The government will open bids on Friday for a $11 billion contract to buy fighter jets for India's air force, a defence ministry source said, moving closer to awarding one of the world's biggest arms contracts to one of two European groups. Two European contenders are left in the race to sell India 126 fighter jets and help revamp the country's creaking defence equipment in line with its rising global clout. American, Russian and Swedish bids were rejected in April. It's official now -- Indians hold about USD 2.5 billion (over Rs 11,000 crore) in Swiss banks, but this figure of Switzerland's central bank may be a gross understatement of the total wealth directly and indirectly held there by entities from India.The offer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to India is an example that US holds India's military modernisation in high regard, a top Pentagonofficial has said. The US today offered India partnership in the development of the world' most advanced flying machine, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, months after losing the lucrative USD 10 billion contract for 126 war planes.

PIL in SC claims 2.5 bn Francs lying in Rajiv Gandhi's Swiss account

India has more 'multidimensionally poor' than Pakistan

India has highest share of Asia family businesses: Credit Suisse

Petrol price hike: Petrol becomes costlier by Rs 1.80/lt in Delhi

Petrol price not fixed by government, says Montek Singh Ahluwalia

RBI allows FIIs to invest up to $25 billion in infrastructure bonds

Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 703

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The offer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to India is an example that US holds India's military modernisation in high regard, a top Pentagonofficial has said. The US today offered India partnership in the development of the world' most advanced flying machine, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, months after losing the lucrative USD 10 billion contract for 126 war planes.

Food inflation rose to 12.21 per cent during the week ended October 22, with expensive vegetables, pulses, fruits and milk, putting more burden on the common man.

With the world's population touching 7 billion, Assocham today said India should allocate more funds to the health and education sectors to streamline economic growth.

With the birth of the world's seven billionth baby, Nargis, in Lucknow yesterday, the chamber said more involvement from the private sector must be encouraged to solve India's population woes.

India, with 1.2 billion people, is expected to overtake China around 2030, it said.

"Thus, the government must come up with a comprehensive PPP policy for both central and state governments to effectively deal with these perennial issues," Secretary General D S Rawat said, adding that efforts should be made to impart vocational training to enhance farming skills among the rural workforce.

"But there are huge concerns... The country has the highest number of kids suffering from hunger, fatal diseases," it said.

To overcome this, authorities should adopt development measurement indicators like health per acre, nutrition per acre and effective education per acre, it asserted.

Food inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 11.43 per cent in the previous week. The rate of price rise of food items stood at 13.55 per cent in the corresponding week of the previous year.

As per data released by the government today,vegetables became 28.89 per cent costlier on a year-on-year basis. Pulses grew costlier by 11.65 per cent, fruits by 11.63 per cent and milk by 11.73 per cent.

Eggs, meat and fish also became 13.36 per cent more expensive on an annual basis, while cereal prices were up 4.13 per cent.

However, onions became 20.33 cheaper. Wheat prices were also down 1.54 per cent year-on-year during the week under review.

Commenting on the latest food inflation numbers, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the rise in rate of price rise was a matter of "grave concern", but attributed this to the festive season, which led to an increase in demand.

"Inflation is still a matter of grave concern. This is also the affect of the festive season. November onward, the real trend for the remaining four months of the fiscal will be available," he told reporters here.

On a weekly basis, inflation in the overall primary articles category stood at 12.08 per cent, compared to 11.75 per cent in the previous week. Primary articles have over 20 per cent weight in the wholesale price index.

Inflation in non-food articles, including fibres, oil seeds and minerals, was recorded at 6.43 per cent during the week under review, as against 7.67 per cent in the week ended October 15.

Fuel and power inflation stood at 14.50 per cent during the week ended October 22, compared to 14.70 per cent in the previous week.

The upsurge in food prices is likely to exert further pressure on the government and the Reserve Bank to tackle the situation expeditiously.

Headline inflation, which also factors in manufactured items, has been above the 9 per cent-mark since December, 2010. It stood at 9.72 per cent in September this year.

The RBI has hiked interest rates 13 times since March, 2010, to tame demand and curb inflation.

In its second quarterly review of the monetary policy last month, the apex bank said it expects inflation to remain elevated till December on account of the demand-supply mismatch, before moderating to 7 per cent by March, 2012.

Acknowledging that India's recent decision not to opt for America's F-16 and F-18 fighters was a "setback", the Pentagon said it is still interested in selling its top notch fighters to India.

"Despite this setback, we believe US aircraft, such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), to be the best in the world," the Pentagon said in a nine-page report to the Congress.

"Should India indicate interest in the JSF, the United States would be prepared to provide information on the JSF and its requirements (infrastructure, security, etc) to support India's future planning," the Pentagon said in a one-of-its kind report on India submitted to the US Congress.

The F-35 is a fifth generation all-stealth fighter being developed by US armament giant Lockheed Martin in a joint consortium with eight other countries -- the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Australia.

The F-35 Lightning II boasts advanced airframe, autonomic logistics, avionics, propulsion systems, stealth and firepower at the most affordable cost.

The US has already undertaken some test flight of the fighter. F-35 is the only other 5th generation aircraft to fly in the world besides the F-22 Raptors. Washington has refused to share the Raptor technology with any other nation, even its closest allies the UK and Israel.

"What's clear is that the F-35 is something that we would be more than willing to talk to the government of India about should they request to find out more information about purchasing," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, Robert Scher said. "We have made no assertions or promises, and we have not received any request for this," he said.

"But certainly it's an example of the high regard that we hold India's military modernisation, what we think they can usefully potentially use and looking at technology exchange, that we could be able to proceed on," he said.

The Pentagon in a report on Tuesday had informed the US Congress that it was willing to offer the world's most advanced flying machine F-35 to India if it expressed interest in this regard. Though it is for India to decide on its military modernisation program, but the US is ready to offer the best of its technology to it, Scher said.

"That's obviously for the government of India to decide and we look forward to be able to offer some of our best technology, some of our best equipment to fulfill their needs," he said.

"Certainly, we believe that the two entries for the MRCA competition were the best air planes available, the most proven technology to deal with India's express needs. We certainly would have liked for them to have continued to be in the competition. That was not the decision and we certainly respect that," Scher said.

In a nine-page report to the Congress on Tuesday, the Pentagon acknowledged that India's recent decision not to opt for America's F-16 and F-18 fighters while buying 126 war planes was a setback.

"Despite this setback, we believe US aircraft, such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), to be the best in the world. Should India indicate interest in the JSF, the US would be prepared to provide information on the JSF and its requirements (infrastructure, security etc) to support India's future planning," the Pentagon informed the US Congress.

Continually looking for ways to expand defense cooperation with India, the Pentagon said it is seeking opportunities for increased science and technology cooperation that may lead to co-development opportunities with India as a partner.

Pitching for a bilateral investment treaty with India, a leading US Senator has sought a subsequent stepping up of efforts towards a Free Trade Agreement within a decade, contending that India's expansion does not provoke anxieties in the world the way China's does.

Senator Joe Lieberman said America's leadership in the world was guided by more than the pursuit of alignments of commercial or security interests and countries like India represent in Asia the values of democracy US adheres to.

He also noted that India's rise, including its military build up does not evoke anxieties, unlike China in the region.

"Sometimes it is said that China's military spending is an inevitable consequence of its rise, but the experience of other countries in the Asia-Pacific region suggests otherwise.

"India, for instance, is another Asian great power that has experienced spectacular economic growth over the past two decades and lies outside the US treaty system," he said.

"But while India is modernising its military, it has notably not chosen to invest in the kind of anti-access, area-denial capabilities that China has prioritised. That is perhaps one reason why India's rise has not provoked the sort of anxieties in the region that have become associated with China," Lieberman said in his remarks at The Heritage, a Washington-based think tank.

He said the US needs to redouble efforts to move towards a Free Trade Agreement with India, starting with a bilateral investment treaty.

"... we must redouble our efforts to conclude a Bilateral Investment Treaty with India, with the clearly stated goal of concluding a full FTA with New Delhi before the decade is out," the Senator said.

Lieberman, the chairman of the Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee, said China's "new assertiveness" has only exacerbated concerns over its build up in the region.

He noted that China has of late stepped out of Deng Xiaoping's foreign policy of 'keeping a low profile', and 'hiding one's capabilities', to display an aggressive approach.

It has been "employing heavy-handed tactics in territorial disputes with a broad swath of its neighbours -- from the South China Sea to Arunchal Pradesh".

He said these actions have raised worrying questions, not just in Asia, but around the world about how China will exercise its influence as it grows more powerful in the years ahead.

"It is especially striking that these tensions between China and its neighbours have ratcheted up at the same time that cross-strait relations with Taiwan have settled down.

"This strongly suggests that the argument, once quite popular in Washington, that China's rise will be free of turbulence unless there is a flare-up over Taiwan is far too simplistic," he said.

Lieberman said the Obama Administration has pledged to push forward with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, which would liberalise trade with eight Pacific Rim countries.

3 NOV, 2011, 10.18PM IST, RAJEEV JAYASWAL,ET BUREAU

Petrol price hike: Petrol becomes costlier by Rs 1.80/lt in Delhi

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Petrol is costlier by Rs 1.80 a litre in Delhi from Friday giving another blow to the common man facing over 12% food inflation, which is described by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee as "dangerously above double-digit figure."

The companies have raised petrol prices 13th time since June last year from Rs 51.43 a litre to Rs 68.64 a litre in New Delhi. Pump prices would be costlier than the capital in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai due to higher state levies.

"We have raised petrol prices by Rs 1.50 per litre exclusive of state taxes because of reasons beyond our control. The sharp rise is due to high crude prices particularly Brent and rupee deprecation," Indian Oil Corp chairman RS Butola told ET.

Pump price of petrol in New Delhi is now Rs 68.64 a litre and depending on local levies, it will vary in different states, he said.

Senior executives of Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum said state oil firms were contemplating to raise petrol prices since Tuesday but they were waiting for an informal nod of the oil ministry.

Although, petrol is deregulated since June last year, the government indirectly controls its price through the three state oil firms that control 95% of country's retail market. In order to avoid any charges of cartelization, IOC, HPCL and BPCL keep their different prices at their pumps and the difference is negligible one or two paise per litre.

Butola said that IOC would reduce petrol prices as soon as crude oil prices soften and rupee appreciates. "I understand that the hike is steep, but we are helpless. A one rupee depreciation would mean a loss of 90-95 paise," he said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/oil-gas/petrol-price-hike-petrol-becomes-costlier-by-rs-1-80/lt-in-delhi/articleshow/10597392.cms

Mind You,Faced with growing Chinese military presence along the border and other complex security challenges in the region, the government is planning to increase the strength of the Indian Army by almost one lakh soldiers over the next five years. Authoritative sources told TOI that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved a Rs 64,000-crore (approximately $13 billion) military modernization planthat would include raising four new divisions along the India-China border. Two of these would be part of aMountain Strike Corps dedicated to offensive operations. The plan also includes raising two independent brigades, one in Ladakh and the other in Uttarakhand.

It's official now -- Indians hold about USD 2.5 billion (over Rs 11,000 crore) in Swiss banks, but this figure of Switzerland's central bank may be a gross understatement of the total wealth directly and indirectly held there by entities from India.

CANNES: On a day when state-run oil companies hiked petrol prices, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that the price of the fuel is not fixed by the government.

