21 August Fresh news
Jaswant releases book on JinnahApparently reflecting their discomfort, no BJP leader today showed up at a function in which Jaswant Singh's book on Jinnah was Jaswant Singh's book release Pakistan high commissioner, Shahid Malik, with expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh at the release of Singh's book "Jinnah- India, Partition, Independence". released and where his view that Nehru was responsible for the Partition was contested. Senior party leader L K Advani himself was in Chandigarh whereas leaders who were in Delhi were conspicuous by their absence while George Fernandes was prominent among those present. After the book release, when reporters asked Jaswant about the absence of BJP leaders, he said "invitations were extended to all".
Karzai and Abdullah both claim victory in Afghan elections
Despite calls by the US for the leading candidates in Afghanistan's election not to claim victory, both Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah said they won yesterday's vote. Although the first early official results are not expected until Saturday or even Sunday, both campaign teams claimed they were ahead, with President Karzai's staff saying he had taken a majority of votes, making a second round run-off unnecessary. Abdullah's spokesman, Sayyid Agha Hussain Fazel Sancharaki, said the former foreign minister was ahead with 62% of the vote. Pajwok, an Afghan news agency that began last night to collate unofficial results published by individual polling centres, said the two candidates were "virtually in a dead heat", with Abdullah doing best in the provinces immediately north of Kabul and Karzai grabbing votes in the south and east. The US had hoped to avoid such speculation and the secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, announced three days before the poll that she expected people to "refrain from speculation until results are announced". Fearing that disputes between candidates could turn ugly, she called on "candidates and their supporters to behave responsibly".
Foreign election observers also urged caution, saying a poll conducted in virtual combat zones in some parts of the country was particularly hard to analyse. The country's deputy chief electoral officer, Zekria Barakzai, called on candidates to await the official results. He said turnout was between 40% and 50%, far lower than the 70% of voters who took part in Afghanistan's first presidential election in 2004. Figures on regional turnouts will be eagerly awaited as expected low turnout in the south could eat into Karzai's support.
According to the official timetable of events, preliminary results are not due until 3 September, with the final certified results coming in two weeks later.
That will give election officials time to investigate widespread allegations of fraud. The campaign team of Ashraf Ghani, another leading candidate, said they were particularly worried about reports of ballot box stuffing in areas in the south where election observers were unable to visit.
Suspiciously high turnouts of women in the south will also be scrutinised as huge numbers of fake voter registration cards in the name of women are known to be in circulation.
*Haryana cabinet recommends dissolution of assembly
* The Haryana cabinet on Friday recommended dissolution of the state assembly, paving the way for early.
Elections are likely to be held in October along with Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh.
Both AICC and senior Congress leaders in the Hooda government thought it to be right time for Haryana to go to polls, allegedly to avoid the drought backlash and ride on the 'pro-Congress wave' across India, sources said
*Negligence nearly claimed 22 young lives
* Startling details are emerging about the minibus that caught fire in a Mumbai suburb on Thursday (August 20) injuring 15 school children. The bus did not have the compulsory permit to carry school children and it also did not have stipulated safety equipment.
While the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, the police said both the RTO officials and forensic experts would conduct separate inquiries.
Soon after the incident, the driver and his aide were booked on charges of negligent conduct with respect to machinery, causing grievous hurt and endangering life and safety of others as well as under sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
The State Transport Commissioner Deepak Kapoor has said that the bus owner was ferrying schoolchildren without a permit “The permit was surrendered on August 13 by the bus owner, Vishwanath Phadtare, as it was originally in the name of Pillai College of Science and Commerce, New Panvel. The owner did not complete the necessary procedures to change the name on the permit,” said Kapoor on record.
Initial reports said bus caught fire due to a short circuit, but the children allegedly could smell petrol before the fire started. However experts are not ruling out mechanical or electrical fault.
Forensic experts have already collected samples from the bus and will be checking whether the cause was external. The report is expected in two or three days.
A Government resolution of August 23, 2006, lists mandatory norms to be followed by bus owners and contractors which are as follows:
1. The words 'SCHOOL BUS' should be written on front and rear of the bus
2. The Bus should have a properly outfitted first-aid kit.
3. A fire extinguisher is a must in every bus. Its windows should have protective grills, not just a few iron bars.
4. There must be space beneath the seats to accommodate school bags
5. The Name of the school and its telephone numbers must be mentioned on sides of the bus
6. The number of students should not exceed seating capacity of the bus
7. The Bus driver should have minimum five years of driving experience
8. Also, the driver should have no criminal antecedents.
So, did the school bus pass the guidelines test? According to Regional Transport Office, Panvel, the primary inspection of the charred mini bus revealed that a few of the mandatory safety guidelines had been flouted.
The bus did not have a fire extinguisher, the windows did not have protective grills. The name and phone number of the school was also not printed on the sides of the bus. Also, the number of students in the bus exceeded the seating capacity of the bus, and although the bus had a first-aid kit it was far from sufficient.
*BJP's top brass blamed
* The report submitted by the three-member committee headed by Bal Apte hits out at Leader of the Opposition L K Advani, BJP chief publicity strategist Arun Jaitley and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, besides Varun Gandhi, for the party’s electoral debacle at the hustings.
The report, which formed the basis of the introspection session of the BJP, was leaked to the media, embarrassing the BJP leadership which was at pains to deny the report. At the hurriedlyconvened press conference in Shimla BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley, who had been blamed earlier for mishandling the publicity of the party, denied the contents of the report as being 'flashed out by the media'.
According to party sources, since the report was prepared based on the feedback received from grass-root level workers it addressed the genuine concerns of the ordinary worker who was fed up with the 'internal squabbling' of the party leadership.
Around 50 observers fanned out to all the states and collected feedback from the workers, which was then compiled by the three-member committee. The other members included Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra and former Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) leader Murlidhar Rao, who is assisting the BJP president.
