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Dr.B.R.Ambedkar

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Team ANNA Burns Lopal Bill as MONSOON Session Witness EXCELLENT Floor Adjustment in beteeen UPA and NDA!

Team ANNA Burns Lopal Bill as MONSOON Session Witness EXCELLENT Floor Adjustment in beteeen UPA and NDA!The Centre on Thursday tabled the Lokpal Bill in the Parliament. But it won't be a smooth sailing for the bill, with the BJP and even UPA ally DMK demanding inclusion of the Prime Minister under the Lokpal Bill!What a nautankee Unfolded as the Government of India Incs succeeds to pursue the reforms agenda without any Opposition whatsoever!EXCLUSION dubbed as INCLUSION and REPRESSION happen to be Top Most priority as  The Centre today asked Orissa if it was promulgating an ordinance on the lines of Chhattisgarh to make SPOs part of the state police force!
Around 10 lakh bank employees across the country, including public, private and foreign banks, will observe a one-day token strike on Friday in protest against the Government's proposal to implement the Banking Law Amendment Bill, besides other things.



Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - SEVEN HUNDRED  ONE

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com


Team ANNA Burns Lopal Bill as MONSOON Session Witness EXCELLENT Floor Adjustment in beteeen UPA and NDA!The Centre on Thursday tabled the Lokpal Bill in the Parliament. But it won't be a smooth sailing for the bill, with the BJP and even UPA ally DMK demanding inclusion of the Prime Minister under the Lokpal Bill!What a nautankee Unfolded as the Government of India Incs succeeds to pursue the reforms agenda without any Opposition whatsoever!EXCLUSION dubbed as INCLUSION and REPRESSION happen to be Top Most priority as  The Centre today asked Orissa if it was promulgating an ordinance on the lines of Chhattisgarh to make SPOs part of the state police force!

Price rise: Left slams bogus compromise between Govt, BJP

Headlines Today Bureau  | New Delhi, August 3, 2011 | Updated 19:41 IST


 
"The resolution in Lok Sabha is nothing, but a tacit understanding between BJP and Congress," says senior CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury.
 
However, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha maintains "the soul of parliamentary democracy is consensus and not confrontation".
 
Deal or no deal, there's something fishy here - watching Sinha in Parliament on Wednesday lambasting the government on price rise as the treasury benches quietly allowed him his say. It was hard to believe that the same Parliament had remained practically paralysed on the issue of corruption for two consecutive days.
 
So what happened to the NDA's decision to go for Manmohan Singh and P. Chidambaram's jugular? How come the issue of corruption has been pushed down the priority list in Parliament? Did the PM's reference to skeletons in the BJP's closet have the desired effect? 
 
On the contrary, Headlines Today has learnt that the skeleton reference almost undid the pact reached between the BJP and the Congress. The two parties reached a pact as far back as Friday when veterans from both sides met at L.K. Advani's house. The government said "don't name names on corruption issue and we will allow debate on the issue".
 
Asked how the government managed to buy peace with the Opposition, the Congress had a bland response. 
 
"It was due to everyone's positive contribution and the genuine interest of all sections of Parliament for a structured debate," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said. 
 
The sudden change of tack of the BJP may have had something to do with the Left's refusal to toe its line on 2G. With the NDA's telecom policies also under question, the Left wanted no truck in a coordinated attack on the government. 
 
"It's a deal between the BJP and the Congress, which has brought a joint resolution. If needed, the Left will go for division of vote," says Yechury.
 
However, Sinha disagress, "There is no deal between the government and opposition; they agreed to our demand for discussion under rules which provide for voting."
 
After the winter session washout, a repeat would have tarred both the government and the NDA. Important business of the House like the Lokpal Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill are hanging fire. A compromise seems to have suited the big two, the surest indicator of which will be the voting on price rise. 
 
With the numbers clearly stacked up against the UPA in Rajya Sabha, Congress managers are wary of receiving a setback in the Upper House, specially with Samajwadi Party, BSP and JDS providing just outside support. To prevent a loss of face in the House, the Congress for now doesn't have an option, but to vote with the Opposition.

04/08/2011

Sonia away, Rahul out to play

With Sonia Gandhi in the US for surgery, Congress left in charge of Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi was in "satisfactory" condition Thursday after undergoing surgery abroad, the party said, adding she will be out of India for two-three weeks.
She has formed a four-member group, including son and general secretary Rahul Gandhi, to look after party matters in her absence, Congress chief spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi said.
The others are Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Dwivedi and Ahmed Patel.
"Sonia Gandhi has been recently diagnosed with a medical condition that requires surgery. On advice from her doctors, she has travelled abroad and is likely to be away for two to three weeks," Dwivedi said here.
Congress sources said she had an abdomen related ailment.
Dwivedi said: "We have information that the surgery was successful and her condition is satisfactory."
He said Sonia Gandhi sent a communication forming the four-member group to look after Congress affairs.
A party leader said the Congress headquarters had received reports of prayer meetings and 'havans' conducted in different parts of the country, wishing Gandhi a speedy recovery.
Source: IANS
04/08/2011

Land Acquisition Act is a fraud, ought to be scrapped: SC

New Delhi: Frowning at increasing incidents of government forcibly acquiring land for industrialisation and residential schemes, the Supreme Court today observed that the Land Acquisition Act ought to be scrapped as it is a "fraud" devised by some "sick people".
In a morale booster to the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat, the apex court complimented it for its land acquisition policy since there are "no complaints of any forcible acquisition" whereas issues of farmers and poor being uprooted are pouring in from all other states.
A bench of justices G S Singhvi and H L Dattu cautioned that if remedial measures are not initiated then in another five years muscle men would take over the private land and utter chaos would prevails as the prices of land are shooting up everywhere.
"The Act has become a fraud. It seems to have been devised by people with a sick mind who have scant regard for the welfare of the common man," Justice Singhvi heading the bench observed.
The apex court made the scathing observations while dealing with a bunch of petitions filed by aggrieved farmers from Uttar Pradesh's Hapur district on the forcible acquisition of 82 acres of land by the state for developing a leather industry. "We are coming across several cases of land being acquired in the name of emergency and public purpose. The poor farmer is being uprooted from his place and deprived of his only source of livelihood.
"But there is one state from where we do not receive any such complaints. Look at Ahmedabad which is developing but there are no complaints from that place. They have the same officers of the same cadre as in the rest of the country.
"Mr Haren Rawal (ASG) comes from that state and he would vouchsafe for it," the bench remarked, suggesting that "the officers from other states perhaps should get training in Gujarat."
Rawal was present during the hearing. The apex court told senior counsel Pallabh Sisodia appearing for one of the litigants that it was unfair on the part of the authorities to frequently invoke the emergency clause provided under Section 17 of the Act.
"If you are uprooting people of their only sources of livelihood you (government) should make alternative arrangements for their livelihood and accommodation. It is time the Act is scrapped," the bench remarked while reserving its verdict.
Source: IANS
Image Source: AFP


The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday denied that a deal had been struck between the government and the opposition on a discussion in parliament on the issue of price rise.


Talking to reporters here, former finance minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, who moved the motion on the debate on price rise in the Lok Sabha, said the government's inaction was slowing down the growth rate.


"There is no deal between the government and opposition; they agreed to our demand for discussion under rules which provide for voting," Sinha said.


Asked if the opposition expected a fruitful outcome of the debate, Sinha said: "This is the first time we are having a discussion on price rise under rules which provide for voting. We hope something comes out of it, otherwise, we will fight for it again another day."


"The government is not interested in reducing inflation or fiscal deficit... the danger is that it will lead to an economic slowdown," Sinha said.


The former finance minister also said that the FDI inflow was decreasing due to the government's "faulty fiscal policies".


The debate on price rise which started in the Lok Sabha Wednesday will culminate with voting on a resolution to control inflation. Finance Minister and Leader of House Pranab Mukherjee is likely to reply to the debate.


Gold prices continued its surge to reach another milestone of Rs 24,000 per 10 grams at the domestic bullion market on Thursday on strong stockists and investment buying triggered by climbing international prices.

Silver also galloped on heavy speculative offtake on the back of rising industrial demand.

"The yellow metal is witnessing a runaway rally for the past three days here, due to overseas bullishness for the metal as a risk aversion asset, impacted by worsening global economic situations," traders said.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) hardened by Rs 70 per 10 grams to close at Rs 24,025 from Wednesday's close of Rs 23,955.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also rose by a similar margin of Rs 70 per 10 grams to finish at Rs 24,145 from Rs 24,075 yesterday.

Silver ready (.999 fineness) zoomed by a hefty Rs 1,025 per kg to conclude at Rs 61,640 from overnight close of Rs 60,615.

In New York, the fear of recession and falling stock markets across the globe have pushed gold to record highs.

Gold for December delivery gained USD 21.80 to USD 1,666.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX yesterday.

September silver added by USD 1.67 to USD 41.76 an ounce.

Around 10 lakh bank employees across the country, including public, private and foreign banks, will observe a one-day token strike on Friday in protest against the Government's proposal to implement the Banking Law Amendment Bill, besides other things.

