Cancer of Corruption!India says contours of Kashmir solution in sight!Govt announces probe into 2G spectrum allocation since 2001.SC for special courts to try scams like 2G spectrum allocation!CVC launches website to expose corruption!54% Indians paid bribe last year: study
2G scam: Spectrum allocation broke powerful cartel, says Ratan Tata
Corruption has become way of life: Apex Court judge
Karunanidhi blackmailing Congress: Jayalalithaa
FM cautions against volatility in FII flows, Europe crisis
''Over 5 lakh gas tragedy victims left out of compensation''
Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - FIVE Hundred Thirty Seven
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com/
India says contours of Kashmir solution in sight
Reuters - 2 hours agoNEW DELHI Dec 9 (Reuters) - India's home minister said on Thursday the contours of a political solution to the "Kashmir problem" were likely to emerge in the next few months, a government statement said. The Himalayan region has been roiled by months ...
Contours of political solution to Kashmir problem soon: Chidambaram
Daily News & Analysis - 2 hours agoPlace: New Delhi | Agency: PTI Union home minister P Chidambaram today said contours of a political solution to the Kashmir problem were expected to emerge in the next few months. He said this while addressing a meeting in New Delhi of the ...
Contours of Kashmir solution in sight: Government
Economic Times - 2 hours agoNEW DELHI: Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday the contours of a political solution to the "Kashmir problem" were likely to emerge in the next few months, a government statement said. The Himalayan region has been roiled by months of streets ...
Q+A: What are the issues in troubled Kashmir?
Reuters - Sheikh Mushtaq - 25 minutes agoSRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - India's government said on Thursday the contours of a political solution to violent protests against Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region were likely to emerge in the next few months. ...
Visible presence of security forces in J&K needs to be reduced: HM
All India Radio - 1 hour agoThe government says contours of a political solution to the Kashmir problem are likely to emerge in the next few months. Addressing a Parliamentary Consultative Committee, Home Minister P Chidambaram said that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has ...
India This Evening: Government Says Solution to Ending Kashmir Protests in Sight
Wall Street Journal (blog) - 1 hour agoBy WSJ Staff Here is a roundup of news from Indian newspapers, news wires and Web sites on Thursday, December 9, 2010. The Wall Street Journal has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Government Says Solution to Ending ...
:. 'Political solution' to Kashmir issue in few months: India
Kashmir Watch - 1 hour agoSrinagar: Asserting that Kashmir was a political issue, Home Minister P Chidambaram Thursday announced that the contours of a 'political solution' to the problem were likely to emerge in next few months. "Kashmir issue is a political issue for which a ...
All 9 related articles »
To form 1-man panel to probe licence, spectrum issue: SibalMoneycontrol.com - 2 hours agoTelecom Minister, Kapil Sibal said, the government would set up a one-man committee to examine issue of telecom licences and allocation of spectrum between 2001 and 2009. The committe will be headed by retired Supreme Court judge S Patil will be given ... Hardware and manufacturing segment to be strengthened: SibalSify - 20 minutes agoUnion Minister for Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal on Thursday called upon all stakeholders to work towards strengthening the hardware and manufacturing segment of the Telecom sector. "Telecom as the service industry alone cannot ... India to widen telco probe as top mogul backs govermentReuters - C.J. Kuncheria, Alistair Scrutton - 23 minutes agoNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Thursday widened a probe into the country's biggest corruption case to include decisions made during the main opposition party's rule, a move that may take steam out of a campaign ...
India names ex-judge to probe telecom scamAFP - Penny MacRae - 53 minutes agoNEW DELHI — India said on Thursday it plans to appoint a retired Supreme Court judge to probe a mobile phone licensing and airwaves scandal that threatens to become the country's biggest-ever corruption case. The decision to appoint former Justice ... UPDATE 1-India to set up one-man committee for telco probeReuters - Jui Chakravorty - 2 hours agoNEW DELHI, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The Indian government will set up a one-man committee of a former Supreme Court judge to examine the allocation of telecom licences and spectrum, some of which were granted at rock bottom prices, in one of the biggest ... One-man panel to examine norms to allocate airwaves: SibalSify - 2 hours agoNew Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) Communication Minister Kapil Sibal Thursday said his ministry will set up a one-man committee to examine how appropriate the current norms are to allocate airwaves to telecom players as the issue has become a matter of hot ... Ex-SC judge to probe 2G issue from 2001, says SibalHindustan Times - 3 hours agoRetired Supreme Court judge S Patil will examine how 2G spectrum was allocated to telecom companies from 2001, telecom minister Kapil Sibal announced on Thursday. The committee will have wide terms of reference and will examine if there was lack of ... One-man panel headed by retired SC judge to probe 2G spectrum issueNetIndian - 41 minutes agoAmid the disruption of Parliament for the last 20 days by the Opposition to press its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the alleged irregularties in the allocation of 2G spectrum, the Government today appointed a one-man panel ... Telecom shouldn't be seen as revenue earner: SibalThe Hindu - 3 hours agoPTI Amid debate over whether spectrum should be auctioned or not, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal today said that the sector should not be viewed as a source of revenue for the finance ministry as high cost of radio waves may prohibit the telcos from ... One-man panel to probe telecom licenses from 2001-09GovernanceNow - 1 hour agoA day after the supreme court favoured the probe into 2G scam covering the time since 2001, the... Breaking News: Vir Sanghvi's column to make a comeback in HT tomorrow. To be renamed "... The government is deliberating the formulation of a ... All 33 related articles » | RelatedKapil SibalFrequency allocation 2G spectrum Bharatiya Janata Party 2G scam Telecom and Media Timeline of articlesNumber of sources covering this story
VideosGovt orders 2G probe from 2001NewsX - 55 minutes ago Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yycwqvdjzaY/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yycwqvdjzaY">Govt orders 2G probe from 2001</a> <span class="source">NewsX</span> - 55 minutes ago <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yycwqvdjzaY">Watch video</a></div> All related videos » |
News Results for global corruption barometer
54% Indians paid bribe last year: study 2010-12-09 19:15:31.0 ... global corruption barometer , a worldwide public opinion survey on corruption , TI said it |
Dirty money: Will politicians bite the bullet? 2010-11-25 02:32:52.0 ... global Financial Integrity. Lack of transparency and low public accountability in the governance system facilitated the looting of public |
India, Pakistan in Top 20 of global bribery list 2007-12-06 22:11:04.0 ... global corruption barometer released by the anti- corruption watchdog Transparency Interna |
In a unique move, the Central Vigilance Commission has launched an exclusive website for people to upload videos, audios and lodge complaints exposing acts of corruption in government departments.
According to an anti-corruption watchdog official, Vig-Eye (an acronym for vigilance eye), provides a more user-friendly platform for interface between the CVC and the citizens who may have suffered at the hands of corrupt officials and who want to disclose information about such illegal activities.
One person in four worldwide paid bribe during the past year while 54 per cent Indians say they greased the palms of authorities to get things done, says a study released today to mark International Anti-Corruption Day.
"Corruption has increased over the last three years, say six out of 10 people around the world, and one in four people report paying bribes in the last year," the Berlin-based non- governmental agency, Transparency International (TI), said.
Releasing the findings of the 2010 Global Corruption Barometer , a worldwide public opinion survey on corruption, TI said it showed that in the past 12 months one in four people paid bribe to one of nine institutions and services, from health to education to tax authorities.
The police are named the most frequent recipient of bribes, according to those surveyed, with 29 per cent of those who had contact with the police reporting that they paid bribe.
The biggest number of reported bribery payments in 2010 is in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cameroon, India, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, Palestine, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda where more than 50 per cent of people surveyed paid bribe in the past 12 months.
In India, 54 per cent of users of services said they paid bribe to receive attention from service providers.
Almost half of all respondents say they paid bribes to avoid problems with the authorities and a quarter say it was to speed up processes.
Most worrying is the fact that bribes to the police have almost doubled since 2006, and more people report paying bribes to the judiciary and for registry and permit services than they did so five years ago, TI said.
Worldwide, sub-Saharan Africa was the region reporting the greatest incidence of bribery with more than one person in two saying they had made such payments to officials in the past 12 months.
The Middle East and North Africa was the next most corrupt regions with 36 per cent of people there reporting having paid bribes.
This compared to 32 per cent in the former Soviet republics, 23 per cent in South America, 19 per cent in the Balkans and Turkey, 11 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region and five per cent in the European Union and North America.
The United Nations established International Anti-Corruption Day in 2003 to raise awareness of graft and promote the global fight against it.
"The advantage of Vig-Eye includes simplified process of filing complaints and it will provide authentic identity of the complainant. Vig-Eye would be completely digitised and it will give online access to vigilance information," Central Vigilance Commission P J Thomas said while inaugurating the web portal.
"Efforts at modernising the vigilance framework are underway which include development of new models of preventive vigilance, adoption of risk management approach and aligning the vigilance function with the corporate governance framework," he said.
The CVC said that preventive and punitive approaches to addressing corruption need to complement each other. The Commission has adopted a strategy of leveraging technology and has been persuading the government to adopt e-governance measures.
"The aim is to use technology in activities vulnerable to corruption in order to reduce human intervention," he said. Thomas said that the Commission has undertaken a campaign aimed at creating awareness about corruption and inculcating ethics on good governance. The campaign would help reduce people's tolerance for corruption.
The Commission has also recommended to the government to include ethics education in the school curriculum, Thomas said. Thomas was speaking during a seminar 'Empowering citizens to combat corruption' organised at Vigyan Bhawan on International Anti-Corruption Day. The seminar was aimed at deliberating and recommending proactive and participative measures to combat corruption.
Introducing the Vig-Eye, Vigilance Commissioner Srikumar said that it will help build up the vision of proactive and predictive vigilance.
The VC said that people can use mobile phones and web based technologies to lodge complaints or grievances using mobile phones with a software application specially designed to file complaints.
People can visit CVC's website to access or get more information on Vig-Eye. The CVC acts as an apex anti-corruption statutory body mandated to fight corruption and ensuring probity in public life.
9 Dec, 2010, 06.45AM IST, Arun Duggal,
The cancer of corruption
Today, on the International Anti-Corruption Day, it is appropriate to discuss India's programme to fight corruption and by how to heal the nation through taking concerted action.
While we can be proud of India's economic growth and enhanced international stature, we have to hang our head in shame at the decline in our moral and ethical standards. Today, on the International Anti Corruption day, it is very appropriate for us to introspect.
In the last couple of years, we have been shocked by scandal after scandal. A recent report indicates that nearly a trillion dollars of India's wealth has been stashed in shady overseas bank accounts. Highly respected institution like the defence services , IAS, judiciary, political establishment and leading business houses have all been afflicted by this disease of corruption.
So, are facing a terminal decline of our national character? I do not think so. It is possible to stop the spread of cancer of corruption by a concerted action. This article outlines the road map to heal the nation from this terrible disease.