"The petrol price is a decontrolled price. Those prices are not set by the government," Ahluwalia said in an interview to private news channel NDTV-PROFIT on the sidelines of G-20 meeting here.

State-run oil marketing companies Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleumincreased petrol prices by Rs 1.80 per litre with effect from midnight tonight.

This is the second hike in petrol prices in less than two months and it came on a day when the food inflation rose "dangerously" to 12.21 per cent for the week ended October 22.

On the likely impact of this decision of oil firms on the skyrocketing inflation, he said, "Controlling inflation is a concern for policy makers and representatives of the government have said that inflation is too high and we should bring it under control."

"What the government needs to do, is to look at the overall rate of inflation and bring it down," he added.

The headline inflation measured in terms of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) has been above 9 per cent mark since December last year and stood at 9.72 per cent in the month of September.

India has the highest percentage share of family businesses in Asia, accounting for 67 percent of total listed companies with market capitalisation of more than $50 million, Credit Suisse said in a research report on Thursday.

The report said 663 out of 983 listed Indian firms were family businesses and they account for half of all corporate hirings. Family businesses in India account for 46.8 percent of the total market capitalisation, it said.

Indian energy major Reliance Industries , top IT exporter Tata Consultancy Services , mobile operatorBharti Airtel and No.3 software exporter Wipro are among the top 20 firms in the Credit Suisse "AsianFamily Business Basket", the report showed.

The report said Asian family businesses benefit from the long-term and more stable investment strategy of their owners and their performance was supported by family values that view businesses as an inheritance.

"Many Asian family businesses are first-generation firms, in contrast with many family businesses in Europe and the U.S., which are already in their fourth or even fifth generation," the report said.

More than half of India's population at 612 million is "multidimensionally poor" - or deficit in health, education and living standards - making it the world's largest such number of poor, according to theUN Human Development report 2011.

A comparison with the neighbour Pakistan shows 49 percent of its population is multidimensionally poor.

According to the report, released Wednesday, multidimensional poverty index (MPI) assesses acute poverty levels and examines factors such as health services, access to clean water and cooking fuels, basic household goods and home construction standards, which together offer a fuller portrait of poverty than income measurements alone.

The MPI measures deficits in health, education and living standards, combining both the number of deprived people and the intensity of their deprivations.

These deprivations are more acute among the multidimensionally poor, said the report.

Deprivations in sanitation among multidimensionally poor people in India range from 3.5 percent in Kerala to more than 70 percent in Bihar, stated the report.

According to it, in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the two poorest regions, more than 90 percent of the multidimensionally poor lack access to modern cooking fuel.

More than 85 percent of poor people in both regions lack access to improved sanitation.

The report said the world's most disadvantaged people carry a "double burden" as they are more vulnerable to environmental degradation, they must also cope with immediate environmental threats from indoor air pollution, dirty water and unimproved sanitation.

The ever-growing judicial scrutiny and political outcry over alleged stashing of black money in Swiss banks also seems to be forcing Indian entities to move their monies to other safe havens like the Middle East,Singapore and Mauritius.

Some half a billion dollars have been moved out in the last three years, according to the central bank's figures.

In the first-ever disclosure of money held in various Swiss banks by Indians, Swiss National Bank (SNB) has said the quantum of such deposits stood at 1.945 billion Swiss francs (about USD 2.5 billion) at the end of 2010.

Giving a break-up of this amount, Walter Meier, the spokesperson for the SNB President, said this included about USD 2.1 billion dollars in the form of savings and deposits by Indian individuals, financial institutions and corporates.

The remaining about USD 400 million is of fiduciaries largely operating for private individuals from India.

Meier, however, said the bank had no further information when asked about the identity of these funds.

He further said that two of the largest Swiss banks,UBS and Credit Suisse, account for a vast majority of the deposits of entities from India.

Out of the 1.66 billion Swiss francs (USD 2.1 billion) held by Indian individuals and institutions at the end of 2010, the two banks accounted for 1.02 Swiss francs (USD 1.5 billion) and the remaining 636 Swiss francs (USD 775 million) are held in Swiss cantonal banks and private banks, he added.

Experts say that the fiduciaries are essentially wealth fund managers who hold the money of Indian private holders and families in the so-called numbered accounts.

A private banker, on condition of anonymity, said that the actual deposits by Indians could be as high as USD 15-20 billion, but also rubbished the figure of USD 1.5 trillion that has been reported from time to time.

"I would argue that both the Swiss central bank's estimate of USD 2.5 billion as deposits of Indians, as well as the Indian media stories of USD 1.5 trillion of Indian private deposits, are incorrect and somewhat outrageous," he said.

"From my involvement with banks, I would place the Indian deposits anywhere between USD 15-20 billion," the banker said.

He also said there was a "perceptible flight of funds" of Indian holders from Swiss banks to banks in Singapore and Dubai, which are now the two main centres for Indian funds from undeclared sources.

As per SNB's figures also, the Indian deposits in Swiss banks have come down by USD 500 million (about Rs 2,250 crore) in the past three years.

SNB figures show that the total money deposited by Indians, both individuals and companies, in Switzerland-based banks stood at USD 2.5 billion at the end of 2010, down from about USD 2.7 billion in 2009 and USD 3 billion in 2008.

While the bank did not reveal the reasons behind the flight of money from these accounts, officials at regulatory agencies in India fear that Indians might be moving their funds to safer locations like Mauritius, Dubai and other places in the Middle East region.

There have also been talks of Singapore being one such location where money is being moved from Swiss banks.

Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju Wednesday said there was no need to panic over China's military infrastructure along the borders as India was taking adequate counter measures.

"I do not think we need to be particularly alarmed as far as the China border is concerned. They have a definitive established mechanism as far as the differing perceptions of the borders is concerned," Raju told reporters on the sidelines of a business meeting.

"Apart from that, we are taking adequate measure," Raju added.

India has approved several steps to rapidly increase its troop strength along the Sino-Indian border by nearly one lakh soldiers, by raising a new mountain strike corps, two mountain divisions and two mountain brigades.

India is also building military infrastructure such as border roads, airfields and advanced landing grounds.

A recent army commanders conference too talked about "force accretion" along India's border with both China and Pakistan. The army at present has about 1.13 million troops that includes nearly 37,000 officers.

India has completed raising two mountain divisions in the northeast, a process that began three years ago. Two more mountain brigades are being raised for Ladakh and Uttarakhand.

It has opened three advanced landing grounds in Daulat Beg Oldi, Fuk Che and Nyoma, all in Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region, in the last three years.

It also plans more such airfields in the northeast too, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh, which is claimed by China as Lower Tibet.

The total cost of force accretion and infrastructure development is expected to be to the tune of Rs.64,000 crore.

"We are keen on securing our borders. The nation will take all adequate measures that are needed to secure our borders," Raju said. He added that there was "no tension" between India and China on the borders.

"A meeting is scheduled tomorrow for the bids," the source told Reuters by phone, adding that it may take two-three weeks to pick a winner.

Still in the fray are Eurofighter, which makes theTyphoon fighter jet and is a four-nation consortium of EADS, representing Germany and Spain, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Finmeccanica.

Their competitor is France's Dassault, which makes the Rafale plane.

The air force would prefer to award the deal only to one company, rather than splitting the order between the remaining two firms, a second source said.

"With a potential contract price of $9 billion to $14 billion, this is the single biggest competition in the global defence aviation industry at the moment and offers both bidders a much-needed opportunity in a major market," James Hardy, Asia Pacific Editor at IHS Jane's Defence Weekly, wrote in an email statement.

Both remaining jets are riding successful performances as part of the NATO air campaign in Libya. Failure here would be a major blow after both made substantial investment in promoting their platforms in India.

For the Rafale, it would leave it without an export order and pegging its hopes on competition in the United Arab Emirates and Brazil, while the Typhoon would have to rely on securing contracts in Japan and other Asian markets, he said.

India is the world's largest arms importer, accounting for 9 per cent of the global arms trade between 2006 and 2010, according to data from Swedish think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

It plans to spend $50 billion over the next five years to upgrade its military, which largely consists of Soviet-era gear, to counter the rising might of China and threats from Pakistan.

The US expressed interest on Wednesday to sell its most sophisticated fighter to India, six months after New Delhi rejected two older US warplanes for the fighter jet deal.

The elimination of the US competitors -- a potential bump in forging closer ties -- came despite lobbying from President Barack Obama and coincided with the unexpected resignation of the US ambassador to India.
RBI allows FIIs to invest up to $25 billion in infrastructure bonds
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today allowed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to invest up to USD 25 billion, up from existing limit of USD 5 billion, in bonds and debentures of Indian infrastructure companies.

FIIs registered with SEBI would also be allowed to invest in non-convertible debentures and bonds issued by non-banking financial companies categorised as 'Infrastructure Finance Companies' (IFCs) by RBI within the overall limit of USD 25 billion, the central bank said in a notification.

This was subject to conditions that such instruments shall have a residual maturity of five years or above and the investments would have a lock-in-period of three years, it said.

This lock-in-period shall be computed from the time of first purchase by FIIs, it said.

These changes would also apply for QFI investment in units of mutual fund debt schemes within the limit of USD 3 billion, it said.

It is to be noted that the government relaxed norms allowing foreign investors to invest in infrastructure bonds and trade such instruments among themselves in September.

Govt likely to introduce Micro-Finance Bill in Winter Session
The government is likely to introduce a Bill that seeks to make it mandatory for all micro-finance institutions to be registered with the Reserve Bank of India and entrusts the task of regulating the sector to the central bank in the Winter Session of Parliament.

The Finance Ministry is in discussion with all concerned stakeholders for fine-tuning the draft Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011, official sources said.

The ministry hopes to table the Bill in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, sources said.

The draft Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011, was circulated for public comments in July this year.

In an earlier Bill, it was proposed that the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD) would be the regulator of the sector.

The government had introduced the Micro Financial Sector Bill in the Lok Sabha in March, 2007. However, the Bill lapsed when the term of the 14th Lok Sabha expired in 2009.

The latest draft Bill proposes to make it mandatory for micro-finance institutions to be registered with the Reserve Bank and have minimum net-owned funds of Rs 5 lakh.

In addition, a Micro Finance Development Council will be set up to advise the government on formulation of policies, schemes and other measures required in the interest of orderly growth and development of the sector and micro-finance institutions with a view to promote financial inclusion.

The council will comprise members not below the rank of Executive Director from NABARD, National Housing Bank, RBI and SIDBI. In addition, joint secretaries from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Rural Development will also be its members.

The draft Bill also proposes that any micro-finance institution which is not a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956, and which becomes a systemically important micro-finance institution shall convert its institution into a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956, with or without a licence, under Section 25 of the Act.

This should happen within six months from the date of the balance sheet that shows the MFI has become a systematically important micro-finance institution in terms of the rules prescribed by the central government, the draft Bill said.

The RBI may pass an order directing a micro-finance institution to cease and desist from carrying out micro-finance activities if it is found acting in manner prejudicial to the interest of its clients or depositors.

The Reserve Bank will cancel the certificate of registration granted to a micro-finance institution if it fails to comply with the directives or condition, the draft Bill states.

1 NOV, 2011, 03.39AM IST, ET BUREAU

FDI policy's in-built option clause deleted

NEW DELHI: The government has withdrawn the controversial clause in the FDI policy that said that any instrument had an in-built option such as abuyback provision would be considered as debt and regulated under the external commercial borrowing rules.

