Wednesday 30 March 2011
Vasu Menon:Indian market one of worst-performing markets in Asia
One has to take into account the possibility that the Indian stock market could actually hit lower for where it is right now, especially against the backdrop of uncertainties on the Middle East front, the Japanese earthquake and other factors at play. So I would not pass the possibility that the Indian stock market could weaken, but maybe not a lot more from where it is right now because already we have gone a lot.
Professional tax to be imposed in Bihar government
Bihar government to impose professional tax on state & central governments officers and employees, Railways, boards and corporation on the pattern of Maharashtra, West Bengal and other states, official sources said today.
Those earning between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh would pay an annual professional tax of Rs 1000 while those earning between 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh will have to pay Rs 2000. Employees getting above Rs 10 lakh per annum will pay Rs 2500, the sources said.
Those earning between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh would pay an annual professional tax of Rs 1000 while those earning between 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh will have to pay Rs 2000. Employees getting above Rs 10 lakh per annum will pay Rs 2500, the sources said.
Essar merger approvals extend date
India Securities statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday did not give further details.
An Essar Group official said the companies had previously set a March 31 date for getting the necessary approvals, but had to extend it as a court decision on the merger is still pending.
India's Madras High Court will hold a final hearing on April 1, on the petition to merge the two Essar firms, India Securities said last week.
stock markets in india
stock markets
Stock Exchange | Started |
| Ahmedabad Stock Exchange | 1894 |
| Bangalore Stock Exchange | 1963 |
| Bhubaneshwar Stock Exchange | 1956 |
| Bombay Stock Exchange | 1875 |
| Calcutta Stock Exchange | 1830 |
| Cochin Stock Exchange | 1989 |
| Coimbatore Stock Exchange | 1998 |
| Delhi Stock Exchange | 1947 |
| Guwahati Stock Exchange | 1983 |
| Hyderabad Stock Exchange | 1943 |
| Inter-connected Stock Exchange of India, Kolkatta | |
| Jaipur Stock Exchange | 1989 |
| Kanara Stock Exchange, Mangalore | |
| Ludhiana Stock Exchange Association | |
| Madhya Pradesh Stock Exchange, Indore | |
| Madras Stock Exchange | 1920 |
| Meerut Stock Exchange | 1956 |
| National Stock Exchange of India, Mumbai | 1992 |
| OTC Exchange of India, Mumbai | 1990 |
| Pune Stock Exchange, Pune | 1982 |
| Saurashtra Kutch Stock Exchange | 1989 |
| Uttar Pradesh Stock Association, Kanpur | 1982 |
| Vadodara Stock Exchange | 1990 |
Thursday 24 March 2011
IANS -FLASH NEWS-Indo-Asian News Service
The Indian government Thursday tabled a bill in parliament to promote and regulate pension funds in the country,while remaining silent on the issue of foreign investment.
With unexpected support of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha, the lower house, after Speaker Meira Kumar allowed a division of votes pushed by Left parties.
Officially called the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011, it also proposes an empowered watchdog to regulate old age security. The present watchdog has been functioning without any parliamentary sanction.
According to Congress party leaders, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee could not be present in the house during its introduction as the speaker had cleared the lobbies, following which no member is allowed to enter the house.
Among the 159 members present in the 543-member house, 115 backed the bill, 43 opposed it while one abstained.
With unexpected support of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha, the lower house, after Speaker Meira Kumar allowed a division of votes pushed by Left parties.
Officially called the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011, it also proposes an empowered watchdog to regulate old age security. The present watchdog has been functioning without any parliamentary sanction.
According to Congress party leaders, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee could not be present in the house during its introduction as the speaker had cleared the lobbies, following which no member is allowed to enter the house.
Among the 159 members present in the 543-member house, 115 backed the bill, 43 opposed it while one abstained.
M&M to invest over $67 mln in new plant in Andhra Pradesh
Mahindra & Mahindra, largest utility vehicles maker in India, will invest more than 3 billion rupees ($67 million) in a new tractor plant in Andhra Pradesh.
The plant will have a capacity to make 100,000 tractors and production will start in 2012, the company said in a statement.
This month, Mahindra said it had completed all formalities related to the acquisition of a majority stake in Ssangyong Motor and will boost product development and brand spends at the South Korean sport utility vehicle maker.
The plant will have a capacity to make 100,000 tractors and production will start in 2012, the company said in a statement.
This month, Mahindra said it had completed all formalities related to the acquisition of a majority stake in Ssangyong Motor and will boost product development and brand spends at the South Korean sport utility vehicle maker.
India's food inflation snapped a three-week
Inflation pressures in India still persist, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Subir Gokarn, told television channel ET Now in an interview on Thursday.