First, a diagnosis and assessment of the problem. Has corruption increased enormously or is it being exposed by more vigilant and active media? Probably both. While we find the actions of former telecom minister Raja repulsive, one of his predecessors Sukh Ram was also caught red-handed with bribes. The disease of corruption has been with us for a long time; it has only become more widespread and acute. With introduction of RTI and the media becoming more aggressive, the detection methods have improved.
Actually, there has been a reduction in corruption in a few areas. The end of the permit-licence raj has reduced bribes that industrial firms had to pay. Technology and competition has also played a positive role in the last decade. One no longer has to stand in a long line and pay a bribe to make a railway reservation; you can do it on internet. One had to wait for years and pay bribes to get a phone connection. Now, nobody uses a landline in the age of mobile telephony .
We are also not the only country suffering from this problem. China and India have had similar ranking in the Corruption Perception Index of the Transparency International for many years. Experience of other countries, including the US, has shown that rapid economic growth lends to increase corruption and it declines once acountry becomes more prosperous. Singapore and Hong Kong have shown that it is possible to reduce corruption by concerted efforts by the government.
The proposed roadmap deals with both the supply-side and demand-side of corruption . It calls for creation of two new institutions : an integrity commission and a centre of integrity studies (CIS).
The integrity commission's mandate should be to reduce corruption at all levels , in all areas of public life and all over India. It should be chaired by the Prime Minister and have the same stature as the Planning Commission . It should have members with political, bureaucratic , business, judicial and academic backgrounds. These members should be of impeccable honesty and integrity, have a track record of successfully executing very complex tasks and should be passionate about fighting corruption. The deputy chairman, in addition, should be able to relate with public and win the nation's trust and confidence in the fight against corruption.
The CIS would be a think-tank to: (a) monitor and report levels and trends in corruption, (b) identify and publicise best practices in reducing corruption in India and overseas, and (c) periodically assess effectiveness of integrity commission and other anti-corruption watchdogs.
THE integrity commission will develop its own agenda but may consider the following ideas:
The fight against corruption should be led by the young. Moral science (or citizenship ) education should be reintroduced in schools and colleges. Students should also do community work.
Electoral reforms, including campaign finance reform, mandatory declaration and publicity of political candidates' assets and income, criminal charges or convictions , if any and complete biodata.
Establishment of citizen service centers all over the country where public can get advice on their rights and the government services available for them, report incidents of corruption, file application under RTI, etc. They should be staffed by welltrained employees and possibly co-located with the six lakh post offices we have all over the country.
Special fast-track courts to handle corruption cases. The courts will ensure that agencies like CBI pursue these cases in a speedy, time-bound manner.
Everyone holding foreign bank accounts or asset overseas directly or indirectly must declare them, including the source of funds. Non- reporting should result in prosecution and seizure of assets.
The integrity commission should work with CII and Ficci to improve the standard of ethical governance in corporate sector and ensure that companies adopt and follow strict anti-corruption code of conduct.
There should be a registration system and code of conduct for lobbyists working on behalf of the corporate sector. Engagement of lobbyists should only be authorised by the board of directors and payments made to such lobbyists should prominently reported in the company's financial accounts.
The integrity commission should use the internet to create a record of all RTI applications and corruption complaints and their response/resolutions. Citizens should be able to file RTI applications and corruption complaints through the internet. There should be a complete RTI/corruption complaint database available to the general public.
Social audit of projects by the community at the local level should be institutionalised . Andhra Pradesh's experience in this powerful anti-corruption tool should be replicated all over the country.
The integrity commission should lead periodic anti-corruption media campaigns through newspapers and TV. There should be awards for journalists, social workers and ordinary citizens doing outstanding work in exposing and fighting corruption.
Today, on the International Anti-Corruption Day, it is very appropriate for us to discuss India's programme to fight corruption. By implementing the above ideas and other similar initiatives , we can heal the nation from the cancer of corruption.
(The author is chairman, Shriram Capital )
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments--analysis/The-cancer-of-corruption/articleshow/7068958.cms
India's home minister said on Thursday the contours of a political solution to the "Kashmir problem" were likely to emerge in the next few months, a government statement said.Meanwhile,Govt announces probe into 2G spectrum allocation since 2001. It seems that the Ruling Brahaminical Hegemony ahs scripted yet another turning point in the Parliamentary Soap Opera to authenticate its False Democracy of Economic Ethnic Cleansing inflicted with the Cancer of Corruption!India will send notices to telecom firms by the end of this week, as part of a probe into a telecoms licences and airwaves scam that a government auditor said resulted in a potential $39 billion revenue loss for the government, telecoms minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday.On the other hand,Sensex fell on year-end selling by foreign funds in banking & realty sectors, amid rise in food inflation that could signal a possibility of rate hike
Ghettoisation of cities, throwing sops at the poor sufferers and eulogising your own self and kith and kin, self aggrandisemnt and the rising to sky the most unbecoming ones are the order of the day.British used Indians to shoot Indians,after getting freedom INDIANS USE INDIANS. Change is only that much,and plenty are willing to do ,for personal gains.The nexus between the big corporate houses and the politicians as well as CORRUPTION will continue to flourish in this Brahaminical system of governance in a Majoritarian electoral system Non Representative thanks to PUNA pact and Power transferred to Brahmin Bania Corporate Raj of genocide culture, be it UPA or NDA.or Ambedkarites or the Marxists, It hardly matters.Unless some concrete steps are taken to change the entire system, there is no future for the crores of poor people who toil for their daily livelihood. Things will continue to remain the same. It needs the participation of the awakened empowered majority Mulnivasi Indigenous aboriginal masses which is quite impossible without a nationwide Identity conscious assertive Munivasi Movement!
The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to examine the idea of setting up special courts to try major financial scandals like the Rs 1.76 lakh-crore 2G spectrum scam involving money laundering.
A bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said there is a need for special courts to deal with cases of such magnitude and ramifications as otherwise objectives of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) would be defeated.
The apex court said the special courts are needed as the existing ones are overburdened with regular cases.
"Unless the government is prepared to create special courts, the purpose will not be served. It is the need of the hour. We must have exclusive courts to deal with these offences," the bench said while hearing arguments on pleas for a court-monitored probe by CBI.
In the Dravidnadu, calamity continue to play havoc amidst criminal apathy of the ruling Brahaminical Hegemony and infight intense amongst DRAVID Political parties!Heavy rains have claimed 16 lives in coastal Andhra Pradesh since the last two days and have caused widespread damage to standing crops, an official said Wednesday.
South coastal Andhra districts received heavy rains as a depression in the Bay of Bengal crossed the coast near Bapatla Wednesday morning.
According to an officials of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the depression was centred 50 km northwest of Bapatla and would move north-westwards for some more time before gradually weakening.
Heavy rains and thundershowers have been forecast in north coastal Andhra during the next 24 hours till Thursday morning.
Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Orissa too may receive heavy rainfall during the next 48 hours till Friday morning, an IMD bulletin said.
Squally winds with speed reaching up to 60 kmph are likely along the Andhra coast.
As sea conditions remained rough, fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea.
Rescue workers Wednesday recovered 12 bodies from a stream near Vinukonda in Guntur district as heavy rains swelled the water body and overturned the vehicle they were travelling in.
Four people were killed in various rain-related incidents in Prakasam and Guntur districts since the past two days.
The rains have damaged crops over 3.2 lakh hectares in five districts, dealing a big blow to farmers even before they could recover from the losses suffered due to recent cyclones.
The rains also damaged tanks and roads, leading to inundation of low-lying areas and affecting the movement of vehicular traffic.
India's telecoms ministry had said it would send notices to five companies that were given 85 telecoms licences in 2008, asking why their licences should not be cancelled after the government auditor found the firms were not eligible for them.
The ministry will also send separate notices to 119 telecoms licencees that have not complied with services rollout obligations.
Kashmir,The Himalayan region has been roiled by months of streets demonstrations against Indian rule this year that has killed more than 100 people, the biggest flare up in protests since a separatist rebellion broke out in 1989.
It was not immediately clear if the separatists supported any government plan to end the protests.
The government on Thursday appointed a one-man committee of retired Supreme Court justice Shivaraj V Patil to probe the alleged irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum since 2001, a period involving the NDA regime.
Announcing the decision, Telecom and IT minister Kapil Sibal told reporters that the committee will "examine the appropriateness of procedures by the DOT in the issuances of licences and allocation of spectrum during the period 2001-2009...
"There are several terms of references, which will be finalised with the one man committee."
Sibal said the committee will look into various procedures followed in issuing licences during the 2001-09 period.
"Broadly speaking, we are looking at the internal departmental procedures adopted by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) during the period 2001-09 with the issuance of telecom, access service licences and allocation of spectrum to all telecom access service licencees during the above period," he said.
He said the committee will examine procedures, policies and direction of the DoT and the government, and if they were consistently followed or not.
Sibal said the task of the committee would be to check whether the procedure was fair and transparent keeping with the principles of justice, identify instances of lack of transparency, deficiency in procedures, lapses at the policy level and procedural level.
The panel will also look at "whether there were any violation of the policies that were laid down by the DoT itself and then of course remedial measures in that regard," Sibal added.
The minister said the one-man committee will have the right to call for records, any DoT officials, get a briefing on any matter.
''Over 5 lakh gas tragedy victims left out of compensation''
More than five lakh victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy have been "left out" of this year''s compensation package announced by the Central government, a minister said today.
"I have told Home Minister P Chidambaram that 5.25 lakh victims have been left out of the compensation package of this year announced by the Central government on the recommendation of GoM, headed by him," Madhya Pradesh Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Babulal Gaur told reporters in Bhopal.
"I have asked Chidambaram to ensure that the compensation is disbursed among the victims within the span of December 15 to March 31," he said.
Gaur said he had met some Union Ministers on the 26th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy on December 3 in Delhi and sought help for the state''s development.
The minister said the Centre will set up Asia''s biggest research centre in Bhopal.
"Asia''s biggest research centre to study the affect of Bhopal Gas Tragedy on the people and carry out other studies will be opened in Bhopal," he said.
Corruption has become way of life: Apex Court judge
Holding that corruption has become a "way of life", senior Supreme Court judge Altamas Kabir has said "sensitivity" and values in governance are required to curb the menace.
"Why are we still floundering with our values? Why is it that the people are still helpless? The answer is simple, now it (corruption) has become a way of life... it has been accepted as a way of life," Justice Kabir said.
Addressing a function organised for release of a book, ''Restoring Values'', edited by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation''s Managing Director E Sreedharan and Tata group''s Resident Director Bharat Wakhlu, the judge also emphasised on the role of value-oriented education, and said that a change of mindset is needed to eradicate the problem.
"Unless we change our mindset, we cannot eliminate corruption," he said.
Asked if private sector should be brought within the purview of the Right to Information Act, Justice Kabir said, "It is for legislature to decide."
Karunanidhi blackmailing Congress: Jayalalithaa
Reiterating her demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum allotment, AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa Wednesday said DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was blackmailing the Congress on the issue.