Most experts had slammed the provision introduced in the updated foreign direct investment policy issued on September 30 arguing it would affect inflows.

"This paragraph (relating to provision on in-built options) now stands deleted from 'Circular 2 of 2011' an industry ministry release said on Monday.

As reported by ET earlier, given the negative feedbackDIPP had urged RBI as well as Finance Ministry to review the provision immediately.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/fdi-policys-in-built-option-clause-deleted/articleshow/10561911.cms

2 NOV, 2011, 02.33AM IST, DEEPSHIKHA SIKARWAR,ET BUREAU

Government brings farmers in loop to push FDI in multi-brand retail

NEW DELHI: The government has readied a plan that will make it mandatory for foreign retailers eyeing India's multi-brand retail sector to do bulk of their sourcing from small farmers, its latest attempt to make the long-delayed reform palatable to opponents.

The commerce and industry ministry is ready with a cabinet note that suggests allowing 51% foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and has provisions that require potential entrants to source at least 60% of farm produce from small farmers having land holdings of less than 10 hectares, officials with knowledge of the note's contents said.

The note also includes another provision that will ential multi-brand retailers sourcing 30% of their supplies from small and medium enterprises anywhere in the world, they added. The cabinet note is ready and is awaiting clearances from the highest level, an industry ministry official said.

Of late, FDI in multi-brand retail has become a test case of the UPA government's commitment to push pending economic reforms and revive flagging sentiment.

Indian rules now allow 51% FDI in single-brand retail and 100% in wholesale cash and carry operations. Multinational retailers have for long been lobbying for entry into India's $400-billion and fast expanding retail market, but foreign investment in multi-brand retail has for years been a political hot potato, with elements within the ruling coalition, the Left parties and the BJPopposed to it because they believe organised retailers will kill small shopkeepers and traders.

Policymakers in the government are keen to allow FDI in multi-brand retail as they believe this is one reform that could bring modern technology in much-needed back-end infrastructure and help farmers get better remuneration for their produce. The idea received strong backing at a recent meeting of key government economists called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Officials and some ministers also believe that allowing FDI in multi-brand retail is one reform that could be implemented without much difficulty as it does not need parliamentary approval, unlike the proposal to lift the cap on foreign holdings in insurance companies to 49% from 26%, which needs to be cleared by Parliament.

The latest proposal includes recommendations that emerged from a July 22 meeting of a panel of secretaries representing various ministries. The committee of secretaries headed by the cabinet secretary had recommended opening up of the sector, but with riders including a 30% sourcing requirement from Indian small and medium enterprises.

This suggestion was modified to introduce SMEs from outside India too because it was felt that an exclusive reservation would have violated World Trade Organisation rules.

Experts say sourcing conditions would make it cumbersome for foreign investors. "Monitoring of compliance of such conditions can become onerous in practice," said Akash Gupt, executive director at PwC.

Farmers groups also appear unenthused by the 60% sourcing condition on farm produce. "Most big retailers are known to follow predatory techniques and will not benefit Indian farmers substantially. The government also needs to ensure country's food security as these retailers usually go in for contract farming," said Krishan Bir Chaudhary, President, Bharatiya Krishak Samaj.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/government-brings-farmers-in-loop-to-push-fdi-in-multi-brand-retail/articleshow/10574167.cms

India to strongly support IMF deal with Euro crisis: Montek Singh Ahluwalia
CANNES: India today said it will "strongly" support the efforts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help Eurozone tide over the sovereign debt crisis, even as G-20 leaders began their two-day summit here to work out ways to deal with the global economic problems.

"... after Eurozone countries have done what is necessary, they would need further international support. In that case IMF is the right way of providing support and we would strongly support the IMF in doing so," Planning Commission Deputy ChairmanMontek Singh Ahluwalia told private news channel NDTV-PROFIT in an interview.

However, he added the primary responsibility for handling the crisis would rest with Eurozone nations.

Although the G-20 is not handling the crisis directly, Ahluwalia said, "we need to resolve this as soon possible" to prevent contagion spreading to other Eurozone nations.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said, had also emphasised that Greece package should be put in place as quickly as possible.

"We have said that the IMF should keep a watch on the developments in Eurozone and be ready to help if necessary", he added.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said yesterday, "Our assessment of the situation is let them (Eurozone) make a credible assessment of solvency issue, try to sort out those problems and then supplementary financing could be considered. Let us see what the leaders decide."

As regards the G-20 communique, which will be issued at the end of the summit, Ahluwalia hoped, "it will reflect a sort of agreed position of the G-20. The idea is that markets need to know whether governments are following policies which collectively are consistent with robust growth or not".
3 NOV, 2011, 03.33AM IST, ET BUREAU & AGENCIES

Interested in joint strike fighters, US asks India

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON: The US, which lost a bid for a $11 billion contract for 126 war planes, has now offered New Delhi partnership in the development of the world's most advanced flying machine, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Pentagon, which acknowledged that India's recent decision not to opt for America's F-16 and F-18 fighters was a setback, said it was still interested in selling its topnotch fighters to India. "Despite this setback, we believe US aircraft, such as the Joint Strike Fighter(JSF), to be the best in the world," the Pentagon said in a nine-page report to US Congress. "Should Indiaindicate interest in the JSF, the US would be prepared to provide information on the JSF and its requirements (infrastructure, security, etc) to support India's planning," the Pentagon said in a one-of-its kind report on India submitted to the US Congress.

The F-35 is a fifth generation all-stealth fighter being developed by US armament giant Lockheed Martin in a joint consortium with eight other countries - the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Australia. The F-35 Lightning II boasts advanced airframe, autonomic logistics avionics, propulsion systems, stealth and firepower at the most affordable cost.

The US has already undertaken some test flight of the fighter. F-35 is the only other 5th generation aircraft to fly in the world besides the F-22 Raptors. Washington refuses to share the Raptor technology with any other nation, even closest allies UK and Israel.

More joint work on science and technology "may lead to co- development opportunities with India as a partner," the Defense Department report said.

The nine-page review of defense ties with India was prepared in response to a legislative provision sponsored earlier this year by Senate Armed Services Committee members Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, and John Cornyn, a Texas Republican. Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin builds the F-35 in Texas.

United Technologies Corp. makes the plane's engines in Connecticut. "Our two governments must be proactive in finding new ways to take on emerging security challenges together," Lieberman said in an e-mail, citing cybersecurity and counterterrorism. The report reflects the desire by successive US administrations to convince India to increase security cooperation and buy American equipment as it expands and modernises its military. The push included a years-long fight for congressional approval in 2008 of an agreement intended to clear the way for US manufacturers such as General Electric to sell India nuclear-energy technology. The US expected the nuclear-energy agreement to help increase a range of technology sales to India, especially in the defense sector.

Lockheed's F-16 jet fighter and Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet were eliminated from the $11 billion bid to replace India's aging MiG-21s. Aircraft on the shortlist were Dassault Aviation SA's Rafale and the Eurofighter made by BAE Systems, Finmeccanica and European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co. Lockheed Martin said in June it may offer the F-35 stealth fighter to India. The Cornyn-Lieberman requirement for the security cooperation report helped open an avenue to do that, Lockheed senior vice-president Patrick Dewar said in a June interview at the Paris Air Show. India has urged the US to give it more access to technology so that the two countries can develop weapons together.

The Pentagon acknowledged that goal in the report. "The US wants to develop deeper defense industrial cooperation with India, including a range of cooperative research and development," they wrote in the assessment.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Interested-in-joint-strike-fighters-US-asks-India/articleshow/10587477.cms

1 NOV, 2011, 09.42AM IST, TNN

PIL in SC claims 2.5 bn Francs lying in Rajiv Gandhi's Swiss account

NEW DELHI: A PIL in the Supreme Court on Monday cited a 20-year-old report in a little known magazine to allege that 2.5 million Francs were lying in a Swiss bank account, allegedly in the name of former PM Rajiv Gandhi, and sought a direction to the Centre to take steps to bring it back to India.

Advocate M L Sharma annexed to his petition a scanned copy of the report published in a 1991 report in a Swiss magazine 'SI 46/1991 - Fluchtgelder - Seiten 40/41', which detailed the amount allegedly lying in the name of world leaders, including Rajiv.

Sharma in his petition said he got a scanned copy of the 1991 report in the magazine and said the long lapse of time had shown that no efforts were made by the government to get the money back to India.

26 AUG, 2011, 08.40AM IST, JOSY JOSEPH,TNN

High costs stall Army's plans on China border

NEW DELHI: The massive military modernization along the China border, including the setting up of the country's first Mountain Strike Corps, has run into a new hurdle with the government raising questions about the high capital expenditure involved in it.

Sources said the defence ministry has returned the Army proposal to set up the strike corps, and two independent brigades along the China border. The MoD has raised detailed queries about the high capital costs projected by Army headquarters. The Army has projected an expenditure of over Rs 12,000 crore for the entire proposal, which is part of New Delhi's efforts to catch up with China which has steadily built up outstanding military capabilities and infrastructure along the disputed Sino-Indian border.

The Army had sent the proposal to the MoD sometime in early 2010, for putting it up to theCabinet Committee on Security for approval. In April, the PM had offered all government support for Army modernization along the China border during a presentation to him by the Army top brass. The Army leadership appraised the PM about the overwhelming capabilities of the People's Liberation Army along the border with India during the presentation.

Despite the PM's assurance, the MoD has now raised questions about the Army's assessment of Rs 12,000 crore needed to set up the new formations, and sent back the file to Army headquarters. "The concern is about the high capital expenditure projected by Army headquarters," senior sources said.

The Army proposes to set up the country's first Mountain Strike Corps and two independent brigades along the border with China. The corps would be India's fourth strike corps, and the first one for dedicated offensive operations in mountainous terrain. This is besides the two mountain divisions already being raised along the China border.

One of the independent brigades is to be stationed in Ladakh while the other would be based in Uttarakhand. The proposed corps could be headquartered at Pannagarh in West Bengal, a recent report said.

Sources said once the Army headquarters replies to the MoD query and other clarifications are settled, the file would be processed for final approval. "We are hopeful that it can be cleared this financial year," a senior source said.

Since the humiliating defeat in 1962, India has been on an extremely defensive posture along the China border, including a deliberate decision not to develop border infrastructure. In the process, as New Delhi stood by, China built up an impressive border infrastructure and capability to mobilize almost 500,000 troops in a matter of a few weeks to the Line of Actual Control with India.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/High-costs-stall-Armys-plans-on-China-border/articleshow/9741955.cms

7 OCT, 2011, 05.49AM IST, BIBEK DEBROY,

We must learn to live with growing income inequality

We should be clearer and less sanctimonious about inequality. Poverty is an absolute concept. Inequality is relative. Reducing poverty is desirable. But reducing inequality is not a self-evident objective. There is an impression that increased inequality, real or perceived, is bad.

Last year, Shankar Acharya and Rakesh Mohan edited a volume in honour of Montek Singh Ahluwaliaand the late Suresh Tendulkar had a paper on inequality in the book. This paper has an interesting anecdote about a conference in Bangkok whenManmohan Singh was Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission.

'After other delegations presented their experiences in managing a market economy, the Chinese vice minister presented an outline of the Chinese reform program. At the end of the presentation, Manmohan Singh, in his usual gentle but forceful tone, asked, "Would not what you are trying to do result in greater inequality in China?" To that the minister replied, with great conviction, "We would certainly hope so!"'

