NEW DELHI: Robert Zoellick has seen a lot change over the course of a long career, first in the US government, now as the World Bank president. But perhaps the most startling change is in the way the world views India.
‘‘The outside world’s image of India now is of cutting-edge competitive companies that are going to take jobs away from the developed world. I get more and more voices coming from Europe and North America saying, ‘Why should we give money to India when they’re going to be a threat to our businesses?’ I have to constantly explain the huge income diversity of India and the fact that a lot of development work still needs to be done,’’ he chuckles.
In an exclusive interview to TOI, Zoellick also dwelt on how the growing strength of India-US ties has proved helpful to him. “I’m eventually going to have to go to the US Congress to seek its support for an increase in the World Bank’s capital. I spoke to the Confederation of Indian Industry and said, ‘Maybe you can help me because I know there’s a strong India Caucus in Washington. Together we can make a case that an increase in the Bank’s capital would help India’s development’.”
Wrapping up a four-day visit to the country, Zoellick praised India’s “strong crisis management” and said it was playing an important role in leading a global recovery. “We all look to India now as a rising global economic power and in our interconnected world it has played a helpful role over the tough moments of the past year,” he said.
But he brushed aside a suggestion that the strong showing of the Indian and Chinese economies — at a time when the US and other developed countries are still struggling — might decisively shift the balance of power and make this the Asian Century.
‘‘Two centuries ago, India and China probably accounted for 20-25% of the world’s GDP each. For a variety of reasons, their share dropped dramatically thereafter. It’s natural that their share will increase again. But I personally think that the US retains a huge amount of dynamism and it’s not going away anywhere. When I visit India and China, I find a lot of people wanting to deepen their ties with the US. There has been a greater distribution of growth and opportunity in recent times, which is great. But I don’t see it as the Asian Century or the American Century or the European Century. I see it as the challenge of how to get the globalization process to work more effectively for everyone.”
Speaking specifically about the Bank’s role in India, Zoellick said he favoured a shift in strategy to get “more bang for the buck”. “Our current portfolio of commitments is $22 billion. That includes $3.4 billion a year from the International Finance Corporation (the Bank’s private sector arm). India is the primary country for IFC, we have more investments here than anywhere else. I’d like to do more. But if you look at our investment profile here, it tends to be a series of individual projects. We’re talking to the government to see whether it would be interested in consolidating, maybe doing fewer projects but trying to use the money to help support public policy and institutional development.”
“In a country of India’s size, if you want to have an effect on public policy, you probably need about a billion dollars to play in the game,” he added. “We’re lending about a billion to help clean up the Ganga — a fascinating project, because of the river’s cultural importance. In agriculture, we’ll do some $5 billion in 2009-12. On the national highways project, we’ll probably start with a billion and move up. But even with the sums we’d like to do, it’s still modest compared to India’s needs. So I was asking your government, ‘how can we use our resources to have a greater effect in priority areas’? And I want to make sure we’re aligned to the government’s priorities.”
Zoellick added that the Bank had a role to play in providing not just financial resources but also leveraging its knowledge of global best practices. “I had a meeting with Kamal Nath and some private entrepreneurs. And we discussed how the Bank could apply its learnings from around the world to help make India’s bidding process for road
projects more transparent and competitive, while ensuring quality and engaging local communities.”
If the Bank were to focus on poorer states, we asked, wasn’t there a chance that it would actually be lending money to the worst-governed regions? And wouldn’t that negate its intent of maximising effectiveness of lending? “We’d like to focus on states where there’s interest in building capability and institutional capacity, even if they’re poor for historical reasons. Also, if you look at China, we don’t do many large projects there but lots of pilot projects which serve as models,” he responded.
So, does he think disbursing intellectual capital is as important as disbursing financial capital? “One of our problems is that we’re called a bank,’’ he replied. “We don’t just put out money. We work most effectively when we combine knowledge, experience and learnings from around the world. We’re trying to use money in the most effective way possible. But we also try to build markets and institutional capacity. It could be a local currency bond market or carbon market or microfinance development market. But we’re constantly asking ourselves, ‘how can we have more effect’?”
“It’s not a one-way street, either,” he concluded. “Today, toll roads are fairly common in India, but would be a revolutionary concept in many US states. You have some of the world’s finest minds, impressive companies and dynamic entrepreneurs. There are still huge challenges, but India has made impressive progress in developing programs that reach poor people. I believe the world has a lot to learn from India.”
Saturday, December 5, 2009
IIM, Prometric do CAT stretch
BANGALORE: It's official. Prometric and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have extended CAT 2009 by a day. The Common Admission Test,scheduled from November 28 to December 7, will now end on December 8 to accommodate students who couldn't take the test as per their original schedule thanks to all the software glitches.
Prometric said it has prepared the registration and scheduling system and all registered students can take the test. Some testing labs experienced technical difficulties mainly on account of viruses and malware. "The majority of these issues have been identified and eradicated. Prometric, in partnership with NIIT, is continuing to monitor and assess all labs. If testing is not possible for any session at specific labs, affected students will be contacted via SMS and email the day before. Rescheduling of these students will then be initiated and new appointments communicated," said Prometric.
By December 3 (Day 6) more than 1.12 lakh students completed their test. Most affected students were given rescheduled dates and they have taken the test too. "In the meantime, virtually all students are continuing to successfully test without issues, and the number of impacted candidates has decreased significantly," the press release stated.
On December 8, CAT 2009 will be held over one morning session in 20 cities -- Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Kochi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Pune and Varanasi.
Ramesh Nava, vice-president and general manager, Asia Pacific, Japan & Africa, Prometric said: "We're working with the IIMs to add an additional session on Day 11 to accommodate the students within the city they were originally scheduled."
Prometric has extended hours for CAT Candidate Care (1800 103 9293), added more telephone lines and agents to accommodate the large number of calls. The Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) and phone support is available every day from 8 am to 8 pm throughout the testing period. About 2.41 lakh students have registered for CAT 2009.
Problems galore for students
Even as some students are yet to get their rescheduled date, some live quite far from their centres. This has created anxiety as many feel they may not be able to go there but some are willing to go that extra mile as they've invested a lot of effort already.
Ashish Jain, an engineering student in Bhopal, said he was supposed to take the test on November 29 but couldn't take it due to a technical snag. On Friday, he received a mail from Prometric saying his rescheduled date is December 7 in Lucknow. When he called the CAT Candidate Care, the agent told him it was unlikely that he would be allotted a Bhopal centre. "My college test starts on December 8. I've put in a year of hard work preparing for CAT. I have no other option but to go for Lucknow if it's not changed," he said.
Ashish may have decided to go but for Jairam, another engineering student from Bhopal, the rescheduled date proved to be disastrous as his name was missing from the list in spite of his getting an email from Prometric. "My test was rescheduled on Friday in Guwahati. I called the helpline in the morning and asked them to reschedule it to any centre near Bhopal. They gave the 3.30 pm slot on Friday. When I went there, they said I can't take the test as my name was not in the list. They made me wait for more than 1 hour and then asked me to call the helpline again. However, they have given me a new time and date -- 10 am on December 7. I hope it works this time. It's so frustating," Jairam added.
Some students are in a worse position -- they're yet to get a communication from Prometric. "I'm very upset. I was supposed to give the test on November 28 but when I went to the test centre the security staff told me the test has been cancelled. I called the helpline on November 30 and they informed me the rescheduled date would be sent through either SMS or email. Till date, I have not got any information. They don't reply properly to our calls," said Shireen Khan, an IT graduate from Manipal.
Even as students waiting for their reschedule date, Manoj (name changed) got the shock of his life on Thursday when he received a reschedule date when he has already given the test. "There is no reason why my test date is rescheduled. I'm trying to contact the helpline but not been able to get a proper answer," he added.
Sample of mail received by a student
Due to technical related issues, the seat you were scheduled for was closed. We regrettably have rescheduled your CAT 2009 test. An email and sms text will be sent to you with your appointment details. If you have not received this in 24 hours, please contact our CAT Candidate Service helpline.
It is not necessary to bring an updated admit card, you can take your old admit card with you to the testing center. Seats are currently very limited and may not be available in the city you wish to test, however, if the rescheduled date/time is not suitable to you, please contact our CAT Candidate Service helpline at 1-800-103-9293. Please do not send an email through the webform. You must speak to a CAT Candidate Service Representative.
Prometric said it has prepared the registration and scheduling system and all registered students can take the test. Some testing labs experienced technical difficulties mainly on account of viruses and malware. "The majority of these issues have been identified and eradicated. Prometric, in partnership with NIIT, is continuing to monitor and assess all labs. If testing is not possible for any session at specific labs, affected students will be contacted via SMS and email the day before. Rescheduling of these students will then be initiated and new appointments communicated," said Prometric.
By December 3 (Day 6) more than 1.12 lakh students completed their test. Most affected students were given rescheduled dates and they have taken the test too. "In the meantime, virtually all students are continuing to successfully test without issues, and the number of impacted candidates has decreased significantly," the press release stated.
On December 8, CAT 2009 will be held over one morning session in 20 cities -- Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Kochi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Pune and Varanasi.
Ramesh Nava, vice-president and general manager, Asia Pacific, Japan & Africa, Prometric said: "We're working with the IIMs to add an additional session on Day 11 to accommodate the students within the city they were originally scheduled."
Prometric has extended hours for CAT Candidate Care (1800 103 9293), added more telephone lines and agents to accommodate the large number of calls. The Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) and phone support is available every day from 8 am to 8 pm throughout the testing period. About 2.41 lakh students have registered for CAT 2009.
Problems galore for students
Even as some students are yet to get their rescheduled date, some live quite far from their centres. This has created anxiety as many feel they may not be able to go there but some are willing to go that extra mile as they've invested a lot of effort already.
Ashish Jain, an engineering student in Bhopal, said he was supposed to take the test on November 29 but couldn't take it due to a technical snag. On Friday, he received a mail from Prometric saying his rescheduled date is December 7 in Lucknow. When he called the CAT Candidate Care, the agent told him it was unlikely that he would be allotted a Bhopal centre. "My college test starts on December 8. I've put in a year of hard work preparing for CAT. I have no other option but to go for Lucknow if it's not changed," he said.
Ashish may have decided to go but for Jairam, another engineering student from Bhopal, the rescheduled date proved to be disastrous as his name was missing from the list in spite of his getting an email from Prometric. "My test was rescheduled on Friday in Guwahati. I called the helpline in the morning and asked them to reschedule it to any centre near Bhopal. They gave the 3.30 pm slot on Friday. When I went there, they said I can't take the test as my name was not in the list. They made me wait for more than 1 hour and then asked me to call the helpline again. However, they have given me a new time and date -- 10 am on December 7. I hope it works this time. It's so frustating," Jairam added.
Some students are in a worse position -- they're yet to get a communication from Prometric. "I'm very upset. I was supposed to give the test on November 28 but when I went to the test centre the security staff told me the test has been cancelled. I called the helpline on November 30 and they informed me the rescheduled date would be sent through either SMS or email. Till date, I have not got any information. They don't reply properly to our calls," said Shireen Khan, an IT graduate from Manipal.
Even as students waiting for their reschedule date, Manoj (name changed) got the shock of his life on Thursday when he received a reschedule date when he has already given the test. "There is no reason why my test date is rescheduled. I'm trying to contact the helpline but not been able to get a proper answer," he added.
Sample of mail received by a student
Due to technical related issues, the seat you were scheduled for was closed. We regrettably have rescheduled your CAT 2009 test. An email and sms text will be sent to you with your appointment details. If you have not received this in 24 hours, please contact our CAT Candidate Service helpline.
It is not necessary to bring an updated admit card, you can take your old admit card with you to the testing center. Seats are currently very limited and may not be available in the city you wish to test, however, if the rescheduled date/time is not suitable to you, please contact our CAT Candidate Service helpline at 1-800-103-9293. Please do not send an email through the webform. You must speak to a CAT Candidate Service Representative.
Monday, October 26, 2009
President Patil arrives in London
London, Oct 26 (PTI) President Pratibha Patil arrived here today on the first-leg of a two-nation state visit to the UK and Cyprus during which she will receive the Commonwealth baton from Queen Elizabeth, marking initiation of the year-long relay of the symbol of the sporting event to be held in New Delhi next October.
London is the first stop of Patil's week-long two-nation tour that will also take her to Cyprus.
During her visit to Britain, first by an Indian President after 20 years, she will hold talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and meet Leader of Opposition David Cameroon. Queen Elizabeth will host a banquet in honour of her.
London is the first stop of Patil's week-long two-nation tour that will also take her to Cyprus.
During her visit to Britain, first by an Indian President after 20 years, she will hold talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and meet Leader of Opposition David Cameroon. Queen Elizabeth will host a banquet in honour of her.
Naga girl's murder: IIT scholar is a pervert, say police
NEW DELHI: A 34-year-old PhD scholar of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, who was arrested for the murder of a Nagaland teenager,is of "pervert and maniacal" nature and suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, Delhi Police said on Monday."Pushpum Sinha is suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder. And some articles showing his pervert nature and maniacal obsession have been recovered from his rented room," deputy commissioner of police (south) HGS Dhaliwal told reporters here.
Sinha, who is unmarried, was arrested late on Monday after four hours of intense questioning by police. According to the police he has confessed to strangulating his 19-year-old neighbour, Ramchanphy Hongray, in her Munirka home in south Delhi. He then burnt the girl's face to mislead the police into thinking she got killed in an accidental fire.
The police have ruled out rape.
Recounting the events, the police said that on Saturday around 4.30pm., Sinha found that the girl was alone in the house. He entered the kitchen where she was and made advances towards her. When she protested, he got scared and strangled her to death.
"He feared that the girl would report about him to others and he would face police action. He then torched her face. But because of the fire, her torso also suffered 30 percent burn injuries," Dhaliwal said.
Earlier, the police thought it was a case of accidental fire. However, the post-mortem examination revealed that she did not die of burns but had been strangulated.
Dhaliwal said the girl's sister Timila, who works in a Delhi restaurant, had during the investigations raised suspicions about her next door neighbour Sinha.
"Timila said he was trying to befriend her sister but there was never any occasion when she had made any complaint about him. On Diwali they had burnt fire crackers together, so he mistakenly thought that she was attracted to him," Dhaliwal said.
He said that Sinha, a B. Tech from Allahabad University and M.Sc (Engg.) from IISc Bangalore, was suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder - a mental disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce anxiety and repetitive behaviour aimed at reducing anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and behaviour compulsions.
"His dairy, laptop and writing on the walls suggest that he was a pervert and suffers from maniacal obsession," he added.
A police officer said that in his dairy Sinha has scribbled that everyone should have a girlfriend and whenever he had tried, he had failed. He also wrote that he was unable to get married yet.
His parents are retired. His father was deputy director from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and mother a doctor in a government hospital in Bihar.
Sinha, who is unmarried, was arrested late on Monday after four hours of intense questioning by police. According to the police he has confessed to strangulating his 19-year-old neighbour, Ramchanphy Hongray, in her Munirka home in south Delhi. He then burnt the girl's face to mislead the police into thinking she got killed in an accidental fire.
The police have ruled out rape.
Recounting the events, the police said that on Saturday around 4.30pm., Sinha found that the girl was alone in the house. He entered the kitchen where she was and made advances towards her. When she protested, he got scared and strangled her to death.
"He feared that the girl would report about him to others and he would face police action. He then torched her face. But because of the fire, her torso also suffered 30 percent burn injuries," Dhaliwal said.
Earlier, the police thought it was a case of accidental fire. However, the post-mortem examination revealed that she did not die of burns but had been strangulated.
Dhaliwal said the girl's sister Timila, who works in a Delhi restaurant, had during the investigations raised suspicions about her next door neighbour Sinha.
"Timila said he was trying to befriend her sister but there was never any occasion when she had made any complaint about him. On Diwali they had burnt fire crackers together, so he mistakenly thought that she was attracted to him," Dhaliwal said.
