interest and allotted land near the Sangam appealed against the ruling and the High Court transferred the case to a Pamela Anderson confesses having split personality *Former ''Baywatch'' star Pamela Anderson has revealed that she has a "split personality" and turns into a different person when in front of the camera. "I have a split personality. My boyfriend would tell you that I play a lot of characters. As soon as the camera comes out, I assume another role. People never think I am much of an actress, but it''s always a performance for me," Contactmusic quoted Anderson, who was previously married to Tommy Lee, Kid Rock and Rick Salomon, is a mother of two sons, 13-year-old Brandon and 11-year-old Dylan. "Now and again I might drink champagne, but the real craziness is in the past. My kids saved my life," said *SBI takes aggressive stance in corporate finance *The country\'s largest The bank recently has successfully negotiated two big-ticket deals Bharti MTN deal and providing loans to Kingfisher Airlines to meet its immediate cash needs. The bank, according to a senior SBI official, has offered a loan of up to $1 billion to Bhart Airtel, which is already a prime customer of the bank to partly fund the acquisition cost in South Africa-based MTN group. Sources said the bank which is now considering many deals has offered a loan for between between 3 and 5 years to fund the deal. Bharti Airtel had approached the country\'s largest lender, SBI for loans of $1.05 bn. Some foreign banks including Standard Chartered bank will also join SBI in funding the deal. The deal betweem Bharti-MTN aims to create the world\'s third-biggest wireless group with more than 200 million subscribers and combined revenue of $20 billion. Meanwhile the bank has agreed to provide Rs 500-crore to Vijay Mallya controlled Kingfisher airline which is is in discussions with several banks to raise at least Rs 2,000 crore. SBI is expected to have cleared a three-year term loan of Rs 500 crore for the airline. *Andhra Pradesh catches the fancy of new investors *Andhra Pradesh is fast emerging as the most preferred destination for investment among other states. Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE ) in a latest report said the state accounts for about 7% of all new investments in the country and ranks fourth in terms of attracting FDI. And if one were to look at the investment flow into the state, they would notice the huge line of commitments made by several international and domestic players across varied industries. Investment to the tune of over Rs 12,000 crore has been committed for the state in the last three months. For instance, diversified business conglomerate, Tata\'s has announced an investment of Rs 1,000 crore for setting up an aerospace and defence products manufacturing facility in Hyderabad, which would create over 4,000 jobs; the NTPC-Bhel joint venture has zeroed in on the state to establish Rs 6,000-crore power equipment manufacturing base in Chittoor district; SBQ Steels is planning to expand its integrated steel project with an total projected investment of Rs 2,250 crore and Rockon Construction of Howthorne Group is looking at making a Rs 100 crore investment within the state. This is not all, foreign players in the bio-pharma and life sciences space are also in the process of setting foot print in AP. For instance, Switzerland- The tag that AP is a hub for pharma and biotech companies because of the vast number of research institutes has worked well for the state as it has managed to draw several international and domestic companies to set up their base. But, the government, to avoid a lopsided growth and to get projected as a dynamic state worked on the development of infrastructure suitable to all industries. Infact, a latest report of RBI on state finances for the year 2008-09, states that AP stands first in the country in respect of its allocation on Plan expenditure, development expenditure, social sector expenditure and capital expenditure. Both Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have the same population and same GDP of Rs 3.50 lakh crore, but the revenues of AP stands at Rs 62,000 crore as against *New levies on vehicles to drive transport services *You could soon be paying a bit more for petrol and for registering personal vehicles by coughing up new taxes such as congestion tax and green tax. Months after mooting the idea of setting up of a dedicated urban transport fund at the state level for upgrading transport infrastructure, the government has finally identified a tentative list of possible sources for the fund and circulated it to state governments. The states are giving it a thorough study as many of the proposals would need legislative changes, according to an official in the "The urban development ministry's proposal is being studied by all our relevant departments, including transport and finance. It will take some time as it not just a matter of administrative decision-making but calls for legislative changes," an official in the The Centre, however, claims to have a logic backing its sourcing proposal. Since demand for petrol does not go down with an increase in prices in the short run, imposition of additional sales tax on the fuel would ensure sufficient accruals to the fund, the proposal said. It will also incentivise people to shift to the public transport system in the long run. Other sources of funding at the state level identified by the ministry include additional registration fee on four- and two-wheelers, high registration fee for personal vehicles running on diesel, imposition of annual renewal fee on driving licences and vehicle registration and introducing taxes such as congestion tax and green tax. The fund at the city level can be used for establishing a fare contingency fund to meet the difference between the public fare paid by commuters and the technical fare payable to the private operators to sustain the operations and to provide the urban local bodies' share for funding urban transport projects, the proposal said. *Cut-off date for resolving I-T issues arbitrary' *The Bombay High Court on Friday ruled that the cut-off date for resolving matters of tax evasion and complex tax transactions before the Settlement Commission was arbitrary. About 500 applicants had moved the court challenging the provision of the Finance Act 2007. According to the provision, the Commission had to resolve matters that were pending till July 1, 2007, by March 31, 2008. The Income-Tax Act had the provision for settling cases, where the applicants approached the Commission for a speedy resolution. The Commission also had the power to grant immunity from prosecution and penalty to such applicants. Earlier, there was no time limit for the Commission to resolve such issues. The Finance Act, 2007, however, imposed a deadline for issues to be resolved failing which the pending cases would become redundant. In such a situation, applicants would have to go back to the assessing officer and resolve the case. For assessees, this would imply