There is a difference between inequality in access to inputs (physical and social infrastructure, financial products, judicial system and so on) and inequality in outcomes (income). Everyone would like India to be equitable. But equity should be interpreted in terms of access to inputs and we should be rightly upset if there is inequity in that.

Poverty is a multi-dimensional concept. No one denies that. Head-count ratios of percentage of people below a poverty line capture expenditure poverty, the stuff Planning Commission churns out.

Since the National Sample Survey (NSS) doesn't collect data on income, we don't even have income poverty. Every year, the UNDP brings out a Human Development Report (HDR). In recent times, HDRs have also introduced a multidimensional poverty index (MPI), conceptualised by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHDI).

In addition to standard income or consumption poverty measures, this includes deprivation measured in terms of education, health and other assets. This pins down deprivation in access to states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Of course, we need to remove deprivation in access to inputs like education and skills, health services, market information, technology, financial products, electricity, water, sewage and sanitation. These

are public goods or collective private goods and any inequality in the distribution of such inputs must be removed.

But this is quite different from removing inequality in outcomes. There is a difference between saying that every student must have access to a good educational institution and saying that very student must obtain the same marks there. The persistence with inequality in outcomes is a hangover of socialism introduced in the Preamble to the Constitution.

As a result of this, a political party cannot be registered in India unless it abides by principles of socialism. Socialism is a delightfully vague phrase, which can never be pinned down. Indeed, most phrases and expressions accepted as wisdom are delightfully vague. As a result of this damage that was done to the Constitution, we have begun to take Article 38 of Directive Principles too literally.

This states, "The State shall, in particular, strive to minimise the inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations." The second part is fine. But minimising inequalities in income is disastrous.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/We-must-learn-to-live-with-growing-income-inequality/articleshow/10262466.cms
11 MAY, 2011, 01.53AM IST, SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR,ET BUREAU

Don't worry about inequality

Gini Coefficients of Major States

If people are totally free, the most talented (and lucky) will get far richer than the dullest and unluckiest. So, freedom will create inequality. Communist countries aimed for equality of outcome through totalitarian controls, but this was hypocrisy: there was no equality of power between those laying down the rules and those forced to obey.

To ease the tension between liberty and equality, countries typically aim for equality of opportunity, not outcome. Yet, inequality is almost everywhere measured by economists in terms of outcome, not of opportunity. This leads to paradoxical data and flawed analysis.

The accompanying table lists the six most equal and unequal major states in terms of consumption, measured by the Gini coefficient, the standard statistical measure of equality ranging from 0 to 1. A high Gini of 1 means complete inequality, and a low of Gini of zero means complete equality.

Dramatically, areas with the most consumption equality (i.e., with the lowest rural Ginis) are the poorest. Bihar and Assam are the most equal, with Ginis of just 0.17. But do they represent islands of great fairness and well-being? Not at all. They have suffered for decades from some of the worst poverty, misgovernance and slow growth. This inequality of governance - and hence of opportunity - is not captured by the data.

Recently, Bihar has enjoyed record growth and improved governance under Nitish Kumar. When the 2009-10 data is released, it will surely show that inequality of consumption has increased in Bihar. Analysts may condemn this as sign rising unfairness, but that will be nonsense. Incumbent chief ministers in poor states that suddenly grow fast (Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh) typically get re-elected with large majorities despite worsening Ginis. In such states, opportunities of improvement have improved, and that matters more than the equality of outcome.

The most unequal states in rural Gini are the richer ones. Haryana leads with 0.31, followed by Kerala (0.29), Maharashtra (0.27) Tamil Nadu (0.26) Punjab (0.26) and Gujarat (0.25). Consumption equality in the poor states is almost invariably below (and in rich states almost invariably above) the all-India average of 0.25. Such equality is a sign of distress more than fairness or satisfaction.

People have long migrated from relatively equal but poor states to relatively unequal but richer states. People also migrate from villages (which are relatively equal) to towns (which are relatively unequal in terms of consumption). The greater the gap between the rich and poor areas, the greater are the gains from migration. So, what some analysts condemn as growing inequality between states translates to rising returns to migration, creating more opportunities for poor migrants.

For most people the biggest surprise in the table will be Kerala. It has long prided itself on its welfarist, socialist pattern of society, but has the second highest rural consumption inequality (0.29). By this measure, it is far worse off than Bihar or Uttar Pradesh!
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/swaminathansaaiyar/Dont-worry-about-inequality/articleshow/8231201.cms
Barack Obama is truly America's hybrid president: His biographer Dinesh Sharma

CHICAGO: Barack Obama is America's "truly hybrid" president who represents many continents, races, cultures and histories, his first Indian-American biographer has said.

Dinesh Sharma's book is the first full-length book on a sitting president and examines how Obama's early years influenced him.

"Despite all that has been written about him, very little attention has been paid to Barack Obama's global roots and international persona," Sharma told reporters during a press conference recently.

"Barack Obama is born of a multicultural America at the cusp of the age of globalisation," said Sharma, a cultural psychologist.

"He is truly America's hybrid president, a man of many continents, races, cultures, and histories," he said.

Sharma interviewed Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, teachers, and friends from Indonesia to New York for his book titled 'Barack Obama in Hawaii and Indonesia: The Making of a Global President', which was released recently.

"Certainly, there have been no biographies exploring the linkage between Obama's early upbringing and socialisation in the culturally diverse communities of Honolulu and Jakarta and his global political outlook," Sharma said.

"This type of cultural analysis is essential for a complete understanding of Barack Obama's character and his agenda for America in the 21st century," Sharma, a senior fellow at the Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Research at St Francis College, New York.

"He's the first president who traveled half way around the world to Indonesia and South East Asia before becoming senator," Sharma said.

"In terms of genealogy and his ethnic backgrounds he stands out because his father was from Africa and mother from America," he said.

Comparing Obama to leaders like George Bush and Bill Clinton, Sharma said that Obama was from a more global background than any of previous US presidents.

Sharma is the author and editor of three books and many peer-reviewed articles.

Sharma is planning to organise a book signing event on November 5 which is expected to be attended by Obama's half-sister.

Obama, 50, is the 44th president of the US. The Republican president has already announced his plans to run for re-election in 2012.
Greek PM scraps referendum on Greek debt plan
ATHENS: Ignoring increasing calls to step down, Greece's prime minister says he is seeking emergency talks with the opposition and warns that an early election would force Greece into leaving the euro currency.

Prime Minister George Papandreou made the comments in an emergency Cabinet meeting today. His office released his speech to the ministers.

Papandreou sparked a crisis when he announced Monday he would put a European debt deal to a referendum in Greece.

Two officials close to him say the referendum idea has now been scrapped, after the opposition indicated they backed the new bailout deal to cut Greece's debts.
Nearly 4 cr mobile connections in a city of 1.68 cr people
There are nearly four crore mobile phone connections in Delhi, which has a population of 1.68 crore, with the connections taken by city residents witnessing over 50 per cent increase in 2010-11.

According to statistics released by Chief MinisterSheila Dikshit today, more than one crore mobile connections were taken by people in the city during 2010-11.

The number of connections in 2009-2010 was 2.82 crore which has increased to 3.88 crore in 2010-2011. The current population of Delhi is around 1.68 crore.

This means, on an average, every Delhiite has around 2.5 mobile phone connections which appear to be the highest in the country.

The number of mobile connections in the entire country is estimated to be over 85 crore.

However, the growth in fixed line phone connections has registered marginal growth as the number of connections increased to 28.38 in 2010-2011 against 27.10 lakh in 2009-2010.

The figures have been published in the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2011.

As per the statistics, around five lakh vehicles were registered during 2010-11 taking the total number to 69,32,706. The number of cars and jeeps in 2010-11 in Delhi was recorded at 21,73,323.

In an indication of sustained economic growth, the per capita income in the national capital at current prices has increased to Rs 1.16 lakh in the financial year 2009-10 which is an increase of Rs 13,446 over the per capita income in 2008-09.

8 JUN, 2011, 07.55PM IST, NAGESHWAR PATNAIK,ET BUREAU

ASSOCHAM proposes 16 new PPP e-Clusters in Orissa at Rs 480 cr

BHUBANESWAR: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on Wednesday proposed setting up of 16 new clusters on public-private partnership [PPP] in Orissa each accommodating about 1000 units and providing direct and indirect employment close to 4 lakh people.

Releasing the ASSOCHAM study on "Cluster Development for Inclusive Growth in Orissa" National Secretary General, D. S. Rawat said, "The total funds required for basic and essential infrastructure to these clusters will be about Rs. 480 crores. Once functional, it will contribute additional 10% revenues per annum to the exchequer, help in inclusive growth and simultaneously lead to upgradation of existing clusters.

The chamber will hold a summit on 'Conclave Orissa: Unfolding Investment Opportunities' on June 24th, 2011 here. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to inaugurate the summit, Mr Rawat added saying that the summit would be attended by over 400 potential investors. "The focus areas for MoUs will be forestry, agriculture, food processing, HRD skills, commercial sea ports, herbal, non-conventional energy, tourism and infrastructure", he added.

In the state, there are only 26 clusters in the state recognized by the Central government as against 6500 clusters in the country out of which 450 are assisted by the government. The 16 new clusters suggested by ASSOCHAM are: Palasa (Cashew), Buditi (Brass & Bell Metal), Baripada (Sabai Grass), Dhenkanal (Powerloom), Puri (Rice Mills), Bhadrak (Rice Mill Cluster), Dhamara (Ice Plant), Basudevpur (Ice Plant), Chandbali (Chuda Cluster), Tihdi (Chuda Cluster), Basudevpur (Chuda Cluster), Bhandaripokhari (Honey), Dhamara (Honey), Betaligaon (Wood Carving), Olaga (Wood Carving) and Dhusuri (Wood Carving).

The MSME sector contributes around 40% to GDP with an estimated value of goods and services around Rs. 20 lakh crore in 2009-10. The sector is estimated to employ about 5.9 crore people in over 2.6 crore units in the country and has consistently registered a higher growth rate than the rest of the industrial sector. There are over 6000 products ranging from traditional to high-tech items, which are being manufactured by the MSMEs in India.

The clusters could play major role in creation of jobs, cost competitiveness, better quality, enhanced productivity, improved infrastructure, wider export market and face overseas competition, according to Mr Rawat.

"Existing clusters are not able to sustain growth and development process due to use of obsolete technology and plant machinery, therefore, there is a need to interconnect all clusters among themselves by adopting e-Cluster Model to provide them with a level playing field and make it globally competitive", he remarked.

Besides, e-Cluster model facilitates SME stakeholders for easy and speedy co-ordination between members, entrepreneurs, buyers-sellers etc. and enables them to access vital information vis-a-vis marketing, best/profitable market price, market news, government notification etc. ASSOCHAM strongly holds a view for assisting & stimulating clusters' potential to achieve better productivity & contribution in state output.

In a sample survey covering 5 clusters in five locations, it has been assessed that assisted clusters showed 20-30% overall improvement in income generation, social welfare, product quality, efficiency in raw material consumption and skill improvements.

