Wednesday, September 28, 2011

As the 2G fire rages, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has written a four-page letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi explaining the 2G note controversy.On the other hand,the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

Planning Commission's poverty line not to impact socio-economic census!Here you Are! THIS IS THE REAL AGENDA BEHIND THE STATSTICAL MANIPULATION BRAND NEW!OBC Head Count Denied despite Parliamentary Consensus. The Socio Economic Census is All Round Betrayal. Now the Poverty Line scale playes the Creamy layer Rule!

US to invest in Indian infrastructure, defence and education sectors!

As the 2G fire rages, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has written a four-page letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi explaining the 2G note controversy.On the other hand,the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will file an FIR against former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran in the 2G spectrum allocation scam soon.India Incs Governance and LPG Mafia Rule subjected to Corporate Lobbying, Exclusion, Ethnic Cleansing and Full Bloom Corruption EXPOSED!Meanwhile,Sanjeev Saxena, an accused in 2008 cash-for-vote scam, was today refused bail by a Delhi court which said he had "links" with co-accused and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh and played the role of a facilitator in the case.In a world exclusive to NDTV's Vikram Chandra, BP plc CEO Bob Dudley has spoken about the partnership with Reliance Industries, the regulatory hurdles and the falling gas production from the D6 blocks in the Kaveri-Godavari (KG) basin!

PSUs may be asked to buy back government equity: Finance Ministry

Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singhwould be arrested again as Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed his regular as well as interim bail pleas in the 2008 cash-for-votes scam.

Brahaminical Totaliarian Hegemony gets a shot in the arm as Mamata Banerjee wins Bhowanipore assembly bypoll!

Singur Act upheld!

Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who as Finance Minister had slashed taxes, on Wednesday suggested that rich should be taxed more even though "many people" would not like the idea.

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

Palash Biswas

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28 SEP, 2011, 09.44AM IST, SHIBU THOMAS,TNN

House Rent Allowance not a right, merely a compensation: HC

MUMBAI: The HC has ruled that house rent allowance (HRA) is not a right. A division bench of Justice B P Dharmadhikari and Justice A P Bhangale ruled that a government employee not staying in the quarters despite its availability can be disentitled from claiming the special allowance. The bench was hearing a petition filed by the defence ministry against its employees working in the ordinance factory in Nagpur, who were staying in their own accommodation.

Nagpur has surplus government accommodation and is one of the few cities where a central government employee, who lives in his own house has to submit a "non-availability certificate" before he can ask for HRA. The government claimed that its employees, who are offered accommodation but refuse to occupy the same, would not be entitled to HRA.

"HRA is not a matter of right, it is a compensatory allowance given by an employer towards the rental accommodation expenses when the government is unable to provide suitable accommodation to its employee," said the judges. "The employee, if he resides in his own property, may not be entitled to claim the HRA, because it is paid to central government employees to compensate them partly for the especially higher rents which they have to pay for hired or rented residential accommodation in big cities, but not as a source of profit," they added.

The court quashed an order of the central administrative tribunal asking the government to pay HRA to employees who had were residing in their own houses. "Prima facie in our opinion, the pre-requisite for a non-availability certificate (NAC) as laid down in the office memorandum as operative in Nagpur, when central government accommodation is available in surplus and the government is required to spend huge amounts towards construction and maintenance (of the quarters), it is neither arbitrary nor malafide," said the judges.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/personal-finance/tax-savers/house-rent-allowance-not-a-right-merely-a-compensation-hc/articleshow/10153632.cms

27 SEP, 2011, 06.38AM IST, VIDYALAXMI,ET BUREAU

Know the tax burden on your salary package

Interviews used to be the most formidable hurdle for most job hoppers. Not anymore. What stumps most bright minds these days is the salary structure that may differ from company to company. Analysing the salary structure, especially if one is in the middle or higher level, is a daunting task because of the various perks that form part of the salary.

These perks come in various forms such as home allowance , car allowance, ESOPs, and so on. While some are tax-free or tax-efficient , others are really not that friendly to the wallet. No wonder, many rush to their financial advisors or chartered accountants to make sense of the salary structure. Here are a few common heads you may find on your salary and theirtax status.

COMPANY LEASE VS RENT

To compute the taxable value of House Rent Allowance (HRA) paid by the employer to the employee towards personal accommodation , exemption of the least of the following is allowed from the actual HRA paid to the employee : Rent paid in excess of 10% of salary; or actual HRA received by the employee; or 40% of the salary, if the location of the residence is in a non-metropolitan city/town, or 50% of the salary, if the location of the residence is in a metropolitan city.

"Salary for the purpose of HRA means basic salary, dearness allowance and fixed percentage of commission on the basis of the turnover achieved by an employee as per the terms of contract of employment," says Sonu Iyer, tax partner, Ernst & Young.

"But, if the employee is provided with a company leased accommodation (CLA), the taxable value is lower of the actual expenditure incurred by the employer on the accommodation , or 15% of the basic salary and all other allowances of the employee for the period of accommodation." The HRA amount exempt depends on various factors such as the salary received by the employee , location of the residence, rent paid by the employee and the HRA paid by the employer.

In case of CLA, the taxable value depends on the salary and allowances received from the employer and the expenditure incurred by the employer. "Employees falling in the lower tax slabs should opt for HRA from a tax perspective. Employees falling in the higher tax bracket should, however, opt for company accommodation. In fact, the company would make high savings by providing accommodation for high-income earning employees," says Vineet Agarwal, director - tax and regulatory services, KPMG.

COMPANY CAR - TAX-EFFICIENT PERK

A company-provided car is taxable in the hands of the employees as a perquisite. In case the car is provided for official purposes only , the taxable value will be nil if the following conditions are satisfied : The employer has maintained complete details of the journey undertaken for official purposes, which may include the date of journey, destination, mileage and the amount of expenditure incurred thereon; the employer gives a certificate to the effect that the expenditure was incurred wholly and exclusively for the performance of official duties.

"In case, the car is provided for both personal as well as official purposes, the taxable value is Rs 1,800 per month for a car with a cubic capacity of less than 1,600 litres and Rs 2,700 per month for car with cubic capacity of 1,600 litres or above. An additional amount of Rs 900 is also taxable in case a driver is also provided by the employer along with the car," says Iyer.

US to invest in Indian infrastructure, defence and education sectors!

Planning Commission's poverty line not to impact socio-economic census!Here you Are! THIS IS THE REAL AGENDA BEHIND THE STATSTICAL MANIPULATION BRAND NEW!OBC Head Count Denied despite Parliamentary Consensus. The Socio Economic Census is All Round Betrayal. Now the Poverty Line scale playes the Creamy layer Rule!

More than 25 of the top economists of the country have written an open letter against thePlanning Commission poverty line and said that thepublic distribution system should be universalized.

"We do not consider the official national poverty lines set by the Planning Commission, at Rs 32 and Rs 26 per capita per day for urban and rural areas respectively, to be acceptable benchmarks to measure the extent of poverty in India," they have said.

After the party, the opposition and civil society have collectively slammed the Plan panel affidavit to the Supreme Court, it's now the turn of economists and academics to point out that academic debates about poverty line can continue but poverty estimates should not be linked to the entitlements of the poor. "It is unacceptable and counterproductive to link the official poverty estimates to basic entitlements of the people, especially access to food," they have written.

The signatories include S K Thorat, Prabhat Patnaik, Y K Alagh, Jayanti Ghosh, S Mahendra Dev, Pulin Nayak and Amiya Kumar Bagchi.

Advocating undoing the targeted approach for public distribution system, they have written, "It is also widely recognised that the targeted Public Distribution System introduced since 1997 has done more harm than good by creating divisions even among the poor and has led to massive errors of exclusion. Recent evidence clearly establishes that states which have moved towards near universalisation of the PDS have performed much better in increasing offtake and reducing leakages."

With the National Food Security Bill pending, the academics have written, "Restoring the universal PDS appears to us is the best way forward in combating hunger and poverty. This is not only feasible within the available fiscal space of the Union government but must be a policy priority in the backdrop of high and persistent food price inflation."

After the panel's affidavit brought all around criticism, some Plan panel members have tried hard to distinguish between the poverty line and actual method of identifying beneficiaries but insiders say the matter is still to be decided within the plan panel or be dealt with in consultation with the government at large.

The government is still hopeful of meeting the share sale target of 400 billion rupees ($8.2 billion) budgeted for the current fiscal year that ends in March, economic affairs secretary, R. Gopalan, said on Wednesday.

India's main stock index is down nearly a fifth this year and has prompted the government to hold back on asset sales. Earlier this month, the government deferred the follow-on public offer plan in state-run energy major ONGC .

The inability of the government to go ahead with asset sales has raised doubts over its ability to meet the budgeted fiscal deficit target of 4.6 percent in the current year.

As the 2G fire rages, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has written a four-page letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi explaining the 2G note controversy.On the other hand,the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will file an FIR against former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran in the 2G spectrum allocation scam soon.India Incs Governance and LPG Mafia Rule subjected to Corporate Lobbying, Exclusion, Ethnic Cleansing and Full Bloom Corruption EXPOSED!Meanwhile,Sanjeev Saxena, an accused in 2008 cash-for-vote scam, was today refused bail by a Delhi court which said he had "links" with co-accused and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh and played the role of a facilitator in the case.In a world exclusive to NDTV's Vikram Chandra, BP plc CEO Bob Dudley has spoken about the partnership with Reliance Industries, the regulatory hurdles and the falling gas production from the D6 blocks in the Kaveri-Godavari (KG) basin!

