Slumdog Millionaire:CORPORATE PRIME MINISTER FACE NARENDRA MODI Against OSAMA BIN LADEN JIHAD Call!'Fighting option' also open, Indian Army Chief says While US to triple non-military aid to Pakistan: Clinton
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 144
Palash Biswas
100% FDI allowed in facsimile editions of foreign newspapers
14 Jan 2009, 1921 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: As a major policy reform, the government on Wednesday announced 100% foreign direct investment in the facsimile editions of foreign
newspapers, provided the investment is held directly by the owners of original publication.
"The policy of foreign direct investment in the publication of facsimile edition of foreign newspapers include permitting 100% FDI with prior approval of the government, provided the FDI is by the owner of the foreign newspaper...," an official release said.
The policy specifies that the publication can be taken up only by an entity incorporated or registered in India under the Companies Act. The publication would also adhere to the guidelines for newspapers and periodicals dealing with news and current affairs.
Earlier, the facsimile editions of foreign newspapers were allowed FDI up to 26%.
Up to 26% foreign investment, inclusive of FIIs and NRIs is allowed in the publication of Indian editions of foreign magazines dealing with news and current affairs.
PTI
West Bengal woos foreign investment in IT sector- ITeS-News ...Authorities would soon 'freeze' the finer details of this endeavour so that West Bengal does not lose out to more aggressive Indian states in wooing foreign ...
infotech.indiatimes.com/articleshow/192593.cms - 38k -
Gulf Times Advani: if voted to power, BJP will emulate the Gujarat model
Hindu, India - 11 Jan 2009
Mr. Advani said a BJP-led Central government would follow the "Gujarat pattern of development" and replicate the model of Chief Minister Narendra Modi all ...
TOP ARTICLE | The X Factor Times of India
Shekhawat Turns Heat On BJP Asian Tribune
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Modi for Prime Minister? India Inc is convinced
Meghdoot Sharon / CNN-IBN
Ahmedabad: As if the apparent challenge by former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat wasn't enough - who said that he nurtured prime ministerial ambitions - now India Inc is batting for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as prime minister. Modi is currently ringing endorsements from the top echelons of the corporate world.
Reliance's Anil Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal were all praises for Modi at the vibrant Gujarat summit. It was a stage where all the Who's Who of India Inc came together. It was also a stage they announced their choice for the Prime Minister of the country.
"Narendra Modi is called a CEO, but not just of a state. He can surely run the country," said Sunil Mittal.
And it seems as if this campaign for Modi had begun long ago. At the same Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit a nostalgic Anil Ambani quoted his father, the late Dhirubhai Ambani as saying: "Imagine what will happen to the nation if it is led by Narendra Modi."
Within the BJP, there is a Narendra Modi fan following which has been swelling in numbers. After all, Advani was anointed the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate in a tearing hurry just before Modi won his famous Assembly victory in Gujarat a little more than a year ago.
However, the party wants to steer clear of any controversy involving the two.
It is not just in the Congress that the Prime Minister has a challenger. The battle between the young and the old is raising leadership questions in the BJP as well.
For L K Advani, there is no need for a co-star, but even unwittingly, Modi's many admirers are projecting him as a Chief Minister who is now ready for the bigger job in Delhi. This divided attention however, doesn't suit BJP's Prime Minister candidate at the moment.
(With inputs from Ashok Bagriya and Seemi Pasha in New Delhi)
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/modi-for-prime-minister-india-inc-is-convinced/82748-3.html
expressindia.com reports:
Ahmedabad They say its Modi's 'Taj Mahal', but the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, which is expected to attract maximum attention during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit 2009, will displace around 35,000 odd families from the riverbed and the surrounding areas, according to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A)....
SRFD PROJECT DISPLACEMENTS
* 177 families were evacuated due to the construction of the Vasna Pirana Bridge and have been temporarily relocated at Pirana
* 140 families from Khodiyarnagar were evacuated and asked to go to Santosh Nagar due to the construction of a drainage line and have been temporarily relocated at Pirana
* 415 families near Nehru Bridge were asked to evacuate, according to an urgent displacement asked by the AMC from the high court. The AMC procured permission to displace the families by showing the blueprint of houses to be constructed for this segment. But the residents have not vacated their houses this time. They have demanded to see the alternative houses first and thenmove.
* 150 families were evacuated from the riverbed to build the retaining walls and no relocation has been given
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Modis-Taj-Mahal-to-displace-35-000-families-says-IIMA-study/410542/
Neevertheless, as the latest study about BEAUTIFUL Woman creates more ROMANCE and LOVE resultant in INFINITE Couplation with or withot CONDOM, the PROJECTED DEVELOPED SHINING Gujarat has become the latest ICON of SLUMDOG INDIA Toilet Media. Ananda bazar group in Kolkata has launched an allout HATE Campaign against Mraxist Government in Waest Bengal as it it fails as par as MODI`s Gujarat inviting so much so ALL TIME FUCKING capital! despite Nandigram, Singur and Lalgarh Insurrections! West bengal CPIM and the pet Master Media have been engaged overtime themselves to ensure RETURN of SHANTINIKETAN ELITE BRAHMIN DON to party fold. It also making BACKGROUND solid to support UPA Government in the Centre provided if the Sonia Brigade succeeds to hold on POWER despite infinite CUPBOARDS exposed as FULL of SKELTONS. HIRE FIRE india Incs consist the FREEsenSEX Economy destroying the Production system, natural resources, nature and Environment and the Entire ABORIGINAL INDIGENOUS Black Untouchable Population! Now it has got a PRIME MINISTER FACE , too! And it is no one else, Narendra Modi. Perhaps like all Beautiful women in ELITE BEDROOMS he may prove more faithful than the RSS ICON Lal KRISHNA ADWANI or the WASHINGTON PLANTED Italia Controlled DR Manmohan Singh And his World Gank gang. Worldbank Gangsters may not be trusted anymore as being the part of the World wide ILLUMINITY, the CHETTIYAR Brigade could not save either Stayam or WIPRO being blacklisted and the ULTIMATE FUCKING INDUTRY runs in trouble!
Gujarat Global Investors Summit promises Rs 12,00,000 cr investment!Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has said that the state has received promises of Rs
"The state has received tremendous response from the investors and which in a way would generate vast employment avenues," Modi said while addressing a gathering on the second day of the summit.
"Because of this investment the projection of employment generation is 8500 Memorandum of Understandings (MoU), and possibility of employment is 2.5 millions, 2.5 million and the amount is 12,000 billion rupees," he added.
Leading Indian industrialists such Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Sunil Mittal,Kumarmanglam Birla and K V Kamath also attended the summit which began on January 12. Representatives from over 40 countries also took part in the meet, which has Japan as the partner for this year's summit.
Govt may not take up fuel price cut tomorrow
The government is unlikely to take up the issue of reducing petrol, diesel and domestic LPG prices on Thursday as consultations on
Petroleum Ministry's simultaneous proposal for freeing auto fuel pricing were not complete.
"I don't think the Cabinet will take up the issue tomorrow," a senior Cabinet minister, who wished not to be identified, said.
The Petroleum Ministry is pushing for a Rs 5 per litre reduction in petrol prices, Rs 2 a litre on diesel and Rs 25 per domestic LPG cylinder.
Alongside, retail pricing of petrol and diesel is also proposed to be freed from government control, which would effectively mean a revision in price every fortnight in step with changes in the international market.
"While it is easy to free pricing today when international crude oil prices are below $ 40 a barrel but there is no consensus yet on if the companies should be allowed to raise prices when oil moves up," he said.
An alternate proposal of giving oil companies limited freedom of adjusting prices within a specified band may also be put up before the Cabinet "in next few days", he said.
State-run oil companies are currently making Rs 9.70 a litre profit on sale of petrol, Rs 3.70 a litre on diesel, but are loosing Rs 31.70 per LPG cylinder and Rs 11.69 on every litre of kerosene.
'Foreign investment in realty driving land prices'
The influx of foreign investments is responsible for the "sky high" land prices and should be discouraged in the realty sector, a leading
domestic developer said here on Wednesday.
"The foreign investments have done no good to the sector. At the most, they are responsible for the sky high land prices," Omaxe chairman and managing director Rohtash Goel told the media on the sidelines of a business meet.
"India has enough domestic fund and demand to support the industry. Therefore I feel that FDI (foreign direct investment) in the realty sector should be discouraged," he added.
According to him, foreign funds posed a "serious challenge" to affordable housing. "FDIs in real estate do not increase supply and demand for affordable housing. Their entry into this segment will enhance price of land and should be discouraged."
Omaxe is coming up with 10,000 dwellings in Indore, all priced below Rs.1 million (Rs.10 lakh).
"It will be our first full-fledged initiative in affordable housing. The carpet area starts from 300 square feet onwards and dwellings will be open for bookings by February. We have already got the clearances for this project," Goel said.
"We have another 10,000 affordable housing unit ready for booking by March. Once the clearances are done we will make a formal announcement," he added.
Last year, Omaxe said it would invest about Rs.800 billion over the next three to five years to develop affordable housing projects.
Omaxe to launch 10,000 homes in Indore at Rs4-10 lakh
Realty firm Omaxe on Wednesday said it will launch 10,000 low-cost homes in Indore in February, which would be developed at about Rs1,000 crore.
The company will launch the flats in the range of Rs4-10 lakh.
"We will launch 10,000 affordable houses in February at a 200-acre township in Indore," Omaxe chairman and managing director Rohtas Goel told reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham function on real estate.
Asked about the investment, he said the project cost would be about Rs1,000 crore and the size of the flats would be 350 square feet upwards. Construction would be complete in 18 months.
Goel noted that the company would sell these units at a margin of 10-15%.
In May 2007, Omaxe had announced that it would develop 10 lakh affordable homes for low-income consumers in five years at Rs80,000 crore. To take its plan forward, it would launch similar projects in Raipur, Rohtak, Sonepat, Chandigarh, Bhiwadi and Ludhiana.
While Omaxe would develop affordable housing in North India, in the south, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, such projects would be launched by a group company 'National Affordable Housing and Infrastructure Ltd´, Goel said.
Omaxe would soon launch housing projects at Rs12-19 lakh at Faridabad, Greater Noida and Ludhiana, he added.
On correction in property prices, Goel said the rates have declined by 10-40% across the country and there is no further scope for reduction.
Stating that sentiment in the market has improved after the stimulus package, he said states should also pitch in to boost housing by reducing stamp duty to 2-3% for the next two years, raising the density norm and offering interest subsidy to buyers.
Kolkata gets its own cord blood bank
Express News Service
Kolkata With growing cases of cancer, leukaemia and thalassaemia, the city now has its own cord blood bank where stem cells to treat such ailments can be stored for a lifetime.
Willing parents can chose to store stem cells from the umbilical cord blood, which can be used to regenerate tissues of brain, heart and the like.
Cordlife, a foreign network of private cord blood banks in Pan Asia, after obtaining a five-year operating licence from Drug Controller General of India in March, officially launched its first venture in Kolkata on Tuesday.
The cord blood bank with a storage capacity of up to 1,50,000 cord blood units that can support stem cell therapies can be kept.
"We take the umbilical cord and draw the stem cells, which can be stored for a lifetime and in course of fatal diseases can help in regenerating specific tissues," said Dr Prosanto, a haematologist.
The initial storage costs can run as high as Rs 38,000 and then Rs 3,500 per month.
"The number of diseases that can be treated with stem cells has increased from 46 in the year 2000 to more than 80 today. Stem cells can be used to treat lifestyle-related diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes," said Steven Fang, group CEO, Cordlife Ltd.
With an approximate investment of Rs 30 crore and an initial investment of Rs 10 crore in the Kolkata facility, the company is looking at developing collection centres and such similar facilities in Delhi next in the line followed by Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and others within 2009-2010.
"We are tying up with nursing homes to promote the concept of stem cell storage. The scheme is open to government hospitals also," said Meghanath Roy Chowdhury, Managing Director, Cordlife.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/kolkata-gets-its-own-cord-blood-bank/410568/
ADB questions logic behind petro price cut
The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday questioned the rationale behind the recent cut in petroleum prices by India, even as there may
be another round of reduction in fuel rates shortly.
"In India, retail gasoline prices were reduced by about 10 per cent (Rs 5 a litre) and diesel prices by about 6 per cent (Rs 2 a litre) on December 5, even though under-recovery by the oil companies in 2008-09 is estimated at some USD 25 billion," ADB Executive Director Ashok Lahiri said at Petrotech here.
"The key policy question that should be asked is- given that consumers had already accepted the higher priced gasoline and diesel, would it have made sense to continue with those prices to encourage consumers to conserve fuel with some marginal, but desirable impact on the oil import bill, while giving the companies some relief?" Lahiri said.
Lahiri, who held the post of Chief Economic Advisor in India before his posting to ADB, later told reporters that does it make sense to decrease prices when global prices fall, when global price increase was not fully passed on to the consumers.
Meanwhile, India may cut prices of petrol, diesel and domestic LPG prices tomorrow for the second time after June 2008, when it had revised prices upwards.
The Cabinet, scheduled to meet on Thursday, may cut petrol price by Rs 5 a litre, diesel by Rs 2 per litre and domestic LPG by Rs 25 per cylinder, giving relief to the common man and further easing inflationary pressures, a Petroleum Ministry official had said yesterday.
Lahiri said the response in China to softening of global crude prices was very different.
Rs 2000 crore government package to bailout Satyam?
Speculation is rife that the government is considering a package of up to Rs 2,000 crore to bailout the crisis-ridden Satyam Computer but New Satyam board members |
Rise and fall of Raju |
Satyam's Development Centres
no confirmation could be obtained.
Shortly after the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's review meeting on Satyam on Tuesday, there was media speculation that government would be considering a financial assistance ranging between Rs 500 crore and Rs 2,000 crore but the PMO office declined to comment on it.
"We have nothing to say on this," a top PMO official said when asked about if the government was considering giving financial aid to Satyam which is confronting a cash crisis.
Meanwhile, official sources indicated that the government appointed Satyam board has written a letter to the finance ministry raising concerns about the liquidity crunch in the troubled company.
Talking to reporters after the first meeting of the new board in Hyderabad, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, who is member of the board, had said "working capital issues require immediate attention and we will work with the team to tide over this situation.
Satyam has 53,000 employees and needs over Rs 500 crore a month to meet the staff cost.
Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, who attended PM's review meeting, had said yesterday that the government was open to consider a financial package for Satyam
Infosys not averse to acquiring Satyam customers
BANGALURU: Software major Infosys Technologies Ltd would not poach on beleaguered Satyam Computers's employees but said it's not averse to acquire New Satyam board members |
Rise and fall of Raju |
Satyam's Development Centres
customers of the scandal-hit competitor.
Infosys made this position clear, a day after its Chairman and Chief Mentor N R Narayana Murthy reiterated that his company would not act on any CVs received from Satyam employees to ensure that nothing is done that would adversely impact the Hyderabad-based firm's future.
At a press conference to announce the company's third quarter results here today, Infosys CEO S Gopalakrishnan confirmed that some of Satyam's customers have approached the Bangaluru-headquartered, NASDAQ-listed company.
Gopalakrishnan stressed that Infosys would not proactively go after (to acquire) Satyam's customers but if the latter approached his company, it would be treated as any new business and Infosys would take the offer if its terms and conditions are agreeable for these clients. There are many customers for whom Infosys and Satyam are working together.
"...some of the companies (Satyam's customers) are our clients also, they have approached us", he said.
NDTV reports:
Two years ago, Ratan Tata had said that one would be stupid not to invest in Gujarat. And now with foreign investors and others in India Inc also heading there, Brand Gujarat is shining bright.
"If one Narendrabhai can be so much for Gujarat, imagine what is the possibility of India by having Narendrabhai as the next leader of India?" said Anil Ambani, group chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.
High praises have come from top industrialists for the Gujarat Chief Minister and with due reason, too. While an economic slowdown has hit global markets, Gujarat seems to have become immune.
In just two days of the Global Investors' Summit, the state managed to get investment commitments worth Rs 12 lakh crore.
Not surprisingly, India's top industrialists showered the Gujarat CM with abundant praise.
Praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said, "Modi has a magnetic personality, which has attracted several companies to the state. I have had the opportunity to observe him closely during work and I must say that we run only companies and earn money but if there is one person who can run not only a company, a sector, but a whole nation as a CEO, it's Narendra Modi."
Apart from large Indian corporates, more than one-third of the investment came from foreign players, whether it was the Japanese implementing a metro rail project or the Koreans aiming for a share in the telecom market.
"I really noticed that this state provides very good environment for business and I can see the real success story of private partnership projects in Gujarat," said Joon Yun Kim, project head at S K Telecom.
The state government is naturally pleased.
"Today Gujarat is the ideal destination for investments in India," said Gujarat Industries Minister Saurabh Dalal.
On day two of the global investors' summit, it is evident that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is desperate to make it a point that there is no recession in industries and investments as far as Gujarat is concerned.
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090079983&ch=1/14/2009%203:02:00%20PM
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[Reader-list] News from West Bengal elections 2006
There is a parallel with China here in West Bengal - economic liberalisation. I think the present Left Front Government's capital and foreign investment ...
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Infosys cuts deposits in foreign banks
14 Jan 2009, 1134 hrs IST, TNN
BANGALORE: Infosys' detailed account tells that it has parked Rs 500 crore each in State Bank of Mysore, Bank of India and Axis Bank. It has Rs 535
crore in Punjab National Bank and Rs 528 crore in Canara Bank.
As per the list, the total deposits of Infosys with non-schduled foreign banks has reduced from Rs 414 crore to Rs 281 crore between March and December 2008. Also, Infy has reduced its dependence on the Bank of America. Company had a deposit of Rs 272 crore in March, 2008 and now it's Rs 174 crore. It also reduced its dependence on Deutsche Bank, UK by bringing down the deposits from Rs 76 crore to Rs 44 crore. However, its deposit with Deutsche Bank, Belgium has gone up from Rs 5 crore to Rs 11 crore.