04/08/2011

'Air India monthly loss at Rs 600 cr'

High aviation oil prices, rise in wages and competition from other airlines are causing state-run Air India to incur Rs 600 crore monthly loss, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said today.
"There are several factors which are causing losses to Air India..abnormal increase in aviation fuelprices..competition from budget and other airlines...increase in wages and overheads...," he said during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.
Besides, the Government is paying interest on working capital and procurement of aircraft. As a result, Air India is incurring Rs 600 crore loss every month as income is around Rs 1,100 crore and expenses at Rs 1,700 crore, the Minister said answering supplementaries.
He said the Group of Ministers', which has met several times in the recent past, would submit its recommendation on turnaround and financial restructuring of the carrier soon and accordingly, the government would take steps.
The Minister also said that Air India has taken a series of measures for reducing costs. "These include rationalisation of certain loss making routes, return of leased aircraft, phasing out of old fleet, reduction in contractual employment and outsourced agencies, fuel savings through critical analysis of fuel consumption, optimisation of aircraft utilisation, closure of foreign stations and offline offices," he said.
The state-run carrier is in the midst of dire financial crisis and has failed to pay salaries to its employees for the last two months. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had yesterday said in Lok Sabha that wages and appropriate perks would be paid to the cash-starved Air India employees at the earliest.
Source: PTI
Image Source: AFP


Meanwhile. Its president Sonia Gandhi left for the United States on Wednesday and is reported to have undergone a major surgery there on Thursday morning, which is being described as 'successful!

Food inflation climbed sharply to cross 8 per cent after a two-week long declining trend, even as fuels held steady. The annual food inflation estimate, based on the Wholesale Price Index, rose 8.04 per cent during the week ended July 23.In a bid to pump cash into the financially-troubled Air India, the government on Thursday cleared a Rs 1732 crore package for the flag carrier, that was struggling even to pay salaries to its staff.

Driving diesel cars could become costlier. This was indicated by the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, in his reply to Parliament on the Opposition's motion on price rise.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjeeon Thursday said the government is moving in the direction of decontrol of diesel price on which it has taken a view in principle and it has no no other proposals.

"We are moving in that direction (of decontrol). There are no no other proposals under consideration of the government," he told reporters outside Parliament after his reply in the Lok Sabha on the discussion on price rise.

Mukherjee said in the context of his reply to the discussion on inflation he had mentioned that the government has in principle taken a view on decontrol of prices as has been done in the case of petrol.

He said for better targeting of subsidies of LPG, kerosene and fertiliser a committee under Nandan Nilekani was working out modalities.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday blamed high oil prices internationally for rising inflation in the country and said it was with great difficulty that the government was providing subsidies for petroleum products.

"The international prices of crude oil in May 2004 was $36 per barrel. Today, the price is $107 per barrel. Can I supply oil at the prices when we got it at $36 per barrel today? Should I provide subsidies?" Mukherjee asked while replying to a special debate on price rise in the Lok Sabha.

Noting that there were suggestions from MPs on withdrawing diesel subsidies for passenger car users, the finance minister said he can accept that proposal and see to it that such sections do not get the subsidy.

He said nearly 15 percent of diesel is consumed by the passenger car segment, while 12 percent goes for agriculture and eight percent for power generation.

The opposition has slammed the government on spiralling prices of essential commodities.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee sought to assure parliament on Thursday that all possible steps were being taken to tackle price rise, and said there was no need to moderate growth in a bid to tame inflation.

"There is no inherent contradiction between inflation and growth," Mukherjee said in a debate in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, on an opposition motion that expreses deep concern over price rise.

He said in the 1980s, India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged slightly above 5 percent, and around 6 percent in the 1990s, which were relatively low compared with the growth of around 8-8.5 percent now.

"Was inflation low at that time? No!" Mukherjee said, adding several steps were needed to tame inflation and that the house -- both the members of the treasury and opposition - must collectively ensure these measures are allowed to be taken.

His comments came against the backdrop of India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices inching up to 9.44 percent for June from 9.06 percent for the week before and opposition's demand that the government either tames price rise or quits.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha, a former finance minister himself, Wednesday said the opposition will not remain a mute spectator to price rise that was imposing a huge burden on average citizens. "This house will not tolerate it and say go, go."

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday assured parliament all possible steps to tame inflation and said there was no need to temper growth even as an amendment motion to condemn the government over price rise was defeated 320:51.

The Lok Sabha first passed a motion moved by the opposition with government consent that expressed concern over price rise. But an amendment moved by the Left parties seeking to censure the government over high inflation was defeated in a division.

"That despite repeated discussions on price rise in the house, the burden of price rise on the common man is continuing," Meira Kumar said, reading the motion which was moved by Bharatiya Janata Party's Yashwant Sinha and Janata Dal-United's Sharad Yadav.

"Expressing deep concern over price rise, this house calls upon the government to take immediate effective steps to check inflation that will give relief to the common man," the speaker added.

She later put to division an amendment to the motion, moved by Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta, seeking to incorporate into it "failure" of the government to control inflation. This amendment was defeated 320 votes to 51.

Earlier, replying to the debate Thursday, Mukherjee sought to assure parliament that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government was taking all possible steps to tackle price rise, but said there was no need to moderate growth in a bid to tame inflation.

"There is no inherent contradiction between inflation and growth," Mukherjee said in reply to a debate in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, on the opposition motion that expresed deep concern over price rise.

The finance minister said in the 1980s, India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth had averaged slightly above 5 per cent and around 6 per cent in the 1990s which were low when compared with the growth of around 8-8.5 per cent now.

"Was inflation low at that time? No!" Mukherjee said, adding several steps were needed to tame inflation and that the house - both the members of the treasury and opposition - must collectively ensure these measures are allowed to be taken.

"India was never known to have a high growth rate. We have brought inflation down from 22 per cent to around 8 per cent," he said, noting the previous Lok Sabha had debated the price rise issue eight times and the present Lok Sabha had discussed it four times.

His comments came against the backdrop of India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices inching up to 9.44 per cent for June from 9.06 per cent for the week before and the opposition's demand that the government either tames price rise or quits.

Sinha, a former finance minister himself, had Wednesday said the opposition will not remain a mute spectator to price rise that was imposing a huge burden on the average citizen. "This house will not tolerate it and say go, go."

Mukherjee said at least four important bills, including those on insurance, pension, and goods and service tax, were pending before the house and said the cooperation of all the members, irrespective of the parties they represented, was required to see them through.

"You can't say nothing has been done," the finance minister said on opposition charges that the government was ineffective in taking action against price rise. "Something has been done. Tell us, something more has to be done and we will fully agree."

Mukherjee said it was also not proper to say people were dying of starvation, adding not only had the government constantly increased procurent prices to help farmers, but was also giving wheat and rice to all the needy at heavily subsidised rates.

There has been speculation following his reply in the Lok Sabha that the government may adopt differential pricing of diesel for passenger cars vis a vis its use in rural areas.

"It is a one day protest.Our demands include recruitment of full time bank employees and implementation of the compassionate ground appointment scheme", Ch Venkataachalam, national convenor of United Forum of Bank Unions, the apex body of banks and bank employees, told reporters in Chennai.

He said UFBU was against the move to "relax" the policy on Banking Law Amendment Bill, which would ensure more voting rights for shareholders in private and Nationalised banks. "The governmment wants to relax it", he said.

Venkataachalam alleged that jobs for permanent vacancies were being outsourced through private agencies and by appointing business correspondents. "Recruitment should only be through the Banking Service Recruitment Board for about 1,000 vacancies which are lying vacant", he said.

He said there was a more than two year delay on providing jobs to the next of kin of employees who died while at work under the 'compassionate government employee scheme'.

He said the Association would meet in Bangalore on August 10 to decide the next course of action.

The Centre today asked Orissa if it was promulgating an ordinance on the lines of Chhattisgarh to make Special Police Officers (SPOs) part of the state police force.

Chidambaram said the Centre would soon take a decision on whether to go for a review of the Supreme Court judgement on the disbanding of Salwa Judum. Reuters


"Chhattisgarh has promulgated the ordinance and the Centre has asked Orissa whether they will promulgate a similar ordinance," Home Minister P Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha while replying to a debate on growing incidents of terrorism in the country.

Chidambaram said the Centre would soon take a decision on whether to go for a review of the Supreme Court judgement on the disbanding of Salwa Judum. "The Centre is on the anvil of taking an appropriate decision. I have done my homework and consulted the Attorney General. When we will take a decision, I will share with the House."

He said, "There can be no rhyme or reason for anyone in the country to take up arms to throw up Parliamentary democracy… As long as we swear by Constitution."

The Government had yesterday said that it will highlight the contribution and help offered by SPOs in dealing with anti-national elements and carrying out development projects across the country.

The review petition, to be filed before the apex court, is likely to cite the help offered by the SPOs in Naxal-affected states, Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern states in dealing with extremist forces.

The Centre is likely to inform the Supreme Court that SPOs are familiar with the local terrain, language and are of great help to the security forces in combatting Naxals who wanted to overthrow the country's democratic system.
Naxals have been killing innocent villagers and considered SPOs as their enemies since they help the security forces and were a hindrance to the activities of CPI (Maoists) in creating "sovereign zones" within the state.

The government on Thursday slammed the burning of copies of the Lokpal Bill byAnna Hazare and his team members as "an affront to Parliament".

"It's an insult and an affront to Parliament," human resource development Kapil Sibal told reporters here.

Sibal added that if Hazare had differing views on the Lokpal Bill, he should present these before the standing committee of Parliament which will look into it.

As government introduced the Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha, Hazare and his supporters burnt copies of what they called the "anti-poor, anti-Dalit" law for excluding the office of the Prime Minister from its purview.

Hazare and his supporters set fire to copies of the bill in Maharashtra's Ralegaon Siddhi while his supporters Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi led the protest in Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi area in Ghaziabad, a satellite town of Delhi.

Hazare has threatened to go on protest Aug 16 to protest the exclusion of some recommendations made by civil society representatives from the bill.

The proposed legislation does not bring under the purview of Lokpal the Prime Minister when he holds office. But once he demits office, he or she can be investigated by Lokpal for any wrongdoing as prime minister.