He said that Sinha, a B. Tech from Allahabad University and M.Sc (Engg.) from IISc Bangalore, was suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder - a mental disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce anxiety and repetitive behaviour aimed at reducing anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and behaviour compulsions.
"His dairy, laptop and writing on the walls suggest that he was a pervert and suffers from maniacal obsession," he added.
A police officer said that in his dairy Sinha has scribbled that everyone should have a girlfriend and whenever he had tried, he had failed. He also wrote that he was unable to get married yet.
His parents are retired. His father was deputy director from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and mother a doctor in a government hospital in Bihar.
Helicopter crashes: 14 US soldiers and civilians die in Afghanistan
In the first incident, a helicopter went down in Badghis province in the west of the country after raiding a compound harbouring an opium-trafficking gang linked to the insurgency.
The US military said the helicopter, believed to be a Chinook, crashed after leaving the compound, where a firefight had left more than a dozen insurgents dead.
Seven US soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Agency officers were killed, while 11 American soldiers, one US civilian and 14 Afghans were injured.
A Taliban spokesman claimed it had shot down the helicopter, but the Nato-led coalition said the crash was “not believed to be from enemy action”.
A military spokesman described Badghis province as “where we see the nexus between the insurgency and the narcotics trade”. It has has seen repeated raids by helicopter-borne US special forces.
The province has threatened to slip from government control with a sharp increase in Taliban activity funded by opium growing in the province.
Meanwhile a US marine UH1 helicopter and an AH1 Cobra collided in the southern province of Helmand, leaving four more US troops dead and wounding two others. Hostile fire was ruled out in the crash.
Both crashes were under investigation, but inquiries were being hampered by “combat conditions”.
Helicopters are vital to coalition operations in Afghanistan where there are few roads and the terrain is mountainous and impassable for ground vehicles.
The highest US death toll in one day since a helicopter crash in June 2005 came as President Barack Obama prepared to meet his security advisers to grapple again with a new strategy for the troubled eight-year-long conflict.
The Obama administration is debating whether to send 40,000 reinforcements to the country after General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Iraq, said the coalition risked failure without more resources.
Mr Obama has been accused of “dithering” over the request, just as opinion polls show the majority of Americans oppose the war.
His deliberations have been complicated by the fraud-riddled Afghan presidential elections which were supposed to choose a strong, legitimate leader in Kabul, but have instead become mired in allegations of ballot-stuffing.
A total of 46 US troops have died in Afghanistan in October in what is already by far the bloodiest year in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion.
In June 2005, 16 American special forces members were killed in the eastern province of Kunar when their Chinook helicopter was shot down by the Taliban.
The US military said the helicopter, believed to be a Chinook, crashed after leaving the compound, where a firefight had left more than a dozen insurgents dead.
Seven US soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Agency officers were killed, while 11 American soldiers, one US civilian and 14 Afghans were injured.
A Taliban spokesman claimed it had shot down the helicopter, but the Nato-led coalition said the crash was “not believed to be from enemy action”.
A military spokesman described Badghis province as “where we see the nexus between the insurgency and the narcotics trade”. It has has seen repeated raids by helicopter-borne US special forces.
The province has threatened to slip from government control with a sharp increase in Taliban activity funded by opium growing in the province.
Meanwhile a US marine UH1 helicopter and an AH1 Cobra collided in the southern province of Helmand, leaving four more US troops dead and wounding two others. Hostile fire was ruled out in the crash.
Both crashes were under investigation, but inquiries were being hampered by “combat conditions”.
Helicopters are vital to coalition operations in Afghanistan where there are few roads and the terrain is mountainous and impassable for ground vehicles.
The highest US death toll in one day since a helicopter crash in June 2005 came as President Barack Obama prepared to meet his security advisers to grapple again with a new strategy for the troubled eight-year-long conflict.
The Obama administration is debating whether to send 40,000 reinforcements to the country after General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Iraq, said the coalition risked failure without more resources.
Mr Obama has been accused of “dithering” over the request, just as opinion polls show the majority of Americans oppose the war.
His deliberations have been complicated by the fraud-riddled Afghan presidential elections which were supposed to choose a strong, legitimate leader in Kabul, but have instead become mired in allegations of ballot-stuffing.
A total of 46 US troops have died in Afghanistan in October in what is already by far the bloodiest year in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion.
In June 2005, 16 American special forces members were killed in the eastern province of Kunar when their Chinook helicopter was shot down by the Taliban.
Mumbai commuters have a harrowing Monday
Mumbai: Lakhs of commuters had a harrowing experience on Monday morning when the motormen of Central Railway (CR) suddenly decided not to work over and above their scheduled duty hours. This resulted in delay of trains by over an hour-and-a-half.
The motormen continued to work less, thereby disrupting the train schedule causing a bother to the common man.
Members of the recognised union claimed that they had not called for the strike and that some of the motormen in a fit of rage decided not to work beyond their scheduled hours of work.
This flash strike was to protest the delay in rescuing their colleague R Ramchandran, motorman of the Kalyan-bound slow local which rammed into the girder of the under-construction road-over-bridge which fell when his train was passing near Kopri in Thane.
Not only this but long hours of work was also one of their demands which they tried to press by highlighting the vacancies (over 150) be filled in by CR at the earliest.
The suburban rail traffic was thrown out of gear in the morning, the impact of which was felt till late in the evening on Monday. Commuters were caught unawares and were left stranded at various points on CR network leaving them no option but to walk to their destinations on the tracks.
Members of the recognised National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU) met CR general manager BB Modgil and presented a memorandum of their demands primarily asking to investigate into the death of their colleague Ramchandran along with the inquiry of the accident by the commissioner of railway safety.
Among their other demands was immediate action for the overhead bridges which have been declared dilapidated by various consultants. "There should be stress management sessions for the motormen and safety door must be provided to the motormen cabin as well in case of such an emergency," said a member of NRMU.
Modgil has assured to look into all these issues and the motormen have decided to resume their services as normal.
The incident had a major impact on the train services on the harbour line as the trains were lined up one behind the other.
The administration, however, attributed the delay of train services to a bomb hoax incident which happened at Dombivali at 7.45am.
"We had to immediately stop all the train operations thereby leading to a lot of bunching and rescheduling of the suburban trains. This had a cascading effect throughout the day as the delay was for over 45 minutes," said SC Mudgerikar, chief PRO of CR.
The motormen continued to work less, thereby disrupting the train schedule causing a bother to the common man.
Members of the recognised union claimed that they had not called for the strike and that some of the motormen in a fit of rage decided not to work beyond their scheduled hours of work.
This flash strike was to protest the delay in rescuing their colleague R Ramchandran, motorman of the Kalyan-bound slow local which rammed into the girder of the under-construction road-over-bridge which fell when his train was passing near Kopri in Thane.
Not only this but long hours of work was also one of their demands which they tried to press by highlighting the vacancies (over 150) be filled in by CR at the earliest.
The suburban rail traffic was thrown out of gear in the morning, the impact of which was felt till late in the evening on Monday. Commuters were caught unawares and were left stranded at various points on CR network leaving them no option but to walk to their destinations on the tracks.
Members of the recognised National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU) met CR general manager BB Modgil and presented a memorandum of their demands primarily asking to investigate into the death of their colleague Ramchandran along with the inquiry of the accident by the commissioner of railway safety.
Among their other demands was immediate action for the overhead bridges which have been declared dilapidated by various consultants. "There should be stress management sessions for the motormen and safety door must be provided to the motormen cabin as well in case of such an emergency," said a member of NRMU.
Modgil has assured to look into all these issues and the motormen have decided to resume their services as normal.
The incident had a major impact on the train services on the harbour line as the trains were lined up one behind the other.
The administration, however, attributed the delay of train services to a bomb hoax incident which happened at Dombivali at 7.45am.
"We had to immediately stop all the train operations thereby leading to a lot of bunching and rescheduling of the suburban trains. This had a cascading effect throughout the day as the delay was for over 45 minutes," said SC Mudgerikar, chief PRO of CR.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Andhra CM's Missing
Anxiety in government and Congress circles is growing even as seven helicopters, including four from the Indian Air Force, are on
desperate search and rescue mission for the helicopter carrying Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, which has been missing since 9.27am on Wednesday.
The CM left Hyderabad on a six-seater Bell chopper at 8.35am for Chittoor accompanied by his secretary and chief security officer. After 9.27am, radio contact was lost with the helicopter. This was when the chopper entered the thickly forested, Naxalite-infested Nallamalla hill range.
The heavy rain and zero visibility in the Nalamlla forest, an extension of Eastern Ghats, is making the search operations difficult, officials said. Large parts of the forest are also flooded because of the overflowing Srisailam reservoir. Officials also said that the met department's predictions for the day included heavy rain and lightning.
Andhra Pradesh finance minister A Rosaiah said at a press conference that no contact has been established with the chief minister's chopper. Search and rescue operations are still on, he said. The state is coordinating with central agencies in Delhi to locate the CM's chopper. The PM's office is also in touch with the state government. Several helicopters have left for search operations, he added.
The state government has appealed to people for help and asked them to get in touch with the nearest police station if they have any information. Sources in the Congress, the chief minister's party, described the situation as grim.
Reports say state finance minister A Rosaiah will be holding another press conference with the Chief Secretary, AP government and the Director General of Police at 7pm on Wednesday.
Earlier today, confusion prevailed over the missing chopper as minister for civil aviation Praful Patel said Reddy's helicopter had been located.
desperate search and rescue mission for the helicopter carrying Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, which has been missing since 9.27am on Wednesday.
The CM left Hyderabad on a six-seater Bell chopper at 8.35am for Chittoor accompanied by his secretary and chief security officer. After 9.27am, radio contact was lost with the helicopter. This was when the chopper entered the thickly forested, Naxalite-infested Nallamalla hill range.
The heavy rain and zero visibility in the Nalamlla forest, an extension of Eastern Ghats, is making the search operations difficult, officials said. Large parts of the forest are also flooded because of the overflowing Srisailam reservoir. Officials also said that the met department's predictions for the day included heavy rain and lightning.
Andhra Pradesh finance minister A Rosaiah said at a press conference that no contact has been established with the chief minister's chopper. Search and rescue operations are still on, he said. The state is coordinating with central agencies in Delhi to locate the CM's chopper. The PM's office is also in touch with the state government. Several helicopters have left for search operations, he added.
The state government has appealed to people for help and asked them to get in touch with the nearest police station if they have any information. Sources in the Congress, the chief minister's party, described the situation as grim.
Reports say state finance minister A Rosaiah will be holding another press conference with the Chief Secretary, AP government and the Director General of Police at 7pm on Wednesday.
Earlier today, confusion prevailed over the missing chopper as minister for civil aviation Praful Patel said Reddy's helicopter had been located.
Nearly 12 hours over, no trace of Andhra CM
New Delhi: Helicopter search operations to locate Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has been called off because of light and weather conditions and will resume on Thursday morning, Home Minister P Chidambaram said in the Capital.
The 60-year-old Congress leader, who led the party to a remarkable victory in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, left Hyderabad for Chitoor at 0835 hours IST in a twin-engined Bell helicopter which lost contact an hour later. There was no trace of the helicopter, which got lost in bad weather.
“There is no good news yet. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Our prayers are with Rajasekhara Reddy and his family," Chidambaram said more than ten hours after the helicopter lost contact with the ATC at 0935 hours IST.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) in the first light of the day, helicopters will continue the search,” Chidambaram said, who is supervising the search operation.
However, a sombre Home Minister said the search on foot by forest and revenue officials will continue through the night. Police and CRPF personnel are also conducting search operations on foot.
"I have advised the state government to continue the search even during the night with whatever light is available. Perhaps they would be able to do the search for couple of hours," Chidambaram said.
The Union Home Ministry has rushed 5,000 CRPF personnel to the area from nearby Chattisgarh and Orissa to conduct search in the area.
Three Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters from Bangalore and a private chopper from Nellore scoured the area where the helicopter is believed to have gone missing. Two helicopters from Air Command in Secunderabad returned because of incessant rains.
IAF will also press into service Su-30MKI fighter aircraft with synthetic aperture radar for high resolution ground mapping in and around Kurnool to locate the missing chopper
The 60-year-old Congress leader, who led the party to a remarkable victory in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, left Hyderabad for Chitoor at 0835 hours IST in a twin-engined Bell helicopter which lost contact an hour later. There was no trace of the helicopter, which got lost in bad weather.
“There is no good news yet. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Our prayers are with Rajasekhara Reddy and his family," Chidambaram said more than ten hours after the helicopter lost contact with the ATC at 0935 hours IST.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) in the first light of the day, helicopters will continue the search,” Chidambaram said, who is supervising the search operation.
However, a sombre Home Minister said the search on foot by forest and revenue officials will continue through the night. Police and CRPF personnel are also conducting search operations on foot.
"I have advised the state government to continue the search even during the night with whatever light is available. Perhaps they would be able to do the search for couple of hours," Chidambaram said.
The Union Home Ministry has rushed 5,000 CRPF personnel to the area from nearby Chattisgarh and Orissa to conduct search in the area.
Three Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters from Bangalore and a private chopper from Nellore scoured the area where the helicopter is believed to have gone missing. Two helicopters from Air Command in Secunderabad returned because of incessant rains.
IAF will also press into service Su-30MKI fighter aircraft with synthetic aperture radar for high resolution ground mapping in and around Kurnool to locate the missing chopper
Is Andhra CM Dead????
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily and Minister of State for Science & Technology Prithviraj Chavan to head for Hyderabad at the earliest to deal with the situation arising after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s helicopter went missing in the morning on Wednesday.
The Congress on Wednesday described the situation arising after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s helicopter went missing in the morning as a ``crisis’’ but pleaded ignorance about any further details.
By evening, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily and Minister of State for Science & Technology Prithviraj Chavan to head for Hyderabad at the earliest to deal with the situation.
While Mr. Moily has been asked to go in his capacity as the party’s general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Chavan – who holds additional charge of Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office – is going as the Centre’s representative to monitor the search operations.
The decision to send the two Ministers to Andhra Pradesh was taken in the evening; nine hours after the chopper went missing in the Nallamala forest area near Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Other Andhra Pradesh Congress leaders including Union Minister for Urban Development S. Jaipal Reddy and V. Hanumantha Rao are also heading for Hyderabad.
Ms. Gandhi is understood to have spoken to the Chief Minister’s son, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy – a first-time member of the Lok Sabha – during the day. After Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram briefed Ms. Gandhi in the evening about the steps being taken to find Mr. Reddy, the Congress president called an emergency meeting of her key aides – Ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A. K. Antony, and political secretary Ahmed Patel -- to take stock of the situation.
Shaken by the turn of events but keeping its hopes alive for now, the Congress refused to speak about the issue with spokesman Manish Tewari stating that the party had nothing to add to what Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K. Roshiah had said in Hyderabad. ``It is an evolving situation. This is a sensitive situation,…. a crisis situation. We are praying for his safety. ’’
As the hours passed by, however, hope began fading in the Congress and leaders could not help remembering the party losing other dynamic leaders like Madhavrao Scindia and Rajesh Pilot in accidents. In addition, they pointed out, Mr. Reddy’s chopper went missing in a Naxal-prone dense forest area, adding to the risks in this case.
The Congress on Wednesday described the situation arising after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s helicopter went missing in the morning as a ``crisis’’ but pleaded ignorance about any further details.
By evening, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily and Minister of State for Science & Technology Prithviraj Chavan to head for Hyderabad at the earliest to deal with the situation.
While Mr. Moily has been asked to go in his capacity as the party’s general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Chavan – who holds additional charge of Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office – is going as the Centre’s representative to monitor the search operations.
The decision to send the two Ministers to Andhra Pradesh was taken in the evening; nine hours after the chopper went missing in the Nallamala forest area near Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Other Andhra Pradesh Congress leaders including Union Minister for Urban Development S. Jaipal Reddy and V. Hanumantha Rao are also heading for Hyderabad.