The company decreased its deposits from Rs 1,421 crore to Rs 1,234 crore for the same period . HDFC deposits have remained constant at Rs 1,000 crore while LIC deposits have increased from Rs 161 crore to Rs 234 crore. As opposed to this, the company's deposits in GE India, amounting to Rs 260 crore has now become nil.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Software/Infosys_cuts_deposits_in_foreign_banks/articleshow/3976813.cms
Satyam scam: Govt bailout may fly into web of lies
14 Jan 2009, 0700 hrs IST, PR Ramesh, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: The truth in Satyam is caught up in such a tangled web of falsehood and forgery that the government now finds it difficult to move ahead New Satyam board members |
Rise and fall of Raju |
Satyam's Development Centres
with a rescue plan.
A stock-taking exercise at the highest level of government has ascertained that Satyam immediately requires Rs 1,000 crore to pay rents in the US and salaries. However, the government is unlikely to provide any funds because of a report from the Registrar of Companies that the documents accessed from the company are a pack of lies. Satyam's beleaguered statutory auditor Price Waterhouse has also told the government that it had physically verified with the banks concerned fixed deposit receipts worth Rs 3,300 crore.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who took stock of the situation with his senior colleagues Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Kamal Nath, Premchand Gupta and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, was of the view that the government can discuss a rescue plan for the company only after assessing the nature of the company's troubles. "Every document is forged and the government cannot make an assessment now," said a minister who attended the meeting.
Before the meeting, the government leadership also met PWC representatives. The auditors shared with the government leaders the details of fixed deposit receipts provided to them.
PWC has told the government they had physically verified FD receipts worth Rs 3,300 crore with banks such as HSBC, PNB, ICICI Bank, Citibank and HDFC Bank. The authenticity of the FDs has been a concern. If the statutory auditor merely went by the documents submitted by the company, its conduct would be deemed deficient. The auditor is expected to check with the banks the veracity of FD receipts.
Now that the auditor has indeed checked with the banks, disgraced Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju's claim that funds are missing because of inflated revenues and profits rather than because money was siphoned out seems more suspect. "It is now almost clear that many documents are fabricated," said the minister.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Software/Satyam_scam_Govt_bailout_may_fly_into_web_of_lies/articleshow/3975369.cms
Hindu monks and pilgrims make an annual trip to Sagar Island for the one-day festival of "Makar Sankranti," when the sun begins to move north and the days gradually lengthen!
VARANASI: The festival of Makar Sakranti (locally called Khichri) was marked with traditions and religious fervor in the city as number of devout
took holy dip in Ganga on Wednesday.
No bail in sight, Raju seeks solace in Buddha
14 Jan 2009, 1215 hrs IST, TNN
HYDERABAD: A depressed Ramalinga Raju has turned spiritual in jail. On the third day of his jail life on Monday, when he managed to get a change of
clothes, Raju started reading books on Gautam Buddha. The books were brought to him by his son Teja Raju, who accompanied lawyer Bharat Kumar to the jail. The son spent half an hour with his father and also gave him some fruits.
"He (Ramalinga) is not mingling with anyone. He is spending time by himself. Since he seems to prefer solitude, the other inmates are also not taking the initiative to strike a conversation with him," a jail official said. "He is really very downcast," said another jail official.
For company on Monday, Ramalinga Raju had his brother Rama Raju, CFO V Srinivas and two bootleggers.
Though as per procedure during a "mulaqat", a visitor can to talk to the inmates from behind grills, Teja Raju, who heads Satyam group company Maytas, was permitted entry into the jail though not into the barracks where Ramalinga is lodged. This was the first visit of a family member to Ramalinga Raju. However, his advocate spent more time with the erstwhile CEO.
"We discussed the case," Bharat Kumar said after a three-hour meeting with Raju. The advocate had earlier filed a bail plea for Raju in the Nampally criminal court. Since Raju was expecting bail, he had to be counselled about the circumstances in which the application could not be immediately taken up.
Vadlamani Srinivas' wife also visited the jailed ex-Satyam CFO.
Ramalinga Raju had other visitors too but they could not meet him as the authorities kept them waiting. A visitor handed over some books and some greeting cards to the sentry at the jail, requesting that they be handed over to Ramalinga Raju.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Software/No_bail_in_sight_Raju_seeks_solace_in_Buddha/articleshow/3977040.cms
Oil slips to around $38 after US retail sales data
14 Jan 2009, 2242 hrs IST, REUTERS
LONDON: Oil slipped back towards $38 a barrel on Wednesday, giving up big early gains after news of worse-than-expected US retail sales figures
depressed stock markets and hit the dollar.
The US Commerce Department said total retail sales fell 2.7 per cent to a seasonally adjusted $343.2 billion last month.
The United States is the world's biggest oil consumer and recession there means significantly weaker oil demand.
The retail sales data almost wiped out earlier gains on the back of talk of more production cuts by OPEC and a cold snap in the United States that has boosted heating oil demand. US light crude for February delivery was up down 31 cents at $37.47 a barrel by 1448 GMT after earlier hitting a high of $39.45.
London Brent crude gained 60 cents to $45.43 per barrel.
"The retail sales figures are horrible. They confirm that the United States is in recession, which means oil demand is falling and so the market is weakening," said Rob Laughlin, senior oil analyst at MF Global.
"Subject to the US oil data today being in line with forecasts, then I think prices can keep going down."
OIL INVENTORIES BUILDING
A US government report due later on Wednesday was expected to show crude oil stocks rising for the third consecutive week, by more than 2 million barrels.
US crude oil stocks have swelled as demand in the top oil consumer has wilted, pushing US crude into a deep discount compared with Brent crude.
A Reuters poll ahead of Wednesday's US inventory report saw a 2.2-million-barrel build in crude stockpiles in the week to Jan 9, and distillate and gasoline supplies rising by 1.1 million and 1.6 million barrels respectively.
The global financial crisis, the worst since the 1930s, has pushed much of the industrialised world into recession, causing oil demand to slump and crude prices to tumble by more than $100 from its record peak of above $147 a barrel last July.
Oil producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have responded to the recession by cutting output.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it was prepared to go even further than cuts it had made since December if the market warranted it, while OPEC's secretary general said the group may reduce oil output again at its meeting in March.
Libya's top oil official said on Wednesday OPEC's existing oil output cuts should support oil prices and that it was too early to tell if a further production reduction.
OPEC decided to cut supply by 2 million bpd at meetings in September and October. In December, it agreed to lower output by a further 2.2 million bpd as of Jan 1, a record reduction.
So far OPEC's moves have had little obvious impact on the market and oil for prompt delivery is trading at a big discount to future barrels with the market in what is called a contango.
The February contract for NYMEX crude traded at more than a $6 discount to March futures as high inventory levels pressure the US benchmark.
Stock levels at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for US crude futures, are at record levels. The front-month US crude contract is also at a record discount to North Sea Brent crude futures with a spread of around $7.90 a barrel between the two contracts.
Oil is getting some support from a cold snap in the US Northeast with temperatures forecast to be well below normal in the next week.
The winter chill is expected to cause heating oil demand to be 13.7 per cent above normal this week, the National Weather Service said.
Satyam fraud has dented India Inc's image abroad: Govt to CLB
Huge losses to investors aside, the Satyam scandal has caused "serious damage" to India Inc's reputation as well as the country's
regulatory authorities outside, the government has said.
Seeking to dismantle the existing board and to nominate ten new directors at the beleaguered IT firm, the Centre has said in its petition before the Company Law Board that the "interests of the company will not be safe in the hands of the present board of directors."
"The admission of fraudulent manipulation of the financial affairs has created an adverse impression in the minds of the trade, business and industry across the world.
"This has also resulted in serious damage to the reputation of Indian Corporate sector and the regulatory mechanism in the eyes of the world," the government said.
Allowing the government to nominate 10 new directors, the CLB said in its order that the "present board of directors stands suspended with immediate effect" and the new board should meet within seven days of its constitution and "take necessary action to put the company back on the road."
It also asked the new board to submit periodical reports to the Centre and the CLB on the company's state of affairs.
The CLB also observed that the residual board members at the company after a string of resignations are those "who were also party to the impugned decision to invest substantial funds in the companies related to Raju, the decision of which was the starting point of the downward trend in the fortunes of the company."
Besides Satyam, Ramalinga Raju and brother Rama Raju, the government in its petition has also named the company's CA and auditor Price Waterhouse, Company Secretary as well as all the directors.
This includes also those independent directors who have resigned — Vinod Dham, Rammohan Rao, K G Palepu and Mangalam Srinivasan, as well as former Cabinet Secretary T R Prasad, V S Raju and interim CEO Ram Mynampati.
The CLB has also asked all the respondents to submit their replies to the petition by February 20.
The CLB had ordered the Central Government to immediately constitute a fresh board of the company with not more than ten "persons of eminence as directors."
"The Central Government may also designate one of them as the Chairman of the Board... The said Board will continue till further orders."
The government said in its petition that Satyam has about three lakh shareholders, over 53,000 employees and has clients in over 60 countries, besides India. It has received a number of awards for best corporate governance.
"But the reputation and credibility of the company suffered drastically in the recent past when the Board of Directors of the company approved a proposal to acquire stakes in two companies... Its share price crashed and four of the independent directors who were parties to the above proposal tendered their resignation from the Board," the petitioner said.
The impact of the manipulation of accounts, as disclosed by Raju on January 7, runs into hundreds of crores of rupees.
The reputation of the company is at the lowest ebb and continuation of such a state would affect the confidence in the concept of corporate governance practiced in India.
India Inc's confidence at 7-year low, says Ficci survey
BS Reporter / New Delhi January 11, 2009, 0:53 IST
The ongoing global economic downturn has sunk the India Inc's business confidence to a seven-year low because of deterioration in the economic environment, according to a survey by the industry chamber, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).
The Ficci Survey for the second quarter of 2008-09, which was carried out during November and December 2008, revealed 52 per cent of companies feel that the overall economic conditions would weaken further in the coming six months. Further nearly 90 per cent of the 412 companies surveyed in the report feel that the economic situation has deteriorated over the last six months.
The value of the "current conditions index" has witnessed a continuous decline over the past several quarters and for the first time since the inception of the Ficci Business Confidence survey in 2002 it has fallen into the 'significantly pessimistic' zone, which is less than 30 points in a scale of 1-100.
With expectations with regard to performance at the economy, industry and firm level also taking a significant beating, the Expectations Index has also fallen from its value of 55.9 in the last survey to 44.3 in the present survey.
With significant deterioration seen in both the Current Condition Index and the Expectation Index, the overall business confidence index has also plunged to an all-time low. The overall business confidence index has dipped quite significantly from 52.5 in the last survey to 37.8 in the present survey.
Companies participating in this survey had turnover ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 50,000 crore and these were from various sectors like textiles, real estate, cement, oil and gas, jute, leather, chemicals and fertilisers, auto and auto components, banking, food processing, electrical equipment and machinery, gems and jewellery etc.
The survey shows that there is a gap between the Reserve Bank of India's base rates and market lending rates of banks to corporate. As a result of which easing of monetary policy, as part of stimulus package, has not become effective.
Around 81 per cent of the companies have reported that their current industry performance is weaker as compared to the situation six month back. Going ahead, things are likely to worsen as close to 50 per cent of the companies have reported that their industry performance would weaken in the coming two quarters. Near term prospects for all the key business parameters — sales, profits, investments, selling price, exports and employment— look very bleak.
Since most of India's leading destinations are in recession, exporters are having a tough time with just 13 per cent of the participating companies expecting an improvement in their export performance over the next six months and nearly 57 per cent expecting exports to decline. Companies have already started facing cancellation of orders in the export market and that price competition from other countries (particularly China) is pinching them hard.
With exporters facing cancellation of orders, and a huge majority of the corporates putting brakes on fresh hiring of hands and bank loans still hard to come by, there is a sense of gloom in corporate boardrooms. And with a bleak future staring them in the face, corporate are demanding tax cuts to boost demand, says the Ficci survey.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/india-incs-confidence-at-7-year-low-says-ficci-survey/00/57/345926/
Fiscal stimulus II eases India Inc's access to money
Govt, central bank swing into action with coordinated effort to boost sagging demand.
BS Reporters / New Delhi January 3, 2009, 0:15 IST
The Centre's second fiscal stimulus package, announced almost a month after the first on December 7 last year, covers a series of measures aimed at easing credit delivery to sectors impacted most by the economic slowdown, but contains limited deficit-financed government spending.
The second instalment liberalised overseas borrowing norms, restored benefits to exporters, set up an alternative channel of finance for non-banking finance companies and allowed state-run India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) to issue additional tax-free bonds.
The fiscal incentives announced so far will continue till a new government gets an opportunity to present a full budget after the general elections mid-2009, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, said while announcing the package.
The vote-on-account that will be presented by the current Congress-led alliance before the elections will include the changes effected in the packages. Ahluwalia did not reveal the cost of this round of fiscal incentive, except to add that tax cuts would involve revenue foregone of Rs 40,000 crore in the current fiscal.
The first stimulus package cost the government around Rs 31,000 crore — including additional plan expenditure of Rs 20,000 crore and a 4-percentage-point cut in excise duty. No further fiscal measures like tax cuts will be announced in the current financial year, Ahluwalia added.
The combination of monetary and fiscal steps taken this fiscal would result in additional credit of Rs 56,000 crore in the fourth quarter.
Freed pricing norms for overseas borrowing: The package announced in coordination with the central bank freed overseas borrowing norms from interest rate caps that were fixed to the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor).
"Removing the artificial cap on ECBs will help infrastructure developers and overseas investors arrive at better pricing," said Sanjay Sethi, Head (Infrastructure), Kotak Investment Banking.
Increased refinance for infrastructure: IIFCL, which was designated to act as refinancer for loans to the core sector, is being allowed to borrow Rs 30,000 crore by issuing tax-free bonds — three times more than the initial sanctioned amount in first week of December. This will enable additional infrastructure financing of Rs 75,000 crore over next 18 months.
Allowing the IIFCL to borrow more money from the market will help banks disburse more funds for infrastructure, helping companies achieve financial closure for key projects, Sethi said.
But some analysts think this alone might not be anough. "The key challenge is what rate of interest IIFCL will raise the money from the market," said Tapash K Majumdar, CFO, C&C Constructions Ltd. "If the cost of borrowing is high, then the cost of downstream financing will also be high," he added.
Exporters unhappy: For exporters, the government tried to tackle the twin challenges: lack of credit and making Indian products competitive in overseas markets.
To this end, the government restored the Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) scheme to pre-November levels, enabling exporters to claim a higher amount of tax paid on imports used to make exported products.
Secondly, the RBI will provide a credit line of Rs 5,000 crore to Exim Bank, which will provide export credit at a time when financial institutions have developed a risk-aversion to lending.
However, exporters say their additional demands like a moratorium on term loans and additional interest subsidy of 2 per cent were not considered. But experts say any government incentive is unlikely to work until the major developed economies generate demand.
States allowed to tap market: State governments have also been allowed to borrow an additional 0.5 per cent of their Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), amounting to about Rs 30,000 crore, for capital expenditure.
"Governments are facing constraints in financing expenditure because of slower revenue growth," Ahluwalia said.
This will enable fiscally well-managed states to borrow from the market and will remove constraints for growth on the credit side for the states, said D K Joshi, economist with Crisil Ltd, a ratings and advisory firm.
However, he said some states will find it difficult to utilise this route, adding it may also exert pressure on interest rates at a time when yields on government securities are rapidly falling.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=345084
FIIs wary of India Inc's numbers
Priya Nadkarni in Mumbai
January 13, 2009 12:57 IST
Stung by the fraud in India's fourth largest IT services firm, Satyam [Get Quote] Computers Services, foreign institutional investors are now asking brokerages to run forensic accounting checks on the numbers reported by major companies.
Major brokerages were quick to suspend coverage on the Satyam stock, citing that current financials of the company could not be relied upon, soon after news of the fraud broke.
FIIs, who are clients of these brokerages, are now demanding stricter checks on reported numbers.
The Satyam fiasco: Complete coverage
"In the last one week or so, there have been distinct changes in what FIIs want. They are asking for intense forensic accounting checks as well as to check independently on what the management is saying. Analysts need to check industry sources, ex-members of the staff and other channels to verify their estimates.
"We would expect Indian stockbrokers to react to changing requirements of their foreign clients," said Saurabh Mukherjea, head of equities at UK-based equity research house Noble group, which provides research to several leading FIIs, which invest in India.
Forensic accounting involves the integration of accounting, auditing and investigative skills. Forensic accountants sniff out fraud and criminal transactions in banks, corporate entities or from any other organisation's financial records.
While there are more than 600 certified forensic accountants in India, the recent scam has led to a huge upsurge of interest in forensic accountants.
"Most of these forensic accountants work for the 100-odd multi national companies. A lot of them have seen some good assignments in the last week," said Mayur Joshi, director of India Forensic consultancy services, a Pune-based consultancy organisation engaged in fraud examination and forensic accounting in India.
Incidentally, India Forensic has also submitted a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Nasscom as well as the Serious Fraud Investigation Office through which members of India Forensic can be empanelled with the regulators.
Major FIIs such as Fidelity Management and Research, Morgan Stanley Mauritius Co as well as Aberdeen Asset Managers had dumped Satyam shares in the market as soon as chairman and founder Ramalinga Raju had submitted his resignation and admitted that he had falsified the accounts of the company.
The other stocks that have seen sharp drops since then include companies that are known for their unsavoury corporate governance practices and bad accounting standards.