It also excludes from the Lokpal's ambit the judiciary and any action of an MP in Parliament or any parliamentary committee.

Attributing high prices to external factors, the government today said it is working to moderate food inflation to 5 per cent from over 8 per cent now without sacrificing growth.

Replying to a debate in Lok Sabha on price rise, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee gave details of various steps the government had taken to rein in inflation but did not outline any further strategy in this regard.

"Growth with moderate rate of inflation... that is what we want to achieve," Mukherjee said in nearly an hour-long reply which left NDA "disappointed" and was followed by a walk out by the BSP, SP, BJD, AIADMK and Left parties.

Through a division, the House negative the amendment moved by CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta which wanted a reference to the "failure" of the government to curb food price inflation.

Later, it adopted the motion by voice-vote. Pointing out that the food inflation has come down from 22 per cent in February, 2010 to 8.3 per cent in July this year, he said, "I am not accepting it. This is not the bench mark."

Mukherjee said the comfortable level of food inflation is five per cent but six to seven per cent can be tolerated.

Responding to the demand for removing subsidy on diesel used by passenger cars, Mukherjee said, "We can accept the suggestion and try to work out what mechanism could be found out so that this section (passenger cars owners) are not subsidised."

The Opposition, however, expressed disappointment over Mukherjee's reply as he did not announce any step to contain overall inflation which is currently at over nine per cent for the month of June.

"I had expected that the Finance Minister would announce 10 steps to be taken in the coming days and months to control inflation... not even one has been mentioned. So I express my disappointment... NDA is disappointed," BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said.

He also took a dig at BSP and SP, which support the government from outside, for staging walk out, saying they always take such steps to bail out the government.


Sonia Gandhi undergoes surgery at NY's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday underwent surgery at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for an undisclosed ailment which will keep her out ofIndia for a month.


Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said that in Sonia Gandhi's absence, she had appointed a four-member group to handle the day-to-day running of the party -- including her son Rahul Gandhi, who is tipped as a future prime minister.


The Congress party's announcement in New Delhithat its 64-year-old leader has been diagnosed for surgery and that Rahul, defence minister AK Antony, her political aide Ahmed Patel and Dwivedi will run the affairs of the party caught the country by total surprise because there was no inkling that she had travelled abroad.


Tehelka news magazine had reported on microblogging site Twitter that Sonia Gandhi was admitted on Thursday to New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the world's largest private cancer centre according to the hospital website. Renowned oncologist Dr Dattatreyudu Nori, director of the cancer centre at the New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, was said to be attending on Sonia Gandhi.


Italian-born Gandhi is the widow of assassinated former premier Rajiv Gandhi and widely seen as India's most powerful politician, with her key power-broking position as Congress president.


In January 2009, current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underwent heart bypass surgery at theAll India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.


The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has ruled India for most of is post-independence history, with three members of the family becoming Prime Minister.


Sonia Gandhi holds total sway within the Congress and is credited with crafting the strategies that gave the party back-to-back general election victories in 2004 and 2009.


She will miss the start of a crucial session of parliament for the scandal-plagued government which intends to introduce draft laws on a range of key areas, including corruption, land acquisition and food security.


Gandhi's absence for the opening of the new session on Monday was noted in the Indian media but explained by an apparent "viral infection" she was said to be suffering from.


The mother of two arrived in India as the shy bride of Rajiv Gandhi in her early 20s, and was transformed into a sari-clad Indian who now speaks fluent Hindi.


Her years in the Gandhi household, when her autocratic mother-in-law Indira -- slain in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards -- was premier, gave her an intimate insight into India's turbulent politics.


Rajiv Gandhi became premier in 1984 and was assassinated in 1991 by a suicide bomber.


Sonia Gandhi, who has described herself as "a reluctant politician," took charge of the Congress in 1998, becoming the fifth member of the powerful Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to serve as party chief.


Although she was hailed as the architect of the 2004 election victory, she eschewed calls to become Prime Minister and handed the post to the current incumbent Singh, partly due to concerns about a political backlash over her foreign origins.


The Bharatiya Janata Party, now the main opposition party, had once referred to her as a "foreign doll."


Sources in Delhi Police said that as a last-minute recourse they might agree to theRamlila Maidan as a venue for the Anna Hazare-led protest fast, beginning on August 16. The caveat, though, is that the organizers must show them all the necessary permits including one from the MCD.

Delhi Police had earlier decided to "wait and watch" before deciding on the four alternative sites that Anna and his team forwarded them as a venue for their protest. Sources in Delhi Police said that the criteria for permitting the protest will remain the same - there will be a proper study of the "possible" impact of the protest on law and order and traffic movement in the area.

"One must remember that the reason why we stopped Anna from holding his protest at Jantar Mantar was due to the huge crowd his team expects to turn up at the venue, for an indefinite period of time. The same criteria holds true for other areas too, like Boat Club and Shaheed Park - two of the alternative venues suggested by the civil society - which cannot accommodate more than 1,500 people," claimed a New Delhi district officer who confirmed receiving a letter from Anna's team proposing alternative sites.

When TOI contacted MCD officials, they denied having received any letter from the civil society seeking permission to hold a protest there. This was the same place where the police swooped upon Baba Ramdev's anti-corruption protest and resorted to teargas shelling on a large gat0ering at midnight on June 4. Ramdev's protest was declared illegal and the gathering broken up.

Additional commissioner of police (New Delhi), K C Dwivedi, said it was not possible to allow one person or group to usurp indefinitely the place meant for every citizen of India to exercise their democratic right to hold protests and dharnas.

Home Ministry seeks over Rs 3,400 crore for high-tech intelligence network NATGRID
The Home Ministry has sought over Rs 3,400 crore for its high-tech intelligence network NATGRID which aims to collate sensitive information from databases of departments like police, banks, tax, telecom to track any terror suspect and incident.

The Cabinet Committee on Security has already given an in-principle nod to the ambitious project which aims to bring together police and security agencies for a real time exchange of data across the country, sources said.

The Home Ministry has proposed that the amount will be spent over about four years in different phases to connect data providing organisations and users besides developing a legal structure through which information can be accessed by the NATGRID, they said.

In the first phase, the Ministry plans that 10 user agencies and 21 service providers will be connected in 26 months, while in later phases about 950 additional organisations will be connected in 12 months and another over 1,000 organisations in the subsequent 12 months.

The Cabinet Committee on Security has approved budgetary allocation of Rs 50 crore on April 12 last year for commencing preliminary activities for establishment of NATGRID with the direction that a Detailed Project Report will be prepared which has been done by the Home Ministry.

All the ground work notwithstanding, a number of top bureaucrats are still not clear about the concept of an umbrella database which will be gathered from different organisations, its security, possible misuse and privacy issues, the sources said.


Implementation of GST will boost India's eco growth: Assocham
The implementation of goods and services tax (GST) could boost the country's GDP by about 2 per cent annually, industry body Assocham said.

"GST could increase GDP growth rate by 1.4 to 1.7 per cent with an annual revenue increase of Rs 1.2 lakh crore at current level," it said.

At present, the gross domestic product (GDP), which is the sum of total goods and services produced in a year, is over $1 trillion (Rs 58.68 lakh crore).

Introduction of GST, which will subsume central and state taxes like excise, customs, service tax, sales tax and VAT, has been pending for years in the absence of political consensus. GST Constitution Amendment Bill is pending before Parliament.

The main concern of the Opposition-ruled states is that the new tax regime would erode their autonomy to levy taxes.

Assocham said the GST will create a single Indian common market with supply chain efficiencies and scale up the economy.

Lokpal Bill introduced in Lok Sabha

K. R. SRIVATS
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NEW DELHI, AUG. 4:
The controversial anti-corruption Lokpal Bill 2011 that provides a mechanism for dealing with complaints on corruption against public functionaries in high places was introduced in Lok Sabha on Thursday. A serving Prime Minister will be outside the ambit of the proposed legislation, according to the Bill introduced today.
Simply put, the Lokpal cannot inquire into allegations of corruption against the Prime Minister during his tenure. Allegations of corruption can be inquired only after he has demitted office.
At the introduction stage, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Ms Sushma Swaraj, objected to the exclusion of the Prime Minister from the purview of the Bill.
"My objection is not with regard to mandate of Government. My objection is with regard to violation of Constitutional provision. The Constitution provides equality to all. Under our criminal system, he or she cannot enjoy immunity. Under the Indian Penal Code, the Prime Minister has not been given immunity. But the Prime Minister is not included in the Lokpal Bill. Where is the logic? Nobody can be a holy cow," Ms Swaraj said.
However, her objection was negatived and the Bill was introduced by Mr V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) after voice vote. This is the ninth Lokpal Bill that has been introduced in Lok Sabha.
The earlier eight Bills on Lokpal were introduced in the Lok Sabha in 1968, 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998 and 2001. However, these Bills had lapsed consequent upon the dissolution of the respective Lok Sabha except in the case of 1985 Bill which was withdrawn after its introduction.
krsrivats@thehindu.co.in
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/article2321886.ece

Oppose Lokpal bill introduction, Anna tells MPs

NEW DELHI: Terming the government approvedLokpal bill as "defectively structured'' and an affront to parliamentarians, Gandhian Anna Hazare urged MPs to oppose its introduction in the Lok Sabha. In a letter to MPs on Tuesday, Hazare, who has reiterated his intention to go on an indefinite hunger strike from August 16, listed out the gaps in the anti-corruption legislation.

Significantly, the bill is expected to be tabled in the lower house on Thursday. Team Anna had earlier spoken to major political parties and their leaders to mobilize support for their draft of the Lokpal bill.