Food inflation snapped a three-week easing trend in mid-March and fuel inflation remained at elevated levels, keeping pressure on the central bank to rein in broader inflation. The food price index rose an annual 10.05% in the week to March 12, higher than a 9.42% rise in the previous week as prices of potatoes and vegetables rose, data released on Thursday showed.
High food prices kept headline inflation up for much of the past year. But now rising energy prices on unrest in the Middle East are a bigger challenge to inflation management as costlier fuel runs the risk of stoking overall inflation.
"Fuel inflation has remained steady as not much of pass through of high global crude prices is happening," said NR Bhanumurthy, an economist at Delhi-based think-tank National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
India's food inflation snapped a three-week easing trend in mid-March and fuel inflation remained at elevated levels, data on Thursday showed, keeping pressure on the central bank to rein in broader inflation.
Food inflation snapped a three-week easing trend in mid-March and fuel inflation remained at elevated levels, keeping pressure on the central bank to rein in broader inflation. The food price index rose an annual 10.05% in the week to March 12, higher than a 9.42% rise in the previous week as prices of potatoes and vegetables rose, data released on Thursday showed.
The fuel price index climbed 12.79% in the same week, the same level as in the previous week. Bonds fell on the data.
High food prices kept headline inflation up for much of the past year. But now rising energy prices on unrest in the Middle East are a bigger challenge to inflation management as costlier fuel runs the risk of stoking overall inflation.
"Fuel inflation has remained steady as not much of pass through of high global crude prices is happening," said NR Bhanumurthy, an economist at Delhi-based think-tank National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
India's food inflation snapped a three-week easing trend in mid-March and fuel inflation remained at elevated levels, data on Thursday showed, keeping pressure on the central bank to rein in broader inflation.
Saturday 19 March 2011
WikiLeaks expose‘cash-for-votes’ scam in 2008
The WikiLeaks expose on the alleged ‘cash-for-votes’ scam in 2008 today disrupted Parliament proceedings, as a united Opposition demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the matter.
Soon after the Lok Sabha assembled, Speaker Meira Kumar asked Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj to move a calling attention on the problems being faced by Indian fishermen due to frequent attacks by Srilankan Navy.
However, Swaraj said “the government has lost its moral right to rule” after the expose of the contents of the American diplomatic cables alleging that the UPA-I government had bribed MPs to win the 2008 trust vote after the Left parties withdrew support on the Indo-US nuclear deal…. (hence) it is not possible to call attention of any minister of this government.”
Swaraj demanded a statement from the Prime Minister.
Rising in her support, BJP Parliamentary party chief LK Advani pointed out that yesterday also when Swaraj started her speech, “the entire treasury bench was on its feet” trying to prevent her from speaking.
Countering them, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal strongly objected to Swaraj raising the Wikileaks issue instead of calling attention of the government on the issue of fishermen listed by her.
“I agree that the Leader of the Opposition has the right to raise any issue in the House, but during Calling Attention she should stick to the subject,” Bansal said.
Swaraj again demanded that the Prime Minister should come to the House and make a statement. “The entire country is waiting for the Prime Minister to make a statement and explain. This is disrespect to the House.”
The entire Opposition was on its feet and shouted slogans – ‘Call the PM’ and ‘PM come to the House’. This led the Speaker to adjourn the House till 1215 hours.
In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley wanted to speak on the issue, but was not allowed by Congress members, who vociferously objected to the BJP disrupting the proceedings for the last few days.
Amid din, Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan adjourned the House first for 15 minutes and then till 2.30 pm.
Soon after the Lok Sabha assembled, Speaker Meira Kumar asked Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj to move a calling attention on the problems being faced by Indian fishermen due to frequent attacks by Srilankan Navy.
However, Swaraj said “the government has lost its moral right to rule” after the expose of the contents of the American diplomatic cables alleging that the UPA-I government had bribed MPs to win the 2008 trust vote after the Left parties withdrew support on the Indo-US nuclear deal…. (hence) it is not possible to call attention of any minister of this government.”
Swaraj demanded a statement from the Prime Minister.
Rising in her support, BJP Parliamentary party chief LK Advani pointed out that yesterday also when Swaraj started her speech, “the entire treasury bench was on its feet” trying to prevent her from speaking.
Countering them, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal strongly objected to Swaraj raising the Wikileaks issue instead of calling attention of the government on the issue of fishermen listed by her.
“I agree that the Leader of the Opposition has the right to raise any issue in the House, but during Calling Attention she should stick to the subject,” Bansal said.