Interestingly, major domestic and foreign brokerages had upgraded the stock of Satyam or upped their revenue, earnings and earnings per share after the company called off the deal to acquire Maytas Infrastructure and Properties on December 17.
Even as late as January 7, ABN Amro upgraded the Satyam stock from 'strong sell' to 'strong buy'.
"Leading market analysts in Western countries champion the cause of minority shareholders by writing forcefully about adverse corporate governance practices.
However, in India, analysts are too scared to speak out against managements because they fear they may be denied management access," said Mukherjea.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2009/jan/13satyam-fiis-wary-of-india-inc-numbers.htm
India Inc's dependence on foreign investment a worry
20 Dec 2008, 1500 hrs IST, Tushar K. Mahanti, ET Bureau
India Inc is in a dilemma. Will the global financial crisis affect the inflow of foreign capital to India? The stake is enormous. For, the easing out of norms for foreign direct investment (FDI), especially, external commercial borrowings (ECB), over the years has led to a dramatic rise in the inflow of foreign capital.
Corporate India's dependence on foreign capital too has increased substantially. Aggregate FDI inflows increased 30% in 2007 over 2006. During January-July 2008, FDI inflows have increased more than two and a half times over the same period in 2007.
But then these data relate to the period when the full impact of the financial crisis was not felt. In fact, the RBI's recent release shows that the inflow of ECB and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) has slowed down considerably in October 2008 — down 60% from Rs 283.49 crore in September to Rs 112.52 crore.
The decline in ECB is feared to affect the investment plans of the companies. The domestic funds on the other hand too have become scarce and increasingly dearer following rise in interest rate. In fact, of the 24 companies raised funds through ECB and FCCBs last October in automated route, as many as 19 did so for import of capital goods.
That India's investment activities in recent years have largely been financed by foreign sources may be seen in the sharp rise in FDI inflows. Aggregate inflow of FDI has increased nearly seven times during last five years from Rs 95,639 crore in 2003 to Rs 6,54,949 crore in 2007.
While higher industrial growth had strengthened the confidence of foreign investors in Indian industries, opening up of new areas and changes in government policy towards FDI must have engineered this jump in foreign capital inflow. That opening up of new areas has given foreign investors more investment options is reflected in the changing destinations of foreign capital. The service sector , which was a restricted domain for foreign capital in the past, for example , has become the most sought after area of late.
The service sector has been the prime mover of India's gross domestic product in recent years and foreign investors never had doubts about its potential . However, policy restrictions in the past did not allow them to invest in this industry as much as they willed. Now that restrictions have been eased out, FDI has flowed in to this industry as never before. It accounted for a huge 22% of the total FDI inflow in 2007. In actual terms, the FDI inflow to this sector has grown more than ten times in last five years from Rs 13,903 crore in 2003 to Rs 1,43,776 crore in 2007. The second most important destination of FDI in 2007 was the software industry. It accounted for about 15.6% of the total FDI flowing into the country in 2007.
The situation has, however, changed drastically in the current year. The poor performance of the software companies dampened the mood of the foreign investors and FDI inflow to software sector has fallen sharply. The sector received only Rs 5,727 crore FDI in the first seven months of 2008 against Rs 10,215 crore in 2007. It's share in total FDI inflow has fallen to only 5.8% in 2008. The service sector, however, has continued to enjoy a steady inflow of FDI. It's share in total inflow has increased further 23.2% during January-July 2008.
So far so good. But the big question is: Will FDI inflow to India grow at the same rate in the coming months? After all, the service sector, which has been the main contributor to GDP growth, was the biggest gainer of the rise in FDI inflow in recent years. Now if the FDI inflow slows down, it will affect the growth of the service sector and in turn, the GDP growth.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/India_Incs_dependence_on_foreign_investment_a_worry/articleshow/3866461.cms
Hindus take holy dip
(00:46) Rough Cut
Jan 14 - Hindus throng India's northern Varanasi to take holy dip in the Ganges river to mark the Makar Sakranti festival.
The Makar Sakranti' festival celebrated on Wednesday marks the journey of the sun towards the northern hemisphere corresponding with the beginning of longer days of sunlight.
'Makar Sankranti' is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of India with food, family gatherings, street fairs and music.
Millions of people visit various water bodies across the country to take the holy dip and pray to the sun god and wash away all sins.
People started pouring at most of the prominent ghats including Dashaswamedh, Rajendra Prasad ghat, Sheetala ghat, Kedar ghat and Asi ghat in the morning hours, as thousands of people took holy dip in Ganga on the occasion.
While the youngsters and the children enjoyed kite flying across ghats and roof tops of the buildings, a number of women also performed puja and kept fast to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi on the occasion.
Devout also thronged prominent temples in the city including Kashi Vishwanath (Godowlia), Kedareshwar temple (Kedar Ghat), Durga temple (Durgakund) and Sankat Mochan temple to offer prayers. Special pujas were also performed at some of the temples (including Kedareshwar and Annapurna temple) to celebrate the festival. A long queue of people was witnessed across many ghats as a number of people collected eatables including Dhonda (preparation of puffed rice and jaggery) and Til (sesame seeds).
Cong flays praise of Modi's leadership by industry captains
NEW DELHI: With two captains of Indian industry commending Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's leadership to be of prime minister material,
Congress on Wednesday compared it to German industrial honchos' praise of the Nazi regime and alleged the entire edifice of Modi "rests on the dead body of innocent people".
"In 1933, the German capitalists were attracted to a fascist dictator...I do not want to go into the consequences of the episode on Germany and the rest of the world...His (Modi's) entire edifice rests on the dead body of innocent people," party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters.
The Congress advised the industrialists that before giving character certificate to Modi, they should "realize the realities in Gujarat".
"The industrialists of the country should see the real Gujarat and the realities before giving character certificate to the Chief Minister," Tewari said, doling out figures to point out that all was not rosy in the Modi-run state.
Referring to the 'vibrant Gujarat' summit, he said Modi has announced that MoU worth Rs 12,000 lakh crore has been signed and this would entail a creation of 25 lakh jobs. He also quoted Modi as saying that 63% of the MoU signed in such summits of 2003, 2005 and 2007 have been executed.
However, Tewari accused Gujarat government of fudging the figures much like the disgraced Satyam company did with its accounts.
"The way Satyam fudged the accounts, Gujarat is doing the same," Tewari said, adding an RTI application was filed by the Gujarat PCC president to which the state government replied that only 23.52 percent of the signed MoU was executed.
The Congress alleged 'vibrant Gujarat' is "a myth" propagated by Modi, referring to some incidents where no investment came despite announcements.
Pointing to the "downslide" in Gujarat's economy, Tewari said former finance minister P Chidambaram had pointed out some time ago that the state was burdened by a loan amounting to Rs 94,000 crore.
"This must have gone to around Rs 120,000 crore...Every Gujarati has a loan of Rs 20,000 on him," the spokesman said, adding that after BJP came to power in the state, the per capita income declined.
"In the last few months, 62,000 small and medium industries have closed and lakhs of people rendered unemployed," Tewari charged.
He said Gujarat was eighth amongst the states in minimum wages to workers and fifth regarding investment saying states like Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra were better on this front.
Asked why wasn't Congress governments in states showcasing their development and inviting the industrialists, he said "our Chief Ministers do development work and not propaganda".
'Modi as PM' pitch puts BJP in a fix
Rahul Srivastava
Wednesday, January 14, 2009, (New Delhi)
L K Advani might be the BJP's prime ministerial candidate but corporate India has put its weight behind Narendra Modi.
Two of the country's best-known industrialists, Sunil Mittal and Anil Ambani, have made a pitch for "prime minister" Modi in the election season. But those demands for Modi as Prime Minister has the BJP searching for answers.
Privately, some in the BJP see him as a better electoral bet among the Gen Next voters.
But the party realises that close to the polls a debate over who's the candidate for the top job could be political harakiri.
It has forced even those who could challenge Advani to back him.
Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi says: "The NDA has projected L K Advani as the prime-ministerial candidate and we support it."
The Congress, on the other hand, criticised demands for Modi as PM.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari says: "The top industrialists of the country are aware of the situation and the reality in Gujarat."
The BJP maintains that announcing the leader before the election in the past has been advantageous. But the present churning proves the move has its disadvantages.
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090080053
Meltdown has not affected Guj industrial scenerio, says Modi
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday claimed that global meltdown has not affected the industral scenerio in the state.
"The world is facing the meltdown but Gujarat, it seems, is not a part of that development as we inaugurated major projects during this phase," Modi told reporters here.
On the contrary, he said, the meltdown can turn out to be a good opportunity for the state to showcase its industrial might.
In a reply to a question on meltdown severely affected three key industrial sectors- Diamond, Chemicals and Textile, Modi tried to pass on the problem to the Centre.
"These sectors' prospects are directly based on policy of the Central government. I have made a detailed representation to the Prime Minister regarding them yesterday," Modi said.
"I had earlier warned the Central government regarding the tsunami effect of the global meltdown," Modi said.
"Our major concern is workers of diamond industry. We have offered them jobs under Rural Employment Guranttee Scheme," Modi said.
Speaking about the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit-09, Modi said that this can turn out to be an opportunity for the state. "This is a historic event as for the first time a developed country like Japan and its government will be partner a state of India in development process," Modi said.
I don't need certificate of secularism: Modi
10 Jan 2009, 0253 hrs IST, TNN
CHENNAI: Basking under the vociferous backing of overseas Indians who flocked to the Gujarat session at the ongoing Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to
listen to him, chief minister Narendra Modi on Friday sharply dismissed a suggestion from a delegate that he reaffirm his commitment to communal harmony so that he would be more welcome in the US, which had earlier denied him a visa.
"No one should preach secularism (to me). I need no certificate on secularism from any corner of the world,'' Modi said, answering a question from an overseas Indian who said he could get the Barack Obama administration to the lift the `ban' on his visiting the US, if only he made a public commitment to communal harmony.
"Secularism is in our blood, our mythology, our philosophy. Harmony is part of our culture. We are dedicated to communal harmony and committed to the Constitution,'' he said. He was answering a question from a man who said he had campaigned for Obama in the US elections. "You should take a public stand on communal harmony with the same robustness and integrity with which you have spoken on development,'' the questioner said, referring to Modi's presentation on Gujarat's investment climate and development-oriented administration.
A student wanted to know what the chief minister, who had earlier spoken about his government's achievement in helping courts liquidate the huge pendency of cases, proposed to do about rendering justice to the thousands of victims of the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. "We have an independent judiciary. Some NGOs and vested interests have obtained stay on many cases in the Supreme Court,'' he said, explaining the non-disposal of cases related to the riots. The apex court had also appointed a commission to probe the matter. "We don't have a friendly government at the Centre. Do you think it would have kept quiet all these years if we had done something wrong?'' he asked.
Modi was speaking at the Gujarat session at the ongoing conclave of overseas Indians, which drew the highest attendance among state-specific sessions. The chief minister, who drew repeated applause from the audience as and when he spelt out details of his administration, said that in 2003, Gujarat had 45 lakh cases pending before the courts. It went up to 1.10 crore over the years. However, by opening evening courts, extending working hours for regular courts and cutting down holidays, the pendency had been brought down to 22 lakh. "By 2010, it will be nil,'' he said.
When someone suggested that Modi open an office to boost his state's image in the US, he replied nonchalantly. "We don't need one. Forty countries are participating in next week's `Vibrant Gujarat' global investors' summit. Japan is a partner in the summit, and the maximum number of companies is from the US,'' he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/I_dont_need_certificate_of_secularism_Modi/articleshow/3957448.cms
Meanwhile, Slumdog Millionaire, the Golden Globes-winning British-made movie directed by Danny Boyle and set in Mumbai, has sparked a wave of national pride across India. Audiences across the sub-continent are keenly awaiting the movie, directed by Danny Boyle, about a Mumbai slum boy who strikes it rich by winning India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? which is released there on January 23.
Despite being a British film directed by Boyle, the force behind Trainspotting, Indians have welcomed Slumdog as one of their own.
The Times of India has declared that the 'Slumdog has its day', while The Hindustan Times cheered 'Indian tale catches global fancy'.
It was awarded four Golden Globes by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Sunday night, including best picture.
But Indians cheered loudest when composer AR Rahman, described by Time magazine as the Mozart of Madras, won the award for the best musical score.
Indian film maker Madhur Bhandarkar described the recognition the awards represented was "absolutely great".
He said: "It is an excellent film which depicts real poverty and real life in India. Moreover, Rahman winning the award will take India on to a different platform. His music was internationally recognised but now it will be different."
Set in Mumbai, Slumdog should appeal to the home audience thanks not only to its quality, but also because it borrows key elements from Bollywood.
The basic story - of a poor boy who triumphs against the odds to win the girl - is straight out of the Bollywood big book of movie scripts. There is also lots of trademark singing and dancing.
As if that were not enough, a third of the film - which is based on the novel Q&A by former Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup - is in Hindi.
But many are asking whether India is ready for such a "brutal" look at itself.
Some believe more conservative viewers - who ironically include the poor slum-dwellers who form the back-drop to the film - may find Slumdog too modern, and too challenging.
It tells of how a poor boy with no formal education manages to find the answers to the quiz show questions by delving into his poverty-stricken past.
Will Indian audiences react with quite the same enthusiasm as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association did, when it awarded Slumdog four Golden Globes last Sunday night, including best picture?
Despite the Times of India's warm welcome, a new headline running on Wednesday morning asked what it called "the BIG question" - "Is India ready to accept Slumdog Millionaire?"
With its Indian release date fast looming, the paper asked: "While the world is raving about it, is Mumbai ready to see its underbelly being exposed in the most brutal way on the big screen, that too by a British director?"
Western audiences might be accustomed to thinking about India in terms of a country divided by extravagant wealth and dismal poverty, but Indians themselves still seem uncomfortable with that reflection.
Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor, who stars in the film, said: "Slumdog Millionaire has captured the pulse of Mumbai like never before. The film does not only show poverty stricken India but is a tale of hope for millions of those who are happy in spite of being poor. It's an honour for me to be a part of this film."
Its critical success follows closely in the footsteps of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, which won the Man Booker Prize last October.
Both deal with the seamy underbelly of Indian life and two young men's attempts to escape it.
Both were also created by outsiders. While Adiga was born in Madras he is part of the global elite, having studied at Columbia University in New York and then Oxford, followed by a stint as Time magazine's South Asia correspondent.
There is a parallel with Slumdog - after it swept the Globes, Indian actor and social activist Gerson Da Cunha remarked that it was "extraordinary that it takes a foreigner to make a true, inventive film about Mumbai".
It may not be always true, but a new study says that some pretty women are more likely to have extra-marital affairs because of a sex hormone which is linked to attractiveness and flirtatiousness. Researchers have carried out the study and found that women who have high levels of oestrogen not only look and feel beautiful but are also more likely to be unfaithful to their partners, the 'Biology Letters' reported. According to them, these women engage in "opportunis- tic serial monogamy" -- being open to flings and moving on to a new relationship if a higher-quality mate becomes available. In their study, the researchers took saliva samples from fifty-two female students aged 17 to 30 at two stages of their menstrual cycle to measure their hormone levels.
"Physically attractive women receive more male attention and when in relationships are more likely to be the targets of mate poaching. Attractive women also have specially high mating standards.
"Because it's difficult to obtain a partner who is a good provider and also has good genes, women often have to trade off between having a long-term mate who provides continual material resources and more physically attractive, short-term sexual partners with good genetic resources.
"However, highly attractive women demand greater amounts of both types of resources in a partner, in addition to good parenting and partner skills. Thus, physically attract -ive women may not only have more alternatives but also high standards that are difficult to satisfy.
"Accordingly, they may have fewer reasons to be committed to any particular partner if higher quality poten- tial mates are available," 'The Daily Telegraph' quoted lead author Dr Kristina Durante of Texas University as saying.
Corporate honchos Anil Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal on Wednesday showered praises on Gujarat Chief Minister Narandra Modi and termed his leadership as a national level material. Speaking at the valedictory session of the Fourth Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit, Ambani said, "Narendrabhai has done good for Gujarat and what will happen if he leads the nation." On the other hand,Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden called for jihad (holy struggle) over the Israeli offensive in Gaza in a new audio tape that appeared on Islamist websites on Wednesday.
The Saudi-born militant said the global financial crisis had exposed the waning US influence in world affairs and would in turn weaken its ally Israel. Meanwhile,Noting that Pakistan has moved troops towards border with India, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor said New Delhi has kept all options open, including the 'fighting option' as a last resort.Kapoor said tension between India and Pakistan were 'larger' in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, but said there was no need to create any hysteria.
The incoming US administration of President Barack Obama plans to triple its non-military aid to Pakistan to prop-up the democratically elected government there and also use it as a "condition" on commitment for counter-terrorism missions.Advocating Washington's intention to work more closely with both Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Secretary of State designate Hillary Rodham Clinton said this is not only about denying Al Qaida and other extremist groups safe haven, this is about persuading these two countries that their security and their future is also at risk. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Clinton said the new administration would separate military aid from non-military aid to Pakistan.
"The tripling of the non-military aid is intended to provide resources that will both support the Pakistani people but also give some tools to the democratically-elected government to try to start producing results for the people of Pakistan," the former first lady said.
Though Clinton, 61, did not specify the quantum of aid jump to Pakistan, the Chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry has indicated that a bill authored by Senator Joseph Biden could be revived. The proposed legislation will hike non-military aid to Pakistan to USD 1.5 billion annually for five years.
However she said the administration would look at whether it can "condition some of that on the commitment for counter-terrorism missions also." The new administration is inclined to support, when appropriate, a legislation in this regard, she said. She said that the new administration plans to carry out a policy review on Afghanistan as it is the "highest priority" for the new US President
"Gujarat has seen progress in all the fields under his leadership. Now, imagine what will happen to the nation if he leads the nation," he said and added, "Person like him should be the next leader of the country."