Referring to Karunanidhi's speech at a movie function in Chennai, Jayalalithaa said: 'Karunanidhi used the platform of this function to make an impassioned public defence of A. Raja, the prime perpetrator of the Rs.1,76,379 crore spectrum scam. By making an odious comparison with a mythological story, he sought to make out that Raja alone could not have perpetrated a scam of such enormity on his own.'
She said his speech was a veiled threat to the Congress leadership to go slow on the spectrum investigation and his way of blackmailing his alliance partner.
'If precipitate steps are taken to corner Raja, Karunanidhi warns, then he will not hesitate to reveal the names of some others directly or indirectly involved in the scam. The implication is that such a revelation could be unpalatable to the Congress,' Jayalalithaa said.
Referring to the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) government's reluctance to institute a JPC probe, she said: 'The more the UPA government resists, the more it confirms that the buck does not stop with Raja.'
Raja, whose residences in New Delhi and his native Perambalur in Tamil Nadu were searched by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Wednesday morning, has resigned as union communications and IT minister.
Stating that the resignation of Raja was not sufficient, Jayalalithaa said the inquiries had to go beyond estimating the loss suffered by the nation.
'The quantum of kickbacks for perpetrating this mega scam has to be ascertained. The beneficiaries of these kickbacks have to be questioned. The money trail has to be traced. The money has to be recovered. The guilty have to be punished. And the people have to be kept informed on a day-to-day basis of the developments. Justice has to not only be done, it should be seen to have been done,' the former chief minister said.
FM cautions against volatility in FII flows, Europe crisis
The Government on Thursday said though the economy is on the recovery mode, it still faces risks from volatility in capital markets, slow down in FDI inflows, trade imbalance, high current account deficit and European crisis.
Addressing the Parliamentary consultative committee attached to his ministry, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said even while the economy is on a path of higher growth, yet there are certain areas of concern.
In this regard, he specifically mentioned trade imbalance, volatility of FIIs, current account deficit, reduction in FDI inflows to almost half in last six months and above all, crisis in Euro zone affecting trade balance.
FIIs have pumped in a record 39 billion dollars in the Indian capital markets in this calendar year so far.
However, FII money is considered hot and volatile in nature compared to foreign direct investment (FDI).
FDI inflows, however, declined 28 per cent in the first half of this fiscal to 11 billion dollars.
India's trade deficit stood at 81.7 billion dollars during the first eight months of this fiscal, more than half of its exports.
High commodity prices may further increase the deficit, the analysts said.
The current account deficit, representing net flow of income out of the country barring capital movements, surged three-fold to 13.7 billion dollars in the April-June quarter over the same period last year.
The deficit widened due to higher imports because of economic recovery and larger payments overseas for certain services.
After sovereign debt crisis in Greece, Spain and Portugal, banking crisis has erupted in Ireland.
Mukherjee said the Government has taken several fiscal and administrative matters to contain the price rise and continues to be vigilant on the price front.
Meanwhile, food inflation marginally rose to 8.69 per cent during the week ended November 27 against 8.60 per cent a week ago.
The Finance Minister said silver lining is that inflation in food item has declined to single digit.
"With normal rainfall, the kharif production is now expected to rise by over 10 per cent year on year for food grains and even higher for cash crops such as cotton and sugarcane," he added.
2G scam: Spectrum allocation broke powerful cartel, says Ratan Tata
Tata Group supremo Rata Tata today strongly came out in support of the government's 2G spectrum allocation policy saying it broke the powerful cartel, and backed the probe covering the period since 2001 when BJP-led NDA was in power.
He also hit out at BJP saying "many of the flip-flops in the telecom policy occurred during the BJP regime".
Tata's suggestion for extending the period of probe came within a day of the Supreme Court seeking to widen the ambit of CBI probe into the 2G spectrum scam to cover the policies introduced in 2001 by the NDA regime.
On the allegation that group company Tata Teleservices (TTSL) was a beneficiary of out-of-turn allocation of spectrum, Tata said that the true position is that TTSL has not, "I repeat not" been advantaged in any way by Raja or any earlier minister.
Taking a strong exception to an open letter written to him by former telecom entrepreneur Chandrasekhar, an independent MP elected with BJP-JD(S) support four years ago, Tata said this was politically motivated and was aimed at embarrassing Prime Minister Manohan Singh and the ruling party.
Chandrasekhar was the past president of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the lobby GSM operators. GSM one of the two technology platforms, the other being CDMA on which TTSL was offering services prior to the use of dual technology came in 2008.
The leading GSM operators are Bharti, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel and several new operators such as Uninor, while the CDMA space was mainly held by TTSL and Reliance Communications before both of them were granted GSM spectrum.
"Your affiliation to a particular political party is well-known and it appears that political aspirations and their endeavour to embarrass the Prime Minister and the ruling party may well have been the motivation behind your letter," Tata told Chandrasekhar.
Alleging that some media houses were also partial in the coverage of the entire issue in deference to the owners who were the real gainers in the telecom sector, Tata said Chandrasekhar had kept the current trend of "attempted character assassination through widespread media publicity couched in pain and concern for upholding ethics and values".
Taking the powerful GSM operators head on for what he termed as holding of spectrum free of cost, Tata said, "Recent policy (allocation of licences in 2008) broke the powerful cartel which has been holding back competition and delaying the implementation of policies."
He said the changing policy from auction to revenue sharing for telecom operators during the BJP regime could have cost a loss of about Rs 50,000 crore to the exchequer if calculated on the basis as done in the recent CAG report that said the 2G spectrum allocation scam cost Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
Detailing the developments in the telcom sector during the NDA government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee that he had asked the then prime minister for an "open and transparent" process.
Alleging that Chandrasekhar had been actively liaisioning with the government in the telecom arena at the behest of powerful GSM operators, Tata said certain politically connected operators had wilfully subverted policies under various telecom ministers which has subsequently been regularised to their advantages.
"The same operators continued to subvert policy, have even paid fees for spectrum, even before the announcement of a policy, and have de facto ownership in several new telecom enterprises.
Chandrasekhar had accused Tatas of adopting double standards and had said in an open letter to Tata that by virtue of dual technology, according to the CAG, TTSL has caused a loss to the exchequer to the tune of about Rs 19,074.80 crore.
On the issue of "out of turn" allotment to TTSL (as claimed by Chandrasekhar), Tata said "You have chosen to misrepresent the facts as they suit you to justify the claims you have made."
Tata, who at present is abroad, said in an open letter to Chandrasekhar, "The company (TTSL) has strictly followed the applicable policy and has been severely disadvantaged..."
TTSL is yet to get spectrum in the key Delhi circle and also in 39 other districts.
The 2G scam ostensibly revolved around Raja's alleged misdeeds and some parts of the CAG report were quoted as having indicted the minister, Tata said, adding "much has been made about the hypothetical loss to the exchequer in the grant of new licences and the grant of spectrum on the basis of 3G auction price.
He asked Chandrasekhar why he chose not to mention about the excess spectrum held by powerful GSM operators and that too free of cost.
"You have also not noticed that the CAG has not ascribed value to 48 new GSM licencees issued to incumbents between 2004-08 and 65 MHz of additional spectrum alloted to them during this period even though the CAG was supposed to cover the period from 2003," he said.
He claimed that Tatas have not "wavered in upholding our values and ethical standards" despite the erosion in the ethical fabric in the country and despite the efforts of others to draw the group into controversy and endeavour to besmirch its records.
"When the present sensational smokescreen dies down, as it will, and the true facts emerge, it will be for the people of India to determine who are the culprits that enjoy political patronage and protection and who actually subvert policy and who have dual standards.
"I can hold my head high and say that neither the Tata Group or I have at any time been involved in any of these misdeeds," Tata said.
Not too late for government to agree to JPC, says BJPSify - 1 hour agoNew Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday said the government should agree to its demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum issue and suggested that parliament, adjourned for the 20th successive ... BJP indulging in double-speak over JPC : CPI(M)The Hindu - 2 hours agoPTI The CPI(M), which has been castigating Congress for "jettisoning" Parliament functioning by not accepting the demand for JPC probe into the 2G spectrum scam, today hit out at BJP, saying it was indulging in "double-speak" on the issue. ... 2G probe from 2001 welcome, but want JPC: BJPSify - 1 hour agoNew Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court widening the 2G spectrum allotment probe to 2001, but said it would continue to press for a JPC probe into the scam during parliament's budget session early ...
BJP rejects 2G probe by retired judgeindiablooms - 52 minutes agoNew Delhi, Dec 9 (IBNS) The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday rejected the proposal by the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by the Congress to conduct a probe into the 2G spectrum scam by a retired judge, ... New Delhi Another day wasted in ParliamentHindustan Times - 6 hours agoPTI With only two working days left, the winter session of Parliament looks all set to be lost to the stand-off between government and the Opposition over the issue of JPC probe into the 2G spectrum scam as another day was wasted on Thursday. ... Government trying to cover criminal culpability: BJPHindustan Times - 5 hours agoAs the logjam in parliament continued for the 20th day, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged on Thursday that the government was denying the demand for a joint parliamentary committee into the 2G spectrum allocation to cover its ... Non-NDA Oppn questions BJP's credibility in anti-graft fightIndian Express - Dec 6, 2010The self-proclaimed "secular opposition" — a group of regional parties that have come together under the leadership of the Left to ostensibly seek a JPC on 2G spectrum issue — on Monday said the BJP has no "credibility" to wage a campaign against ... Congress gets combative, takes on BJPThe Hindu - Smita Gupta - 17 hours agoNew Delhi: A combative Congress finally hit back on Wednesday, launching a two-pronged attack on the Opposition, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party. First, it cited the Supreme Court's observation that the Central Bureau of Investigation should ... Parliament adjourns yet again after uproar over 2GThe Hindu - 8 hours agoPTI Parliament was on Thrusday adjourned without taking up the Question Hour for the 20th straight day as opposition members persisted with their demand for a JPC probe into in the 2G spectrum allocation. Immediately after Speaker Meira Kumar welcomed ... BJP asks Joshi to go slow on PAC probeEconomic Times - Dec 7, 2010NEW DELHI: Faced with the combined onslaught from the entire Opposition, including his own party, the BJP, Murli Manohar Joshi was on Tuesday forced to curb the activism displayed in convening meetings of the PAC to discuss the CAG report on 2G ... All 140 related articles » | RelatedBharatiya Janata Party2G spectrum Lok Sabha 2G scam Frequency allocation Timeline of articlesNumber of sources covering this story
ImagesThe HinduThe Hindu Zee News The Hindu Oneindia Calcutta Telegr... NDTV.com Indian Express Calcutta Telegr... All related images » VideosWhy is congress fearing JPC?NewsX - Dec 8, 2010 Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_2a52ISB514/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2a52ISB514">Why is congress fearing JPC?</a> <span class="source">NewsX</span> - Dec 8, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2a52ISB514">Watch video</a></div> All related videos » |
09/12/2010
Tata evading issue of benefit from telco policy: Chandrasekhar
New Delhi: Under attack from Tata group chief Ratan Tata for his alleged role in subverting telecom policy to benefit some operators, Rajya Sabha MP and former telecom entrepreneur Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday hit back saying Tata was diverting the issues raised by him.Chandrasekhar, who earlier alleged that Tatas were one of the biggest beneficiaries of the out-of-turn allocation of 2G spectrum contrary their claims of transparency and probity, said that Tata had not understood the issues raised by him in an open letter this week.