Hazare said like MPs, he too had the interests of the common man, who was at the receiving end of corruption in the country, in mind. Among the issues that Hazare highlighted were the absence of a strong public grievance redressal mechanism and Lokayuktas in states, exclusion of lower bureaucracy, lack of an independent selection and funding process for the Lokpal and issues related to the powers of the ombudsman. The government cleared bill excludes PM, judiciary and conduct of MPs in Parliament.

Hazare said, "While there are many important issues in the Lokpal, I write to focus and highlight the plight of the common man yet again being left out... It is my hope that the institution of Parliament will continue to uphold its glorious heritage and prevent introduction of such an anti-poor bill by the government.'' Team Anna has opposed the government approved bill and demanded that it be replaced by the draft prepared by civil society.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Oppose-Lokpal-bill-introduction-Anna-tells-MPs/articleshow/9463150.cms

Full coverage

UPA seeks opposition's help on reform legislation

Livemint - Ruhi Tewar, Liz Mathew - ‎4 minutes ago‎
New Delhi: Dropping its confrontationist stand, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has sought the cooperation of the principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to facilitate the passing of key legislation in its ...

Monsoon Session: Pranab to reply on price rise

IBNLive.com - ‎16 hours ago‎
New Delhi: In the Opposition line of fire over the price rise issue, it will be chief Congress troubleshooter finance minister Pranab Mukherjee who will field the government's response in Parliament on Thursday. The senior Congress leader came under a ...

BJP against foreign retail chains' entry

Times of India - ‎19 hours ago‎
NEW DELHI: BJP on Wednesday strongly opposed the entry of retail chains in India, asking the government to defy US pressure to allow foreign direct investment in retail. Former finance minister Yashwant Sinha articulated the principal opposition's ...

Price rise: BJP vents its responsibility on government

Daily News & Analysis - Venkateshwar Rao Jr -‎21 hours ago‎
The government on Wednesday came under attack in the Lok Sabha over rising prices with the opposition questioning the efficacy of steps to address the problem but the ruling Congress countered the charge ...

Yashwant Sinha leads Oppn charge: 'Cut prices, or for God's sake, go'

Indian Express - ‎21 hours ago‎
The Opposition today warned the government that it would be forced to tell it to "go, for God's sake", if it failed to check the price rise spiral at the earliest. Leading the charge was former finance minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, ...

UPA government faces Opposition fury in Lok Sabha over 'failure' to rein in ...

Economic Times - ‎21 hours ago‎
NEW DELHI: The Manmohan Singh government faced the Opposition fury in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday for its 'failure' to rein in prices of essential commodities which had hit the common man hard. "When prices were going up, average people like us were ...

Opposition corners UPA on inflation

Livemint - Liz Mathew, Nidhi Misra - ‎Aug 3, 2011‎
The opposition, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Wednesday cornered the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in Parliament for its failure to contain inflation, even as the government inexplicably put up a weak defence. ...

Sacrifice growth to control prices: BJP

Hindustan Times - ‎Aug 3, 2011‎
The BJP demanded in Parliament on Wednesday that the government should compromise even on economic growth, if need be, to control the runaway prices. Launching the debate on inflation in Lok Sabha, BJP leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha ...

Lok Sabha debates inflation policy, voting today

Business Standard - ‎Aug 3, 2011‎
The government dependence on monetary measures for controlling inflation came in for sharp criticism in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, with former finance minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha saying the high interest regime was hitting investment ...

'FDI in retail won't bring inflation down'

Business Standard - ‎Aug 3, 2011‎
Without saying it was opposed to foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday asked the government to clarify how many new jobs would be created by its moves to open the sector to ...
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Day 3, Monsoon Session: price rise heat for UPA
‎Aug 2, 2011‎ - IBNLive.com

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TNN | Aug 3, 2011, 05.46AM IST

Lokpal Bill tabled in Lok Sabha, Team Anna burns copies of draft

TNN | Aug 4, 2011, 01.01PM IST

NEW DELHI: Team Anna on Thursday began burning copies of the government's version of theLokpal Bill that was tabled in Parliament today. Team Anna said the symbolic protest would continue till August 16 when Gandhian Anna Hazare will go on fast to protest the exclusion of several recommendations made by civil society members on the bill.

The proposed legislation introduced in the Lok Sabha doesn't cover the Prime Minister within the purview of the ombudsman during his or her term in office. But once the Prime Minister demits the office, he or she may be investigated for any wrongdoing during the term.

It also excludes the judiciary and any action of an MP in Parliament or committee.

"To protest the unilateral, high-handed decision of the government, the copies of the bill will be burnt from today," said civil society member Arvind Kejriwal.

Having both investigation and prosecution powers, the ombudsman once created will have a chairperson and 10 members, half of them judicial.

The institution will be appointed by the president on the recommendation of the selection committee consisting of the Prime Minister, Speaker, leader of the House of which Prime Minister is not member, minister of home affairs, leader of opposition in both Houses, judge of Supreme Court, chief justice of a high court, President of National Academy of Science, and cabinet secretary (secretary of committee).

According to the draft bill, the ombudsman will have powers to investigate all corruption cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

It covers MPs, ministers, 'Group A' officers, any 'Group A' officer in a company or body owned by the government, any officer of a society or trust that is financed by the government or gets funds under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 or gets funds from the public.

Surging onion, fruits drive food inflation over 8%

ANIL SASI
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NEW DELHI, AUG 3:
Food inflation climbed sharply to cross 8 per cent after a two-week long declining trend, even as fuels held steady.
The annual food inflation estimate, based on the Wholesale Price Index, rose 8.04 per cent during the week ended July 23, up from the previous week's annual rise of 7.33 per cent. The surge in the pace of food inflation happened despite a decline in the food index level, which clearly reflects the base effect coming into play.
On a week-on-week basis, the index for food articles fell a marginal 0.6 per cent. On an annual basis though, items such as onions, fruits and milk continued to witness high inflation levels.
The fuel price index increased 12.12 per cent year-on-year, the same growth as reported in the previous week, Government data released on Thursday showed. The primary articles index was up 10.99 per cent, compared with an annual rise of 10.49 per cent a week earlier. Primary articles have a share of over 20 per cent in the WPI.
Interest rates
In a bid to curb runaway inflation, the RBI had, last week, hiked interest rates by 50 basis points. Headline inflation had surged to 9.44 per cent in June, data released last month showed. According to ICRA, food inflation is expected to average around 8 per cent during the month of July 2011 and may rise above 9 per cent in August 2011 on account of an adverse base effect.
During the latest reported week, onions surged over 26 per cent on an annual basis, while fruits were up 16 per cent. Milk and vegetables surged by over 10 per cent, while cereals were up by 5.13 per cent. Pulses bucked the trend to dip by over 7 per cent on an annual basis. Inflation in non-food articles, which include fibres, oil seeds and minerals, was recorded at 15.60 per cent during the latest reported week, lower than the 16.05 per cent in the previous week.
Keywords: Food inflation, WPI index, fuel price index, primary articles price index, base effect
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/economy/article2321532.ece?homepage=true

4 AUG, 2011, 06.02PM IST, REUTERS

High prices hit oil demand as economies slow

LONDON: A sharp slowdown in economic growth, particularly in the United States, is hitting consumers and companies and forcing economic forecasters and analysts to slash estimates for global oil demand.


In a report to be published in the next few days, Barclays Capital has cut its estimates of world oil demand growth for this year and 2012 to reflect the dramatic slowdown in the United States and elsewhere.


The investment bank, which has been one of the most bullish forecasters of oil prices this year, now sees global oil demand increasing by 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) this year to 88.68 million bpd.


Barclays Capital previously forecast a rise in oil demand this year of 1.56 million bpd and two months ago expected the increase to be as much as 1.7 million.


Analysts say they expect other investment banks to follow Barclays Capital and cut their own estimates further.


Barclays Capital has also cut its forecast for oil demand growth next year, expecting an increase of 1.34 million bpd in 2012, compared with its previous forecast of 1.4 million bpd.


"Given the general state of the macro-economy, the state of oil demand does not seem particularly healthy," Barclays Capital oil analyst Amrita Sen said.


"Moreover, US GDP is 2 per cent lower than what everyone expected (or) knew of due to the revisions issued last week and our economists have reduced a cumulative 1.8 per cent of US growth over this year and next. Hence the revision."


Washington has cut sharply its estimates of growth this year and now says the US economy stumbled badly in the first half, coming dangerously close to contracting at one point.


The Commerce Department said last week that the US economy expanded by just 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, a sharp downward revision from the previously reported 1.9 per cent gain, and grew at only a 1.3 per cent annual pace in the second quarter as consumer spending barely rose.


MORE REVISIONS


US consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 per cent of US economic activity, decelerated sharply in the second quarter, advancing at only a 0.1 per cent rate. In June, US consumer spending dropped for the first time in nearly two years.

Economic Outlook 2011-12 by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/resources/article2313306.ece

UPA government faces Opposition fury in Lok Sabha over 'failure' to rein in inflation

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4 AUG, 2011, 02.55AM IST, ET BUREAU
NEW DELHI: The Manmohan Singh government faced the Opposition fury in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday for its 'failure' to rein in prices of essential commodities which had hit the common man hard.

"When prices were going up, average people like us were saying that inflation does not only go up, but also travels laterally. In other words, if food inflation goes up, then the prices of other commodities is affected directly. Laterally, food inflation and has now affected fuels, it has affected the manufacturing sector. The main factor thus is food inflation,'' former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha, who kicked off the debate on price-rise in the Lok Sabha, said.