Recalling his father late Dhirubhai, Ambani said that Dhirubhai used to say "Modi lambi race ka ghoda hai (Modi will go a long way)."
Similarly, Bharti Mittal also lavished praises on Modi and his leadership. "Chief Minister Modi is known as a CEO, but he is actually not a CEO because he is not running a company or a sector. He is running a state and can also run nation," he said.
"Our brothers in Palestine, you have suffered a lot.... the Muslims sympathise with you in what they see and hear. We, the mujahideen, sympathise with you also..." bin Laden said in the tape entitled 'A Call for Jihad to Stop the Aggression against Gaza'.
"We are with you and we will not let you down. Our fate is tied to yours in fighting the Crusader-Zionist coalition, in fighting until victory or martyrdom."
The Palestinian death toll from a 19-day-old Israeli offensive to crush the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza has risen to 971, causing widespread anger among ordinary Arabs and Muslims. Israel says 13 Israelis have been killed by rockets or mortars from Gaza.
In the 22-minute tape, bin Laden said that the United States was losing its dominant position in the world and that this was due to al Qaeda's campaign.
"The jihad of your sons against the Crusader-Zionist coalition is one of the key reasons for these destructive effects among our enemies," bin Laden said in the tape that was dated in the current Islamic month.
"God has bestowed us with the patience to continue the path of jihad for another seven years, and seven and seven... The question is, can America continue its war with us for several more decades to come? Reports and evidence would suggest otherwise."
The authenticity of the tape, produced by al Qaeda's media arm As-Sahab, could not immediately be verified but the voice sounded like that of bin Laden.
Bin Laden last appeared in an audio tape in May and also focused on Gaza, calling on Muslims to try to help end the blockade of the area.
The al Qaeda leader has placed growing emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent years and Wednesday's audio tape was accompanied by a still of bin Laden and a picture of al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's third holiest shrine.
Behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on US cities, al Qaeda has regularly called for attacks on the Jewish state.
Al Qaeda is widely blamed for a suicide attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya and a simultaneous failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli charter jet near Mombasa airport in 2002.
"We expect Pakistan to move some troops from FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) to its eastern borders with India. They have come to eastern border of Pakistan with India," Kapoor told a press conference in New Delhi.
He said the Indian Army had already "factored this" into its planning and there was "no cause for concern" in India.
"There is a larger amount of tension after 26/11. Because we feel that the perpetrators of 26/11 came from Pakistan. In view of that, we in India are keeping all options open," he said.
Elaborating on the options, he said these were 'diplomatic, economic, or as a last resort, a fighting option'.
Kapoor said, there was 'no need to create any kind of hysteria'.
On the use of military option as a last resort, Gen Kapoor said the decision was dependent on the political leadership when they felt that all other options, including international opinion, were exhausted.
"Our political leadership has said war is not an option. But all options are open. The situation remains at that stage," he said to a query.
Regarding reports of some strike formations of the Indian Army moving towards the western borders, Kapoor said some of the formations were currently carrying out exercise in both the Mahajan ranges and Pokhran ranges and that the information had already been shared with the neighbouring country.
"It is part of an understanding that practice training be intimated. There has been some amount of clearing up of bunkers, which need to be maintained regularly. It need not become a cause for a war frenzy," the Army Chief said.
On the threat of nuclear arsenal from Pakistan falling into terrorists' hands, Kapoor said: "I wish it doesn't happen."
But, he said, if there was a degree of stability in Pakistan, this threat would not become a reality. "Nuclear weapon in the wrong hands is a cause for worry for the entire globe," he added.
Asked if India, having helped Afghanistan to rebuild infrastructure, should get a strategic presence there to squeeze Pakistan, the General said it was for the political leaders to take a policy decision on the matter.
Hindu group in US objects to 'The Story of India'
New York A US-based Hindu advocacy group has taken strong objection to historian Michael Wood's documentary 'The Story of India,' being telecast on public television, describing its presentation of the Aryan Migration Theory (AMT) as 'agenda driven.'
Rejecting the theory, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) said India has always been the cradle of Hindu civilization and there is no debate about it.
"Michael Wood clearly admires India and its people, and this shows through in his passionate depiction of India," said Sheetal Shah, HAF's Director of Development and Outreach.
"We are not seeking to discredit the 'Story of India' in its entirety, but viewers should be aware that a major error was made in the documentary that fails scrutiny and should be corrected," she said.
The Hindu advocacy group said it has received a deluge of phone calls protesting the presentation of the 'now discredited' theory, currently being shown on television.
The AMT theorises that in 1500 BCE pastoral tribes that came to be known as Aryans, migrated from Central Europe to Northwest India eventually dispersing indigenous people and imposing their own culture.
"This theory, that is not supported by archaeological evidence, was first posited by European Indologists and British colonialists, eventually finding support from a section of India's politically motivated linguists and historians such as Romila Thapar, and famously, controversial Harvard linguist, Michael Witzel," she said.
This theory, the HAF believes, is 'agenda-driven'.
In his documentary, HAF says, Wood holds that the early Hindu practice of worshipping devas, or demigods representing elements, 'somehow implies that these practices were imported from Central Asia.'
While referring 'obliquely' to the Aryan Migration Theory as controversial, HAF said, Wood fails to present contrary evidence that many scientists believe refutes the claim that the progenitors of Hindu civilisation came from west of the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan.
"There is no debate that India was always the cradle of Hindu civilisation, and the Vedas, the Hindu's holiest scriptures, are the recorded history of our ancestors," said Suhag Shukla, HAF's Managing Director.
"We strongly oppose the insulting theory--advanced by agenda-driven activist historians -- that our rishis, the great sages who composed the Vedas, were foreign to India, and Wood does viewers a disservice in not presenting both sides of the coin, in an otherwise admirable work," he said.
The AMT is reviled by many Hindus, he said, due to its implicit proposition that a tribe of 'Aryans' migrated into the Indian subcontinent, subjugated an indigenous people dispersing them to South India and established a caste system where the highest castes are comprised of 'Aryans' in an ethno-religious apartheid system.
This 'explosive theory' that narrates that Aryans were only the first colonizers -- followed by Greeks, Mongols, Turks, Persians -- was used by European historians to justify the last foreign claim on India, the British Raj, he added.
However, he asserted, it is the latest genetic evidence, based on chromosomal and DNA analysis, that scientists believe definitively discredits the AMT.
India tops consumer confidence across world: Survey
Mumbai India ranks foremost in consumer confidence as investors have been safeguarded by India's relatively nascent financial markets, a study by market researcher Nielsen showed.
Indians are "the most optimistic lot globally who think that their country will be out of the economic recession in the next twelve months," Nielsen said in a biannual report.
The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence study polled more than 26,000 consumers across the globe about their confidence levels and economic outlook.
"Despite the global economic recession Indians seem to be quite confident of the economy picking up in the near future," it said.
"They believe that the global recession will have limited impact on India where the domestic market is believed to be large enough to support continued growth."
The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index surveyed 52 markets of which 43 recorded a fall in the consumer confidence index from the first half of 2008.
"In such conditions it is the fast developing markets that are turmoil-proof with their consumers appearing to be more optimistic," Nielsen said.
Of Indian respondents, 16 per cent said they considered job prospects in the country "excellent" while 59 per cent felt job prospects were "good".
The survey found 75 per cent respondents were upbeat about local job prospects over the next 12 months.
"Though the conditions might not be as great as they were in the past few years, the growth opportunities in India are better than most other countries at the moment," it added.
But the economy and terrorism ranked as major concerns among Indian consumers. India's concern about terrorism topped the list when the survey was conducted in October last year, ahead of the terror attacks in Mumbai.
India unveils 'world's cheapest car' - 10 Jan 08
It is being called the world's cheapest new car. Priced at just $2,500 - the makers of India's Tata Nano says it aims to meet the needs of the country's growing middle class. But critics say the ...
Indians confident of keeping jobs this year: Survey
Sixty-two per cent Indians feel they will be able to hold on to their jobs in 2009, notwithstanding the economic slowdown, says a survey
released here Wednesday by leading global human resource consulting firms.
"Optimism runs high and the Indian employees show resilience," says the survey conducted across Asia-Pacific by TNS, a market research and business analysis firm, with Gallup International, a global human resource consulting firm.
"It seems, despite economic slowdowns and reports of downsizing, there is an overall confidence among the employed in India that 'My job is secure! Difficulties, if any, are for the others, not me'," said TNS India executive director, Chhavi Bhargava.
The study, titled "Voice of the People: End of the Year Survey", was conducted between October and December 2008 with interviews of people in 46 countries about their job prospects in 2009.
"In view of the 57 per cent of citizens in India who expect unemployment to increase during 2009, the results are especially interesting as clearly most of the interviewees do not consider they will be the ones affected," says the survey.
"A third of the workers interviewed believe they would be able to find a new job fairly quickly, while 56 per cent fear it may take longer. Eight per cent of those currently employed in India would even go so far as to not bother looking for work were they to lose their jobs this year."
Moreover, just 16 per cent of the Indian respondents feel unemployment will fall slightly, while a negligible one per cent think it will fall a lot. Similarly, 38 per cent feels it will increase a lot and 27 per cent thinks it will increase slightly.
Asian growth engines India, China dubbed 'mostly unfree' economies
WASHINGTON: Both India and China have been ranked as "mostly unfree" economies by an annual "Index of Economic Freedom" that also suggests the two
countries could speed development in Asia if they press on with economic reform.
The 2009 edition of the "Index of Economic Freedom", published annually by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank, ranks India at 123 with a score of 54.4 out of possible 100 and China at 132 with 53.2 points. The index ranked 179 countries.
"Yet, economic freedom has been improving in those countries and that trend should help speed development in the years ahead," the index editors said, noting that 18 Asian economies improved their scores in the 2009 Index while 12 lost ground.
The region's average level of economic freedom is below the world average of 59.5, but the editors predict this could change if two economic giants press on with economic reform.
Hong Kong continues to be the world's freest economy for the 15th straight year. No other economy has yet managed to surpass it. Three other economies in the Asia-Pacific region also made the Index's top 10, Singapore (second), Australia (third) and New Zealand (fifth).
The index reflects data compiled in 10 key categories and tells a crucial story. Economic freedom is vital because it's "strongly related to good economic performance", write authors Terry Miller and Kim Holmes.
Miller is director of Heritage's Centre for International Trade and Economics, and Holmes is Heritage's vice president for foreign affairs.
"Per capita incomes are much higher in jurisdictions that are economically free," they noted.
Economies rated freer also perform much better in advancing human development, reducing poverty, and protecting the environment.
The authors found strong correlations between economic freedom scores and these economic and social variables.
The Asia-Pacific region proves that, even as it remains a study in contrasts. "Four of the world's 10 freest economies are in this region," the authors write, "yet most other economies in the region remain 'mostly unfree'."
The region is home to several economies, which the index classifies as "repressed". Turkmenistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar fall into this category, as does North Korea, the world's least free economy.
The 2009 index has expanded its country coverage significantly to 183 economies, although four of these could not be graded because of insufficient data.
Levels of economic freedom in 10 categories were rated on a scale of 0 to 100. The higher the score, the lower the level of government interference in the marketplace.
The 10 freedoms measured are: business freedom, trade freedom, fiscal freedom, government size, monetary freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, freedom from corruption and labour freedom. Ratings in each category are averaged, then totalled to produce the overall Index score.
Worldwide, the average rating for economic freedom held essentially steady this year. However, as governments attempt to stave off a global recession, their meddling could well threaten economic freedom and long-term economic prosperity.
"There is a real possibility that the scores in this edition might represent the historical high point for economic freedom in the world," the authors warn.
Of the 179 economies ranked (the most ever), only seven are classified as "free" (a score of 80 or higher).
Another 23 are classified as "mostly free" (70-79.9). Most of the economies ranked - 120 - are either classified as "moderately free" (60-60.9) or "mostly unfree" (50-50.9). Twenty-nine economies are classified as "repressed", with total freedom scores below 50 per cent.
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance denies gas pact with brother's RNRL
MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries on Wednesday denied any pact with Anil Ambani Group's Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) for the RIL's first crude from KG basin
Largest refining companies
Hottest biz feuds
sale of natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin off the Andhra Pradesh coast.
Representing Reliance Industries, senior counsel Harish Salve told the Bombay High Court that a memorandum of understanding was entered into with Reliance Energy, another company in the Anil Ambani group, for the Dadri power project in Uttar Pradesh.
"The 28 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas is specific for Reliance Energy at NTPC price," Salve told the division bench of Justice J.N. Patel and Justice K.K. Tated, referring to the base price agreed with the state-run thermal power company.
"Nowhere does it say that the gas will go to RNRL," he said during the hearing of the dispute between the two groups led by the Ambani brothers over the natural gas from one of the most lucrative hydrocarbon finds in recent years.
Mohan Parasaran, the additional solicitor general of India, had Tuesday said the gas from the Krishna-Godavari block would be available to all private and public sector firms at not less than $4.20 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu).
14 Jan 2009, 1921 hrs IST, IANS
Sackings of PSU oilmen send dreams crashing
14 Jan 2009, 1034 hrs IST, Sanjay Dutta, TNN
NEW DELHI: Anuj (name changed) has been looking forward to a cricket kit his parents had promised him after a pay revision in the New Year. Now,
it's not sure whether he will get it. Though he hasn't been told yet, his father, an Oil and Natural Gas Corporation executive posted in Assam, has been sacked for joining the recent strike for a '' fair' ' pay hike and risk allowance. The family has also been ordered to vacate the official quarter within 24 hours.
Payal (name changed) had just joined dance and painting classes and was eagerly looking forward to an easel and crayons. Now there's a question mark over those classes. Just like Anuj's family, Payal's father too has lost his job in the company's Gujarat facility and has been asked to vacate the official quarter in a day.
While normalcy in fuel supplies was restored within hours of the government smashing the strike on January 9, the hardships for 70 families of striking executives are far from over. Anuj and Payal are among the children of 64 ONGC officers across the country who have been sacked for joining the strike. There are three executives each from IndianOil and GAIL who too have been axed. In many cases, notices were pasted on the main entrance of their houses as several officers had left home and switched off their mobiles to avoid the notices.
'' My family is in a disarray . Should I be on street with my wife and two minor children in this cold and remote area? Is this the way you treat people who voluntarily go beyond call of duty, suffer hardships and spend months away from families to fuel the nation's growth? Even during the strike, we guarded every asset against any damage... we knew every (oil) well has to come back to production... it is our own property... we have given our blood for them,'' one sacked officer said.
These officers are being held more culpable than other strikers because all of them are office-bearers of the Oil Sector Officers Association which represents 35,000 officers of PSU oil companies.
Asked for his comment, ONGC chairman R S Sharma said: '' People in the government are not inhuman. I am not inhuman. There is a process. We will examine each case objectively and wherever applicable, suitable relief will be provided.'' He declined to discuss further whether '' suitable relief' ' could mean reinstatement.
Sharma's comment coincides with the mercy appeal each sacked employee has sent to him. The appeals have put Sharma in a Catch 22 situation . There is a perception in the government's top echelons that the managements had not acted tough with the strikers. Sharma and his management team would like to avoid giving another excuse to label them soft once again.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3976467.cms
Punish the guilty: Rahul on Satyam scam
Rahul made it clear that the unlawful activities that took place in Satyam Computers should not be ignored. Satyam's Development Centres | Satyam: Full Coverage
SEBI team probing insider trading in Satyam
The team is primarily inspecting the irregularities committed by Rajus and other manipulators in market.
RBI checking banks' exposure to Satyam firms
The RBI is checking local banks' exposure to firms run by the founding family of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services, with banking sources saying the focus was on property-related loans.
RoC submits Satyam probe report to Centre
Registrar of Cos here is believed to have submitted its report to the Centre on the preliminary probe into the Satyam scam.
Enforcement Directorate to check cross-border deals
Enforcement Directorate (ED) will examine the cross-border transactions of Satyam Computer Services.
Satyam may get a lifeline
The govt has offered to throw a financial lifeline to tottering Satyam to help it pay salaries to some 53,000 employees.
SEBI, Naidu turned off Satyam alarm in 2003?
SEBI and the government chose to ignore a report by the I-T department, thanks to Raju's close links with Chandrababu Naidu. New board members | Fall of Satyam
Bhave briefs PM on Satyam probe
SEBI chairman Bhave is understood to have briefed PM Manmohan Singh on the progress of the ongoing probe against Satyam.
Satyam's new board meets, likely to elect chairman
Satyam's 3-member board constituted by the govt on Sunday met for the first time on Monday. Gainers: BSE ( A, B ) | NSE | Losers: BSE ( A, B ) | NSE | 52 Week: High, Low
PMO monitoring Satyam's salvage operation
From the dizzying heights of heading a blue chip, Satyam founder Ramalunga Raju hurtles towards ignominy.
Now, scramble to get on Satyam board
There ia a not-so-subtle lobbying by individuals to join what is going to be the most talked about board of any company in a long time.
Govt to slap notices on Satyam directors, PwC
Govt would issue notices to PwC and all the board members of Satyam, asking them to explain their conduct in the $1 billion scam.
Banks submit details of Satyam exposure to RBI
RBI collected particulars of transactions that various banks including SBI and ICICI Bank had with Satyam.
CLB asks Satyam not to implement board decision
Company Law Board has asked Satyam's interim management for not implementing decisions of the board.