US companies are looking at investing in sectors like energy, education, communications and infrastructure in India, thererby further deepening economic ties between the two countries.

"We are looking for markets (in India), partners so that we can have a win-win kind of relationship between India and US," an adviser to US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said here.

Chad Kreikemeier, who is leading a 13-member trade mission to India, said the two nations "have got to widen their range from energy, education, infrastructure to defence market".

The delegation comprises eight firms and educational institutions, including representatives from theDartmouth College from New Hampshire.

"We sat down with senior officials from DRDO, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Ministry of HRD to hear their views on the ways to increase trade relations, seeking advice ..." Kreikemeier, who is a trade and foreign policy adviser to Shaheen, said.

He was speaking at a business meeting organised byIndo-American Chamber of Commerce.

He said the US finds enough potential in India as it is an "absolute market" and would expand its infrastructure in next five years.

On increasing commodity specific exports from New Hampshire, he said India is the 28th largest market for goods -- ranging from hi-tech products, computers, circuits to education -- from the state.

The delegation is also wooing Indian students to study in New Hampshire universities, he said.

New Hampshire, located in north-eastern US, is home to many industries in sectors like electronic and medical products besides travel and tourism.

The ongoing enumeration for a socio-economic census in the country will not be affected by the poverty line cut-off spelled out by the Planning Commission, according to a senior rural development ministry adviser.

The Planning Commission informed the Supreme Court Tuesday that poverty line could be provisionally placed at around Rs.32 a day per capita in urban areas and Rs.26 in rural areas.

Manjula Krishnan, chief economic adviser in the minstry, said the data collection was not "a BPL survey" but an exercise for ranking poor rural households. The ranking would be based on exclusion and inclusion criteria and deprivation indicators, she added.

"We are not identifying Below Poverty Line (BPL)," Krishnan told IANS. "We are only collecting data. It will not be affected by (the Planning Commission's) poverty line cut-off."

The government had carried out "BPL census" in 1992, 1997 and 2002 but decided to go for a socio-economic survey this year in the face of complaints of discrepancies in the earlier lists.

The socio-economic and caste survey (SECC) will also help the government identify beneficiaries for the proposed food security bill.

The socio-economic census started from Tripura in June this year.

Krishnan said rank listing of rural households will be given to state governments and they will use the Planning Commission's estimate of poverty to determine which households will be classified as BPL.

The widespread criticism of the poverty line cut-off, from political parties and civil society groups, has forced a rethink in the panel.

Rural development ministry officials said the Planning Commission may revise its poverty line cut-off by the time state governments classify households as BPL, upon the completion of the socio-economic survey early next year.

"If the poverty cut-off is not revised by the Planning Commission, state governments are expected to take it up with the panel," a ministry official told IANS. "We will also take it up separately."

He hoped the state governments would have completed the exercise of identifying BPL families before the 12th five-year plan begins in March 2012.

Ministry officials said that the socio-economic survey was "going a little behind schedule" as states had to make huge logistic efforts in terms of manpower and equipment.

However, they added, it may still be completed within the original timeline of December in most states.

They said the SECC in Sikkim would be delayed in view of the recent earthquake. Besides, Uttar Pradesh had conveyed that the state would carry out the census in February next year.

Several large states will carry out SECC in the next three months, the officials added.

Ministry officials said care had been taken to ensure accuracy of data and independent agencies will be involved in the task.

The data is being collected on hand-held device to ensure greater accuracy and faster processing.

The socio-economic survey has seven deprivation indicators, apart from automatic inclusion and exclusion criteria.

The deprivation indicators -- each of which has been given equal weightage in calculating inclusion priority -- include households with only one room with "kutcha walls and kutcha roof", households with no adult member between 16 and 59, female-headed households with no adult member between age 16 and 59, households with any disabled member and no able-bodied adult member, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households, households with no literate adult above 25 years and landless households deriving the major part of their income from manual casual labour.

A survey indicating that US business investment could be picking up pushed shares up higher for a while Wednesday before doubts over a resolution to the eurozone's debt crisis resurfaced to keep sentiment in check.

American companies ordered more machinery, computers and communication equipment in August, but cut demand for autos and primary metals. That left demand for longer-lasting factory goods relatively flat for the month - but the figure was better than the expected drop and markets rallied.

``This report gives upside risk to our estimates for business investment in equipment and software,'' said Jennifer Lee of BMO Capital Markets.

But investors appeared to quickly return their gaze to the debt crisis, which has caused remarkable volatility in markets in recent weeks. Stocks have seemingly moved on every twitch from European leaders on whether Greece will gets its next loan installment, whether national parliaments will agree to a stronger pan-European bailout fund and whether there's a credible plan to save Italy and Spain from needing rescue loans themselves.

The overall trend had been pessimistic until Monday, when it seemed that finally Europe's leaders were agreeing on a strong set of measures.

That optimism was dashed on Wednesday, amid reports that leaders were split again on the way forward. There is some debate about whether Greece's debt load should be slashed further; some argue that given its economy is contracting, it will never be able to pay off its current debts without more relief.

Investors also appear to be waiting for a German parliamentary vote Thursday on expanding the eurozone's bailout fund. Finland's lawmakers backed the new powers earlier.

``The markets are readying themselves for concrete news now but the slow progress of politics could mean the markets are setting themselves up for a fall,'' said Jane Foley of Rabobank.

Despite the Finnish yes, most European shares were down but remained markedly higher over the week so far.

PSUs may be asked to buy back government equity: Finance Ministry
Amid volatility in the stock market, theFinance Ministry today said it is exploring other options, like asking PSUs to buy back equity, to help the government achieve the Rs 40,000-croredisinvestment target in the current fiscal.

"There are other options. There can be equity shrinkage. Many, many possibilities are still there. Our aim is to achieve Rs 40,000 crore (disinvestment target). You can buy back equities, you can go for public offers. We are not going to revise our target as on date," Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan told reporters here.

Under the current regulations, market regulator Sebi allows companies, which want to reduce share capital, to buy back their own equity from shareholders.

Gopalan, however, did not disclose the names of the state-owned companies that would come up with public offers.

The government has so far been able to raise only Rs 1,100 crore by offloading its stake in the Power Finance Co and in the backdrop of volatility in the stock markets, doubts are being expressed whether the Rs 40,000-crore disinvestment target for the fiscal would be achieved.

The stock markets all over the world, including India, have been going through a rough patch on account of the global economic downturn.

In the last financial year, the government raised Rs 22,763 crore from sale of equity in public sector enterprises, as against the target of Rs 40,000 crore.

The government has already approved disinvestment in several PSUs, including ONGC, SAIL, Hindustan Copper ( HCL) and National Building and Construction Corporation ( NBCC).

However, volatile stock markets have forced it to delay the formal process of selling stake in the PSUs, even as almost six months of the current fiscal are over.

Replying to queries on fiscal deficit, Gopalan said, the "political executive" is extremely committed to achieving the target during 2011-12.

"There is a political commitment to maintain fiscal deficit at this level. We will try and see to how maintain it at 4.6 per cent....some expenditure will go up, some will go down," he added.

The government aims to restrict the fiscal deficit to 4.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Rs 4.12 lakh crore.

On subsidies, he said, the total outlay would depend on prices of crude oil in the international market.

As regards additional market borrowings to meet growing government expenditure, Gopalan said that the finance ministry would "look at numbers" and take a view tomorrow.
Brahaminical Totaliarian Hegemony gets a shot in the arm as Mamata Banerjee wins Bhowanipore assembly bypoll!Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday congratulated Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee for winning the Bhowanipore Assembly seat and described it as a great victory.Her victory by over 54,000 votes in the by-election vindicates the initiatives she has taken as Chief Minister after assumption of office on May 20 this year, Mr. Mukherjee said."I congratulate her. It is a victory of the steps she has taken as Chief Minister," Mukherjee told reporters.

Tata Motors on Wednesday said it would study the judgement of the Calcutta High Court on the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 before deciding its next course of action.
"Tata Motors has learnt of Calcutta High Court ruling on the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011.
The company will study the judgement and decide its next course of action," it said in a statement.
The Tata Motors' statement came shortly after the Calcutta High Court upheld as constitutional and valid the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, by which the West Bengal government vested the land leased to the Tata Motors.

An Indian court on Wednesday ruled that the law enacted by West Bengal state government to return a piece of land to farmers from the present occupant India's Tata Motors , was "constitutional and valid."

Tata Motors had planned to build a plant at Singur in the eastern state, where it wanted to make Nano - the world's cheapest car.

However, following large-scale violent protests from local farmers against the plant, Tata Motors scrapped this project in 2008 and later moved it to the western state of Gujarat.

Early this year, the West Bengal government enacted the "Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011," to return the acquired land to the original land owners.

Tata Motors opposed this act and had moved theCalcutta High Court challenging the constitutional merits of the act as well as the land rehabilitation and development rules framed under the act.

The company will study the judgement and decide its next course of action, Tata Motors said in a statement.

Land acquisition has long been a politically charged issue in India, where hundreds of millions of poor farmers are a vital voter base for political parties.