As per the report, the projection of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as prime ministerial candidate by certain members of the party and the personal attacks on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (which did not go down well with the people), were the key factors contributing to the BJP's electoral loss. The Varun Gandhi issue and the party’s failure to assess the public mood in Haryana were also the reasons for the party’s debacle.
The report stated that the BJP had failed to corner the Congress on the 26/11 attacks and allowed the Congress and the media to corner the BJP on the Kandahar hijack issue. Indirectly blaming Jaitley, it said that the party’s campaign was mismanaged and election slogans like Mazboot Neta, Nirnayak Sarkar (determined leader, decisive government) did not help convey the message to the people.
The party failed to connect with the youth and in Delhi the party lost the game even before it was played.
*Pak quiz in FBI probe
*The Federal Bureau of Investigation has questioned some Pakistanis after registering a case in the US involving six Americans who died in the 26/11 attacks, an FBI agent said in court today.
The officer told the special court hearing the terror attack trial that the US agency registers a criminal case and investigates the death of any American national in a foreign country.
He said the agency received a letter pertaining to last November’s attacks from a Mumbai metropolitan court on February 10 this year, seeking its help in the investigation. “I had received five Global Positioning Systems devices and one satellite phone from India, which we immediately sent to our laboratory,” he told judge M.L. Tahilyani.
During his cross-examination by defence lawyer Abbas Kazmi, the FBI officer said the agency had interrogated some Pakistani nationals, but refused to reveal details on the ground that it could hamper the probe.
The officer said the FBI had also investigated the email id of Kharak Singh, a name linked with payments which were made for an Internet telephony account used by the handlers of the 26/11 terrorists.
Kharak Singh had subscribed to Callphonex, a New Jersey-based company, with the help of yahoo.com, and investigations were on to identify details about the person, the FBI agent said.
He added that the agency was looking into who had made the payment through Moneygram for the Internet telephony services used by the terrorists.
Earlier, the owner of Callphonex had told the court that though Kharak Singh claimed to be Indian, the payments for the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services were made through Moneygram and Western Union Money Transfer from Pakistan by two different individuals.
*Lalgarh-type operations to be replicated
* Calling Lalgarh a "laboratory of (anti-naxal) operation", the Centre -- which along with state police has jointly been taking on
Maoists there -- on Thursday said a similar strategy of area domination through intense action (both police and developmental) would be replicated soon in neighbouring areas and also in Chhattisgarh and other states to flush out Red ultras.
Saying the situation there "is still not normal", Union home secretary G K Pillai said the operation against Maoists who had dominated the area due to "eight months of zero administration" would continue and CRPF and BSF would be there "as long as it is required" to restore complete peace.
Lalgarh has been on the boil since November last year when a landmine exploded on the route of the convoy of West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada. Alleging police atrocities after the blast, the naxalites along with the People's Committee against Police Atrocity (PCAPA) launched an agitation and made the area a virtual "free zone" by torching police camps and offices of the ruling CPM and driving out the local civil administration.
The central forces launched the operation on June 19 when the state finally asked for assistance. Security forces have so far killed 10 Maoists and arrested 69, including three injured naxals, in the area.
Pillai said: "Lalgarh is the laboratory for us and this will be reflected in what we are going to do in other naxal-infested areas like Chhattsigarh. The operation in Lalgarh was by and large successful, but is not complete as we want to arrest all top Maoist leaders."
The Centre has adopted a different strategy to deal with the situation. As part of the operation, the security forces have been dominating the area and letting the civil administration to immediately start development works amid security so that the people can get basic services like health. Works are also being carried out through NREGS, providing regular wages to tribals living there. "In July alone, Rs 65 lakh has been paid as wages under NREGS," Pillai said.
Describing the ultras as "fascists" for killing innocent people, including women, Pillai said the Maoists had been killing civilians labelling them as "police informers".
Asked whether there was nay pressure from Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee to end the operations, Pillai said: "There is no pressure whatsoever."
Replying to a question whether some posters carrying a photograph of Bannerjee with Maoist leader Chatradhar Mahto showed any connection between the two, he said he believed this an old photograph -- suggesting that it might have been taken when Mahto must be simply a civil rights activist.
CRPF chief A S Gill, who was also present during the briefing, said: "Mahto is now a wanted person. We have to arrest him. We will arrest him along with others who are hiding in nearby forest areas."
Pillai said the security agencies have been taking utmost care during their action to avoid "collateral civil casualties". He said action was also being taken against naxal sympathisers and overground frontal organisations of CPI-Maoists.
*Cong has been targeting us silently, says Amar
* The penultimate day of the special national convention of the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Agra on Thursday was dominated by two crucial
issues -- formal induction of former chief minister Kalyan Singh into the party-fold and withdrawal of support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre.
The fact that former BJP chief minister Kalyan Singh made his maiden address from a Samajawadi Party forum, added weight to the possibilities of him joining the party formally. Kalyan evoked thunderous applause as he started by saying: "Main apne pariwar mein aa gaya hoon" (I have come to my family). Targeting all those who had pointed fingers towards his association with the SP that became public in the run-up to the last parliamentary elections in April, Kalyan minced no words when he said that he has the saffron brigade leading his list of targets. "The will is strong and after my political association with Mulayam Singh ji, it has got stronger," Kalyan Singh said.
While Kalyan Singh handled the BJP and even the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh to some extent in terms of bashing the political rivals on their policies, SP national general secretary Amar Singh took on the Congress Party all by himself in a "never before" manner.
In a recorded message from Singapore, where Amar Singh is under treatment after a kidney transplant, the SP national general secretary said: "We have to understand that the ultimate political battle will be between the Congress Party and the SP. The Congress has been targeting us silently like a torpedo from a submarine or the Drone attack of the US Army in Afghanistan."
Though Amar Singh said that there were demands from within the party that the SP should meet the President and formally withdraw its support to the UPA, he avoided specifics on whether the party leadership was planning to do so in the near future or not.
"We helped Congress when it was in a crisis after the left parties withdrew their support and paid by losing its ground which was reflected in the results of assembly election that took place in five states, thereafter. We did not ask for anything. Still, we are being made to feel useless and unwanted time and again," Singh said.