Ms. Gandhi is understood to have spoken to the Chief Minister’s son, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy – a first-time member of the Lok Sabha – during the day. After Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram briefed Ms. Gandhi in the evening about the steps being taken to find Mr. Reddy, the Congress president called an emergency meeting of her key aides – Ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A. K. Antony, and political secretary Ahmed Patel -- to take stock of the situation.
Shaken by the turn of events but keeping its hopes alive for now, the Congress refused to speak about the issue with spokesman Manish Tewari stating that the party had nothing to add to what Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K. Roshiah had said in Hyderabad. ``It is an evolving situation. This is a sensitive situation,…. a crisis situation. We are praying for his safety. ’’
As the hours passed by, however, hope began fading in the Congress and leaders could not help remembering the party losing other dynamic leaders like Madhavrao Scindia and Rajesh Pilot in accidents. In addition, they pointed out, Mr. Reddy’s chopper went missing in a Naxal-prone dense forest area, adding to the risks in this case.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Bonds fall sharply; Rupee ends weak
MUMBAI: Government bonds
fell sharply for the second time this week, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bought back bonds from traders at
yields much higher than what market expected.
The next clues for the market will come from the Rs 12,000-crore bond sale scheduled on Friday, which traders expect will sail through. RBI said on Thursday it had fixed an underwriting commission of 3-8 paisa for the three bonds offered (against 5-15 paisa routinely). This indicates that bond houses underwriting the auction are hopeful that they will not have to buy a very large amount of unsold bonds.
The central bank said on Thursday it had bought back bonds worth close to Rs 2,700 crore through an auction under its open market operation where it received bids totalling Rs 8,500 crore.
It bought back the 7.59% bonds maturing in 2016 at a cut-off price corresponding to a yield of 7.18%, higher than the market expectation of 7.15%.
This was the central bank’s third purchase this month. Till date, it has bought only Rs 43,000 crore of bonds since April 1, against its target of Rs 80,000 crore for the first half of the fiscal.
“From a fundamental perspective yields seem to have overshot expected levels,” said Arvind Chari, debt portfolio manager at Quantum Mutual. “It will not be rash to expect bonds to post a rally of sorts from hereon (in the medium term.) Then there is the central bank which is expected to intervene actively through OMOs to keep yields from going haywire,” he added. When yields fall, prices rise.
Traders are now wondering if this is just an one-off announcement or whether buybacks will be a weekly event. The government will also sell bonds worth Rs 12,000 crore this Friday. The rupee ended flat at 48.91 against the US dollar on month-end demand for the US currency despite upswing in stocks. It closed at 48.93 against the dollar on Wednesday. The dollar rose on Wednesday as reports that China would restrict investment renewed concerns about a global recovery data showing a jump in new US home sales.
fell sharply for the second time this week, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bought back bonds from traders at
yields much higher than what market expected.
The next clues for the market will come from the Rs 12,000-crore bond sale scheduled on Friday, which traders expect will sail through. RBI said on Thursday it had fixed an underwriting commission of 3-8 paisa for the three bonds offered (against 5-15 paisa routinely). This indicates that bond houses underwriting the auction are hopeful that they will not have to buy a very large amount of unsold bonds.
The central bank said on Thursday it had bought back bonds worth close to Rs 2,700 crore through an auction under its open market operation where it received bids totalling Rs 8,500 crore.
It bought back the 7.59% bonds maturing in 2016 at a cut-off price corresponding to a yield of 7.18%, higher than the market expectation of 7.15%.
This was the central bank’s third purchase this month. Till date, it has bought only Rs 43,000 crore of bonds since April 1, against its target of Rs 80,000 crore for the first half of the fiscal.
“From a fundamental perspective yields seem to have overshot expected levels,” said Arvind Chari, debt portfolio manager at Quantum Mutual. “It will not be rash to expect bonds to post a rally of sorts from hereon (in the medium term.) Then there is the central bank which is expected to intervene actively through OMOs to keep yields from going haywire,” he added. When yields fall, prices rise.
Traders are now wondering if this is just an one-off announcement or whether buybacks will be a weekly event. The government will also sell bonds worth Rs 12,000 crore this Friday. The rupee ended flat at 48.91 against the US dollar on month-end demand for the US currency despite upswing in stocks. It closed at 48.93 against the dollar on Wednesday. The dollar rose on Wednesday as reports that China would restrict investment renewed concerns about a global recovery data showing a jump in new US home sales.
Industry welcomes new foreign trade policy
JAIPUR: Against the backdrop of a global financial crisis, the new foreign trade policy (FTP) on Thursday managed to revive the spirit of the
city-based exporters.
The exporters were optimistic that the FTP would benefit the industry in Jaipur. The city has also been recently adjugded as the Town of Export Excellence', along with Srinagar and Anantnag.
Besides, concessions for technology upgradation, the handicraft industry has the potential to develop as a mega cluster which can attract more incentives. "Prima facie it looks good," said Dileep Baid, president Federation of Rajasthan Handicraft exporters.
With a target of $200 billion exports for next fiscal and an annual export growth of 15%, the 2009-2014 FTP provides an extended tax holiday and duty refund for exporters. Under protectionism, the FTP had allowed duty free import of capital goods.
With a view to double India's percentage share of global trade in five years, and increasing employment opportunities, certain special initiatives have been considered for agriculture, handlooms, handicraft, gemsand jewellery and leather sectors.
To improve the infrastructure of the export sector, Towns of Excellence', and the associated units will be granted additional support and incentives. "The 5% incentive for handicrafts under special focus would promote the industry interests," Baid said.
The policy aims to provide a thrust to the employment-oriented sectors, which have witnessed job losses due to recession, especially in the fields of textiles, leather and handicrafts.
"This would benefit the labour-intensive block printing industry in Jaipur," said Vikram Joshi, an exporter and president Consortium of Textile Exporters (COTEX).
To give a boost to the drought -hit industry, the Textile Corporation of India is setting up cotton depots. The cotton prices shoot up during drought. These depots, will act as buffers for the industry," Vikram said.
"Investment in new technology will lead to less energy consumption, miminise wastage and increase productivity," he added.
The gem and jewellery industry also appreciated the government concessions for exporters, which includes a tax refund scheme for the sector, besides plans to set up diamond bourses.
"The gems and jewellery account for nearly 13% of India's total exports. The policy will further increase the exports," said Vasant Mehta, chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
However, the carpet industry feels there is not much to cheer about as the policy does not underline any new incentives for them.
"The carpet industry, which is threatened by the US recession, needs more stimulus than any other sector," Mahavir Sharma, vice-chairman, Carpet Export Promotion Council, said.
city-based exporters.
The exporters were optimistic that the FTP would benefit the industry in Jaipur. The city has also been recently adjugded as the Town of Export Excellence', along with Srinagar and Anantnag.
Besides, concessions for technology upgradation, the handicraft industry has the potential to develop as a mega cluster which can attract more incentives. "Prima facie it looks good," said Dileep Baid, president Federation of Rajasthan Handicraft exporters.
With a target of $200 billion exports for next fiscal and an annual export growth of 15%, the 2009-2014 FTP provides an extended tax holiday and duty refund for exporters. Under protectionism, the FTP had allowed duty free import of capital goods.
With a view to double India's percentage share of global trade in five years, and increasing employment opportunities, certain special initiatives have been considered for agriculture, handlooms, handicraft, gemsand jewellery and leather sectors.
To improve the infrastructure of the export sector, Towns of Excellence', and the associated units will be granted additional support and incentives. "The 5% incentive for handicrafts under special focus would promote the industry interests," Baid said.
The policy aims to provide a thrust to the employment-oriented sectors, which have witnessed job losses due to recession, especially in the fields of textiles, leather and handicrafts.
"This would benefit the labour-intensive block printing industry in Jaipur," said Vikram Joshi, an exporter and president Consortium of Textile Exporters (COTEX).
To give a boost to the drought -hit industry, the Textile Corporation of India is setting up cotton depots. The cotton prices shoot up during drought. These depots, will act as buffers for the industry," Vikram said.
"Investment in new technology will lead to less energy consumption, miminise wastage and increase productivity," he added.
The gem and jewellery industry also appreciated the government concessions for exporters, which includes a tax refund scheme for the sector, besides plans to set up diamond bourses.
"The gems and jewellery account for nearly 13% of India's total exports. The policy will further increase the exports," said Vasant Mehta, chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
However, the carpet industry feels there is not much to cheer about as the policy does not underline any new incentives for them.
"The carpet industry, which is threatened by the US recession, needs more stimulus than any other sector," Mahavir Sharma, vice-chairman, Carpet Export Promotion Council, said.
Advani knew of decision to free terrorists, says Brajesh Mishra
New Delhi: The former National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra, said on Thursday that the former Home Minister, L.K.Advani, was part of the National Democratic Alliance government’s decision to release three terrorists and send Jaswant Singh to Kandahar for securing hostages’ release in 1999.
Mr. Mishra told Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN:
“The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security which has, you know, five members — Prime Minister, Home Minister, Finance Minister, External Affairs Minister and Defence Minister.
“....Once those demands were whittled down to three terrorists and no money and no interred remains [of some terrorist], then there was a unanimous decision of the CCS that in order to save the lives of 160-plus hostages and the aircraft crew, it made sense to release these three terrorists and get the hostages back.”
Asked if it was a unanimous decision, he replied, “Of course.” Was Advani part and parcel of it? “Yes, of course.”
Mr. Mishra, who is considered close to the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said Mr. Advani was also aware of the decision to send External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to Kandahar to secure the release of hostages.
“Again the CCS met and Mr. Jaswant Singh proposed that he would go to Kandahar to bring back the hostages and he explained that the Indian representatives who were negotiating in Kandahar — diplomats, IB, RAW — had suggested that somebody should be there to take care of any last minute complications. This he informed the CCS and they agreed to send [him],” Mr. Mishra said.
Mr. Mishra told Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN:
“The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security which has, you know, five members — Prime Minister, Home Minister, Finance Minister, External Affairs Minister and Defence Minister.
“....Once those demands were whittled down to three terrorists and no money and no interred remains [of some terrorist], then there was a unanimous decision of the CCS that in order to save the lives of 160-plus hostages and the aircraft crew, it made sense to release these three terrorists and get the hostages back.”
Asked if it was a unanimous decision, he replied, “Of course.” Was Advani part and parcel of it? “Yes, of course.”
Mr. Mishra, who is considered close to the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said Mr. Advani was also aware of the decision to send External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to Kandahar to secure the release of hostages.
“Again the CCS met and Mr. Jaswant Singh proposed that he would go to Kandahar to bring back the hostages and he explained that the Indian representatives who were negotiating in Kandahar — diplomats, IB, RAW — had suggested that somebody should be there to take care of any last minute complications. This he informed the CCS and they agreed to send [him],” Mr. Mishra said.
3G spectrum reserve price fixed at Rs. 3,500 crore
Rs. 1,750 crore is base price for WiMAX spectrum: e-GoM
Only 5 operators allowed per telecom circle
Auction may fetch over Rs. 25,000 crore: Raja
NEW DELHI: Ending all confusion over the pricing of spectrum for 3G services, the empowered Group of Ministers (e-GoM) on Thursday finalised the reserve price for auction of radio waves for next generation mobile services at Rs. 3,500 crore.
The e-GoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, decided to allow a maximum of five 3G operators per telecom circle, including a government-owned company (BSNL or MTNL). It fixed the base price for pan-India WiMAX spectrum for wireless Internet at Rs. 1,750 crore, and decided to sell only three slots initially.
Talking to journalists after attending the meeting here, Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja said spectrum auction for both 3G and WiMAX services would be completed within 90 days, paving the way for faster and more efficient mobile and Internet services.
On revenue generation from the entire auction, he said the government was likely to earn over Rs. 25,000 crore. As only four private operators were allowed to offer 3G services per circle, the auction price could still go higher.
The Minister clarified that both BSNL and MTNL, which were already offering 3G services, would have to match the price quoted by the successful bidders in each circle.
In the 2009-10 budget, Mr. Mukherjee estimated a revenue generation of Rs. 35,000 crore from the auction process.
The e-GoM decided to auction only three slots of spectrum for WiMAX services in the first phase.
The issue of 3G spectrum auction had been hanging fire as the Finance Ministry and the Department of Telecom failed to arrive at consensus on the base price.
While the DoT suggested Rs. 2,020 crore as the reserve price for 3G spectrum and Rs. 1,010 crore for WiMAX, the Finance Ministry insisted on Rs. 4,040 crore and Rs. 2,020 crore, leading to the delay in private players rolling out both services.
Thursday’s meeting was attended by Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
Only 5 operators allowed per telecom circle
Auction may fetch over Rs. 25,000 crore: Raja
NEW DELHI: Ending all confusion over the pricing of spectrum for 3G services, the empowered Group of Ministers (e-GoM) on Thursday finalised the reserve price for auction of radio waves for next generation mobile services at Rs. 3,500 crore.
The e-GoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, decided to allow a maximum of five 3G operators per telecom circle, including a government-owned company (BSNL or MTNL). It fixed the base price for pan-India WiMAX spectrum for wireless Internet at Rs. 1,750 crore, and decided to sell only three slots initially.
Talking to journalists after attending the meeting here, Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja said spectrum auction for both 3G and WiMAX services would be completed within 90 days, paving the way for faster and more efficient mobile and Internet services.
On revenue generation from the entire auction, he said the government was likely to earn over Rs. 25,000 crore. As only four private operators were allowed to offer 3G services per circle, the auction price could still go higher.
The Minister clarified that both BSNL and MTNL, which were already offering 3G services, would have to match the price quoted by the successful bidders in each circle.
In the 2009-10 budget, Mr. Mukherjee estimated a revenue generation of Rs. 35,000 crore from the auction process.
The e-GoM decided to auction only three slots of spectrum for WiMAX services in the first phase.
The issue of 3G spectrum auction had been hanging fire as the Finance Ministry and the Department of Telecom failed to arrive at consensus on the base price.
While the DoT suggested Rs. 2,020 crore as the reserve price for 3G spectrum and Rs. 1,010 crore for WiMAX, the Finance Ministry insisted on Rs. 4,040 crore and Rs. 2,020 crore, leading to the delay in private players rolling out both services.
Thursday’s meeting was attended by Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
Quota for women in panchayats to be raised to 50%
NEW DELHI: The country seems set to have an army of women politicians. UPA-2 may have failed to deliver on its promise of 33% reservation for
women in legislatures within 100 days but it has kept its word on empowerment at the grassroots with the Union Cabinet on Thursday clearing a proposal to increase reservation for women to 50% in panchayats.
The proposal, reported by TOI earlier, aims to amend Article 243D of the Constitution that currently provides for 33% reservation for women in panchayats. This is proposed to be increased to 50%. The "women only" seats in panchayats are rotated.
States where 50% women's quota is already in force has boosted their status. In Bihar, it has seen the spouses of women heads of panchayats styling themselves as `mukhiyapatis' in a sybolic yet significant role reversal.
Panchayats are expected to serve as nurseries for women leaders, preparing them for tasks they may have to shoulder in case the addiction for politics endures.
It was during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure as PM that the idea of decentralising power and empowering women at the grassroots was mooted. The one-third reservation for women in panchayats came through the 73rd constitutional amendment during PV Narasimha Rao's tenure as PM.
The move will at one stroke boost the number of women politicians at the grassroots as the experience of Bihar -- the first state to reserve half of the panchayat seats for women -- shows -- making the administration more gender-sensitive.
Taking the lead in women empowerment, five states -- Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- already have 50% reservation for women as states have the power to bring in amendments in their state laws to increase women's representation up to 50%.
Rajasthan has also announced 50% reservation that will be implemented in the next panchayat election in early 2010. Kerala, too, has announced 50% reservation for women in panchayats and other local bodies.
In Uttarakhand, women have an overwhelming 55% representation in panchayats as many of them contested even from non-reserved seats and won. But the state works through the UP Panchayat Act and is yet to have its own law.