Chandrasekhar's comments came within hours of Tata slamming him for the alleged subversive role played by him to change the telecom policies for the benefit of some large GSM operators, while denying level-playing field to others.
"I think either he has not understood what I was trying to say in the letter... I have actually agreed with the three points he has raised in his interview.
"I have agreed with him and I have only pointed out to him that the conduct of his company is in variance from what he says so the main issue is the gap between what he says, his probity...and the conduct of his company which he has not addressed and that is where matter is," he told reporters here.
Earlier in the day, Tata pointed out Chandrasekhar's alleged role in 2002 to prevent entry of Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) limited mobility and CDMA and wondered if what he did was not lobbying.
"Would you consider this as an endeavour to influence or subvert policy? To influence politicians or solicit support from selected corporates?
"I take it that in your view, this would not constitute lobbying... Your affiliation to a particular political party is well-known and it appears that political aspirations and their endeavour to embarrass the Prime Minister and the ruling party may well have been the motivation behind your letter and the insinuations which you make," Tata said in an open letter -- in what was a reply to Chandrasekhar's letter.
To this, Chandrasekhar, who was formerly president of GSM operators lobby Cellular Operators Association of India, said: "We fought in courts, fought in (regulatory forum) TRAI, fought in Supreme Court, fought in (telecom tribunal) TDSAT that is not the same as somebody going around telling lobby so I think they are two different views of lobbying.
"I consider going to court is my fundamental right as a citizen. Mr Tata may consider that lobby, but I don't." The Rajya Sabha MP, who equated Tata's reaction today with someone shooting the messenger, had earlier alleged that Tata group is a beneficiary of out-of-turn spectrum, saying "It is a fact admitted by the government on affidavit that 575 applications were received for 2G spectrum by October 1, 2007."
He then pointed out that Tatas own application (for dual technology) came in around October 22.
Source: PTI
Tata takes on BJP; Sibal for restraint
- Ex-SC judge to probe 2G spectrum allocation
- New Delhi: The government on Thursday appointed a one-man committee of retired Supreme Court justice Shivaraj V Patil to probe the alleged irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum since 2001, a period involving the NDA regime.Tata evading issue of benefit from telco policy: Chandrasekhar
- New Delhi: Under attack from Tata group chief Ratan Tata for his alleged role in subverting telecom policy to benefit some operators, Rajya Sabha MP and former telecom entrepreneur Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday hit back saying Tata was diverting the issues raised by him.
- Upload videos, audios to expose corruption on CVC's 'Vig-Eye'
- New Delhi: In a unique move, the Central Vigilance Commission on Thursday launched an exclusive website for people to upload videos, audios and lodge complaints exposing acts of corruption in government departments.
Economy booms, but inflation high: Mid-year review
On the back of faster economic expansion in the first half, the government today said the growth rate could cross 9 per cent in the current fiscal itself and revert to the pre-crisis levels.
It is estimated that growth in 2010-11 will be 8.75 per cent with 0.35 per cent variation on either side. The range indicates the possibility of crossing the nine per cent mark this year itself, said the Mid-Year Analysis of the economy for 2010-11 tabled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament today.
"Sustaining such high levels of growth for a number of years, however, will require significant deepening of reforms initiative," said Finance Ministry's analysis of the economic situation.
With regard to inflation, which was the major worry of the government since more than a year, the Analysis said, it has started coming down and is placed at 8.6 per cent in October this year compared to 11 per cent witnessed in April 2010.
"I am hoping that inflation will come down to 6 per cent by March 2011," Mukherjee told reporters after tabling the report in Parliament amid din over 2G spectrum allocation issue.
Contrary to estimates by various think tanks, the economy during second quarter expanded by 8.9 per cent taking the overall growth rate to the same level in the first half and raised hopes of 9 per cent growth in the current fiscal.
Having grown by over 9 per cent in three years in a row, the economic growth rate slipped to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09 on account of global financial meltdown.
The growth rate, however, picked up to 7.4 per cent in 2009-10 as a result of stimulus provided by the government and the Reserve Bank of India.
The economy, according to earlier estimates, was expected to grow by 8.5 per cent in the current fiscal rising to the pre-crisis level of 9 per cent in the next fiscal.
Food Retail in India to touch USD 150 bn by 2025: KPMG
Driven by the growth of organised retail coupled with changing consumer habits, food retail sector in India is set to be more than double to USD 150 billion (around Rs 6,70,870 crore) by 2025, according to a report by KPMG.
India's food retail sector, which is currently estimated at USD 70 billion (around Rs 3,13,137 crore) will be more than double in the next fifteen years, the global audit and advisory firm KPMG said.
"Evolution of innovative food processing capacity, emergence of organised retail and change in consumption patterns along with fast changing demographics and habits is fuelling the next growth trajectory for the food industry in India," KPMG said in a statement.
Despite the potential, the sector has not yet seen sufficient investment, specially foreign direct investment (FDI), the report said.
"The food sector, in spite of its large share of GDP and the consumer basket, only received 3.3 per cent out of the gross FDI flows in India between 2000 and 2010," KPMG Executive Director Ramesh Srinivas said.
High growth in food retail is limited by sub-optimal supply chain caused by low investment in the sector, he added.
Some players such as McDonalds, RK Foodland, Jubilant Food Works (Dominos) have, however, invested in back-end processes, optimised supply chain management, according to KPMG.
"There is also considerable investment in the cold chain industry by multinational corporations and private equity firms," Srinivas added.
SC to hear tomorrow PIL against appointment of Thomas as CVC
The crucial hearing on the controversial appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas, who is an accused in a criminal case in Kerala, will come up in the Supreme Court tomorrow.
A bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia, Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar will hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging Thomas''s appointment to the constitutional post.
Speculation is rife that Thomas may step down from his post ahead of the Court hearing.
Thomas faced stinging observation from the apex court on his capacity as CVC chief to oversee CBI investigations in the 2G spectrum allocation scam in view of his name figuring in the Palmolein import scam in Kerala.
Thomas, till recently Secretary in the Union Telecom Ministry which is at the centre of the 2G scam, was appointed CVC on September 7 this year by a three-member panel consisting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. The senior BJP leader however opposed the appointment and gave a dissenting note.
In the previous hearings, the UPA government had to face embarrassment after the Apex Court had raised a series of questions relating to his appointment as CVC.
The bench which sought the file pertaining to the appointment of Thomas had observed "Without looking into the file, we are concerned that if a person is an accused in a criminal case how will he function as CVC."
"We will sit together and go through the file", it had said.
"Under the service jurisprudence, a person cannot even be considered for promotions when a chargesheet is pending against him," the bench said.
"At this stage as a chargesheet is pending against him since 2000, he is not even considered to be promoted. We are only suggesting whether he will be able to function as CVC. He himself will be an embarrassment," it said.
The two PILs--one filed by an NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation and other by the former CEC--had contended that Thomas was considered for the crucial post despite objection from the Leader of the Opposition who was part of a high-power committee for the appointment of CVC.
The petitioners had contended that Thomas could not be considered as a person of "impeccable integrity" as he was chargesheeted in the Palmoleine import scam when he was Kerala''s Secretary in the state Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies and had secured bail from the local court.
The PILs said he also could not be appointed as CVC on account of "conflict of interest" as till recently he was serving as the Secretary in Telecom Ministry and there was allegation that he was involved in the cover-up of the 2G spectrum scam, which, according to the petitioners, has caused a loss of Rs 70,000 to the state exchequer.
PAC has mandate to investigate any scam: Joshi
The Public Accounts Committee has the mandate to investigate any scam but BJP wants a JPC to probe the 2-G Spectrum allocation scandal, the parliamentary panel''s chairperson and party leader Murli Manohar Joshi said today.
"PAC works according to the Constitution. PAC has a constitutional mandate. We have been appointed by Parliament under a constitutional obligation to chase the Rupee. The Rupee, which has been stolen, belongs to the taxpayers. These are mandatory duties to check where it has gone," Joshi told reporters outside Parliament House.
He was replying to a question on whether PAC had the powers to investigate all aspects of the 2-G Spectrum scam in case a JPC was not formed.
Asked if PAC had a limited mandate vis-a-vis a JPC, he said, "I have been saying that I don''t know why the government doesn''t want to form a JPC. They will nominate the Chairman, they will nominate its officials. PAC is elected, you cannot make any changes in it."
There are reports that Joshi has been batting for the PAC, arguing it is capable of investigating all aspects of the scam. The BJP leadership has maintained that a JPC is the only body which has the powers to summon ministers and look into the scam.
"Everything is good or bad depending upon how it works. PAC has worked earlier and people have been called. PAC works and it has been working. It has also exposed many things. It all depends upon how the mood of the House is to have a JPC," Joshi said.
He insisted that JPC was a "big demand of everybody".
"I have heard that even in the government alliance there are many who are demanding a JPC," he said.
The former union minister maintained that PAC would continue to investigate the matter even if a JPC is formed.
"PAC has been investigating (the 2-G Spectrum scam) and nobody has stopped it. It will continue with the investigations which it has been doing since June," Joshi said.
India to protest Meera Shankar's 'pat down' search in US
India will strongly take up the issue of Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar being put through a "pat down" search at a US airport, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said here on Thursday and described the incident as "unacceptable"."Let me be frank, this is unacceptable to India. We are going to take it up with the government of US that such unpleasant incidents do not recur," Krishna told reporters outside parliament. He said that there were "certain well-established conventions, well-established practices as to how members of diplomatic corps are treated in a given country".
"I am rather surprised by the way the Indian ambassador to the US has been treated. This has happened for a second time in three months," he said.
The minister pointed out that India had a "very cordial relationship" with the US and hoped that the relationship was taken forward. On Dec 4, Shankar was subjected to a rigorous public "pat-down" at the Jackson-Ever International airport after a visit as a guest of the Mississippi State University.
According to The Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Shankar was singled out from a group of 30 passengers and pulled aside. Witnesses told the paper that she was chosen as she was wearing a sari.
Apparently, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidelines do not have any exceptions for foreign dignitaries, but officers have the discretion to pick and choose, depending on whether they set off metal detectors, the newspaper said. The Indian ambassador did not set off any alarms. At the same time, TSA allows additional screenings when passengers are wearing "bulky" clothing.
The Clarion-Ledger added that Shankar had asked for a private security check, but she was led to clear box for the "pat down" in public view. "The way they pat them down, it was so humiliating," said Tan Tsai, a research associate at MSU's International Security Studies Center who witnessed the screening. "Anybody who passed by could see it."
The office of Mississippi governor Haley Barbour said that they were looking into the incident. "At this time, we're trying to find out exactly what happened, all of the details," said the governor's spokesperson, Dan Turner.