Amar Singh even accused the Congress of secret tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government in Uttar Pradesh only to attack the SP and its hold on its supporters. "But the BSP government is destined to fall under the weight of all the statues that it has installed all over the state," Amar Singh said.
*`BJP to press for PR in Manipur
* The Bharatiya Janata Party said that they would approach the Central government to imposed President Rule, PR, in Manipur by dismissing the present state government on account of the abysmal law and order situation which has paralysed the state adminstration.
Speaking to the media today at the BJP office today, Chandrasekhar Rao the general secretary of the BJP maintained that President Rule should have already been imposed in the state.
He said the BJP will approach the Central government to have it impose PR in the state immediately for the sake of the people of the state.
He further said that the visiting leaders of BJP will meet the Prime Minister, Home minister and the President of India and will hold a press conference at New Delhi to highlight the incident by making it a national issue.
The party will also seek an appointment with all these three top leaders, for its members as well as those of representatives of five political parties of Manipur namely, MPP, NCP, BJP, CPM and MSCP.
The president of BJP, Manipur Pradesh, Haobam Borbabu told media persons that the visiting team has invited representatives of the five parties to come at New Delhi on August 26.
He said before meeting with the Central leaders, the representatives of the five parties will be holding a sit-in-protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi on August 26 by mobilizing the people staying in Delhi.
On the other hand as a part of condemnation the BJP Mahila Mandal and other wings of the party together with other political parties of state will be holding sit-in-protest in the state within a few days for the removal of chief minister of Manipur, and for warding of severe punishments to those police commandos found guilty in the 23/7 incident.
*Supermodel in messy divorce, hubby cries foul
* Locked in a bitter public spat over his crumbling marriage with top model Ujjwala Raut, British national Craig Maxwell Sterry on
Ujjwala Raut
Model Ujjwala Raut.
Thursday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Centre's decision to cancel his PIO card.
Within a couple of days of the Goa Bench of Bombay High Court refusing to stay the August 10 order cancelling his PIO card, Sterry was in the Supreme Court accusing the Centre of succumbing to pressure exerted by his "influential" wife, who had moved a divorce petition against him in 2008 before a family court in Mumbai.
"My wife being an extremely influential and powerful person has tried to create havoc in my life by initiating false complaints. Ujjwala Raut, in connivance with the respondents, has been lobbying for the cancellation of PIO card which was issued to me on October 11, 2006," said model-turned-entrepreneur Sterry, who had married Raut, billed as India's biggest international model, in New York in 2002.
Seeking a stay of the order cancelling his PIO card, Sterry through counsel Devadatt Kamat, sought protection from the apex court against any coercive step by the Centre and Goa government to deport him back to Britain.
"Ever since the birth of baby Ksha in 2005, things started getting sour in the relationship between the petitioners and Raut. The petitioner has been single handedly looking after Ksha throughout as his wife was busy with her modelling assignments," the petition stated.
Sterry had recently sent out a letter containing graphic details of an ugly and violent scuffle between him and Raut at their Goa home, which was sorted out with the intervention of police. He had also given his version of how and why the marriage crumbled, obviously blaming Raut for it.
Raut, who has walked the ramp for the world's leading designers like Ungaro, Cavalli, Gucci and Paul Smith, contested Sterry's version and had said, "If Maxwell is alleging abuse and intimidation, why is he sending you (media) letters? Why is he not resorting to court procedures, which is how things should be."
Abhaya Sahoo gets bail
* Anti-land acquisition leader and president of Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti (PPSS) Abhaya Sahoo, who has been languishing in jail for more than 10 months, was granted conditional bail in one case by the High Court today paving way for his release.
Police had filed 36 cases against Sahoo on the charges of murder, kidnapping , assault and preventing government officials from entering villages. Earlier, the High Court granted him bail in 10 cases and Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) of Kujang granted him bail in 25 cases. Sahoo will be released from the Choudwar jail tomorrow as he has been granted bail in all the 36 cases, said Sishir Mohapatra, general secretary of PPSS. A Division Bench of High Court comprising Justice Raghunath Biswal in his order granted bail to Sahoo. However, the court has barred Sahoo from entering Dhinkia village. His counsels Jagannath Patnaik and Gatikrushna Satapathy argued in the court that the police have lodged many false cases against Sahoo.
Police had arrested Sahoo on October 12 last year at Bhutmundei under Kujang block in Jagatsinghpur district while he was returning to Dhinkia, the bastion of anti-Posco movement, from Bhubaneswar in a car. After Sahoo’s arrest, Kujang police arrested anti-Posco leader Prakash Jena and five other anti-Posco activists.
The bail to Sahoo has brought joy among the anti-Posco activists in Dhinkia and Gobindpur villages. PPSS is opposing land acquisition in three gram panchayats - Gadakujang, Dhinkia and Nuagaon - for establishment of mega Posco steel project.
*Maoists blow up forest offices
* After a brief lull, the Maoists struck again today and this time in broad daylight. Armed cadres of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) launched attacks twice targeting three forest offices, about 27 km from here in a span of 30 minutes.
The Red radicals blew up the forest range office at Tamra and an adjoining training centre under Banki police limits of Gurundia block. A little after, they proceeded to Birda under Brahmani Tarang police limits where the group bombed the forest beat house.
While the Tamra forest range office and the training centre are located in the same campus in the interior regions of Bonai forest division, the Birda forest house is about 27 km from Rourkela under the Panposh forest division.
IG (Operations) Sanjiv Marik said, a group of 30 armed ultras landed at the Tamra range office campus around 3.30 p.m. where they carried out the operation even as the staff scurried for cover. The radicals planted explosives to the two buildings housing the range office and training centre.