With the proposed constitutional amendment, the number of elected women's representatives at the grassroot level is expected to rise to more than 14 lakh. At present, women account for 36.87% of the total 28.1 lakh elected panchayat representatives.
I&B minister Ambika Soni said after the Union Cabinet meeting that a proposal to have 50% quota for women in urban local bodies is likely to be taken up later.
Panchayati raj minister CP Joshi called Thursday's decision as historic saying it would take empowerment of women to another level.
All India Democratic Women Association general secretary Sudha Sundararaman said, "This will facilitate increased participation of women in decision making and strenghten the democratic process. But this measure must be followed up with the passage of the women's reservation Bill in Parliament."
women in legislatures within 100 days but it has kept its word on empowerment at the grassroots with the Union Cabinet on Thursday clearing a proposal to increase reservation for women to 50% in panchayats.
The proposal, reported by TOI earlier, aims to amend Article 243D of the Constitution that currently provides for 33% reservation for women in panchayats. This is proposed to be increased to 50%. The "women only" seats in panchayats are rotated.
States where 50% women's quota is already in force has boosted their status. In Bihar, it has seen the spouses of women heads of panchayats styling themselves as `mukhiyapatis' in a sybolic yet significant role reversal.
Panchayats are expected to serve as nurseries for women leaders, preparing them for tasks they may have to shoulder in case the addiction for politics endures.
It was during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure as PM that the idea of decentralising power and empowering women at the grassroots was mooted. The one-third reservation for women in panchayats came through the 73rd constitutional amendment during PV Narasimha Rao's tenure as PM.
The move will at one stroke boost the number of women politicians at the grassroots as the experience of Bihar -- the first state to reserve half of the panchayat seats for women -- shows -- making the administration more gender-sensitive.
Taking the lead in women empowerment, five states -- Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh -- already have 50% reservation for women as states have the power to bring in amendments in their state laws to increase women's representation up to 50%.
Rajasthan has also announced 50% reservation that will be implemented in the next panchayat election in early 2010. Kerala, too, has announced 50% reservation for women in panchayats and other local bodies.
In Uttarakhand, women have an overwhelming 55% representation in panchayats as many of them contested even from non-reserved seats and won. But the state works through the UP Panchayat Act and is yet to have its own law.
With the proposed constitutional amendment, the number of elected women's representatives at the grassroot level is expected to rise to more than 14 lakh. At present, women account for 36.87% of the total 28.1 lakh elected panchayat representatives.
I&B minister Ambika Soni said after the Union Cabinet meeting that a proposal to have 50% quota for women in urban local bodies is likely to be taken up later.
Panchayati raj minister CP Joshi called Thursday's decision as historic saying it would take empowerment of women to another level.
All India Democratic Women Association general secretary Sudha Sundararaman said, "This will facilitate increased participation of women in decision making and strenghten the democratic process. But this measure must be followed up with the passage of the women's reservation Bill in Parliament."
50% quota for women in all tiers of panchayat raj
NEW DELHI: The UPA government on Thursday raised reservation for women at all tiers of the panchayat raj system from 33 to at least 50 per cent.
The Cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also cleared the proposal to amend Article 243(D) of the Constitution for the purpose. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been directed to draft a bill for making the amendment.
Panchayati Raj Minister C.P. Joshi said the bill, providing for greater participation of women in the public sphere, would be moved in the next session of Parliament.
The Urban Development Ministry would also initiate a similar proposal soon to enhance women’s representation in urban local bodies.
The proposed amendment seeks to increase reservation for women in the number of seats to be filled by direct election for the office of chairperson, right from the panchayat to the panchayat samiti and the zilla parishad.
Even with respect to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, reservation for women will stand enhanced to a minimum of 50 per cent within the quota reserved for these two categories. Since there is no reservation at the Central level for other backward classes, it would be up to the State governments to increase the quota for women under this segment as well, Mr. Joshi clarified.
As and when provided for in the Constitution, the law will be applicable in all States except Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, tribal areas of Assam and Tripura and hill areas of Manipur.
The panchayat raj system being a State subject, it would be the prerogative of the States concerned, where the quota for women is less than 50 per cent, to formulate their own rules to implement the provision once it is made part of the Constitution.
Currently, the representation of women is 36.87 per cent of the 28.18 lakh elected panchayat representatives. The number of women representatives will go up to over 14 lakh after the proposed Constitution amendment.
The Cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also cleared the proposal to amend Article 243(D) of the Constitution for the purpose. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been directed to draft a bill for making the amendment.
Panchayati Raj Minister C.P. Joshi said the bill, providing for greater participation of women in the public sphere, would be moved in the next session of Parliament.
The Urban Development Ministry would also initiate a similar proposal soon to enhance women’s representation in urban local bodies.
The proposed amendment seeks to increase reservation for women in the number of seats to be filled by direct election for the office of chairperson, right from the panchayat to the panchayat samiti and the zilla parishad.
Even with respect to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, reservation for women will stand enhanced to a minimum of 50 per cent within the quota reserved for these two categories. Since there is no reservation at the Central level for other backward classes, it would be up to the State governments to increase the quota for women under this segment as well, Mr. Joshi clarified.
As and when provided for in the Constitution, the law will be applicable in all States except Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, tribal areas of Assam and Tripura and hill areas of Manipur.
The panchayat raj system being a State subject, it would be the prerogative of the States concerned, where the quota for women is less than 50 per cent, to formulate their own rules to implement the provision once it is made part of the Constitution.
Currently, the representation of women is 36.87 per cent of the 28.18 lakh elected panchayat representatives. The number of women representatives will go up to over 14 lakh after the proposed Constitution amendment.
Cabinet okays 50% quota for women in panchayats
Moving to empower women at the grassroots level, the Government today approved a proposal to raise reservation for them in panchayats to 50%.
The Cabinet approved a proposal for a Constitutional Amendment Bill for enhancing reservation for women in panchayats at all tiers from one-third to at least 50%. This provision will apply to the total number of seats filled by direct election, offices of chairpersons and seats reserved for SCs and STs.
As of now, women constitute only 36.87% of the total 28.18 lakh elected panchayat representatives. With the Cabinet clearance today, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj will now move a Bill to amend Article 243D of the Constitution.
It will cover all states and Union Territories where Part IX (that deals with panchayats) of the Constitution applies. It will not be applicable in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, tribal areas of Assam, Tripura and the hill areas of Manipur.
The Cabinet approved a proposal for a Constitutional Amendment Bill for enhancing reservation for women in panchayats at all tiers from one-third to at least 50%. This provision will apply to the total number of seats filled by direct election, offices of chairpersons and seats reserved for SCs and STs.
As of now, women constitute only 36.87% of the total 28.18 lakh elected panchayat representatives. With the Cabinet clearance today, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj will now move a Bill to amend Article 243D of the Constitution.
It will cover all states and Union Territories where Part IX (that deals with panchayats) of the Constitution applies. It will not be applicable in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, tribal areas of Assam, Tripura and the hill areas of Manipur.
50% quota for women in panchayats cleared
Every second member of India’s panchayats and urban local bodies will be a woman.
The government on Thursday cleared a constitutional amendment to reserve 50 per cent of seats in panchayats for women and asked the urban development ministry to put up a similar proposal for quotas in urban local bodies like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
This comes two days ahead of the government completing 100 days in office.
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister CP Joshi described the move as saying the government has kept its promise of empowering women in the decision-making process at all levels of local government.
“We have done it. This will facilitate more women entering the public,” he said.
Now a little more than one-third of seats in panchayats and municipal bodies are reserved for women under the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, which came into effect in 1993.
India has about 2.818 million elected representatives of panchayats, 36.87 per cent (about one million) of whom are women.
With the proposed constitutional amendment, the number of elected women representatives is expected to rise to more than 1.4 million, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that cleared the move. The proposal has no financial implications.
The panchayati raj ministry is expected move a bill for amending Article 243D of the Constitution in the winter session of Parliament.
The proposed amendment will increase reservations for women to 50 per cent in zila
parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats -- at the district, block and village levels, respectively.
The reservations will apply in the case of seats for which there will be direct election and offices of chairpersons, including those reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
Article 243G of the Constitution enables the legislatures to endow panchayats with powers and authority to function as units of local self-government. But members of Parliament have been reluctant to reserve one-third seats for women in Parliament or state legislative assemblies.
The government on Thursday cleared a constitutional amendment to reserve 50 per cent of seats in panchayats for women and asked the urban development ministry to put up a similar proposal for quotas in urban local bodies like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
This comes two days ahead of the government completing 100 days in office.
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister CP Joshi described the move as saying the government has kept its promise of empowering women in the decision-making process at all levels of local government.
“We have done it. This will facilitate more women entering the public,” he said.
Now a little more than one-third of seats in panchayats and municipal bodies are reserved for women under the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, which came into effect in 1993.
India has about 2.818 million elected representatives of panchayats, 36.87 per cent (about one million) of whom are women.
With the proposed constitutional amendment, the number of elected women representatives is expected to rise to more than 1.4 million, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that cleared the move. The proposal has no financial implications.
The panchayati raj ministry is expected move a bill for amending Article 243D of the Constitution in the winter session of Parliament.
The proposed amendment will increase reservations for women to 50 per cent in zila
parishads, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats -- at the district, block and village levels, respectively.
The reservations will apply in the case of seats for which there will be direct election and offices of chairpersons, including those reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
Article 243G of the Constitution enables the legislatures to endow panchayats with powers and authority to function as units of local self-government. But members of Parliament have been reluctant to reserve one-third seats for women in Parliament or state legislative assemblies.
Stuck in Jodhpur
As hooks for controversy, personalities are more tempting than amorphous ideas. As such, much of the debate following Jaswant Singh’s new book, Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence, has focused on the writer’s appraisal of key individuals. Singh’s book is sympathetic towards Muhammad Ali Jinnah, seeing him as a tragic hero. While not calling them villains, it pins equal, maybe greater, blame for Partition upon Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel.
This ‘Jinnah good, Patel bad, Nehru very bad’ theatre is convenient for the media and for politicians who either support or oppose Singh. Yet, it takes away from the central underpinning of the book.
Depending on how you look at it, that central thesis is piquant, provocative or downright dangerous. If nothing else, it challenges the idea of India that is Nehru’s legacy. This leads to the question: have the many so-called latter-day Nehruvians who jumped to Singh’s defence even read the book?
In his biography of Jinnah, Singh approvingly quotes the well-regarded American academics and Indophiles Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph as writing: “The doctrine and practice of the Indian State preserved subordinate jurisdictions. It included, rather than eliminated, layered and segmented social and political power, and created a socially constrained negotiated order. This order was not merely a concession to the contingent and layered distribution of power among the regional kingdoms and local chiefs that prevailed through much of Indian history, or a consequence of limited technical means of control. It was also a principle of State formation and maintenance.”
In Singh’s view, India is a “multinational State”, rather than a sovereign nation as is commonly understood. Singh suggests such a conceptualisation of India is consistent with the vast autonomy that Jinnah demanded for Muslim provinces within a loosely connected Indian Union. This was in keeping with the traditional political organisation of India. However, it was not adequately appreciated by Patel or by Nehru who, as Singh told a television interviewer, wanted “a highly centralised polity”. The Darjeeling MP’s reading of federalism is severely flawed. Even so, it’s important to understand why he embraces it. An analogy would help.
Belgium comprises largely two linguistic groups — the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish. Today, it is possible to be a Walloon nationalist, a Belgian passport-holder and a citizen of the European Union (EU) all at the same time. The equation is not always simple. In recent years the Walloons and Flemish have been bitterly divided and considered partitioning Belgium. The two new nations would, however, have remained part of the EU.
This is the culmination of the European project — an evolution from tribes to kingdoms, nation-States and then a continental entity. In India’s case, Singh sees it as a beginning to have been made in 1947, the building block of modern state formation: a menagerie of kingdoms, provinces, religious and ethnic territorial communities that would become an EU-type confederation and completely bypass nation-Statehood.
Singh is intrinsically comfortable with the idea of multiple sovereignties. Why does this appeal to him? His background may offer a clue. He was born to a family that was a vassal of an ally of the British Raj. As he pointed out in his 2006 memoir, A Call to Honour, his father served in the Jodhpur State Forces and was part of the Jodhpur Lancers contingent that, during World War II, accompanied the British Indian Army and fought with the Allies in Iraq.
Did such a soldier owe allegiance to a feudatory of Jodhpur, to the Maharaja of Jodhpur or to the King-Emperor as represented by the government in New Delhi? That question is at the root of Singh’s argument.
In contrast, an Indian descended from a family in the old presidency towns (Calcutta, Bombay, Madras) or in the big urban centres of British India (Allahabad, Lahore) would be secure with only one sovereignty. In the 1940s, these cities threw up the middle class, intelligentsia and political leadership — which saw the independent Indian government as the sole successor to the Raj, with a nation-welding mission as its primary mandate.
Was another course possible? Partition could have been avoided by creating six Muslim-governed provinces — as the Muslim League demanded — over which the federal government would have near-zero control. States and provinces would have had extreme autonomy, going way beyond Article 370 and including the right to form sub-national collectives and constitutional structures as well as secede. In addition, 600-odd princely kingdoms would have demanded supremacy in their internal jurisdictions.
Does this sound like a recipe for “layered and segmented social and political power” and “a socially constrained negotiated order”? It is more likely India would have cracked within a decade. In the absence of a cohesive force, large parts of the young country would have become vulnerable to meddling by external powers. The north and northwest would inevitably have got enmeshed in the unending conflict of the Greater Middle East.
Far from being cussed and greedy for office, Nehru and Patel were visionaries. They saw a problem coming, and concluded a truncated India was better than the unviable chaos of a notionally united subcontinent. We can never thank them enough. Rather than weep over counterfactuals and imagined alternatives, let Jaswant Singh cherish the India that is. It’s not perfect, but it’s the only one we have.
This ‘Jinnah good, Patel bad, Nehru very bad’ theatre is convenient for the media and for politicians who either support or oppose Singh. Yet, it takes away from the central underpinning of the book.
Depending on how you look at it, that central thesis is piquant, provocative or downright dangerous. If nothing else, it challenges the idea of India that is Nehru’s legacy. This leads to the question: have the many so-called latter-day Nehruvians who jumped to Singh’s defence even read the book?
In his biography of Jinnah, Singh approvingly quotes the well-regarded American academics and Indophiles Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph as writing: “The doctrine and practice of the Indian State preserved subordinate jurisdictions. It included, rather than eliminated, layered and segmented social and political power, and created a socially constrained negotiated order. This order was not merely a concession to the contingent and layered distribution of power among the regional kingdoms and local chiefs that prevailed through much of Indian history, or a consequence of limited technical means of control. It was also a principle of State formation and maintenance.”
In Singh’s view, India is a “multinational State”, rather than a sovereign nation as is commonly understood. Singh suggests such a conceptualisation of India is consistent with the vast autonomy that Jinnah demanded for Muslim provinces within a loosely connected Indian Union. This was in keeping with the traditional political organisation of India. However, it was not adequately appreciated by Patel or by Nehru who, as Singh told a television interviewer, wanted “a highly centralised polity”. The Darjeeling MP’s reading of federalism is severely flawed. Even so, it’s important to understand why he embraces it. An analogy would help.
Belgium comprises largely two linguistic groups — the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish. Today, it is possible to be a Walloon nationalist, a Belgian passport-holder and a citizen of the European Union (EU) all at the same time. The equation is not always simple. In recent years the Walloons and Flemish have been bitterly divided and considered partitioning Belgium. The two new nations would, however, have remained part of the EU.
This is the culmination of the European project — an evolution from tribes to kingdoms, nation-States and then a continental entity. In India’s case, Singh sees it as a beginning to have been made in 1947, the building block of modern state formation: a menagerie of kingdoms, provinces, religious and ethnic territorial communities that would become an EU-type confederation and completely bypass nation-Statehood.