that confidential information brought on record for settling the matter would then be available to such an officer. Aggrieved with the provision, applicants such as Star Group, Birla Capital & Finances had moved the high court against the provision. Their counsel, Iqbal Chhagla, said the Commission did not proceed with the litigation for no-fault of the assessees. I-T counsel Beni Chatterji submitted that the deadline had been brought into effect to streamline the proceedings before the Commission. The division bench of Justice FI Rebeillo and Justice JH Bhatia said confidential information cannot be made available to the I-T authorities. The court held that it would not "punish an applicant for inability of the Settlement Commission to fulfill its statutory obligation for matters beyond the applicants control." Except cases where the application could not be disposed for reasons attributable to the assessee, the Commission has to deal with the cases, the judges said. *3 to 4% of currency in country fake: RBI *Nearly three to four per cent of the currency circulating in the country are fake, a top RBI official said on Friday. However, the issue is "not alarming" and the central bank has adopted a multi-pronged approach to tackle the menace, RBI deputy Governor KC Chakraborty told media. Noting that the menace is a global threat, he said the Centre has decided to take up the issue with European countries, including The RBI official underlined the need for common people to have improved access to banking facilities which could also help deal with the menace. *PM's office checks swine flu; minister sparks row *The contagious swine flu claimed two more lives in The latest victims of influenza A (H1NI) were Sanjay Kokare, a village schoolteacher who died in a Pune hospital, and Pravin Patel of Rida's family slams Health Minister,demands apology *Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's statement that Pune teenager Rida Shaikh, who became the first person to die of H1N1 Influenza A (swine flu), may have infected many more people has sparked angry reactions from her family. "The girl may have infected at least 80 more people with swine flu virus when she was shifted from one hospital to another and then against to another hospital for her treatment," said Azad. Rida's aunt Ayesha Shaikh and mother slammed Azad for claiming that the young girl had spread the infection to many people and demanded an apology. Rida's mother called Azad an irresponsible minister. "The minister does not know the facts. Only after Rida's death did government become alert. Azad has given an irresponsible comment," said Rida's emotional mother. "Our child sacrificed her life for the nation and because of her death there is awareness and many people have got themselves tested for swine flu," Ayesha said. She also said that Azad should apologise for his insensitive remarks failing which she demanded his resignation. Meanwhie Azad claimed that everything was under control. "I request people not to panic. Reeda could have spread swine flu to 80 others: Azad *Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said swine flu was very contagious and those who have fallen victim to it could have passed on the virus to many others. He told reporters that school girl Reeda Shaikh, who died Aug 3 in a Pune hospital, had visited more than one hospital for treatment and thus could have spread the virus to about 80 others. "One small girl went from one hospital to another, then a third hospital to get treatment and then a fourth, without awareness. In the process some 80 people were infected. This girl ... transmitted the virus in the course of seeking treatment," he said. The 14-year-old student was *Sirsa doctor tests positive for swine flu in Haryana * A Sirsa-based doctor tested positive for H1N1 virus on Sunday, taking the number of persons affected by swine flu to 38 in Haryana, where bulk of the cases were reported from the industrial The 32-year-old doctor from Sirsa, an ENT specialist who practices at Fatehabad, is undergoing treatment at a local government hospital and his throat swab samples sent to National Institute of Communicable Diseases, *Tribal family lynched for 'practicing witchcraft' *Three members of a tribal family were lynched allegedly by their neighbours for practicing witchcraft in Lohanjara village in Guela district.. Police said the assailants forced their way into Kudia Munda's house last night and beat them with sticks till they collapsed, police said. Thd assailants had been accusing the victims of practising black magic and causing illness in the neighbour hood. The bodies of 65-qear-old Kudia, his wife Karmi (55) and 25 year-old son Rajesh were recovered today and sent for post mortem. A named FIR has been lodged in this regard against Jairam Oraon, Ropna Oraon, Jainath Oraon, Prakash Oraon and Chamru Oraon, sources said adding that all the accused are at large. 5 cops suspended for beating mentally ill man * "Five policemen, including one sub-inspector, have been suspended for beating a mentally challenged youth in a hospital in Dumka district," said a police official in On Saturday, five policemen beat up a mentally challenged man, Ramvilas Thakur, 30, the police official here said. Thakur was admitted to SC upholds conviction of '92 securities scam accused The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction given to former Uco Bank Chairman and Managing Director K Margabandhu and former General Manager Ramaiya Venkatkrishnan, in the 1992 securities scam case, and sentenced them to six months' rigorous imprisonment. A Bench headed by Justice S B Sinha, while upholding the ruling of the special court set up to try cases related to the securities scam, also asked each of them to pay a fine of Rs one lakh. However, it said the period of imprisonment undergone would be deducted from the sentence. "We hold K. Margabanthu, Ramaiya Venkatkrishnan, Ashwin Mehta and Sudhir Mehta guilty of the offence of Criminal conspiracy. We need not interfere with the conviction of Munipally Subramanium Eshwar Chandra, Sunil Samtani and Pankaj Brijlal Shah. Former Uco division manager S.V. Ramanathan is acquitted of the charge of Criminal Conspiracy. "We must, while pronouncing on the sentence to be passed on the accused, make note of the fact that the CBI has not preferred any appeals for enhancement against the impugned judgment of the * Govt to set up intelligence network to check fake drugs' menace * Cracking down on the growing menace of spurious drugs, government will introduce measures including roping in private detective agencies, setting up a separate intelligence network and giving rewards upto Rs 25 lakh to informers to check the problem. Steps are also being taken to set up drug testing centres at various ports besides offering rebates on ceiling (maximum) price to drug manufacturers adopting latest packing technology to counter the menace, official sources said. The Government will set up a separate intelligence- |
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