The state Lieutenant Governor, Phil Bryant, who had met with Shankar during her visit to the state, said that they regretted the outrageous way she was treated. "Although I understand we need proper security measures to protect the passengers in US airports, I regret the outrageous way Indian Ambassador Shankar was treated by the TSA while visiting Jackson," he said in an e-mail to Clarion-Ledger.
WikiLeaks: Zardari, Kayani worked for Musharraf's 'honourable exit'
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and new army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had worked separately for the "honourable exit" of then president Pervez Musharraf after a series of political and strategic blunders by him, according to US diplomatic cables released by whistleblower website WikiLeaks .
In two separate cables written by then US ambassador to Islamabad Anne W. Patterson, details have been given about how the new army chief, Gen Kayani, and leader of the majority party in the new National Assembly, Zardari, had systematically started to distance themselves from Musharraf, Dawn News reported.
In "brief" and "talking points" prepared for US Admiral Mike Mullen during his early 2008 visit to Pakistan, Patterson states: "As expected, (Gen) Kayani is taking slow but deliberate steps to distance the Army from now civilian President Musharraf."
She then goes on to say that Kayani has announced that army "generals would need his permission to meet the President", which was a move apparently aimed at denying the beleaguered former military ruler from lobbying for his further extension as head of state.
In a separate cable about a meeting of US representatives, Adam Schiff and Allyson Schwartz, with Zardari in May 2008, the American ambassador has given details of how the PPP leader (who later became president) advocated for an "honourable exit" of Musharraf.
According to the cable, "Zardari blamed President Musharraf for not taking enough responsibility for the 'war on terrorism' in Pakistan", which resulted in a marked increase in anti-American sentiments in the country.
"Anti-US feeling will go away when the old faces go away," the cable said, adding that the US government should no longer rely on just Musharraf in fighting terrorism.
In her own assessment of Musharraf's public standing, Patterson wrote in the 2008 cable that a year ago his popularity was high. However, "beginning with his decision to fire the chief justice in March 2007, Musharraf has made repeated blunders culminating in a state of emergency and temporary suspension of the constitution".
Detailed reading of some of these cables suggest that by this time all three major players, Zardari, Kayani and the US ambassador, had made up their minds that the time was up for the former military ruler.
I never interfered with the judiciary: Raja
Former telecom minister A Raja today claimed that he had never authorised any person to speak or negotiate with judges on his behalf in any case after the Madras High Court suspended from the bar a top lawyer for allegedly attempting to influence a judge by taking his name."I have faith in judiciary as a lawyer and citizen. I never interfered with the judiciary. I never authorised any person including (suspended lawyer R K) Chandramohan, to speak or to negotiate on my behalf to any judge in any case," Raja, who had to quit from the Cabinet in the wake of the 2G scam, said.
He said, "In public life, I have friends and supporters but I never attempted interfering with the judicial process through someone".
Asked if he was on the line when Chandramohan handed over the phone to Justice S Reghupati, the DMK leader said, "I was not on the line. I am not aware of it."
He claimed that he had for the first time heard through the High Court judgement that his name had been "dragged" in the case.
"As a lawyer and as a former minister I know about the independence of the judiciary under the Constitution. I have never worked to break the Constitution. I am a law-abiding citizen. Whether I am a minister or not, law is supreme," Raja said.
On his name cropping up in Justice Reghupati's letter, Raja said, "That is upto Justice Reghupati... I am not a party to anything.... he never said I spoke with him".
Maintaining that he was person of "integrity", he said "I have my own defamation case before the Madras High Court (against a magazine). When my interim application for a stay in the case was dismissed with cost, I preferred to appeal to a division bench which gave an order in my favour.
"This shows my integrity." He refused to comment on the 2G scam spectrum allocation case, saying the matter was subjudice.
A division bench of the High Court comprising justices F M Ibrahim Khalifulla and M M Sundaresh, today said the status of Chandramohan, a member and subsequently as Chairman of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Pondichery, shall stand suspended forthwith.
Disposing of a petition by a lawyer, the bench appended a portion of a letter written by a former judge of the court Justice S Reghupati, who had reported that Chandramohan had entered his chamber last year and pleaded that the case of a father and a son, accused in a marks scandal case in Puducherry, for anticipatory bail be considered favourably as they were "family friends of a Union Minister by name Raja".
9 Dec, 2010, 05.36PM IST, Sagar Malviya & Reshmi Dasgupta,ET Bureau
Nita Ambani to buy 25K pieces of crockery from SL
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: India's richest person, Mukesh Ambani , may have built the world's most expensive house, Antilia , in South Mumbai's tony Altamount Road, but his wife Nita seems quite a bargain hunter.She would have to be, especially when her shopping list includes 25,000 pieces of chinaware for her high-rise home. She's settled for 106-year-old Japanese brand Noritake, whose 22 carat gold/platinum-trimmed porcelain crockery has fans round the world.
Interestingly, the big-ticket order has not been placed at the exclusive Noritake showroom in Mumbai's Kemps Corner, a stone's throw from the Ambani tower. Rather, corporate India's first lady has chosen Sri Lanka for this acquisition as Noritake is 70-80% cheaper there than elsewhere in the world, including India. This is because the Japanese brand has its largest manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka, and exports its fine china to over 100 countries from there.
M Deva Raja, General Manager of Noritake Sri Lanka, said the company has an enquiry from Ambani for more than 20,000 pieces but has not supplied anything yet. A Reliance spokesman declined comment.
"Noritake is a must-buy for anyone who visits Sri Lanka," said Santosh Desai, chief executive, Future Brands. "However, an order of such a scale is unheard of for the brand which is an elite icon. But then again, a 27-floor residence is also unheard of."
A 50-piece dinner set with 22 carat gold/platinum trimmings could cost $300-500 in Sri Lanka while the same would be priced between $800 and $2,000 in India. Multiply that by 500 (to cover Nita Ambani's 25,000-piece order) and the price could have hit $1 million at the upper end in India.
Even a 500-room five-star hotel with five restaurants (the only other entity which could conceivably put in a similarly-sized order) would draw the line at that price tag, particularly if a cheaper option was available. Her thrift, therefore, was complimented by social commentator Shobhaa De.
"If she is indeed buying her crockery from Sri Lanka, I would say that she is a practical Gujju housewife, cost-conscious and sensible and I admire her for it," Ms De said. "Why should she pay five times more for something here? She is setting a good example for others to follow!"
Noritake's Raja said the company was studying the specifications in the order and whether they will be able to supply that many pieces.
However, all of it may not be headed for Antilia, said a source. "Mrs Ambani has bought Noritake crockery several times in the past, especially during Diwali for gifting." Noritake, originating in a village of the same name near Nagoya in Japan, has been an A-lister ever since it hit the US market a little over 100 years ago.
Cleverly appealing to both the mass market and the high end with a technologically superior and diverse product range, Noritake has been a favourite with homes, hotel chains and airlines for its delicate designs and durable quality.
25 Nov, 2010, 10.55AM IST, Sudhir Suryawanshi,TNN
Mukesh Ambani's first power bill in Antilia - Rs 70 lakh
Mukesh Ambani's Godzilla-sized home in Mumbai, Antilia, has just notched up another headline. In the one month since he moved in with wife Nita and their three children, the house has generated a power bill of Rs 70,69,488, Mumbai's highest residential electricity bill.According to the bill for the month of September, Antilia consumed 6,37,240 units of power. To put it in perspective, an average household equipped with all electronic amenities consumes 300 units per month. Ambani was, in fact, given a discount of Rs 48,354 for prompt payment, so the Rs 70 lakh quoted earlier is minus this amount. Experts say it's is roughly equivalent to the monthly power bill of 7,000 homes!
Indians remitted $50 billion in 2009; sent more than global counterparts
Indians working overseas send more money back home than any of their global counterparts, remitting $ 50 billion in 2009 despite a worldwide economic slowdown and anti-immigration measures adopted by industrialised countries, according to a report.In contrast, overseas workers from neighbouring China remitted $47 billion during the year, as per the World Migration Report 2010.
Together, the two Asian giants accounted for nearly half of total remittance inflows into Asia, which were pegged at $ 162.5 billion in 2009. This translated into about 39 per cent of total global remittances.
At a time when migrants are subjected to numerous difficulties, "governments have to make targeted and concerted efforts in managing migration", said the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which brought out the report.
"The international community risks losing a historic opportunity to take advantage of this global phenomenon if adequate policies and resources are not put into place in a timely manner," the report warned.
India is one of the prominent sources of both inward and outward migration.
"The Indian diaspora numbers almost 25 million persons, 10 per cent of whom can be found in the USA," said the report, adding that the other destinations with a sizeable Indian population include Singapore, Malaysia and Gulf states.
In South-Central Asia, which includes Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the number of international migrants "is on the rise again, with an estimated 14.3 million migrants in 2010," as per the report.
"India remains the main country of destination in Asia, although its migrant stock decreased by 1.6 per cent between 2005 and 2010.
"India and Pakistan, as the largest economies in South- Central Asia, are less export-reliant than many economies in East Asia and South East Asia," the report notes, arguing that these two countries were spared growth shocks during the global crisis as a result.
Consequently, remittance flows to South Asia contracted by a modest 1.8 per cent in 2009, compared to a 7.5 per cent decline in other developing countries.
Global remittances , which are the mainstay for numerous developing countries, fell last year because of the economic recession and rising anti-immigration measures in several industrialised countries.
More than the political obstacles to migration in industrialised and key developing countries, governments will also have to pay attention to various social challenges, including urbanisation, the impact of climate change and global work force imbalances, said the IOM.
It argued that "an effective response to emerging global migration challenges requires building capacity, including stronger partnerships, between countries of origin, destination and transit, clearly defined national migration policy goals and greater policy coherence."
Large capital inflows can hit India's exports: Finmin
Large capital inflows leading to rupee appreciation can hit India's exports which have seen a smart recovery in the first six months of the current fiscal, a Finance Ministry analysis said today."The main implication of large capital flows to India has been buoyancy in stock markets and appreciation of the rupee vis-a-vis the US dollar...the appreciating rupee can have adverse impact on the earnings of exporters and makes exports less competitive," mid-year analysis of economy said.
The analysis which was placed in Parliament said the widening trade deficit has also been a matter of some concern.
India's exports during April-September aggregated to USD 103.65 billion registering a year-on-year growth of 28 per cent.
However, cumulative value of imports during the same period was USD 166.48 billion showing an annual expansion of 29.9 per cent.
The trade deficit for the first half of 2010-11 was USD 62.83 billion, up 33.2 per cent from the previous corresponding period.
Total capital inflows were of the order of USD 37.4 billion in the first half of the current fiscal. In the previous fiscal as a whole, these inflows were USD 53.6 billion.
"The surge in the capital inflows in recent years raises the question whether the inflows are in access of domestic absorptive capacity, which could lead to overheating of the economy," the review said.