Singh is intrinsically comfortable with the idea of multiple sovereignties. Why does this appeal to him? His background may offer a clue. He was born to a family that was a vassal of an ally of the British Raj. As he pointed out in his 2006 memoir, A Call to Honour, his father served in the Jodhpur State Forces and was part of the Jodhpur Lancers contingent that, during World War II, accompanied the British Indian Army and fought with the Allies in Iraq.
Did such a soldier owe allegiance to a feudatory of Jodhpur, to the Maharaja of Jodhpur or to the King-Emperor as represented by the government in New Delhi? That question is at the root of Singh’s argument.
In contrast, an Indian descended from a family in the old presidency towns (Calcutta, Bombay, Madras) or in the big urban centres of British India (Allahabad, Lahore) would be secure with only one sovereignty. In the 1940s, these cities threw up the middle class, intelligentsia and political leadership — which saw the independent Indian government as the sole successor to the Raj, with a nation-welding mission as its primary mandate.
Was another course possible? Partition could have been avoided by creating six Muslim-governed provinces — as the Muslim League demanded — over which the federal government would have near-zero control. States and provinces would have had extreme autonomy, going way beyond Article 370 and including the right to form sub-national collectives and constitutional structures as well as secede. In addition, 600-odd princely kingdoms would have demanded supremacy in their internal jurisdictions.
Does this sound like a recipe for “layered and segmented social and political power” and “a socially constrained negotiated order”? It is more likely India would have cracked within a decade. In the absence of a cohesive force, large parts of the young country would have become vulnerable to meddling by external powers. The north and northwest would inevitably have got enmeshed in the unending conflict of the Greater Middle East.
Far from being cussed and greedy for office, Nehru and Patel were visionaries. They saw a problem coming, and concluded a truncated India was better than the unviable chaos of a notionally united subcontinent. We can never thank them enough. Rather than weep over counterfactuals and imagined alternatives, let Jaswant Singh cherish the India that is. It’s not perfect, but it’s the only one we have.
Bookstores see Jinnah' flying off the shelves
CHENNAI: There's nothing like a good old controversy to have a book shoot off the shelves and Jaswant Singh's Jinnah: India, Partition,
Independence' has been doing just that. Though Singh's book was set to do well because of its subject, it topped best-seller lists in a couple of days with the BJP expelling him for his comments on Jinnah.
"A controversy makes any book's sales go up by 60%. On the day of the release on August 17 and the next day, we sold 400 copies in Chennai," says T Sharon, regional publishing head, Rupa & Co, the publishers and distributors of Jinnah'. "But after his expulsion on August 19, we ran out of stock. We've put in our third order for books. Even Hyderabad and Bangalore are out of stock."
He says stores were not as enthusiastic when he approached them for advance orders. "Many were hesitant to place massive orders as they felt Jinnah was an old topic. We had advance orders for about 300 books and thought we could probably sell between 500 and 700 books. After the controversy, we've been unable to meet orders," he says.
While booksellers say the subject is an interesting one, this time it's really the headlines that have made the book sell. "We've sold 200 copies till today. As it was a book by Jaswant Singh and on a historical subject, we had orders from libraries, institutions, academics and interested readers, but after his expulsion, everyone wanted to read the book even politicians have shown interest," says M Hemalatha, senior manager, customer relations, Higginbothams.
Though B Saravanakumar, Landmark's merchandiser, doesn't know exactly how many books they've sold, he says they ordered about 700 initially. "We've had to re-order 1,700 books. With all the news reports, there is also demand for another book on Jinnah, Rafiq Zakaria's The Man Who Divided India', but this is out of stock," he says. Jaswant Singh's book is also on the homepage of Landmark's website, being offered at a special price, and is getting loads of orders.
A representative of Odyssey says the Adyar store has sold all its copies and is waiting for more. "Non-fiction is usually slow-selling and read by older, more serious readers, but all kinds of people want to buy this book," he says.
Will this spur demand for his previous book A Call to Honour'? Not really, say the tradespeople. "We always order back titles of an author when he releases a new book, but I don't expect phenomenal sales," says Hemalatha. The Odyssey spokesperson says, "Jaswant Singh is a familiar name as a minister and an author, and his previous book did well but the headlines are making this sell likehot cakes."
Sharon expects the demand to continue for the next three to four months. "Apart from the expulsion, the fact that a man from the BJP is praising Jinnah, a Muslim, has created interest. And there is talk that Singh might visit Pakistan, that's bound to spur sales too," he says.
"The media has done a lot of good for this book. Lots of thrills surround it," Hemalatha says, laughing.
Independence' has been doing just that. Though Singh's book was set to do well because of its subject, it topped best-seller lists in a couple of days with the BJP expelling him for his comments on Jinnah.
"A controversy makes any book's sales go up by 60%. On the day of the release on August 17 and the next day, we sold 400 copies in Chennai," says T Sharon, regional publishing head, Rupa & Co, the publishers and distributors of Jinnah'. "But after his expulsion on August 19, we ran out of stock. We've put in our third order for books. Even Hyderabad and Bangalore are out of stock."
He says stores were not as enthusiastic when he approached them for advance orders. "Many were hesitant to place massive orders as they felt Jinnah was an old topic. We had advance orders for about 300 books and thought we could probably sell between 500 and 700 books. After the controversy, we've been unable to meet orders," he says.
While booksellers say the subject is an interesting one, this time it's really the headlines that have made the book sell. "We've sold 200 copies till today. As it was a book by Jaswant Singh and on a historical subject, we had orders from libraries, institutions, academics and interested readers, but after his expulsion, everyone wanted to read the book even politicians have shown interest," says M Hemalatha, senior manager, customer relations, Higginbothams.
Though B Saravanakumar, Landmark's merchandiser, doesn't know exactly how many books they've sold, he says they ordered about 700 initially. "We've had to re-order 1,700 books. With all the news reports, there is also demand for another book on Jinnah, Rafiq Zakaria's The Man Who Divided India', but this is out of stock," he says. Jaswant Singh's book is also on the homepage of Landmark's website, being offered at a special price, and is getting loads of orders.
A representative of Odyssey says the Adyar store has sold all its copies and is waiting for more. "Non-fiction is usually slow-selling and read by older, more serious readers, but all kinds of people want to buy this book," he says.
Will this spur demand for his previous book A Call to Honour'? Not really, say the tradespeople. "We always order back titles of an author when he releases a new book, but I don't expect phenomenal sales," says Hemalatha. The Odyssey spokesperson says, "Jaswant Singh is a familiar name as a minister and an author, and his previous book did well but the headlines are making this sell likehot cakes."
Sharon expects the demand to continue for the next three to four months. "Apart from the expulsion, the fact that a man from the BJP is praising Jinnah, a Muslim, has created interest. And there is talk that Singh might visit Pakistan, that's bound to spur sales too," he says.
"The media has done a lot of good for this book. Lots of thrills surround it," Hemalatha says, laughing.
All about Jinnah?
The sequel to the release of BJP leader Jaswant Singh’s book, Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence, has given rise to sharp reactions in the Urdu Press. Jamaat-e-Islami’s official bi-weekly Daawat, in its front-page editorial comment (August 25), writes: “It is a very simplistic and unintelligent criticism by the BJP and its parivar that the party is opposing a research work and freedom of expression of one’s views, or that Sardar Patel was not a Sabhai or a Sanghi; he was a Congressman and he had imposed a ban on RSS in the capacity of home minister of the Congress government following the murder of Mahatma Gandhi: then, why does the BJP treat him as its hero while it considers Nehru and the Congress as its enemy? In fact it is not a question of the Congress or the BJP. What is pertinent is the mindset, the mindset that had created the conditions for Partition and had alienated a patriotic person like Mohammad Ali Jinnah from the fight for freedom by its acts of injustice, breach of promise, falsehood and cunningness.”
Kolkata and Delhi-based Akhbar-e-Mashriq has, in its editorial (August 23), expressed bewilderment at the fact that “Jaswant Singh has been found liable to be beheaded (qaabil-e-gardan zadani), but when L.K. Advani had said the same thing he had been pardoned.” The daily Sahafat, published from Delhi, Lucknow, Dehradun and Mumbai, in its editorial (August 22) entitled, ‘Vinash kaaley, vipreet buddhi’, has used this famous Sanskit phrase (meaning, when times are bad, you lose your mind) for the RSS whom it holds actually responsible for the expulsion of Jaswant Singh from the BJP. According to the paper, RSS, by this step, has given the message that “BJP is under its grip and the party will have to return to its agenda of Hindutva.” The paper says that “RSS has always been suspicious of leaders of the BJP without an RSS background.” Mention has been made, in this context, of Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie “for whom a limit had been set in the party howsoever vocal they might have been about Hindutva.” A columnist in Delhi-based daily Hamara Samaj (August 22) poses the question: “what has happened to the party advocating freedom of expression for Tasleema Nasreen’s book, to gag freedom of expression now?”
Kolkata and Delhi-based Akhbar-e-Mashriq has, in its editorial (August 23), expressed bewilderment at the fact that “Jaswant Singh has been found liable to be beheaded (qaabil-e-gardan zadani), but when L.K. Advani had said the same thing he had been pardoned.” The daily Sahafat, published from Delhi, Lucknow, Dehradun and Mumbai, in its editorial (August 22) entitled, ‘Vinash kaaley, vipreet buddhi’, has used this famous Sanskit phrase (meaning, when times are bad, you lose your mind) for the RSS whom it holds actually responsible for the expulsion of Jaswant Singh from the BJP. According to the paper, RSS, by this step, has given the message that “BJP is under its grip and the party will have to return to its agenda of Hindutva.” The paper says that “RSS has always been suspicious of leaders of the BJP without an RSS background.” Mention has been made, in this context, of Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie “for whom a limit had been set in the party howsoever vocal they might have been about Hindutva.” A columnist in Delhi-based daily Hamara Samaj (August 22) poses the question: “what has happened to the party advocating freedom of expression for Tasleema Nasreen’s book, to gag freedom of expression now?”
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sudheendra Kulkarni joins advisory panel in Mamata's ministry
New Delhi:Former BJP strategist Sudheendra Kulkarni has been appointed member of an advisory committee in the railway ministry, three days after
he snapped his ties with the party.
Denying reports that he had joined the Trinamool Congress headed by Railway minister Mamata Banerjee, Kulkarni said he had been appointed on a "committee in the ministry of railways that has been constituted to advise the minister on how to innovatively usher in reforms in the railways".
Kulkarni, who was aide to senior BJP leader LK Advani and also adviser to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, categorically said: "I am not joining any political party."
"I am only a member of this committee in the ministry of railways in which there are several other members; its chairman is Amit Mitra of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry)," Kulkarni said.
Banerjee had announced in her budget speech in the Lok Sabha last month that a committee comprising experts would be formed to revamp and improve the efficiency of the Indian Railways - the second largest railroad network in the world under a single management.
he snapped his ties with the party.
Denying reports that he had joined the Trinamool Congress headed by Railway minister Mamata Banerjee, Kulkarni said he had been appointed on a "committee in the ministry of railways that has been constituted to advise the minister on how to innovatively usher in reforms in the railways".
Kulkarni, who was aide to senior BJP leader LK Advani and also adviser to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, categorically said: "I am not joining any political party."
"I am only a member of this committee in the ministry of railways in which there are several other members; its chairman is Amit Mitra of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry)," Kulkarni said.
Banerjee had announced in her budget speech in the Lok Sabha last month that a committee comprising experts would be formed to revamp and improve the efficiency of the Indian Railways - the second largest railroad network in the world under a single management.
Kulkarni cosying up to Trinamool?
From the member of a Railways committee to an expanded role as Mamata Banerjee's political advisor, erstwhile BJP ideologue Sudheendra Kulkarni is trying to get closer to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief.
But both Banerjee and Kulkarni want to take it slow, apparently.
Given her sensitivities towards the Muslim vote bank, Banerjee is reluctant to induct Kulkarni in the party in a rush.
"He (Kulkarni) has not sought entry and there are no plans to induct him in the party," TMC spokesman Sudip Bandopadhyaya said.
For his part, Kulkarni is also hedging his bets by not pledging allegiance to Banerjee.
But Banerjee, who snapped ties with the NDA and is a member of the Congress-led combine at the Centre, did not hesitate to induct Kulkarni into the expert panel of the Railway Ministry in July even though he was then part of the BJP.
“I had worked closely with Mamata Banerjee even during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. She was the railway minister then. She asked me to be on the panel. She wants to make the railways progress and move faster,” Kulkarni told the Hindustan Times.
Given his proximity to industrial houses, Kulkarni is likely to assume an important role in the TMC in the coming months leading up to the 2011 assembly elections in West Bengal.
The panel headed by FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra is expected to have intensive interaction with corporate honchos in the coming months.
The manner of Kulkarni's inclusion in the 16-member Railways committee has been puzzling. The committee - constituted on July 25 - lists names of other members along with their designations.
In between, Kulkarni's name seems to have slipped in —with no designation to go with it.
First signs of Kulkarni's disenchantment with the BJP came late May, following the Lok Sabha results — when he was reported to have held a meeting with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar, seeking a possible entry into his party.
Pawar is understood to have expressed his inability to accommodate Kulkarni in the NCP at that stage.
But both Banerjee and Kulkarni want to take it slow, apparently.
Given her sensitivities towards the Muslim vote bank, Banerjee is reluctant to induct Kulkarni in the party in a rush.
"He (Kulkarni) has not sought entry and there are no plans to induct him in the party," TMC spokesman Sudip Bandopadhyaya said.
For his part, Kulkarni is also hedging his bets by not pledging allegiance to Banerjee.
But Banerjee, who snapped ties with the NDA and is a member of the Congress-led combine at the Centre, did not hesitate to induct Kulkarni into the expert panel of the Railway Ministry in July even though he was then part of the BJP.
“I had worked closely with Mamata Banerjee even during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. She was the railway minister then. She asked me to be on the panel. She wants to make the railways progress and move faster,” Kulkarni told the Hindustan Times.
Given his proximity to industrial houses, Kulkarni is likely to assume an important role in the TMC in the coming months leading up to the 2011 assembly elections in West Bengal.
The panel headed by FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra is expected to have intensive interaction with corporate honchos in the coming months.
The manner of Kulkarni's inclusion in the 16-member Railways committee has been puzzling. The committee - constituted on July 25 - lists names of other members along with their designations.
In between, Kulkarni's name seems to have slipped in —with no designation to go with it.
First signs of Kulkarni's disenchantment with the BJP came late May, following the Lok Sabha results — when he was reported to have held a meeting with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar, seeking a possible entry into his party.
Pawar is understood to have expressed his inability to accommodate Kulkarni in the NCP at that stage.
Race reopens for Mamata’s rail job
Calcutta Aug. 26: Railway minister Mamata Banerjee has withdrawn her own recommendation to the Prime Minister’s Office for the appointment of a particular IAS officer as her private secretary, restarting a pan-India race that involves bureaucrats and factions of her own party that regard the post crucial because of the power and privileges associated with it.
Returning to Delhi after her meeting last week with the captains of industry in Calcutta, Mamata wrote to the PMO cancelling the recommendation she had made for N. Manju Prasad, a former Bengal cadre IAS officer now belonging to Karnataka, Railway Board sources said.
Known for a famous switch of cadre — Bengal to Karnataka — by taking the issue to the Supreme Court sometime ago, Prasad is believed to have managed to propel himself into the fray through Mamata’s trusted aide Mukul Roy, also the junior Union shipping minister and Trinamul Congress secretary.
Roy, however, denied today any knowledge of, or involvement in, the affair.
“As late as last week, we were advised to be ready to start interacting with him (Prasad) as her man on the job,” said a top Railway Board official in the know of the goings-on regarding the appointment. “Suddenly, we find the race has begun afresh with heavyweights on the stage.”
Since she assumed charge of the ministry two months ago, Mamata has been scouting across the country for a bureaucrat who can be assigned to run her office, leaving her enough time to chase the objective of having Bengal’s ruling Left ousted from office in the 2011 Assembly elections.
