PM turns 80 with signs of reformist mojo

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh marks his 80th birthday on Wednesday in fighting fashion with signs he has rediscovered his "mojo" as a reformer after being written off as a dithering under-achiever.

The soft-spoken Dr Singh, India's first Sikh Prime Minister, is widely expected to stand down at the next elections due to be held in 2014.

While he earned a place in the history books as the man who lit the fuse for India's rapid growth in the 1990s when he was Finance Minister, his reputation has taken a battering as premier - especially since his 2009 re-election.

Time magazine branded him "The Underachiever" on its front cover earlier this year while Dr Singh's office got into a spat with the Washington Post after it said he had "transformed himself from an object of respect to one of ridicule".

But a sudden blitz of reforms designed to revive an economy in which growth is stuck around three-year lows has also given his own image a shot in the arm with the Economic Times proclaiming he had got his "mojo back".

And his stock has also risen sharply with the business sector, which warmly applauded his moves to open the retail, aviation and broadcasting sectors to more foreign investment.

According to Adi Godrej, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, the premier has "unambiguously sent a message that the government is determined to see through the reforms".

Dr Singh, who always wears a blue turban, became premier when Congress took power in 2004, ending a long stint in the political wilderness.

His first term was relatively smooth-sailing, with growth almost reaching double digits.

But after success in the 2009 polls, his reputation has been hit during a second term marked by a litany of corruption scandals and policy paralysis caused in part by an impasse in Parliament with the main Opposition BJP party.

Deepak Lalwani, head of India-focused financial consultancy Lalcap in London, said Dr Singh's sudden burst of activity signalled a desire to salvage his reputation before he leaves office, employing a cricketing metaphor.

"In his last innings he would like to leave on a strong wicket -- he wants to leave a legacy that he was able to revive the economy again," Mr Lalwani told AFP.

Born in 1932 in what is now Pakistan, Dr Singh moved to India when Britain split the subcontinent at independence in 1947. His father, a poor vendor with 10 children, joked his son would become Prime Minister because he studied so hard.

The reformist zeal he would later display at the Finance Ministry - where he embraced free markets in the socialist-style economy and cut through red tape - was honed during his time as a Governor of the International Monetary Fund.

He became the surprise choice as premier in 2004 when his boss, Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi, decided that she did not want to head the government of the world's largest democracy after her election triumph.

Looming large over his birthday celebrations on Wednesday is another Gandhi - Sonia's son Rahul - who has borne the burden of expectation ever since his father Rajiv was assassinated in 1991.

Observers are watching to see whether Rahul, now 42, finally accepts Dr Singh's offer of a Cabinet berth in a major reshuffle expected soon, after a coalition ally pulled out of government last week.

Rahul, whose fumbling parliamentary performances have sparked big questions about his suitability for the premier's job, has never declared outright he wants to claim his inheritance and lead India.

But other young party leaders have not been allowed to take a prominent role in what analysts say is a move to ensure no-one outshines the Gandhi scion.

Since Independence, power in Congress has threaded from Rahul's great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first premier, to his grandmother Indira Gandhi, who was slain by Sikh bodyguards, and in tragedy-studded succession to his father Rajiv, who was blown up by a Tamil suicide bomber.

Congress party billboards drill home the message of succession - showing the elderly Dr Singh, beaming mother Sonia and in front, the fresh-faced Rahul.

Critics decry the need for continuation of the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty, seeing it as a sign of political immaturity and incompatible with India's superpower aspirations.

But Gandhi family biographer Rasheed Kidwai told AFP that "Rahul is very much in the frame to succeed" when Dr Singh calls time on his lengthy political career.

"It will all start unfolding three to six months before the (2014) elections when the prime minister will seek a mandate for generational change to hand things on," Mr Kidwai said.

FDI in retail: Mamata Banerjee's ministers to resign today, PM to address nation, trust vote likely

New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee's ministers will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh around 3 pm today to resign from his government over the new reforms he cleared last week. They will then head to Rashtrapati Bhawan where they will formally withdraw their letter of support to the ruling UPA coalition in which Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress was the second-largest ally. With his government reduced to a minority, the Prime Minister will most likely be asked by the country's President to seek a trust vote in Parliament.

This evening, the PM is expected to explain on television the economic measures for which he has staked his government. Even the opposition BJP concedes that he is likely to win his vote of confidence. The survival of the UPA depends on regional heavyweights Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, who provide external support to the government. So far, neither has indicated a change of heart, though Mr Yadav has warned that his party should not be taken for granted.

On Facebook last night, Ms Banerjee attacked the government for the notification it issued yesterday stating that its new policies for foreign investment in the retail sector are in effect. A week ago, Ms Banerjee said she would not accept either this or a hike in diesel prices and a cap on subsidised cooking gas for households. "Is it ethical, moral and democratic for a minority government to issue government order forcibly and hurriedly when massive protests against it are taking place across the country?" she posted on her Facebook page.

The relationship status for the UPA and Ms Banerjee has for long been "It's complicated" with the chief minister often challenging the policies the government wanted to champion. Last year, when the cabinet first cleared 51 per cent foreign direct investment for multi-brand retail, Ms Banerjee threatened to quit the government, and the policy was shelved, provoking international criticism, and a loss of both face and investor confidence. This time around, the Prime Minister was resolute about standing his ground.

So though Ms Banerjee gave the government 72 hours of notice, creating a window for negotiations, no concessions were offered. The fact that the new retail guidelines were notified hours after she said she was sticking to her schedule for exiting the UPA was a clear message that the coalition was resigned to a future without her.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, whose party is another key member of the UPA, refuted Ms Banerjee's accusations that she hadn't been consulted about the new economic measures. He said that he was present along with Ms Banerjee at a meeting of senior leaders of the coalition when Dr Singh discussed FDI in retail. "Nobody was happy to do this...not even the PM....but it was required," Mr Pawar said.

Sources say that to appease other crucial partners like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati, the government is likely to announce a 50 paise rollback in diesel prices, and increase the quota of subsidised cooking gas cylinders per household from six to nine, and that the decision was not shared yesterday to prevent opposition parties who called a massive nationwide strike from claiming credit for the concessions.

Meeting over Cauvery dispute fails; Tamil Nadu will move Supreme Court, says Jayalalithaa

New Delhi: The meeting to discuss the long-standing water-sharing dispute over the Cauvery river has ended without a solution. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, whose state has been involved in a protracted legal battle with neigbouring Karnataka over the contentious issue, today described the outcome of the meeting as "disappointing".

The meeting of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA), the first in nine years, was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - who also heads the group - as well as the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry. The session came after Ms Jayalalithaa demanded that a meeting of the CRA be convened to discuss the state's water problem while flagging the need for immediate release of water from the Cauvery to save standing crops. Karnataka, on the other hand, has refused to release water to Tamil Nadu, insisting on a new formula to share the water when monsoon fails.

Terming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's advice to Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water to her state as "unacceptable", Ms Jayalalithaa said "Tamil Nadiu is left with no option but to approach the Supreme Court...I have registered my protest against PM's award."

Tamil Nadu had earlier complained to the Supreme Court about non-convening of such a meeting prompting the top court to pull up officials of the Prime Minister's Office on September 3 for the inordinate delay. CRA, set up in 1997, met for the first time today after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power in 2004. The last meeting was held in February, 2003 when AB Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.