SEBI's Bhave discusses action on Satyam
SEBI chief Bhave on Saturday held discussions with Corporate Affairs Minister PC Gupta and his top officials.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/quickieslist/3960466.cms
India Inc's optimism takes a beating; dips to 24-quarter low
14 Jan 2009, 0142 hrs IST, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: India Inc continues to be pessimistic about the economy's growth prospects. The Dun and Bradstreet Business Optimism Index — unveiled a
fortnight ahead of RBI's official announcement — suggest that the level of optimism in the economy for the January-March quarter has dipped to the lowest in 24 quarters.
Reflecting the prevailing bearish business sentiment, the composite business optimism index for Q1 2009 fell to 95.7 — the lowest since it was introduced in the last quarter of 2002. It tumbled by a record 31.1% as compared with the previous quarter. On a year-on-year basis, it slid by 43%, the steepest-ever percentage fall.
Dun and Bradstreet selected its sample companies randomly from a cross-section of industries, including basic goods, capital goods, intermediate goods, consumer durables, consumer non-durables and service sectors. All the respondents in the survey were asked questions about their expectations on volume of sales, net profit, selling prices, new orders, inventory and employees.
They were asked whether the parameters pertaining to their respective companies will register an increase, decline or show no change in the ensuing quarter as against the comparable quarter in 2008. The individual indices were then calculated by subtracting the percentage of respondents expecting a decrease from those anticipating an increase.
All optimism indices have declined over the previous quarter's levels. While the sentiments have been bearish across all the sectors, the intermediate goods and basic goods sectors were the least optimistic in particular. The rapid decline in demand for finished goods across various sectors is expected to hamper the sale of basic and intermediate goods. This could have weighed down the sentiment of respondents from these sectors.
Further, with moderation in demand and difficulty in obtaining credit, companies might defer capital expenditure, which in turn is expected to take a toll on the capital goods sector.
As for service sectors, the intensifying global financial turmoil, slowdown in global growth, coupled with the recent Mumbai terror attack, have dampened the sentiments of the respondents. The optimism index for net profit touched a six-and-half-year low of 23%, a decrease of as much as 38 percentage points as compared with Q4 2008.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Indicators/India_Incs_optimism_takes_a_beating_dips_to_24-quarter_low/articleshow/3975032.cms
Business sentiment drops to record low, says D&B survey
MUMBAI: The Dun & Bradstreet Composite Business Optimism Index (BOI) for Q1 2009 fell to 95.7, the lowest value the index has registered since
it was introduced in Q4 2002, indicating business sentiment has dropped to record low.
As compared to the previous quarter, the Index dropped much as 31.1 per cent - a record fall. On a y-o-y basis, the BOI recorded its largest ever decrease of 43 per cent, Dun & Bradstreet said in its survey here.
The increase in downside risks to growth prospects of the Indian economy, coupled with waning domestic and international demand, has hampered the business sentiment significantly, Dun & Bradstreet - India, Chief Operating Officer, Kaushal Sampat said in a statement here.
The tight credit condition, which prevailed in the economy at the time of the survey, has also dented the corporate sentiments to a certain extent, he said.
Further, the November terror attack in Mumbai has also impacted confidence negatively. The crisis of confidence faced by the economy in general and the business community in particular is reflected in the record low of 95.7 touched by the BOI in Q1 2009, he said.
Going forward, external cues and policy actions taken by the Government and their impact on the domestic demand conditions will play a key role in determining business expectations over the next quarter Sampat said.
The Index is recognised as an indicator that measures the pulse of the business community and serves as a reliable benchmark for investors. It is arrived at on the basis of a quarterly survey of business expectations.
Modi locks adoring business in bear hug
- Tata leads the charge in showering praise
OUR BUREAU
Tata and Modi in Ahmedabad. (PTI)
Jan. 12: Breathe easy, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Forget Nandigram, forget toxic air, forget the roasting your government gets in court every now and then. All will be forgiven if you can give land in two days.
Narendra Modi has done that and put behind him what was once seen as an indelible blot: the riots of 2002.
Ratan Tata today drenched the chief minister in praise at an investor meet, holding Modi and his state up as a model for the rest of the country. By the time Tata was through, the industrialist found himself locked in a hug with Modi who strode across the podium with open arms.
"I have to say that today there is no state like Gujarat. Under Modi's leadership, Gujarat is head and shoulders above any state," Tata, who last year moved his small-car project from Bengal to Gujarat, told the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit in Ahmedabad.
Tata said a state would normally take 90 to 180 days to clear a new plant "but in the Nano case, we had our land and approval in just two days". In his "humble experience, it had never happened before", Tata added, seizing another opportunity to extol the "speed and transparency" with which Modi worked.
The Bengal CPM, still hurting from the Nano's shift to the turf of its bete noire, tried to shrug off "the humble experience". "We are not dear to Tata or near to him as Modi is," party state secretariat member Benoy Konar said in Calcutta. "They share the same class of politics. Tata came here in his own interest."
He added: "When Tata came to Bengal with the Nano project, he praised our government too. But that hardly matters to us. What hurts us is that industry could not come up here."
Others at the two-day summit that teemed with the A-listers of Indian industry were equally effusive as Tata. "To become an economic superpower," Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumarmangalam Birla said, "India needs many Narendra Modis."
It all sounded a far cry from 2002, when industry bosses had wondered if the Gujarat riots would hurt India's global image as an investment destination. In April that year, at a Confederation of Indian Industry meet in Delhi, then Thermax chairperson Anu Aga had confronted Modi with the accounts of rape and murder she had heard from inmates at a Gujarat relief camp.
Today, business leaders tripped over each other to commit their money to Gujarat as the summit saw MoUs worth Rs 382,675 crore signed on its first day.
Among those that signed deals were two investors with ties to Bengal: Prasoon Mukherjee's Universal Success Ltd and Mahendra K. Jalan's Keventer Agro.
Mukherjee has promised to pump Rs 87,000 crore over the next 10 years into a 10,000MW power plant, a commercial port and an industrial cluster. Jalan plans to invest Rs 115 crore in three agro-processing projects.
"Gujarat has shown how to bring investment during an economic slowdown. The government has taken an equity in our project, deferred payment of land price to reduce the burden on the promoter, apart from providing tax sops and full infrastructure support," Jalan said.
Mukherjee praised the "excellent response" from Gujarat and said "the encouraging investment climate in the state" had emboldened him to commit the big bucks.
Mukesh Ambani said the investment rush showed how much "approval" Modi enjoyed in India and abroad, from where 37 countries sent 500-odd delegates.
Even some from the western world appeared eager to be impressed by a riot-tainted politician whom the US had denied a visa. British MP Barry Gardiner, going a step ahead of Tata, said: "Gujarat can lead the world."
There seemed a glint in Modi's eyes as he claimed that Gujaratis have an inborn ability to turn adversity into opportunity. He gave his own formula for success: RACE -- R for low risk, A for alertness of the people, C for low cost and E for efficiency.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090113/jsp/frontpage/story_10382686.jsp
Mallya uncorks beer row
MUZAFFAR RAINA
Mallya
Srinagar, Jan. 12: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya today promised to bring the good times back to Kashmir, but sowed the seeds of a controversy by saying he would revive the cultivation of hops used in manufacturing beer.
The cultivation of hop — the female flower cones are used as an ingredient — has been opposed by separatists who are against the sale and consumption of liquor in Kashmir.
Mallya, a friend of National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah, said investment opportunities in the state topped his agenda.
"We need hops for beer and are keen to restart its cultivation and processing in the state. We will look at potential opportunities. I will look at the Optrex plant at Zainakote industrial estate and find out whether I need to re-acquire it in this new regime which is full of promise and hope," Mallya, whose United Breweries owns the Kingfisher brand, said.
Mallya owned the Optrex plant — which manufactured eye drops — in Zainakote on Srinagar's outskirts before militancy erupted in the Valley. He said the crop facility for hops, used to balance the sweetness of the malt with bitterness, and the processing plant was destroyed by militants.
"Cultivation of hops started in Shilvat (in Kashmir) in 1973. It was a successful project based on import substitution. The cultivation of hops was highly appreciated. Our facility was inaugurated by the Sher-e-Kashmir (Sheikh Abdullah). But in 1989-90, the entire crop facility processing plant was destroyed by terrorists or insurgents. That was the end of the project," he said.
Sources said indigenous yield of hops would benefit beer manufacturers in India, most of whom depend on imports from countries like Germany and the Czech Republic, one of the largest producers in the world.
Separatist groups said they would oppose the revival of hop cultivation. "We do not know if the National Conference is behind this. But if there is any such move, we will oppose it with our full might," said Hurriyat leader Maulvi Abbas Ansari.
The government was cautious in reacting to Mallya's desire. "Let him first approach us with a proposal. We will have to consider it then. It is too early to say whether we will allow or reject it," said finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather.
Mallya also announced he would promote Kashmir tourism in foreign countries through his Kingfisher Airlines.
"Kingfisher will go beyond flying and offer tourism-specific packages to sell Jammu and Kashmir in different parts of India and overseas. Our staff in Europe will sell tourism as a complete package. We will bring tourists here, arrange their hotels, sight-seeing, surface transport and golf," he said.
The Kingfisher boss said he was also toying with the idea of operating an international flight from Srinagar to Dubai via Delhi. "It is a little early to say when and where to fly. What immediately comes to mind is to have a flight from Srinagar to Dubai via Delhi. We will have customs and immigration in Srinagar," he said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090113/jsp/frontpage/story_10381232.jsp
Narendra Modi ko gussa kyu aata hain IBN7 20 OCT 9 30 PM - 02:42 - Oct 20, 2007
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Narendra Modi ko gussa kyu aata hain IBN7 20 OCT 9 30 PM Source : IBN7
Narendra Modi fights back - 52:49 - Oct 13, 2007
(94 Ratings) Rate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYD3fgqcmIQ
CM Narendra Modi in this video is at a news summit answering to the so-called psuedo-S...all » http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYD3fgqcmIQ Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in this video is at a news summit answering to the so-called psuedo-Secular overtly pro-Muslim biased english media, audience, and atheist Rajdeep Sardesai. I agree with Mr. Modi, it is the media which like a broken record is just stuck to portray him in a communal way. He has never said that he does not like muslims or said any derogatory remarks on islam. It is congress which is nonsecular and communal which has hurt millions of Indians by making derogatory remarks on Hindus. Here we have a chief minister who is speaking the language of "inclusive" development but media is just bent to blame him for divisive politics. Is this fair press? Tags: Narendra Modi CM Gujarat Hindustan Times Summit Riots Elections Bias Media Rajdeep Sardesai BJP«
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=nYD3fgqcmIQ
Narendra Modi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: ??????? ????????? ????, IPA: [n???n?d??? d?ämod???d?äs mod?i]; born 17 September 1950[1]) is the Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat since 7 October 2001.
He participated in the rise to political dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat as its elections organiser in the early 1990s. This was the period which led to the election of the party in 1995. He became Gujarat's Chief Minister in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections.
He was re-elected in December 2002 as chief minister with 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. His term has been both attacked for mismanagement of and complicity in the 2002 Gujarat violence,[2] and praised for outstanding administration for turning Gujarat into an economic powerhouse and controlling terrorism.[3][4]
In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously.[5]
He was elected again for a third term[6] on December 23, 2007 with an emphatic win in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".[7][8]
Gujarat earthquake
In October 2001 Modi was asked by BJP to head the government in Gujarat. At this time the state was facing a lot of problems due to recent natural calamities like the massive Gujarat Earthquake in January 2001. In this critical situation Modi is credited with starting immediate work to re-organize and stimulate the local economy.[12]
Economic growth
Modi took charge of Gujarat when its economy was shrinking and the domestic growth was stagnant.[4]. Faced with massive economic losses he re-organised the government's administrative structure and embarked upon a massive cost-cutting exercise.[13] As a result of his elaborate efforts Gujarat registered a GDP growth rate of over 10% during his first tenure. This was the highest growth rate among all the Indian states and was not missed by the media.[14] Continuing this extra-ordinary run, over the last year GDP growth rate was registered at 11.5%.[15]
Gujarat violence
Main article: 2002 Gujarat violence
In February 2002, while Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, violence broke out across the state claiming around 1000 lives. Independent estimates by human rights groups and NGOs place the figure higher to around 2000. The official estimate stated that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed, 223 people were reported missing and 2,500 were injured.[16] More than one hundred and fifty thousand people were displaced. Organisations such as Human Rights Watch criticised the Indian government for its failure to address the resulting humanitarian crisis. Overwhelming majority of the displaced were Muslims who had to flee their homes for refugee camps due to riots.[17] The root cause of riots was attributed to the Godhra Train Burning incident in which 58 Hindu Kar Sevaks were burnt alive in a train carriage. The Banerjee committee, set up by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in September 2004, in its report submitted in 2005 had said the burning of S-6 coach of Sabarmati express on February 27, 2002 was an accident.[18] The Nanavati Commission however termed the Sabarmati express incident as a 'pre-planned conspiracy' and gave a clean chit to Mr. Modi [19]
Investigations, judicial and non-governmental
Subsequent reports from Human Rights Watch and the national Human Rights Commission claimed that Modi and his ministers had a tacit, if not explicit, complicity in the riots. The report was quoted and expanded on by the United States State Department's country human rights reports for 2003.[20] The National Human Rights Commission criticized the government, pointing to "a comprehensive failure on the part of the State Government of Gujarat to control persistent violations of rights".[21] The claims of Human Rights Watch and associated groups were rejected by Modi, the BJP and its supporters as politically motivated.
A judicial commission constituted to examine allegations of Gujarat state administration's involvement in the riots of 2002 has said twice so far that there was no evidence as yet to implicate either Modi or his administration in the riots.[22]
An October 2007 report by the investigative newsmagazine Tehelka quoted several Sangh Parivar activists claiming that Modi was personally aware of the planning for the riots[23]. However this was rejected by the Nanavati Commission. Some political journalists and politicians have subsequently questioned the veracity of Nanavati Commission's report.[24][25].
Political fallout
As an aftermath of the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national parliament over the issue. Even DMK and TDP, allies of the BJP, asked for Modi's resignation.[26][27] Modi submitted his resignation to the Governor and recommended the dissolution of the 10th Gujarat Legislative Assembly.[28][29] In the following state re-elections the BJP, led by Modi, won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.
Denied entry into USA
The United States revoked a visa for Modi the following year, on the accusation that he was responsible for violations of religious freedom as per the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.[30] He was again denied a visa to the United States in August of 2008 for his human and religious rights violations. [31] The Coalition against Genocide (CAG) said that they have urged the state Department to put a lifetime ban on issuing a US visa to Narendra Modi. [32]
Indian PM Manmohan Singh criticized the decision as anti-India. Even though Mr. Singh belongs to the opposition Congress Party.[33]
2007 elections
Modi's 2007 election campaign was marked with some passionate speeches reflecting his vision for Gujarat and his aggressive leadership. One such speech was given at Magrol in response of Sonia Gandhi's speech calling him a "merchant of death",[34] and referred to Sohrabuddin's killings. For this speech the Election Commission of India, a constitutional body governing election proceedings in India, cautioned Modi as it considered it as indulging in an activity which may aggravate existing differences between different communities (namely Hindu-Muslim), create mutual hatred and cause communal tensions. This amounted to violation of the provision of clause [1] and [3] of the Model Code of Conduct during an election campaign. However a similar procedure was not brought against Sonia Gandhi causing a lot of furore in Modi's supporters.[35]
Position on terrorism
On 18 July 2006, Modi delivered a speech criticizing Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislations" such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the Centre to empower states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the blasts in Mumbai.[36] Quoting Modi:
" Terrorism is worse than a war. A terrorist has no rules. A terrorist decides when, how, where and whom to kill. India has lost more people in terror attacks than in its wars.[36] "
Narendra Modi frequently says that if the BJP wins the next General Election in India, they will honor the 2004 Supreme Court judgement to hang Afzal Guru.[37] Afzal was convicted of terrorism in the 2001 Indian Parliament attack in 2004 by the Supreme Court of India and is in Tihar Jail.[38]
During the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, on Thursday 27 November, Narendra Modi held a meeting to discuss waterfront security along the coastline.[39] At the conclusion of the meeting, it was decided that a number of steps be taken to improve security:
Increase the number of police stations along the coast to 50 (from 10)
Increase the number of police to 1500 from 250
30 modern high-speed surveillance boats (there are currently none)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narendra_Modi
Chief Minister Submits Detail Memorandum to the Prime Minister
Chief Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi
Indian Youth has Potential to lead the Universe : Shri Narendrabhai Modi
Chief Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi
Narendrabhai Modi spent the first day of the New Year with B.S.F Jawans in the border area of Kutchcha as a member of Jawan's family
Chief Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi
Narendra Modi : HomeHis personal website. Photogallery and promotional content.
www.narendramodi.in/ - 30k -
http://www.narendramodi.in/
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Slumdog Millionaire (2008) More at IMDbPro »
Overview
Directors:Danny Boyle
Loveleen Tandan (co-director: India)
Writers:Simon Beaufoy (screenplay) and
Vikas Swarup (novel)
Release Date:23 January 2009 (India) more
Genre:Crime | Drama | Romance more
Plot:The story of the life of an impoverished Indian teen Jamal Malik, who becomes a contestant on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to be A Millionaire?", wins, and is then suspected of cheating. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:Snorricam | Survival | Bombay India | Musical Number | Dutch Angle more
Awards:Won 4 Golden Globes. Another 26 wins & 23 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(740 articles) 'Role Models' beats 'Slumdog' to UK No.1
(From digitalspy. 14 January 2009, 4:58 AM, PST)
Fashion fix of the week: Green trench coat
(From BoxWish. 14 January 2009, 2:38 AM, PST)
Plot summary for
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) More at IMDbPro »
advertisementThe story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Each chapter of Jamal's increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show's seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out. At the heart of its storytelling lies the question of how anyone comes to know the things they know about life and love. Written by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Eighteen year old Jamal Malik is having an amazing answering streak on the Indian version of the television game show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". He's only one correct question away from the big prize. However, some, including those associated with the game show, question how someone like Jamal, a self confessed non-genius who grew up in the slums of Mumbai, can be doing so well on the show when others who are brighter, more educated and wealthier than him have failed. Is Jamal cheating? Is it purely luck that they have asked him the questions to which he knows the answers? Seeing Jamal's life journey to this point ultimately answers these questions. His life journey includes being orphaned at an early age; growing up with an older brother, Salim, who was both his guardian/protector and antagonist; and having a relationship since childhood with another orphaned child, a girl named Latika. His motivation for being on the show also may provide some answers to his success. Perhaps it was all just meant to be. Written by Huggo
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Plot Synopsis:Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal Malik (Patel), an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai... more (warning! contains spoilers)
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/plotsummary
UK doesn't feel Pak govt was involved in 26/11
New Delhi Britain on Tuesday differed with India's view that Pakistan's official agencies could have had a role in Mumbai attacks even as it underlined that Islamabad has the "fundamental" responsibility to target the "roots" of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which was behind the terror strike.