Half an hour later, Birda forest beat house, about 15 km from Tamra, came under attack. Marik said the ultras took away a generator set from Tamra. IG (Western Range) Prana Bindu Acharya said no one was hurt in the incident. Rourkela SP Diptesh Patnaik said the Maoists hijacked a passenger bus to reach Birda, blasted the forest rest house before vanishing into the nearby forest, contiguous to Deogarh district. CRPF units deployed in Chandiposh and K Balang area have been pressed into combing operation. Patnaik said forces have been mobilised. It is feared the Maoist might have planted landmines on the possible approach routes of the security forces.
* DMK-Cong combine sweeps TN assembly bypolls
* Capitalising on the boycott by main opposition AIADMK, the DMK-led DPA today expectedly swept the by-polls to five Tamil Nadu Assembly seats, trouncing actor-politician Vijaykant's DMDK by impressive margins.
DMK candidates won in Cumbum, Burgur and Ilayankudi while the party's principal ally Congress emerged victorious in Srivaikuntam and Thondamuthur.
The combine wrested Cumbum and Thondamuthur from MDMK, which along with PMK toed their alliance lead partner AIADMK's boycott line. Burgur was held by AIADMK. DMK and Congress retained Illayankudi and Srivaikuntam respectively.
AIADMK, MDMK and PMK had boycotted the polls claiming they would not be "free and fair" with the DMK and Congress ruling at the state and Centre, besides citing "vulnerability of EVMs to tampering", making it virtually a no contest race.
*Cultural treat give railwaymen a reason to cheer
*It was an awards function with a difference, thanks to railway minister Mamata Banerjee. She ensured that the 54th Railway Week National
Awards ceremony, held in Kolkata on Thursday, had few dull moments.
At one point, it turned into more of a "jam session" with Kabir Suman egging on veteran singer Nirmala Mishra into rendering an all-time
favourite. Even Mamata joined Suman for Purono sei diner kotha, much to the delight of the hundreds of railwaymen attending the event
Probably for the first time in Indian Railway's history, 15 eminent personalities from the fields of art, music, literature, theatre, dance and films were honoured at an official railway programme of this magnitude. Among those seated on the dais with Mamata, the two ministers of state for railways and senior Railway Board officials were writer Mahasweta Devi, thespian Bivas Chakrabarty, poet Joy Goswami, actress Supriya Devi, singer and composer Pratul Mukhopadhyay, painters Suvaprasanna and Jogen Chowdhury, singers Sumitra Sen, Nirmala Mishra, Anup Ghosal and Subir Sen and danseuse Amala Shankar.
Apart from mementos, Mamata handed over lifetime railway passes to them. The passes will allow them free upper class travel across the country with an associate. The recipients were clearly bowled over by the gesture.
Mahasweta Devi went ahead and asked for a thousand mosquito nets and a same number of tarpaulin sheets for Aila victims. Mamata said she would arrange for them soon.
While Pratul Mukhopadhyay and Anup Ghosal were coaxed into singing a few stanzas each, a beaming Nirmala Mishra said she agreed to attend the ceremony not for any politics but because of her love for Mamata. Joy Goswami said this was the for the first time that he was sharing the dais with greats such as Subir Sen and Sumitra Sen. Mamata said she would similarly honour eminent personalities from other states.
Many of the intellectuals present on Thursday may have refused to share the dais with Mamata even a few years ago because of political differences. But all that has changed now. For Mamata, this is nothing less than a great victory as anything to do with intellectuals in the state was traditionally associated with the Marxists.
Scholarships were also awarded to children of railway personnel. While five children were awarded the Prime Minister's scholarship, 26 girl children of Group D employees were given scholarships by the railways. The girls will get Rs 1,200 a month for their education. Mamata said she would do more for the families of railway employees.
*I will not disband PRP: Chiru
* I will wind up the party if people want me to do so but not if a couple of newspapers want to,’’ Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi has said.
Dismissing a report in a newspaper that the PRP leadership was thinking of shutting shop, he told reporters here today that if the party did not pick up strength, he would not mind forging alliances with other parties. He, however, did not name the party or parties he had in mind.
Charging two vernacular dailies with launching a vicious campaign against the PRP, he said a section of the media was writing adverse reports to create doubts in the minds of people. ``But people are with the PRP. If I go to districts a large number of people will follow me. I had to defer my tour programme in view of the Assembly session. I will go to people soon.’’ Some MLAs met party general secretary Allu Aravind last night to discuss their future, Chiranjeevi admitted. But none of them wanted Aravind to wind up the party as reported by the media.
Internal differences were common to all parties, the PRP chief said.
Curiously, Aravind was not present at the press conference today to explain what exactly had happened the night before.
Referring to TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu’s repeated remarks that the PRP was a `smaller party’, Chiranjeevi wanted to know what a smaller party meant. ``The Congress had only 26 MLAs in 1989 and the TDP 46 in the previous House. Are they smaller parties by that yardstick?’’ he questioned.
“I have launched the party and got 70 lakh votes in just eight months. By publishing adverse reports, the media is hurting the sentiments of 70 lakh people. A section of the media, which has a personal agenda of controlling the seat of power, seems to have vowed to eliminate the PRP,’’ Chiranjeevi said.
“Should only two parties exist in the State? Should a third party not emerge?’’ the leader of the fledgling party wondered. One crore PRP flags would be hoisted across the State by 2010, declared Katti Padma Rao, a leader of the party.
* Panchayats to monitor NREGA functioning
* The UPA government’s flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is set to get even bigger with the rural development
ministry announcing plans to set up a panchayat-level implementation and monitoring centre — named Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendras — for the scheme in all 2.52 lakh gram panchayats of the country over the next 3 years. The announcement came on the 65th birth anniversary of the late prime minister on Thursday.
The centers will have lok sevaks who will be involved with the monitoring of the NREGA. Rural development and panchayati raj minister CP Joshi, speaking at a workshop on NREGA held in the Capital said: “So many ideas are being formulated and plans made for implementation of NREGA, but panchayats, which are implementing it, have no proper place to do so. We will be setting up Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendras in all 2.5 lakh panchayats of the country in the next three years. These would act as mini-secretariats for NREGA's implementation.”
“The Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendra shall be a single window for providing the information on the NREGS and shall provide feedback on the quality of implementation,” panchayati raj ministry statement said.