Karnataka has refused to release water to Tamil Nadu and other riparian states on a formula announced by Cauvery River Tribunal in 2007 citing failed monsoon.

The dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over sharing of Cauvery water dates back to 1990s.

(With inputs from PTI)

Prime Minister will make final attempt to change Trinamool's mind on Friday

New Delhi: The Prime Minister is likely to make a last attempt to persuade the Trinamool Congress to reconsider its decision of exiting the UPA government when its ministers come to resign. The TMC's six ministers are expected to resign on Friday.

At the same time, sources say, both the Congress and the government are standing fast on the reforms decisions taken last Friday that have now put the UPA government in a minority in Parliament, following the TMC pull-out.

The government also remains confident that it will manage the numbers and survive a trust vote if required in Parliament.

The sources said that both the PM and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi are unanimous in their decision to push through the reforms. Both the party and government are firm that there will be no rollback on foreign investment in retail as well as the hike in diesel prices and a cap on subsidised LPG cylinders for homes.

The party has already announced that the states ruled by it will increase the cap on subsidised cylinder from six to nine. Delhi has already done so for the poor.

About the reported secrecy around the Cabinet decision on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, the sources say that the decision was taken on September 14. The PM consulted Sonia, and allies Sharad Pawar and Farooq Abdullah. DMK's T R Baalu was also informed.

The government consciously decided not to circulate papers before the Cabinet meeting regarding FDI in retail. Most cabinet ministers were also in the dark about the consultations on FDI and that Cabinet would take it up soon.

A day before the Cabinet meeting, commerce minister Anand Sharma spoke to Mamata Banerjee but did not raise the issue of FDI in retail with her.





 

From: NDTV

FDI in multi-brand retail, aviation: PM introduces bold new policies

New Delhi: The Prime Minister has introduced the boldest reforms yet in his current term - foreign super-market chains can now enter India and foreign airlines can buy stake in Indian carriers. "The Cabinet took many decisions on Friday to bolster economic growth and make India a more attractive destination for foreign investment," tweeted Dr Manmohan Singh's office last evening. "I believe that these steps will help strengthen our growth process and generate employment in these difficult times."

Key ally Mamata Banerjee is reportedly furious and will decide on Tuesday whether to exit the ruling coalition - a threat issued by her party on Friday. "We cannot support price hike of diesel and reduction in subsidized LPG cylinders. On Friday, a decision has been taken allowing FDI in retail sector. It is a big jolt," Ms Banerjee said on her Facebook page, adding that she was prepared to take "hard steps" if the new policies are not reversed.


The government, though, made it clear that it will not be held hostage. Commerce Minister Anand Sharma pointed out that states have the right to reject the multi-brand reforms. "It is an enabling legislation," he said, adding that, "while we respect Mamata Banerjee's prerogative to implement or not implement...equally it is the prerogative of other states to have it." Late last year, the cabinet had allowed 51% Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in multi-brand retail, but suspended its plans after Ms Banerjee threatened to opt out of the Congress-led coalition at the Centre.

The new reforms, designed to revive a sluggish economy, means global firms such as Wal-Mart can set up shop with a local partner and sell directly to consumers for the first time. Like the Left and the BJP, Ms Banerjee has argued that the entry of international super-markets will put thousands of corner shops and farmers out of business.

The Cabinet on Friday also relaxed norms to allow international airlines to invest in domestic carriers, allowed more FDI in broadcasting services and announced disinvestment in four key profit-making public sector units (PSUs).

The dramatic announcements came a day after the government took the politically tough decision to hike the price of diesel by Rs. 5 per litre and also capped the supply of subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders to six per household. Faced with the threat of becoming the first in the BRIC (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) group of emerging economies to be downgraded to junk, the government now seems clear that economic imperatives far outweigh political expediency.

That signal has brought cheer to Industry and the markets, which surged on Friday in anticipation of reforms. The Sensex clocked the biggest one-day gain in 10 months. The BSE benchmark index closed at 18,464.27, up 443 points or 2.46 per cent - a 14-month high.

Foreign airlines can now own upto 49% in a domestic carrier, providing a much-needed source of funding for debt-laden airlines. Opening the sector to foreign airlines is likely to help passengers too with more competitive fares and world-class management and technology. 

Ailing Kingfisher Airlines, which was India's No. 2 local carrier a year ago but has since grounded most of its fleet, has lobbied hard for this move in hopes that it can attract a foreign airline investor, although none has publicly expressed interest. More successful players like IndiGo and Jet have expressed reservations in the past that allowing global players in will lead to cartelisation and takeovers of Indian carriers.

Budget carrier SpiceJet, the fourth-largest of India's six main airlines, said on Thursday it was in initial talks with several Gulf carriers and was waiting for the government to ease rules before it takes a final call.

With global airlines buffeted by the European debt crisis and high fuel costs, cash-rich and fast-growing Gulf carriers such as Dubai's Emirates, Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi's Etihad are seen as the most likely buyers of stakes in Indian carriers, analysts say.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Diesel price hiked by Rs. 5 per litre, allies demand rollback

New Delhi: The government raised the price of diesel by Rs. 5 per litre on Thursday, prompting angry responses from allies Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee, who have demanded a rollback. The price hike is aimed at reining in the fiscal deficit and staving off the threat of becoming the first in the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) group of emerging economies to be downgraded to junk.

The Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs headed by the Prime Minister left kerosene and petrol rates untouched. It also decided to restrict the supply of subsidised cooking gas to six cylinders per household in a year. The government says about 44 per cent of the total domestic LPG consumers, who consume 6 cylinders or less each year, will not be affected by this decision.

While prices of petrol have been deregulated, diesel is a partially deregulated product. In the past two years, diesel prices have been hiked twice.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said, "We want rollback. I am shocked. The matter is very serious and sensitive; we can't compromise with the people's issue. We will discuss in our party meeting and our plan of action."

"If people do not mind, I will be most happy to withdraw support (to the UPA). If I withdraw support then other parties will provide support to them. And, then ask why we left the UPA which led to its collapse. People had misunderstood us when we had withdrawn support earlier. Therefore, we are having a detailed discussion in the party on these issues," she added, announcing here party would hold a protest rally on Saturday.

The Trinamool's lone minister in the cabinet, Mukul Roy, is not attending a cabinet meeting today that's scheduled to discuss relaxation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms in airlines.

Another UPA ally, the DMK, too has said it opposes the hike. DMK chief M Karunanidhi wants UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to convene a meeting of the alliance's coordination committee. The UPA coordination committee was set up recently to help keep allies in loop on critical policy decisions.

The Samajwadi Party, which provides external support to the UPA, also said it wants an immediate rollback. "The decision is ill-timed and will hurt the common man," Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav told NDTV.

Even the Congress says  it was not in favour of such a steep hike. General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said, "We are not in favour of a hike in diesel prices to such an extent because it hurts the farmers and common man. At the same time, there are some unpleasant decisions that have to be taken by the government by taking an overall view of what is best for the country."

Reacting to the diesel hike, C Rangarajan, chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, said the government had taken the right decision, and that fiscal deficit had to be contained. He told a private TV channel that an increase in diesel prices in India should help avert a credit rating downgrade for the country.

The BJP has slammed the government and senior leader Yashwant Sinha warned of mayhem in the economy. "This is going to cause undue hardship. Prices are not under control. This will lead to overall inflation," he said. Prices, he said, could have been increased in small doses.