During her last stint as railway minister in the NDA government, Mamata’s private secretary was Sunil Chaturvedi, a former Bengal cadre IAS officer who, with help from the likes of Sudheendra Kulkarni, the erstwhile officer-on-special-duty in the PMO, crafted policies as well as shot trouble for her.
After quitting the BJP, Kulkarni is again back with Mamata, who has put him on an important ministerial committee. But despite frantic wooing, Chaturvedi is unlikely to return, busy as he is heading an Indian multinational.
This time, in search of a faceless minder, Mamata has “informally” interviewed nearly a dozen bureaucrats, mostly from the Bengal cadre. Some of them are regarded close to the ruling Left.
But she has not been able to zero in on anyone as she apparently does not want to be caught on the wrong foot with the appointment.
“We are facing a tricky situation,” said an official associated with the search.
“People (IAS officers) are approaching us everyday either directly or through lobbies or mentors, but they are not the ones she would be interested in.”
According to the buzz, among the aspirants who have had a session with Mamata is at least one senior IAS officer known for his proximity to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Mamata, it is believed, had come close to taking a decision in favour of this bureaucrat, who enjoys the backing of a couple of senior Trinamul leaders, only to alter her position in view of the Bhattacharjee links.
In an unpublicised move early this month, the Bhattacharjee government managed to retain the bureaucrat in Bengal by having him taken off the gunsight of the CPM’s Calcutta district committee and relocated in the urban development ministry under Asok Bhattacharya.
Although a favourite of the chief minister, the bureaucrat has been scouting Delhi for a suitable posting, especially since he has become a target of the powerful CPM Calcutta unit. Party leaders in Calcutta have been lobbying for several changes in the civic administration ahead of next year’s crucial Calcutta Municipal Corporation elections.
To get Mamata’s job, what must an aspirant have?
Going by the complexion of the interviews held so far, Mamata is looking for someone who has no love lost for the Left, has a squeaky clean image and the skill to navigate through choppy politics, is comfortable handling political heavyweights at the national level and doesn’t mind a demanding boss.
Kulkarni ‘switch’
Trinamul has dismissed as “baseless speculation” reports suggesting that former BJP ideologue Sudheendra Kulkarni may join the party, arguing that his links with Mamata’s rail ministry predate his resignation from the saffron party.
Television channels this afternoon cited Kulkarni’s presence on a railway reforms panel headed by Ficci secretary-general Amit Mitra to suggest growing proximity to Mamata. But rail ministry sources clarified that Kulkarni had been named on the panel in July in Mamata’s railway budget, well before his resignation from the BJP.
Trinamul sources also claimed that the party had not made any overtures to Kulkarni.
Returning to Delhi after her meeting last week with the captains of industry in Calcutta, Mamata wrote to the PMO cancelling the recommendation she had made for N. Manju Prasad, a former Bengal cadre IAS officer now belonging to Karnataka, Railway Board sources said.
Known for a famous switch of cadre — Bengal to Karnataka — by taking the issue to the Supreme Court sometime ago, Prasad is believed to have managed to propel himself into the fray through Mamata’s trusted aide Mukul Roy, also the junior Union shipping minister and Trinamul Congress secretary.
Roy, however, denied today any knowledge of, or involvement in, the affair.
“As late as last week, we were advised to be ready to start interacting with him (Prasad) as her man on the job,” said a top Railway Board official in the know of the goings-on regarding the appointment. “Suddenly, we find the race has begun afresh with heavyweights on the stage.”
Since she assumed charge of the ministry two months ago, Mamata has been scouting across the country for a bureaucrat who can be assigned to run her office, leaving her enough time to chase the objective of having Bengal’s ruling Left ousted from office in the 2011 Assembly elections.
During her last stint as railway minister in the NDA government, Mamata’s private secretary was Sunil Chaturvedi, a former Bengal cadre IAS officer who, with help from the likes of Sudheendra Kulkarni, the erstwhile officer-on-special-duty in the PMO, crafted policies as well as shot trouble for her.
After quitting the BJP, Kulkarni is again back with Mamata, who has put him on an important ministerial committee. But despite frantic wooing, Chaturvedi is unlikely to return, busy as he is heading an Indian multinational.
This time, in search of a faceless minder, Mamata has “informally” interviewed nearly a dozen bureaucrats, mostly from the Bengal cadre. Some of them are regarded close to the ruling Left.
But she has not been able to zero in on anyone as she apparently does not want to be caught on the wrong foot with the appointment.
“We are facing a tricky situation,” said an official associated with the search.
“People (IAS officers) are approaching us everyday either directly or through lobbies or mentors, but they are not the ones she would be interested in.”
According to the buzz, among the aspirants who have had a session with Mamata is at least one senior IAS officer known for his proximity to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Mamata, it is believed, had come close to taking a decision in favour of this bureaucrat, who enjoys the backing of a couple of senior Trinamul leaders, only to alter her position in view of the Bhattacharjee links.
In an unpublicised move early this month, the Bhattacharjee government managed to retain the bureaucrat in Bengal by having him taken off the gunsight of the CPM’s Calcutta district committee and relocated in the urban development ministry under Asok Bhattacharya.
Although a favourite of the chief minister, the bureaucrat has been scouting Delhi for a suitable posting, especially since he has become a target of the powerful CPM Calcutta unit. Party leaders in Calcutta have been lobbying for several changes in the civic administration ahead of next year’s crucial Calcutta Municipal Corporation elections.
To get Mamata’s job, what must an aspirant have?
Going by the complexion of the interviews held so far, Mamata is looking for someone who has no love lost for the Left, has a squeaky clean image and the skill to navigate through choppy politics, is comfortable handling political heavyweights at the national level and doesn’t mind a demanding boss.
Kulkarni ‘switch’
Trinamul has dismissed as “baseless speculation” reports suggesting that former BJP ideologue Sudheendra Kulkarni may join the party, arguing that his links with Mamata’s rail ministry predate his resignation from the saffron party.
Television channels this afternoon cited Kulkarni’s presence on a railway reforms panel headed by Ficci secretary-general Amit Mitra to suggest growing proximity to Mamata. But rail ministry sources clarified that Kulkarni had been named on the panel in July in Mamata’s railway budget, well before his resignation from the BJP.
Trinamul sources also claimed that the party had not made any overtures to Kulkarni.
CBI conveys views to Govt on actor Sanjay Dutt
New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) CBI today said it has conveyed its views to the Government about any possible move to challenge the acquittal of actor Sanjay Dutt by a special court two years ago from TADA charges in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
A CBI spokesperson said "It is the prerogative of the central government to decide on filing of appeal. CBI has conveyed its views to the government. Law officers have also conveyed their views."
Two years ago, Dutt was convicted under the Arms Act by the special TADA Court but was exonerated from charges under anti-terror act TADA following which he got bail from Supreme Court. He is on bail since August, 2007.
A CBI spokesperson said "It is the prerogative of the central government to decide on filing of appeal. CBI has conveyed its views to the government. Law officers have also conveyed their views."
Two years ago, Dutt was convicted under the Arms Act by the special TADA Court but was exonerated from charges under anti-terror act TADA following which he got bail from Supreme Court. He is on bail since August, 2007.
Attorney General to govt: Don't challenge Sanjay Dutt's acquittal
NEW DELHI: Cinestar Sanjay Dutt, who has already challenged his conviction under Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case and a sentence of
six years in the Supreme Court, on Thursday had a reason to smile.
The law ministry, which wanted to challenge in the SC a trial court order acquitting him of serious charges under anti-terrorist law Tada, was firmly told by G E Vahanvati that facts of the case did not warrant filing of an appeal in the apex court.
The late realisation of the law ministry, despite a contrary opinion from then additional solicitor-general Gopal Subramaniam in 2008 against such an appeal, came after the prosecuting agency CBI pointed out that non-filing of appeal could lead to some other accused claiming similar benefit.
However, Vahanvati examined the docket on the issue thoroughly alongside the 2007 opinion of Subramaniam and opined that there was no need to file an appeal challenging Dutt’s acquittal from
TADA charges.
Accrual of benefit to other accused could not be the ground for filing an appeal in Dutt’s case, he said and justified it by saying that if the cases of other accused were similar on facts, they would anyway get the benefit, whether or not the CBI filed appeal in the cinestar’s case.
And if the facts of the cases pertaining to other accused were different from that of Dutt’s case, as discussed in detail by trial court judge P D Kode, then they could not claim parity before the apex court just because the CBI chose not to file appeal in his case, he said.
The opinion of AG, supporting that of Subramaniam who now is the solicitor general, virtually aborts the process initiated to explore the possibility of filing of appeal. However, the Centre could always overrule the opinion of the law officers and still go ahead, if it so decides, to file an appeal against the cinestar’s acquittal from TADA charges.
Dutt was convicted in November 2006 under the Arms Act for illegal possession of a 9mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle but was acquitted of more serious TADA charges. On July 31, 2007, TADA court had sentenced Dutt to six years of rigorous imprisonment under the Arms Act.
six years in the Supreme Court, on Thursday had a reason to smile.
The law ministry, which wanted to challenge in the SC a trial court order acquitting him of serious charges under anti-terrorist law Tada, was firmly told by G E Vahanvati that facts of the case did not warrant filing of an appeal in the apex court.
The late realisation of the law ministry, despite a contrary opinion from then additional solicitor-general Gopal Subramaniam in 2008 against such an appeal, came after the prosecuting agency CBI pointed out that non-filing of appeal could lead to some other accused claiming similar benefit.
However, Vahanvati examined the docket on the issue thoroughly alongside the 2007 opinion of Subramaniam and opined that there was no need to file an appeal challenging Dutt’s acquittal from
TADA charges.
Accrual of benefit to other accused could not be the ground for filing an appeal in Dutt’s case, he said and justified it by saying that if the cases of other accused were similar on facts, they would anyway get the benefit, whether or not the CBI filed appeal in the cinestar’s case.
And if the facts of the cases pertaining to other accused were different from that of Dutt’s case, as discussed in detail by trial court judge P D Kode, then they could not claim parity before the apex court just because the CBI chose not to file appeal in his case, he said.
The opinion of AG, supporting that of Subramaniam who now is the solicitor general, virtually aborts the process initiated to explore the possibility of filing of appeal. However, the Centre could always overrule the opinion of the law officers and still go ahead, if it so decides, to file an appeal against the cinestar’s acquittal from TADA charges.
Dutt was convicted in November 2006 under the Arms Act for illegal possession of a 9mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle but was acquitted of more serious TADA charges. On July 31, 2007, TADA court had sentenced Dutt to six years of rigorous imprisonment under the Arms Act.
Interpol issues notices against Lashkar men
The Interpol on Wednesday issued a red corner notice against a Lashkar-e-Tayyeba man, Abu Hamza, accused of training the 10 terrorists who struck in Mumbai on November 26.
A similar notice was issued against the alleged mastermind of the attacks, Hafeez Saeed, who heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and is also the Lashkar founder, a day ago.
Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only terrorist taken alive during the strike, had named Hamza as one among a group of 35 Pakistanis who trained his team and planned the attacks.
Hamza had also executed an armed attack on Bangalore’s Indian Institute of Science campus in December 2005 with Sabahuddin Ahmed, one of the two Indians accused in the 26/11 attacks. Ahmed is lodged in a Mumbai prison.
Apart from Saeed and Hamza, the Interpol has already issued a red corner notice against Lashkar “commander-in-chief” and co-conspirator of the 26/11 attacks, Zakir Rehman Lakhvi.
“The Interpol has also issued 19 blue corner notices against 19 other Pakistani accused in the 26/11 case,” Central Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Harsh Bhal.
Unlike a red corner notice that makes it obligatory for Pakistan to arrest and hand over the accused to India, the blue corner notice mandates is to only “gather additional information regarding the identity of accused or his involvement in a crime”, said a CBI source.
The blue corner notices have been issued against other 26/11 accused as well like one Col R Sadat Ullah, believed to be a Pakistani army man, Lashkar communication chief Zarar Shah, and planners-cum-trainers Abu Al Qama and Qafa Ali.
A similar notice was issued against the alleged mastermind of the attacks, Hafeez Saeed, who heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and is also the Lashkar founder, a day ago.
Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only terrorist taken alive during the strike, had named Hamza as one among a group of 35 Pakistanis who trained his team and planned the attacks.
Hamza had also executed an armed attack on Bangalore’s Indian Institute of Science campus in December 2005 with Sabahuddin Ahmed, one of the two Indians accused in the 26/11 attacks. Ahmed is lodged in a Mumbai prison.
Apart from Saeed and Hamza, the Interpol has already issued a red corner notice against Lashkar “commander-in-chief” and co-conspirator of the 26/11 attacks, Zakir Rehman Lakhvi.
“The Interpol has also issued 19 blue corner notices against 19 other Pakistani accused in the 26/11 case,” Central Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Harsh Bhal.
Unlike a red corner notice that makes it obligatory for Pakistan to arrest and hand over the accused to India, the blue corner notice mandates is to only “gather additional information regarding the identity of accused or his involvement in a crime”, said a CBI source.
The blue corner notices have been issued against other 26/11 accused as well like one Col R Sadat Ullah, believed to be a Pakistani army man, Lashkar communication chief Zarar Shah, and planners-cum-trainers Abu Al Qama and Qafa Ali.
Dossier on Saeed shared with other countries
NEW DELHI: India has shared the latest dossier on Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and mastermind of the Mumbai terror strikes Hafiz Saeed with 15-16 countries whose nationals were killed in the attacks.
“We would urge these countries to bring pressure on Pakistan to launch prosecution against Hafiz Saeed,” Home Minister P. Chidambaram told journalists here on Wednesday, after declaring open Truthlabs, India’s first and only independent forensic science laboratory.
Reacting to Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s statement that India’s dossier on Hafiz Saeed did not have sufficient evidence to prosecute him, Mr. Chidambaram said he was “surprised” at such a statement coming as it did from a responsible Minister.
“If the government of Pakistan asks any lawyer about the evidence contained in the dossier, he would then say there is enough evidence to prosecute Hafiz Saeed. It is enough for it to set up a Special Investigation Team and follow on leads in the dossier to bring charges against Hafiz Saeed,” he said.
Notice against Hamza
Interpol on Wednesday issued a Red Corner Notice against Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Abu Hamza, wanted for the Mumbai attacks.
“We would urge these countries to bring pressure on Pakistan to launch prosecution against Hafiz Saeed,” Home Minister P. Chidambaram told journalists here on Wednesday, after declaring open Truthlabs, India’s first and only independent forensic science laboratory.
Reacting to Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s statement that India’s dossier on Hafiz Saeed did not have sufficient evidence to prosecute him, Mr. Chidambaram said he was “surprised” at such a statement coming as it did from a responsible Minister.
“If the government of Pakistan asks any lawyer about the evidence contained in the dossier, he would then say there is enough evidence to prosecute Hafiz Saeed. It is enough for it to set up a Special Investigation Team and follow on leads in the dossier to bring charges against Hafiz Saeed,” he said.
Notice against Hamza
Interpol on Wednesday issued a Red Corner Notice against Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Abu Hamza, wanted for the Mumbai attacks.
Reluctant SC judges yield, to declare assets
Bowing to pressure, the Supreme Court judges in an unexpected move on Wednesday, decided to declare their assets, shedding their decades-old reluctance to open themselves to public scrutiny.
The decision came after a full-court meeting, lasting over two hours. “There was unanimity among all judges who attended the meeting,” a court official said, requesting anonymity.
The wealth details are likely to be posted on the Supreme Court website. “The modalities will be worked out soon,” said the official.
The decision will apply to all 24 Supreme Court judges, and is expected to inspire the 593 high court judges to follow.
Former chief justice of India J S Verma said: “I am very happy that the higher judiciary has finally kept its dignity intact.”
The credit for this decision goes to three high court judges who spoke out recently about their willingness to allow public scrutiny of their assets.
Karnataka High Court judge D V Shylendra Kumar fired the first shot by questioning Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan’s right to oppose the declaration of assets on behalf of all judges.