Meanwhile, the department of posts has started keeping an online record of receipt and payment of wages are given to labourers under the National Rural Job Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). The online tracking system of wages will ensure that the money allocated under the scheme is paid on time, said a government official, who did not wish to be identified.
* Sensex firm as buying gathers momentum; Realty stocks rally
* As buying in blue chips gathered momentum, the 30-share BSE index Sensex rallied to 15,128.86 this afternoon, recording a gain of over 125 points. Though it has come off that high now, the barometer is up with a fairly sharp gain of 61.50 points or 0.42% at 15,073.82 at present.
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The Nifty, which spurted to 4493.95, is currently up with a gain of 22.90 points or 0.51% at 4476.35.
Bharti Airtel, which had a couple of weak sessions recently, has moved up by nearly 3% to Rs 412 today. BHEL has gained 2.2%. ICICI Bank, Sterlite Industries, ACC and heavyweight Reliance Industries are up by 1% - 1.75%.
ONGC, Tata Power, HDFC, Reliance Infrastructure, Grasim Industries, Jaiprakash Associates and Reliance Communications are also up with notable gains.
Realty stocks have come back with a bang this afternoon. India Bulls Real Estate has gained over 8% to Rs 253 following a big order win. The company has bagged the Mantralaya modernisation project from the Maharashtra government after it emerged as the highest bidder with a bid of Rs 13.76 billion. The modernisation project would involve revamping Mantralaya and New Administrative Building. The project would also involve a rest house as well as six sky scrapers for ministers, judges and bureaucrats.
Ansal Infrastructure has notched up a gain of 8.8% at Rs 65.10. Mahindra Lifespace is up nearly 7% at Rs 322. Orbit Corporation, Omaxe and Sobha Developers have gained 4% - 4.5%. Penland, Sobha Developers, Parsvnath Developers and Phoenix Mills have gained 2.75% - 3.5%.
Realty heavyweights DLF and Unitech have posted modest gins. Ackruti City, HDIL and Anant Raj Industries have gained marginal ground in the positive territory.
Automobile majors Hero Honda (3.2%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.6%), Bajaj Auto (2%) and Maruti Suzuki (1%) are up with smart gains on sustained buying support. Tata Motors, which remains a bit subdued, is up by around half a per cent at present. Escorts has notched up a gain of 2.3% while Ashok Leyland is up by a little over a quarter per cent.
IT bellwether Infosys Technologies has gained 1.2% at Rs 1993. Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro are up by 0.65% and 0.5% respectively. HCL Technologies , a Nifty stock, is up by nearly 7.5% at Rs 273.
Moser Baer, Rolta, HCL Infosys, CMC, Polaris, Hexaware and MindTree Consulting are also trading firm with notable gains
* Govt to import food items to bridge shortfall: Mukherjee
* With food grain and agri commodities production set to fall due to drought, the government on Friday said it will import those items
that will be in short supply to meet demand.
"Decision is already there that whichever commodity will be in short supply, to maintain demand-supply mechanism, we shall go for imports," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said addressing state agriculture ministers here.
Already, there is a short supply of pulses and edible oil, he pointed out.
Mukherjee, however, said that the government will not announce the timing of the import to ensure that prices are not jacked up artificially by the international players.
"The moment news is spread that India is going for big import, the market prices are jacked up," he said.
On the impact of drought, the Finance Minister said that it does not affect only production, it has a cascading effect. Scanty rainfall will affect recharge of ground water.
He assured the country that the government has the experience to deal with such situations and "we need not lose confidence in ourselves."
* Ulip returns may rise 180 bps as charges dip
* Retail investors of unit linked insurance plans, or Ulips, could see a 180 basis point rise in their yields, with the insurance
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regulator IRDA tweaking the proposed cap on charges which insurers collect from investors.
It is also set to raise the lock-in period for investments in Ulips to 5 years from 3 years to promote long-term investments, said a senior IRDA official. Ulips are akin to mutual fund with an added life cover.
The regulator had proposed a cap on all charges last month to ensure higher returns for investors. But it has now accepted the insurance industry’s demand to exclude mortality and morbidity charges from the overall ceiling. Mortality charge, the cost of providing a life insurance cover, is higher for senior citizens compared to younger policy holders.
“The change allows insurance companies to continue providing adequate protection to policyholders, which is the core objective of a life policy. Moreover, it allows companies to offer older customers the benefits of life insurance without crossing the cap,” said TR Ramachandran, CEO & MD, Aviva India.
The regulator has also capped fund management charges at 135 basis points for all insurance contracts, irrespective of their tenure. It has prohibited insurers from levying surrender charges from the fifth year.
* Monsoon gap narrows to 27 pct - sources
* India's monsoon deficit narrowed to 27 percent as at Aug. 18 as improved rainfall in the past week reduced the seasonal shortfall by two percentage points, government sources said on Thursday.
India still faces a drought as weak June-September monsoon rains have hit planting of several crops such as rice, sugarcane and oilseeds and raised food prices.
Rainfall in the cane-growing northwest India was 37 percent below average, improving from a 43 percent deficit a week ago, officials at the Ministry of Earth Sciencies, who are not authorised to speak to reporters, said.
The shortfall in the soybean-growing region of central India widened by 3 percentage points to 22 percent, the sources said,
With output of rice and oilseeds expected to drop, food prices have risen at annual rates of more than 10 percent in early August, although the country's wholesale price index has shown a year-on-year decline for 10 weeks in a row.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said this week that India was facing the prospect of a drought, and the government is planning a crackdown on hoarding of farm commodities and imposing limits of stock traders can keep.
The government hopes to step up crop planting in the winter season to offset the expected loss in the summer-sown crop.
It is also aiming to increase purchases of grain from farmers to ensure adequate stocks with government agencies.
Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said the cabinet had approved a higher price for rice purchased by government agencies.
* Low-cost carriers rule Indian skies
* India’s aviation industry is in the grips of a peculiar trend, which, if it gains traction, portends a complete makeover for the sector
while attracting thousands more to take flight.