The Left parties too want a rollback. Gurudas Das Gupta of the CPI said, "I have never seen such a massive increase. It will stimulate inflation and aggravate the economic slowdown, which will cost jobs. We will protest in every way we can."

However, the price hike led to some respite for the oil companies. State-run oil marketing companies are losing Rs. 550 crore everyday on under-recoveries as a result of higher crude prices in the global markets. They make a loss of Rs. 17 per litre on diesel sales, Rs. 32.7 per litre on kerosene sales, and Rs. 347 per cylinder on cooking gas sales every day.

"Diesel accounts for 53 per cent of total subsidies. Oil companies are running a deficit of Rs. 6000 crore every month. We are committed to cutting petrol prices whenever possible. By reducing excise duty on petrol, we have brought down the gap between the prices between petrol and diesel. A narrow margin between petrol and diesel will be good for economy. If prices of petrol fall internationally, we will pass on the benefits," said RS Butola, Chairman of the Indian Oil Corporation.

"This is a very good decision, and will certainly help oil companies and reduce the burden on the government in terms of subsidies. The reduction in the excise duty on petrol is good for us," said Bharat Petroleum's Chairman RK Singh.

The government subsidises the prices of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene to dampen inflation and protect the poor, a popular policy that has put a severe strain on public finances.

The government has acknowledged earlier that a price hike is essential for curbing fiscal deficit, a pre-condition for reviving growth in Asia's third-largest economy. A price increase will also aggravate inflation, as costs, such as road freight rates, will rise.

(With inputs from agencies)

Coal scandal: Four coal blocks de-allocated, two assigned by NDA

New Delhi: Up against allegations that the government implemented a coal policy that provided windfall benefits to private players and cost  the country thousands of crores,  the Coal Ministry has decided  today to de-allocate four coal blocks given to companies who did not develop them within the deadlines  specified in their contracts.

The recommendation for revoking these coal permits was made by an inter-ministerial group (IMG) which is studying 58 companies, public and private, who have not made adequate progress and were sent notices in April. The IMG  met representatives of 29 private firms last week to hear their defense. Today's recommendations are the first offered by the IMG since it was set up in July. 

The companies whose coal blocks will be taken away include Castron Mining Limited, Fieldmining and Ispat Limited, and DOMCO Smokeless Fuels Pvt. Limited.

A company named Shri Virangana Steels Limited will lose a portion of the bank guarantee it provided when it filed its application.

Monnet Ispat and Energy Limite  has made substantial progress in the coal block it was given but did not provide a bank guarantee. It  will now have to submit an amount that  equal  to three years royalty within a month or lose it coal block.

Action against defaulters and under-achievers was promised by the government after a report by the national auditor said the government had lost upto 1.86 lakh crores because its coal allocation policy was not transparent. The auditor or CAG said coal fields should have been auctioned. The government responded that earlier laws did not allow for a competitive bidding process, and that the extensive process required to change policy would have hurt industrial development and the economy.

Its defense has been somewhat punctured by the fact that a long list of firms that got coal fields at a fraction of their true worth then failed to begin mining.  While the inter-ministerial group is looking at companies guilty of squatting, the CBI has begun filing cases against firms and their executives who misreported their finances and technical expertise to corner coal blocks.

The coal scandal paralysed the last session of parliament because of daily disruptions by the main opposition party, the BJP, which is demanding the PM's resignation over "coal-gate."

Govt may allow foreign airlines to invest in aviation sector

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has had to face some stinging criticism both at home and abroad for failing to push reforms that are crucial to revive a depressed economy, meets his ministers today to discuss norms to allow investment by foreign airlines in the aviation sector. This time the government hopes to get past its main hurdle, ally Trinamool Congress.

A Cabinet note - a copy of which has been accessed by NDTV - says that under the FDI proposal, foreign airlines will be allowed to invest in Indian peers, but can only hold up to a 49% stake. Although a 49 per cent stake gives the investors minority shareholder control, they will get the right to block a special resolution.

Current FDI norms allow foreign entities other than airlines to directly or indirectly own an equity stake of up to 49 per cent in Indian airlines.

The new proposal incorporates suggestions not just by the Aviation Ministry but also the Home Ministry, since this is a crucial sector with security implications.

The government, in its FDI in aviation proposal, has attempted to cover most areas of concern voiced by political parties. According to the Cabinet note, it is proposed that the chairman and two-thirds of the board of any domestic airline receiving FDI will need to be Indians, and substantial ownership and control will remain with Indian nationals.

Also, all foreign nationals participating in the venture will need security clearance. Equipment imports will have to be vetted by the aviation ministry.

Most of India’s airlines are bleeding and private airlines like Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher have been pushing for FDI to boost the sector. But even if the Cabinet does clear the proposal, it has to get the Trinamool Congress’ ok on it.

The Trinamool has said its one Cabinet minister Mukul Roy will not attend today’s meeting – the excuse this time is President Pranab Mukherjee’s first visit to Kolkata. Mr Roy was also absent at a yesterday's meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which was discussing, among other things, a hike in fuel prices.

Staying away from meetings is a classic indication of a Trinamool sulk, but the party usually follows it up with a letter seeking a deferment on the issue it is opposing. This time it has sent no such letter on FDI in aviation yet, and the government has its fingers crossed that it will not. It has also done its homework better this time and circulated its proposal among ministers yesterday.

The Cabinet note explains the rationale behind the move to allow foreign airlines to invest. The Indian aviation industry, it says, is steering through acute turbulence as most private airlines are in dire need of funds for operation. A denial of access to foreign capital could result in collapse of these airlines, and any airline’s closure could create a systemic risk for financial institutions, which have a large exposure to these companies.

The total FDI inflow in the aviation industry, the note says, stands at a mere $433.75 million (Rs 2,405.36 crore). FDI inflow into the aviation industry is a meager 0.25 per cent of the total FDI inflow.

A capital raise by these airlines is not easy as private equity funds are not keen to invest in the sector.

The Manmohan Singh government and the Prime Minister personally, have for some time now been facing severe criticism for allowing the economy to slide by not taking politically tough reform decisions.

Long feted for his pivotal role in liberalising the Indian economy, Dr Singh has recently received several less than flattering report cards from international publications like Time magazine and the Washington Post.

India has been downgraded by major overseas rating agencies and investment banks which have reiterated their concern about the “policy paralysis” afflicting the Indian government.

Back home a panicked Industry has been sending out SOS’ that the government must now place economic revival over coalition dynamics.

Ms Banerjee is the Congress’ most difficult ally; she has resisted most reform measures, arm-twisting the UPA government with the threat of exiting with her 19 crucial MPs in the Lok Sabha. Ms Banerjee is seen as having single-handedly given the UPA government its image of suffering a “policy paralysis”.

Analysts and overseas rating agencies have reiterated their concern about the policy paralysis afflicting the Indian government.

She has opposed FDI in various sectors like retail and aviation. She has forced the government to roll back fuel price hikes despite the deregulation of petrol. She has also stalled privatization of the pension sector.

Rahul Gandhi to visit troubled areas of Assam

New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi will visit the ethnic violence-hit areas of Assam on Tuesday.

During his one day programme, Mr Gandhi will go to the trouble-torn districts including Dhubri and Kokrajhar, where the violence between the local Bodos and Bangladeshi settlers has snowballed into a major crisis.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde have already visited the state.

During his visit, Mr Gandhi will also meet the victims taking refuge in some of the camps. More than 80 people have been killed in the violence.