However, there is a positive side to the phenomenon. The appreciating rupee "is an anti-inflationary tool as it makes imports of oil, which form 30 per cent of India's total import basket, cheaper."
8 Dec, 2010, 05.39AM IST,ET Bureau
RBI rules out intervention to support MFIs
KOLKATA: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ruled out any immediate policy intervention to support cash-strapped microfinance institutions (MFIs).
RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn on Tuesday said the bank would wait for any intervention until the Malegam Committee submits its report on MFIs in the middle of January. "The MFI industry might be under a little stress as banks are finding it difficult to lend to them at this moment. But the system, as a whole, is not under threat," Mr Gokarn said on the sidelines of an outreach programme on the outskirts of Kolkata.
"Two months cannot offset the system . The concerns of stakeholders should get reflected in the report," Mr Gokarn said. Facing liquidity crunch, MFIs have shrunk their businesses. Lenders are fearing that their borrowers would stop repayment to maintain the flow of working capital.
MFIN, an umbrella organisation for NBFC-MFIs , has requested RBI to regulate the sector and advise banks to create a Rs 1,000-crore corpus for troubled MFIs, which are going through a tough time as banks have stopped lending to them.
The deputy governor said the time frame for the Malegam Committee has been kept short as the sector is going through a crisis.
RBI sees MFIs as a very important component of its financial inclusion agenda and acknowledges their effectiveness to cover the last mile in providing loans to the people at remote corners of the country. "MFIs are an integral part of the financial inclusion, but their operations must be consistent with the financial inclusion policy ," Mr Gokarn said.
Wen to visit India with biggest ever Chinese trade delegation
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will arrive in India next week with the biggest ever trade delegation of over 300 businessmen, signalling that the focus of his "landmark" visit would be to give further impetus to the already booming bilateral trade.Officials on both sides say that in many ways the visit of 68-year-old veteran Chinese leader would be a trend setter in bilateral ties like his last visit in 2005, which saw relations surging forward specially on trade front which this year is expected to touch a record USD 60 billion.
The Sino-India trade tottered around USD 18.71 billion in 2005, it already crossed USD 49.84 billion this October with Indian exports alone touching along USD 17 billion, while China continue to have a sway with 32.87 billion worth of exports.
During his three-day visit from December 15, Wen is expected to announce initiatives to address trade deficit which also touched a record USD 15.9 billion this year to provide more access to Indian products in Chinese markets.
The scale of bilateral trade in one way reflects the extent Sino-India relations travelled since 2005 says Indian Ambassador to China S Jaishankar.
"The visit in a sense is to expand common ground. We have to demonstrate cooperation on the ground in all its manifestations. We have come a long way and we have to find practical ways of cooperation, which will finally shape public perception of the state of the ties," Jaishankar, who is holding extensive consultations with top Chinese officials to make preparations for Wen's visit, told PTI.
As the two countries strive to narrow down the differences, they have to seek a common ground to manage the relationship.
"We have to manage our differences and maximise our opportunities," he said, declining to go into differences relating to host of issues which officials of the two countries feverishly trying to sort out following the meeting between Wen and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in October.
Wen's visit will once again bring together the two Prime Ministers, what Jaishankar describes as meeting between "two great pragmatists".
It appears that one has to wait to know about the "major take-aways" of the visit as preparations are still continuing.
Speculation is rife that the two countries may sign a number of agreements and MOUs mostly relating to trade, business and economic issues, including enhancing ties in banking sectors.
All these things will be known only few days before the visit as talks are still progressing, Jaishankar said.
Focus on agriculture: President to Govt
President Pratibha Patil today called the government's attention to agriculture, asking it to enable a second green revolution to feed the country's poor as proposed under a food security bill.Such a revolution, she said, would also create jobs in rural India.
"Indeed agriculture needs to be developed with urgency and in a focussed manner for a myriad of reasons.
"Among them is the goal for achieving the national objective of food security for all, and for promoting welfare of the large agriculture dependent population of our country," Patil said inaugurating a conference on 'Rural Prosperity Through Better Agriculture'.
Food security is a key promise of the UPA and the government is in the process of finalising a Bill for the proposed Act, under which 25 kg of wheat or rice would be provided at Rs 3 per kg to the poor.
At present, the BPL ration card holders get 35 kg of foodgrain per month at Rs 4.15 per kg of wheat and Rs 5.65 per kg of rice.
The President also asked the industry to "seriously look" at the food processing sector as an investment option as the processing level of agricultural crops is currently very low.
"The green revolution (in 1960s) which made the nation self sufficient in foodgrains has run its course, its outcome need to be boosted by another cycle," Patil said.
"We need a second green revolution that maximises productivity and generates income and employment opportunities for the rural population," she stressed.
The President highlighted that foodgrains production has tripled in last four decades to 230 million tonnes, but said the demand is estimated to rise to 320 million tonnes by 2025 owing to rise in population.
The country's farm sector expanded by a robust 4.4 per cent in the July-September quarter and the Agriculture Ministry expects it to end the year with over four per cent expansion.
Patil said there was a need to focus on raising the crop productivity in rain-fed areas and strengthening the "weak" extension machinery so that inputs like seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and new technologies reaches to farmers on time.
"We still face the challenge of enhancing our productivity levels, which are low as compared to the rest of the world. We need to bridge these productivity gaps," she said and asked agri-scientists to find solutions for meeting this challenge.
Noting that growth in agriculture is two-three times more effective in raising the incomes of the poor, she said the farm sector needs to have linkages with other sectors of the economy for inclusive growth of the country.
"Basic to rural prosperity is the holistic development of agriculture and the allied sectors. However, to realise its full potential as a promoter of growth and as an alleviator of poverty and unemployment, agriculture itself needs to grow," she pointed out.
2 Dec, 2010, 07.43AM IST, Urmi A Goswami,ET Bureau
World food prices may rise from 31-101% by 2050
CANCUN: A projected global population of 9 billion concentrated mostly in the developing world and a higher income level alone are enough to put pressure on world's supply of food grains. But with changes in temperature levels and rainfall pattern beyond an acceptable limit on account of climate change, the pressures on food prices can be expected to enormous. World prices of staple food grains are projected to rise from anywhere from 31 per cent to 101 per cent by 2050 as pressures on food supply increase.A study by the Internation Food Policy Research Institute suggests that for most farmers adapting to changes in temperatures and rainfall levels will pose as major challenge to productivity, resulting in more difficulties in managing risk.
The International Food Policy Research Institute study, Food Security, Farming, and Climate Change to 2050: Scenarios, Results, Policy Options, makes it clear that policy interventions are paramount to ensuring sustainable agricultural production. The challenge for governments is to allocate limited financial resources in order to sustainably feed a world confronting the challenges of adapting to climate change, a growing population, and reduced poverty.
The floods in Pakistan this year and excessive heat and drought in Russia that resulted in wildfires leading to a grain embargo gives us a clear idea of the problems that lie ahead.
For India, this takes on added importance. The UPA government is working towards making availability of a certain minimum amount food grains a legal entitlement, the increased pressures of world food production and prices are an important consideration in the framing of a food security law. This would make taking policy decisions to counter the lower levels of availability of food grain and the attendant spiraling of prices a central concern for India.
The IFPRI study considers three combinations of income and population growth. The first is a baseline scenario with moderate income and population growth, second, a pessimistic scenario with low income growth and high population growth), and third, an optimistic scenario with high income growth and low population growth. The three income –population scenario have also been studied in combination with four plausible climate scenarios that range from slightly to substantially wetter and hotter on average, and an implausible scenario of perfect mitigation.
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Cabinet nod for setting up 20 IIITs in PPP mode
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As STPI tax breaks end, tech SMEs dial SOS
Joe A Scaria 7 Dec 2010, 16:10
Those whose ears are close to the multitude of small and medium sector IT companies in the country can already hear a moan, as the date nears for the end to sops under the STPI scheme.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/articlelist/1106944246.cms
Sensex falls most in 6 months; telcos, banks drop
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BJP gave away free spectrum under Vajpayee: Congress
New Delhi Congress today alleged that the BJP was shying away from a debate on the 2G issue because its top leadership was involved in taking "wrong" decisions on spectrum allocation when NDA was in power which led to huge revenue losses to the country."Is it not a fact that in July 1999, immediately after the Kargil war, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took the Communication portfolio from Jagmohan and helped the Telecom companies which resulted in a loss of Rs 60,000 crore to the country?" Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari alleged.
The attack on the principal Opposition came as Parliament proceedings were stalled for the 20th consecutive day today over the Opposition's demand for a JPC probe into the 2G spectrum scam.
Demanding the BJP clarify its position on the spectrum allocation issue, Tewari said the saffron party should answer on the issue of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan distributing "free of cost spectrum" to the Telecom operators on January 31, 2001.
"In 2004, when elections were on and the model code of conduct was applicable, the then NDA government reduced the revenue share of the Telecom operators and caused a loss to the exchequer," he told reporters outside Parliament.
Accusing the BJP of unnecessarily politicising the issue, Tewari said the top BJP leadership didn't want to hold a debate on the issue in Parliament as "all of them have been involved in taking wrong decisions in the spectrum allocation".
Asked if the CBI raids against former Telecom Minister A Raja would affect Congress' alliance with the DMK in Tamil Nadu, he said, "We have an alliance with them. We have contested the Lok Sabha elections with them and even today we are running the government together in Tamil Nadu."
Echoing him, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Narayanasamy claimed the demand for JPC probe into the 2G spectrum issue was a BJP-RSS agenda and other Opposition parties had fallen for it.
"This (demand for JPC probe) is a BJP-RSS agenda and the Opposition parties have fallen for it. This demand is only for political mileage," Narayanasamy told reporters outside Parliament.
He said the JPC probe demand was unacceptable to the government and the Congress party as there were other enforcement agencies and a parliamentary forum investigating the 2G Spectrum issue.
Cancun: India mum on legally binding emission cuts
Cancun Even as UN climate talks here were almost deadlocked over contentious issues like a legally binding pact on emissions cut, India today sought an 'EverGreen Revolution' that will trigger innovations in low-carbon technologies tailored to withstand global warming."The time is now for us to launch an 'EverGreen Revolution' from Mexico, a revolution that will trigger innovations in low-carbon technologies for energy, transport, agriculture and other areas," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said here during the UN Conference of Parties.
Ramesh was of the view that such a revolution could be on the line of the Green Revolution in wheat launched from Mexico over 60 years ago, with the development of new high-yielding varieties at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT).
He maintained that the November 29 to December 10 Cancun meet must take a decision on establishing a Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)-like network, of which CIMMYT is a part.
The minister also gave details about various domestic and voluntarily steps taken since post-Copenhagen conference to pro-actively respond to challenges of climate change.
He hoped that with such steps, India will not only be amongst the fastest growing economies in the world as measured by GDP -- Gross Domestic Product -- but will also be amongst the most responsible in ensuring a high rate of growth of the real GDP – Green Domestic Product.
The statement comes amid efforts by India to ward off pressure from developed nations like Japan and some other rich countries, which are seeking legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from the emerging economies.
