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Anti National GOI Does Everything to Save the FREESEX Market |
| Published on October 27th, 2008 In Uncategorized | Views 369 | |
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Be Aware of Great Indian Crocodiles! Cash Erodes Esop Values. Employee Stock turn into TRASH. Indian Brahaminical Hegemony Bid to Rescue US Zionist War Machine, Mc Cain Relieved Rejects SURRENDER! Global Financial Crisis Ignites Food Insecurity Every Where. Lay Off Swamps Economies. Panic in Street and Dance and Discount to Beat the FREE FALL. Just See Political MATING around you . Sadhvi Pragva Turns Global Hindutva Icon.Slice of forex reserves for liquidity-hit banks!Anti National GOI Does Everything to Save the FREESEX Market! Salvation FDI for many More sectors despite the Flight OUT of FIIS!
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 95
Palash Biswas
Top News
SCENARIOS: How Obama, McCain are faring in key states
Presidential Pick
THE FAULT LINE Before holding the people of West Bengal responsible for their disappointment, should not these stalwarts first enter into a season of introspection? Their party — and the Left Front it provides leadership to — had won a thumping poll victory in the state barely two-and-a-half years ago; goodwill and affection for the party were at their peak in town and country. All that now seems to be a distant, unreal dream. How has this state of affairs come about? Perhaps the magnificence of that electoral triumph was itself at the root of the tragic sequences of events since. The party’s state leadership, along with its ministerial team, was relatively young. Most of them had not gone through the grill of toughening that the hard, earlier days of the party provided; their understanding of issues was circumscribed by the existential reality of the party’s overwhelming dominance in the post-1977 period. That apart, the collapse of the Soviet Union and Deng Xiao Ping’s apparent success with market socialism made shambles of the ideological beliefs of the young lambs at the helm. The 2006 poll sweep made up their mind: they must do a Deng, pronto, in West Bengal; whoever opposes them on whichever ground deserves to be sent to the gallows. There was a problem though. Deng had inherited a post-revolution China with the rigour and discipline of one-party rule; West Bengal was part and parcel of India’s multi-party ‘democratic’ structure. Not bothering over differences in the basic situation, those shaping the destiny of supposedly Marxist West Bengal declared an open house for private capital. Big and small-scale tycoons, with their private axes to grind, began frequenting the state secretariat and the party headquarters; the essentially petit bourgeois party leadership, with little background in working-class struggle, was easy meat for them. Industrial development in the state, it was taken for granted, had to be exclusively at the initiative of private capital. Some neo-literates in the party came up with a bemusing thesis: unless capitalist development had come to full bloom, a proletarian revolution was simply not on. The message went down among party ranks to keep on hold such themes as class antagonism and class war; the primary task of Marxists governing a federating state within the confines of a feudal-capitalist structure was, it was pontificated, to compete with other states in seeking favours from the private sector. The cause of the private sector became the cause of the government and the leading party in West Bengal. The deus ex machina of democratic centralism was invoked to still intra-party questioning. Things came to a head on the issue of acquisition of land, particularly at Singur and Nandigram, by using an antiquated colonial law which permitted forced acquisition for public purposes. The legislation smacked of both arbitrariness and hauteur. The reverie of quick-fix industrialization in their eye, ministers decided to compulsorily acquire land by claiming private purpose to be indistinguishable from public purpose. It was not considered necessary to discuss the roster of acquisition with local leaders or cadres or representatives of the kisan sabhas or, for the matter, elected panchayat bodies: centralism was at work in the party, it was at work in the administration. The party, which was once in the forefront in the great agrarian battles for wresting land for the landless and legal rights for tenants as well as for ensuring living wages for the working peasants, discovered itself in a different role: dispossessing the peasantry from their land. The peasantry had been taught by the party to weave dreams around the land that had of late come to them. Suddenly the same party, their own party — and the government they themselves had elected — effected a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn: the land has to be given up, not for industrialization under state auspices in accordance with a grand programme with which the peasantry were to be actively associated, for example, through offer of co-ownership, but exclusively for advancing the interests of private entities. Things needed to be explained to the peasantry. It called for tact, patience, and calm, reasoned dialogue both within party ranks and with elected representatives of the people in the panchayat bodies.
Anti national GOI does Everything to save the FREESEX Market! Salvation FDI for many More sectors despite the Flight OUT of FIIS! With FII funds continuously flowing out of the country due to the global meltdown and RBI finding it difficult to defend the rupee, the go vernment may revisit the proposal to allow FII to invest beyond sectoral limits on foreign direct investment (FDI)! In a bid to step up capital inflows, an inter-ministerial may take up this issue which has a significant impact on key segments like stock exchanges, information " broadcasting and telecom. The department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) had mooted the idea some months ago, but opposition from other government departments held it up. A cabinet note to this effect is pending due to lack of consensus! What an Anti National Government we have in India, led by traitors unprecedented! committee led by the finance secretary Arun Ramanathan has made out a case for using a part of the country’s foreign exchange reserves to provide liquidity support to Indian banks for their overseas operations. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor said that the monetary policy authority would take conventional and unconventional measures to ensure financial as well as price stability and growth. Government may set up a common body to adjudicate direct and indirect tax cases relating to the foreign firms as suggested by the Parliam The Standing committee on Finance which recently tabled its report in the Parliament has suggested the government to form a common Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) on Central Taxes instead of two departments. “According to the Ministry of Finance, while reviewing the performance of the two authorities for Advance Rulings…, it was noticed that these Authorities do not have adequate work, to justify separate bodies with separate establishments", the report by the Standing committee said. The committee has submitted a report on the Authority in the Central Taxes Bill to both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. More policy co-ordination between Asia"s monetary authorities would help the region"s markets better cope with the global financial crisi The RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao told the Financial Times in an interview that there were some informal contacts among the region"s policymakers, but more concerted action would have greater impact. “I think (greater co-ordination) would be helpful especially in times of crisis like this," he said. “Although there is no institutional arrangement spanning Asia, there are informal arrangements. Some of the governors have been courteous enough to call me and let me know of their action." Turbulence in US and European financial markets, spilled over to Asia, knocking stock markets to multi-year lows and hitting the regions" currencies. Last week, the RBI slashed its main interest rate by a full percentage point to 8 percent and has also cut the amount of cash banks are required to keep with the central bank. The Tsunami has to take its Toll.Much of the panic has been driven by global developments, but Dalal Street observers say there are also excesses in the home market yet to be purged.There are a number of stress points. FIIs, under pressure in Western markets, are exiting from emerging markets. This is particularly true of hedge funds. Domestic factors include promoters, who had pledged shares, are facing margin calls. In Marxist ruled Brahaminical Bengal,Cyclone averted thanks to still surviving Mangrove forest Sundervana. clear Sky is forcasted for Damp diwali celebration !But Bengal has not recovered from Microbial siege as yet.An alert has been sounded in three blocks of Hooghly district in West Bengal where virus of the dreaded Chikunguya disease has been detec ted in the blood of 11 persons. The Hooghly district health administration souned the alert following an emergency meeting on October 23 after blood samples of 11 persons tested positive for the disease. The Chief Medical Officer of Health, Bhusan Chakraborty, today said that blood samples of 100 persons from the three blocks - Khanakul, Singur and Chanditola - had been sent for examination after they displayed symptoms of the disease accompanied by high fever. Oil prices sank to 59 dollars on Monday, hitting 17-month lows on worries that a global recession will sap energy demand and as the US currency strengthened against the euro! But Government of India never considers any relief for the masses. Petro Prices were hiked as the Oil Pricerocketed to 149 dollars! It is almost One Third now. But the Washington Italian Government of India is engaged more and more Public Money in the FREESEX market! It has no time to care for the BPL community which was never the part of any Financial system in India. neither they have any chance in MOON MARS OPen Market India shining Brahaminical!Oil trimmed losses after sinking to a new 17-month low below $62 a barrel on Monday, driven down by investor pessimism about the deteriorating global economic climate and its likely impact on demand for fuel.