There was also exodus of North-Easterners from states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra following rumours of backlash over the Assam violence.

Condemning as "unacceptable" and "painful" the incidents, Sonia Gandhi had in the recent Congress Parliamentary Party meeting pitched for "strictest possible action" against those who targeted people from the northeast.

"The strictest possible action must be taken against those who deliberately seek to divide us, incite and provoke people by their incendiary speeches and aggressive actions," she had said.

From: NDTV

Top cops from BJP-ruled states snubbed by Prime Minister?

New Delhi: Is the breakdown of relations between the ruling Congress and the BJP spilling into newer but volatile territory? In the recently concluded Annual Director General of Police (DGP) conference in Delhi, the customary special interaction between the Prime Minister and select top cops, none of the DGPs of BJP ruled states and several NDA ruled states were invited. After the address at the conference, the Prime Minister's meet with select officers is an old tradition. Usually the Prime Minister spends about 40 minutes with the DGPs. He is briefed by these DGPs on key concerns and an informal consensus is hammered out to deal with the issues.

Sources tell NDTV, that DGPs of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh  were invited for the special-interaction with Prime Minister. Those from Punjab and Odisha too were left out. This despite the fact that during the meet the Prime Minister mentioned the exodus of North-Easterners from Karnataka after the circulation of hate SMSes on clashes between the Bodos and Muslims in Assam.

During the conference, Dr Singh had launched a frontal attack on Maoist front organizations masquerading as Human Rights Groups and even pulled up Maoist affected states like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand for a poor police to population ratio and vacancies in the state police forces. "Left Wing Extremists affected States also need to improve the police-population ratio, strengthen police infrastructure and equip their police forces with better weapons," Dr Singh said when addressing the conference. On the issue of Islamic terror, the Prime Minister said "we are still in the process of developing capabilities to take pre-emptive action in respect of terrorist threats. Realignment of operational approaches, training of police personnel and more effective collaboration among States and between States and the Centre should form part of our overall strategy." However, regardless of these observations, DGPs from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand or Odissa weren't invited from the special interaction. Sources also tell NDTV that during the Special Interaction with the Prime Minister, Left Wing Extremism was one of the issues on the table. Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) K Vijay Kumar made a presentation on Maoist menace in the Special Interaction with the PM. And, although, over a dozen young men have been arrested from Bengaluru for being part of a terror module, Director General (DG) Karnataka was left out of the special interaction.

Interestingly, the DGP of Bihar, Abhaynand, did make it to the list for the special interaction. Though Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is in power thanks to the BJP's support, but the Congress has been making overtures to the JD(U) after Nitish Kumar went public against Narendra Modi's candidature for the Prime Minister's post in 2014. During the recent the past the PM, Congress  President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have heaped praise on Nistish Kumar - adding to the speculation that the Congress will like to wean away the JD(U) from the BJP. 

From: NDTV

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assets worth 10.73 crores, including Maruti 800

News: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assets worth Rs. 10.73 crore, double that of last year, but a number of his cabinet colleagues are much richer than him.

Among the richer cabinet ministers are Praful Patel with assets of approximately Rs. 52 crore and Sharad Pawar with property worth around Rs. 22 crore, according to the updated list of assets of the ministers posted on the PMO website.

Defence Minister A K Antony has assets worth Rs. 55 lakh, the lowest in the list of the cabinet Ministers.

Manmohan Singh has shown residential properties, bank deposits and a Maruti 800 car as his assets.

While the total worth of Manmohan Singh's two flats- in Chandigarh and Delhi- is Rs. 7.27 crore, he has bank deposits and investments worth Rs. 3.46 crore approximately in various State Bank of India (ASBI) accounts.

He has declared total assets of worth Rs. 10,73,88,730.81 (Rs. 10.73 crore approximately).

Last year, the Prime Minister had declared total assets worth Rs. 5.11 crore approximately. The flats owned by him in Chandigarh and Vasant Kunj in Delhi were then valued at a total of Rs. 1.78 crore and he owned 150.80 gm of gold jewellery worth Rs. 2.75 lakh.

Sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said though the assets with him have remained the same, the valuation has gone up as the assessment has been done by a government- approved valuator.

The depreciated value of his Maruti 800 car has been shown as Rs. 21,033. Singh also owns 150.80 grams of gold jewellery but its value has not been shown in his declaration of assets and liabilities.

Prime Minister Singh also owns a bank account in Dispur in Assam where he has a deposit of Rs. 6,515.78 only.


HRD Minister Kapil Sibal and his wife Promila have total assets of Rs. 45.33 crore, which includes 8.11 crore of his wife.

Of the Rs. 37.22 crore assets owned by Mr Sibal, he has at least 12 properties worth Rs. 29.35 crore and cash and bank deposits along with shares and debentures worth Rs. 2.82 crore, 3 kilograms of jewellery worth Rs. 35.33 lakh and loans and advances of Rs. 4.63 crore.

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has a house whose present worth is Rs. 50 Lakh, two flats worth Rs. 1.99 crore and Rs. 1.25 crore, agricultural land worth Rs. 19.76 Lakh, guest house worth Rs. 8.22 Lakh, land worth Rs. 1.11 Crore.

Mr Shinde also owns a Mitsubhishi tractor worth Rs. 1.90 lakh He owes a loan of Rs. 10 Lakh to one Raj Shroff.

His wife Ujjwala Shinde owns a flat worth Rs. 2.15 crore, two pieces of land worth Rs. 15.38 crore and Rs. 84 lakh. She also owes a loan of Rs. 27 Lakh to one Raj Shroff.

External Affairs minister S M Krishna has assets worth Rs. 1.89 crore, including immovable properties of Rs. 31.44 lakh.

He owns half share in a residential house at Bangalore and agriculture land in Mandya district and Somanahalli, besides owning a farm house at Somanahalli and a site at Viswapriya Greeneries, Begur. He owns a Sonata and a Lancer car.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram's total assets, including bank accounts and current assets, add up to Rs. 11.96 crore approximately.

Mr Chidambaram also has assets and liabilities as part of Hindu Undivided Family. His total assets as part of HUF are Rs. 94.04 lakh and liabilities worth Rs. 75.52 Lakh. Hence, his net assets here add up to Rs. 18.52 Lakh approximately.

His wife Nalini has immovable assets worth Rs. 4.82 crore and the total assets add upto Rs. 17.81 crore approx. Her liabilities are Rs. 1.22 lakh.

Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers M K Azhagiri has assets worth Rs. 9.50 crore.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh owns six agricultural lands in Durg (Chhattisgarh) and West Uttar Pradesh having a total worth of nearly Rs. 13 crore.

His land in Chhattisgarh is worth Rs. 5.64 crore. Rest of the pieces of land are in Aligarh, Ghaziabad and other nearby areas. He also owns three flats - two in Delhi and one in Gurgaon-worth Rs. 3.75 crore.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has assets worth over Rs. 56 lakhs.

Last year, his wife K R Jayashree had assets worth Rs. 14,79,148 which included bank balance, fixed deposits, jewellery, silverware and shares.

In the year 2011-12, Mr Ramesh's asset rose to over Rs. 4.16 crore after his mother declared him a nominee of her bank deposits worth over Rs. 3 crore due to the sale of the house of his parents in Bangalore in September 2011.

New And Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah has over Rs. 98 lakh deposited in bank accounts and has shares in ancestral properties in Jammu and Kashmir.