ASSOCHAM secretary general asserted that the state has tremendous potential for cluster development and regain investment destination in different segments of SME industry and acquire dual dimensional growth- by increasing the size of clusters and recognition of more clusters by the government will bring inclusive and balanced growth and promote unique Cluster Branding of Orissa.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/ASSOCHAM-proposes-16-new-PPP-e-Clusters-in-Orissa-at-Rs-480-cr/articleshow/8776854.cms

Butt, Asif and Amir jailed in "spot-fixing" scandal

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Sentencing a shame to Pakistan cricket: Imran Khan ICC is the enemy of corrupt cricketers, says Anti-Corruption chief Jail terms will have deterrent effect: Gavaskar Family members back sentenced Pakistani cricketers Botham accuses ICC of being soft Butt's family slams Pakistani media Vaughan suspects fixing in 2000 Karachi Test

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sport cricket

Agent Majeed gets 2 years and 8 months prison term

Three top Pakistani cricketers, the former cricket captain, Salman Butt; and "star" fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were on Thursday jailed for their role in "spot-fixing" during a Test match against England at the Lord's last summer.

"What a shame, I grew up worshipping them as my heroes," sighed a young bystander as they were driven to the cells in the back of a police van after being handed down their sentences at London's Southwark Crown Court.

Butt (27) was jailed for two years and six months; Asif (28) for one year; and Mohammad Amir (19) for six months.

Amir, who was 18 at the time of the offence and had pleaded guilty before the trial, was sent to a young offenders' institution while his lawyers applied for bail.

The three were also ordered to pay compensation towards prosecution costs — Butt £30,937, Asif £8,120 and Amir £9,389.

Mazhar Majeed, their London-based agent and ringmaster, who claimed he paid them money to deliberately bowl no-balls at pre-determined intervals as part of an international betting scam, was sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment.

Cricket "tainted"

Judge Jeremy Clarke told them that they had damaged the integrity of the great game of cricket and "tainted'' it forever. What they had done was "not cricket."

"The image and integrity of what was once a game but is now a business is damaged in the eyes of all, including the many youngsters who regarded you as heroes and would have given their eye, teeth to play at the levels and with the skills that you had," he said.

In the end, however, they got away lightly. The maximum sentence for the charges on which they were found guilty — conspiracy to accept corrupt payments — is seven years. They will serve only half their sentences if their behaviour is found good.

As the three were led away, Asif nodded to someone in the public gallery. The other two showed no emotion.

In a statement read to the court, Amir apologised and said he was put under pressure to cheat.

Besides the international media, a large crowd gathered outside the court to watch the last sordid act of the year-long saga that saw some of the biggest names in Pakistan cricket dragged into controversy. During the trial, there were also references to an unnamed "Indian contact" who wanted to invest money in the betting scam.

Sting operation

The case arose out of a sting operation by the now-defunct News of the World purporting to show that the three cricketers took money from Majeed to deliberately bowl no-balls.

The secretly-filmed footage showed Majeed accepting £ 1,50,000 from an undercover reporter. He promised that next day that Asif and Amir would deliver three no-balls at specific intervals which they did.

Butt's role allegedly was to make sure that his bowlers bowled the three no-balls.

Butt would appeal, his lawyer said.

Keywords: Spot-fixing trial, Pakistan cricket

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article2594677.ece

Impossible to continue without U.S. funding: UNESCO chief

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APA file photo of Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova.
UNESCO chief has pleaded to the United States to "find a way forward" to continue its support to the world body as it will be "impossible" for the organisation to maintain its activities following the U.S. decision to snap funding on Palestine's membership issue.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Director-General Irina Bokova said the U.S. is a "critical partner" of UNESCO and expressed hope that a solution to the funding issue will soon be found.
She expressed regret over U.S.' decision to stop funding to it following Palestine's membership to the organisation, saying the reduced funding will make it "impossible" for the agency to implement crucial programmes in education and support emerging democracies in fight against extremism.
"UNESCO is encouraged that the United States will maintain its membership in the organisation and hopes that a resolution to the funding issue will ultimately be identified," Ms. Bokova said in a statement.
"Until that happens, it will be impossible for us to maintain our current level of activity." she said.
She urged the U.S. administration, Congress and the American people to find a way forward and continue "support for UNESCO in these turbulent times."
UNESCO's General Conference had on Monday voted to admit Palestine as a full member of the Paris-based agency.
The decision was supported by 107 member states.
The U.S. had opposed the move and announced it will stop payment of $60 million it was going to make to UNESCO this month.
"The United States is a critical partner in UNESCO's work. The withholding of U.S. dues and other financial contributions — required by U.S. law — will weaken UNESCO's effectiveness and undermine its ability to build free and open societies," she said.
At a time of economic crisis and social transformation, UNESCO's work is vital to promote global stability and democratic values, which Ms. Bokova said were core interests of the U.S..
U.S. funding has enabled UNESCO to develop and sustain free and competitive media in Iraq, Tunisia and Egypt.
In Afghanistan, U.S. support has helped UNESCO to teach thousands of police officers to read and write.
UNESCO literacy programmes in other conflict-affected countries provide people skills and confidence to fight violent extremism, Ms. Bokova said, adding that the agency is training journalists to cover elections objectively in a bid to sustain the democratic spirit of the 'Arab Spring'
"Across the world, we stand up for each journalist who is attacked or killed, because we are the U.N. agency with the mandate to protect freedom of expression. In Washington, earlier this year, I awarded the UNESCO Press Freedom Award to an imprisoned Iranian journalist, Ahmad Zeidabadi," she said.
UNESCO is also the only U.N. agency with the mandate to promote Holocaust education worldwide, and has, with funding provided by the U.S. and Israel, been developing curricula to ensure that the Holocaust is never forgotten, she said.
U.S. support has also enabled UNESCO to put science at the service of people, Ms. Bokova said, citing as an example a global effort to expand ocean-based tsunami warning systems.
Keywords: UNESCO membership, Palestine, Palestinian statehood, Obama administration, U.S. funds cut, UNESCO, Irina Bokova

OPINION » INTERVIEW

November 3, 2011

There is a lot of deep technical expertise in India: Bill Gates

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APBill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and chairman of Microsoft, waves as he arrives for a G20 summit in Cannes, France on Thursday.

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While markets will be eyeing this week's G20 meeting in Cannes for the actions it takes towards stabilising the Euro-zone economic crisis, there is a growing concern that the G20's aid and development agenda may get less attention. But what about the plight of the poor during this time of economic troubles? On the eve of the summit the G20 held a 75-minute session with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and chairman of Microsoft, who presented a report titled "Innovation with Impact: Financing 21st Century Development."Ahead of his address to G20 heads of state, Mr. Gates spoke to Narayan Lakshman about why it was important for these nations to keep up their aid commitments through the downturn, and the challenges that his financing proposals could face from powerful industry lobbies. An edited transcript of the telephonic interview:

Many of the solutions you have proposed relate either to technical and financing issues or in some cases the allocation of national resources. However, many G20 countries have political and institutional barriers that make it harder to take up these solutions. What incentives do your proposals contain to get G20 members to actually adopt these innovative solutions?

The G20, in a broad sense, is meeting to help improve the world economy, both in the near term and in the long term. They are doing that because economic progress is good for the human condition in terms of food, well-being and so many different things. The rich countries are already engaged in providing quite a bit of aid to other countries. So the report in some ways is telling them how they can focus on innovative activities and measurable activities.

Now, those aid budgets are under pressure because of budget deficits. But the report encourages them not to cut [aid budgets], ideally not at all, but do what Britain has done, which is to prioritise aid. It is actually increasing [in Britain]. [The report asks nations] at least to not make dramatic cuts in the aid that they are giving.

For countries like Brazil and China, which are no longer aid recipients, [the report] talks about how they have innovative capabilities and how they should get involved, even if the financing comes from others, in areas that they can help innovate in.

India is kind of a special case because it fits the Brazil and China case where it has a lot of expertise. I cite specifically the low-cost vaccine manufacturing as exemplified by [the] Serum [Institute, which was the first globally to develop the Meningitis-A vaccine] but there is a lot of deep technical expertise in India.

But it is still a substantial aid recipient as well. So it fits both my second category, of middle-income, people-who-need-to-get-into-the-aid-and-innovation-for-the-poorest-game, and [the first category of] recipients of aid who need to grow tax [revenue] better and grow their domestic budgets focused on the most catalytic areas, particularly health and agriculture.

The countries are there to come up with these ideas to make improvements. The situation is quite novel in that they have not had a non-government person, like a foundation person, speaking to them before. But they have put aside 75 precious minutes to discuss the report and related issues, so having an audience like that is a huge privilege and I am going to try and stimulate their thinking.

I will be a little more upbeat than some people because when you look at the history of innovation, whether it is innovation that grew economies or whether it was innovation that improved the human condition over the last ten, twenty or fifty years, it has been pretty phenomenal.

Do you feel that given the pressures of the global economic downturn, countries may be reluctant to take on any commitments to increase or even keep at the same level their aid commitments right now? Specifically in the case of India you have spoken of an "aid dividend." What has been the record of countries like India during the downturn – have they sustained or has it dropped, and how would you, in an ideal world, get them to keep those aid commitments up?

India is more of an aid recipient than a provider of aid. Over time, yes, India will probably get involved in providing aid and it has a small programme right now. The key thing that India can do is participate in this innovation activity. Beside the Serum vaccine example, I give an agricultural example where India has done a really great job deploying a new rice variety that is flood tolerant, called Strasa; and it is involved in a lot more crop improvements, including more characteristics to make rice better but maize and wheat as well. So it is a big play on the innovation side because of [India's] technical capabilities and it should make the regulations and the willingness to take up those innovations very strong.

In terms of its own budget, India is going to need to spend more on healthcare and, over the next probably ten to fifteen years, it will be getting a lot of aid from others in that area. The health budget has gone up, but not even as much as people have talked about. That is going to have to continue to grow. India is going to move towards being more reliant on its own domestic resources, which will free up aid for poorer countries in other parts of Asia and Africa.

With your arguments for sustaining aid, do you have any concerns about aid conditionality leading, for example, to even more land grabs in Africa? Is that an inherent risk of relying too much on aid?

You certainly have to be careful whenever you are spending money that it is spent well. If you are not careful, a country will not develop its own tax system or will not allocate its domestic resources to high-priority areas that really help its people, [including] agriculture. If you are aid-dependent and something goes wrong in the country that has been sending you aid, then you can have an abrupt drop-off in resources for critical areas.

Everybody likes the fact that those countries get economic innovations and fix their domestic budgets, that they move towards being aid-independent and in extreme cases like [South] Korea actually go from being a substantial aid recipient to being a substantial aid donor.

Certainly in the case of India, aid as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product is much, much lower today. It was as high as above 5 per cent if you go back about 50 years ago. Now it is in the one to one-and-a-half percent category. As I said, over time that is going to go down.

Fortunately for India, it has got a growing economy. If it is doing the right things with taxation and focusing on the right areas for human development, it is going to have no problem, over a period of time, taking care of its own needs.

A lot of things in the report about innovation, about eventually giving to others...apply very directly to India.

Do you think that India has a lot of potential to raise additional revenues for development via tax reform?

I am not an expert on tax systems like I am on vaccines or agricultural [innovations]. There is no doubt that as an economy grows in a great way like India has, that you have to step back and change your tax systems, because you start to get more disparities of wealth. How you tax the middle class and the most wealthy is always a challenging issue. But I do not have particular recommendations relative to India's tax system.

The [Bill and Melinda Gates] Foundation is looking into the very poorest countries and what they do on tax systems. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank tend to focus on this. I do think there is room to really help the poorest countries get their tax systems right.