Opposing the move, India had made it clear there is no question of taking up legally binding commitment on carbon emission and it was doing its bit at the domestic level to check climate change impacts.
A pledge to reduce the emissions intensity of the country's GDP by 20-25 per cent by the year 2020 on a 2005 level, diversifying energy fuelmix, setting up of the target to establish 20,000 MW of solar power generating capacity by 2022 are some of the major steps being taken to move towards low-carbon path, Ramesh pointed out.
Moreover, Ramesh said the present share of nuclear power in the country's energy mix, which is 3 per cent, will be doubled over the next decade while a major market-based programme has been put in place to stimulate energy efficiency.
"India's Twelfth Five-Year Plan, to be launched on April 1, 2012, will have, as one of its key pillars, a low-carbon growth strategy. Detailed work on this has already begun and is available in the public domain keeping in view our deepest commitment to transparency and accountability," he said.
"Moreover, we have imposed a clean energy cess on coal for funding R and D of clean energy technologies, even though coal will continue to play a key role in our future energy strategy. We have aggressively expanded the use of natural gas in our power production," the minister elaborated.
On forestry and coastal management, he said India is launching an ambitious 'Green India Mission' to increase the forest cover in 10 million hectares of land while adaptation steps are being taken in the coastal region.
Tata Says India Needs to Extend Telecommunications Investigation to 2001Bloomberg - Anoop Agrawal, Ketaki Gokhale - 1 hour agoRatan Tata, chairman of India's Tata Group, said the ongoing investigation into sale of wireless permits two years ago should be extended to 2001. "I support the ongoing investigations ... Tata evading issue of benefit from telco policy: ChandrasekharEconomic Times - 3 hours agoNEW DELHI: Under attack from Tata group chief Ratan Tata for his alleged role in subverting telecom policy to benefit some operators, Rajya Sabha MP and former telecom entrepreneur Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday hit back saying Tata was diverting the ... Engaged Radia to counter vested interests' attack on us: Ratan TataEconomic Times - 3 hours agoNEW DELHI: Stating that Tatas did not have a "captive" connection to counter a media campaign against it by an unholy nexus between certain corporate and journalists, Group chairman Ratan Tata today said this necessitated engagement of external PR ...
Ratan Tata is not a judge, says BJPNDTV.com - 3 hours agoPTI, Updated: December 09, 2010 17:27 IST New Delhi: Countering industrialist Ratan Tata's statement, the BJP has said he is "no judge" and his views will not be given much importance as he himself was a "beneficiary" of UPA's telecom policy. ... Letter wars in 2G rowHindustan Times - 1 hour agoPowerful corporates and powerful men are fighting each other over the 2G spectrum allocation row -- in public and through open letters. Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar fired the first salvo when he, in an open letter, accused Tata group chief Ratan ... Tata attacks India's mobile operatorsFinancial Times - James Lamont, Anjli Raval - 1 hour agoRatan Tata has waded into the telecoms scandal engulfing the Indian government by launching a blistering attack on rival mobile telephone networks who he accuses of manipulating telecoms policy in Asia's third largest ... Rajeev Chandrashekhar accuses Tata of amnesiaIBNLive.com - 3 hours agoTata Group Chairman Ratan Tata has taken on Independent Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar head on over the 2G spectrum scam, calling him a BJP man and his allegations politically motivated. Tata on Thursday in an open letter hit out Chandrasekhar ... Sibal hunts for political points in Tata, Chandrasekhar spatSify - 3 hours agoNew Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) Communications Minister Kapil Sibal Thursday came out in support of Tata group chief Ratan Tata who has said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government had first changed the norms for award of airwaves to telecom firms in ... 2G: Tata backs govt; slams BJPThe Hindu - 3 hours agoPTI The Hindu We should all note that many of the flip—flops in the telecom policies occurred during the BJP regime: Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata. File photo Tata Group supremo Rata Tata today strongly came out in support of the government's 2G ... Full text of Ratan Tata's letter on 2G scamHindustan Times - 4 hours agoDear Rajeev, I am currently overseas and have just seen a copy of the open letter you have addressed to me with copies to the entire media community. This is of course in keeping with the current trend of attempted character assassination through ... All 34 related articles » | RelatedBharatiya Janata PartyRajeev Chandrasekhar Tata Teleservices Mobile and Wireless GSM Frequency allocation Timeline of articlesNumber of sources covering this story
ImagesThe HinduNDTV.com domain-B Rediff NDTV.com Oneindia All related images » VideosTata slams RS MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, backs probe from 2001NewsX - 5 hours ago Watch video <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IBzBS9NtsCI/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBzBS9NtsCI">Tata slams RS MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, backs probe from 2001</a> <span class="source">NewsX</span> - 5 hours ago <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBzBS9NtsCI">Watch video</a></div> All related videos » |
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More News Feeds » Corruption in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaPolitical corruption in India is a major concern. It is by far one of the most corrupt governments in South Asia[1] A 2005 study done by Transparency International (TI) in India found that more than 75% of the people had firsthand experience of paying bribe or peddling influence to get any type of job done in a public office.[1] Taxes and bribes are a daily life fact, common between state borders; Transparency International estimates that truckers pay annually US$5 billion in bribes.[2] For 2010, India was ranked 178th of 191th countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, which was a huge setback from the preceding year.
Criminalization of Indian politics is a major setback as well as a serious problem.[3][4] In July 2008 The Washington Post reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian Parliament members faced criminal charges, "including human trafficking, immigration rackets, embezzlement, rape and even murder".[5] An international watchdog conducted a study on the illicit flight of money from India, perhaps the first ever attempt at shedding light on a subject steeped in secrecy, concludes that India has been drained of $462 billion (over Rs 20 lakh crore) between 1948 and 2008. The amount is nearly 40% of India's gross domestic product.[6].
Contents
[hide][edit] History
The economy of Bharat was under socialist-inspired policies for an entire generation from the 1950s until the late 1980s. The economy was subject to extensive regulation, protectionism, and public ownership, leading to pervasive corruption and slow growth.[7][8][9][10] License Raj was often at the core of corruption.
The Vohra Report was submitted by the former Indian Union Home Secretary, N.N. Vohra, in October 1993. It studied the problem of the criminalisation of politics and of the nexus among criminals, politicians and bureaucrats in India.
The report contained several observations made by official agencies on the criminal network which was virtually running a parallel government. It also discussed criminal gangs who enjoyed the patronage of politicians, of all parties, and the protection of government functionaries. It revealed that political leaders had become the leaders of gangs. They were connected to the military. Over the years criminals had been elected to local bodies, State Assemblies and Parliament. The unpublished annexures to the Vohra Report were believed to contain highly explosive material.
According to Jitendra Singh, "in the bad old days, particularly pre-1991, when the License Raj held sway, and by design, all kinds of free market mechanisms were hobbled or stymied, and corruption emerged almost as an illegitimate price mechanism, a shadowy quasi-market, such that scarce resources could still be allocated within the economy, and decisions could get made. [...] These were largely distortions created by the politico-economic regime. While a sea change has occurred in the years following 1991, some of the distorted cultural norms that took hold during the earlier period are slowly being repaired by the sheer forces of competition. The process will be long and slow, however. It will not change overnight."[11] One of the major problems and obstacles to development that many developing countries face is corruption by greedy, power-hungry politicians, which is endemic in certain parts of the world.
[edit] Politics
Main article: Indian political scandalsCriminalization of Indian politics is a problem.[3][12]
In July 2008 The Washington Post reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian Parliament members faced criminal charges, "including human trafficking, immigration rackets, embezzlement, rape and even murder".[5] At state level, things are often worse. In Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2002, candidates with criminal records won the majority of seats.
[edit] Bureaucracy
A 2005 study done by Transparency International (TI) in India found that more than 50% of the people had firsthand experience of paying bribe or peddling influence to get a job done in a public office.[1] Taxes and bribes are common between state borders; Transparency International estimates that truckers pay annually US$5 billion in bribes.[2] A 2009 survey of the leading economies of Asia, revealed Indian bureaucracy to be not just least efficient out of Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Philippines and Indonesia; further it was also found that working with India's civil servants was a "slow and painful" process.[13].
[edit] Land and property
Officials often steal state property. In Bihar, more than 80% of the subsidized food aid to poor is stolen [11]. In cities and villages throughout India, Mafia Raj consisting of municipal and other government officials, elected politicians, judicial officers, real estate developers and law enforcement officials, acquire, develop and sell land in illegal ways.[14].
[edit] Tendering processes and awarding contracts
Government officials having discretionary powers in awarding contracts engage in preferential treatment for selected bidders, display negligence in quality control processes[citation needed]. Many state-funded construction activities in India, such as road building, are dominated by construction mafias, which are groupings of corrupt public works officials, materials suppliers, politicians and construction contractors.[15] Shoddy construction and material substitution (e.g. mixing sand in cement while submitting expenses for cement) result in roads and highways being dangerous, and sometimes simply washed away when India's heavy monsoon season arrives.[16]
[edit] Medicine
In Government Hospitals, corruption is associated with non availability of medicines (or duplicate medicines), getting admission, consultations with doctors and availing diagnostic services.[1]. There have been cases of diversion of medical supplies from government hospitals and clinics[citation needed] as well as supply and distribution of medicines of inferior quality[citation needed] some hospitals are charging extra amounts from rich peoples. in india there is a unfair co-operation for medi-insurence compineies and hospital.
[edit] Transport
Officials who oversee transportation regulations, safety norms, traffic violations engage in rent seeking activity. Typically a lenient treatment for an offending driver or vehicle is accompanied by expectation of a bribe[citation needed]. India has multiple jurisdictions for vehicular laws as well as overlapping laws at the central government and state government level which worsens bureaucratic complications. This leads to facilitation payments to accelerate normal government processes[citation needed].
Some airports, such as the Thiruvananthapuram airport in Kerala, are notorious for theft of valuables from bags checked on incoming flights. Such theft is a rude awakening to the state of corruption in Kerala to tourists and expatriates returning from vacations [17]. Corrupt officials and airport employees turn a blind eye to theft of passenger belongings often colluding
[edit] Income tax
There have been several cases of collusion of officials of the income tax department of India for a favorable tax treatment in return for bribes [18][19]
[edit] Preferential award of public resources
As detailed earlier, land in areas with short supply is relatively common with government entities awarding public land to private concerns at negligible rates. Other examples include the award of mining leases to private companies without a levy of taxes that is proportionate to the market value of the ore[citation needed].