Introducing the motion, whose wording had been worked out by the government managers in consultation with the main Opposition party, Sinha said that despite "repeated discussions'' on pricerise in the House, its 'burden' on the common man was continuing. "Expressing deep concern over price rise, this House calls upon the government to take immediate effective steps to check inflation that will give relief to the common man," it said.

Sinha's speech, which lasted almost an hour, saw him carrying out vitriolic attacks against the Centre, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in particular. However, unlike in the past, the Opposition leader's views were heard with attention, with very few interventions in between.

Even when Sinha poked fun at the prime minister for not being at the receiving end of popular anger over spiraling food prices as he did not have to contest elections, the treasury benches sat back in silence. "Those who do not contest elections are happy. I am talking about those who contest electoral battles," the BJP leader said as the Opposition benches burst out in laughter. The prime minister sat in silence, not betraying any emotion.

Speaking on behalf of the government, Law Minister Salman Khursheed said that all developing countries find themselves combating inflation, and that the government was "doing everything in its power" to control prices. In a lighter vein, he referred to popular film dialogue from the Hindi blockbuster of the 1970s, Deewar. "There is that line...you may have everything, but mere paas maa hai (but I have my mother on my side).

That's what we are saying...you may have everything, but we have Dr Manmohan Singh," he said while defending the prime minister and his track-record.

Sinha cited corruption, besides the increasing food prices, as the contributory factors behind the current burst of inflation, and the government's inability to control it. Drawing from the experience gained by him during his stint as the finance minister during the Vajpayee government, Sinha said that even then, they had 65 million tonnes grain in the godowns.

"What did we do with this surplus? We started Antyodaya Anna Yojana. You are talking of food security now. We had fixed a price of .`2 per kg for wheat, and .`3 per kg for rice way back in 2002. We streamlined the public distribution system, and supplied wheat and rice free to states which were ravaged by droughts. We released lakhs of tonnes of wheat under the food-forwork programme,'' Sinha said.

The former finance minister quoted from the year's Economic Survey to harp on corruption theme. "For India to develop faster and do better as an economy, it is, therefore, important to foster the culture of honesty trustworthiness....

So, once you recognize that honesty, integrity and trustworthiness are not just good moral qualities in themselves, but qualities when imbibed by a society lead to economic progress and human development. People will have a tendency to acquire this quality and should build a more tolerant and progressive society,'' Sinha said while reading out from the survey.

"Where is trustworthiness? Where is integrity? Where is honesty? When you were returned to power in 2009, you came back in the name of the aam aadmi. Money worth .`6 lakh crore which has gone out from the pockets of the common man has gone into the hands of profiteers, racketeers, horders, money-lenders and the corrupt. Corruption breeds conspicuous consumption. Where will the corrupt invest their money? In conspicuous consumption, which fuels inflation,'' he said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/UPA-government-faces-Opposition-fury-in-Lok-Sabha-over-failure-to-rein-in-inflation/articleshow/9474729.cms
3 AUG, 2011, 02.24AM IST, ET BUREAU

Parliament to function after ages; government to vote with Opposition on inflation

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday conceded to Opposition's demand for holding a discussion on price-rise in the two Houses of Parliament. Although the motion will be discussed under rules that entail voting, the ruling side will end up only with bruises as it too will be voting in favour of the motion, which has been worded in such a way that it obtained consent of both sides.

"Despite repeated discussions, the government has been unable to control prices. The Houses expresses its grave concern over the government's inability to control prices, and hopes that it will take effective steps to bring them down,'' reads the resolution.

The numbers are clearly loaded against UPA in the Rajya Sabha and Congress managers were wary of receiving a setback in the Lower House, with Samajwadi Party, BSP and JD(S), which extend outside support to the ruling combine, indicating their desire to vote with the Opposition.

Prospects of the smooth conduct of business during the remaining part of the monsoon session of Parliament have brightened, after the two sides agreed to break the stalemate, which saw the first two days of the monsoon session wasted.

In the Lok Sabha, the discussion will be initiated on Wednesday by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha. He and NDA convenor Sharad Yadav had served notices under Rule 184, which entails voting.

The Rajya Sabha will simultaneously take up a debate under Rule 176, which does not entail voting, on the internal security situation, with specific reference to the recent Mumbai terror attack. The debate will be kicked off by Opposition leader Arun Jaitley. The House of Elders is expected to deliberate upon price-rise on Thursday.

The pact between the ruling side and the Opposition was worked out over lunch on Tuesday. The spadework for the consensus had been laid on over the weekend, but PM Manmohan Singh's "skeletons in the Opposition cupboard'' remarks wrecked hopes of an early breakthrough.

With a repeat of the winter session fiasco looming large, Leader of the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee took the initiative to break the deadlock on Tuesday.

NDA has made it clear that it wants voting on discussions on price-rise and corruption, but was agreeable to holding deliberations on other pressing matters - farmers woes and land acquisition, internal security, Telangana imbroglio - under rules which does not entail voting.

Acting in tandem, the non-NDA Opposition bloc, including the Left parties, AIADMK, BJD and TDP, too had given notices for adjournment motions in both Houses of Parliament for discussions under rules that entail voting. "There should not be a discussion

on these burning issues without any conclusion. We are insisting on a debate under rules that entail voting because we want to make the government accountable.

The pressure of voting itself will make the government commit itself to take concrete steps to check spiralling prices," CPM leader Sitaram Yechury told at a press conference here.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Parliament-to-function-after-ages-government-to-vote-with-Opposition-on-inflation/articleshow/9461812.cms

Department of Post preparing roadmap for Post Bank of India
The Department of Post is preparing a roadmap to set up a Post Bank of India and will send the proposal for vetting to the finance ministry.

"On the setting up of Post Bank of India, the (IT) Secretary (had) stated that a roadmap will be sent to the Ministry of Finance for its views," said a report of the Standing Committee on Information Technology.

The Committee asked the Information Technology ministry to complete the formalities connected with setting up of the Post bank of India within a definite timeline, so that the bank could become functional at the earliest.

The committee also wanted the government to provide autonomy to Department of Post to fix interest rates on various small savings schemes, which was suggested by it in earlier reports.

The report said that implementation of centralised banking for Post Office Savings Bank (( POSB)) along with the Post Bank of India could revolutionise the banking and money transfer operations in the country.

The Committee has also asked the department to implement core banking solution in 120 of the identified pilot post offices by March, 2012.

Under the core banking solution, the branches are linked to a centralised computer.

Expressing concern over slow computerisation of post offices, it said that sincere efforts should be make them IT enabled.

Anna supporters rally against bill in Patna

Alok K N Mishra, TNN | Aug 4, 2011, 08.56PM IST
PATNA: Team Anna supporters in Bihar on Thursday demonstrated on the civil court premises here in protest against the government's Lokpal bill which was tabled in Parliament on Thursday. They called upon the people to support their movement by taking part in Friday's plan to burn copies of the government's version of the bill. Dozens of lawyers participated in the event and expressed their solidarity with the movement.

The activists, under the banner of the Patna chapter of India Against Corruption (IAC), will organize a demonstration at 1pm at Ambedkar statue near the high court here on Friday. They will burn copies of the bill and effigies of PM Manmohan Singh in order to register their opposition against the bill in its current form.

They announced that the activists will continue to burn copies of the bill across the state till August 16 when Anna Hazare will start his indefinite hunger strike.

"Our campaign to garner support for the Jan Lokpal Bill, proposed by Team Anna, is getting overwhelming response. More than 500 activists, including lawyers, doctors and NGO members, are expected to take part in the demonstration on Friday," said Ratnesh K Choudhary, IAC, Bihar coordinator.

"Anger has been brewing among countrymen ever since the cabinet passed the draft of the Lokpal Bill, ignoring key suggestions of the civil society. Our movement is against the exclusion of important recommendations of the civil society from the bill," said another activist N C Sinha.

"We are getting inspiration from him (Anna Hazare) and have created a support group to intensify the fight against corruption," said Anand Bhushan, a senior human rights lawyer of the Patna high court.

The IAC activists have been organizing various activities across the state to garner support for their movement and the 'Jan Lokpal bill', the draft put forward by Team Anna. From August 1, IAC, Patna unit, has been organizing 'padyatra' for mobilizing people's support.

The movement has attracted people from all age groups. "During an awareness programme in Jehanabad on Wednesday, a 100-year-old man, Jai Narayan Singh, took part and roared like a tiger against corruption. All IAC activists were astonished and inspired to see the voice of support coming from him," said Sanjay Dutta, IAC media-in-charge.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Anna-supporters-rally-against-bill-in-Patna/articleshow/9483894.cms

Indian terror module behind July 13 Mumbai serial blasts: Chidambaram
The government has said there were indications of the involvement of an Indian terror module in last month's serial blasts in Mumbaieven as the opposition and UPA ally NCP accused the Centre of being soft in its approach to terrorism.

"While no conclusion has been reached, all indications point to Indian module" in the July 13 blasts in Mumbai that left 26 people dead.

"We cannot live in denial. We cannot close our eyes to facts. There are home grown modules," he said while replying to a debate in Rajya Sabha on growing incidents of terror.

It is for the first time that the government has pointed towards the involvement of a homegrown terror group for the three explosions in the metropolis.

Chidambaram said there is a new dimension of home-grown terrorism which threatens the country's survival as federal entity even as the opposition targeted it of being "soft" towards the menace.

The home minister also said all over the world right wing fascist forces were on the rise and India is no exception to it.

Chidambaram admitted the Pune and Mumbai blasts are "two major blots" in the last 32 months since he assumed the charge of home ministry. "I accept it," he said.

Opposition BJP, joined by NCP, charged the government with being soft towards terrorism.