The value of some of the properties within the share and in possession of Mr Abdullah is over Rs. 2.25 crore. Mr Abdullah also earned over Rs. 26 lakhs from the sale of family land in Srinagar.

Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay and his wife Rekha Sahay have declared assets worth Rs. 70.74 lakh and Rs. 1.24 crore, respectively.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has total assets worth Rs. 6.65 crore, including Rs. 95.15 lakh of his wife Madhu.

While Mr Bansal has cash and bank deposits worth Rs. 62.4 lakh, he owns a share in agricultural land in Mehrauli, Delhi worth Rs. five lakh and half-share in a two kanal house in Chandigarh valued at Rs. five crore. He also owns a Maruti Esteem car and jewellery worth Rs. two lakh.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni has declared a flat in Delhi valued at nearly Rs. 3.5 crore in addition to jewellery worth Rs. 16 lakh and silver utensils worth over Rs. 11 lakh in addition to an Optra car. She has also mentioned a farmhouse owned by her husband in Gurgaon.

Railway Minister Mukul Roy has shown Rs. 6 lakh as total income in the Income Tax return and Rs. 5.08 lakh in his wife Krishna's name. He has declared Rs. 20.07 lakh in his name and Rs. 14.97 lakh in his wife's name as total movable assets for the last fiscal.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has total assets of Rs. 68.59 lakh, including land in Maharashtra worth Rs. 5.5 lakh and the remaining in cash and bank balances.

His wife Shameed Azad owns a house and land in Srinagar worth Rs. 55 lakh besides a residential flat in Delhi. She has bank deposits and jewellery worth Rs. 2.62 crore.

The net worth of Mr Azad and his family as on July 2012 is Rs. 3.42 crore along with a flat in Delhi which is not valued.

He has a total net worth of Rs. 2.22 crore in cash and deposits along with a flat in Delhi.

Law and Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has an agricultural land in the name of his family in Gautam Buddha Nagar of Uttar Pradesh worth over Rs. 1.30 crore.

While Mr Khurshid himself has cash worth Rs. 74.48 lakh, the combined cash holdings of his family - including bank deposits - stand at over Rs. 1.22 crore. He has a flat in Jamia Nagar, Delhi worth Rs. 5 lakh, his wife Louie owns two flats in Goa gifted by her father.

The Law Minister also owns an agricultural land worth Rs. 32 lakh in Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh and a barren, non-agricultural land worth over Rs. 10 lakh in the same place.

Besides a Mahindra jeep and a Toyota Innova, Mr Khurshid owns a "very old" imported car.

The total worth of immovable property owned by Minister of Urban Poverty Alleviation and Housing Kumari Selja is Rs. 12.25 crore approximately.

She owns agricultural and non-agricultural land as well as a residential house owned in partnership with others.

The Minister, who hails from Haryana, also has movable assets worth Rs. 9,91,101. She owns a Maruti Esteem car, jewellery (worth Rs. 8.61 lakh approximately) and bonds, shares and fixed deposits. Ms Selja's total net worth is Rs. 12.34 crore and the total tax and interest paid by her for 2011-12 is Rs. 12,04,661.

The net assets of Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath has been declared at Rs. 8.85 crore as on March 31 this year while his wife Alka Nath owns assets worth Rs. 4.48 crore approximately.

The figure though formidable may seem paltry in comparison to the over Rs. 200 crore declaration made by Mr Nath an year earlier. As per the previous year's declarations, Mr Nath was the richest of all Cabinet Ministers.

Mr Nath has also explained the reduction of figures in his declaration.

"In the previous year's declaration, the assets of Shri Nakul Nath, Shri Bakul Nath & Smt Simran Nath were shown.

Since they are not dependent family members, it is not required to include their assets. They have therefore, been excluded this year," Mr Nath's declaration said.

The declaration also said the assets of a private trust for the benefit of Nakul Nath and Bakul Nath, who are non-dependent family members, had also been excluded this year.

From: NDTV

Coal scandal: Inter-Ministerial Group's review concludes, report to be submitted today

New Delhi: The Inter-Ministerial Group or the IMG is likely to submit its report to the coal ministry today. The panel has reviewed the progress of coal blocks that were allocated to private firms without auction. Many of these private companies have alleged links to politicians and their relatives. The Coal Ministry is also preparing a response to counter the charges that were made by the national auditor in its report on the coal allocations, say sources.

"All the coal blocks on agenda for three days (September 6-8) have been reviewed," Zohra Chatterji, Additional Secretary in the Coal Ministry who headed the IMG, said on Saturday.

After submitting the report to the Coal Ministry on Monday, it will be forwarded to the Prime Minister's Office before September 15.

The IMG meeting took place in the backdrop of Comptroller and Auditor General or the CAG estimating undue advantage to private companies to the extent of Rs. 1.86 lakh crore in the absence of auction.

Most of the Monsoon Session of Parliament was washed out with the Opposition, mainly Bharatiya Janata Party, demanding resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the issue. He had held the coal portfolio during UPA-1 when most of these blocks were allocated.

During the three-day IMG meeting, all the 29 allottees gave progress reports of their blocks and several of them said delays in starting the production resulted due to lack of various clearances from different state governments.

Coal block allottees, including Tata Steel, Reliance Power, JSW, Grasim Industries, Kesoram Industries, IST Steel & Power, SKS Ispat and Power, Bihar Sponge Iron, appeared before the panel during IMG's three-day review exercise.

Before the start of the review exercise, the Coal Ministry had said on September 3 that the latest progress as reported by the Coal Controller would also be taken into account by the IMG "before recommending on the action against the coal block allottees".

The IMG has also firmed up the guidelines for proportionate deduction of bank guarantees for failure to achieve milestones for development of the block, it said.

After its presentation on Saturday, IST Steel & Power, in which former Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta's son Gaurav Gupta is a Director, said it did not know why a show- cause notice was sent to it as its coal block in Chhattisgarh is progressing on schedule.

SKS Ispat and Power, in which Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai's brother held the position of "honorary director", also presented its case before the IMG.

Bhushan Steel & Power, which had been allotted Bijahan coal mine in Odisha, said it has already conveyed to the Ministry that the end-use plant for which it was allotted mine in 2006 is already under operation.

"The end use plant is already is completed and we have invested Rs. 22,000 crore in the integrated steel and power plant and we have covered all the major milestone like land acquisition, mining plan approved," an official of Bhushan Steel & Power said.

Another official with Himachal Emta Power Ltd which was allotted Gourangdih ABC coal block along with JSW Steel said due to some technical problem in the block, the company had to revise the mining plan of the block.

An official of the Mukund Steel which was allotted Rajhara North (Central & Eastern) block said there was no delay from the company's side.

(With inputs from PTI)

Prime Minister blames BJP for 'wasted session of Parliament'; BJP hits back

New Delhi: After a washed out monsoon session of Parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh slammed the BJP today accusing it of "negating democracy" by not allowing either House to function over the coal block allocation issue.

The BJP hit back to say that the UPA government was "committed to kleptocracy" and that loss of a "few crores" because of adjournments would be more than recovered if coal block licences were cancelled and allotted anew. As has happened every day for two weeks, both Houses were adjourned today, this time till the winter session, without transacting business.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a strongly-worded, written message to the nation, tore into the opposition for a "wasted session of Parliament". The statement said that the opposition had made a "mockery of parliamentary democracy" and instead of debating the issues brought up by the national auditor's report pointing to a scam in coal block allocations, "leaders of the opposition saw fit to demand my resignation".