Punjab and Haryana High Court judge M.K. Kannan followed by posting his wealth details on a website. A day after, Madras High Court judge K. Chandru said he was willing to reveal details of his assets.
Many judges were reportedly unhappy with the government’s failed attempt to table a bill in Rajya Sabha on August 3, which proposed to keep judges’ assets confidential.
The issue first came into public domain in 1997 when the Supreme Court passed a resolution moved by then CJI Verma to make it mandatory for judges to declare assets. But there was no movement for nearly a decade. Since 2007, the judiciary has been on the defensive due to mounting allegations of corruption against top judges.
The decision came after a full-court meeting, lasting over two hours. “There was unanimity among all judges who attended the meeting,” a court official said, requesting anonymity.
The wealth details are likely to be posted on the Supreme Court website. “The modalities will be worked out soon,” said the official.
The decision will apply to all 24 Supreme Court judges, and is expected to inspire the 593 high court judges to follow.
Former chief justice of India J S Verma said: “I am very happy that the higher judiciary has finally kept its dignity intact.”
The credit for this decision goes to three high court judges who spoke out recently about their willingness to allow public scrutiny of their assets.
Karnataka High Court judge D V Shylendra Kumar fired the first shot by questioning Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan’s right to oppose the declaration of assets on behalf of all judges.
Punjab and Haryana High Court judge M.K. Kannan followed by posting his wealth details on a website. A day after, Madras High Court judge K. Chandru said he was willing to reveal details of his assets.
Many judges were reportedly unhappy with the government’s failed attempt to table a bill in Rajya Sabha on August 3, which proposed to keep judges’ assets confidential.
The issue first came into public domain in 1997 when the Supreme Court passed a resolution moved by then CJI Verma to make it mandatory for judges to declare assets. But there was no movement for nearly a decade. Since 2007, the judiciary has been on the defensive due to mounting allegations of corruption against top judges.
Supreme Court judges agree to make their assets public
New Delhi: The judges of the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, will make public the statements of assets they declared at the time of their appointment to the Supreme Court and subsequent additions, if any.
This decision was taken on Wednesday at a Full Court meeting, presided over by Justice Balakrishnan. The meeting was a sequel to the CJI’s announcement on Monday that consensus was being evolved on disclosure of assets. Except Justice J.M. Panchal, who was on medical leave, all judges participated in the nearly two-hour deliberations. The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court is 31 including the CJI. There are eight vacancies at present.
“We have decided in principle to put our assets on the [Supreme Court] website, but regarding the modalities, in what manner or form, we have not yet decided,” authoritative sources told The Hindu. Asked whether there was consensus on making public the assets, the sources said: “Whatever decision we take is only through consensus and we have passed a unanimous resolution. The resolution is to be released after it is signed by all the judges.”
Asked to elaborate, the sources said: “At present, judges disclose their assets to the Chief Justice of India as per the procedure in the 1997 ‘Restatement of values.’ Now it will be put on the website.”
Would such disclosure pertain only to the judge concerned or would it cover members of his family too? “It will be strictly in accordance with the 1997 procedure. Of course, each judge has a different form and we have to see how it can be updated.”
To a question whether Wednesday’s resolution covered High Court judges also, the sources said: “We can’t give any direction to the High Courts. They will have to take independent decisions. However, it is expected that they will follow us.”
The issue of public disclosure of assets by judges came to the fore after Justice D.V. Shylendra Kumar of the Karnataka High Court and Justice K. Kannan of the Punjab and Haryana High Court voluntarily disclosed their assets and made them public.
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform has been highlighting the need for transparency and public disclosure of assets by judges, and the Full Court decision is an exercise in that direction.
At present, there is no law governing the declaration of assets by judges. In the recently concluded Parliament session, the government introduced a Bill to make declaration of assets by judges mandatory. But since it contained a clause that such a declaration would not come within the ambit of the Right to Information Act, the Bill was withdrawn. The government has announced that it will be re-introduced in the winter session with amendments.
Judge’s details on website
Bangalore Staff
Reporter writes:
Justice Shylendra Kumar’s declaration of assets has now been put on the web.
On Monday, the judge handed over a list of his assets to the Registrar-General of the Karnataka High Court. On Wednesday, a webpage on Google Sites — http://sites.google.com/site/justdvskumar/ — carried purported details of the assets of the judge. Justice Kumar had written an article on judges declaring their assets and the CJI reacted against it.
This decision was taken on Wednesday at a Full Court meeting, presided over by Justice Balakrishnan. The meeting was a sequel to the CJI’s announcement on Monday that consensus was being evolved on disclosure of assets. Except Justice J.M. Panchal, who was on medical leave, all judges participated in the nearly two-hour deliberations. The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court is 31 including the CJI. There are eight vacancies at present.
“We have decided in principle to put our assets on the [Supreme Court] website, but regarding the modalities, in what manner or form, we have not yet decided,” authoritative sources told The Hindu. Asked whether there was consensus on making public the assets, the sources said: “Whatever decision we take is only through consensus and we have passed a unanimous resolution. The resolution is to be released after it is signed by all the judges.”
Asked to elaborate, the sources said: “At present, judges disclose their assets to the Chief Justice of India as per the procedure in the 1997 ‘Restatement of values.’ Now it will be put on the website.”
Would such disclosure pertain only to the judge concerned or would it cover members of his family too? “It will be strictly in accordance with the 1997 procedure. Of course, each judge has a different form and we have to see how it can be updated.”
To a question whether Wednesday’s resolution covered High Court judges also, the sources said: “We can’t give any direction to the High Courts. They will have to take independent decisions. However, it is expected that they will follow us.”
The issue of public disclosure of assets by judges came to the fore after Justice D.V. Shylendra Kumar of the Karnataka High Court and Justice K. Kannan of the Punjab and Haryana High Court voluntarily disclosed their assets and made them public.
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform has been highlighting the need for transparency and public disclosure of assets by judges, and the Full Court decision is an exercise in that direction.
At present, there is no law governing the declaration of assets by judges. In the recently concluded Parliament session, the government introduced a Bill to make declaration of assets by judges mandatory. But since it contained a clause that such a declaration would not come within the ambit of the Right to Information Act, the Bill was withdrawn. The government has announced that it will be re-introduced in the winter session with amendments.
Judge’s details on website
Bangalore Staff
Reporter writes:
Justice Shylendra Kumar’s declaration of assets has now been put on the web.
On Monday, the judge handed over a list of his assets to the Registrar-General of the Karnataka High Court. On Wednesday, a webpage on Google Sites — http://sites.google.com/site/justdvskumar/ — carried purported details of the assets of the judge. Justice Kumar had written an article on judges declaring their assets and the CJI reacted against it.
Khanduri, Raje keep crisis pot boiling in BJP
The crisis-ridden BJP faced more problems on Wednesday, with former Uttarakhand chief minister B C Khanduri questioning his removal from the post and Vasundhara Raje, party leader in the Rajasthan assembly who has been refusing to quit her post, holding a fresh meeting of her supporters.
In a letter reportedly sent to the BJP president before the chintan baithak (introspection meeting) last week, but which became public knowledge only on Wednesday, Khanduri is understood to have questioned the reason for his ouster despite the fact that he enjoyed the support of over two dozen of the party’s 35 MLAs in the Uttarakhand assembly.
Khanduri also targeted the high command for not taking action against any other senior leader for the Lok Sabha defeat. In Uttarakhand the BJP had been wiped out in the last elections, losing all five seats.
Similarly Raje, again underscoring her hold over the BJP’s Rajasthan MLAs, called them for a meeting where a decision was taken to boycott the assembly’s session from Thursday. Sources close to Raje claimed 71 of the BJP’s 78 MLAs attended, in a tacit message that they did not want her to quit.
“I have not resigned from post of opposition leader,” she said, but added in the same breath: “I’m a disciplined member of the party.”
Thus, if the BJP sparked off a storm by expelling senior leader Jaswant Singh last week for writing a book on Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah, its hope of quelling the storm by not taking any action against Rajya Sabha MP Arun Shourie for his outburst, failed too.
But an unfazed Rajnath Singh said the party would emerge stronger from the crisis.
In a letter reportedly sent to the BJP president before the chintan baithak (introspection meeting) last week, but which became public knowledge only on Wednesday, Khanduri is understood to have questioned the reason for his ouster despite the fact that he enjoyed the support of over two dozen of the party’s 35 MLAs in the Uttarakhand assembly.
Khanduri also targeted the high command for not taking action against any other senior leader for the Lok Sabha defeat. In Uttarakhand the BJP had been wiped out in the last elections, losing all five seats.
Similarly Raje, again underscoring her hold over the BJP’s Rajasthan MLAs, called them for a meeting where a decision was taken to boycott the assembly’s session from Thursday. Sources close to Raje claimed 71 of the BJP’s 78 MLAs attended, in a tacit message that they did not want her to quit.
“I have not resigned from post of opposition leader,” she said, but added in the same breath: “I’m a disciplined member of the party.”
Thus, if the BJP sparked off a storm by expelling senior leader Jaswant Singh last week for writing a book on Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah, its hope of quelling the storm by not taking any action against Rajya Sabha MP Arun Shourie for his outburst, failed too.
But an unfazed Rajnath Singh said the party would emerge stronger from the crisis.
Jaswant describes BJP as Indian version of Ku Klux Klan
NEW DELHI: BJP's dissidents seem to be digging in for a long fight even as expelled party leader Jaswant Singh added another turn of phrase -
apart from Arun Shourie's "humpty-dumpty" and "Alice in blunderland" - in describing his former outfit as an Indian version of the white supramacist Ku Klux Klan.
Jaswant Singh's reference to the BJP, of which he was member for 30-odd years, as a KKK-type outfit came in an interview to a news agency. Apparently in reaction to a question on why he was sacked, the former minister said, "Please don't ask me. I am outside the magic circle of advisers or thinkers. Because I am not from the RSS, is that why? So are we a political party? Is the BJP becoming some kind of an Indian version of Ku Klux Klan?"
The former minister refused to elaborate saying, "You know what the Klan means. You don't ask me about this." His outburst seems to suggest he now sees BJP as a secretive, violent sect that has no place for leaders like him who may espouse a sense of independent inquiry. His comment might also have to do with reports that Arun Shourie was not likely to meet the same fate as Singh due to the former's proximity to the RSS.
He chose to skirt around a question about why BJP leader L K Advani was rejected by people as a prime ministerial aspirant. He said it was for the BJP veteran to reflect on this. "It would be impertinent and perhaps, to a degree also, I would be commenting on my past 30 years with him if I commented on his characteristics, political or personal," he said.
Asked if Advani was surrounded by a coterie, Singh suggested his former leader was more led than a leader. "Does he run a coterie or does the coterie run him," Singh asked. He said BJP should reflect on its relationship with RSS and be "mature enough to cut the umbilical cord".
"I feel for BJP to gain its full personality as a political organisation, they have to stand on their own feet. Now they should be mature enough to cut the umbilical cord," he said. He disagreed with Shourie's suggestion that RSS should take over the party saying it will not work. "I would like the BJP to reflect on what has happened and try to be a party of the 21st Century. They (RSS) are exclusivist. Besides, they are an organisation committed to social work," he said.
To a question on a long rope being extended to Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan and Shourie merely being asked for a clarification, he said, "I am sorry. I cannot comment on it. I was told don't come to the meeting. Of course. Good luck to Raje. But there are obviously double standards."
Asked if his expulsion was a message to other dissidents in the party, he shot back: "Am I a dissident. I am sorry. Your question suggests I am some kind of a dissident. I feel I am one of the original founding members of the party. Who felt that I had raised queries or questions? And is questioning or wondering or enquiring about the functioning of the party dissidence? So are we moving into an era of thought control?"
Asked about chances of reconciliation with BJP, Singh said, "Reconciliation to what? Reconciliation to an insult?"
He ruled out joining the Samajwadi Party, which has invited him to join it. "I am happy to be an independent." He said he was an independent member of the Parliament now representing Darjeeling constituency and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has reaffirmed its total faith in him. "I will serve the cause of GJM and Gorkhaland. That is my karma bhoomi and my janam bhoomi is the desert. I shall serve them," he said.
He ruled out stepping down as chairman of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee following his expulsion from BJP. Singh said he had consulted the secretary general of Lok Sabha, who said that rules did not require him to step down. The Committee is a mini-Parliament and it was the prerogative of the Speaker to remove him on certain grounds which do not apply to him, he said. When told he had become chairman because BJP nominated him to it, he said, "BJP nominated me only to contest the elections."
apart from Arun Shourie's "humpty-dumpty" and "Alice in blunderland" - in describing his former outfit as an Indian version of the white supramacist Ku Klux Klan.
Jaswant Singh's reference to the BJP, of which he was member for 30-odd years, as a KKK-type outfit came in an interview to a news agency. Apparently in reaction to a question on why he was sacked, the former minister said, "Please don't ask me. I am outside the magic circle of advisers or thinkers. Because I am not from the RSS, is that why? So are we a political party? Is the BJP becoming some kind of an Indian version of Ku Klux Klan?"
The former minister refused to elaborate saying, "You know what the Klan means. You don't ask me about this." His outburst seems to suggest he now sees BJP as a secretive, violent sect that has no place for leaders like him who may espouse a sense of independent inquiry. His comment might also have to do with reports that Arun Shourie was not likely to meet the same fate as Singh due to the former's proximity to the RSS.
He chose to skirt around a question about why BJP leader L K Advani was rejected by people as a prime ministerial aspirant. He said it was for the BJP veteran to reflect on this. "It would be impertinent and perhaps, to a degree also, I would be commenting on my past 30 years with him if I commented on his characteristics, political or personal," he said.
Asked if Advani was surrounded by a coterie, Singh suggested his former leader was more led than a leader. "Does he run a coterie or does the coterie run him," Singh asked. He said BJP should reflect on its relationship with RSS and be "mature enough to cut the umbilical cord".
"I feel for BJP to gain its full personality as a political organisation, they have to stand on their own feet. Now they should be mature enough to cut the umbilical cord," he said. He disagreed with Shourie's suggestion that RSS should take over the party saying it will not work. "I would like the BJP to reflect on what has happened and try to be a party of the 21st Century. They (RSS) are exclusivist. Besides, they are an organisation committed to social work," he said.
To a question on a long rope being extended to Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan and Shourie merely being asked for a clarification, he said, "I am sorry. I cannot comment on it. I was told don't come to the meeting. Of course. Good luck to Raje. But there are obviously double standards."
Asked if his expulsion was a message to other dissidents in the party, he shot back: "Am I a dissident. I am sorry. Your question suggests I am some kind of a dissident. I feel I am one of the original founding members of the party. Who felt that I had raised queries or questions? And is questioning or wondering or enquiring about the functioning of the party dissidence? So are we moving into an era of thought control?"
Asked about chances of reconciliation with BJP, Singh said, "Reconciliation to what? Reconciliation to an insult?"
He ruled out joining the Samajwadi Party, which has invited him to join it. "I am happy to be an independent." He said he was an independent member of the Parliament now representing Darjeeling constituency and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has reaffirmed its total faith in him. "I will serve the cause of GJM and Gorkhaland. That is my karma bhoomi and my janam bhoomi is the desert. I shall serve them," he said.
He ruled out stepping down as chairman of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee following his expulsion from BJP. Singh said he had consulted the secretary general of Lok Sabha, who said that rules did not require him to step down. The Committee is a mini-Parliament and it was the prerogative of the Speaker to remove him on certain grounds which do not apply to him, he said. When told he had become chairman because BJP nominated him to it, he said, "BJP nominated me only to contest the elections."
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
OneApp Aims to Give Dumb Phones Some App Smarts
Microsoft's OneApp is a mobile application meant for feature phones rather than smartphones. It allows the user to access several different applications for things like messaging, banking and social networking, all by putting a very lightweight client app on the phone and doing most of the heavy lifting using the carrier's servers.
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Apple Store Discount on Office 2008 for Mac - Home and Student Edition . Click here. More about Microsoft on Tuesday announced OneApp, a software application for feature phones.