For India, obviously it will be determined by political decisions. Fortunately the growing economy is raising additional taxes. But are they structured in the right way? Fortunately you have a democracy that in its complex way gets to have the final say on that.

You have proposed some very innovative new revenue streams for financing development, health, and climate change. Do you however worry that each of your proposed financing options may face stiff opposition from powerful lobbies representing banks, tobacco companies, and airline and shipping companies?

Absolutely. Whenever you promote a tax, it is easy to say, 'No, that tax is not a good thing.' But the practicalities of government are that you want to raise revenue for issues like health, agriculture, and education. [There are] three taxes that I suggest countries take a hard look at.

India could absolutely raise its tobacco taxes. That is a big win because you have less smoking and you can then apply that tax revenue to other health improvement areas.

The financial transaction tax will probably be the most controversial in some ways. There actually are some countries, including the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, which already have some form of those taxes. If you make them modest enough, then people do not work their way around them. It turns out the United States is not likely to adopt that tax, so the question is: are Europe and other people likely to choose to [adopt it]?

Finally that fuel tax – aviation and marine fuel tax – we know that the damage caused by climate change affects the poorest countries and farmers in the poorest countries the most. They are not the ones who caused the problem. So we need to find some revenue source to dramatically increase how we are helping those poor farmers with their agricultural systems. The tax I mentioned there would raise substantial money and make a huge difference.

But all taxes get gigantic resistance so whether or not those become an additional source of aid or funding and innovation for aid, I do not have a prediction.

Taking a step back, would you agree that your proposals underscore the tension that exists between the need for rapid economic growth, especially in this downturn, on the one hand and poverty alleviation on the other? For example on the question of tax, the lobbies would argue that it increases transaction costs or depresses business activity. Is that in some ways the fundamental tension that we are grappling with here?

No, I would say that bringing more food supply into the world economy or getting African countries, with their resources and abilities, into the world economy on the supply and demand side is great for economics.

The trade-off is that a lot of these investments I talk about [in the G20 report] have huge returns in [terms of the] human condition and even economic benefit. But they do require taking a long-term view, like do you help people farm or do you send food relief? Helping the person farm is the better long-term investment. I think a lot of what the report is about is continuing the focus on the long-term, high-return activities even while dealing with the short-term crisis.

Keywords: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates interview, Global economy, G20 meet, Cannes meet, Indian economy, innovative solutions, tobacco taxes, health improvement, agricultural innovations, aid recipients

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/interview/article2595293.ece?homepage=true

India, China on course to achieve $100 b bilateral trade by 2015

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
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The HinduCommerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma (left) shakes hands with Governor of Xinjiang Province of China Nur Bekri at a meeting at Yodug Bhavan, in New Delhi on Thursday. Photo: Shankar Chakravarty

Chinese firm to invest Rs.2,500 cr in green energy project in Gujarat

Asserting that India-China trade relationship was on the upward swing, Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma on Thursday said both nations were on the course to achieve the bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2015.

Mr. Sharma also announced that a Chinese company, in collaboration with Indian partners, would pump Rs.2,500 crore in green energy. These issues came up for discussion during Mr. Sharma's meeting with visiting Governor of Xinjiang province of China Nur Bekri here.

Mr. Sharma said trade between India and China had seen exponential growth in the last few years. According to trade statistics of the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, the total trade volume had gone up from $2.3 billion in 2000-01 to $59.62 billion in 2010-11.

MASSIVE TRADE DEFICIT

However, Mr. Sharma raised the issue of India's concern over the massive trade deficit. The trade deficit for the Indian side had increased from $9.1 billion in 2006-07 to $20.8 billion in 2010-11. "A balanced trade is needed for long-term, sustainable and harmonious development of economic cooperation between the two countries. The area of drugs and pharmaceuticals is an important segment of our efforts to diversify our bilateral trade basket. Both sides need to work aggressively towards removing administrative bottlenecks and overly restrictive regulatory measures, in order to boost development of all round cooperation in this area,'' he remarked.

Mr. Sharma also highlighted renewable energy, where the Chinese Government had fixed a target of 100 GW by 2020, as another area with great potential for export from the Indian side. Both leaders agreed that an Indian delegation should visit the Xinjiang province for exploring the possibilities of promoting Indian products in handicrafts, handloom and films.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Gujarat Government and TBEA (India) Pvt. Ltd. TBEA Energy (India) Pvt. Ltd. proposes a foreign direct investment of Rs.500 crore in the first phase of a three-phase 'TBEA Green Energy Park' project with a projected total investment of Rs.2,500 crore.

Later, speaking at a business session, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mr. Bekri called for building trade and investment relationship between India and Xinjiang. At present bilateral trade between India and Xinjiang is worth only $35 million, even as China has become the largest trading partner of India.

Mr. Bekri said that with extensive economic reforms in the last three decades, Xinjiang had developed greatly and now offered huge business and investment opportunities in sectors such as oil and gas, mining, agriculture, tourism, IT, pharmaceutical and biotechnology.

He also called for strengthening cultural exchanges between India and Xinjiang to build people-to-people relationship. Xinjiang has rapidly developing trade with central Asian countries, Russia and other bordering countries. Mr. Bekri is now on an official visit to India at the invitation of the Indian Government with a 19-member delegation of officials and leading business people from Xinjiang.

Keywords: India-China trade ties

http://www.thehindu.com/business/article2595087.ece

Economic growth fails to reduce unemployment

OOMMEN A. NINAN
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The agitation in the West against the Wall Street (means 'market-led') culture is an eye-opener for the emerging market economies, especially India.
After the fall of the U.S.-based mammoth financial institution, Lehman Brothers, a symbol of market economy, in August 2008, the world was at the crossroads to choose the economic ideology which would be able to save it from a recessionary cycle. The developed nations are undergoing this phenomenon today. But the emerging market economies, which tried to follow the footsteps of the market-led economies, are in a more vulnerable situation.
Greed and fear lead the markets. Rajat Gupta, former director of Goldman Sachs, a leading investment bank, and former head of McKinsey & Co., a leading global consulting firm, was recently charged with breach of trust by a U.S. District Court.
This case itself proves the greed at the highest level of corporates. Mr. Gupta was also a former director of Procter & Gamble Co., a leading consumer products company with world-wide presence and one of the 30 companies that form the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. Earlier this month, Mr. Rajaratnam was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Mr. Gupta's arrest was the latest in a series of initiatives taken by the U.S. Government's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since 2007 against some market participants who cheated investors.
Occupy Wall Street and Occupy London, the present agitations against the irresponsible capitalism, are the anger of the people who were suffering because of the greed of markets. "Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colours, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that we are the 99 per cent that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the one per cent. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of non-violence to maximise the safety of all participants," heralds the website, OccupyWallStreet.
India almost engulfed into the same market-led economic philosophy.
"India's integration into the global economy has been accompanied by impressive economic growth that has brought significant economic and social benefits to the country.
Nevertheless, disparities in income and human development are on the rise.
A large section of the population — especially the poor, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women — lack access to the resources and opportunities needed to reap the benefits of economic growth," says the World Bank in its latest Country Overview on India.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

The unemployment rate in India was last reported at 9.4 per cent in fiscal year 2009-10. From 1983 until 2000, the unemployment rate averaged 7.20 per cent reaching the historical high of 8.30 per cent in December 1983 and a record low of 5.99 per cent in December 1994.

GDP GROWTH

Meanwhile, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in India increased to 7.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 over the previous quarter. Historically, from 2000 until 2011, India's average quarterly GDP growth was 7.45 per cent.
It reached a historical high of 11.80 per cent in December 2003 and a record low of 1.60 per cent in December 2002. The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7 per cent in the decade since 1997.
The Reserve Bank of India estimated the GDP growth for this financial year at 7.6 per cent at the end of March 2012. This means the growth rate is not able to reduce the unemployment rate.
"Poverty remains a major challenge though it is declining steadily but slowly," according to the World Bank. Based on the new official poverty lines, 42 per cent of people in rural areas and 26 per cent of people in urban areas lived below the poverty line in 2004-05.
Official poverty estimates for 2009-10 are not yet available but preliminary estimates suggest that in 2009-10, the combined all-India poverty rate was 32 per cent as compared to 37 per cent in 2004-05".

GOVT PROGRAMMES

Resources generated from the recent growth are now being invested in a set of ambitious programmes to deliver services to the poor. These include programmes to provide elementary education, basic healthcare, health insurance, rural roads and rural connectivity, and other services to the poor. But resource mobilisation on the part of the government is tardy as well as it fails to tap new avenues.
The World Bank has pointed out that with India's low taxation base — only some 15-16 per cent of GDP is collected as taxes in India compared to 25-40 per cent in developed countries — the country is unable to invest the required amount through its budgetary resources. This also means that the government is yet to tax the big corporates enough, who get lot of incentives from the government.

BORROWING

Here comes the overshooting of government borrowing which would push the inflationary pressures. If the government is able to tap funds from the corporates either by increasing taxes or by asking them to purchase high interest government bonds, it will be able to tighten money supply in the system and reduce fiscal deficit.
The World Bank's country strategy advocates greater investments in infrastructure as a priority to attract investment and generate employment.
Even though the country tried to keep its pace of growth at higher levels with more economic reforms, it failed to generate more employment.
Financial inclusion will be possible only by implementing financial justice.
Keywords: economic growth, unemployment

http://www.thehindu.com/business/article2583212.ece

Global food prices remain high

MONY. K. MATHEW
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KOZHIKODE, NOV. 3:
The world food prices have remained high and volatile, adding to the strains the global economy has been going through in recent times.
According to the latest Food Price Watch released by the World Bank, the prices of grains rose by 30 per cent between September 2010 and 2011, with that of maize increasing by 43 per cent, rice by 26 per cent and wheat by 16 per cent.
However, over the last quarter, an increase of three per cent in the prices of grains was roughly offset by a corresponding fall in the prices of fats and oils.
Though the food price index of the bank dropped five per cent from its February 2011 peak and came down marginally in September by one per cent, it remained 19 per cent above its September 2010 levels.
The volatility in prices is higher in low-income countries and it is expected to persist in the medium term due to multiple global and domestic factors.
The structural factors contributing to the volatility include rising populations and changing dietary habits, increasingly inter-twined relations between food and energy prices and rising production of bio-fuels, says the report.

FAVOURABLE OUTLOOK

On the positive side, the pressure on prices is likely to be relieved by a favourable outlook on supply and stocks. The global wheat stocks are forecast to reach a 10-year high in 2011-2012, while the production of maize will rise by four per cent with higher output in Argentina, Brazil, China, Russia and Ukraine.
An expected bumper harvest in India following good monsoon rains is expected to increase the global rice production in 2011-2012.
In the current scenario, the report warns that developing countries might have now limited resources to protect vulnerable populations following the economic crisis and stimulus spending. In addition, fears associated with the global economy may affect medium to long-term investments in agricultural research and more productive agricultural techniques.
Meanwhile, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has reported a four per cent drop in its Food Price Index in October from the level in September.
Keywords: Food Price Watch,

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http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/economy/article2595297.ece

EMBARGOED TILL 02 NOVEMBER 2011; 4.30 PM (IST)

2011 Global Human Development Report: Inequalities and environmental

challenges threaten progress in Asia, Pacific

New Delhi, 2 November 2011 —Pollution, deforestation and rising sea levels threaten

development in Asia and the Pacific, while South Asia must overcome acute poverty and internal

inequalities to maintain current rates of progress, warns the 2011 Global Human Development

Report, released here today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The 2011 Report—'Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All'—argues that environmental

sustainability can be most effectively achieved by simultaneously addressing health, education,

income and gender disparities within and among countries.