Low-cost carriers such as IndiGo and SpiceJet are making profits while traditional full-service airlines Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are deep in the red, a trend experts believe marks the beginning of budget airlines’ domination of Indian skies.
In the June quarter, Jet lost Rs 225 crore and Kingfisher lost Rs 243 crore. The national carrier that ran up losses of Rs 7,200 crore last year is yet to report the first-quarter numbers. However, SpiceJet and IndiGo have reported profits for the quarter.
Sure enough, the full carriers are now betting on no-frills. Jet will transfer two-third of its domestic operations into Jet Konnect, the low-cost service it launched in May; Kingfisher has trimmed its fleet from 89 to 69 and plans to expand the operations of Kingfisher Red; and Air India says it will become a no-frills airline.
“There was time when Jet and Kingfisher both were against low-fare model in the country. But now, they have realised that India is a low-cost market,” says GR Gopinath, the man who introduced the concept of budget airlines into the country six years ago with Air Deccan.
The airline went on to become the country’s largest domestic carrier before being acquired by Kingfisher in June 2007. Analysts say the market opportunity is huge, particularly because just 3% of India’s population fly now and low fares are the only way to attract more passengers. India accounts for 2% of the global air traffic and 17% of the global aviation industry’s losses, almost all of it attributed to full-service carriers, according to Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa), a Sydney-based aviation research firm. Capa expects the combined debt of the Jet, Kingfisher and Air India could reach Rs 45,000 crore by the end of this fiscal.
So what makes low-cost carriers fly high while full carriers get grounded? “It’s all in the business model. We kept fares low and steadily increasing our load factor,” says Sanjay Aggarwal, CEO of SpiceJet, which reported Rs 26-crore profit in the quarter to end-June. These are low-cost airlines and as the tag suggests, they keep their costs low, very low. They don’t believe in on-board entertainment or window blinds. They have single passenger class and sell tickets directly. And in the last quarter, they managed to notch up a profit flying with a modest 70% of their seats occupied.
The full-service carriers, say industry experts, are bleeding heavily despite 65% occupancy. While their economy-class fares are still about Rs 1,000 more than the budget rivals on every sector, the cost of flying a full-service flight is around 35% more than that of a budget aircraft, an airline executive said requesting anonymity.
* MSP for paddy, pulses hiked
The Centre on Thursday hiked up the MSP or floor price for paddy by Rs 100/qtl and pulses by up to Rs 240 a quintal. The hike in
support for paddy for the current marketing year (2009-10 ) — up by 11.76% to Rs 950/qtl and Rs 980/qtl for Common and Grade A varieties—was in line with the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
But the recommendations were made well before the monsoon went into marked deficit and rendered some 246 districts of the country officially drought-struck . Compared to this, the paddy support price was hiked by 31.8% for the 2008-09 marketing year (Rs 850 and Rs 880/qtl respectively for Common and Grade A varieties) over the previous year. Against this, the support price for paddy farmers in a drought year is virtually peanuts.
India’s annual monsoon rainfall has been 27% lower than the 50-year average in the June 1-August 17 period, forcing paddy and other farmers to replant at least twice, if not thrice, and incur heavy costs on diesel, water pumping, fertiliser and other key inputs besides relying on heavy loans from banks.
* India's telecom subscriber base crosses 479 mn
* India's telecom subscriber base increased to 479.07 million at the end of July from 464.82 million a month before, according to
official data released here Thursday.
The data released by the sectoral watchdog, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), said the overall teledensity in the country reached 41.08 per cent in the period under review.
Wireless subscriber base increased from 427.28 million to 441.66 million, registering a growth of 3.36 per cent, while wireless teledensity stood at 37.87.
However, the wireline subscriber base declined from 37.54 million to 37.41 million in July.
State-run telecom operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagr Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) own 85.99 per cent of the market share.
While major private wireline service providers have increased their subscriber base, BSNL and MTNL lost 0.17 million subscribers, TRAI said.
The wireline teledensity stood at 3.21 at July-end.
Total broadband subscriber base increased to 6.8 million from 6.62 million, a growth of 2.7 per cent.
* Home loan rate of 8% is no gimmick: SBI chief
* Neither the banking regulator nor the government, the majority owner of State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest bank by assets and market capitalization, has yet got back to the bank on its plan to merge its associate bank State Bank of Indore with itself.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government’s decision on the proposed merger is critical as SBI plans to its volume by eventually merging all six associate banks with itself.
The boards of both SBI and State Bank of Indore cleared the merger proposal on 19 June.
Showing results: O.P. Bhatt says his bank’s home loan growth in the April-July period over the corresponding months of last fiscal was 12%. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint
Showing results: O.P. Bhatt says his bank’s home loan growth in the April-July period over the corresponding months of last fiscal was 12%. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint
SBI had earlier merged State Bank of Saurashtra with itself and its chairman O.P. Bhatt wants to make the bank bigger by merging all associate banks. A bigger balance sheet increases risk taking ability of a bank.
At a media interaction on the sidelines of a global summit on organizational development, Bhatt said he will decide whether he should go ahead with the original plan of merging all associate banks only after he hears from the government on the State Bank of Indore merger.
Bhatt also strongly defended his decision to offer home loans at 8% for first few years and said this is no gimmick. Edited excerpts:
The finance ministry doesn’t seem to be favouring the plan of merger of State Bank of Indore with SBI
Who says the ministry does not want me to do this? At least I am not aware of it.
It’s a process. A merger does not happen just like that. Some approvals are required from the regulator, and the owner.
We sent in (to RBI and the government) our board’s resolution and our intent that we have to merge State Bank of Indore with State Bank of India. Only after we hear from them on State Bank of Indore we will decide about other associate banks.
When do you expect to hear from the government?
I don’t know. Maybe soon. So far, they were busy with the Budget, which is an intensive and important exercise. It is not really fair to expect the bureaucrats of the ministry to apply themselves to some of these matters (of mergers) till the Budget is over. Now, I think, we should hear from them anytime.