It is only the market, the FREESEX market on ramp is endangered and the Toilet Media die to prove the resilience of indian economy. Nuke Deal is not discused. Not the Global Financial crisis as yet. The Womaniser politicians of Ruling Hegemony are engeged into Airconditioned resort Honeymoon as the seventy percent of Indian enslaved population face intense food insecurity. The Jobcut, wide scale Retrenchment heralded with Jet airways crisis. FINMIN or RBI or GOI , non of the financial agency or Indian Media Icons seems to be concerned least for the JOB CRUNCH ahead! LPG rooted well. We are now habitual to be gangraped! VRS, ERS, HIRE FIRE never irritate us anymore! Just see the situation in the CORE country and feel the Destiny of the Colonised Periphery! The labour market in the US is at its worst since the previous two recessions of 2001 and early 1990s, with the number of people jobless fo According to new job data from the Labour Department, the two million who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more is 21 per cent of the total unemployed, and the rate is approaching the prior peaks of about 23 percent in 2003 and 1992, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In America! The finance arms of US automakers such as General Motors Corp and Chrysler could apply aid from the financial rescue package approved by Congress earlier this month, the White House said on Monday!Meanwhile,the US government will start doling out $125 billion to nine major banks this week to get credit flowing again, but Monday"s announcement offered cold comfort to investors as rising anxiety about a worldwide recession drove stocks down sharply around the globe. The bailout package has undergone a major change in emphasis since it was passed by Congress. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson decided to use $250 billion of the $700 billion to make direct purchases of bank stock, partially nationalizing the country"s banking system, as a way to get money into the financial system more quickly. The plan is also aimed at clearing banks" balance sheets of bad assets. That effort has yet to begin although the administration expects to use $100 billion to purchase bad assets in coming months. The deployment of the first $125 billion to the major banks had been delayed while the government and the banks worked out the details for the purchases. Nason, a key architect of the rescue plan, said in an interview Monday on CNBC that those agreements had been signed late Sunday night. Treasury is also starting to give approval to major regional banks with the goal of getting another $125 billion in stock purchases made by the end of this year. ORISSA: Students and their parents in Kandhamal district are a worried lot. Though board examinations are just four months away, 40 schools The Superslaves of the Phoenix Galaxy Order try their best to save the Open Market as well as Capitalist system of Corporate Imperialism and Fascist Hegemonies! Indian Brahminical Hegemony bid to rescue the US Zionist White War machine to continue the infinite war against the Indigenous Black Untouchables of this world. Mc Cain is relieved as NRI brahaminical Indians and India Incs try their best to mobilise the Anti Muslim anti Black Racial votes against Barrack Obama and hope for a diwali Miracle to do wonder for th War criminal republicans! Mc Cain rejects to surrender and Sara Paulin continues the PUB show!The market seemed to lose bottom on Monday as the Sensex sank below the 8,000 market and Nifty breached the 2,300 level. The market was expected to drop given the heavy losses in the US on Friday and weak start to trade in Asia, but the severity of the fall has taken everyone’s breath away. The current turmoil has resulted in 17 stocks amongst the BSE 100 Index to trade a book value of less than one on valuation matrix price. The Washington planted Prime Minisister and his close associates the RSS ensured to disinvest the Public sector. NDA government had a Disinvestment Cabinet Minister, eminent Journalist arun shaurie. Thanks, SBI and LIC spared. These Public sector units hold the bulk of the Mutual Fund! Thsu, the Sensex slide has not crossed the Five K mark as yet. it could have been Blacker Diwali had SBI and LIC disinvested!Ironically, on the other hand, the meltdown at the bourses has left corporate India not even worth its revenue base with the collective market capitalisation of all the listed companies slipping below their cumulative latest fiscal revenues! Nevertheless,Country"s largest lender State Bank of India"s net profit for the July-September quarter jumped 40 per cent to Rs 2,259.72 on higher interest income, although the global banking industry is caught in a financial whirlpool. The bank had a standalone net profit of Rs 1,611.42 crore in the September quarter last year. Meanwhile, SBI has doubled its business to Rs 108,881 crore in the September quarter this year. Next week"s US presidential election will be decided in a handful of battleground states where opinion polls show Democrat Barack Obama leading Republican rival John McCain! Meanwhile, Growing evidence of a severe global economic slowdown drove oil prices to below $62 a barrel on Monday, as investors brushed off a sizable OPEC output cut! Global financial Crisis has ignited the Food Insecurity as it happened never before in any part of this planet. Capture Resources continues despite the Free Fall. Indian Ocean is Sieged still. US forces have not Left neither Middle east nor South Asia! War Machine is well fed with BLIND NATIONALISM Inferno created by Fascism in third world country including south Asia. Hindutva Bomb explodes and Sdhvi Pragva turns to be the global HINDUTVA Icon amid continued systematic Violence against Minorities in different parts of India. AFPSA prevails. Neither Financial Crisis nor Nuke Deal ever discussed in the Parliament. Constitution killed. Human rights and civil Rights violated. Maharashtra is pitted against entire North India thanks to a got up Sub Version game played between UPA and NDA. Tmail sensitivity and Dravid nationality remains unaddressed as yet. "Mumbai police fired from a cannon to shoot a chicken." Thus reacted an agitated Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on the “cold-blooded" killing of Patna boy Rahul Raj in an alleged shootout in a Mumbai suburb on Monday morning! On the other hand, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil on Monday justified the gunning down of a Bihari youth by the Mumbai police in the bus who was posing a threat to commuters! “The police did the right thing. Whoever takes the law in their own hands and tries scaring people will be shot at. Police did their duty," Patil told reporters here. He said, “If a mad man gets into a bus and goes on a shooting spree, this is what people will do. This is the response they will get from the police." Patil praised the policemen who averted a major incident when Rahul Raj an X-ray technician hailing from Patna was overpowered by police in the upper deck of the bus where there were 15 passengers in the bus. Nitish, Lalu meet PM Manmohan Singh This is XXXXX shining India Sensex FREESEX for Diwali Jackpot Royal casino! A curfew-like situation prevailed in the Kashmir Valley today as troops were deployed in strength to thwart a planned protest by separatist s who also gave a strike call forcing closure of business establishments, offices and educational institutions. The restrictions were imposed by the authorities as the separatist Coordination Committee had announced that it would form a human chain from Saddar court complex in Lal Chowk to High Court complex to protest the landing of Indian troops in the state on October 27, 1947. Weighed under selling pressure from funds, Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Monday went on a roller-coster ride yet again, falling over 1,000 points to breach the crucial 8,000 level in intra-day trading, but later recovered some losses on renewed buying. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dropped below 2,300 points before ending at 2524.20, still showing a loss of 59.50 points. Marketmen said emergence of buying by domestic financial institutions and covering up of short positions by speculators at prevailing lower levels helped Sensex recover part of the lost ground. What recovery! sensex replicates Dow American. Next day, we have to see how the resilience and Recovery vanish like wind! Friends! If you read me, share my opinon and experiences, please remember how many times I have written that the Leftist Withdrawal from NDA highlighting NUKE DEAL controversy is nothing but Ideological Strategical JUGGLERY! A real GIMMIC to appease the Muslim Vote Bank most vital to hold on Power in Marxist ruled states including BENGAL! I have also written so many things on Marxist Corporate alliances and Marxist ways of Capitalism. I have already written how Tata Motors limited relocated NANO to save its Credit in Auto industry during Melt down! I dare to assure that the Ruling Brahaminical Hegemony Power Equations have to remain the same. Marxist would get shelter into the BOTTOM of UPA! let the Loksabha Elections be over. NDA would never allow Mayawati emerging powerful as the Zionism and Hindutva combined would never tolerate a BLACK President in WHITE HOUSE! Got Up well, BIG BOSS! Taste of Pudding! Now jsut enjoy the Political Mating around you beating Hard PORN! Indian people have to bear with it all on the name of Democracy! No white Tiger is there to dare and try a CHANGE! Nothing changes in India for thousands and thousands years since the Brahmins have taken over everything! Rest of us happen to be the Mythical and superstitious enslaved masses Helpless destined to be killed some time or other time! NDTV.com CRAZY Animal hop around and they may have their share anytime any where! You may not guess who crosses the FENCE next! And when the Jackal would assasinate you! What bloody economy they have created meantime. Two hundred years of British Colonial rule could not kill our society or our culture! But twenty years of AMERICANISM has decultured us , degenerated us and we have no roots, no roots at all! I knew a KANAI LAL Bhattacharya, a Cashier in Indian Post. who committed suicide jumping on Metro Railway Track on one evening in MG Road Metro station in Kolkata. The poor fellow represented in person the resurgent Middle class who possessed scores of CREDIT CARD. I know a few central Government Employees having adventures in Air Conditioned MON and MARS with changing Bed Partners! This is the BOOn we recieved from Open Market. We have lost so many coleagues and neighbours and relatives lost in CREDIT BOOM! We have to witness MUSHROOMING Shopping Malls, Multiplexes, Retail chain, Resorts, Delux Housing complex and Private Hospitols, SEZ, Chemical Hubs, SEZ, Nuclear Parks and retrenched Jobless, displaced, starving faces around us. We have to feel AMERICA on the graveyards of Cotton, Tea and Jute! Indian ruling hegemony does everything to save the Money machine, the corporates and MNCs. national Revenue is cahnnelised into the pockets of the Capitalists. The Worldbank gangsters led by the Chettiar FM and his damned FINMIN and RBI bypass the Parliamnet with such a ease because the people of India may be diverted anytime indulging them in communal clash as the Indian society is divided in more than Six thousand castes. Everyone from another caste, may be Untouchables themselves may feel Higher to some or other castes as prescribed by the shrude Brahmins. The micro minority three percent brahmins rule India in the same way as america is ruled by the micro minority zionists. Hence, Zionists and Hindus join hands to defeat some barack hussain Obama pledging Martin Luther King`s dream true! Mind you, no politician raised a single question how the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry created a flood of liquidity to help banks channel investments into the economy and keep stock markets buoyant, despite the global uncertainties. RBI deployed its full arsenal of instruments to release funds to banks and financial entities and made it more attractive for global investors to invest in rupees, after noting the sustained improvement in the rates at which banks borrow from each other and the resultant cutback in their demand for cash from RBI through the repo window.
Sify I met a young man working for a Security agency in a bank in Highcourt area. The agency have twenty six thousand such youngmen who get only Rs Two Thousand and six hundred only. But the agency gets RS Seven Hundred for every head! I know many of them. I know the guys working round the clock in Call centres! I have to see the swarms of Generation Next flocking around the coaching Classes boasting placement for lacs of them and no regulation stops them. I am pained to see the faces of Future lost in virtual Reality! Are you? How do we, the Majority masses, the ensalved Black Untouchables, Indigenous communities and minorities with inherent injustice and inequality, fare in the troubled galaxy of Post Modern MANUSMRITI and APARTHEID! The meltdown in the Indian markets this week got reflected on their counterparts listed on American bourses, which cumulatively witnessed a value erosion of over 11 billion dollars led by ICICI and Wipro. The shares of 16 Indian companies listed on Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have seen significant decline in their valuation in just one week. The Indian companies listed on the American bourses witnessed a fall of USD 11.33 billion in their market capitalisation for the week ending October 24, a significant decline from the cumulative gain of USD 7 billion witnessed during the week ending October 17. The fall was led by India"s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank and software exporter Wipro, which together incurred loss of nearly six billion dollars. Wipro"s market capitalisation decreased to 2.63 billion dollars, while the firm witnessed a gain of 2.44 billion dollars last week. While, ICICI Bank rose as much as 1.25 billion dollars for the week ending October 17, it lost two billion dollars for this week. ICICI bank would announce its second quarter result tomorrow, amid the topsy-turvy of events globally in the financial arena. As the financial turmoil gripped world economies, markets globally had one of the worst weeks ever and India"s benchmark Sensex registered the highest ever percentage wise drop and second largest in absolute terms. The 30-share index, settled at 8,701.07 losing 11 per cent on Friday. Private sector lender HDFC Bank and internet firm Reddif.Com India lost over three billion dollars in their market valuation. HDFC Bank declined by 1.76 billion dollars and Reddif shed 1.87 billion dollars in the valuation on the American bourses. Other major losers are leading copper producer Sterlite Industries, which posted a loss of 927 million dollars in market capitalisation, while it registered a gain of nine per cent at Rs 1,720.81 crore in the second quarter ended on September 30. Further, other losers — IT bellwether