The PM's statement also blamed the opposition for "disabl(ing) the voice of the public" and forcing them to "listen only to the voices in the street, which is not the place for reasoned discourse". He urged "all right minded Indians to stand up... against the forces of anarchy and disruption to secure the foundations of (democracy)..."

Till the very end of the session, the BJP was adamant that the PM resign over the coal scam. It also wants all allocations of coal blocks that the national auditor alleges were made in a non-transparent manner be scrapped. The auditor has alleged a R 1.86 crore loss to the nation because of these allocations made to several private firms, with links to politicians.

The Congress has said a flat no to both demands. The PM said outside Parliament this afternoon, "We have great respect for the institution of the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) but we must be ready to debate the findings in the PAC (Public Accounts Committee) on the floor of the House. The Opposition chose not to take advantage of the standard practices in Parliamentary democracy. This is (a) negation of democracy."

In the written address, he added, "I assure all of you that the issues raised in the CAG report are not being swept under the carpet. They will be discussed in Parliament as they should be. Whatever corrective action is necessary will be taken."

The BJP chose the last day of the session to announce that the political formation it leads, the NDA, will now take its protest on the coal issue to the streets.

Party leader Arun Jaitley said, "The UPA is a regime committed to kleptocracy - what we have started in this session will be taken to the people till we are able to restore fairness and some degree of accountability." Minutes before that, his colleague Sushma Swaraj announced that top leaders of the BJP would meet on September 11 to strategise how to take the coal issue to every village.

Justifying the means to an end, she said, "When Parliament ends this way, there is criticism - we are told that there is a loss since the Parliament wasn't allowed to function. In 2G this was the case, but when we look back, licences sold for Rs. 1600 crore is now being sold for a base price that will fetch the exchequer Rs. 1.26 lakh crore. So by losing Rs. 10-20 crore from loss of Parliament proceeding, if we can build pressure on the government, then that is acceptable."

If the Winter Session of Parliament last December, with the 2G logjam and the war over the Lokpal Bill, is one of the worst that the country had seen, this Monsoon Session gives it a tough fight. In the words of Vice President Hamid Ansari: "This session is likely to be remembered for work not done."

Of the 31 bills listed, only six were passed. For much of the session, MPs came to both Houses, shouted, even assaulted each other, took their daily allowances and went home. It is estimated that the repeated adjournments that washed out the Monsoon Session have cost the taxpayer Rs. 10 crore for the two weeks they lasted. Then there was the sight of the BSP's Avtar Singh and SP's Naresh Aggarwal pushing and pummelling each other in the Upper House.  The fight went on in the presence of the Prime Minister and happened as the government was introducing in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, a bill to allow reservation in promotions for SC/ST public sector employees; that too has landed in cold storage.

Sonia Gandhi writes to PM: Stop ostentatious functions at memorials

New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking the government to stop ostentatious displays and cause minimum inconvenience to the public for the functions that are organised every year at Delhi's many samadhis, or memorials, for leaders. She wants these displays to be drastically reduced.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has begun to action Mrs Gandhi's request and will start taking steps to reduce the number of functions held at these memorials. The letter was sent a few days after former prime minister and Mrs Gandhi's husband Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary on August 20 and before Mrs Gandhi went abroad for medical treatment.

The government at present organises six functions to mark birth and death anniversaries at the memorials of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Another 10 are organised by various trusts and the government facilitates these functions.

There was much criticism of the government's spending on advertisements by ministries and departments to mark Rajiv Gandhi's anniversary this year. Mrs Gandhi's letter, however, does not mention ads.

Last month, an NGO, Foundation for Restoration of National Pride, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court, asking it to stop the government from "eulogising" and "glorifying" its achievements using public money. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the petition, along with one which objects to the government spending crores on birth and death anniversaries of leaders.

In May, a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by NDTV established that the Central government has spent Rs. 58 crore on ads in the last three years. Rs. 15 crore were spent on ads honouring Mahatma Gandhi; another Rs. 12 crore were used for ads in honour of BR Ambedkar.

Ads on the Gandhi family (Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi) added up to roughly Rs. 22 crore, and that did not include the campaign involving Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary.

The RTI also reveals that state governments are equally generous with their advertising expenditure - Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Uttarakhand are the big spenders. In Andhra Pradesh, Rs. 8 crore have been spent in three years on ads for former chief minister YSR Reddy who died in a helicopter crash in 2009.

The slowing economy has put the government in austerity mode. As part of its attempts to check expenses, five-star hotels are off-limits for seminars and official lunches and foreign travel by officials is being restricted.

From: NDTV

Now The Washington Post calls PM Manmohan Singh a 'tragic figure'

New Delhi: Not many days after Time magazine called him an underachiever, another widely respected publication has been critical of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA, saying his image is one of a "dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government".

This time it is American daily The Washington Post that has critiqued Dr Singh's performance as India's Prime Minister and served a less than flattering report card. The New Delhi-datelined article titled, "India's 'silent' prime minister becomes a tragic figure," credits Dr Singh with once being the major force behind the growing closeness between the US and says his friendship with the Obama administration is "a valued and publicised achievement".

The Post has denied that it has apologised for the story to the Prime Minister's Office and also that it failed to take the PM's version of the story. The reporter has tweeted that he had asked for an interview and his request was declined. He also tweeted that "no threats were issues from their (PMO) side, no apology offered from mine". Some Congress workers had earlier demanded an apology from the daily.

It quotes critics to say that the PM - who it describes as "a shy, soft-spoken 79-year-old" - is in danger of going down in history as a "failure". "He has become a tragic figure in our history," the Post quotes historian Ramchandra Guha, also the author of "India after Gandhi", as saying.

Mr Guha is quoted as describing Dr Singh as "fatally handicapped by his timidity, complacency and intellectual dishonesty".

The BJP used the opportunity to criticise the Prime Minister. "This is absolutely right, everyone knows that he is a corrupt leader. But this throne of corruption is now fluctuating. He had a very good image of an economist and an honest leader, it was not expected that his image would demolish like this. Even we didn't expect this. Everything was going under his nose and he was mum," said BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Mr Naqvi also said that the Congress party has become the multi-national company of corruption.

Last month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has long been lauded for his pivotal role in liberalising the Indian economy, was dubbed as an "underachiever" by Time magazine in its Asia edition. In an article titled 'A Man in Shadow', the magazine said he appears "unwilling to stick his neck out" on reforms that will put the country back on growth path. The Opposition BJP had latched on to that story, saying that Time had reiterated what it had been saying all along. The Congress had to put its best ministers and spokespersons up to defend the PM at that time.

UK daily the Independent too had carried a critique of the Prime Minister calling him, as Time magazine suggested, 'the underachiever'.

And in June this year, global rating agency Standard and Poor's was critical of the Prime Minister as well. Its report said, "Moreover, paramount political power rests with the leader of the Congress, Sonia Gandhi, who holds no Cabinet position, while the government is led by an unelected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who lacks a political base of his own."

The Prime Minister has for some time now been facing severe criticism for allowing the economy to slide by not taking politically tough reform decisions. Many allegations of corruption and scams in the government have not helped his cause either. The latest is the coal allocation issue; the national auditor or CAG has alleged that private firms were shown undue favours, allowing them windfall gains of Rs. 1.86 lakh crore.  Two Congress MPs, one of them a minister in the Union cabinet, are already facing public and political indictment and one of them has been booked by the CBI.