Protests by villagers have already stalled major projects such as a steel mill by South Korean firmPOSCO and halted the development of key highways.

The court dismissed the petitions filed by Tata Motors and ruled that any action taken under the act was also constitutional.

Tata Motors can claim compensation at a lower court which has to decide within six months, the judgement said. Incase, the state government admits the compensation claim, it has to immediately pay as it has taken possession of the land, it said.

The court has directed the government to compensate Tata Motors as per the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and has asked the state machinery to ensure a smooth transfer of the land back to farmers.

Tata Motors can challenge this decision and order in appeal, the judgement said.

Shares of Tata Motors, valued at $9.38 billion by the market, closed up 0.2 percent at 156.05 rupees on Wednesday, in a weak Mumbai market .

Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd Mukesh Ambani and his younger brother Anil today met Home Minister P Chidambaramseparately at his North Block office within a span of 50 minutes.

Mukesh, along with Chief Executive of Europe's second biggest oil company BP Plc, Bob Dudley, first had a 15-minute meeting with Chidambaram.

However, it was not immediately known what transpired in the meeting.

After 50 minutes, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Groupchief Anil Ambani had a 10-minute meeting with the home minister.

Anil too did not speak to waiting journalists. He is a regular visitor of the home minister and normally comes on every Wednesday while Mukesh came to meet Chidambaram after a gap of several months.

As the 2G fire rages, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has written a four-page letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi explaining the 2G note controversy.

The letter comes in the midst of a controversy triggered by the surfacing of a note from a finance ministry official suggesting that 2G scam could have been avoided by the then finance minister P Chidambaram if had insisted of auction instead of giving licences on 2001 prices.

The letter is said to have a full sequence of internal communication that led to the March 25 2G note from the finance ministry. Pranab Mukherjee's letter is intended to end speculation that his ministry was shifting blame to home minister Chidambaram in the telecom scandal, Times Now reported.

In fact, the letter goes on to establish that the finance ministry alone was not responsible for views and that there was communication between telecom, law and finance ministries as well as the Prime Minister's Office.

Pranab Mukherjee is said to have told the PM that the 2G note was prepared with inputs from different ministries, including the PMO. The note has led the opposition parties to allege that P Chidambaram was part of 2G spectrum scam and demanding his resignation.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who as Finance Minister had slashed taxes, on Wednesday suggested that rich should be taxed more even though "many people" would not like the idea.

"We must raise the tax revenue to defend (the expected aggregate decline of resources). I know many people won't like this. But I think, I can summon the courage to make the statement," he said addressing a function of All India Management Association here.
Mr. Chidambaram as the Finance Minister between May 2004 and November 2008 had slashed taxes and was credited with presenting a 'dream budget' in the initial years of his tenure in the Finance Ministry.
"I am (was) the Finance Minister who slashed your tax rates. Therefore ... you must be prepared to pay higher tax rates, especially the rich must be prepared to pay higher tax," he said.
The Home Minister said, in Europe rich people were getting together to say, "please tax us more".
His suggestion is also in line with the move by U.S. President Barack Obama who has proposed to tax rich for taking the American economy out of the financial troubles.
"Certainly this is not the place, nor I am the person to say what tax should be raised. But we should seriously consider how to raise the tax revenue of the country," Mr. Chidambaram said, even as preparations for the next Budget (2012-13) have started.
Mr. Chidambaram said that according to the Approach Paper (12th Plan), tax revenue is expected to rise from 7.4 per cent in the current year to 8.9 per cent next year and the non-tax revenue is expected to decline.
But, he said, "the worrying part" is aggregate resources, that include tax revune, non-tax revenue, non-debt capital revenue and borrowings, are expected to decline from 14 per cent in the current year (2011-12) to 13.11 per cent as a percentage of GDP.
The Home Minister said while the actual difference would be marginal because of larger Gross Domestic Product, as a percentage of GDP, aggregate resources would decline.

28 SEP, 2011, 10.48AM IST, REUTERS

Need to cut fiscal deficit and make room for private investment: Chief economic adviser Kaushik Basu

NEW DELHI: India needs to bring down its fiscal deficit and make room for private investment, the chief economic adviser to the finance ministry, Kaushik Basu, said on Wednesday.

The government has budgeted a fiscal deficit target of 4.6 percent of the gross domestic product for the current fiscal that ends next March.

Many private economists have raised questions about the government's ability to meet the target because of rising subsidy bills and poor market conditions that has delayed asset sales
27 SEP, 2011, 07.48AM IST, VIKAS DHOOT,ET BUREAU

PMO to draft a new law to monitor regulators like SEBI, CAG &Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister's Office has kicked off work on drafting a new law to monitor and regulate the economic regulators in the country in order to make them more accountable . The move comes at a time when there are dark clouds looming over the integrity as well as independence of several regulators across sectors like petroleum, securities markets and airports.

The finance ministry is facing allegations of interfering in the work of the securities market regulator SEBI. The former oil and gas regulator, ex-Director General of Hydrocarbons VK Sibal, has been charged by the CBI for obliging oil and gas explorers in lieu of private favours. The civil aviation ministry has complained to the PM that the two-year old airports regulator has become a hindrance to building new airports, when all the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has sought to do is protect passenger interests and prevent un-quantified revenue losses to government.

Former chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Dhirendra Swarup agrees that regulators need to be accountable to the people . "Right now, there is no provision in the RBI Act to make the central bank accountable for its actions, " he said. "In the US, the chiefs of the Federal Reserve and Securities Exchange Commission appear before Congressional committees every six months for a performance review," Swarup said.

The government's auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India can scrutinise regulators' expenses and earnings but it isn't allowed to do a performance audit on them. "The trick lies in striking a fine balance between accountability and non-interference.

If regulators are simply made accountable to administrative ministries or the executive, we are back to square one as the government will end up judging regulators, who were created in the first place to distance the government from discretionary decisions," said Swarup. "In India, regulators are considered as those authorities that are created by an act of Parliament," said former telecom regulator Nripendra Misra.

"But several ministries are also playing regulatory roles as they frame rules and laws. Almost all developed countries have a powerful cell attached to the PM's or President's office that screens the creation and deletion of such laws and rules," he said.

The PM's Independence Day speech had lamented that there is no law in place to enable the government to monitor the work of 'independent regulatory authorities' and "make them more accountable" without compromising their independence. "These regulatory authorities discharge many responsibilities which were earlier in the domain of the government itself... We are considering enactment of such a law," he had said.

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/pmo-to-draft-a-new-law-to-monitor-regulators-like-sebi-cag-pension-fund-regulatory-and-development-authority/articleshow/10135245.cms

27 SEP, 2011, 07.39AM IST, DHEERAJ TIWARI,ET BUREAU

New Pension Scheme overhaul to see cost cut, more record-keepers

NEW DELHI: The government will slash the NewPension Scheme's account maintenance costs to a third to make it more attractive to workers in the informal sector. The finance ministry has asked thePension Fund Regulatory and Development Authorityto cut the annual fee to about Rs 100 from Rs 280 by breaking the monopoly of the scheme's current record-keeper , National Securities Depository.

The NPS, floated for civil servants in 2004, was opened to all citizens in May 2009 to provide a pension option to 360 million informal sector workers bereft of any old-age income security. But, so far only 51,000 people have joined voluntarily. Although the scheme's fund management fee is very low at 0.0084%, the annual record-keeping costs are high at Rs 352, comprising a flat fee of Rs 280 and a monthly transaction fee of Rs 6.

On a minimum investment of Rs 500 a month, the two expenses total 5.87% of the savings, nearly thrice the fee charged by a mutual fund. "The cost of NPS should be brought down in the interest of consumers," said a finance ministry official. The proposal for a second central record-keeping agency, or CRA, would be taken up at the upcoming PFRDA board meeting.

This annual fee, including fund management charges, was as low as 2-3 % for some equity-linked mutual funds and if the charges were brought down to Rs 100 annually, an NPS account holder will only have to pay around 1.6% towards CRA charges , he said.

The ministry's decision follows recommendations made by a committee, headed by former Sebi Chairman GN Bajpai, which said that PFRDA should consider inducting a few more recordkeepers as was originally planned. "The flat charges of the NPS are very steep, which tilts the scheme in favour of wealthier investors," the committee had noted.

"In fact, it is likely that the bottom-of-the-pyramid customers end up cross-subsidising the wealthier investors," the Bajpai report said, pointing out that the fixed charges on account maintenance and transaction charges form a large proportion of small investors' pension savings.

TRANSACTION COSTS

Apart from the account maintenance costs, financial intermediaries who route pension contributions to the fund managers also charge Rs 20 per transaction. This adds up another Rs 240 a year. Moreover, NSDL charges Rs 50 for opening an account while PFRDA-appointed financial intermediaries charge Rs 40.

So the flat costs imposed on investors in their first year of opening an NPS account further rises by Rs 90. According to a PFRDA official, a second CRA will bring in more competition, automatically balancing the current charges. "It was earlier decided to go with one CRA until the sector stabilises , but now it is important to bring in other players to reduce the cost," he said.