Swaraj again demanded that the Prime Minister should come to the House and make a statement. “The entire country is waiting for the Prime Minister to make a statement and explain. This is disrespect to the House.”
The entire Opposition was on its feet and shouted slogans – ‘Call the PM’ and ‘PM come to the House’. This led the Speaker to adjourn the House till 1215 hours.
In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley wanted to speak on the issue, but was not allowed by Congress members, who vociferously objected to the BJP disrupting the proceedings for the last few days.
Amid din, Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan adjourned the House first for 15 minutes and then till 2.30 pm.
After Congress, BJP hit by WikiLeaks disclosure
BJP was on Saturday hit by the Wikileaks expose with US diplomatic cables stating that the party leadership had told them that its criticism of the US in public was to score "easy political points" against UPA and when in power, it would not harm the Indo-US nuclear deal.
The expose, published by 'The Hindu', drew immediate strong reaction from ruling Congress which asked BJP to apply to itself the same standards it adopted for the government when it was needlessly disrupting Parliament for the last few days.
The BJP, however, denied there was any doublespeak and maintained that because of its strong position, the government had to come with 16 amendments to the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill.
Seshadri Chari, BJP National Executive member and RSS pointsman in the party, figured in the diplomatic cables as having told an US embassy official in Delhi in December 2005 "not to read too much into the foreign policy resolution especially the parts relating to the US", which had attacked the UPA's "subservience" to Washington.
"Chari dismissed the statement (resolution) as standard practice aimed at scoring easy political points against the UPA. BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar echoed these statements, saying that the BJP was not really upset about the US-India relationship, but merely wanted the Government of India and US government to be more forthcoming about any deal on nuclear policy," the cable said.
In another cable, the embassy's then Charge d'affaires Peter Burleigh wrote after a meeting with L K Advani in May 2009, just before the Lok Sabha poll results were out, the BJP veteran "downplayed" any move by his party to reopen the nuclear deal noting that BJP "does not take international agreements lightly".
Advani acknowledged that the BJP's public position in July 2008 was that the deal constrained the country's strategic autonomy and that the party would reexamine if it returned to power but connected that stance to "domestic political developments" then at play in India.
The BJP leader, the diplomat wrote, was clear that there would be "no imminent BJP move to reopen the (nuclear) deal. In his view, the government is a continuity, particularly in matters of foreign policy and international agreements cannot be taken lightly."
Asked about the diplomatic cables quoting him, Chari declined to comment saying he has not seen the report. He said he did not remember if he had talked to Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Blake in December 2005.
"I don't remember the name. I don't remember the names. I don't remember whom I met in 2005," Chari said, adding the party will officially comment if required.
Javadekar said there are "no contradictions" in their stand. "We have made our position clear both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and through are press statements that we value strategic relations with the US and that all sources of energy should be tapped," he said.
But, he said, when the government brought the Nuclear Liability Bill, the party raised certain objections and the government had to make 16 amendments to the Bill at its insistence. "We keep national interest foremost...there is no double speak," Javadekar said.
But Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari would not buy the BJP's defence. He said, "For the BJP, chickens have come home to roost and they have come rather soon."
He said BJP had made Wikileaks "the Holy Grail of their political philosophy" even when Congress had warned them not to give credence to hearsay.
"Now the shoe is on the other foot. It is for the BJP to explain to the nation whether they will apply same standards to themselves as they attempted to apply to the government by needlessly disrupting Parliament for the last few days," Tewari said.
The expose, published by 'The Hindu', drew immediate strong reaction from ruling Congress which asked BJP to apply to itself the same standards it adopted for the government when it was needlessly disrupting Parliament for the last few days.
The BJP, however, denied there was any doublespeak and maintained that because of its strong position, the government had to come with 16 amendments to the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill.
Seshadri Chari, BJP National Executive member and RSS pointsman in the party, figured in the diplomatic cables as having told an US embassy official in Delhi in December 2005 "not to read too much into the foreign policy resolution especially the parts relating to the US", which had attacked the UPA's "subservience" to Washington.
"Chari dismissed the statement (resolution) as standard practice aimed at scoring easy political points against the UPA. BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar echoed these statements, saying that the BJP was not really upset about the US-India relationship, but merely wanted the Government of India and US government to be more forthcoming about any deal on nuclear policy," the cable said.
In another cable, the embassy's then Charge d'affaires Peter Burleigh wrote after a meeting with L K Advani in May 2009, just before the Lok Sabha poll results were out, the BJP veteran "downplayed" any move by his party to reopen the nuclear deal noting that BJP "does not take international agreements lightly".
Advani acknowledged that the BJP's public position in July 2008 was that the deal constrained the country's strategic autonomy and that the party would reexamine if it returned to power but connected that stance to "domestic political developments" then at play in India.