Participating in the debate, BJP leader Arun Jaitley launched a scathing attack on the handling of the terror attacks and said mandarins in the ministry of external affairs "feel helpless" while dealing with countries which are the epicentres of terrorism.

Suggesting that the fight against terror should be extended to its foreign policy, Chidambaram said "does India have the will to use a foreign policy initiative to fight terror? In the absence of any other alternative of how to deal with Pakistan, the government has been advocating engagement with them....we lack the political will to take all necessary steps to fight terror."

"Every time a government decides to fight terror, it is told that it is either anti-minority or against human rights...national security will have to prevail over vote-bank politics," Jaitley said.

Toeing the Opposition line, NCP member Yogendra P Trivedi said "we are probably too soft in handling terrorism. Killers and terrorists should not feel India is too soft on them".

Citing the example of a ship lying abandoned off the Mumbai coast, he wondered "how a ship could come all the way to Versova coast without anyone knowing about it?"

In his reply, Chidambaram described the period from 2002 to 2008 as the worst phase of terrorism related violence and said there was a "failure to recognise" the growth of SIMI and Indian Mujahideen in these years at the political and government level.

Full coverage

Parliament to finally do business, debate inflation

Hindustan Times - ‎Aug 2, 2011‎
Even as Parliament was stalled on Tuesday over inflation and land acquisition, the government and the opposition agreed to have a debate on inflation in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. This seems to have paved the way for Parliament to function normally, ...

Houses adjourned over price rise, land acquisition Bill

Indian Express - ‎Aug 2, 2011‎
The Elders were uniformly agitated over price rise, while it was messy in the Lok Sabha as the two Houses adjourned for the day on the second day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The BSP contingent moved into the well in a flash as soon as the Lok ...

House agrees to agree on price rise

Indian Express - ‎Aug 2, 2011‎
Shortly after both Houses of Parliament had been rendered dysfunctional by unruly members on the second day of the monsoon session, the government and the Opposition made peace and resolved to transact normal business from tomorrow. ...

Parliament to function after ages; government to vote with Opposition on inflation

Economic Times - ‎Aug 2, 2011‎
NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday conceded to Opposition's demand for holding a discussion on price-rise in the two Houses of Parliament. Although the motion will be discussed under rules that entail voting, the ruling side will end up only with ...

Opposition protests over inflation, graft

gulfnews.com - ‎Aug 2, 2011‎
New Delhi: Protests by the opposition over inflation, corruption and land acquisition yesterday forced the adjournment of both houses of parliament for the day. The houses were adjourned twice before lunch due to slogans by members of the Bharatiya ...

Govt, Oppn agree to discuss price rise

Business Standard - ‎Aug 2, 2011‎
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on Tuesday stooped to conquer. Alarmed at losing another precious day in the monsoon session, it agreed to discuss price rise in the Lok Sabha with voting under Rule 184 and a similar discussion with ...

Lok Sabha to discuss price rise under voting rule today

The Hindu - Kv Prasad - ‎Aug 2, 2011‎
The government on Tuesday conceded the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Opposition's demand for a discussion on price rise with voting, while persuading the Opposition to agree to an "acceptable" motion that could be passed unanimously. ...

Back to the wall, UPA agrees for voting on price rise

Daily News & Analysis - ‎Aug 2, 2011‎
The United Progressive Alliance government and the opposition National Democratic Alliance have reportedly reached a compromise that will allow for a debate and voting on the price rise issue. Various news reports quoted sources as saying that voting ...

Will hold talks with Opposition to bring House in order:Bansal

IBNLive.com - ‎Aug 2, 2011‎
PTI | 04:08 PM,Aug 02,2011 New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) Despite Parliament being rocked over several issues for the past two days, government today hoped to bring Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in order by holding talks with the Opposition. ...
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Timeline of articles

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Number of sources covering this story
Opposition corners UPA on price rise in Parliament
‎Aug 3, 2011‎ - Times of India
House agrees to agree on price rise
‎Aug 2, 2011‎ - Indian Express
Houses adjourned for 2nd day over price rise, corruption
‎Aug 2, 2011‎ - Hindustan Times
Question hour cancelled in Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha
‎Aug 1, 2011‎ - Economic Times
Will parliament conduct its legislative business?
‎Jul 31, 2011‎ - Economic Times

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India to give $2bn to fund bailouts in Europe

TNN | Aug 3, 2011, 06.15AM IST
NEW DELHI: India is set to fund bailouts in financially-stricken Europe, marking a dramatic role reversal from 20 years ago when it went knocking on the doors of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) to avert a balance of payments crisis.

The government on Tuesday sought parliamentary approval to provide over Rs 9,003 crore (over $2 billion) in loans to the multilateral agency's New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB), a fund whose corpus was raised to over $500 billion in March when the debt crisis in Europe showed no signs of abating.

So, from Greece, which has received $300 billion so far, to Portugal's $100 billion bailout, India could be playing a part in the international rescue operations.

There are already suggestions that more funding would be required from the European Union as well as multilateral bodies.

Over the past two years, amid increased stress in the global economy, the IMF has been pressed into service on several occasions and has financed bailouts in European countries facing a crisis due to high levels of debt.

The 10-fold rise in the NAB corpus was the result of the new global financing order created by G20, a group of the world's most powerful economies, in the post-financial crisis era. Along with the jump in corpus, membership to the elite club of NAB contributors was also expanded to include 13 emerging economies, which included India.

"The NAB is the facility of first and principal recourse in circumstances in which the IMF needs to supplement its quota resources," the agency said on its website.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-to-give-2bn-to-fund-bailouts-in-Europe/articleshow/9463341.cms

CAG slams Sheila govt for irregular CWG spending

TNN | Aug 3, 2011, 06.02AM IST
NEW DELHI: The Sheila-Dikshit-led Delhigovernment has been severely indicted by theComptroller and Auditor General in its performance audit report on the Commonwealth Games held last year. In the detailed report, the CAG has noted serious lapses and irregularities in the bidding process for procurement of different Games-related items and pointed out several instances of wasteful expenditure.

The Delhi government has been taken to task by the CAG for the manner in which it went about its project for "Modernization of Delhi Street Lighting System". The CAG observed that "the decision on use of imported lighting was taken with the approval of the chief minister".

Samples from some leading manufacturers were shown to the chief minister in September 2007. Later, abiding by her directions, both locally manufactured and imported lights were installed on a pilot stretch. The CAG mentions that no technical note "regarding reasons for the use of imported lights along with the cost benefit analysis was found on record".
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/CAG-slams-Sheila-govt-for-irregular-CWG-spending/articleshow/9463245.cms

4 AUG, 2011, 09.59PM IST, REUTERS

S&P 500 and Dow both fall 3 per cent


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Wall Street opens 1 per cent lower on growth fears

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NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and Dow both fell more than 3 per cent on Thursday, with investors worried about the outlook for the US economy and the debt crisis in Europe.


The Dow Jones industrial average was down 351.48 points, or 2.95 per cent, at 11,544.96, after briefly falling 3 per cent. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 42.05 points, or 3.34 per cent, at 1,218.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 94.45 points, or 3.51 per cent, at 2,598.62.


"The (economic) numbers are not coming in favorably. They haven't been, and this is a reaction to all of that. We're in a major correction..." said Joseph Cangemi, managing director at BNY ConvergEx Group in New York.


The day's drop follows a string of declines for the market as investors worried about the outcome of talks to cut budget deficits in Washington, increasing evidence of US economic weakness and a spreading debt crisis in Europe.


The S&P 500 fell for 7 straight days before rebounding Wednesday. Its losses since its May 2 high have now reached more than 10 per cent, putting it in correction territory.


The CBOE Volatility index jumped to its highest since March.


First-time claims for unemployment benefits edged down to 400,000 last week, the Labor Department said.


The figure comes a day before the government's monthly payrolls report, one of the most closely watched numbers measuring the US economy.


Energy and materials shares led losses on the S&P 500, with the S&P energy index and materials index each down more than 3 per cent.


The Dow Jones industrial average was down 242.19 points, or 2.04 per cent, at 11,654.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 29.63 points, or 2.35 per cent, at 1,230.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 71.04 points, or 2.64 per cent, at 2,622.03.

A series of breaks in technical support suggest further losses, according to market technicians.


"Frankly, you have to look pretty hard to find anything technically that looks constructive," said John Kosar, director of research at Asbury Research in Chicago.


Overseas, the European Central Bank signalled it was buying government bonds in response to a deepening European debt crisis.