Infosys declined by 423 million dollars, Tata Motors slipped by 629 million dollars, IT company Satyam Computers Services by 336 million dollars and Tata Communication dropped by 300 million dollars in their market capitalisation. Other Indian shares listed as ADRs are internet firm Sify Technologies, BPO companies Genpact and ExlService Holdings and telecom entity Mahanagar Telephone Nigam. Limited. I am often siged by Gestapo spkesmen and cdres claiming all round development and Resilience of Indian Economy quoting the Globalisation agent Toilet Media and economists. They celebrate the Nuclear super power status! economic times reports: The committee, appointed by the finance minister to assess the liquidity situation, has said that a portion of India’s forex reserves, aggregating $273 billion, could be used to invest in securities such as bonds issued by foreign offices of Indian banks, said a person familiar with the issue. This will boost resources of these banks at a time when access to lines of credit or funds from overseas banks, with whom Indian lenders have arrangements, have been severely curtailed. The forex pile, which could be utilised for this purpose, could be in the range of $1 billion to $ 5 billion. The seizure of financial markets world-wide had left many Indian banks with branches in some of the major financial capitals struggling to raise funds. The other measures suggested by the committee include opening a refinance window for small- and medium-enterprises. The committee is said to have indicated that policy makers would have to be mindful of the large foreign debt repayments which are due next year. The government and RBI are expected to take a view on the recommendation soon. There is a precedent for using part of the forex reserves in this manner. Following an announcement in the 2007-08 Budget, the India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL), in which the government is the dominant shareholder, has formed a company — IIFCL (UK) — to use up to $5 billion of the reserves to help Indian corporates finance their capital expenditure. The plan is to finance imports of capital equipment by the IIFCL subsidiary, with the entire transaction being done overseas to ensure that there is no impact on domestic liquidity. In this case, RBI will invest in bonds or securities issued by IIFCL (UK), with the government providing an assurance that returns on this investment would be higher than the returns generated by the central bank on deployment of its reserves. In 2007-08, the returns on India’s foreign exchange reserves were 5.1% (4.8% net of depreciation) compared with 4.7 % a year ago. Over the past few months, the forex stockpile has depleted by $35 billion as RBI had to sell dollars to stem the erosion in the value of the currency caused by foreign portfolio investors selling stocks and pulling out their money. Till mid-year, the debate in India centred around how to utilise the relatively large hoard of forex reserves to increase earnings. But, RBI was treading cautiously, saying, unlike other countries like China, which have huge reserves (over $1 trillion at last count) due to a current account surplus, India still runs a current account deficit. Bankers say that it makes sense to provide a funding line to Indian banks’ overseas operations, considering that their predominant business is financing the needs of Indian corporates which are expanding their operations globally or to overseas subsidiaries of Indian firms. There is very little money available for Indian banks which have foreign branches to draw upon from and the proposal could go a long way in easing their funding needs, a senior banker said. Banks had raised this issue with the central bank last week. In fact, the liquidity squeeze had resulted in some of these banks buying dollars in India and sending them abroad to meet their overseas requirements. Many liquidity boosting measures were announced by RBI and the government before the committee finalised its report. The committee includes, besides the finance secretary, IBA chairman TS Narayanswami, UTI AMC CMD UK Sinha, L"T CFO YM Deosthalee and Sidbi CMD RM Malla.
Chandrayaan-I left all cheerful but Byalalu villagers high and dry
News Line 365
NDTV.com Bad loans weigh on top banks, shares hit Reuters reports from Mumbai: India"s two leading banks posted better-than-expected profits on Monday, but worries about bad loans and the impact of a global recession saw their shares hammered in a market that fell more than 11 per cent. Shares in ICICI Bank, which has the largest exposure among Indian banks to the global credit crisis, fell as much as 9 per cent to a 4-year low, though it posted an unexpected rise in quarterly net profit, and later traded 1.4 per cent higher as the broader market pared losses. ICICI has sold its $600 million non-India linked credit derivatives exposure and has only $1.1 billion in India-linked exposure, Joint Managing Director Chanda Kochhar said. SBI"s provisions for bad debts rose to 9.11 billion rupees ($182 million) in the fiscal second quarter ended September from 2.47 billion rupees in the previous quarter, largely due to a government waiver of small farmers" debts. Chairman O.P.Bhatt said the state-run bank"s net interest margins had peaked and would be a little lower in the next quarter, but he added the bank wanted to keep these above 3 per cent. Net interest margins, a key measure of efficiency, were at 3.16 per cent in the quarter. “The slippages are a cause for concern given the economic slowdown. Going forward, the market is convinced SBI may not be able to get the best out of its other revenue streams," V.K. Sharma, head of research at Anagram Stock Broking, said. State-run SBI and its associates control a quarter of the Indian banking industry. Since the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers last month, ICICI Bank, which has units in Britain and Canada, has repeatedly said it was well capitalised and its deposits were safe. ICICI, which is also listed in New York, said its UK unit posted a $47 million net loss in the quarter. Like their peers around the world, Indian lenders have been battling tight liquidity as volatile financial markets make banks reluctant to lend, even to each other. That has forced some to borrow at interest rates of 20 per cent or more and raise the rates they pay on deposits after local money markets froze, pushing policy makers to unveil a slew of measures to restart credit markets. BAD LOANS INCREASE ICICI"s bad loans rose to 1.91 per cent of net advances from 1.43 per cent a year ago, but provisions for bad loans eased to 8.68 billion rupees in the quarter from 8.78 billion rupees in April-June. Kochhar said the bank was slowing loan growth to single digits to rein in bad debts. SBI, which raised $4.1 billion in a rights issue in March, said July-September net profit rose to 22.6 billion rupees from 16.1 billion rupees a year earlier, beating a Reuters poll of analysts that had forecast fiscal second-quarter earnings of 18.7 billion rupees. State Bank, which has more than 10,000 branches across India and overseas, has the lowest cost of funds among the nation"s lenders. The bulk of its funds come from savings bank deposits that cost about 3.5 per cent in annual interest payments. SBI shares rose 32 per cent in July-September, easily outperforming a 4.5 per cent drop in the main share index, but are down around 30 per cent in October. Shares in ICICI fell 15 per cent in July-September, and are down more than 40 per cent in October.