Many players, including Central Depository Securities, have evinced interest and the recordkeeping fee would go as low as Rs 100, he said. "The first time we invited bids for record-keepers , six agencies had applied. We expect to see the same response."
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/new-pension-scheme-overhaul-to-see-cost-cut-more-record-keepers/articleshow/10135169.cms
27 SEP, 2011, 01.40AM IST, DEEPSHIKHA SIKARWAR,ET BUREAU

Finance ministry orders overhaul of government's disinvestment strategy

Power Finance Corporation Ltd.

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NEW DELHI: The finance ministry has ordered an overhaul of the government's disinvestment strategy for the year after the stake sale programme managed to raise just 2.75% of the annual target in the first six months, portending trouble for its budget calculations.

Officials said options being considered include bringing first-time public offers of firms such asHindustan Aeronautics, India's biggest defence aviation company, and state-owned construction firmNBCC to the front of the disinvestment queue and do bulk sales of equity of stateowned firms to domestic financial institutions. As an extreme step, cash-rich staterun firms could be leaned upon to buy the government's stakes in other public sector firms.

"We have asked the disinvestment department to get back with a plan B," a senior finance ministry official told ET. The ministry is determined to stay within the targeted fiscal deficit figure of 4.6% of GDP this year despite the possibility of lower revenues due to slowing economic growth and a higher-than-budgeted subsidy burden. Most independent experts expect the fiscal deficit to exceed 5%.

The government will need the Rs 40,000 crore it has budgeted from disinvestment if it has to meet its fiscal deficit targets. It had lined up a series of follow-on public offers (FPOs) in state-run firms. But choppy markets have derailed its plans, resulting in it raising just Rs 1,100 crore through the sale of 5% equity inPower Finance Corporation.

Although the FPO was attractively priced, the stock has been hammered in the markets and officials fear this could dissuade retail investors from investing in other follow-on offers.

Shares in Power Finance Corp have fallen to Rs 148.65 apiece, well below the offer price of Rs 193.5. The finance ministry earlier this month decided to pull the plug on a follow-on offer of shares of the country's top oil company ONGC after it feared a tepid investment response. But the thinking within the government is that initial public offers (IPOs) could still find takers in the current market if priced attractively.

"IPOs have a better chance than FPOs since with FPOs there is a price hangover," said Yogesh Kapur, senior vice-president at Enam Securities. Secondary market prices of shares of state-run firms have fallen after their FPOs are announced in anticipation that these shares will be offered at a discount to prevailing prices.

Finance ministry officials said IPOs would fetch the government more money because the price discovery mechanism would not be influenced by the overhang of existing equity and also because the companies in which share sales were being considered were good, profitable companies. For instance, they are expecting good interest for HAL stock, not least because the company had a net profit of Rs 2,114 crore on a turnover of Rs 13,000 crore in 2010-11.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/finance-ministry-orders-overhaul-of-governments-disinvestment-strategy/articleshow/10132756.cms

Singur Act upheld

ANANYA DUTTA
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The HinduIn this file photo West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is seen along with Singur farmers at the West Bengal State Legislative Assembly in Kolkata. Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

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It was Mamata's day all the way "Day of justice for world's farming community"Tata Motors will study court judgement Mamata moves into Assembly Singur land will be returned after verdict: Mamata No notice required for possession of disputed land: WB Govt.HC concludes hearing of challenge to Singur Act Tatas don't want Singur land back: West Bengal

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The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday upheld the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, and said any action taken under it was "constitutional and valid."

However, Justice I.P. Mukerji, who heard the petition filed by Tata Motors against the constitutional validity of the Act, held that the provision for compensation was "vague and uncertain." The provisions for award of compensation given in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, should be incorporated into this Act.

He also ruled that the District Judge of Hooghly would have to make an award of compensation within six months of an application from Tata Motors.

The judge ordered an "unconditional stay" of the judgement till November 2, so that any aggrieved party could appeal against it. The distribution of land to unwilling farmers would also remain on hold till then.

Keywords: Singur issue, Singur land act, Mamata Banerjee, Tata Motors, land rights, land acquisition

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2493146.ece

Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singhwould be arrested again as Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed his regular as well as interim bail pleas in the 2008 cash-for-votes scam.

Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal relied on the medical reports to reject both the bail applications of the former Samajwadi Partyleader who is undergoing treatment for his kidney ailments at the AIIMS.

"The medical reports of the accused were sought from the director of the AIIMS from time to time. As per the report dated September 26, the accused is stable but requires monitoring. I leave it to the good judgement of the specialists and super specialists at the AIIMS to decide the period for which the accused is to be kept under observation.

"The interim bail comes to an end today. The regular bail has been declined, vide separate detailed order," the court said.

"Let the bail bond submitted at the time of grant of interim bail be canceled and documents be returned to the accused (Singh)," it said.

Singh was arrested on September 6 after he appeared before the court in response to the court summons to him for his alleged involvement in 2008 cash-for-vote scam.

He, however, had to be rushed to the AIIMS from Tihar jail after a bout of vomitting and diarrhoea on September 12 evening and later the court granted him interim bail on September 15.

Standing firm behind its two "whistleblower" ex-MPs and LK Advani's former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni in the cash-for-vote scam, BJP on Wednesday claimed they were innocent and were only trying to "expose" use of money to save the UPA-I government during the 2008 trust vote.

Advani, along with Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, on Wednesday visited Tihar jail where the two former MPs - Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora - and Kulkarni have been kept under judicial custody.

Defending the three, Jaitley said, "False entrapment cannot co-exist with bribery" while maintaining that whistleblower cannot be treated in the same manner as a bribe giver.

He said that 19 MPs had either cross-voted or abstained during the trust vote and there were "open allegations" of use of money power to influence MPs.

"Delhi Police has accepted that prima facie bribe was paid.... Our MPs were only involved in exposing them (bribe givers) as whistleblowers," Jaitley said.

The eminent lawyer argued that after the Supreme Court judgement in the JMM case, the jurisdiction in such matters lies only with Parliament and so they had to inform Lok Sabha about it.

"During the 2008 trust vote there were allegations of use of money power (to save the UPA government)... Their intention was not to take money. They had exposed it (the act) in Lok Sabha," Jaitley said outside Tihar jail.

Kulkarni was arrested yesterday and sent to judicial custody till October one in connection with the 2008 cash-for-votes scandal. Earlier this month, Bhagora and Kulaste too were sent to jail after their bail pleas were rejected by a local court.

Jaitley's Lok Sabha counterpart Sushma Swaraj had visited Tihar earlier to meet the two ex-MPs.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was on Wednesday all set to enter the state legislative assembly for the first time as a legislator after registering a thumping victory in the Bhowanipore assembly constituency by-poll with a 54,000-vote margin.

Banerjee's Trinamool Congress also snatched Basirhat (Uttar) assembly seat from the Left Front.

"Mamata Banerjee has won from Bhowanipore assembly constituency. The victory margin is 54,213 votes," said a senior election official.

The Trinamool Congress chief's nearest rival was Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) candidate Nandini Mukherjee, a computer science professor.

Public works department minister Subrata Bakshi had quit the seat to make way for Banerjee seeking her maiden entry to the state assembly.

In another assembly by-election held Sunday, Trinamool's A T M Abdulla defeated CPI-M's Subid Ali Gazi in Basirhat (Uttar) constituency of North 24 Parganas district.

The constituency went to the by-poll after CPI-M legislator Mostafa Bin Quasem allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the balcony of his room in the 'MLAs' Hostel'.

"Trinamool Congress has won the Basirhat (Uttar) assembly constituency. The victory margin is 30,900-plus votes. The exact figures will come in the evening. A total of 18 rounds of counting were held," said Dibyendu Sarkar, joint chief electoral officer in the West Bengal election commission.

Voting for both the constituencies was held Sep 25. While 49.32 percent of eligible voters exercised their franchise in Bhowanipore, 80 percent polling was recorded in Basirhat (Uttar).

The Bhowanipore area, which houses Banerjee's spartan residence in a dingy lane of Kalighat, is considered her pocket borough.

Bakshi had won by a margin of 49,963 votes over CPI-M candidate Narayan Jain in the assembly polls earlier this year. .

27 SEP, 2011, 02.14AM IST, ET BUREAU

Finance ministry's capital markets division may propose to abolish securities transaction tax; to cost govt Rs 7,500 crore a year

NEW DELHI | MUMBAI: The capital markets divisionof the finance ministry has mooted a proposal to abolish or substantially dilute the securities transaction tax (STT), a levy that fetches the government around Rs 7,500 crore a year but is disliked by investors as it adds to the cost of buying and selling shares in the country.

A senior official in the capital markets division said this proposal along with othermeasures such as reducing stamp duty is being discussed with the revenue department.

The BSE Sensex recovered from an intra-day low of 15801 to close down only 111 points at 16051 on strong recovery in the European markets and the government's STT proposal. The revenue departmenthad in 2009-10 rejected a similar proposal to remove STT and even if there is agreement this time, any change in the regimewill have to wait till the next budget is presented in February 2012.

The STT was introduced in the 2004 budget by thenfinance minister P Chidambaram and over the years, the rate of this transaction tax has come down from 0.15% levied initially. Currently, a 0.125% tax is levied on both buyers and sellers in case of delivery-based trades. In the case of day trades, the levy is 0.025% on the seller only.

The removal of this tax is a long-standing demand of investors and stock exchanges who argue that a multiplicity of levies such as stamp duty, service tax, exchange turnover fees, Sebi charges, in addition to STT itself, make India one of the most expensive markets as far as transactions costs are concerned.