SBI is offering cheap home loans for first few years and then the rates will go up. Is it a gimmick? Aren’t you misleading the consumers?
Tell me, where is the gimmick? Normally the rate of interest is 9.5% or 10%. I am saying I will give it to you for 8% for one year, two years or five years. Where is the gimmick here?
I am telling you orally, through advertisements, circulars, my bank mangers and through the documentation that you sign at the bank. Is it a gimmick to give loans at a cheaper rate? Is it misleading? Are we lying? Are we saying something wrong?
* Use of rights funds only after allotment: SEBI
* In a notification aimed at fine-tuning the fund-raising process of companies, market regulator SEBI on Thursday asked companies to
utilise the proceeds from rights issues only after allotment of shares to applicants. The regulator has also trimmed the period of a rights issue to 15 days from the current 42 days while extending the application supported by blocked amount (ASBA) facility to rights issues.
So far, companies have been using the rights issue proceeds after satisfying the stock exchange that 90% of the issue was subscribed. The restriction to use the issue proceeds, after allotment and listing is completed, was limited to only in public issues.
SEBI also made the ASBA route - where money does not leave the applicant's account when he applies for shares in share issue - applicable to rights issue. Last year in September, the regulator had enabled the facility of applying in rights issue through ASBA on a pilot basis.
"All applicants who desire to apply through ASBA should hold shares of the issuer company in a depository account," SEBI said in a circular.
SEBI has also rationalised the disclosure requirements for rights issues, in a bid to encourage corporates to opt for rights issues as a viable form of capital raising by reducing the overall cost of such issuances.
"Rights issues are further issuances of capital made by listed entities to existing shareholders. These shareholders are generally in possession of basic information about the issuer company and are generally updated on major developments in the company on a continuous basis," SEBI said in its circular.
The reduction in timeline approved for rights issues by SEBI in 2008, included bringing down the number of days for the notice period for a board meeting from seven days to two working days; the notice period for record date reduced from 15/21/30 days to seven working days for all scrips; issue period reduced from minimum 30 days to a minimum of 15 days with a maximum of 30 days; and the time for completion of post-issue activity reduced from 42 days to 15 days.
* Indian Navy's fighter jet crashes, pilot killed
* An Indian Naval fighter aircraft crashed off the Goa [ Images ] coast on Friday, killing the pilot.
"The Indian naval 'Sea Harrier' aircraft, which was on a routine exercise mission, crashed at about 1157 hours," a naval spokesman said.
The single-seater aircraft crashed in the Arabian sea 15 miles away from the shore.
"Lieutenant Commander Saurav Saxena, the pilot of the aircraft lost his life in the incident," the spokesman added.
Image: A file photo of a Sea Harrier fighter aircraft.
* How to make money from mega IPOs
* The mega IPOs (initial public offerings) are back on the horizon. The biggest sensations of the last few years have undoubtedly been the two 'IPs'. IPL and IPO.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) that hit the market with regularity till the cycle of economics caught up with them.
There was a time when even youngsters were discussing IPOs, what with so much publicity given to mega offers.
It was a huge wave and that carried many small investors along its tides and took them to great heights. That was till gravity acted and it came crashing down.
It happened suddenly making many investors grasp the reality that the stock market might be the best way to let your money work for you but not the easiest way.
There were too many similarities to the 20-20 version of cricket, which never augured well for the stock markets.
Why this discussion of all the negatives at this juncture again? Well, the subtle but steady activity building up in the IPO domain is indicating that there is another wave forming.
The restlessness of the 20-20 stock market players could probably make this a high wave too. So, what should small investors do? Do we take our surfboards and ride the wave too, or settle for the wave to hit the shores and put our monies.
Well, there's no perfect answer to the above questions. But, yes, there are certain fundamental principles to help us find out what suits us right.
Image: An investor speaks on a mobile phone in front of a bronze replica of a bull at the gates of Bombay Stock Exchange building in Mumbai.
* Foods to lower high blood pressure
* High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the most common cardiovascular disease. Blood pressure refers to the force of blood pushing against artery walls as it courses through the body. Each time heart beats, it pumps out blood into the arteries. Blood pressure is highest when the heart beats, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure. When the heart is at rest, between beats, the blood pressure falls. This is the diastolic pressure.
Most people with high blood pressure have no signs or symptoms. Although a few people with early-stage high blood pressure may have dull headaches, dizzy spells or a few more nosebleeds than normal, these signs and symptoms typically don't occur until high blood pressure has reached an advanced - even life-threatening - stage.
Normal blood pressure is 120/80, where 120 is the systolic (maximum) blood pressure and 80 is the diastolic (minimum) blood pressure. When systolic blood pressure is above 140mm Hg or when diastolic blood pressure is above 90mm Hg, blood pressure is considered high. Hypertension may be caused by a variety of reasons such as: heredity, your genes, high salt in your diet, not being active, obesity, excessive alcohol intake and/or low potassium in your diet.
* Swine flu toll rises to 44
* In the highest number of casualties reported in a day, 10 people died of swine flu across the country on Thursday, taking the nationwide toll to 44.
Karnataka recorded five deaths due to the deadly virus that claimed its first victims in the national capital. The day also saw a spurt in fresh positive cases -- 159 -- across the country taking the total to 2,401. Pune reported 66 cases today and Mumbai [ Images ] 18.
Samrat Pandeya, 31, died today morning at Delhi's [ Images ] Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital while Renu Gupta, 38, succumbed to the virus on Wednesday night, hospital Superintendent N K Chaturvedi said.
The H1N1 virus claimed its 16th victim in Pune when Dipti Pawar, 27, died at the state-run Sassoon Hospital today, officials said.
The virus also claimed its fourth victim in Mumbai -- the 22nd in Maharashtra -- today as Dattatraya Gawde, 35, died at a civic hospital.
Karnataka accounted for the second highest number of deaths after Maharashtra as five more persons, four of them women, died in the southern state due to the disease.