The Telegraph, Kolakat reports: The volatile market has left employees holding grants that were issued more than three years ago from which they can no longer derive any benefits. “The market meltdown has led to a situation where the employee stock option plans (Esops) will provide no real benefit to employees,” said a senior official with Deloitte " Touche Consulting. Result: there is a strong possibility that employees will now start spurning stock option offers, preferring instead to be compensated in cash. In one sense, this is a throwback to 1998 when employees of many companies — though not frontline infotech companies — found they had no use for stock options and preferred fatter pay packets. Stock options caught on again after a four-year hiatus, long after the dust from the dotcom bust had settled. But with the sensex plunging by over 45 per cent in this calendar year, stock options no longer enjoy the price discounts they did during the stock boom since 2005. Take an example: employees at Infosys were able to exercise their options at an average weighted price of Rs 634 last year under its Stock Option Plan of 1999, according to the company’s annual report. The weighted average price on the 15 lakh options that are still outstanding has swelled to Rs 1,163, which is just a tad lower than last Friday’s closing price of Rs 1248.75 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. That is one of the main reasons why none of the employees has exercised the option in this fiscal. Companies tend to grant stock options in driblets throughout the year and rarely, if ever, give it at one go. Since the pre-determined option price is calculated on the basis of a formula linked to the ruling market price at the time of the grant and the expected volatility in the stock, options are variously priced. For instance, Wipro issued stock options in 144 tranches over a three –year period, according to data sourced from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Satyam Computers had 143 tranches. The Infosys employees still have a price headroom on their options; others have not been so lucky. The stock option — one of the best deferred benefit programmes that India Inc has used to retain managerial talent — arrived on the scene in the early nineties and has gone through several refinements since. In the initial years, it was used primarily by infotech giants — Wipro and Infosys — to ensure rivals didn’t poach their top talent. Later, a number of other companies like ITC, ICICI Bank and even Bajaj Hindustan Sugar and Industries latched on to the concept as they fought to keep their best managers. Two developments changed the rules of the game for stock options: the first was a set of guidelines issued in 1999 by the capital market regulator which tightened option pricing rules; the second was the imposition of a fringe benefit tax (FBT) through the Finance Act 2007 which is applicable at the time of vesting rather than when the option is exercised. Companies typically pay FBT and later recover it from employees. The imposition of the FBT wasn’t bad as long as employees made gains when they pressed the button to convert the options into shares. There has to be a minimum period of one year between the grant of the option and vesting — a process under which the employee earns the right to apply for the shares. But now a piquant situation has arisen: employees have already paid the FBT but are unable to exercise their options because of the market meltdown. Does this mean the end of the road for stock options? Rachna Nath, executive director (performance improvement) at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, doesn’t think so. She believes that Esops will still be a favoured compensation option. “But this will depend on the health of the individual company and the industrial sector it belongs to,” she added. Nath reckons that stock options will be out of favour in the financial services industry, but manufacturing companies will still be able to use them to retain talent. Companies can, of course, re-price the lapsed stock options after seeking shareholders’ approval. The Deloitte official believes that several companies will do so. But in an uncertain and volatile market, employees may not bite the bait. Spirits still high in pub Waiting for his friends to arrive, Manoj Dev says: “The conversation here last Diwali was about the rising stocks. It was a time to flaunt money; now I guess it’s good to hide whatever little you have.” Manoj, 28, who has been in three jobs in four years — with Infosys, Wipro and now with an IT services major — is not scared about a possible recession in the US. “Job security has never bothered me; I think none of us in IT is afraid,” he says between pints of beer. “What we find scary is that the sensex has wiped out our savings.” Manoj doesn’t want to discuss his losses but adds this is the best time to buy stocks. His friend P.J. Kishore, 29, who has just arrived, agrees. “Having worked in the US, I know every economy will have ups and downs. But the Indian economy will bounce back because there is so much opportunity (in the country).” “So far, my portfolio has eroded by more than 60 per cent,” he grins, sipping ale. “The economic crisis is a lesson for young investors like us.” At another table, Deepu Sahadevan and A.K. Urs are doing the “state-of-the-economy speech”. “Those in ITES are watching two things: the downturn in the US — which translates into a good time for outsourcing — and the upcoming presidential polls. An Obama may make things difficult with legislation against outsourcing,” says Deepu, 37, an IT company team leader. “But this is a great time to buy stocks if you are looking three-five years ahead. It’s only the new investors who bought stock at high prices who are spooked,” Urs says. “By next January, things will be different. Let’s do a bottoms up to that,” Kishore says, ordering another ale. The next stop is Taika, where assorted actors, theatre-wallahs and French teachers have hit a decibel level higher than the techno that’s playing. Krishnan Vaidyanathan, 39, waves and beckons. The chartered accountant, sitting alone and nursing a fresh lime, is with an accounting BPO. “I don’t drink; I put all spare money in the market,” he jokes. “I lost some, gained much more in the last 10 years. I will still put my variable pay due next week in stocks,” he says. Why? It’s a good time to buy shares of infrastructure and healthcare firms, he says. Krishnan had picked up stocks when the sensex was around 9500 and exited when it zoomed pass 19000, making a small fortune. Dance and discount to beat meltdown Mall managers in places like Jaipur and Ahmedabad, where pre-Diwali sales form a big chunk of a trader’s annual earnings, are conjuring innovative ways to attract footfalls and get the people to do some buying. Discounts, freebies, special prices and schemes: all the baits are there but customers, feeling the hard pinch of the paisa, have so far not fallen for them. Ramakant, the manager of City Pulse mall in Jaipur, said the biggest challenge was to get the customers in. “We thought of adding a dance floor with a DJ to lure the young crowd so they would at least spend sometime grooving in the arcade for free. In the process, they may end up doing some impulse buying,” Ramakant said. Biswajitsinh Rathod, manager at a mall in upmarket west Ahmedabad, agreed. “People come in, but the footfalls don’t translate into purchases. Most people just do window-shopping at malls,” he said. “If at all they buy anything, they prefer street vendors or the walled city area across the Sabarmati, where prices are cheaper. In normal times, these people would not have gone there to shop.” Although traders say that sales picked up on Wednesday’s auspicious Pushay Nakshatra, the economic meltdown has proved a damper for the common man. Preeti Masukhani, a bank official in Jaipur, said: “With the prices of every commodity rising, from vegetables to petrol, our Diwali budget has come down this year. Each one of us has been affected by the meltdown despite playing safe.” Masukhani, who earns over Rs 2 lakh a month, added: “Our Diwali budget was Rs 50,000 last year, but this year it has come down to Rs 20,000. We have put off our plan to buy an LCD television. We have also cut down on exchanging gifts with our friends and everybody understands why.” A weak rupee and the prevailing uncertainty have led to a fall in sales of cars too. Harvinder Singh of Roshan Motors in Jaipur admitted to a 30 per cent drop from last year in car sales in Rajasthan. “Not even cars in the lower segment are moving,” he said. With the equity market in the red and people not left with much disposable money, there has been a 30 per cent drop in bookings for leisure travel as well, said Jatin Shah, manager of Tsunami Tour and Travel, Ahmedabad. Shah said tour operators were the worst affected, especially those who had “blocked” seats in many airlines in anticipation — a common practice that has turned out a big gamble this year. These people stand to lose the 25 per cent non-refundable amount they had paid in advance. For those in the jewellery trade, the picture is no different. Business is down by 40 per cent, said Amit Zaveri, who owns a showroom in Ahmedabad’s C.G. Road. “But there is a distinct preference for diamond as against gold. Those who can afford it are still buying diamond-studded jewellery,” he said. The reason, Zaveri said, is that gold prices are fluctuating whereas the price of diamond is stable. “So diamond, an all-time favourite, is still considered a safe investment.” Much ado about nothing Some experts describe the successful