India hoped that Pakistan would hand over the "fugitives of Indian law", notwithstanding Islamabad's refusal to do so, and asked the world community to build pressure on Pakistan in a "concerted" manner to ensure that perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks are brought to justice.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who held "exhaustive" talks with his British counterpart David Miliband, apprised him of details of the Mumbai attacks and its links in Pakistan.
"It is clear where the responsibility lies for Mumbai attacks, it is with the LeT," Miliband said at a joint press conference with Mukherjee after their talks.
"Pakistan government, Pakistani state has the primary responsibility, fundamental responsibility to tackle the roots of this organisation," the British Foreign Minister said.
On Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's view that official agencies of Pakistan could have been involved in the Mumbai strikes, Miliband said "we do not believe the attacks were directed by Pakistani state".
He, however, said it is important to see what is the "approach of Pakistani state towards LeT organisation and the way Pakistani state takes on the LeT."
India may snap biz links with Pak: Chidambaram
London India may break off business, transport and tourist links with Pakistan if it fails to help to investigate the Mumbai attacks, Home Minister P Chidambaram has warned, pressing Islamabad to 'cooperate soon'. "There are many, many links between India and Pakistan, and if Pakistan does not cooperate and does not help to bring the perpetrators to heel, those ties will become weaker and weaker and one day snap," Chidambaram told 'The Times' daily.
"Why would we entertain Pakistani business people? Why would we entertain tourists in India? Why would we send tourists there?"
Chidambaram refused to discuss when such measures might be introduced, but said: "We need cooperation soon."
Accusing Islamabad of doing nothing to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks blamed on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba, Chidamabaram said Islamabad has provided 'nothing' so far after New Delhi handed over a dossier of evidence linking elements within that country to the Mumbai terror attacks of November 26.
Asked what Pakistan was doing to help with the investigation, Chidambaram said: "Zero. What have they provided? Nothing."
UP plans privatization, sell-off in 33 sugar mills
Mumbai Uttar Pradesh, India's second largest sugar producer, is planning to privatise or completely sell-off 33 state-owned sugar mills in an effort to reduce the burden of the loss-making units, a top official said.
"The process of disinvestment should be over before this year end," V.P. Dube, managing director of UP State Sugar Cooperation Ltd, said in an interview on Wednesday. All the 33 mills are owned by the corporation.
The previous attempt to sell-off the state-owned mills in 2008 was unsuccessful as the bids received were lower than the reserve price, Dube said.
The government has undertaken financial restructuring of the mills to help reduce the accumulated losses, Dube said.
The losses by the end of 2007/08 was about 20 billion rupees, but it has fallen after the state government decided to convert loans into equity and waive off interest part, Dube said.
"The conversion of loans into equity and removal of interest portion will help in reducing losses by about 5-6 billion rupees," Dube said.
The corporation is in the process of appointing an advisory firm, which will suggest the route to be taken for disinvestment of the mills. Nineteen of the 33 mills are shut, Dube said.
Once the sale or privatisation process is completed the new owners would also get the reserve area or the cane growing area surrounding the mills, Dube said.
The state produced an estimated 7.3 million tonnes of the sweetener in the year ended September 2008, mostly by the private mills, compared with about 9.1 million tonnes produced in western state of Maharashtra, the top producer.
Some of the large private mills with presence in the state include Bajaj Hindustan, Balrampur Chini, and Triveni Engineering.
In the year ending September 2009, the corporation has so far produced only about 90,000 tonnes of sugar and total production is likely to be less than 300,000 tonnes.
"The overall output is seen lower as crushing this year will be short due to lower cane availability," Dube said.
The output in the state in the current year is likely to drop to about 6.2 million tonnes due to lower cane availability as farmers shifted to other crops for better returns, a senior UP Sugar Mills Association official said last year.
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=kxWq9bKRmc0
Slumdog Millionaire - Trailer
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=AIzbwV7on6Q
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - Danny Boyle On India
Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) discusses the benefits and challenges of shooting a film in India. See Slumdog Millionaire in Select Theaters Nov. 12!
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=HJRzk2WfOAo
Inside Story - Gaza protests - 13 Jan 09 - Part 2
Protests against Israel's offensive in Gaza have been taking place around the world, in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Africa and the Americas. Counter demonstrations by members of the Jewish dia...
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=7L6-5rYop4Q
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - Behind the Scenes with Dev Patel
Go behind the scenes with actor Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionaire during the New York press day for the film. Check out Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later)...
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Mh-9mtO-U
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - Danny Boyle on Destiny
Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) talks about the role of Destiny in his new film, Slumdog Millionaire. Check out Slumdog Millionaire, now playing in a select theater near you!...
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=KJNCCd8mnQk
For kids in 'Slumdog' slum, life is not as upbeat
Reuters
In Nehru Nagar, the teeming Mumbai slum featured in the Golden Globe-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire', the only music heard is on tiny radio sets and the young boys have no ambition to appear on quiz shows.
While the crowded slum with its unpaved alleys, open sewers and tiny shacks is faithfully portrayed in the film, for the kids playing cricket with wooden planks near a smoking landfill, the story of protagonist Jamal Malik is unimaginable.
"I have never even tried to get on a quiz show on TV," said Siddhant, a cheerful 12-year old, shrugging his shoulders.
For Siddhant, who studies in the seventh grade in a nearby school, his role models are cricketers and his hero is Sachin Tendulkar, India's batsman.
He and his friends have little interest in watching 'Slumdog Millionaire', which was mostly shot in Nehru Nagar and nearby Dharavi, when it is released in India next week.
"We saw some parts of the shooting, and that was nice, but I won't see the film," said Alpesh, also 12.
"I only like Shah Rukh Khan films," he said, referring to the popular actor who usually plays the romantic hero in big-budget Bollywood productions.
GET A PEEK
Director Danny Boyle, in publicity material for a film he called a Dickensian tale, said he shot in real, gritty locations "to show the beauty and ugliness and sheer unpredictability" of Mumbai.
'Slumdog Millionaire', which tells the rags-to-riches tale of an orphan from such a slum, won four Golden Globe awards on Sunday, including one for Indian music composer AR Rahman.
But there is little upbeat or ambitious about Nehru Nagar, and some newspapers have criticised Boyle for romanticising the slums and peddling grim realities.
Others have sprung to Boyle's defence.
"If through (the movie) the world gets a peek at an India inhabited by millions of people who continue to live their lives without clean water, sanitation or electricity, what is the problem?" wrote Kalpana Sharma, author of a book on Dharavi, Asia's largest slum, in the 'Indian Express' paper.
India's own film industry, best known for its racy action flicks and lush romances, has delved before into the slums in Mumbai occasionally, and there is growing interest from tourists.
Reality Tours & Travel, which offers guided tours of Dharavi, calls the slum "a place of poverty and hardship but also a place of enterprise and humour", saying the tours are meant to dispel the negative image that many people have about slums in Mumbai.
"People want to understand how the country works, experience a culture that is alien to them and goes beyond the standard tourist spots," said co-founder Chris Way.
To people in the slums though, a movie like 'Slumdog' probably would not make a huge difference because "they are just too busy getting on with their lives", he said.
That thought is echoed by 14-year old Rajan, who when asked what he would do if he won a prize, shrugs his shoulders.
"What would I do with all that money?" he said.
Modi's 'Taj Mahal' to displace 35,000 families, says IIM-A study
Ujjwala Nayudu
Posted: Jan 14, 2009 at 0312 hrs IST
Ahmedabad They say its Modi's 'Taj Mahal', but the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, which is expected to attract maximum attention during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit 2009, will displace around 35,000 odd families from the riverbed and the surrounding areas, according to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A).
Navdeep Mathur, a professor at IIM-A, said: "We conducted this study as part of the PGP-PMP course on displacement and rehabilitation issues in the governance. According to the interaction with community leaders and activists, we came to know that nearly 35,000 families will be affected".
Mathur's team visited the riverbed area in October, followed by a field visit two weeks ago in January. He added: "There is no clarity on the counting of project affected families. We found out that the there was little or no communication with the communities".
The survey of NGOs - Action Aid and Sabarmati Nagarik Adhikar Manch - and social activists stated that about 35,000 families will be affected, which is in stark contrast to the 4,400 figure given by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) initially. The locals of the riverbed, with the help of activists, had filed a petition against the AMC in the Gujarat High Court.
Girish Patel, a social activist and an advocate, said: "The court had ordered an interim, asking the AMC not to displace people without constructing relocation dwellings for them. The AMC did not give a final reply and thus the interim is still pending in the court".
According to Patel, the AMC kept postponing the matter and didn't respond to the court's letters. However, it had admitted to the court in 2005 that 8,000 families would be affected by the project. "The AMC was also going to form a committee to look into the matter of rehabilitation, but it never took shape. While our survey has shown that 35,000 families will be affected, the government is still sticking to 8,000 families", said Patel.
As per the decision of the high court, the families displaced by the project had to be rehabilitated by the AMC. But the findings of both the activists and the IIM-A team show unfulfilled promises.
Mathur said: "The court order clearly asked the government to construct dwellings for the people. Moreover, some relocation sites we visited didn't even have basic amenities. The government should have formed the rehabilitation policy before designing the project. The rehabilitation houses should have been constructed much before proposing such a project".
Dilip Mahajan, Executive Director of SRFDCL, claims, "According to our 2003-04 survey, 7,500 families will be affected. We have submitted the rehabilitation plans to the court. Under the JNNURM schemes, 19,000 houses will be constructed, out of which 600 are ready and 180 families have already moved in".
The 1976 cut off date, which is the benchmark to rehabilitate people, is also seen to be a major hazard to thousands of families residing on the riverbed. Mathur said: "I find this cut-off policy absolutely absurd".
Talking about the slum policy, Patel added: "The government has time and again showed that they do not believe in this policy. The AMC needs to push the cut-off dates. Earlier when it tried to push the 1976 cut-off to 1995, the state government opposed it."
Amidst the long-drawn dispute of the number of project-affected people on the riverbed, the government has already finished constructing the diaphragm wall of the Railway station to Vasna Bridge, 404 of the retaining walls, 35 per cent of the earth filling and the walkways.
The 100 roads on the either sides will be constructed soon.
SRFD PROJECT DISPLACEMENTS
* 177 families were evacuated due to the construction of the Vasna Pirana Bridge and have been temporarily relocated at Pirana
* 140 families from Khodiyarnagar were evacuated and asked to go to Santosh Nagar due to the construction of a drainage line and have been temporarily relocated at Pirana
* 415 families near Nehru Bridge were asked to evacuate, according to an urgent displacement asked by the AMC from the high court. The AMC procured permission to displace the families by showing the blueprint of houses to be constructed for this segment. But the residents have not vacated their houses this time. They have demanded to see the alternative houses first and thenmove.
* 150 families were evacuated from the riverbed to build the retaining walls and no relocation has been given
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Modis-Taj-Mahal-to-displace-35-000-families-says-IIMA-study/410542/
A man with a mission
A leader with conviction
A manager with vision
Mr Narendra Modi has the distinction of being the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat. He firstly assumed this responsibility in October 2001. Thereafter, he has had sweeping victories in two successive Assembly Elections held in December 2002 and December 2007. He has also won successive elections of the local bodies including the Panchayats, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations. The victory of 2007 is a reaffirmation of the people's faith in his leadership, statesmanship and governance which he displayed in last six years as Chief Minister.
Passionate and progressive, a poet at heart and an author of a few books, tech-savvy, Mr Narendra Modi is one of the most responsive political leaders in India. Born to a middle class family in the Mehsana district of Gujarat in 1950, a masters in political science, he entered social life right at the beginning of his life, in the early seventies.
He is widely regarded as a youthful and energetic leader with innovative thoughts and determination to implement them. He has successfully communicated his vision to 55 million people of Gujarat and has been able to instill a sense of confidence in what they have and a hope for a golden tomorrow. A wide cross section of the people of Gujarat, cutting across religions, income groups and political affiliations, continue to adore Mr Narendra Modi as an able and visionary leader. An astute politician, a skilled orator and a deft negotiator, Mr. Narendra Modi has earned the love and affection of the people from villages and cities alike which makes him a rare leader of the masses.
When the Modi government was sworn-in in October 2001, the economy of Gujarat was reeling under several adverse trends, particularly natural calamities. The state had witnessed successive droughts, devastating cyclones even before it was hit by a disastrous earthquake in January 2001. The growth in various sectors was stagnant, major parts of the state were facing water scarcity, infrastructure was in shambles and investments had slowed down. Moreover, the mood of the people was despondent. The biggest challenge was to resurrect the spirits and the economy, revive the livelihoods and to reconstruct the infrastructure including those in the earthquake affected areas. Thousands of earthquake affected people were living in temporary shelters without any basic infrastructure. However Modi, a master strategist enriched by national and international exposure and experience, decided to take the bull by its horns and turned an adversity into an opportunity. He re-oriented and re-organized government's administrative structure, embarked upon a massive exercise for rehabilitation of people, reconstruction of infrastructure, recreation of the business environment and rejuvenation of the traditional entrepreneurial spirit of Gujarat. This successfully put Gujarat back on the road to progress and prosperity. Gujarat is now popularly known as "Vibrant Gujarat".
Even when the reconstruction and rehabilitation was going on, Modi did not lose sight of the bigger and larger picture. He emphasized on all-inclusive and uniform development of all communities and regions In the very first year of his tenure, he came out with an integrated strategy for overall development of the State. It is known as Panchamrut (five nectars) and includes Jal Shakti: Harnessing of Water Resources, Gyan Shakti: Quality and coverage in Education, Jan Shakti: Development of Human Resources, Urja Shakti: Power of energy sources and Raksha Shakti: Security and well being of people. Gujarat has registered a GDP growth of over 10% over past five years which is the highest growth rate among all the states in India. Gujarat has been rated as the best state in investment climate and economic freedom. The state has got awards and accolades from national and international forums on several fronts including agriculture, energy and water management, IT and BT and e-governance. The efforts of his government have resulted into metamorphosis of a revenue deficit state into a revenue surplus state.
He mooted a model of development through people's participation. USP of his development model has been : a quantum leap (think big) and change right from the roots (no cosmetic changes). A large number of water harvesting structures like check dams, farm ponds and initiatives like Krishi Mahotsav (agricultural festival) and Kanya kelavani campaign (girl child education drive) are its examples. Agriculture production quadrupled from Rs.9000 crores to 34,000 crores. Gujarat leads in energy production with 1878 megawatts of power generation. Through the Jyotigram yojana, he has been able to supply uninterrupted three phase round the clock electricity to all the 18,000 villages of the state. The rural economy is now vibrant owing to this and the villages have turned into centers of production. The state has ushered in a water revolution with creation of a large number of water harvesting structures and popularization of micro-irrigation techniques. Qualitative change has been brought in health services and health infrastructure alongwith schemes like Chiranjeevi and Balbhog which are novel initiatives to ensure a healthy mother and child. Focus on cent per cent enrollment of children through campaigns like Kanya kelavani and Shaala praveshotsav and resultant drooping drop out rates have been able to reverse the trend of high illiteracy rate from Gujarat.
Mr. Modi believes in the fact that good infrastructure is the driver of economic development. He therefore, paid utmost attention on physical and social infrastructure and involved private sector in their development. The rapid and qualitative development of ports, roads, railways, LNG terminals, gas distribution and water distribution networks and other infrastructure facilities are being discussed nationwide. He has also created excellent infrastructure at tourist and religious places. Urban sector has been enlivened by up gradation of civic amenities and emphasis on cleanliness and greening and reduction of vehicular pollution. The well conceived, meticulously planned and professionally organized Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Biennial Summits held in 2003, 2005 and 2007 have put Gujarat as a preferred investment destination among global investors. These summits have not only attracted investments worth billions of USD but also created huge employment opportunities in the state. Its logical fall out is skill development for various class of people on a massive scale. To ensure all round, all inclusive and uniform development, comprehensive and well conceived packages like Vanbandhu kalyan (tribal welfare), Sagarkhedu (development of coastal dwellers), Garib samruddhi (upliftment of urban poor) are under implementation.
A leader who believes in team-work and a good work culture, Mr Modi has launched an ambitious training programme for the 500,000 government employees in Gujarat which is being watched in awe by every other state. Many of his initiatives like evening courts, interlinking of rivers, jyotigram, grievance redressal through SWAGAT online and others are being viewed as models for replication at the national level. The state is now rated as the best e-governed state in the country. With his focus on cent per cent computerization of the villages and emphasis on quick disposal of people's grievances, the state is set to usher into village level e-governance. Narendra Modi government has bagged more than five dozen awards in the last five years including the ones at the international level like the UN Sasakawa award for disaster reduction, CAPAM Gold award for able governance, World Bank's Green award for environment friendly work during rebuilding after the earthquake, UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award and award from Global Interpolis, Singapore. Gujarat is today rated as the best state in bio technology initiatives too.