"Cost of trading in Indian markets is one of the highest in the world due to numerous taxes such as STT. Removal of STT or cut in rates will lower transaction cost substantially and benefit short-term traders, hedgers, arbitrageurs and intraday traders and boost overall market sentiment," says Motilal Oswal Financial Services CMD Motilal Oswal.

According to Praveen Malik, vice-president in charge of compliance at Centrum Broking, the removal of STT would certainly help in attracting more volumes. The capital markets division had pitched for complete abolition of the tax ahead of the 2009-10 budget, but the revenue department prevailed as it wanted the STT phaseout to be timed with the rollout of the Direct Tax Code. The code was to unveil a new method of taxing capital gains on securities.

However, the DTC Bill finally introduced in Parliament does not propose any change in the capital gains tax regime and it remains to be seen whether the revenue department will now agree to remove STT. The revenue department has also in the past been keen on STT as it allows it to collect tax on sale of securities from FIIs routing their investment through Mauritius, thereby enabling it to trace a trail back to offshore tax havens.

On the issue of stamp duty, the department of revenue has agreed a single countrywide rate of 0.003 % from a high of 0.005% in some states for most securities transactions, both, in the futures and cash segments.

For currency derivatives, the Department of Economic Affairs is pushing for reduction to 0.0001% to boost trade in this segment. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will take a final call on the rates before the stamp duty amendment bill is taken up by the cabinet.

Check out Brand Equity's Most Trusted Brands List 2011
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/finance-ministrys-capital-markets-division-may-propose-to-abolish-securities-transaction-tax-to-cost-govt-rs-7500-crore-a-year/articleshow/10133048.cms
27 SEP, 2011, 10.39AM IST, NAUZER K BHARUCHA,TNN

World Bank to India: Sell off excess public land in cities

MUMBAI: The World Bank has suggested sale of excess public land in Indian cities to fund infrastructure projects. Collaborating with the India Development Foundation and the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility , the World Bank has formed a steering committee headed by Vijay Kelkar, chairman of the 13th finance commission, to formulate a proposal on monetizing excess public land.

Earlier this month, the bank's India director Roberto Zagha Patricia Annez met stakeholders, town planners and urban experts in Mumbai and sought their advice on safeguarding affected communities and transparency in transactions.

The bank's policy is that land has always served as an instrument of urban infrastructure finance. It cited the example of Istanbul, where an abandoned municipal brewery and bus stand were sold for nearly $2 billion (around Rs 9,000 crore), double the investment budget of that city. However, a bureaucrat dismissed it as a "bad proposition" and said it is "like selling the family silver".
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/world-bank-to-india-sell-off-excess-public-land-in-cities/articleshow/10136578.cms

Rs 3L cr plan to boost India's naval might

Rajat Pandit, TNN | Sep 26, 2011, 04.12AM IST

NEW DELHI: Jostling for the same strategic space with China in the Indian Ocean and beyond, with the oil exploration stand-off in South China Sea being just the latest indicator, India is slowly but surely building a Navy for the future.

A powerful three-dimensional Navy, which can protect India's geo-strategic interests stretching from Hormuz Strait to Malacca Strait, will not come cheap. Neither will it be built overnight.

Calculations show ongoing warship, submarine and maritime aircraft acquisition programmes as well as some concrete projects in the pipeline will together cost well upwards of Rs 300,000 crore.

When Admiral Nirmal Verma on Saturday commissions the second fleet tanker from Italy, the 27,500-tonne INS Shakti, Navy's force-levels will stand at 132 ships, with just over 50 "major combatants" and 14 ageing submarines.

But the numbers will dip in the coming months, with older ships slated for retirement. China, in contrast, has close to 100 major warships and over 60 submarines, and is now increasingly flexing its muscles in international waters.

India cannot hope to match it. The good news, however, is there are 46 ships "on order" for Navy at different domestic shipyards, along with aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (refitted Admiral Gorshkov) and three Talwar-class stealth frigates being built in Russia, say defence ministry sources.

Ranging from two aircraft carriers, six submarines and seven guided-missile destroyers to four anti-submarine warfare corvettes, nine naval off-shore patrol vessels and eight amphibious craft, the combined price tag for these 50 ships comes to over Rs 100,000 crore.

There are also two other major projects taking concrete shape now. One, the Rs 52,000 crore `Project-75India' to acquire six new-generation stealth submarines, equipped with land-attack missiles and air-independent propulsion, for which the global tender is now in the final stages. Six Scorpene submarines are already being constructed at Mumbai-based Mazagon Docks (MDL) for Rs 23,562 crore.

Then, seven more stealth frigates are to be built at MDL and GRSE (Kolkata) under Project-17A for around Rs 45,000 crore. This will follow the three 6,200-tonne stealth frigates built at MDL for Rs 8,101 crore, INS Shivalik, INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri, with only the last now left to be delivered.

Navy is also going in for new carrier-borne fighter jets and maritime patrol aircraft as well as multi-role helicopters and spy drones, which together will cost around Rs 85,000 crore. These include 45 Russian MiG-29Ks for $2 billion and 12 American P-8I long-range reconnaissance aircraft for over $3 billion.

The biggest warships currently under construction are the 44,570-tonne Vikramaditya and the 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) being built at Cochin Shipyard.

With Vikramaditya to be inducted by early-2013 and IAC by 2015, India hopes to deploy two potent carrier battle-groups by the middle of this decade. Another lethal punch will come when India's own nuclear submarine, the over 6,000-tonne INS Arihant being built at Vizag, becomes operational next year.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rs-3L-cr-plan-to-boost-Indias-naval-might/articleshow/10121043.cms

After years of search for an ideal bungalow, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkarfinally moved into his new abode situated at the junction of Perry Cross Road and Turner Road(near Otters Club) in the Mumbai suburb ofBandra on Wednesday afternoon.

In Pics

A delighted and beaming Tendulkar made the grihapravesh along with his mother and family. The Tendulkars, over the last many years, had been staying at their 10th floor residence at La Mer building, also in Bandra. But while the earlier home was a duplex of over 2,000 sq ft, the new mansion rises up to three-storey and is spread across 6,000 sq ft. It took over three years for the batting maestro to build it.

It wasn't long ago that Tendulkar, while answering a query as to why he had not chosen to stay in a house of his own, had quipped, "Show me one good place with a clean deal." The cricket god was soon granted his wish when he chose an old Dorab Villa, which he bought for Rs 39 crore and later demolished to construct the new house which hasn't been christened as yet.

When the construction began, Tendulkar had personally sent a signed note to each neighbour expressing regret for the calm of the locality being disturbed. On Wednesday, there was a banner put up welcoming him and his family to their new neighborhood.

The move to the new place was supposed to be a quiet affair but a crowd was already in place much before the maestro could drive in with his family. A gracious Tendulkar thanked all for their good wishes and distributed sweets to children on the occasion. "I am really thrilled and happy today, especially for my mother and my family members," he said, adding, "Everyone has a dream of owning a house. I, too, had this dream. I am happy that I was able to fulfill it."

He clarified that the flat allotted to him under the sports quota (also in Bandra but not the one at La Mer) had been returned to the government so that some other worthy sportsperson could get it.

Two years ago, on the eve of Sachin's completion of 20 years in international cricket, his wife Anjali had described how the new home would be in an interview to TOI. "It will be a normal house. Given the space constraints in Mumbai, we are lucky to be having not a mansion but a nice home which will have all the requirements that Sachin had wanted. If he wants to go and play cricket with Arjun, there is a garden, not a big one but there is one. There is a parking area for our cars down, room for Sachin's mother and the kids."

On the choice of the interiors, Anjali had said, "A lot of things in the house are what Sachin wanted. But we are in it together. Also, I'm the more scientific type, more practical. I'm only bothered about where are the switches going to be placed in the house, where are the TV connections are going to be, how is the kitchen and bathroom layout going to be. He's into the fancy and decorative side of it."

The dream house is absolutely classy, and does seem to have fulfilled all the desires of the Tendulkars. High-fenced with electronic surveillance, it also has two basement levels with servant quarters and parking for several cars. The topmost floor has a lap swimming pool and a gymnasium.

Sachin, who spent his childhood at Sahitya Sahawas Colony (meant for achievers in the field of arts and literature) situated in Bandra East, has all along been a Bandra boy and wanted to own a bungalow in the same suburb.

Wide scope for investment in domestic infra sector: Morparia

VADODARA: General infrastructural deficiencies in various sectors in India could generate investment opportunities, said J P Morgan Chief Executive OfficerKalpana Morparia here.

"Power generation capacity, road network, port capacity and airport capacity offer good opportunity for investment," Morparia said yesterday while addressing the 92nd annual general meeting (AGM) of the Federation of Gujarat Industries on theme of "Global Economic Uncertainities".

She said as far as the road network (kms per million people) is concerned, India is at the bottom of the list while Brazil tops the list followed by Russia, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan and South Africa.

Talking about port capacity (tons per person), the CEO said Taiwan is at the top slot in the list of eight countries of South Korea, Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, India and Indonesia.

As far as airport capacity (per person) is concerned, Taiwan is ahead among eight countries while India is at the lowest end, she said.

Morparia observed that the prospects of a double-dip recession seem real in the backdrop of instable global economic situation.