launch of India’s moon mission Chandrayaan-1 as India’s foray into a space race between China and India. Space scientists have clearly indicated that such spectacular missions are more about technology demonstration than genuine scientific endeavour. “It reminds me of the US versus the Soviet Union space race of the cold war era,” said Paul Wiita, a professor of astrophysics at the Princeton University in the US. “There’s an immense potential for scientific benefits, but technological prowess and national prestige are stronger motivations for the Asian nations. You can’t rule out the possible military spin-offs too,” he added. Comparisons with China have obviously come to the fore: the maiden Chinese mooncraft Chang’e-1 managed to orbit the moon exactly a year ago. Chinese ‘taikonauts’ (astronauts) even achieved their first space walk a month ago. Moreover, China plans to put humans on the moon before India can do so. “The issue of lunar exploration is so politically charged in this country that as a scientist I have nothing much to say,” Shuang-nan Zhang, an astrophysicist at Beijing’s Tsinghua University , told KnowHow immediately after Chandrayaan-1 was launched. “Most of the Chinese — including peasants — seem to support the mission because it involves national prestige.” The Chinese space walk was perfectly timed to round off the patriotic pride prevalent after hosting the dazzling Olympic Games. “Their space ambitions are clearly intended to project China as a superpower,” said Jayant Murty, a professor at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore. “To that extent, India’s mission to the moon is reactive — to avoid falling behind in the world’s perception.” Although Indian officials — including Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chief Madhavan Nair — insist that they are not in a race with China, both the countries have been fiercely competing with each other ever since China invaded India in 1962. China launched its first satellite Dong Fang Hong 1 in 1970, while India’s Aryabhatta was put in space in 1975. G.S. Bisnovatyi-Kogan, a senior astronomer at the Russian Space Research Institute, Moscow, however, said that such competition between these new economic power centres is not unexpected. “It is quite normal that these big nations are spending a part of their wealth on exploring new frontiers. Such efforts have strong economic, technological and military implications,” said Bisnovatyi-Kogan. Astrophysicist A.R. Rao at Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, however, said, “Unlike the cold war strife China-India rivalry is more like the weapon buying spree between India and Pakistan decades ago.” But, how does such a contest benefit science in these nations? Is there any justification for pursuing manned moon missions? Sandip Chakrabarti, the head of astrophysics, S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences in Calcutta, doesn’t think there is anything great about the technology deployed in the mooncraft. “Apart from the ability to calculate and execute mid-course correction of trajectories of the launch vehicle, things are pretty routine,” he said. According to him, the best instruments in Chandrayaan-1 are either of US or European origin. “The images captured by the instruments will be used by them and India will play a minor role,” said Chakrabarti who had a stint in Nasa in the mid 1990s. Upendra Desai, who had been an astronomer both at Nasa and Isro, too agreed that science output of such missions is meagre. “Except for the solar experiments in the initial few years, Isro’s ventures have little to do with physics and astronomy,” he said. Desai is also sceptical about the scientific implications of India’s proposal to explore Helium-3 in the regolith (moon’s dust) to fuel its nuclear power stations. Concurred Chakrabarti, “It’s an eyewash since tonnes of regolith have to be processed to get even a microgram of Helium-3.” The manned moon missions planned both by the Indian and Chinese space agencies will be bigger mistakes from a scientific perspective, say scientists. “We need to justify the benefits of sending astronauts to the moon,” said Shuang-Nan. Wiita too doesn’t see any scientific rationale behind the move. “Robotic missions can obtain better data than a manned mission at a fraction of the cost,” said Wiita. Concurred Desai, “Neither China nor India can afford such superfluous expenditure. These countries still have so many social and economic issues to handle.” Mkts trim losses, settle 191 pts down Weighed under selling pressure from funds, Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Monday went on a roller-coster ride yet again, falling over 1,000 points to breach the crucial 8,000 level in intra-day trading, but later recovered some losses on renewed buying. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dropped below 2,300 points before ending at 2524.20, still showing a loss of 59.50 points. Marketmen said emergence of buying by domestic financial institutions and covering up of short positions by speculators at prevailing lower levels helped Sensex recover part of the lost ground. They said a steep fall in equities drove down the rupee against the dollar and gold also fell sharply, thus leaving no other option for investors but to return to the bourses. A remarkable recovery was seen in the realty sector, which had suffered heavy losses during the day. The realty index bounced back to close higher by 74.01 points at 1,817.28 as stocks of Unitech, Indiabulls Realestate, Omax and Akruti City closed with handsome gains. Slain Bihar gunman wanted to take on Raj Thackeray Passengers narrating the shooting incident in a BEST double-decker bus on Monday said the person from Patna, holding a gun, kept on shouting that he had come to Mumbai to take on MNS chief Raj Thackeray. “He (Raj) then made some passengers write in chits, and kept on dropping it from the bus stating that he had come to attack Raj Thackeray. The person also kept demanding for a mobile phone," the terrified passengers said adding that the gunman was later shot dead by the police. Recounting the terror, another passenger, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, said, “I was sitting on the upper deck of the bus when I heard some screams… I saw this man (Raj) trying to strangle the conductor with some kind of a chain and then he let him go… After that he shot one of the passengers for no reason." “All of us ducked down under the seat and we were very scared since we didn"t know if the police was to start firing," Sheikh, an employee with a local bank and a resident of suburban Andheri, who was travelling with his wife Rafia, said. “There were nearly 15 passengers on the upper deck of the bus. He first tried to take my wife out but then apologised to her, seeing she was woman, and said that he (Raj) would escort her out of the bus," Sheikh said. “I refused to let her (Rafia) go since I was scared that she could be hit in any crossfire that might take place," the bank employee, who was taking his wife to visit a doctor, said. “We then heard some sounds of shooting and later heard that he (Raj) was dead," Sheikh added. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police Milind Bharambe said that the gunman repeatedly asked to speak with the City Police Commissioner and also wanted to kill Raj Thackeray. “We found two (currency) notes, a fifty rupee and a ten rupee, on which it was written, “I only want to kill Raj Thackeray and no one else," Bharambe said. The currency notes were recovered from near the bus when the hostage drama was unfolding. Several Kerala youths recruited by Faisal for ultras In a startling disclosure, the youth who was arrested in Kannur for acting as “recruiting" agent to a Kashmir-based terrorist outfit has confessed that he was instrumental in handing over youths for terrorist operations. “We are yet to make a final assessment on how many persons got recruited by Faisal," Prince Abraham, member of the Special Squad investigating Kerala"s links with terrorist outfits in Jammu and Kashmir said. The exact number of people handed over to the terrorist outfits would be clear only after detailed investigation, the senior police official said. Faisal admitted that the local youth Mohammed Fayas (22) and Mohammed Fahis (24), who got killed in the army encounters in Kashmir earlier this month, were taken to Hyderabad on September 10 even as parents of Fahis had informed the police on Sunday that their son was found missing from that day. 10 top sizzling sex secrets revealed Want to spice up your bedroom life? Well then here"s a new book that offers you some red-hot tips, which will take your sex life to new heights. It offers 250 tips altogether including kissing techniques, naughty positions, games with food and lots more. Article 355 never invoked against Orissa, K"taka: Centre Seven general advisories to maintain law and order were sent to Orissa in less than two months as the state recorded highest communal violence incidents that has left 41 people dead so far. “The Government never invoked Article 355 to warn Orissa and Karnataka to rein in violence following attacks on churches and prayer halls in the state,” a Home Ministry official said. The provision of the Constitution enables the Centre to issue a direction under which the state should be ruled in accordance with the Constitution failing which it becomes a fit case for imposition of Central rule. “Seven advisories or communications were sent to the government of Orissa between August 25 and October 10 at various levels, including the Home Secretary and the Union Home Minister,” the official said. In these