During his years with the RSS, Mr Modi played an important role on several occasions, including the 1974 Navnirman aandolan and during the harrowing 19 month long National Emergency when fundamental rights of Indian citizens were suspended. Mr Modi, who stayed underground for the entire period, was instrumental in fighting a spirited battle against the fascist ways of the then government. After serving the RSS for about a decade-and-a-half, in 1988, Mr Modi was made the General Secretary of the BJP's (Bhartiya Janata Party) Gujarat unit. By that time he had already acquired the reputation of being a highly efficient organiser. He took up the challenging task of energising the party cadres in right earnest. Between 1988 and 1995, Mr Modi was recognised as a master strategist who had successfully carried out the necessary ground work for making the Gujarat BJP the ruling party of the state.
In 1995 Mr Modi was asked by his party to play a role at the national level – he was appointed as Secretary of the BJP's national unit at New Delhi. He was promoted as General Secretary (Organisation) in 1998, a post he held until October 2001, when he was chosen to be the chief minister of one of India's most progressive states, Gujarat. During his stint at the national level, Mr Modi was asked to oversee the affairs of several state level BJP units, including the sensitive and crucial states like Jammu & Kashmir and the equally sensitive north-eastern states besides the state like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh etc. He is being credited for successfully revamping the party organization in several states. While working at the national level, Mr Modi emerged as an important spokesman for the party and played a key role on several important occasions.
Modi's model of good governance is being applauded within the country and beyond. The way he has won the hearts of people of Gujarat and his popularity at the national level show that 'Good governance is also good politics'
http://www.gujaratindia.com/Government/govt2.htm
Reasons to love Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi has been successful in giving clean, effective and progressive governance over the last five years. In Modi's reign, Gujarat stands fourth among the states that contribute most to the national GDP..
CJ: Sanjay , 26 Oct 2007 Views:12378 Comments:86
WHATEVER be the respective political orientations, I like the men who are men: those who stand by whatever they believe in and take on the world, if needed.
My earliest memory of Narendra Modi is as the BJP spokesperson. What I liked most about him was his precise, distinct, direct, and disciplined use of words and his honest belief in whatever he said.
It was around 10 years back that he got his share of whatever happened in Gujarat. But he never complained in frustration. You need real fortitude and determination to be a Narendra Modi! And this is the reason that when he says "Actually, I have not spent a single minute on my image and that can also be a reason. I am busy with my work. I am committed to Gujarat. I am dedicated to Gujarat. I never talk about my image. I never spent a single minute for my image and therefore confusions may be there" in his recent interview with an English journalist, no one can question his dedication.
No doubt, he is a demagogue, who let Gujarat burn and let innocent people (sorry I can't discriminate between Muslims and Hindus) get killed. But one can't ignore the fact that today Gujarat is flourishing. It stands fourth among the states that contribute most to the national GDP (about Rs1.03 trillion).
It is one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investment in India and it is on Kerala's path of providing education to everybody in the state. If one says that it is all due to the resilient people of Gujarat who are making all this possible, then one can't blame him for any mishap in the state.
Rajeev Gandhi foundation has declared Gujarat to be the best-administered state in India.
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more >> India Today, on the two separate occasions, declared that he is the most efficient Chief Minister. These things became possible only because he is successful in giving clean, effective and progressive governance over last five years. Outside Gujarat everyone may like to hate Modi but whoever visits Gujarat once, can't stop praising its road, infrastructure etc.
I believe that in a democratic and dynamic country, masses have the last word and masses always override media and other speculations. The truth will finally dawn on the people. It's the people of Gujarat who will decide the fate of the 'modern day Nero' Narendra Modi.
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=127250
Why India needs Narendra Modi?
Suhel Seth
Posted: 2008-10-19 23:38:53+05:30 IST
Updated: Oct 19, 2008 at 2338 hrs IST
Discuss : Let me begin with a set of disclosures: I have perhaps written more articles against Modi and his handling of the post-Godhra scenario than most people have; I have called him a modern-day Hitler and have always said that Godhra shall remain an enduring blemish not just on him but on India's political class. I still believe that what happened in Gujarat during the Godhra riots is something we as a nation will pay a heavy price for. But the fact is that time has moved on. As has Narendra Modi. He is not the only politician in India who has been accused of communalism. It is strange that the whole country venerates the Congress Party as the secular messiah but it was that party that presided over the riots in 1984 in which over 3,500 Sikhs died: thrice the number killed in Gujarat.
The fact of the matter is that there is no better performer than Narendra Modi in India's political structure. Three weeks ago, I had gone to Ahmedabad to address the YPO and I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up with Modi. I called him the evening before and I was given an appointment for the very day I was getting into Ahmedabad. And it was not some official meeting but instead one at his house. As frugal as the man Modi is.
And this is something that the Gandhis and Mayawatis need to learn from Modi. There were no fawning staff members; no secretaries running around; no hangers on…just the two of us with one servant who was there serving tea. And what was most impressive was the passion which Modi exuded. The passion for development; the passion for an invigorated Gujarat; the passion for the uplifting the living standards of the people in his state and the joy with which he recounted simple yet memorable data-points. For instance, almost all of the milk consumed in Singapore is supplied by Gujarat; or for that matter all the tomatoes that are eaten in Afghanistan are produced in Gujarat or the potatoes that Canadians gorge on are all farmed in Gujarat. But it was industry that was equally close to
his heart.
It was almost like a child, that he rushed and got a coffee table book on GIFT: the proposed Gujarat Industrial City that will come up on the banks of the Sabarmarti: something that will...
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/why-india-needs-narendra-modi/375103/
`Let us all salute Narendra Modi` - Sify.comSalute Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat. Click your heels and salute the millions of Gujaratis too who stood rock solid behind him. ...
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'Taare Zameen Par' out of the Oscar race
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BollywoodHungamaNewsNetwork
Posted: Jan 14, 2009 at 1437 hrs IST
Mumbai We actually hate to do this, but since our job is to bring exclusive news to you, we, with a heavy heart inform you that 'Taare Zameen Par', India's official entry to the Oscars, is out of the Oscar race in the 'Best Foreign Film' category. The irony of the situation is that on one hand while his 'Ghajini' is breaking records, the news of TZP being out of the Oscars must have broken a million hearts, including his.
The 9 films that will advance to the to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category include: 'Revanche' (Austria), 'The Necessities of Life' (Canada), 'The Class' (France), 'The Baader Meinhof Complex' (Germany), 'Waltz with Bashir' (Israel), 'Departures' (Japan), 'Tear This Heart Out' (Mexico), 'Everlasting Moments' (Sweden) and '3 Monkeys' (Turkey).
This is actually the second time that Aamir has lost out in the race to the Oscars, the first time being 'Lagaan', though back then the film had reach the final round. One just hopes that the saying of 'third time lucky' really rubs off on Bollywood's very own 'prized possession' Aamir Khan!
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Taare-Zameen-Par-out-of-the-Oscar-race/410655/
Warner makes Bollywood debut with kung fu comedy
Reuters
Posted: Jan 14, 2009 at 1135 hrs IST
New York British director Danny Boyle's Indian foray paid off with the award-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' and now Warner Bros. Pictures hopes its debut Bollywood film will reap some U.S. box office success.
Billed as the first ever Bollywood kung fu comedy, 'Chandni Chowk to China' opens on Friday in India and on more than 125 screens in the United States and Canada -- the largest Bollywood release in North America, says Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros.
'Chandni Chowk to China,' starring veteran Bollywood star Akshay Kumar who has made more than 120 films, tells the tale of a poor cook who travels to China to become a kung fu hero. The film, whose title refers to the bustling Chandni Chowk market of Delhi, is the studio's first Indian production.
"There have been lots of Bollywood films in the past which had have the potential of crossing over, but could not cross over mainly because they did not have a studio backing it with a strong distribution network," said director Nikhil Advani.
"If this one succeeds, even if it marginally succeeds ... I think there will be a wave of more Bollywood films," he told reporters in a recent interview.
Bollywood, as the Indian film industry centered in Mumbai is called, churns out about 1,000 movies a year and is known for its colorful sets, extravagant costumes and elaborate song-and-dance sequences.
The new film, which Kumar said cost about $8 million, is also being released in 30 other countries, but Richard Fox, executive vice president Warner Bros international, said the studio doesn't have grand expectations.
"This one, we think, will play broadly, but to the Indian diaspora. We're not fooling ourselves," Fox told reporters.
"Our film is totally in Hindi, so we're going in especially in a market like this (in the United States), in the U.K., in Australia. Our audiences here don't like subtitled movies so we're going in with a handicap right away," he said.
NO 'SLUMDOG' BOOST
Advani and Fox said Fox Searchlight's Golden Globe Award winning 'Slumdog Millionaire' -- the story of a boy searching for love on a quiz show which pays tribute to Bollywood with a dance number -- is not expected to boost to their film.
"It's great that they're both in the marketplace because one is a pure Bollywood film and the other one is a really brilliant film that takes place in India, in Mumbai. They complement each other," Fox said.
Advani, who met Boyle when they were filming their movies on sound stages next to each other in Mumbai, said that while Bollywood is attracting more international directors it would be difficult for foreign directors to make a Bollywood film.
"It's very important for you to be able to understand the Indian culture for you to be able to make a Bollywood film," he said. "People will be a little shocked when they see the film for the first time ... by the kind of in-your-face emotions, whether its comedy or heroes crying. You have to get used to watching a Bollywood film."
That has brought more investors, including Hollywood studios, such as Warner Bros, Walt Disney, Fox Searchlight, NBC Universal, Viacom and Sony Pictures.
While Hollywood is easily the No. 1 film industry in the world, Bollywood is one of the fastest growing with some experts forecasting it could double in size by 2012.
Paratroopers will meet NSG manpower needs: Army chief
New Delhi To meet additional demand for special troops for the National Security Guard, army has agreed to provide its paratroopers for manning new NSG hubs set to come up in four cities to tackle any terrorist threat.
"Whatever paratroopers or other troops are required to enhance the capabilities of the NSG, we will provide them," army chief General Deepak Kapoor said in Delhi on Wednesday on the sidelines of a seminar on 'Threats and Challenges for the Indian Army'.
"The army is certainly facing shortage of officers and we will see how we can combat it. But if the government needs manpower in the anti-terror operations, we will certainly provide them," Kapoor said when queried about the army's manpower constraint and meeting the government demand for NSG.
He said the Special Forces (SF) should enhance its capabilities and develop interoperability with the NSG to tackle the terror threat and stressed the need for every armed unit of the army to have the capability to counter heightened threats from terrorists.
"Every combat arms unit should have a limited, yet focused capability to meet such challenges," Kapoor said.
He said the country will continue to rely on SF of the three Services to tackle the threat from terrorists till the time the NSG was able to expand to its planned capacities.
"The country will continue to rely on some of the SF, which are there with the respective services, predominantly with the army, should there be a situation," the army chief said.
Stating that the army will be required to upgrade its capabilities to tackle low-intensity conflicts (LICO), he said: "We will require renewed focus on the upgrading of the counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency capabilities based on emerging technologies to train and equip our soldiers to fight cleaner, better and safer."
Kapoor said the force would continue to play a role in counter-terrorist operations, even though they were the responsibility of the forces under the home ministry.
"Countering terrorism and managing internal security primarily remains the responsibility of the home ministry and agencies under it. However, since heightened terrorist attacks have become a reality today, we need to take some measures for self-protection and provide assistance to the Central forces in times of emergencies," Kapoor said.
He said the armed forces were required to maintain a high level of combat readiness at all times to meet emergencies.
"We live in troubled times and a fragile region and the possibility of a marginal conventional conflict cannot be ruled out. We must maintain high level of combat readiness at all times," he said.
On the nuclear threat faced by the region, Kapoor said: "The presence of nuclear weapons in our neighbourhood, underlines the fact that any conventional war can at any time turn in to a nuclear war, provided a certain thresh-hold is crossed by either side."
Differences cropping up in Hamas: Report
New York Heavy Israeli assault in Gaza that has killed over 900 Palestinians has so far failed to cripple the military wing of Hamas completely but has led to differences emerging within the outfit, with the leaders in Gaza more eager for a ceasefire, a media report said on Wednesday.
Citing Israeli intelligence officials, the New York Times said the military wing of Hamas has been hit "to a certain extent" with "a few hundred" fighters killed during the ground offensive that began midway through the war.
Hamas, however, is still able to launch 20 to 30 rockets a day, including 5 to 10 missiles of ranges longer than 20 kilometres, though the number has gone down by a third from the start of the war, the officials were quoted as saying.
The comments, said the New York Times, reflected a view among some Israeli officials that any lasting solution to the conflict would require either a breakthrough diplomatic accord that heavily restricts Hamas's military abilities or a deeper ground assault into urban areas of Gaza, known as a possible "Phase Three" of the war.
The situation has been complicated by differences within Hamas, with those in Gaza preferring a ceasefire but their sponsors outside opposing it, the paper said, citing Egyptian officials.
The Israeli intelligence officials told the paper that there were some signs that the military assault had undermined Hamas's political cohesion, and that Hamas's leaders in hiding inside Gaza were more eager for a ceasefire than group leaders in exile.
They described this assessment as based on hard intelligence, presumably telephone intercepts, the paper said. A senior Egyptian official in Cairo was quoted as saying separately on Tuesday that representatives of Hamas had disagreed openly when participating in continuing Egyptian efforts to broker a ceasefire.
Greater damage, they said, has been done to Hamas's capacity to run Gaza, with a large number of government buildings destroyed over the course of the operation.
In Egypt, efforts to broker a ceasefire were complicated by bickering inside Hamas, Egyptian official said, adding that Hamas representatives in Gaza were eager for a ceasefire, but were being blocked because political decisions were being made by the group's leadership in Damascus, Syria.
"Hamas is in a very difficult position," the Egyptian official told the paper. "On the ground, their militants are not doing as good a job, not matching their rhetoric. But politically, they have been totally taken over by their sponsors."
"The guys inside are holding their ground, but they don't want to continue the confrontation," the official said.
Egypt talks to Hamas but is not eager to see the radical Islamic group running a small statelet next door, Times said.
Israeli officials were quoted as saying that they were delaying any expansion of the war until the negotiations succeeded or failed. But journalists and photographers along the Israeli border with Gaza said they saw large numbers of Israeli reservists moving into the territory, suggesting preparation for an intensified phase of the conflict, the Times reported.
US man sells daughter for cash, beer and meat
San Francisco A man in California has been arrested for arranging to sell his 14-year-old daughter for 16,000 dollars, 100 crates of beer and several cases of meat, police have said.
Authorities in the rural farming community of Greenfield, 225 kms southeast of San Francisco, said the 36-year-old Hispanic man sold the child to an 18-year-old man who was to marry the girl.
The case came to light after the parent complained to police that his daughter's prospective husband had failed to pay him under the terms of their deal, which was brokered by a third party.
The man has been arrested on human trafficking charges while the 18-year-old has been booked for statutory rape. The child has been returned to the family.
Greenfield Police Department said in a statement there had been several cases where children had been sold or offered for sale, including one incident involving a 12-year-old.
"While each case is unique, the issues of arranged marriages involving minor females or the selling of minor females to older males have become a local problem," the statement said.
Audit opinion may be unreliable: PwC
Hyderabad Price Waterhouse, auditors of Satyam for over eight years, has informed the scam-ridden IT firm's new board that its audit of the company's financials could be "inaccurate and unreliable" in view of the financial irregularities disclosed by Ramalinga Raju. Noting that it has been auditing Satyam Computer since the quarter ended June 2000 till September 2008, Price Waterhouse said that all those financial statements were prepared by the management. It further said that it relied "on management controls over financial reporting, and the information and explanations provided by the management, as also the verbal and written representations made to us during the course of our audits."
Satyam as well as PwC are the subject of regulatory and government investigation into the country's biggest corporate fraud - involving Rs 7,800 crore - disclosed by Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju. Raju, his brother Rama Raju and Satyam CFO Vadlamani Srinivas are in judicial custody now.
"We hope to work with the company and provide assistance to the new board of directors to address any issues that arise in the course of such investigations to enable both the company and us as your statutory auditors to fulfill obligations under applicable law."
Copies of the letter, dated January 13, were also sent to RoC Hyderabad, SEBI, RBI, Central Board of Direct Taxes, BSE, NSE and NYSE.
More Satyam directors within two days: Govt
New Delhi The government is likely to appoint more directors on the board of the crisis-ridden Satyam Computer Services soon.
"More directors will be appointed within two days," a senior official of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said on Wednesday.
The government earlier appointed a three-member board comprising HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, Nasscom past president Kiran Karnik and past presiding officer of Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) C Achuthan to steer the beleaguered company out of the present crisis.
Among the probable, the government is considering to appoint noted industry expert and former chairman of the Hindustan Lever (presently Hindustan Unilever) Ashok S Ganguly to the Satyam Board.
In view of the disclosure by Satyam's founder-chairman B Ramalinga Raju that company was doctoring account books, the government disbanded the existing board of the IT major and appointed its own nominees.
As per the Company Law Board (CLB) decision on Satyam, the board of the IT major can have a maximum of 10 directors.
After the first meeting of the newly constituted three-member board on Monday, Parekh had said the board would elect a chairman after more members are appointed by the government to the Satyam Board.
Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta, while announcing the three-member board had said, "further appointments to the board may be made subsequently as required".