Controversial 2G memo was background paper: Pranab

SMITA GUPTA
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The HinduUnion Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has written an explanatory note to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that the controversial Finance Ministry document was actually an inter-Ministerial background paper. File photo

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Court asks CBI to produce 500-page Finance Ministry document on 2G I will speak only after talking to Prime Minister, says Pranab 'Nothing new' in FinMin note, CBI feels Sonia steps in to make peace Non-bailable charge slapped on Raja, others Confront Chidambaram with advice given in PM's presence: Raja Finance Ministry note on 2G 'not so big': Khurshid Prime Minister sees campaign under way to destabilise polity Note sent by Ministry of Finance to PMO on allocation and pricing of 2G spectrum Will CBI investigate Finance Ministry note, asks Brinda Karat JPC seeks copy of Ministry note to PMO on 2G scam CBI sees no need for probe against Chidambaram CPIL terms CBI probe in 2G case 'less than honest'

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It was to ensure that departments spoke with one voice

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has written an explanatory note to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that the controversial Finance Ministry document was actually an inter-Ministerial background paper, prepared with the help of several departments, to ensure that different government representatives, summoned to give evidence on the 2G spectrum allocation issue, would adopt a common position.

Official sources said Mr. Mukherjee's explanatory note also stressed that since the document, produced after a series of meetings convened by the Cabinet Secretariat and attended by officials from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), and the Ministries of Finance, Telecom and Law, was only a background paper, it could not be used as evidence in a court of law. Indeed, the Finance Ministry document, dated March 25, 2011, describes itself as "Office Memorandum" /Sub: Allocation and pricing of 2G spectrum/ A copy of basic facts prepared on allocation and pricing of 2G spectrum is enclosed."

Need for note

The need for such a background note was felt, the sources said, in January 2011, after Home Minister P. Chidambaram made some public statements saying he had favoured the auction route: the Prime Minister felt such statements not only created confusion, but with officials and Ministers being summoned to give evidence on the 2G issues in a variety of fora, ranging from Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which was already looking at the matter, to various courts of law, it was imperative that the government speak with one voice. It was at this point that the Opposition parties were also clamouring for a Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G.

Inputs from depts

The meetings convened by the Cabinet Secretariat began with key officials from the PMO, and the Ministries of Finance, Telecom and Law in attendance. The group held more than 10 sittings, and those who attended included T.K.A. Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister and Vini Majahan, Joint Secretary in the PMO. The draft note that emerged was then sent to the Finance Ministry for finalisation: it was then trimmed and the final document, signed by Dr. P.G.S. Rao, Deputy Director in the Infrastructure and Investment Division of the Finance Ministry, was despatched to Ms. Mahajan at the PMO. Technically, therefore, the sources said, it was not a note emanating from the Finance Ministry – it only finalised it after receiving inputs from all those departments that had played a role in the decision to adopt the licence route in the 2G spectrum allocation matter.

Yet to meet PM

Meanwhile, Mr. Chidambaram met the Prime Minister at a lunch hosted by the latter in honour of the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at which several others were present. Mr. Mukherjee returned to the capital late on Wednesday evening from Kolkata and drove straight to North Block, but it appeared that he would meet the Prime Minister only on Friday, before he again returns to Kolkata to attend the Durga Puja festivities there. Dr. Singh will be away in Sikkim on Thursday to meet the victims of the recent earthquake there, and review the rehabilitation work.

Keywords: 2G case, CBI probe, Finance Ministry note, Pranab reaction, Chidambaram, Manmohan Singh

SLIDESHOW

Delhi building collapse: Yet another wake-up call
The collapse of the multi-storey residential building in the Chandni Mahal area of Old Delhi on Sept 27, 2011 is a wake up call for all concerned. The incident revives the memories of last November's building collapse at Laxmi Nagar which killed over 60 people. It has thrown more light on the lack of safety measures and has prompted the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to initiate an inquiry into the dilapidated structures in the area.
more slideshows »

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2493534.ece

PM refers to Maran's objection to GoM dealing with 2G spectrum pricing

PRAVEEN SWAMI
SANDEEP JOSHI
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has admitted that pressure from the former Telecom Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, forced the pricing of 2G spectrum out of the purview of a Group of Ministers set up to deal with the issue.
"It is certainly true that one draft was prepared, and it included spectrum prices," Dr. Singh told reporters on Tuesday en-route from New York to New Delhi.
Mr. Maran, the Prime Minister said, then objected, arguing that "spectrum pricing is the bread and butter and the integral part of the terms of the business of his department." "In any case," Dr. Singh paraphrased Mr. Maran as saying, "a large group of Ministers sitting here is not going to be able to deal effectively with the complicated and technical aspects involved."
"I came to the conclusion that by agreeing with the Minister's [Dayanidhi Maran's] point of view would not sacrifice anything which is essential to the success of the process."
Mr. Maran voiced his concerns in a February 28, 2006 letter to the Prime Minister. In the letter, he complained that the terms of reference for the Group of Ministers on 2G spectrum issues "impinge upon the work normally to be carried out by the Ministry [Department of Telecommunications]."
Back in 2006, the Prime Minister explained, the government's "real concern was how we should persuade the Defence Ministry to release spectrum and how that spectrum should [be made available] to the civilian economy." Mr. Maran's request was, therefore, acceded to.
In 2007, a note prepared earlier this year by the Finance Ministry for the Prime Minister's Office records, the Department of Telecommunications precluded further involvement of the Department of Economic Affairs in spectrum pricing. The Finance Ministry did not subsequently pursue the issue.
Correction
In the story, headlined 'PM blames Maran for genesis of 2G scam,' published on September 28, the headline was incorrect. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who revealed that he eventually agreed with Mr. Maran in this matter, did not blame him but acknowledged what happened. This is the Prime Minister's verbatim response to a question on the letter on spectrum pricing written to the Prime Minister by Mr. Maran, leading to amendments of the Terms of Reference: "Well, that was way back in 2006. At that time licensing of what took place in 2007 or 2008 was not on the horizon. The real concern of the government at that point was that we should persuade the Defence Ministry to vacate spectrum and that spectrum should be made available to the civilian economy. In the process, we will make lot of money and also the economy would gain efficiency. And it is certainly true that one draft that was prepared did include spectrum prices and Mr. Dayanidhi Maran did object and he said spectrum pricing is a bread and butter and integral part of the rule of business of his department, and any case he said that a large group like GOM that we are setting up is not going to be able to deal effectively with the complicated technical aspects involved. And furthermore, it was pointed out to me that there was a Cabinet decision of 2003, which said that spectrum pric es is a matter which should be discussed between the Finance Ministry and the Telecom Ministry. And in the light of all that I came to the conclusion that my agreeing with Mr. Maran 's point of view would not amount to sacrificing anything which is essential and integral to the success of the process."
Keywords: 2G spectrum scam, Manmohan Singh, Dayanidhi Maran, spectrum allocation, spectrum pricing
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2491294.ece

Prime Minister sees campaign under way to destabilise polity

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PTIPrime Minister Manmohan Singh during a press conference onboard Air India One enroute from Frankfurt to New Delhi on Tuesday.

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Controversial 2G memo was background paper: Pranab Manmohan in denial mode: BJP CBI sees no need for probe against Chidambaram Transcript of Prime Minister's comments On Board Special Aircraft BJP creating ambience of instability over Finance Ministry note: Congress I will speak only after talking to Prime Minister, says Pranab Further probe will delay bail process: A. Raja 'Nothing new' in FinMin note, CBI feels Sonia steps in to make peace Non-bailable charge slapped on Raja, others Confront Chidambaram with advice given in PM's presence: Raja Finance Ministry note on 2G 'not so big': Khurshid Note sent by Ministry of Finance to PMO on allocation and pricing of 2G spectrum Will CBI investigate Finance Ministry note, asks Brinda Karat JPC: why was Finance Ministry note not given to us?

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the mounting campaign by the Opposition against his government could be part of a campaign to "destabilise our polity."

"The issues on which the United Progressive Alliance government is now being judged date back to 2006 or so," Dr. Singh told journalists on board his flight home from New York, "after which the people have voted in support of our performance. This is why I suspect that there is some other agenda at work."

The Prime Minister declined to answer a question seeking elaboration on who might be responsible for the destabilisation.

Mounting furore

Dr. Singh was dismissive of the mounting furore at home over the 2G spectrum scandal, saying: "the Opposition is getting prematurely restless." He was emphatic, though, that the government would survive its full term. "The government has a mandate from the people to govern for five years, and it will stay the course. The Opposition should be patient until the elections."

He denied that there was a feud between Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P. Chidambaram over the 2G scandal. "The rift that you talk about is only in the media. This is a cohesive government. There is no dissension. There is no truth in what has been written in the media about a rift between Mr. Chidambaram and Mr. Mukherjee," he said.

UPA policies successful

Dr. Singh argued that the United Progressive Alliance most politically-damaging failing — its failure to rein in inflation — was the consequence of international factors beyond its control. "Even China, with its successful economy, suffered a food inflation of 30 per cent in August," he noted.

"Food prices," he said, "are by and large stable. What is not stable is the price of vegetables, fish, eggs and so on. This is a sign, paradoxically, of the success of our policies."