Releasing the Report in New Delhi today, Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Rural Development,

Government of India said, "We need to understand the strong linkages between lifestyles of the

rich and livelihoods of the poor both within and between countries. This Report makes an

important contribution in highlighting the fact that environmental deterioration negatively and

disproportionately impacts the poor. In reality, environmental issues are not elite pastimes, but

are fundamental to securing livelihoods and improving the human development status of the

poor." Mr Ramesh went on to add, "As a member of the UN Secretary General's High Level Panel

on Global Sustainability this Report will inform our discussions and provide valuable inputs for

the final report that the Panel will submit next January".

Environmental challenges fueled largely by rapid industrial development and deforestation

sharpen inequalities within many countries and across Asia and the Pacific, according to the

Report.

The region as a whole is by far the largest contributor to the global increase in greenhouse gas

(GHG) emissions in recent decades, even though East Asia's per capita emissions are still low and

South Asia's per capita emissions are even lower. While India is one of the larger emitters of

GHG, its per capita ecological footprint is among the smallest in the world.

The Report's authors warn that deteriorating environmental conditions and increasingly

extreme weather conditions could undermine economic progress in many countries in the

region.

Despite human development progress of recent years, income distribution has worsened, grave

gender imbalances still persist, and accelerating environmental destruction puts a "double

burden of deprivation" on the poorest households and communities, the Report says. The poor

are the most vulnerable to environmental challenges.

This is borne out by the fact that by 2050, the average HDI could drop by 12 percent in South

Asia due to the effects of global warming on agricultural production, access to clean water, and

pollution. Under an even more adverse "environmental disaster" scenario—with vast deforestation and

land degradation, dramatic declines in biodiversity and accelerated extreme weather events—

the global HDI would fall 15 percent below the baseline projection for 2050.

According to Caitlin Wiesen, Country Director, UNDP India, "India has made significant progress

on human development and the country's HDI value has increased 59 percent between 1980

and 2011. However this trajectory of human development gains may be threatened by

environmental risks and inequality."

The 2011 Global Human Development Index (HDI) that ranks countries on their progress on the

three key dimensions of human development – education, health and income -- includes 187

nations and territories, the most comprehensive coverage since UNDP began publishing the

Human Development Report in 1990.

Between 1980 and 2011, India's HDI value increased from 0.344 to 0.547, an increase of 59.0

percent or average annual increase of about 1.5 percent. India is ranked 134 out of 187

countries and UN-recognized territories.

In the 2011 Report's Gender Inequality Index (GII), South Asian women are shown to lag

significantly behind men in education, parliamentary representation and labour force

participation. India is ranked 129 out of 146 nations in the GII.

As in 2010, this year's Report also includes the inequality adjusted HDI (IHDI), which takes into

account inequality in all three dimensions of the HDI. When adjusted for inequality, India's HDI

falls to 0.392, that is, a loss of 28.3 percent due to inequality. This is slightly lower than the

average for South Asia (28.4 percent).

To assess acute poverty levels, the Report's Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) examines

factors such as health services, access to clean water and cooking fuels, plus basic household

goods and home construction standards, which together offer a fuller portrait of poverty than

income measurements alone. In South Asia, 97 percent of the multidimensionally poor lack

access to clean drinking water, toilets, or modern cooking fuels—and 18 percent lack all three.

India has the world's largest number of multidimensionally poor, according to the Report – 612

million, more than half its population.

The 2011 Report strongly endorses the UN Secretary-General's recent call to provide electricity

service to the 1.5 billion people now off the power grid, mainly in South Asia and sub-Saharan

Africa. This could be achieved for about one-eighth of current global spending on fossil fuel

subsidies, estimated at US$312 billion in 2009.

Asian and Pacific nations are the most vulnerable to projected sea-level rises, with more than

100 million people at risk, says the Report, noting that average sea levels have risen 20

centimetres since 1870.

South Asia has among the world's highest levels of urban air pollution, with cities in Bangladesh

and Pakistan suffering from especially acute air contamination, the Report shows.

However, there has been progress to improve forest cover and protect biodiversity. India is one

of seven developing countries (Bhutan, China, Costa Rica, Chile, El Salvador and Viet Nam) which

have recently transitioned from deforesting to reforesting. The country, for example, has

increased its reforestation rate from 0.2 percent a year between 1990 and 2000 to 0.5 percent a EMBARGOED TILL 02 NOVEMBER 2011; 4.30 PM (IST)

year between 2000 and 2010, while Bhutan has pledged to ensure that at least 60 percent of the

country remains forested in perpetuity.

The Report adds its voice to those urging consideration of an international currency transaction

tax to help fund the fight against global warming and extreme poverty. Roughly US$105 billion

is needed annually just to finance adaptation to climate change, especially in South Asia and

sub-Saharan Africa.

*************

For more information on the 2011 Global Human Development Report, including complete

media materials on its indices and specific regional issues, please visit: http://hdr.undp.org.

ABOUT THIS REPORT: The annual Human Development Report is an editorially independent

publication of the United Nations Development Programme, with editions in ten languages.

Complete texts of the 2011 Report and all previous Reports since 1990 are available for free

downloading as PDFs and e-Books on the Report website: http://hdr.undp.org/

For the complete Report:

http://www.undp.org.in/sites/default/files/reports_publication/GHDR_2011_EN_Complete.p

ABOUT UNDP: UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can

withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for

everyone. With offices in more than 160 countries and territories, we offer global perspective

and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

Please visit: www.undp.org

FOR A HINDI SUMMARY OF THE REPORT:

http://www.undp.org.in/sites/default/files/reports_publication/GHDR-2011-Hindisummary.pdf

For more information please contact:

Surekha Subarwal – +91 9810153924; surekha.subarwal@undp.org

Nandita Surendran – +91 9810084776; nandita.surendran@undp.org

Global food prices may go by up to 50%: UNDP report

AARTI DHAR
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The HinduA woman stand amidst various food grains which are lined-up for sale at a wholesale market in Hyderabad. File Photo: Mohammed Yousuf
Adverse environmental factors are expected to drive up world food prices by up to 30-50 per cent in the coming decades, the latest United Nation's Human Development Report has warned.
Food production must rise to meet the demands of growing populations, but the combined environmental effects of land degradation, water scarcity and climate change will restrict supply, the report says adding that income poverty and malnutrition could worsen if the prices of key staples rise.
The poor spend a large share of their income on staple foods, and to survive, they sacrifice nutrition and eat less. Research in India has shown that climate change could lead to a sharp drop in land productivity for some 17 per cent of farmers, particularly in cereals production, but effects on consumption would be muted, as most rural households derive their income largely from wage employment. Poor in urban areas would pay more for food as will wage earners and net consumers in rural areas.
The report also cautions that the progress in recent decades on human development was now threatened by environmental factors. The report forecasts an increase of human development index by 19 per cent in 2050 over today as a baseline scenario, which assumes limited changes in inequality, environmental threats and risks. Under the environmental challenge scenario, risks get intensified.
Forest resources also generate income through employment and sale of goods and services. Non-wood forest products – food, fuel for cooking, animal fodder and medicinal herbs and shelter also provide local communities with subsistence and marketable goods. In Arunachal Pradesh, poor households depend on community forests for basic survival and studies have found that fuel wood collection time has increased markedly in recent decades. In Kumaon, on an average, women and children travelled 1.6 hours and 1.6 km to collect wood in the early 1970s and 3-4 hours and 4.5 km in the 1990s indicating acute degradation.
"We advocate for policies that can engender sustainable production and consumption patterns that integrate environmental considerations into everyday economic decisions. Development must be decoupled from carbon emissions and the true value of ecosystem services should be incorporated in national development plans,'' the UNDP has said.
Community involvement can be enormously empowering for poorer communities, as shown by disaster training programmes in 176 districts in the 17 most hazard-prone States in India. Extensive fieldwork in India has documented that active participation by women in community forest management significantly improved forest protection, the report says. With no community voice, women are often excluded from the benefits of common resources while bearing a disproportionate share of the costs, as in some parts of India, it says.
India has committed to reducing the green house gases (GHG) intensity of its economy by 20-25 per cent by 2020 and stands fifth in wind and is fast expanding such rural renewable as biogas and solar. Tax incentives have encouraged renewable energy investments.
Citing the use of CNG for transport, the report calls it a notable example in the intervention to reduce air pollution in New Delhi in the interests of public health. Among recent policies cited in the report are Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for its potential to contribute to climate resilient assets, empowerment of rural communities and provision of wage employment to the rural poor as also the Total Sanitation Campaign for improved sanitation, and planning for disaster risk reduction under the Disaster Management Act
Further, the report points out that globally at least 6 in 10 people experience one environmental deprivation, and 4 in 10 people experience two or more multi-dimensional poverty. Nearly 90 per cent do not use modern cooking fuels, 80 per cent lack adequate sanitation and 35 per cent lack clean drinking water.
In India, deprivations in sanitation among multi-dimensionally poor people range from 3.5 per cent in Kerala to more than 70 per cent in Bihar.
Keywords: United Nation's Human Development Report, global food prices, poverty eradication, climate change

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2595127.ece

Full coverage

UN warns that water pollution, drought threaten progress for world's poor

Washington Post - ‎11 hours ago‎

UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said in the report's introduction that "sustainability is not exclusively or even primarily an environmental issue." "It is fundamentally about how we choose to live our lives, with an awareness that everything we do has ...

UN: Environmental hazards, social factors hamper poor nations

Los Angeles Times - ‎Nov 2, 2011‎

"Sustainability is not exclusively or even primarily an environmental issue," UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said in the foreword of the report. "It is fundamentally about how we choose to live our lives, with an awareness that everything we do has ...

Climate Change Imperils Global Prosperity, UN Warns

New York Times (blog) - ‎Nov 2, 2011‎

ReutersA coal-fired power plant on the outskirts of Wuhai in China's Inner Mongolia region. A new report from the United Nations Development Program warns that if drastic measures are not taken to prepare nations for the impacts of...

UN: Water pollution, drought threaten world's poor

eTaiwan News - ‎Nov 2, 2011‎

AP The United Nations says that people often go hungry because of polluted water, drought and other environmental factors that are increasing poverty and threatening the ecology. In its annual report on the quality of life worldwide, released Wednesday ...

United Nations Development Programme

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"UNDP" redirects here. For the South Korean political party, see United New Democratic Party. For the Cameroon group, see National Union for Democracy and Progress (Cameroon).