advisories, Orissa government was asked to take stringent action against the persons indulging in communal violence, including identifying and apprehending the elements inciting and stocking communal violence and hatred. The Home Ministry asked the state government to ensure arrangements to provide security to members of the minority community and their places of worship, undertake comprehensive measures for relief and rehabilitation of the victims and other affected persons. The Centre also asked Orissa to take “effective steps” to create an environment in which people who had to leave homes could return at the earliest. Besides, on October three, Home Minister Shivraj Patil shot off a strongly-worded letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asking him to take effective measures and provide security for the community. The letter came following Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement expressing anguish over the situation in Orissa on which he had to face embarrassment during the recent India-EU Summit in Marseilles. After the killing of the VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on August 23, Orissa has witnessed large scale violence against Christians, which claimed nearly 40 lives. Parts of Karnataka have also witnessed a series of attacks on churches and Christian community allegedly by the activists of Sangh Parivar outfits last month. Here are 10 of the best bits of advice from the book: For women 1. A lip-smackingly great kiss: By alternating the movement of your tongue between a swirling action and a poking action, amazing sensations are created. 2. Perfectly sexy pinching: Slowly introduce a pinching sensation and she may start to feel incredibly aroused. 3. The Naughty Dog Kiss: This kiss is perfect for stimulating her by using it on different parts of her body. What you need to do is allow your tongue to relax. 4. The Roman Bath: Ask her to share a bath with you. Add some aromatherapy oil and slip in first. Ask her to get in and sit inside your legs with her back towards you. Trickle some warm water from a face cloth down her neck and back and gently kiss the back of her neck with your lips. Then slide your arms around her ribcage and stroke the whole of her breasts. For men 5. Buff him up: Tell him you want to enhance his sense of touch and offer to exfoliate his chest and neck area. 6. Turn it into an SEP - Simple Erotic Pleasure: Take the exfoliating scrub, rub it between your fingertips and then gently circle the skin on his chest and neck area with it. Whenever you kiss these areas during foreplay it will feel far more sensitive to him. 7. Footie Heaven: Men have incredibly sensitive feet. And by stimulating different points on his feet you"ll send pulses of pleasure up through his body. 8. Inner Wrist Magic: While you"re kissing him is to begin stroking his inner wrist. This is an incredible erogenous zone that"s definitely neglected in men. 9. The pearl necklace technique: Get out an old beaded necklace - a fake pearl one is ideal. Take his penis between your hands and with lashings of lubricant start moving them up and down. For both men and women 10. Blindfolded lust: Put blindfolds on each other at some point during foreplay. Once blindfolded you"ll be amazed at how quickly your skin comes to life as you are touched, and as you touch your lover. Global crisis may cost Thailand 1 mn jobs The global economic slowdown could cost Thailand a million jobs early next year and output will be slashed, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said on Monday. “The impact on exports will clearly be felt from early next year," he said, adding the garment, furniture and electrical parts sectors were likely to suffer because of weak consumption. That would make it difficult for new entrants to the workforce — about 700,000 each year — to find jobs, he said. The workforce in Thailand numbers 20 million, most in agriculture but around 5.7 million in non-agricultural jobs. Thanit Sorat, another FTI vice chairman, noted that the global financial crisis came on top of protracted political unrest at home, which had already hit tourism. Unfavourable economic conditions would make banks more cautious about lending and that would be a big problem for small and medium-sized businesses, Thanit said. “The economy next year, although we don"t expect a recession, is likely to slow down sharply," he said, adding the FTI forecast economic growth of 3.8-4.0 per cent at best next year, down from the 4.5 per cent it projected for 2008. The Bank of Thailand has forecast 2009 economic growth of 3.8-5.0 per cent, against projected 4.3-5.0 per cent this year and 4.8 per cent in 2007. The central bank expected export growth to be 7-10 per cent, down from the 20-23 per cent projected for 2008. Thanit said the FTI had asked the government to try to boost investor confidence and ensure there was sufficient liquidity in the financial system. Thailand has said it has no liquidity problems. Deputy Prime Minister Olarn Chaipravat said last week the problem was how to make banks lend and investors borrow in order to get the economy going. Another FTI official, Sommat Khunset, said conflict on the Thai-Cambodian border had affected border trade and tourism as the number of Thai tourists visiting Cambodia had fallen sharply. “There"s not a problem yet for the manufacturing sector but trade and tourism have already seen some impact. Thai investors are also reluctant to invest there," Sommat said.
Expressindia » Story Rtd Major under probe has BJP past While sources said that the woman who had been picked up for questioning was suspected to be a member of the Durga Vahini organisation in Madhya Pradesh, the state’s police chief S K Raut said that a man named Sameer Kulkarni had also been picked up by the ATS on Saturday night. He said Kulkarni was suspected to have been a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and is believed to have organised an exhibition against terrorism at Gandhi Bhavan in Bhopal a few months ago. Kulkarni is also believed to be linked to a Pune-based voluntary organisation called ‘Abhinav Bharat’, Raut added. The working president of Abhinav Bharat, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, is already being questioned by the ATS for his suspected links with Sadhvi Pragyasingh Thakur and two other Hindu activists, arrested last week in connection with the September 29 twin-blasts, which together killed six Muslims during Ramzan. According to the website of Abhinav Bharat, the outfit was formed in June 2006 with the aim of combating terrorism and rebuilding the nation around Bharatiya and Hindu culture. Another junior army officer is also being questioned but ATS sources refused to disclose his name. Both officers are said to be associated with the Bhonsala Military School in Nashik, which also has a branch in Nagpur. ATS chief Hemant Karkare said that three people from Indore had been detained, numerous others being questioned but added that there were no fresh arrests. The detentions come on the back of the arrest of the sadhvi from near Surat and two Hindu activists from Indore last week. While the ABVP, the Hindu Jagran Manch as well as other Sangh Parivar outfits such as the BJP and the RSS have denied any links with the blasts or the three people arrested in connection with them, fresh information emerged today that Major Upadhyay headed the Mumbai unit of the BJP’s ex-servicemen’s cell. Serving office-bearers of the cell, who did not want to be identified, said that Upadhyay was removed from the post “after he committed some mistakes”. One office-bearer said that Upadhyay had also been paid by the party for his work but he was not connected with the BJP after his removal from the post. Sources in Pune said that Kulkarni was also suspected to be associated with Sadhvi Pragya, other Hindu groups and was active in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area. His name had come up during the attack on Pastor Peter David Silway of Vineyard Worker’s Church in Dapodi in August last year. Abraham Mathai, Vice-Chairman of the State Minorities Commission and General Secretary of the All Indian Christian Council, had then named five people, including Kulkarni, as allegedly associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and involved in the attack. Pastor Silway’s car was stoned by motorcycle-borne youth on a bridge linking Dapodi and Bopodi. Mathai had alleged that Kulkarni was one of those who orchestrated the attack. Sources said that Kulkarni was a science graduate. Ranjeet Natu, Pune city leader of VHP, denied Kulkarni was an active member of the organisation. “I don’t know Sameer Kulkarni,” he said. At the Rail Residency Cooperative Housing Society in Akurdi in Pune, where Upadhyay resides, there is complete silence. Police officers don’t deny they are keeping a watch on the Upadhyay residence despite the fact the ATS has still not arrested him. Police Inspector Gaurav of Special Branch, who was at the Upadhyay home, said he was there on a routine inquiry. “We have come on a regular inquiry after we got to know that Maj Upadhyay was picked up by the Mumbai ATS. But it does not mean he is linked to the Malegaon blasts,” he said. Upadhyay’s daughter Madhu said: “We don’t wish to speak to the media right now but if needed, we will definitely contact you.” — (With inputs from Dhaval Kulkarni in Mumbai, Tarun Nangia in Pune) Obama vows to curb outsourcing Holding the Bush administration and by extension his Republican rival John McCain for the current economic recess, Obama said, “It"s time to turn the page on eight years of economic policies that put Wall