In spite of the global economic crisis, Dr. Singh said, India had registered between 6.7 per cent and 8.5 per cent growth. "Even in this troubled year," he promised, "our growth rate will be between 7.8 and 8.5 per cent." "We can do better if the government is allowed to do what should be its principal task, which is to push growth to 9 per cent."

Pushing through a slew of legislation for this purpose, he added, needed Opposition cooperation.

Case for Kudankulam

Dr. Singh had special words of praise for Tamil Nadu, which he noted was now the fastest-industrialising State in the country. "I feel very proud when I go there," he said. This achievement, though, could only be sustained if Tamil Nadu achieved energy independence — for which the Kudankulam project was necessary.

"It is my honest expectation that, sooner or later, the world will realise that there is no alternative to having atomic energy as part of the fuel mix of a country," he said, "and I have no doubt that the leadership of Tamil Nadu will not be an exception."

Keywords: 2G scam, CBI probe, Finance Ministry note, Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherjee,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2490796.ece

FIR against Dayanidhi Maran soon: CBI

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PTIThe CBI on Wednesday told the Supreme Court it would file an FIR against the former Union Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, in the next few days. File photo

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CPIL terms CBI probe in 2G case 'less than honest'PM refers to Maran's objection to GoM dealing with 2G spectrum pricing CBI questions Marans on Aircel deal We didn't give Maran a clean chit: CBI CBI to probe 300 phone lines to Maran

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The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday told the Supreme Court it would file a first information report (FIR) against the former Union Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, in the next few days in the case relating to the sale of Aircel to the Malaysia-based Maxis Group as there was enough evidence in the preliminary enquiry (PE).

Senior counsel K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the CBI, gave this information in the status report submitted to the court in a sealed cover. He read out the relevant portions before a Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly hearing the 2G spectrum case.

Mr. Venugopal said the CBI was in the process of converting the PE into an FIR in the next few days. Offences such as undue favour and quid pro quo would be included in the FIR against Mr. Maran and others. Letters rogatory (LRs) were sent to Mauritius.

Meanwhile, an application filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation alleged that Mr. Maran, who resigned as Textiles Minister, had arm-twisted Aircel owner C. Sivasankaran to sell his 74 per cent stake to the Maxis group of Malaysia. It explained how the Chennai-based Aircelwas applying with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for UAS licences from March 2004 onwards.

The application said Mr. Maran, as Telecom Minister, delayed the award of licences to the company by raising irrelevant issues from time to time. As on March 3, 2006, a total of 14 applications from Aircel were pending in the DoT for award of licences. Mr. Sivasankaran wrote to Mr. Maran several times to resolve these issues, but nothing actually moved.

A harassed Mr. Sivasankaran was forced to sell Aircel. In March 2006, the Maxis group, owned by Malaysian business tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan, bought 74 per cent stake. The company got the Foreign Investment Promotion Board approval in May 2006. In November 2006, the DoT issued 14 LoIs (Letters of Intent) to Aircel, and all of them were converted into licences in December 2006. Within three months of this, Mr. Maran's family-owned business (Sun) received substantial investment from the Maxis Group (Aircel) by taking 20 per cent equity in Sun Direct. The FIPB approved this investment on March 2 and 19, 2007. The Maxis group invested a total of Rs. 599.01 crore in Sun Direct between December 2007 and December 2009, it said.

Keywords: 2G case, CBI probe, Dayanidhi Maran, Aircel-Maxis deal, Essar Group

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2493754.ece

Mamata moves into Assembly

RAKTIMA BOSE
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Supporters greet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee outside her residence in Kolkata after she won the Bhowanipore by-poll on Wednesday. Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

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Chief Minister defeats CPI(M)'s Nandini Mukhopadhyay by 54,213 votes

It was raining good news for West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday. She won the Bhowanipore Assembly by-election by a convincing margin of 54,213 votes and her party emerged triumphant in the Basirhat Uttar by-election in North 24 Parganas district.

Ms. Banerjee defeated her rival Nandini Mukhopadhyay of the Communist Party of India(Marxist) marking her maiden entry into the Assembly, though she had been consistently elected to the Lok Sabha since 1984, except in 1989.

While Ms. Banerjee received 73,635 votes, Ms. Mukhopadhyay, a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Jadavpur University, polled 19,422 votes.

Having assumed the office of the Chief Minister after giving up her Railway portfolio at the Centre, Ms. Banerjee was required to contest the polls within six months of taking charge.

Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee congratulated her on the win and said: "It is an indication of the steps that she has taken since assuming office. It is a great victory."

Ms. Banerjee's triumph was underscored by the fact that despite a fall of around 18 per cent in voter turnout in the by-election in comparison to the percentage during the Assembly election held in April-May, she received a record margin of votes.

Trinamool candidate A.T.M. Abdullah, contesting from the Basirhat Uttar seat, also posted a comfortable victory against the CPI(M) candidate Subid Ali Gazi by a margin of 30,941 votes.

Trinamool strength rises to 185

With Mr. Abdullah's victory, the strength of the ruling party in the 294-seat Assembly rose to 185, while CPI(M)'s came down to 39.

The Basirhat Uttar seat, which was won by the CPI(M) in the last election, fell vacant after MLA Mustafa Bin Quasem died on May 29.

The Bhowanipore seat was won by the Trinamool candidate Subrata Bakshi by a margin of 49,939 votes in the last election. He vacated the seat on August 19 to make way for party chief Ms. Banerjee.

The Bhowanipore seat falls in the Kolkata Dakshin Lok Sabha constituency from where Ms. Banerjee had won the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

Keywords: Mamata by-poll win, Bhowanipore, Trinamool Congress, CPI(M)

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article2493466.ece

Gas output from KG-D6 to rise by 2014: BP chief

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Robert Dudley, CEO, British Petroleum (BP) along with Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & MD of Reliance Industries, calling on Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce, Industry & Textiles, in New Delhi, on Wednesday. Photo: V. Sudershan
The block holds the resources to get back to the planned 80 million standard cubic metres a day of gas output
Britain based BP on Wednesday said the output from the KG-D6 gas fields, in which it has a 30 per cent stake, could rise only in 2014 after the new fields in the area were brought into production, echoing the similar views expressed by Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL).
On his first visit to India after the approval of the $7.2-billion BP-RIL deal, BP Chief Executive Robert Bob Dudley along with RIL chief Mukesh Ambani met Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, Petroleum Secretary G. C. Chaturvedi, Union Law and Justice Minister Salman Khurshid and Home Minister P. Chidambaram. They were also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Mr. Dudley, who is scheduled to visit the KG basin D-6 fields on Thursday, said the block held the resources to get back to the planned 80 million standard cubic metres a day of gas output. "D6 is a golden block. The resources were scattered in different groupings and accumulations and BP along with RIL was working with the government to get approval for producing gas from them. We are hopeful to get the approvals this year so we can begin engineering and by 2014 get the gas production rising again,'' he told reporters.
He said BP hoped to combine its sub-surface exploration skills with project management capability of RIL to get reverse the sagging output. There were more fields around the currently producing Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1 and D3) fields in block KG-DWN-98/3, or KG-D6, which needed to be brought to production, he added.
RIL has submitted a plan to invest over $1.5 billion in developing four satellite fields around D1 and D3 to produce up to 10 mscmd of gas by 2016. D1 and D3 have seen output drop to 36.5 mscmd from 54 mscmd in March last year instead of rising to 61.88 mscmd as planned for the current year.
Together with 7.4 mscmd from the MA oilfield in the same block, the total gas production from KG-D6 now is 43.9 mscmd.
The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons has blamed RIL for not drilling more wells despite giving an undertaking under the law.
Mr. Dudley said RIL and BP planned to set up a new gas marketing joint venture in the next couple of months. "This will focus on three things — helping to schedule and market domestic gas production; importing and distributing LNG into India and, where necessary, looking at gaining access to or developing infrastructure positions to make this possible more efficiently,'' he added.
Keywords: BP, KG-D6 gas fields, Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL)
http://www.thehindu.com/business/article2494259.ece

28 JUN, 2011, 04.41AM IST, RISHI SHAH,ET BUREAU

Fiscal consolidation drive goes off track early in the FY

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NEW DELHI: Barely three months into the new financial year, the government's fiscal consolidation drive seems all but over with mounting subsidies threatening to knock off its budget targets.

Last week, the government announced a cut in duties and taxes on crude and fuel products, and raised retail prices of diesel and cooking gas to bail out public sector oil marketing companies. These companies have been suffering huge losses by selling diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas at government-set prices.

The excise and customs duty relief will cost the government an estimated 49,000 crore and make it even tougher for it to stay within the budgeted fiscal deficit target of 4.6% of gross domestic product (GDP).

"Accounting for other expenditure and revenue slippages, we could see the fiscal deficit come in at 5.8% of GDP versus the government's target of 4.6%,"Citibank economist Rohini Malkani said in a recent note.

This means the government will have to borrow more, which in turn will step up pressure on interest rates to rise further.

Bond yields rose marginally on Monday.

But the finance ministry is still not ready to concede ground.

"In two months of a year, you don't decide these things," Finance Secretary Sunil Mitra said.

He also played down the extent of the loss to the central government.

The 49,000 crore loss is for the full year, and as taxes are shared with the states, burden will fall on them as well, he said. Mitra pegged the loss for the year at 24,000 crore--less than half the initial estimate.