The Opposition BJP has not allowed Parliament to function at all in the current Monsoon Session, demanding the PM's resignation, since he was the coal minister at the time the national auditor alleges the scam happened.

From: NDTV

A Ferrari crash leaves Chinese playboy dead

Beijing: China's hopes for a smooth, once-a-decade political transition have been shaken by a lurid new scandal involving the death of a senior official's son who crashed during what may have been sex games in a speeding Ferrari.

Details of the March accident in Beijing, which allegedly also injured two young women, have stayed under wraps in China but are leaking out via media in Hong Kong. The media blackout underscores official fears that the public will be outraged by another instance of excess and recklessness among China's power elites.

The embarrassing new wrinkle follows the murder trial last month of a top leader's wife who poisoned her British business associate last year. Both scandals have become bargaining chips in the jockeying for power ahead of a major leadership reshuffle this fall.

The South China Morning Post on Monday cited an unnamed official in Beijing as confirming that Ling Gu, the son of a loyal aide to President Hu Jintao, was the person killed in a March 18 Ferrari accident which initially garnered only minimal coverage in China's state media.

The report said Ling was half-naked when the crash occurred and his two passengers were naked or half-dressed, suggesting they had been involved in some kind of high-speed sex game.

Several other news outlets later cited additional unnamed officials as corroborating details. However, efforts to get officials to publicly confirm the report were unsuccessful. Faxed requests for information to the Public Security Bureau and China's Cabinet were not immediately answered.

The Post's story came just days after the Chinese government announced Ling Gu's father had been transferred to a new position, a move that analysts say ended his ambitions for a post in the upper ranks of the top leadership. Observers said the shift appeared linked to his son's scandalous death.

On Saturday, Ling Jihua was named as the new head of the United Front Work Department and his old job as director of the general office of the Communist Party's central committee was given to Li Zhanshu - thought to be a close ally of Xi Jinping, the man tapped to the China's next president.

As head of the executive office, Li will be responsible for personnel arrangements for the party's top leaders. A comparable position in U.S. politics is the president's chief of staff.

The appointment of Li ahead of a party congress, which should happen in the coming weeks or months, shows Xi is already gaining power. Such personnel changes usually occur during or after the party congress.

China politics expert Bo Zhiyue of the National University of Singapore called the personnel change "a very important signal that a power transition is taking place."

In Communist Party politics, the outgoing leader - who has built a support base while in office - typically attempts to retain power after leaving office, a check on the new administration.

Bo said he thought the shift was being accelerated, creating an arrangement "more in favor of the new leadership than the old one."

Joseph Cheng, a professor political science at the City University of Hong Kong, said that although Ling's new post was not a "serious demotion," it clearly removes him from the center of power.

China's political process is opaque, with jockeying for power happening behind closed doors, so it's difficult to say how big a role the Ferrari crash had in sidelining Ling though most analysts agree it played a part.

"This Ferrari accident certainly caused (Ling's) stepping down," Cheng said. "This means that instead of going further up, he has to go to the second line."

Some feel though that the scandal could be limited to Ling himself and has not significantly eroded Hu's power or tarnished his reputation.

Yang Dali, a political science professor at the University of Chicago, said Ling's departure reflects well on Hu by showing he is "very scrupulous in disciplining his own people" and "willing to penalize his own underlings."

Earlier this year, another top leader, Bo Xilai was ousted as the party chief of the megacity of Chongqing after his wife was declared a suspect in the murder of a British citizen.

Although Bo was a member of the party's 25-member Politburo, which is just below the nine-member Standing Committee in power, he had alienated other leaders with a high-profile crackdown on corruption that even by China's standards trampled on civil liberties. Many observers believe Bo's wife's criminal case was used by his opponents as an opportunity to purge him.

Regardless of the resulting power shifts, it's clear that the government is very anxious about how the public will respond to another case of elites behaving badly and has imposed a strict ban on news and Internet posts related to the Ferrari crash. Such incidents have increasingly sparked public outrage in China.

"There's no doubt the authorities have been very concerned about the revolt, the backlash against the flaunting of privileges, whether its cars or expensive watches, those trappings of power and corruption," said Yang.

He said authorities are very careful to control the spread of such information so it "doesn't stimulate more public anger against the elites."

Cheng noted that few Chinese know about the Ferrari accident and that, if they did, they might see at as too removed from their lives to worry about.

"If there's a Ferrari (crash) case with naked girls in Beijing, well, this is juicy stuff. You get cynical, you feel resentment but you don't do much. You don't protest because it's too far away." 

From: NDTV

Government to introduce reservation in promotions for SC/STs in Rajya Sabha today; Mulayam's party opposed

New Delhi: The government plans to introduce in the Rajya Sabha today, a bill to allow reservation in promotions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobs. The Union Cabinet cleared a proposal on Tuesday that seeks to amend four key articles of the Constitution to make that possible.

Amending the Constitution became necessary after the Supreme Court struck down in April this year, a decision made by Mayawati when she was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, to provide reservation for SC/STs in promotion to higher posts in government departments. At an all-party meeting in August, most political formations supported quota in reservations. But Attorney General GE Vahanvati has warned the government that any law on the reservations issue should be framed with extreme caution because it is likely to be legally challenged.

The Prime Minister has said that a legally sustainable solution will be found. For now, the Congress-led UPA government has to ensure that Parliament sits long enough for the bill to be taken up. With only three days left of the current monsoon session, it has requested the main opposition party, the BJP, to help pass the Bill; the BJP has not allowed either House to function for the last 10 days demanding the Prime Minister's resignation in connection with a coal scandal and has made it clear that it will not relent till its demands are met. But the party supports the reservation-in-promotions bill and it remains to be seen if that will make it agree to let Parliament function so that it can be passed. Top BJP leaders met on Tuesday evening to discuss the matter and the party has decided to continue its protest in Parliament over the coal scam.

The bill will need the support of a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament as it seeks to amend the Constitution. It entails a vote and the House has to be in order. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has said the government is determined to pass it. If it does manage to get Parliament to function and pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha today, it plans to bring it in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which provides outside support to the UPA government and has bailed it out of sticky positions many times, has said it will oppose it this once. The SP was the lone dissenter at the all-party meeting in August. The SP wants all quota benefits to be extended to other backward classes (OBCs). "This stand of the cabinet is wrong. The Samajwadi Party is against this and we will continue to protest," senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said yesterday.

Mayawati, who heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, is now making focused efforts to get political parties to cooperate and allow a discussion and vote on the bill. She has met BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley to seek their support. Ms Mayawati said on Tuesday, "We want to request for a voting on the bill in this session and request NDA to help us in this. We want UPA also to appeal to NDA to help us pass this bill."

When it quashed the Mayawati decision, the Supreme Court had questioned this criterion for promotion, saying the government needed to quantify that Dalits and backwards were insufficiently represented in the public services and therefore needed this quota. The court had said that three aspects needed to be looked into for reservations in promotions: backwardness, representation and overall administrative efficiency.

Though the amendments are aimed at legally combating any challenge, the bill might still run into rough weather in the courts. Constitutional expert PP Rao said that if the government brings in amendment without "curing the defects" pointed out by the Supreme Court then it may not stand legal scrutiny.