The BJP leader, the diplomat wrote, was clear that there would be "no imminent BJP move to reopen the (nuclear) deal. In his view, the government is a continuity, particularly in matters of foreign policy and international agreements cannot be taken lightly."
Asked about the diplomatic cables quoting him, Chari declined to comment saying he has not seen the report. He said he did not remember if he had talked to Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Blake in December 2005.
"I don't remember the name. I don't remember the names. I don't remember whom I met in 2005," Chari said, adding the party will officially comment if required.
Javadekar said there are "no contradictions" in their stand. "We have made our position clear both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and through are press statements that we value strategic relations with the US and that all sources of energy should be tapped," he said.
But, he said, when the government brought the Nuclear Liability Bill, the party raised certain objections and the government had to make 16 amendments to the Bill at its insistence. "We keep national interest foremost...there is no double speak," Javadekar said.
But Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari would not buy the BJP's defence. He said, "For the BJP, chickens have come home to roost and they have come rather soon."
He said BJP had made Wikileaks "the Holy Grail of their political philosophy" even when Congress had warned them not to give credence to hearsay.
"Now the shoe is on the other foot. It is for the BJP to explain to the nation whether they will apply same standards to themselves as they attempted to apply to the government by needlessly disrupting Parliament for the last few days," Tewari said.
Friday 18 March 2011
2G Scam fears: DMK top leaders move away from Chennai
Fearing possible fallout of the 2G spectrum scam among urbanites, the DMK top leadership on Thursday moved away from its traditional bastion of Chennai to safer seats with party president M Karunanidhi himself shifting to Cauvery delta to contest from his home turf of Tiruvarur.
Party’s No.2 in hierarchy, General Secretary K Anbazhagan was allotted Villiwakkam segment where the party had secured considerable lead in the last Lok Sabha polls.
Karunanidhi’s heir apparent and Deputy Chief Minister, M K Stalin, was earmarked suburban Kolathur, considered to be DMK’s stronghold as the segment gave a lead of over 20,000 votes to party’s North Chennai MP TKS Elangovan in the 2009 polls.
The switch in constituencies also comes about against the backdrop of DMK’s poll graph showing a downward spiral during the last two assembly polls in Chennai.
In 2006, the party managed to get only seven of the 14 seats it had contested. This time, the party has liberally given seats to its allies, Congress (5) and one each to PMK, IUML and VCK and Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi.
In a bid to infuse young blood, the party has fielded 58 new faces. Women candidates figure in 11 constituencies with all the three Ministers including Dr Poongothai Aladi Aruna, a close friend of DMK MP and Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, being renominated.
Two party seniors and Ministers Arcot N Veeraswamy and Ko.Si.Mani were not given tickets citing their ill-health as reasons. The party has given tickets to the wards of late NVN Somu and DMK Parliamentary Party Leader, TR Baalu.
Somu’s daughter, Dr Kanimozhi, has been named as party’s nominee for the Madhavaram seat while Baalu’s son, TRB Raja, an industrialist, will contest from Mannargudi.
The party has fielded an unknown face, N Anand, to take on AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa in Srirangam.
Party’s No.2 in hierarchy, General Secretary K Anbazhagan was allotted Villiwakkam segment where the party had secured considerable lead in the last Lok Sabha polls.
Karunanidhi’s heir apparent and Deputy Chief Minister, M K Stalin, was earmarked suburban Kolathur, considered to be DMK’s stronghold as the segment gave a lead of over 20,000 votes to party’s North Chennai MP TKS Elangovan in the 2009 polls.
The switch in constituencies also comes about against the backdrop of DMK’s poll graph showing a downward spiral during the last two assembly polls in Chennai.
In 2006, the party managed to get only seven of the 14 seats it had contested. This time, the party has liberally given seats to its allies, Congress (5) and one each to PMK, IUML and VCK and Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi.
In a bid to infuse young blood, the party has fielded 58 new faces. Women candidates figure in 11 constituencies with all the three Ministers including Dr Poongothai Aladi Aruna, a close friend of DMK MP and Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, being renominated.
Two party seniors and Ministers Arcot N Veeraswamy and Ko.Si.Mani were not given tickets citing their ill-health as reasons. The party has given tickets to the wards of late NVN Somu and DMK Parliamentary Party Leader, TR Baalu.
Somu’s daughter, Dr Kanimozhi, has been named as party’s nominee for the Madhavaram seat while Baalu’s son, TRB Raja, an industrialist, will contest from Mannargudi.
The party has fielded an unknown face, N Anand, to take on AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa in Srirangam.
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