Ratna Nagaraj, 36, died at a private hospital on Thursday. Two women Krishnaveni, 45, and Kalpana, 36, died in hospitals on August 17 while N Prema, 23, succumbed to the virus on August 16. The other victim, Edward Mohan, 45, died in another hospital on Wednesday.
Besides the casualties in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the countrywide flu toll includes five deaths in Gujarat, two each in Delhi and Chhattisgarh and one each in Tamil Nadu, Kerala [ Images ] and Uttarakhand [ Images ].
© Copyright 2009 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
* Chennai to get a toll-free bypass
* The distance from Kanyakumari to Chennai is 750 kilometres. It is possible to drive from Kanyakumari to Chennai without entering any major city on the way. There are by passes everywhere. The mother of all by passes is coming up around Chennai which will enableyou to drive past the state capital.
"There are two unique things about this new green field bypass. One is that you don't have to pay toll. The second is a 22-meter gap between the lanes in the middle, for future expansion. Maybe a metro will come up there or a bus rapid transit system" says Sunil Paliwal, Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Roadways Corporation.
Usually when a new road is built, the private sector benefits. Land owners on the roadside benefit as property prices rise. Also agricultural land automatically becomes commercial land near a highway. The government owns 50 meters along the side of the raod, which has been handed over to the Chennai Metropolitan Development Agency for further development. This land may used for residential or commercial purposes, but not for industry.
Chennai is a coastal city. This outer ring road will start from the East Coast Road coming from the south and encircle the city. It will finally meet up with the coastal road, north of the city.
The entire length when construction is complete will be 62 kms. In the first phase, 30 kms are being developed. The cost is estimated to be Rs. 864 crores. The construction should finish by 2012 and then the developer will have to maintain the road for a period of 17years. The government will pay for the maintenance of the road and thus sparing the motorits the burden of paying a toll.
The construction will start in February 2010. If the construction is delayed there is a penalty clause and if the construction is completed before the due date there is a bonus. A consortium of GMR and NTPC have won the tender. This model of payment and work is called Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer.
A separate independent engineer will be appointed to ensure quality right from the design stage. The design will have to be approved by the independent engineer, who will also inspect every stage of construction.
"The builder will ensure quality as they have to maintain it for the next 20 years" says Sunil Paliwal confidentally. "Moreover they also have to put up lights of National Highway standard, maintain them and also pay the electricity charges".
Talking about the 22 meter gap in the middle of the 6-lane highway, Paliwal said. "The developer can use that only for drainage purposes. Even the lights will be on the lanes and not in the land in middle ".
* 'Wearing a headscarf is not a crime'
* SVS Government College in Bantwal, near Mangalore in Karnataka, stirred up a controversy when the institution barred Ayesha Ashmin from wearing a headscarf to college. The first year degree student from Bantwal alleged that college principal Sitaram Maiyya warned her against wearing the headscarf and asked her to choose between her studies or her religion.
However, Ayesha refuses to give up her fight. She along with her father, B Mohammed are running from pillar to post seeking justice. The college, which had earlier denied have made any such demand, now says that it is necessary that every student abides by the rules and the same cannot be discriminatory in nature.
In this interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Ayesha along with her father Mohammad speak in length about the incident and what they plan to do in the future
Firstly, take us through the incident in brief
I study at the SVS college. The college re-opened on July 2009 and two weeks later the college elections were held. Bharath, a final year student in the college, was elected as president. One day, he came up to me and told me that I should not be wearing a headscarf. He told me that if I don't take off the headscarf it could become an issue in college.
What did you tell him?
I requested him to permit me to continue wearing the headscarf, as it was a religious issue. Bharath then told me that all the other students would wear saffron shawls and come to college. I immediately thought of discussing this matter with the principal, but he too was not in my favour. He instead summoned my parents and told them that I could not continue wearing the head scarf to college.
Did you think it was important to go to the media? Look at how big this issue has become and moreover it is sensitive in nature.
Ayesha's father speaks: We had no choice. We did try our level best. What wrong did my daughter do? Everyone has to respect sentiments of others. In her earlier college, she wore a burqa and there was no such problem. Why have the authorities made it a problem?
Ayesha: I would like to ask here. If a nun can wear a head scarf to college and there is no opposition to that why should the case be any different for me.
Your studies sure have and will continue to take a hit. Are you not worried about that?
I had no intention of getting into this controversy. My dream is to become a chartered accountant and I will fulfill that dream. I will work harder and ensure that my dreams are fulfilled.
The college has made it clear that if you don't abide by the rules then you will have to find another college. What are your views on this?
Ayesha's father speaks: We will continue to fight until we get justice. What wrong have we done?
Wearing a headscarf is not a crime.
Ayesha: What rules are we talking about here? When I sought admission to the college, nowhere in the prospectus or any other paper was it mentioned that it is against the rules to wear a headscarf.
Is there any particular reason for singling out your daughter alone? I am sure that there are several other Muslim students who wear either a burqa or a headscarf to college.
Ayesha's father speaks: I would not say that my daughter has been singled out. I am sure that such instances have occurred, but those girls did not have the guts to speak out on the issue. My daughter spoke up and this should become a precedent. There should not be any discrimination anywhere on the basis of religion.
You say that your studies are very important. This incident sure has done no good to your attendance. Don't you think you should have persuaded the college more and ensure that the matter was sorted out.
You think I have not done that. This was the last ditch attempt for me. I am extremely worried about my future and the mental torture that I have gone through is a real lot. I tried at least more than four times to convince the college, but that has not happened. My intention was never to ruin the reputation of the college. I only wish that everything falls into place.
Would you go back if the college authorities apologise?
I sure would go back. I, in fact, want them to take me back. I even have a lot of hope from the University, which I feel is taking up my case.
Ayesha's father speaks: I know it is difficult to get admission at this time of the year in some other college. I too would be happy if the college took her back. She is a brave girl and will go back to the same college. My only dream is to see to it that my daughter studies well and completes whatever she has been aiming for.
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