From: NDTV

Union Cabinet approves quota for SC/STs in promotions in govt jobs

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday cleared a proposal that would allow it to provide reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotion in state jobs.

The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the proposal for making provisions for quotas for SC/STs in promotions in government jobs.
The Cabinet nod clears the decks for introduction of a Constitution Amendment Bill in the ongoing session of Parliament, which has been a long-standing demand of all parties, barring the Samajwati Party.

An all-party meeting, convened by the Prime Minister on August 21, had discussed the issue of reservation in promotion specifically in the wake of the decision of the Supreme Court striking down reservation in promotion to SCs and STs in Uttar Pradesh.

Most political parties had favoured a legally sustainable legislation in the backdrop of the Supreme Court order.

The proposed bill seeks to amend at least four articles of the Constitution to enable the government to provide quota in promotions to SC/STs.

BSP leader Mayawati had raised the issue in Parliament after the Supreme Court had on April 28 struck down her government's decision in this regard.


Parliament had witnessed disruptions on the issue in the current as well as the previous session.

Morgan Stanley lowers India's growth forecast to 5.1 per cent

New Delhi: Government tried on Monday to defuse a political crisis over sweetheart coal deals that has deepened a perception of dysfunction in the world's biggest democracy and derailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's efforts to win back investors.

In a shock forecast, Morgan Stanley warned there was a "very high risk" that growth in Asia's third-largest economy could slow to just 4.3 per cent in the 2013 fiscal year unless the government took urgent steps to cut the fiscal deficit and encourage private investment.

Dr Singh's government has struggled to defend itself against allegations that it awarded coalfields potentially worth billions of dollars to private and state power, cement and steel companies in a process that was corrupt at worst and lacked transparency or any element of competition at best.

Under pressure from the prime minister's office, a government committee met on Monday to speed up the review of 58 coalfields whose owners have already been issued notices for missing deadlines to get them operational. The coal ministry has until September 15 to decide whether to cancel the licences.

Among those that face possible cancellation of coal mining licences are billionaire Lakshmi Mittal's ArcelorMittal, GVK Power and Infrastructure, India's top aluminium producer Hindalco Industries Ltd - part of the Aditya Birla Group - and Tata Power.

The furore, dubbed "coal-gate" by media, has drowned out Dr Singh's efforts to show that his coalition government is serious about implementing reforms. For months it has been under fire for dithering while the economy suffers from the impact of the eurozone debt crisis and sluggish U.S. growth.

Morgan Stanley cut its growth forecast for India to 5.1 per cent on Monday for the 2012/13 fiscal year. It had previously projected the economy would grow at 5.8 per cent in the year ending next March. But in its "bear case" scenario, growth could tumble to 4.3 per cent if policy inaction persisted, it said.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which will challenge Dr Singh's ruling Congress party in elections due by 2014, has seized on a state auditor's report that questioned licenses granted for 142 coalfields between 2004 and 2009.

The concessions were awarded by a government committee without competitive bidding. The auditor said it was not clear from the minutes of the committee's meetings how it arrived at decisions on coalfields that could be worth billions of dollars.

The BJP has all but paralysed Parliament for two weeks, using the report to blacken the government, which has been buffeted by corruption scandals, most notably a $39 billion telecoms licences scam that saw a former minister arrested.

BJP wants to keep corruption centre-stage

Crowding around the speaker's seat in Parliament, BJP members chanted "prime minister submit your resignation". Amid the din, the Congress party and its allies managed to pass three bills.

The BJP, which has struggled to capitalise on infighting within the Congress-led coalition, wants to keep alive an issue it believes resonates strongly with voters, political commentator Vinod Mehta said.

"They feel it is striking a chord. They are trying to keep the corruption issue at the centre of political discourse."

Dr Singh has denied any wrongdoing and pointed out that it was his government that proposed competitive bidding, but the softly spoken prime minister's rebuttal has been overshadowed by daily images of Parliamentary chaos on cable television news channels.

It has been left to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who normally keeps a low profile, to take the fight to the opposition. She has surprised observers with her unusually aggressive response to the BJP's corruption charges.

With the monsoon session of Parliament due to end on Friday, there was no sign of an end to the deadlock.

The BJP has signalled that it might be willing to drop its demand for Dr Singh to quit if the government cancels coal licenses and agrees to an independent inquiry. But the government has dismissed the demand, saying a Central Bureau of Investigation probe was already under way.

From: NDTV

Coal scandal: Ministers' panel to review status of 58 coal blocks today

New Delhi: An Inter-Ministerial Group is likely to meet today to review the status of 58 coal blocks which both public and private firms failed to develop within a stipulated time-frame.

These companies were sent show cause notices in April. And in its meeting today, the panel will deliberate on the replies. The panel may, sources say, in the next few weeks recommend that a slew of licences be revoked for non-performance. This panel's recommendations are not binding upon the Coal Ministry. But the Prime Minister's Office appears keen for action against defaulters.

Two companies that could be affected, according to documents accessed by NDTV, are Jindal Steel and Power Limited, owned by Congress parliamentarian Navin Jindal, and Usha Martin, owned by the Jhawar family. They were each assigned coal blocks in Jharkhand.

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has asked for a status report on the coal blocks by September 15. However, sources within the Coal Ministry have clarified that the blocks, barring a few, are different from those mentioned in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The CAG had in its recent report tabled in Parliament stated that undue benefits to the tune of Rs. 1.86 lakh crore were extended to private firms on account of allocation of 57 mines to them. The Inter-Ministerial Group may recommend cancellation of such blocks, which did not comply to the development norms.

The ministerial review committee, on July 25 recommended to the Coal Ministry that the licences of these firms be cancelled. Nearly a month later, on August 21, Coal Secretary SK Srivastava asked why a recommendation for action was being made at a time when guidelines for revoking licences have not yet been formalised. On August 23, the head of the ministerial committee, Zohra Chatterji, who is also the Additional Coal Secretary, responded that the existing terms for licences allow for cancellation if a company does not show satisfactory progress in developing mines. Ms Chatterji also pointedly said that it was upto the Coal Ministry to accept or ignore recommendations.

Four days later, the Coal Secretary seemed to take a U-turn and stressed in a letter dated August 27 that the Prime Minister's Office had expressed concern over "not initiating action in the respect of de-allocation where show cause notices have been issued." He also wrote that the PMO had asked the ministry to expedite all matters on a priority basis.

The Coal Secretary is unhappy that the inter-ministerial panel did not give the companies concerned an opportunity to defend themselves, sources said. Mr Srivastava raised a similar point with Ms Chatterji in similar correspondence. She responded by saying in a note that a detailed report of the companies' responses to their show cause notices has not been readied because the concerned department within the Coal Ministry is "overburdened with work related to a CBI inquiry".

However, officials from the concerned companies said this is not a valid reason for recommending de-allocation. They said they had replied to the show cause notice that was sent to them in April by the government but their answers had not been taken into account by the committee that had recommended the cancellation of licences.

The ministerial panel's recommendations to revoke licences will boost the Opposition BJP which has faulted the government for a coal policy that was not in the best interests of the country. It is the last week of the Monsoon Session, but the BJP has made it impossible for Parliament to transact any business. Parliament has been paralysed because of noisy disruptions by the BJP demanding the PM's resignation. On Friday, the PM said there was no question of him quitting. He accused the BJP of violating democratic processes by not allowing Parliament to function.