Street before Main Street but ended up hurting both." “We need policies that grow our economy from the bottom-up, so that every American, everywhere, has the chance to get ahead — not just the person who owns the factory, but the men and women who work on its floor; not just the CEO, but the secretary and the janitor," he said in Denver. The Illinois Senator said, “If we"ve learnt anything from this economic crisis, it"s that we"re all connected; we"re all in this together; and we will rise or fall as one nation as one people. The rescue plan that passed the Congress was a necessary first step to easing this credit crisis, but if we"re going to rebuild this economy from the bottom up, we need an immediate rescue plan for the middle-class, and that"s what I will do as President of the United States" he added. Keeping his rhetoric on outsourcing alive, Obama said, “I"ve proposed a new American jobs tax credit for each new employee that companies hire here in the United States over the next two years. I"ll stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas and invest in companies that create good jobs right here in Colorado." Obama said, “I won"t let banks and lenders off the hook when it was their greed and irresponsibility that got us into this mess. We should not be bailing out Wall Street; we should be restoring opportunity on Main Street." “…For the last eight years, we have tried it John McCain"s way. We have tried it George Bush"s way. We"ve given more and more to those with the most and hoped that prosperity would trickle down to everyone else. And guess what? It didn"t. So it"s time to try something new. It"s time to grow this economy by investing in the middle class again. “If I am President, I will invest USD 15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new, green jobs over the next decade — jobs that pay well and can"t be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and fuel-efficient cars; jobs that will help us end our dependence on oil from Middle East dictators," he added. Even the lowest of estimates in the Electoral College vote in the various scenarios have shown Obama winning 270 votes that are needed quite easily and projections for the Democratic nominee have even gone in the upwards of 360 which will point to a landslide that has not been witnessed for quite sometime now. The clear edge to the Democrat candidate at the Presidential level will be impacting the races for the United States Congress as well and the Democrats are looking to “unleash a bloodbath in the House of Representatives and the Senate." In the House, the Democrats are expected to be picking up between 25 to 30 seats from the current strength of 235; and in the Senate the party is looking at a Cloture proof majority of 60 seats or up by 11 from the current position. Waiting for the Grim Reaper Towards the end of 1978 rumours were afloat that Charan Singh wanted to stage a coup and become prime minister. There was a cabinet committee on electoral reforms consisting of four cabinet ministers — Charan Singh, L. K. Advani, Dr P.C. Chunder and me. The committee used to meet from time to time and was deliberating on the various suggestions relating to electoral reforms to strengthen democracy in the country. Since the subject of electoral reforms pertained to my ministry, I continue to regret the fact that the committee was unable to complete its task and the Morarji government fell abruptly in July 1979. Much work had already been done by the committee and if it had been able to complete its work and introduce the necessary bill perhaps the political history of this country might have been somewhat different. The meetings of this committee used to be held punctually at 11 a.m. Apart from the four cabinet ministers and their department secretaries, the cabinet secretary also attended these meetings. Charan Singh did not reach on time for one particular meeting though all the other members were there. We kept waiting for him for about 15 minutes. When he arrived he was embarrassed to find all of us waiting for him. He stood behind his chair and refused to sit down. He said that he was very sorry that he came late and would take his seat only after he had been pardoned by all of us. We pleaded with him to take his seat but he refused to do so. He explained that he was late because when he was about to get into his car a journalist accosted him and asked whether he was very keen to become prime minister. Charan Singh lost his temper and told the journalist that there was nothing wrong in his ambition to become prime minister. He asked the journalist whether he did not want to become the editor of a top newspaper and told him that if he did not have such an ambition he must be a worthless fellow. Choudhary sahib further explained that even though he did possess the ambition to become the prime minister of the country one day, he was not plotting to remove Morarji from that position. He added that someday Morarji would die and there was nothing wrong in his ambition to succeed as prime minister. One does not talk about the death of a living person. It is in poor taste to do so. We were appalled at Choudhary sahib speaking about Morarji’s death in such a casual manner. However, we finally persuaded him to resume his seat and the deliberations of the cabinet committee started. That very afternoon I had a meeting with the prime minister. I wanted to remove the impression from Morarji’s mind that Charan Singh was plotting his ouster. So I decided to narrate the incident at the meeting of the cabinet committee to him. It was in a totally different language that I narrated to Morarji Desai that Choudhary sahib had told the cabinet committee about his ambition to become the prime minister if and when there was a vacancy. Even though I thought that I had sufficiently sugar-coated what Charan Singh had said, shrewd as Morarji was, he guessed what Charan Singh must have actually said. He immediately asked how Charan Singh could be sure that he would not predecease him, that is, Morarji. It dawned on me then that even though Morarji was much older than Charan Singh, he was in much better health. It was possibly for this reason that Morarji was confident that he would outlive Charan Singh. I said to Morarji bhai that I found a lot of force in his observation and that it occurred to me that Choudhary sahib was close to 76. I added that this age was very dangerous because both my father and my father-in-law had died at 76. Morarji then said that I was quite right and he reeled off half a dozen names of important political leaders who had died at 75 or 76. Morarji then lowered his voice and almost whispered to me that in fact an astrologer had told him that he was going to lose two of his cabinet ministers within one year. When I commented, a tad anxiously, that I hoped that I would not be one of them, he assured me that I was not. The two were supposed to be Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram. On hearing this I had no doubt left in my mind that the government could not survive for long. I was convinced that if the prime minister was waiting for the death of his two senior-most colleagues and one of them in turn was waiting for the death of the prime minister, it was impossible for such a government to last. The government of Morarji survived only for a few months thereafter. Incidentally, Morarji Desai lived till 1995. Babu Jagjivan Ram and Choudhary Charan Singh both predeceased him in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Overweening ambition is a person’s worst enemy. While Charan Singh possessed many good qualities as a politician, his ambition often came in the way. It was his ambition to become the prime minister as quickly as possible which led to his downfall. This was cleverly exploited by Sanjay Gandhi who was able to persuade Chaudhary sahib to believe that if he defected from the Janata Party with his group and brought about the downfall of the Morarji government the Congress would make him prime minister and he would continue in that office for the rest of the term of the Lok Sabha which was two years and eight months. Any other person would have seen through the game but Charan Singh’s desire had effectively blinded him so that he fell into the trap. Within a couple of weeks after Charan Singh had been sworn in, the Congress withdrew its support and the Lok Sabha had to be dissolved. Charan Singh remained only a caretaker prime minister for a few months and never entered parliament as prime minister even for a single day. In any case, as soon as Charan Singh’s government was sworn in formally, the Morarji Desai government came to an end, and all of us formally ceased to be ministers. I resumed my practice the very next day and started attending the Supreme Court. Advocates on Record started approaching me with their briefs. Morarji Desai had decided to call it a day. He had realised his ambition of becoming prime minister of India, and that was enough for him. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081026/jsp/7days/story_10020854.jsp The worst is not yet over for realty sector New Delhi, October 27: The BSE realty index has slipped by over 82% from its high a year ago. This is the biggest loss for any sector on the BSE in a year, and far eclipses the 56% fall of the BSE 200 index in the same period. That, in a nutshell, just says it all—the sector that could make no wrong moves a year ago is simply coming apart. “Borrowing costs are currently about 15.5 to 16.5%, compared with 12.1% for the year ended March 31, 2008, according to Sanjay Chandra, managin | |
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