Hizb co-founder Mohammad Ahsan Dar arrested in J-K
Baramulla In a major success, a top militant and one of the founders of Hizbul Mujahideen Mohammad Ahsan Dar was on Wednesday arrested by police in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Dar, a close associate of Syed Sallahuddin – chief of Hizbul Mujahideen, was co-ordinating activities of Lashker-e-Toiba, Hizbul, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Deputy Inspector General of Police, North Kashmir, Abdul Gani Mir said in Baramulla.
Acting on specific information that Dar had returned from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and was co-ordinating the activities of different militant outfits, Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested him in the wee hours while he was trying to sneak into Sumbal area from his home town Pattan, he said
Dar, self-styled chief commander of Muslim Mujahideen, offered no resistance while being arrested, Mir said.
The DIG said Dar had parted ways with Hizbul Mujahideen following differences with the top brass of the outfit and founded Muslim Mujahideen in 1992. He, however remained close to Sallahuddin, who also heads the United Jehad Council – an amalgam of militant outfits active in the state
Dar, who is in his 50s, was arrested in 1993 and released in 1999 after six years in detention, Mir said, adding he had also visited Pakistan and has remained in close contact with ISI and other Pakistani agencies. He has been regularly receiving funds from them.
According to preliminary investigations, Dar had infiltrated into the valley and was active since last one year. Dar had organised various attacks on security forces and was trying to give a fresh impetus to militant activities within the state and in the rest of the country, Dar said.
Terming Dar as a "prized catch", Mir said an identity card in the name of Mohammad Altaf, a teacher, was recovered from him.
"It is a big success for Jammu and Kashmir Police that we have nabbed him," he added.
Dar had first crossed over to PoK in 1984 in a bid to get arms training. However, he failed in his mission and again went their in 1988, the officer said.
After receiving arms training, he returned to the Valley the same year. He was arrested in 1988 but escaped from a hospital. He went again across the Line of Control in 1989 and returned to lay the foundation of Hizbul Mujahideen and became its chief commander, Mir said.
He had infiltrated into India via Bangladesh border. Some incriminating documents have been recovered from him and further investigations are on, the DIG said.
The DIG said investigations revealed that he had come to the valley on more than one occasion during the past four years.
Dar had met a number of militant leaders including Atif and Abu Hurrarah of LeT in Shopian district of South Kashmir.
Dutt gets SC nod to go abroad as UN Ambassador
New Delhi Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, out on bail in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, was on Wednesday allowed by the Supreme Court to go abroad to fulfil his commitments as United Nations' Goodwill Ambassador and for his film shoot. A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan gave the green signal to Dutt on his application to go abroad from January 16 to February 15 asking him to surrender his passport on return to the CBI's Special Task Force, Mumbai, by February 28. Senior advocate Fali S Nariman told the court that as a consequence of being appointed as UN's Goodwill Ambassador on malnutrition, Dutt's presence was required in United States in the first week of February. He said the Director General, Head of Observer Delegation to United Nations Economic and Social Council, has addressed a letter to Dutt in this regard.
The actor will also be needed for the shooting of his two new films – Luck and Lamha – in Bangkok, South Africa and United Kingdom, the advocate said.
Dutt, who was convicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment under Arms Act for possessing illegal weapons in connection with 1993 Mumbai blasts case, was granted bail after he filed an appeal against the verdict of the TADA court.
He was, however, absolved of the serious offence under the TADA.
Dutt, 50, has been regularly allowed to go abroad for his films after filing an affidavit stating that he would return to the country after completing his work.
While granting bail to the actor on November 27 2007, the court had directed him to surrender his passport and asked him not to leave the country without its permission.
The CBI had not opposed his bail maintaining that he was entitled for the relief since he was guilty of a less serious offence.
The Bollywood star, who was sentenced in July 2007, had spent 18 months in jail during the pendency of the trial.
26/11 attacks: Dossier only info, not proof, says Pak
Islamabad Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani claimed that the material provided by India on the Mumbai attacks constituted "information" and not evidence and said that "pragmatic cooperation" was the way forward for dealing with the 26/11 terror attacks.
"All that has been received formally from India is some information. I say information because these are not the evidence. This needs to be carefully examined," he said while making a statement in the National Assembly on the dossier on the Mumbai attacks handed over to Pakistan by New Delhi.
Pakistan, he said, had already assured India of full cooperation in tracking down the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks.
He also referred to Pakistan's proposal for conducting a joint investigation with India into the incident. "India has, however, not responded to our proposal. We hope they will see merit in it and accept a joint inquiry," Gilani told the lower house of Parliament.
"Serious, sustained and pragmatic cooperation is the way forward. The information provided by India on January 5, 2009, has been sent to the Ministry of Interior for necessary inquiry in accordance with the law," he said.
"The results of the inquiry will be shared with the government of India in due course of time." Gilani had earlier ruled out handing over any Pakistani national found to be linked to the Mumbai attacks to India or any other country. Such suspects will be tried in the country according to Pakistani laws, he had said.
The dossier handed over by India to Pakistan includes the confession of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Iman Kasab, the lone gunman captured during the Mumbai attacks, and intercepts of phone conversations between the attackers and their Pakistan-based handlers.
Pak should seriously consider Indian evidence: Sharif
Former Premier Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan should 'seriously' consider the evidence handed over by India on the Mumbai attacks and highlighted the need to keep the direct communication channel between the two countries open to avoid 'misunderstandings'.
"We should seriously take notice of the evidence that has been received and pay attention to it. At the least, we should not give anyone an opportunity to say that Pakistan is dragging its feet to investigate the matter," said Sharif, the chief of the Opposition PML-N party.
Calling for a joint investigation of the Mumbai attacks by Pakistan and India, he told a news conference here that the two countries should try to avoid 'point-scoring' and keep open the channel of communications to avoid misunderstandings.
"We should fulfill our responsibilities and convince India to work with us to conduct an inquiry. There should not be any point-scoring because that will be damaging and disastrous for both countries," he said.
Asked about information on the Mumbai incident being shared by India with Pakistan through the US, Sharif said: "I think India should open a channel for direct communication with Pakistan. If this channel has been closed for some reason, both countries should make efforts to open it again."
"A communication gap leads to an increase in misunderstandings and the situation gets worse. The situation gets to a stage where it will not be manageable. This communication channel should not be closed under any circumstances."
Citi plans to shrink itself by one-third
New York Bogged down by mounting losses, the Citigroup is speeding up efforts to dismantle various parts of the banking behemoth and shrink the company by one-third, say media reports.
Vikram Pandit-led Citi has been in the eye of a financial storm in the wake of credit crisis, forcing the US Federal government to throw two lifelines worth over USD 45 billion to the company.
'The New York Times' quoting two persons with the knowledge of the plan has reported that the Citi is planning to split itself into two, under pressure from Washington and Wall Street.
Citi, which is scheduled to report its quarterly results next week, is widely expected to post a USD 10-billion operating loss for the fourth quarter.
"Federal regulators have been pressing Citigroup to clarify its strategy, shore up its finances and shake up its board," the daily said quoting two persons briefed on the situation.
Quoting people familiar with the bank, 'The Wall Street Journal' has said the banking behemoth would soon announce a plan to shed a host of businesses and "shrink itself by one-third."
"Citi will soon announce a drastic plan to shed a host of businesses and shrink itself by one-third, say people familiar with the bank, which its executives say will essentially dismantle the financial colossus built by legendary deal maker Sanford Weill," the report noted.
On Tuesday, Citi said it would split Smith Barney retail brokerage into a joint venture with Morgan Stanley.
"Citigroup will also announce steps to shed two consumer-finance units and the company's private-label credit-card business, and scale back on the trading the company does on its own behalf," the 'Wall Street Journal' said.
Barclays to lay off about 2,100 jobs: Report
London Financial services major Barclays is to reduce its headcount by about 2,100 in investment banking and money management, as part of its cost cutting measures.
"Barclays is cutting about 2,100 jobs worldwide in investment banking and money management as it slashes costs to cope with the fall-out from the credit crisis", The 'Financial Times' said.
According to FT, the company is cutting 1,300 people from Barclays Capital, the debt-focused investment banking business, 500 from the Barclays Wealth private banking arm, and 330 in asset management business Barclays Global Investors. Overall, the cuts amount to 7 per cent of the three divisions' staff, it added.
Noting that Barclays declined to reveal where the job cuts would come, the newspaper said that the axe is expected to fall heavily in London and New York.
However, the bank would continue to hire in areas such as equities, the report published online said.
Last year, Barclays had acquired the US operations of bankrupt Lehman Brothers.
Financial Times reported that at Barclays Wealth, cuts are expected in London, Glasgow and the Channel Islands.
Quoting Unite, which represents staff at Barclays Wealth's division, the daily said, "We cannot continue with this situation of daily job cuts without any justification or explanation of the broader strategy for the bank."
"The bank, which built the units aggressively over the past five years to account for almost half of revenue, said it wanted to be 'appropriately sized', given the current market conditions," it added.
The move is likely to spark fears of further cost-cutting in Barclays' retail and corporate banking division, which includes its bank branch network, the report noted.
India may consider foreign stake in airlines
New Delhi Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel hinted at the possible buying of stakes in domestic aviation sector by foreign airlines.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of ''Petrotech 2009'', the eighth edition of Asia''s largest petroleum exhibition and conference here, Patel said the Indian Government is considering various options to help the aviation industry come out of its current problems.
He added that allowing foreign investors is one measure being pondered over to help the sector overcome the financial crunch.
"There are various options before the government as to how do we try to support this industry in face of the current problems. We already have 49 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in the aviation sector. May be the time has now come to explore whether foreign airlines can also be permitted to invest part of that 49 per cent in the domestic sector," said Patel.
Patel said no formal decision has been taken as yet about allowing 20 to 25 per cent foreign stake in the Indian domestic sector.
According to media reports, Kingfisher Airlines has requested the government to allow foreign airlines to pick up stakes of up to 25 per cent in the Indian carriers. It has said that foreign airlines had expressed interest in buying a stake in it.
India does not allow foreign airlines to invest in domestic carriers, although foreign portfolio investments are allowed.
A global credit crunch has made fundraising difficult for Indian carriers. Analysts have forecast them to collectively post losses of 80 billion rupees for the financial year ending March 2009.
Railway labourer unions to protest against Pay Commission report
Anand Rao ,indrakumar,psingh,Sudhir Kuttappan,lakhan,Aseem Chawla,johnsoncheeran,johnsoncheeran,H,tadakara jyothi,tadakara jyothi,tadakara jyothi,Kamble Vinit Vilas,surekha,sabdul azees,ann kurian,hanif
Posted: Apr 25, 2008 at 2346 hrs IST
Ahmedabad, April 24 Unhappy over the recently submitted report of the Sixth Pay Commission, the Western Railway Mazdoor Sangh (WRMS) will hold demonstrations, meetings and dharnas in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Ratlam and Mumbai on Friday to register their protest.
In a statement issued to the media, WRMS general secretary JG Mahurkar said the report is disappointing as far as 14 lakh railway men are concerned. It has only benefited the employees of higher salary slabs, he said. "The Group D staff of railway has been recommended a meagre salary of Rs 5,740 when they should have been considered for allocation of Rs 10,000," he said.
Terming the Commission's "claim" of wage revision of 40 percent a "farce", he said: "The actual wage revision is 24 per cent for Group D employees and 28 per cent for Group C employees, whereas this wage rise is to the tune of 55 per cent for officers belonging to the All India Services."
He went on to say that the running staff — drivers, guards, assistant drivers — "who are the backbone of the system" were also not happy with the report. "The Pay Commission has also failed to recommend anything to the government regarding wage revision in future," he added.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Railway-labourer-unions-to-protest-against-Pay-Commission-report/301328/
In communist_news@yahoogroups.com, mark
Karl Marx and the Lessons of "Capital" Are Back
Translated mardi 13 janvier 2009, par Isabelle Metral
Whether
as a philosopher, economist, and anthropologist, the author of
“Capital†and the persistent relevance of his analyses are
justified by
the major crisis which now defies the premises of global capitalism.
« If Marx imposes himself as one of the “unsurpassable†thinkers of
our time, the reason is also, and mostly, that he was the first to
detect the dynamics intrinsic to capitalism. ». These are not the words
of some obscure, antediluvian follower of Marx, but the pronouncement
of Alain Minc, the businessman, essayist and counsellor who has the ear
of the French President, in an interview recently published in Le
Magazine Littéraire [1].
The review, which made so bold as to devote thirty pages to Marx’s
works, wonders about what it calls « the reasons for a rebirth ».
As
the British historian Eric Hobsbawn himself humorously observes, « It
is the capitalists, more than the others, who are re-discovering
Marx »†â€" like George Soros, another financier and pro-market
politician
who recently confided to him : « I am reading Marx just now ;
there are
quite a few interesting things in what he said ! »
That Marx, who has long been dead and buried, is now back in favour
may seem paradoxical. But is it so very strange ? « It is not
surprising that intelligent capitalists, especially in the field of
global finance, should have been impressed by Marx, », Hobsbawn
observes, « since they have necessarily been more keenly aware than the
others of the nature and instability of the capitalist economy in which
they operated. » [2].
Naturally, these capitalists should not be expected to give up the
system that crowned them and that gives them a hold on the whole of
society : they are not going to become converts to socialism any time
soon. That is not in their interest â€" far from it â€" they most
certainly
(George Soros among them) still entertain the notion that they may turn
the present crisis to to their own advantage and increase their
profits, since the crisis whets their appetite for speculation even as
it increases the risks…
That’s the law of the system, the domination of the bourgeoisie that
Marx and Engel depicted in The Communist Manifesto in 1848, long
before his main work Capital
(1867), as a period marked off from all previous periods by « a
continuous upheaval of production », « a social system in a complete
state of permanent commotion », « restlessness » and « perpetual
insecurity ».
Can Marx help us see our way through the crisis ?
As economist Jean-Marie Harribey observes, the fact is « that one
might draw up an impressive list of publications at the service of
capitalistic interests that draw upon Marx’s critique of capitalism to
try and find their way through the erratic movements of their own
system ». Thus, Harribey further notes, from The Financial Times to
The Wall Street Journal through The Economist and the London Daily
Telegraph
which declared that « October 13, 2008 shall remain in history as the
day when the British capitalist system admitted to having failed »,
commentators are forced to concede that the sacrosanct « law of the
market has proved incapable of guaranteeing a sound equilibrium,
stability, prosperity or equity » and that, all in all, Marx had been
fairly perspicacious.
« It is urgent to re-discover his thought, which is too often
reduced to a few famous quotations », insists journalist Patrice
Bolton, who coordinated the Marx dossier for Le Magazine Littéraire.
It is once more a recourse for decrypting a globalization « that
multiplies job losses and sends inequalities between countries
rocketing, as well as inequalities between social classes within each
country. » Not forgetting the succession of speculative bubbles that
result in the impoverishment of a growing portion of the population.
In such a context, beyond the historical differences that make it
illusory to transpose the situation directly from one century to the
next, Karl Marx is enjoying a second youth. But « which Marx », the
review asks, is it « the economist, the sociologist, the philosopher,
or the political activist » ? But must we really choose ? What if it
was precisely the diversity of those « hats », their superimposition
and connections that made for the high topicality of his perspicacious,
unclassifiable works today ?
Marx indeed attempted to decrypt the movement of history, the
economy, production, value, capital, labour force, money, commodity,
consumption, credit, social relations, class struggle, but also the
exploitation, alienation, individualization, the possibility of
emancipation and of transcending dominations as so many moments in a
global movement, in a series of constantly evolving contradictions that
make it possible to characterize precisely the singularity, the
specificity of a mode of production at any particular time in human
history. This approach to contradictions makes it possible to
understand why global finance capital is now pushing the logic of
profitability to a paroxysm, and why capitalism, as communist economist
Paul Boccara [3]
shows, is « exponential capitalism », a system that sets money above
everything else in order to make more money to the detriment of
people’s lives â€" an irreversible system, which cannot be expected
to go
back to « old time capitalism ».
In an article published by le Monde diplomatique [4],
the philosopher Lucien Sève himself notes that « if the crisis broke
out in the credit sphere, its devastating power had been building up in
the sphere of production owing to the increasingly unequal distribution
of surplus value between capital and labour ». And he goes on to remind
us of Mark’s illuminating insight (in Capital, Book I) that :
« All the means that are aimed at developing production are conversely
as many means of domination and exploitation of the producer », or
again (…) that « the accumulation of riches at one pole » has a
reverse
side which is « the proportional accumulation of destitution » at the
other pole, from which, Sève further observes, « the premises of
violent trading and banking crises will originate ».
The crisis being systemic, it can only repeat itself and get worse.
That is why putting the origin of the crisis down to the excessive
volatility of sophisticated financial products is of little avail. To
« moralize » capitalism, to restore it to « greater
transparency », as
proposed by Nicolas Sarkozy, are slogans that are all just for show if
the very logic of the system is left untouched, namely the dictatorship
of finance, the search for maximum profit. « Faced with a system whose
blatant incapacity to regulate itself has such an inordinate cost for
us, our aim right now must be to transcend capitalism, and set out on
the long march towards a new social organization where human beings,
through novel forms of association, will all together control their own
social power which has gone berserk », Lucien Sève insists. There lies
yet another timely lesson still to be learned from Karl Marx, albeit
out of the depths of philosophical oblivion...
______________________________________________________
Footnotes
[1] N° 479, October 2008.[2] The interview was published by the
Centre helvétique d’études marxistes(Swiss centre for Marxist
studies) on Occtober 17, 2008.
[3] l’Humanité, October 16.
[4] December 2008.http://www.humaniteinenglish.com/spip.php?article1121
From: Brian Rayner
To: lara@antiracism.org.uk
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:01 PM
Subject: Fw: Monarchy.doc radicalism-terrorism..doc No copyright restrictions.william gladys.
Palash Biswas
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