The government has budgeted for a 3.6% rise in expenditure over the revised estimates of 2010-11. But most independent analysts have dismissed the estimate as "too optimistic".

They have also termed the 23,000 crore provision for subsidies in the budget as "grossly understated".

"The government has merely shifted the burden from the expenditure side to the revenue side," said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist with ratings agency CARE.

The finance ministry has already exhausted most of the 2011-12 allocation for petroleum subsidy in clearing dues of the last fiscal.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/Fiscal-consolidation-drive-goes-off-track-early-in-the-FY/articleshow/9020654.cms

28 JUN, 2011, 04.51AM IST, AMIT SEN,ET BUREAU

Commerce Ministry to move parliamentary panel on tax gains for SEZs

NEW DELHI: Its dream of creating special enclaves for exports in tatters because of changes in tax laws, the commerce ministry has decided to plead its case before the parliamentary standing committee looking into the direct taxes code bill during the monsoon session that begins in a month.

An exporters' body says 15 approved special economic zones are considering dropping their projects after the budget for 2011-12 imposed minimum alternate tax (MAT) and dividend distribution tax on such zones.

"We will make a case against the imposition of MAT and dividend distribution tax this fiscal as SEZs have been promised tax-free operations in the initial years by the SEZ Act," a commerce department official said.

It is now becoming clear that it would not be viable for a number of investors to continue if faced with this unexpected financial burden, he added.

The SEZ Act promises developers and units a five year tax holiday on profits.

The direct taxes code ( DTC) bill introduced by the finance ministry has proposed to end all exemptions through imposition of MAT and also link tax breaks to investments instead of profits.

But even before the bill could be passed, the finance ministry imposed an 18% MAT and 15% dividend distribution tax on SEZs in the budget for 2011-12.

The finance ministry wants to plug revenue losses from tax sops given to SEZs, estimated at 1,75,487 crore in the 2004-05 to 2009-10 period.

Industry has argued that export units located in SEZs are not eligible for other export promotion schemes and have to pay full Customs duty on what they sell in the domestic market. It would not make commercial sense for them to operate in SEZs without tax exemptions.

"It is not surprising that developers are pulling out because without the tax breaks it would be very difficult for them to sell to units," said R K Sonthalia, a Kolkata-based SEZ developer and former chairman of export promotion council of EoUs and SEZs, or EPCES.

According to EPCES, Satyam Computer Service, MIDC, S2Tech.com, Essar Hazira, Bengal Shapoorji Infrastructure Development, K Raheja Universal and TCG Urban Infrastructure Holdings are some of the prominent SEZs that are considering de-notification of their zones.

The direct taxes code bill is with parliament's standing committee on finance.

"During the next House session, we will oppose the way the SEZ Act was undermined by the finance ministry through the backdoor by using the finance bill," the official said.

SEZ developers have also filed legal cases against the imposition of MAT and DDT in high courts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

"The case in TN is coming up for hearing later this week," said Hitender Mehta, a Gurgaon-based consultant and expert on SEZs. Mehta said the imposition of taxes on SEZs has been challenged for violation of doctrine of legitimate expectation and promissory estoppel.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/commerce-ministry-to-move-parliamentary-panel-on-tax-gains-for-sezs/articleshow/9020725.cms

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Pranab Mukherjee writes to PM, explains 2G note

Hindustan Times - ‎1 hour ago‎

PTI As the 2G fire rages, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh setting out in detail the events surrounding the controversial allocation of spectrum. The letter comes in the midst of a controversy ...

Controversial 2G memo was background paper: Pranab

The Hindu - Smita Gupta - ‎52 minutes ago‎

PM must come clean on 2G issue, says Swamy

IBNLive.com - ‎12 minutes ago‎

New Delhi: Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy has said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must come clean on the issue of 2G spectrum allocation scam. He further said that the Prime Minister must stop defending Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. ...

Pranab writes to PM, says 2G note prepared with inputs from PMO

Times of India - ‎2 hours ago‎

NEW DELHI: As the 2G fire rages, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has written a four-page letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi explaining the 2G note controversy. The letter comes in the midst of a controversy ...

FM writes letter to PM on drafting of March 25 note

Financial Express - ‎1 hour ago‎

New Delhi: Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh started firefighting operations in order to douse the 2G fire threatening to scorch senior ministers in his government, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee despatched a four-page letter to him, ...

PM aware of 2G scam details: BJP

Financial Express - ‎1 hour ago‎

New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday asserted that not only home minister P Chidambaram but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too was aware of "everything" that went on with the allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008, and that Singh was living "in denial" by ...

Pranab Mukherjee writes four-page personal letter to PM

Tehelka - Iftikhar Gilani - ‎25 minutes ago‎

In what may be another twist in the 2G spectrum scam. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is understood to have alleged that someone in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seems to have changed contents of his March 25 note, before passing on to advocate ...

Pranab says 2G note had inputs from different ministries: Sources

NDTV.com - ‎3 hours ago‎

New Delhi: Pranab Mukherjee has refused to accept blame for a note sent by his Finance Ministry earlier this year that has engulfed Home Minister P Chidambaram, and has led to demands for his resignation. The note in question, sent in March to Dr ...

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RIL-BP: Tough task ahead on KG-D6; govt's nod needed

Moneycontrol.com - ‎59 minutes ago‎

It's official. Gas production from the KG-D6 will be ramped up only by 2014, said BP Plc's CEO Robert Dudley who is in India on a two day visit. Dudley met top ministers along with Reliance Industries ' Mukesh Ambani, reports CNBC-TV18's Nayantara Rai. ...

BOM:500325 - LON:BP - EPA:BPLC

RIL, BP vow to step up D6 output by '14

Financial Express - ‎30 minutes ago‎

New Delhi: Reliance Industries and London-headquartered BP on Monday committed to step up gas production from the Krishna Godavari basin by 2014 and indicated a liberal pricing regime would be desirable for development of oil and gas fields and for a ...

BOM:500325 - BOM:500111 - ETR:C7B

BP aims to restore output at Reliance's D6 block by 2014

NDTV.com - ‎1 hour ago‎

In a world exclusive to NDTV's Vikram Chandra, BP plc CEO Bob Dudley has spoken about the partnership with Reliance Industries, the regulatory hurdles and the falling gas production from the D6 blocks in the Kaveri-Godavari (KG) basin on the eastern ...

LON:BP - BOM:500325 - BOM:500111

Gas output from KG-D6 to rise by 2014: BP chief

The Hindu - ‎1 hour ago‎

Britain based BP on Wednesday said the output from the KG-D6 gas fields, in which it has a 30 per cent stake, could rise only in 2014 after the new fields in the area were brought into production, echoing the similar views expressed by Mukesh ...

BOM:500325 - BOM:500111 - BOM:500390

BP, RIL seek govt blessing to develop KG satellite fields

Hindustan Times - ‎1 hour ago‎

fields in the KG-D6 - India's largest gas-producing field - in order to and reverse sagging natural gas output from the prolific acreage. This is Dudley's first visit since BP completed its $7.2-billion alliance with RIL. Dudley had last visited India ...

LON:BP - BOM:500325 - EPA:BPLC

Reliance Holders Press Ambani, BP's Dudley to Seek Higher Gas India Price

Bloomberg - ‎4 hours ago‎

By Rakteem Katakey - Wed Sep 28 12:31:10 GMT 2011 Anand Sharma, India's minister of Commerce and Industry, left, shakes hands with Robert Dudley, chief executive officer of BP Plc, center, and Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., ...

BOM:500325 - BOM:500111 - BOM:500390

BP sees D6 gas output rising from 2014

Hindu Business Line - ‎4 hours ago‎

Mr Robert Dudley, CEO, British Petroleum, with Mr Mukesh Ambani calling on Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr. Jaipal Reddy, in the Capital on 28-9-2011. Pic : Kamal Narang In his first visit since the BP-Reliance Industries alliance got the ...

BP opposes demand for drilling more wells at KG-D6

Economic Times - ‎5 hours ago‎

NEW DELHI: Europe's second biggest oil company BP Plc on Wednesday opposed upstream oil regulator DGH's and oil ministry's demand for drilling more wells at its partner RIL's KG-D6 block, saying bringing newer fields into production cannot alone solve ...

LON:BP - EPA:BPLC - PINK:BPAQF

BP, Reliance Seek India OK to Develop Satellite Fields

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NEW DELHI - BP PLC and Reliance Industries Ltd. Wednesday pitched for permission from the Indian government to develop satellite fields adjacent to the nation's richest gas find where ...

BOM:500325 - LON:BP - BOM:500111

Analysts remain positive on Reliance Industries

Economic Times - ‎7 hours ago‎

NEW DELHI: Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd flip-flopped and pared most of their morning gains of over 2% in trade today. RIL shares have been under some pressure for the past six months on the back of negative news flow pertaining to E&P ...

BOM:500325 - BOM:500111 - BOM:500390

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India, Pak to use B2B bridge for building mutual trust

Hindustan Times - ‎56 minutes ago‎

PTI Realising business-to-business contact will "build bridges of friendship and trust", India and Pakistan on Wednesday agreed to "normalise" bilateral trade and more than double it to USD six billion in three years.

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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

As the 2G fire rages, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has written a four-page letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi explaining the 2G note controversy.On the other hand,the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

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