NRI Corner
Posted abroad? Buy property, the NRI way
Any NRI is eligible to buy a house in the country. The money should be routed by way of inward remittance from any place outside India.
Workplace Issues
IT cos function in cramped offices to cut costs
Lavatories are few, and it isn't uncommon to spot a line outside them. The scene at the cafeteria is not much different from that at the parking lot.
Focus on Gold
HNIs rush to buy gold; diversification drive from stocks, bonds
24-carat gold yielded 13% against a negative return of almost 12% by Sensex. The stupendous rise of gold has not deterred investment.
Defence: Security Concerns
Abandoned Panama-flagged MT Pavit ship exposes holes in coastal security
The Navy, the Coast Guard & the marine police, supposed to create a 3-tier coastal security ring, all failed to detect the 1,000-tonne MT Pavit.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/global-markets/sp-500-and-dow-both-fall-3-per-cent/articleshow/9484625.cms


04/08/2011

Madras High Court rejects Chidambaram plea against case challenging his 2009 election

Chennai: In a setback for Home Minister P Chidambaram, the Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed his plea against a petition that had challenged his election to the Lok Sabha in 2009.
The petition, challenging his election, was filed by AIADMK's R S Raja Kannappan who had lost to him from the Sivaganga constituency by just 3,354 votes.
In his application, Chidambaram had contended there were some defects in the petition filed by Kannappan. Chidambaram had claimed the High Court registry had noted the defects when the petition was filed by Kannappan.
Dismissing Chidambaram's application, Justice K Venkatraman said, "There cannot be any doubt that an election petition filed with defects - which cannot be curable - cannot be considered as an election petition at the end. However, in the case in hand, the defects pointed out by the officer concerned are not defects which are not curable warranting dismissal of the election petition."
The judge said he was of the considered view that the application preferred by Chidambaram "is liable to be rejected and accordingly rejected". Kannappan in his petition filed on June 25, 2009 alleged that Chidambaram's election 'deserved' to be declared void due to 'manipulation' of votes and 'corrupt practices' committed by him, his election agents and others, with his consent.
He had also sought recounting of votes polled in the entire constituency, particularly in the Alangudi Assembly segment. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa during her visit to New Delhi in June last had sought the resignation of Chidambaram alleging that he got himself elected to the Parliament by 'fraudulent' means.
She had alleged Chidambaram was announced the successful candidate because of a fraud committed by a data entry operator, but the Union Minister hit back saying her remarks were 'gross contempt of court'.
Source: PTI
Image Source: AFP

04/08/2011

Govt tables Lokpal Bill in Parliament; livid Team Anna burns copies outside

The much-debated Lokpal Bill was introduced in the Parliament on Thursday sparking a burning debate both inside and outside the House on some key elements of the proposed legislation.
Anna Hazare burns copies of the Lokpal bill in a Maharashtra village.
While the Opposition clamoured for the inclusion of the Prime Minister in Lokpal ambit, Anna Hazare's supporters and civil society members burnt copies of the Bill in Anna's hometown Ralegaon Siddhi, Maharashtra and in Kaushmabi, Ghaziabad. The Ghaziabad protests were led by Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi.
Just before the Bill was tabled, Speaker Meira Kumar gave permission to Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj to express her views as a special case under Rule 72.
Swaraj said when the Prime Minister does not enjoy immunity from prosecution under the criminal law and Prevention of Corruption Act, why was he being kept out of the ambit of the Lokpal.
She maintained the Constitution says everybody is equal and there should be no immunity from IPC, CrPC or the Prevention of Corruption Act.
"It is for the first time that under Clause 2 of the Lokpal Bill, all Union ministers are included except the Prime Minister. I don't understand why. How can anybody occupying any position be a holy cow. Why is the Prime Minister being kept out of its purview?" Swaraj posed.
She stated then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had put the debate to rest during the NDA rule, saying if he is not under its purview, it will have no meaning. She was referring to the Lokpal Bill proposed by the NDA government which was ultimately not introduced in Parliament.
"As chairperson of the then Standing Committee on Home, Pranab Mukherjee had accepted that the Prime Minister should be within the purview of the Lokpal. The Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) has himself said he wants to be within its ambit. Why is the Cabinet not paying heed to his views?" she asked.
Swaraj said the BJP had several objections to the proposed Bill but would, for the moment, confine herself to only the exclusion of PM.
"We will object to introduction of the Lokpal Bill," she said.
NDA Convenor and JD(U) President Sharad Yadav stood up to say something but the Speaker did not permit him as he had not given prior notice.
Minister of State in PMO V Narayanasamy, who introduced the Bill, said the Prime Minister had offered to be within the purview of the Lokpal but the Cabinet did not agree.
"Ultimately this Bill will go to the Standing Committee. Your objection cannot be sustained," he told the Opposition benches.
Mukherjee told the House that Swaraj's contention he gave his nod to the NDA Lokpal Bill is true.
"On February 16, 2002 as Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Home, I had placed that bill on the table of the House. NDA had two full years after that. Why did they not bring the Bill," Mukherjee said.
When Narayanasamy introduced the Bill, the BJP and NDA members objected to it.
Earlier, in his reply to the motion on price rise, Mukherjee said the government has taken views of the civil society but "there was no question of diluting the authority of Parliament in making the legislation".
He said that in the case of Lokpal Bill, normal legislative process will be followed.
Meanwhile, Anna Hazare and his team members today burnt copies of the "anti-poor, anti-Dalit" law with the Gandhian asserting that he would go ahead with his fast beginning August 16 till a strong law is brought in.
Hazare and his supporters burnt copies of the Bill introduced in Parliament this afternoon in Maharashtra's Ralegaon Siddhi while his supporters Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi led the protest in Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi area in Ghaziabad.
Amidst sloganeering against the government, Hazare said it was the last chance to eradicate corruption from the country and that protests should be organised all over to ensure a strong Lokpal Bill is brought in.
"This is a bad and weak Bill which is introduced in Parliament. We need a new and strong Bill. I trusted them when they said they will bring a strong law and ended my fast in April. They cheated me.
"But at the protest starting from August 16, I am not going to withdraw from my fast on some assurances. What we need is a strong Bill," he said.
He claimed the government would have fallen if he had continued his fast then for another three days. The government does not fear fasts or protests but they fear the voice of the people, he said, adding that people should acquire this power to overthrow governments.
However, he said, his protest is not to change the government but system.
Alleging that it was an insult to Parliament and the people, Kejriwal described the Bill as "anti-poor and anti-Dalit" which does not help the poor in fighting corruption.
By bringing a "weak" Lokpal Bill, Kejriwal alleged the government was challenging countrymen.
He said they expected the government will come out with a stronger version of the bill but they were cheated.
Countering suggestions that the Bill can be further debated in the Standing Committee, Kejriwal said the panel cannot alter or change the provisions as it can only give suggestions.
"Parliament has been given a fait accompli. This is insult of the people and Parliament," he added.
Bhushan and Bedi said what they were demanding was an independent agency which could probe corruption.
Source: PTI


Per capita income has grown 120% between FY'05 and FY'11:Government
The per capital income in the country has jumped over two-folds between 2004-05 and 2010-11 to touch Rs 54,835 per annum, Parliament was informed today.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics and Programme Implementation Srikant Jena said that Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Haryana are the top states and union territories with regard to per capital income in 2010-11.

However, the provisional data for 2010-11 from a few states including Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, West Bengal and Gujarat are yet to be released.

"The per capita income at the national level, which was Rs 24,143 in the year 2004-05, stands at Rs 54,835 in the year 2010-11, showing an increase of more than 120 per cent," the minister said.

Jena said there is regional imbalance and disparity among states and union territories with regard to income levels and attributed this to various factors like historical differences, level of industrialisation, natural resource endowments and differences in human capital indocators.

"Per capita income is only an indicator of the disparity and not the cause," the minister said.

As per privisional data for 2010-11 provided by Directorate of Economics and Statistics of respective state governments and the Central Statistical Office, Delhi had the highest per capital income of Rs 1,35,814 annually, followed by Chandigarh at 1,28,634 and Poducherry at Rs 98,719.

Haryana had a per capital income of Rs 92,327 in 2010-11. Among other states Sikkim (Rs 81,159), Tamil Nadu (Rs 72,993), Uttarakhand (Rs 68,292), Punjab (Rs 67,473) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs 60,458) has good income levels. At the bottom of the list are Bihar (Rs 20,069), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 26,051), Manipur (Rs 29,684) and Jharkhand (Rs 29,786).

The minister said the government has been taking several measures to increase the per capita income of states in a balanced manner.
15 JUL, 2011, 12.08PM IST, RAJEEV DESHPANDE & JOSY JOSEPH,TNN

Inter-agency turf battles cripple India's war on terror

NEW DELHI: The glaring lack of intelligence on the 13/7 attack underlines how inter-agency turf wars, political fault lines in the government, and privacy issues are enmeshing India's war on terrorism in a web of competing interests.

Despite the shock of the 26/11 carnage providing fresh salience to security policy, the much-discussed National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) is yet to come into being. Its crucial adjunct, the National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid), has been set up, but its data collating functions are being blocked by differences at the top and privacy campaigners.

The National Technical Research Organization (NTRO), whose functions include telephone surveillance, is yet to be notified as a "monitoring" agency despite clearance from the cabinet committee on security. Formed in 2004 as part of post-Kargil security reforms, the Union home ministry has still not been able to activate it due to stiff opposition from the Intelligence Bureau. Notification is needed to empower the agency to intercept internet and other electronic communication, a task it now carries out by seeking specific case-by-case permissions.

The NCTC and Natgrid proposals have been pushed strongly by Union home minister P Chidambaram, but he has found the going far from easy. The sharing of databases involving banking, air travel and police organizations has been opposed by privacy actvists who are said to have found an ally in the Union finance ministry.

The US set up the NCTC within three years of the 2001 attacks. But India's NCTC proposal is still to be tabled for approval of the CCS.

Natgrid, which is to bring 21 databases into a seamless network for intelligence and investigation agencies, received approval for its first phase only a few weeks ago.
7 JUN, 2011, 02.24PM IST, BISWARUP GOOPTU,OUR BUREAU

$4-Billion Globemaster-III deal sails through cabinet


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BANGALORE: The Indian Air Force's long wait for its new heavy-lift aircraft is almost over, with the central government clearing the decks for the purchase of 10 Boeing C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft for $4.1-billion on Monday.

The purchase, which is the largest Indo-US defence deal so far, has been given the green light by the Cabinet Committee on Security - the apex body responsible for all major defence acquisitions - and comes less than two months after the jettisoning of the US combat fighters - Lockheed Martin's F-16IN Super Viper and Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet - from the $11-billion medium multi-role combat aircraft tender.

A Letter of Acceptance to the US government is expected to be issued this month, said a person with knowledge of the matter, after which a final date for the signing of the contract will be set. Deliveries of the aircraft are expected to start 24 months after the signing of the contract.