* United Nations Development Programme
*
Org type	Programme
Acronyms	UNDP
Head	Helen Clark
Status	Active
Established	1965
Headquarters	New York City, USA
Website	www.undp.org
Parent org	ECOSOC [1]

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 166 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and its wide range of partners.
UNDP is an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP Administrator is the third highest ranking official of the United Nations after the United Nations Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General.[2]
Headquartered in New York City, the UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from member nations. The organization has country offices in 166 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity. Additionally, the UNDP works internationally to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs).
UNDP provides expert advice, training, and grant support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. To accomplish the MDGs and encourage global development, UNDP focuses on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS, democratic governance, energy and environment, social development, and crisis prevention and recovery. UNDP also encourages the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women in all of its programs.
Furthermore, the UNDP Human Development Report Office publishes an annual Human Development Report (since 1990) to measure and analyze developmental progress. In addition to a global Report, UNDP publishes regional, national, and local Human Development Reports.[3]

[hide]

3.1 Human Development Report

4 UN co-ordination role

5 Criticism

5.1 Disarmament and controversy

6 Administrator

7 Goodwill Ambassadors

[edit]Background

Main article: United Nations
The UNDP was founded on 22 November 1965 with the merger of the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance or EPTA and the United Nations Special Fund. In 1971, the two organizations were fully combined into UNDP. The rationale was to "avoid duplication of [their] activities". The EPTA was to help the economic and political aspects of underdeveloped countries while the Special Fund was to enlarge the scope of UN technical assistance.[4][5]

[edit]Budget

In 2008, UNDP's entire budget was approximately €3 billion.[citation needed]

[edit]Functions

UNDP's offices and staff are on the ground in 166 countries, working with governments and local communities to help them find solutions to global and national development challenges.
UNDP links and coordinates global and national efforts to achieve the goals and national development priorities laid out by host countries. UNDP focuses primarily on five developmental challenges:
Democratic governance UNDP supports national democratic transitions by providing policy advice and technical support, improvinginstitutional and individual capacity within countries, educating populations about and advocating for democratic reforms, promoting negotiation and dialogue, and sharing successful experiences from other countries and locations. UNDP also supports existing democratic institutions by increasing dialogue, enhancing national debate, and facilitating consensus on national governance programs. This field of activity included UNDP's support of the Elections Reform Support Group which supports the election activities of the Palestinian National Authority.[6]
Poverty reduction UNDP helps countries develop strategies to combat poverty by expanding access to economic opportunities and resources, linking poverty programs with countries' larger goals and policies, and ensuring a greater voice for the poor. UNDP also works at the macro level to reform trade, encourage debt relief and foreign investment, and ensure the poorest of the poor benefit from globalisation.
On the ground, UNDP sponsors developmental pilot projects, promotes the role of women in development, and coordinates efforts between governments, NGOs, and outside donors. In this way, UNDP works with local leaders and governments to provide opportunities for impoverished people to create businesses and improve their economic condition.
The UNDP International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG)[2] in Brasília, Brasil expands the capacities of developing countries to design, implement and evaluate socially inclusive development projects. IPC-IG is a global forum for South-South policy dialogue and learning, having worked with more than 7,000 officials from more than 50 countries.
Crisis prevention and recovery UNDP works to reduce the risk of armed conflicts or disasters, and promote early recovery after crisis have occurred. UNDP works through its country offices to support local government in needs assessment, capacity development, coordinated planning, and policy and standard setting.
Examples of UNDP risk reduction programs include efforts to control small arms proliferation, strategies to reduce the impact of natural disasters, and programs to encourage use of diplomacy and prevent violence.
Recovery programs include disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants, demining efforts, programs to reintegrate displaced persons, restoration of basic services, and transitional justice systems for countries recovering from warfare.
Environment and Energy As the poor are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation and lack of access to clean, affordable water, sanitation and energy services, UNDP seeks to address environmental issues in order to improve developing countries' abilities to develop sustainably, increase human development and reduce poverty. UNDP works with countries to strengthen their capacity to address global environmental issues by providing innovative policy advice and linking partners through environmentally sensitive development projects that help poor people build sustainable livelihoods.
UNDP's environmental strategy focuses on effective water governance including access to water supply and sanitation, access to sustainable energy services, Sustainable land management to combat desertification and land degradation, conservation and sustainable use ofbiodiversity, and policies to control emissions of harmful pollutants and ozone-depleting substances. UNDP's Equator Initiative office biennially offers the Equator Prize to recognize outstanding indigenous community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and thus making local contributions to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS is a big issue in today's society and UNDP works to help countries prevent further spreading and reduce its impact.

[edit]Human Development Report

Since 1990, the UNDP has annually published the Human Development Report, which includes topics on Human Development and the annual Human Development Index.[3]

[edit]UN co-ordination role

UNDP plays a significant co-ordination role for the UN's activities in the field of development. This is mainly executed through its leadership of the UN Development Group and through the Resident Co-ordinator System.

[edit]United Nations Development Group

Main article: United Nations Development Group
The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) was created by the Secretary General in 1997, to improve the effectiveness of UN development at the country level. The UNDG brings together the operational agencies working on development. The Group is chaired by the Administrator of UNDP. UNDP also provides the Secretariat to the Group.
The UNDG develops policies and procedures that allow member agencies to work together and analyze country issues, plan support strategies, implement support programmes, monitor results and advocate for change. These initiatives increase UN impact in helping countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including poverty reduction.
32 UN agencies are members of the UNDG. The Executive Committee consists of the four "founding members": UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP and UNDP. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee.

[edit]Resident Coordinator System

The Resident Coordinator system co-ordinates all organizations of the United Nations system dealing with operational activities for development in the field. The RC system aims to bring together the different UN agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operational activities at the country level. Resident Coordinators, who are funded, appointed and managed by UNDP, lead UN country teams in more than 130 countries and are the designated representatives of the Secretary-General for development operations. Working closely with national governments, Resident Coordinators and country teams advocate the interests and mandates of the UN drawing on the support and guidance of the entire UN family.It is now coordinated by the UNDG.[7]

[edit]Criticism

The UNDP has been criticised by members of its staff and the Bush administration of the United States for irregularities in its finances inNorth Korea. Artjon Shkurtaj claimed that he had found forged US dollars in the Programmes safe while the staff were paid in Euros. The UNDP denied any wrongdoing, and keeping improper accounts.[8]

[edit]Disarmament and controversy

In mid-2006, as first reported by Inner City Press and then by The New Vision, UNDP halted its disarmament programs in the Karamojaregion of Uganda in response to human rights abuses in the parallel forcible disarmament programs carried out by the Uganda People's Defense Force.

[edit]Administrator

The UNDP Administrator has the rank of an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. While the Administrator is often referred to as the third highest-ranking official in the UN (after the UN Secretary General and the UN Deputy Secretary General), this has never been formally codified.
In addition to his or her responsibilities as head of UNDP, the Administrator is also the Chair of the UN Development Group.[9]
The position of Administrator is appointed by the Secretary-General of the UN and confirmed by the General Assembly for a term of four years.[10]
Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, is the current Administrator. She was appointed in late March 2009, succeeding Kemal Derviş.[11] The current government of New Zealand strongly supported her nomination, along with Australia, the Pacific Island nations and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown.[12] The five countries on the UNDP board also have some influence over selection.[citation needed] Current board members are Iran (chair), Haiti, Serbia, the Netherlands and Tanzania.

[edit]Associate Administrator

During meetings of the UN Development Group, which are chaired by the Administrator, UNDP is represented by the Associate Administrator.[citation needed] The position is currently held by Rebeca Grynspan, appointed on 1 February 2010.

[edit]Assistant Administrators

Assistant Administrators of the UNDP, Assistant United Nations Secretary Generals and Directors of the Regional Bureaus are Tegegnework Gettu (Ethiopia) for Africa, Amat Al Alim Alsoswa (Yemen) for Arab States, Ajay Chhibber (India) for Asia & Pacific, Kori Udovički (Serbia) forEurope & CIS and Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica) for Latin America and the Caribbean.[13]

[edit]Previous Administrators

The first administrator of the UNDP was Paul G. Hoffman, former head of the Economic Cooperation Administration which administered theMarshall Plan.
Other holders of the position have included: Bradford Morse, former Republican congressman from Massachusetts; William Draper, venture capitalist and friend of George H.W. Bush who saw one of the UN system's major achievements, the Human Development Report, introduced during his tenure; Mark Malloch Brown, who was previously Vice President of External Affairs at the World Bank and subsequently became UN Deputy Secretary General.
Kemal Derviş, a former finance minister of Turkey and senior World Bank official, was the previous UNDP Administrator. Derviş started his four-year term on 15 August 2005.

[edit]Goodwill Ambassadors

UNDP, along with other UN agencies, has long enlisted the voluntary services and support of prominent individuals as Goodwill Ambassadors or Youth Emissaries to highlight and promote key policies. According to UNDP's website: "Their fame helps amplify the urgent and universal message of human development and international cooperation, helping to accelerate achievement of the Millennium Development Goals." Goodwill Embassy [3] has a complete list of UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors as well as Goodwill Ambassadors of other UN Organisations.

[edit]Global Ambassadors

Antonio Banderas [14]
Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway [15]
Nadine Gordimer
Misako Konno
Ronaldo
Zinedine Zidane
Maria Sharapova
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in November 2010

[edit]Regional Goodwill Ambassador

[edit]Honorary Human Development Ambassador

Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan

[edit]Honorary Advisor on Sports and Development

Syndiely Wade

[edit]Youth Emissaries

[edit]See also

*	United Nations portal
*	Sustainable development portal

[edit]References

^ Background Guide;: Executive board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). UN-USA. Archived from the original on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2007 (from internet archive)
^ http://www.un.org/sg/senstaff_details.asp?smgID=9
^ a b http://hdr.undp.org/en/
^ Stokke, O., 2009, The UN and Development: From Aid to Cooperation, Bloominton and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, p.51, 1000
^ Murphy, C.N. 2006, The United Nations Development Programme: A Better Way? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.51-66
^ [1] UNDP/PAPP Support to the Electoral Process in Palestine. Accessed 30 June 2009
^ http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=5
^ UN denies firing 'whistleblower'. BBC News. 7 July 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2007
^ http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=2
^ "Post of the UNDP Administrator". Retrieved 11 March 2009
^ Crewdson, Patrick (27 March 2009). "Clark gets UN job". The Dominion Post (Fairfax Media NZ Ltd). Retrieved 26 June 2010.
^ Charbonneau, Louis (31 March 2009). "Former New Zealand PM Clark confirmed in top UN post". Reuters. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
^ Regional Directors (UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP)
^ "Antonio Banderas appointed as UNDP Goodwill Ambassador". UNDP. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
^ "His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon". Royal House of Norway. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
^ http://www.ks.undp.org/?cid=2,26,625

[edit]External links

*	Wikimedia Commons has media related to: United Nations Development Programme

Official UNDP web site
U.S. Committee for the UNDP web site
UNDP for Beginners: a short, comprehensive introduction to the UNDP; an updated, fourth edition from June 2011 is now available online. Also available in French and Spanish.
United Nations Rule of Law: United Nations Development Programme, on the rule of law work conducted by the United Nations Development Programme.
Goodwill Embassy
Declaration on Social Progress and Development
Palgrave Macmillan, official publisher of the Human Development Report 2006
Interactive maps
Europe and CIS
Twitter Europe and CIS
Knowledge Pilot Platform for Latin America and the Caribbean
Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign
UNDP International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth

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United Nations Development Programme

Contents

[edit]Background

[edit]Budget

[edit]Functions

[edit]Human Development Report

[edit]UN co-ordination role

[edit]United Nations Development Group

[edit]Resident Coordinator System

[edit]Criticism

[edit]Disarmament and controversy

[edit]Administrator

[edit]Associate Administrator

[edit]Assistant Administrators

[edit]Previous Administrators

[edit]Goodwill Ambassadors

[edit]Global Ambassadors

[edit]Regional Goodwill Ambassador

[edit]Honorary Human Development Ambassador

[edit]Honorary Advisor on Sports and Development

[edit]Youth Emissaries

[edit]See also

[edit]References