[edit] Judiciary
Corruption is rampant in the judicial system of India. According to Transparency International, judicial corruption in India is attributable to factors such as "delays in the disposal of cases, shortage of judges and complex procedures, all of which are exacerbated by a preponderance of new laws".[20]
[edit] Armed forces
The Indian Armed Forces have frequently witnessed corruption involving senior armed forces officers from the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. Many officers have been caught for allegedly selling defence stores in the black market in the border districts of Indian states and territories. Recent sukhna land scandal involving four Indian Lieutenant Generals has shaken public faith in the country's growing military at a time when large sums are being spent on modernising the armed forces. A string of eye-popping fraud cases has damaged the institution in recent years.[21][22][23]
[edit] Police
nee Despite State prohibitions against torture and custodial misconduct by the police, torture is widespread in police custody, which is a major reason behind deaths in custody.[24][25] The police often torture innocent people until a 'confession' is obtained to save influential and wealthy offenders.[26] G.P. Joshi, the programme coordinator of the Indian branch of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in New Delhi comments that the main issue at hand concerning police violence is a lack of accountability of the police.[27]
[edit] Religious institutions
In India, the corruption has also crept into religious institutions. Some of the Church of North India are making money by selling Baptism certificates.[28] A group of church leaders and activists has launched a campaign to combat the corruption within churches. The chief economic consequences of corruption are the loss to the economy an unhealthy climate for investment and an increase in the cost of government-subsidised services. The TI India study estimates the monetary value of petty corruption in 11 basic services provided by the government, like education, healthcare, judiciary, police, etc., to be around 21,068 crore (US$ 4.8 billion). India still ranks in the bottom quartile of developing nations in terms of the ease of doing business, and compared to China and other lower developed Asian nations, the average time taken to secure the clearances for a startup or to invoke bankruptcy is much greater.
[edit] Anti-corruption efforts
[edit] Right to information act
Main article: Right to Information ActThe Right to Information Act (2005) and equivalent acts in the states, that require government officials to furnish information requested by citizens or face punitive action, computerisation of services and various central and state government acts that established vigilance commissions have considerably reduced corruption or at least have opened up avenues to redress grievances.[1][29] The 2006 report by Transparency International puts India at the 70th place and states that significant improvements were made by India in reducing corruption.[30][31]
[edit] Ombudsmen
The LokAyukta is an anti-government corruption organization in the Indian states [32][33]. These institutions are based on the Ombudsman in Scandinavian countries. An amendment to the Constitution has been proposed to implement the Lokayukta uniformly across Indian States as a three-member body, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or high court chief justice, and comprise of the state vigilance commissioner and a jurist or an eminent administrator as other members [34].
[edit] Computerization
- Bhoomi is a project jointly funded by the Government of India and the Karnataka local government to digitize the paper land records and create a software mechanism to control changes to the land registry in Karnataka. The project was designed to eliminate the long-standing problem of inefficiency and corruption.
- Introduction of smart cards for vehicle registration and drivers licenses by Karnataka Regional Transport Organization[35].
- Enforcement automation of traffic violations by Bangalore Traffic Police [36].
[edit] Whistleblowers
Whistleblowers play a major role in the fight against corruption. India currently does not have a law to protect whistleblowers, which was highlighted by the assassination of Satyendra Dubey.
[edit] Creation of Anti-Corruption Police and Courts
Some have called for the Central Government to create an anti-theft law enforcement agency that investigates and prosecutes corruption at all levels of government, including state and local level. Special courts that are more efficient than the traditional Indian courts with traveling judges and law enforcement agents are being proposed. The proposal has not yet been acted upon by the Indian government. Certain states such as Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Pradesh Anti-corruption Bureau) and Karnataka (Lokayukta) have similar agencies and courts [37][32]. The creation of a central agency with specialized courts with broad powers, however, is likely to have greater impact in curbing corruption at all levels[opinion][citation needed].
[edit] Private sector initiatives
Several new initiatives have come up in the private sector to raise awareness about Corruption related issues and to build anti-corruption platforms. http://5thpillar.org is one such organization that is promoting the use of Zero Rupee Notes [38] to fight corruption by shaming the officials who ask for bribe. Another popular initiative Jaago Re!One Billion Votes from Tata Tea has now changed its focus from voter registration to fighting corruption [39]. nobribe.org is another platform for corruption free India and advocates the use of direct and regular measurement of corruption to force the hands of the leadership into dealing with corruption related issues[40].
[edit] See also
- Indian political scandals
- Corruption Perceptions Index
- List of countries by Corruption Perceptions Index
- Socio-economic issues in India
- License Raj
- Mafia Raj
- Corruption in Mumbai
- Rent seeking
- Lok Ayukta
- Notable Scams in India
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Centre for Media Studies (20/tii/ICS2k5_Vol1.pdf). India Corruption Study 2005: To Improve Governance Volume – I: Key Highlights. Transparency International India.
- ^ a b India: Where Shipping Is Shaky. Businessweek
- ^ a b "A special report on India: The democracy tax is rising: Indian politics is becoming ever more labyrinthine". The Economist. December 11, 2008. http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12749771.
- ^ The criminalisation of Indian democracy (May 2, 2007). "Jo Johnson". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/21d0f5f8-f8c1-11db-a940-000b5df10621.html. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
- ^ a b Wax, Emily (2008-07-24). "With Indian Politics, the Bad Gets Worse". Washington Times. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/23/AR2008072303390.html. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ^ Prabhakar, Binoy; Bureau, ET; 18, Nov. "Black money trail: 'India drained of Rs 20 lakh crore during 1948-2008'". timesofindia.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Black-money-trail-India-drained-of-Rs-20-lakh-crore-during-1948-2008/articleshow/6946266.cms.
- ^ Eugene M. Makar (2007). An American's Guide to Doing Business in India.
- ^ "Economic survey of India 2007: Policy Brief". OECD. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/17/52/39452196.pdf.
- ^ "The India Report". Astaire Research. http://www.ukibc.com/ukindia2/files/India60.pdf.
- ^ "India's Rising Growth Potential". Goldman Sachs. 2007. http://www.usindiafriendship.net/viewpoints1/Indias_Rising_Growth_Potential.pdf.
- ^ a b "Will Growth Slow Corruption In India?". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/15/wipro-tata-corruption-ent-law-cx_kw_0814whartonindia.html.
- ^ The criminalisation of Indian democracy (May 2, 2007). "Jo Johnson". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/21d0f5f8-f8c1-11db-a940-000b5df10621.html. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
- ^ Indian bureaucracy ranked worst in Asia: Survey The Times of India, June 3, 2009.
- ^ K.R. Gupta and J.R. Gupta, Indian Economy, Vol #2, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2008, ISBN 8126909269. Snippet: ... the land market already stands subverted and an active land mafia has already been created ...
- ^ "Mulayam Hits Mafia Hard". India Today. 2006-10-16. http://archives.digitaltoday.in/indiatoday/20061016/state-up.html. Retrieved 2008-10-30. Snippet: ... The road sector has always been the main source of income for the mafia. They either ask their men directly to grab the contracts or allow an outsider to take the contract after accepting a hefty commission ... a large number of criminals have been grabbing contracts under the protective umbrella of parties like SP, BSP, BJP, as well as the Congress ... opportunity to refurbish the image of his Government by initiating a crackdown on the mafia-contractor-engineer nexus ...
- ^ "Killer roads in India and rethinking the death penalty". The Wall Street Journal. liveMint.com. 2008-09-01. http://blogs.livemint.com/blogs/romanticrealist/archive/2008/09/01/killer-roads-in-india-and-rethinking-the-death-penalty.aspx. Retrieved 2008-10-30.[dead link] Snippet: ... this year's rains have destroyed 581 roads in the state with 139 road accidents killing 373 people through 10 August ... they spoke about a road building contractor mafia that pretty much has a lock on many projects for redoing roads--apparently year after year ...
- ^ "Check-in baggage open to theft (Google cache)". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 2009-09-30. http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/30/stories/2009093058370300.htm.
- ^ "Corruption in Income-Tax: beaten by Babudom". LiveMint. http://www.livemint.com/2007/04/01225456/Corruption-in-IncomeTax-beat.html.
- ^ "Two Income Tax officials booked for corruption". Indian Express. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/two-income-tax-officials-booked-for-corruption/414293/.
- ^ Praful Bidwai. "INDIA: Legal System in the Dock". http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37972.
- ^ Is corruption widespread in the Indian armed forces? How can it be dealt with? - India - DNA
- ^ 義美聯電-數位影音多媒體刊物
- ^ Corruption in Indian Armed Forces: 72 officers sold their weapons for profit - Army
- ^ Torture main reason of death in police custody The Tribune
- ^ Custodial deaths in West Bengal and India's refusal to ratify the Convention against Torture Asian Human Rights Commission 26 February 2004
- ^ Custodial deaths and torture in India Asian Legal Resource Centre
- ^ Police Accountability in India: Policing Contaminated by Politics
- ^ Are even the Priests taking to corruption?
- ^ Example of a central government department's implementation of the Right to Information Act.
- ^ Transparency International Press release
- ^ Transparency International Press release
- ^ a b "Karnataka Lokayukta". National Informatics Center. http://lokayukta.kar.nic.in. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
- ^ "Karnataka Anti-Corruption Laws (Acts)". National Informatics Center. http://lokayukta.kar.nic.in/acts.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
- ^ "Lokayukta may get constitutional status". Deccan Herald. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/78301/lokayukta-may-get-constitutional-status.html. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
- ^ "Smart new driving licence issued in Bangalore". Live Mint. http://www.livemint.com/2009/06/25170233/Smart-new-driving-licence-issu.html.
- ^ "Bangalore Traffic Police". Bangalore Traffic Police. http://www.bangaloretrafficpolice.gov.in/.
- ^ "A.P. Departments > Anti-Corruption Bureau". A.P. Government. http://www.aponline.gov.in/apportal/departments/departments.asp?dep=13&org=83. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
- ^ "Zero Rupee Note". 5thpillar.org. http://5thpillar.org/~pillar/india/ZRN.
- ^ "Jaago Re Campaign from Tata Tea". Tata Tea. http://www.jaagore.com/.
- ^ "nobribe.org". nobribe.org. http://www.nobribe.org.
[edit] Further reading
- Kohli, Suresh (1975). Corruption in India: The Growing Evil. ISBN 0861865804.
- Dwivedy, Surendranath; Bhargava, G. S. (1967). Political Corruption in India.
- Gupta, K. N. (2001). Corruption in India. Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd. ISBN 8126109734.
- Halayya, M. (1985). Corruption in India. Affiliated East-West Press.
- Guhan, Sanjivi; Paul, Samuel (1997). Corruption in India: Agenda for Action. Vision Books.
- Vittal, N. (2003). Corruption in India: The Roadblock to National Prosperity. Academic Foundation. ISBN 8171882870. Excepts
[edit] External links
[edit] Indian government
- CIC - The Central Information Commission is charged with interpreting the Right to Information Act, 2005.
- DoPT - The Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, is charged with being the nodal agency for the Right to Information Act, 2005. It has the powers to make rules regarding appeals, fees, etc.
- Complete text of the Right to Information Act
- Karnataka Information Commission The State Information Commission for Indian State of Karnataka
- Jaago Re! - Interview with RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal on fighting corruption in India.
- Jaago Re! - 'Corruption starts right before birth until death for an Indian citizen': Interview with Vijay Anand, founder of the 5th Pillar (Zero rupee note)
--
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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