The deal, which was announced by US President Barack Obama during his state visit to New Delhi, late last year and first reported by ET, was stymied after India had asked for greater pricing clarity from Washington. Reports had emerged that the US had sold the C-17 Globemaster-III to a number of countries, including Australia, at a far lower price.

However, a senior Boeing official had told ET that there were no complications in the sale of the aircraft, and that the defence vendor expected the sale, which had been negotiated through the Foreign Military Sales route, to close by mid-2011.

"The offsets package relating to the deal has already been approved. Plus, the IAF has to go through numerous government gateways before a final seal of approval can be given. Defence deals of this magnitude do take some time to close, and I expect them to take a decision by mid-2011," Chris Chadwick, president, Boeing Military Aircraft said.

Chadwick had said that Boeing had also received "inquiries of an informal nature" relating to the purchase of a further six Globemaster-III aircraft.

The clearing of the deal will come as a relief to the US, after its highly fancied combat jets were ruled out of the MMRCA fray in April, in favour of the French-based Dassault Aviation's Rafale and the pan-European consortium-built Eurofighter Typhoon.

The deal value, estimated at $4.1-billion, will supplant the $962.7 million India paid for six Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and the $.2.1 billion it shelled out for eight Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft for the Indian Navy.

The deal had also come under the scanner after India refused to sign a number of key strategic agreements with the US, and there was speculation that the aircraft would arrive without certain critical components. Boeing has however reiterated that the aircraft sold to India will be the updated versions of the C-17.

The heavy-lift aircraft are seen as critical to the needs of the IAF as it looks to beef up its strategic lift capabilities, especially along its northern and north-western borders, which it shares with China and Pakistan.

Further, the aircraft are expected to be used to move large combat systems and troops, and also act as a force multiplier for the IAF, to counter the massive buildup of Chinese military infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control. The IAF currently has a dozen Soviet-era IL-76 aircraft to meet its heavy-lift capabilities and 100-odd AN-32 medium-lift planes.

However, the lack of spares and ongoing serviceability issues with the Russians has continued to dog the fleets.

NATGRID project gets ccs approval

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Monday gave its in-principle approval to National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID). The clearance came after a detailed briefing and presentation about the NATGRID project, along with safeguards and oversight mechanisms was given by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), to the members of the CCS.

The NATGRID will have access to about 21 categories of database like railway and air travel, income tax, bank account details, credit card transactions, visa and immigration records. The project once comes into existence, will facilitate robust information sharing by security agencies and law enforcement agencies to combat terror threat. The project report of NATGRID was ready in December 2010.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreigntrade/4-Billion-Globemaster-III-deal-sails-through-cabinet/articleshow/8759682.cms

Can't ignore home-grown terror: Chidambaram

TNN | Aug 5, 2011, 12.12AM IST
NEW DELHI: Asserting it was not feasible to "live in denial" about homegrown terror, home minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday that terrorism was no longer solely imported from across the border or restricted to one religion with even the recent Mumbai serial blasts likely to be the handiwork of indigenous groups.

Outlining the threat of totally Indian modules, Chidambaram said although the government had not come to any conclusion in the Mumbai probe, the attack could -- like in the case of the German Bakery blast in Pune -- be a case of swadeshi terror.

"Pune was by an Indian module and it seems that even the Mumbai serial blasts could have been perpetrated by an Indian module...Maybe both blasts were by the same module," said Chidambaram while replying to a debate in Rajya Sabha on internal security.

He also chose to point to the rise of right wing extremism the world over and said India was not immune from such processes. He said in the past wrong arrests have been made and while he was not concerned with the religion of those who wrecked violence, groups with fascist views had to be countered.

Chidambaram said that there had been a failure in not recognizing growth of Indian modules even while cross-border terrorism remained a challenge. "We can't go on living in denial. It is important to acknowledge three most important points here; we are going to live under the shadow of terror because of our troubled neighbourhood, that we have homegrown terror groups and also, that these groups practice only one religion no longer holds true," he said.

The minister's recalibration of the sources of terror is not entirely new as he has spoken of the emergence of Hindu right wing terror, even saying that BJP's criticism of him might be related to investigations into such groups. Chidambaram's reply came shortly after leader of opposition Arun Jaitley came down heavily on the government for not accepting that there had been an intelligence failure in the July 13 serial blasts.

In his defence, the home minister sought to differentiate between "no intelligence" and "failure of intelligence". He said, ``In Pune we had intelligence which reached even the German Bakery through state agencies. Pune still happened because of failure on the part of police and citizenry. In Mumbai there was no intelligence."

The home minister elaborated the government's limitations, saying, ``There is a difference because we don't have intelligence staff everywhere and we also don't have a database on every module which comes up. There will be cases of no intelligence. However, while intelligence failure is a warning bell, having no intelligence is even more serious and should make us more careful."

Chidambaram admitted that Pune and Mumbai were major blots after 26/11. He, however, said that the security system had come a long way since 26/11 going by the manner in which government agencies had responded to the Mumbai blasts. He said as many as 51 terror modules had been busted by agencies in the past two years including a group which was planning to target Hindu leaders and Allahabad High Court judges who delivered the verdict in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid case.

The home minister gave examples in which arrest of terrorists had foiled attempts to target the ONGC office and an MNC in south India. Chidambaram described NCTC, NIA, NSG and Natgrid as four important pillars on which the overall security and counter-terrorism architecture is going to be based. He was optimistic that issues raised in the Cabinet over NCTC were likely to be addressed soon.

`A huge amount of money has been spent for procurement. I have taken risks for this because I don't know which CAG will find fault with this in the future," he remarked.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cant-ignore-home-grown-terror-Chidambaram/articleshow/9484928.cms
04/08/2011

Loss of Rs 1.76 lakh cr hypothetical, trial untenable: Swan

New Delhi: The affordable billing of one paise per second could not have become a reality had government auctioned 2G licenses as suggested by CAG, Swan Telecom today told a Delhi court and sought discharge saying the 'hypothetical' loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore cannot be a ground for its prosecution.
"The act of causing possible and hypothetical loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the state exchequer, which the government is denying, cannot be a ground for criminal prosecution of a company."
"Such issues are policy decisions and the government has to frame policies by keeping in mind the social upliftment of mits people and revenue generation and if government would have gone for auction of licenses, then the billing of one paise per second could not have become a reality," Amit Desai, counsel for Swan, now Etisalat DB, told CBI Judge O P Saini.
The courts should not interfere with the policies of the government. The policy can be bad but cannot be 'criminal' as the state has to ensure the welfare of citizens besides revenue generation, he contended.
Desai, arguing for the firm which is also an accused besides its promoter Shahid Usman Balwa and director Vinod Goenka, said "the company, being a juristic person, did not commit any criminal act. At best, CBI could have used it for identifying Balwa and Goenka."
"The company on its own did not commit any criminal act and the charge sheet does not specify any such acts," he said. The counsel, who may continue with his arguments tomorrow as well, said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is a 'specialist' body on the issue and the government did the right thing by following its guidelines.
"The CAG, being an auditor, is an advisory body which accounted notional and presumptive loss which cannot be relied for criminal prosecution."
Desai sought discharge of Swan Telecom, accused of hatching a conspiracy with others, including former Telecom Minister A Raja, and defrauding the exchequer, saying the whole case is based on CAG's computation of 'notional loss'.
He hailed present Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal for his recent statement that the government did not incur any loss and said "it hit the root of CBI's case."
Desai termed the 2G case as a 'classic' example of a battle between CAG and TRAI. "CAG is an auditor and its opinion comes in the hindsight whereas TRAI is a statutory body which has a specific role in the telecom sector. It is the specialist."
"Who is going to judge who is right? Whether CAG is right or TRAI? Statute obliges TRAI to make recommendations and the government is obliged to work towards achieving the objectives of the National Telecom Policy, 1999, to increase tele-density at affordable prices in rural areas," he said.
CAG's findings that had the government auctioned 2G license it would not have lost Rs 1.76 lakh crore is all 'presumption' and CBI cannot find fault with the government policy by using the CAG report, Desai said. "It was not within the purview of CBI to decide on the correctness of the CAG report or the TRAI recommendations. It is outside the domain of CBI to say that CAG is right. The courts also cannot fault the process adopted by various government departments," he said.
Source: PTI
Image Source: Reuters

Complete information on the Functions of the Indian Parliament

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The Parliament performs various functions. These are:

Law making Functions:

The Parliament has the power to frame new laws, and to amend or repeal the existing ones. These may be related to subjects from the union list or the concurrent list. In certain circumstances, it can also enact laws on the subjects of the state list.

It also has the right to amend the Constitution by a two-third majority of the Houses.

Control over Finances:

The parliament has absolute control over the finances-the purse of the nation. No new taxes can be levied or a penny spent without its consent. The Cabinet presents the Budget before the Parliament. The Budget has to be approved by the President. The Parliament can, however, purpose a cut in the Budget or even reject it altogether. The only limitation of its financial powers is that it has no right to vote on the Consolidated Fund of India.

Executive Powers:

The Parliament exercises a fair amount of control over the activities of the government. During the question hour, any member can put up question, and the concerned ministers are bound to answer them. This keeps the executive alert.

The members can move a 'call attention' motion and 'adjustment' motions on any urgent matter. If such a motion is permitted by the Speaker, then the minister in charge of the particular department is held answerable. The Parliament can also vote for a cut in the annual Budget. The government is answerable to the Parliament for all its acts of omission and commission. In extreme cases, the Parliament can pass a no-confidence vote and compel the government to resign.

Judicial Powers:

It can impeach the President and remove the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, if it finds that any of them has misused his power or flouted the Constitution.

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