Feature phones, which are essentially low-end mobile phones without any smartphone features, are widely used in both established and emerging markets. OneApp will give users access to mobile applications most often found on smartphones, including social networking, messaging and banking apps.
Microsoft's first partner for OneApp is South Africa's Blue Label Telecoms.
That makes sound business sense -- the African market is growing, and World Cup soccer championships will be held in South Africa in 2010, a fact that is expected to boost demand for mobile phones.
OneApp's Technology
OneApp takes a client/server approach to mobile apps. It has a lightweight client of about 150 Kb that sits on the user's feature phone. The server side will be deployed on wireless carriers' networks.
Wireless carriers offering OneApp will have the option of hosting it in Microsoft's Azure cloud service.
The apps are small -- about 30 Kb. Currently, there are 12 apps, including an RSS feed, mobile banking, Windows Live messenger, news, sports and stocks. More will be rolled out in the future, and Microsoft's carrier partners will decide which apps to make available to their customers.
OneApp dynamically launches the parts of an app that a person wants to use. The apps are updated automatically when the user turns on the phone.
Apps run between the phone and the server, so users don't have to download individual apps. OneApp is designed to minimize the load on phones and carrier networks, according to Microsoft.
OneApp runs on several Nokia (NYSE: NOK) More about Nokia phones, including E-series and N-Series models. It also runs on the Samsung More about Samsung U900 Soul and various Sony (NYSE: SNE) More about Sony Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY) More about Ericsson models, including several models in the W series and the C510, C902 and C905.
Starting the Dance Card
Microsoft is launching OneApp in South Africa with wireless carrier Blue Label Telecom. OneApp is available through Blue Label's "mbili" service at no charge.
The tie-in with Blue Label comes as no surprise to Julien Blin, CEO and principal analyst of JBB Research, who has just written a report on the South African user-generated content market. "Microsoft owns 12 percent of Blue Label," he told TechNewsWorld.
OneApp will be launched in more countries within the next year, Microsoft said. However, it declined comment when approached by TechNewsWorld.
Still, its move into emerging markets could be lucrative. "Over 80 percent of the world's population of nearly 6.8 billion people reside outside of North America and Western Europe," Laura DiDio, principal at ITIC, pointed out.
"If Microsoft doesn't target the developing world, its competitors will," she told TechNewsWorld. "Microsoft is quite literally following the money."
The World Cup Card
The African wireless market could be especially rewarding because it is a fast-growing and underserved market, Blin said. "Sales to the African region will help offset the decline in developed markets such as Western Europe and North America, and Microsoft understands that Africa presents huge potential for them," he said.
That potential will be even bigger than normal through next year, when the World Cup soccer championships will be held in South Africa.
There are 50 million wireless subscribers in South Africa today, and the nation is Africa's second largest wireless market after Nigeria, which has 67 million subscribers, Blin said. He expects the mobile user-generated content market to grow, especially as the World Cup nears. Mobile user-generated content consists of mobile chat and mobile blogging, Blin said.
Clever Choice of Apps
With the strong emphasis on mobile chat and mobile blogs, Microsoft's selection of apps was strategically dictated.
For example, Windows Live Messenger, which is one of the apps offered in OneApp, may see growth. "OneApp should help drive the adoption of Windows Live Messenger," Blin said. However, that is not likely to pose a threat for MXit, the leading mobile Internet messaging service in South Africa today, he said. MXit has 12 million subscribers.
Microsoft's selection of Facebook More about Facebook was also a clever move. Facebook is the most mobile blogging service in South Africa, according to Blin.
Its choice of mobile banking is also a good one. "Mobile banking has the biggest growth potential in Africa ,as it fits the needs of most Africans, who don't have a bank account and who have low income," Blin said. "Mobile banking has become the next gold rush in Africa."
That gold rush is luring other large competitors to Microsoft, including Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) More about Apple and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) More about Google. "Google is currently working with local content providers in South Africa to offer local content on its Android app store," Blin said. "Apple is likely to follow suit.
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Apple Store Discount on Office 2008 for Mac - Home and Student Edition . Click here. More about Microsoft on Tuesday announced OneApp, a software application for feature phones.
Feature phones, which are essentially low-end mobile phones without any smartphone features, are widely used in both established and emerging markets. OneApp will give users access to mobile applications most often found on smartphones, including social networking, messaging and banking apps.
Microsoft's first partner for OneApp is South Africa's Blue Label Telecoms.
That makes sound business sense -- the African market is growing, and World Cup soccer championships will be held in South Africa in 2010, a fact that is expected to boost demand for mobile phones.
OneApp's Technology
OneApp takes a client/server approach to mobile apps. It has a lightweight client of about 150 Kb that sits on the user's feature phone. The server side will be deployed on wireless carriers' networks.
Wireless carriers offering OneApp will have the option of hosting it in Microsoft's Azure cloud service.
The apps are small -- about 30 Kb. Currently, there are 12 apps, including an RSS feed, mobile banking, Windows Live messenger, news, sports and stocks. More will be rolled out in the future, and Microsoft's carrier partners will decide which apps to make available to their customers.
OneApp dynamically launches the parts of an app that a person wants to use. The apps are updated automatically when the user turns on the phone.
Apps run between the phone and the server, so users don't have to download individual apps. OneApp is designed to minimize the load on phones and carrier networks, according to Microsoft.
OneApp runs on several Nokia (NYSE: NOK) More about Nokia phones, including E-series and N-Series models. It also runs on the Samsung More about Samsung U900 Soul and various Sony (NYSE: SNE) More about Sony Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY) More about Ericsson models, including several models in the W series and the C510, C902 and C905.
Starting the Dance Card
Microsoft is launching OneApp in South Africa with wireless carrier Blue Label Telecom. OneApp is available through Blue Label's "mbili" service at no charge.
The tie-in with Blue Label comes as no surprise to Julien Blin, CEO and principal analyst of JBB Research, who has just written a report on the South African user-generated content market. "Microsoft owns 12 percent of Blue Label," he told TechNewsWorld.
OneApp will be launched in more countries within the next year, Microsoft said. However, it declined comment when approached by TechNewsWorld.
Still, its move into emerging markets could be lucrative. "Over 80 percent of the world's population of nearly 6.8 billion people reside outside of North America and Western Europe," Laura DiDio, principal at ITIC, pointed out.
"If Microsoft doesn't target the developing world, its competitors will," she told TechNewsWorld. "Microsoft is quite literally following the money."
The World Cup Card
The African wireless market could be especially rewarding because it is a fast-growing and underserved market, Blin said. "Sales to the African region will help offset the decline in developed markets such as Western Europe and North America, and Microsoft understands that Africa presents huge potential for them," he said.
That potential will be even bigger than normal through next year, when the World Cup soccer championships will be held in South Africa.
There are 50 million wireless subscribers in South Africa today, and the nation is Africa's second largest wireless market after Nigeria, which has 67 million subscribers, Blin said. He expects the mobile user-generated content market to grow, especially as the World Cup nears. Mobile user-generated content consists of mobile chat and mobile blogging, Blin said.
Clever Choice of Apps
With the strong emphasis on mobile chat and mobile blogs, Microsoft's selection of apps was strategically dictated.
For example, Windows Live Messenger, which is one of the apps offered in OneApp, may see growth. "OneApp should help drive the adoption of Windows Live Messenger," Blin said. However, that is not likely to pose a threat for MXit, the leading mobile Internet messaging service in South Africa today, he said. MXit has 12 million subscribers.
Microsoft's selection of Facebook More about Facebook was also a clever move. Facebook is the most mobile blogging service in South Africa, according to Blin.
Its choice of mobile banking is also a good one. "Mobile banking has the biggest growth potential in Africa ,as it fits the needs of most Africans, who don't have a bank account and who have low income," Blin said. "Mobile banking has become the next gold rush in Africa."
That gold rush is luring other large competitors to Microsoft, including Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) More about Apple and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) More about Google. "Google is currently working with local content providers in South Africa to offer local content on its Android app store," Blin said. "Apple is likely to follow suit.
Microsoft bets on making "dumb" phones smarter
Microsoft today announced a new phone app service—not for smartphones, but instead for the world’s cheapest and low-tech handsets. Called OneApp, the software was developed by Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Group, which researches technology that can be used by poor people living in emerging-market nations. OneApp allows consumers with existing, non-smartphone devices to access Web sites such as Twitter, Facebook, in an efficient way.
OneApp’s been engineered to not require much in terms of data usage and memory; it runs only one individual application at a time. The graphics are lower resolution than those in iPhone apps. The phones running OneApp don’t need to eat up as much energy running the mini-software programs, either, according to Amit Mital, who heads the Unlimited Potential Group at Microsoft.
Why is Microsoft investing in making “dumb” phones smarter?
For one, the market for these phones is huge. Think about India alone: according to market researcher Gartner, mobile-phone market penetration in India is predicted to jump from 38.7% in 2009 to 63.5% by 2013. Gartner analysts say that this is mainly due to a focus on the rural market, more local Indian companies entering the sector, and the increased availability of cheaper phones. “The basic, or ‘feature’ [mobile] phone market as it’s known, is one with billions of customers,” says Mital. “Today, 'feature phones' are more common than smartphones. But there is a demand for apps, which are hard to find for these 'feature phones.'”
Two, Microsoft wants to introduce users of relatively low-tech mobile phones to Micrsoft’s “cloud” computing services via their handsets, which in essence the OneApp program does. This would increase its market share in this area.
Three, much of Unlimited Potential’s developing-world research eventually “trickles up” to mainstream products for the developed world. Consider the launch earlier this year of a simpler version of Windows, based on Microsoft’s Starter Edition for Windows, once available only in emerging markets, but now available worldwide on netbooks. Mital can't talk about how OneApp might affect Windows Mobile software in the developed world. But imagine how some design and engineering elements, such as sleeker, simpler on-screen graphics or the ability to deliver apps without eating up data usage, could come in handy when designing software for developed-world audiences, too.
Four, Microsoft also wants to be influential in the promotion and use of so-called “mobile wallets,” or turning the phone into a purchasing or banking tool. So OneApp will first be available in the next couple of weeks in South Africa, via Blue Label Telecoms, known for its mobile-wallet offerings. “BLT is already doing a lot in phone payments,” says Mital. “We saw this as a good fit for a partnership.”
Finally, Microsoft will open up the software developer’s kit for OneApp, making it possible for anyone in the world to create apps for these basic phones. The launch of OneApp will feature about a dozen free apps, but soon programmers and entreprenurs in both emerging and mature markets can potentially find new revenue streams if they charge for their apps.
Sure, smartphones like the iPhone and the BlackBerry might be the fastest-growing segment in the mobile-phone space—up 27% worldwide from last year, according to Gartner. But for those who can’t afford smartphones, and for those who are enterprising enough to capitalize on a surprising new market, yesterday’s “dumb” phones might just look like a clever new way to ride the app wave.
OneApp’s been engineered to not require much in terms of data usage and memory; it runs only one individual application at a time. The graphics are lower resolution than those in iPhone apps. The phones running OneApp don’t need to eat up as much energy running the mini-software programs, either, according to Amit Mital, who heads the Unlimited Potential Group at Microsoft.
Why is Microsoft investing in making “dumb” phones smarter?
For one, the market for these phones is huge. Think about India alone: according to market researcher Gartner, mobile-phone market penetration in India is predicted to jump from 38.7% in 2009 to 63.5% by 2013. Gartner analysts say that this is mainly due to a focus on the rural market, more local Indian companies entering the sector, and the increased availability of cheaper phones. “The basic, or ‘feature’ [mobile] phone market as it’s known, is one with billions of customers,” says Mital. “Today, 'feature phones' are more common than smartphones. But there is a demand for apps, which are hard to find for these 'feature phones.'”
Two, Microsoft wants to introduce users of relatively low-tech mobile phones to Micrsoft’s “cloud” computing services via their handsets, which in essence the OneApp program does. This would increase its market share in this area.
Three, much of Unlimited Potential’s developing-world research eventually “trickles up” to mainstream products for the developed world. Consider the launch earlier this year of a simpler version of Windows, based on Microsoft’s Starter Edition for Windows, once available only in emerging markets, but now available worldwide on netbooks. Mital can't talk about how OneApp might affect Windows Mobile software in the developed world. But imagine how some design and engineering elements, such as sleeker, simpler on-screen graphics or the ability to deliver apps without eating up data usage, could come in handy when designing software for developed-world audiences, too.
Four, Microsoft also wants to be influential in the promotion and use of so-called “mobile wallets,” or turning the phone into a purchasing or banking tool. So OneApp will first be available in the next couple of weeks in South Africa, via Blue Label Telecoms, known for its mobile-wallet offerings. “BLT is already doing a lot in phone payments,” says Mital. “We saw this as a good fit for a partnership.”
Finally, Microsoft will open up the software developer’s kit for OneApp, making it possible for anyone in the world to create apps for these basic phones. The launch of OneApp will feature about a dozen free apps, but soon programmers and entreprenurs in both emerging and mature markets can potentially find new revenue streams if they charge for their apps.
Sure, smartphones like the iPhone and the BlackBerry might be the fastest-growing segment in the mobile-phone space—up 27% worldwide from last year, according to Gartner. But for those who can’t afford smartphones, and for those who are enterprising enough to capitalize on a surprising new market, yesterday’s “dumb” phones might just look like a clever new way to ride the app wave.
Manmohan inaugurates new IIST campus
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Over tele-link from New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday inaugurated the new campus of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), an institution moulding the next generation of space scientists for the country, at Valiamala, near here.
Functions were conducted simultaneously at the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi and at Valiamala at the southern end of the country, to mark the occasion. While the Prime Minister and three of his Cabinet colleagues and the top scientific community in the country were present at the function in New Delhi, four of the Kerala Ministers and the Leader of the Opposition and top people of the IIST and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) attended the function in Valiamala.
Besides the formal inauguration of the IIST campus, the functions also featured the distribution of ISRO awards to individual scientists and teams in IRSO and Defence Research Development Organisation for the contributions they had made in 2007 for the advance of Indian Space Science. While a few of the awardees received the recognition directly from the Prime Minister, many others were honoured at the function at Valiamala.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated a new Space Complex of the ISRO, by tele-link, at Sadiqnagar in New Delhi. This complex would set going ISRO’s endeavours to popularise space technology’s people-oriented and development-oriented services such as tele-medicine, tele-education, disaster management and village resource management in the northern parts of the country, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair, said at the function in New Delhi.
IIST director B.N. Suresh, addressing the function at Valiamala, said the institution would be shifting to the new campus by January 2010. Post-graduate courses in space science disciplines would start at the IIST at the beginning of the next academic year. The institution has just completed admission to the third batch of students in B.Tech. programmes in Avionics, Aerospace Engineering and Physical Sciences.
With the addition of the third batch, this institution, started in 2007, will have nearly 450 students on its rolls. Those who attended the function included Ministers M.A. Baby, N.K. Premachandran, and M. Vijayakumar and Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy.
Functions were conducted simultaneously at the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi and at Valiamala at the southern end of the country, to mark the occasion. While the Prime Minister and three of his Cabinet colleagues and the top scientific community in the country were present at the function in New Delhi, four of the Kerala Ministers and the Leader of the Opposition and top people of the IIST and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) attended the function in Valiamala.
Besides the formal inauguration of the IIST campus, the functions also featured the distribution of ISRO awards to individual scientists and teams in IRSO and Defence Research Development Organisation for the contributions they had made in 2007 for the advance of Indian Space Science. While a few of the awardees received the recognition directly from the Prime Minister, many others were honoured at the function at Valiamala.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated a new Space Complex of the ISRO, by tele-link, at Sadiqnagar in New Delhi. This complex would set going ISRO’s endeavours to popularise space technology’s people-oriented and development-oriented services such as tele-medicine, tele-education, disaster management and village resource management in the northern parts of the country, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair, said at the function in New Delhi.
IIST director B.N. Suresh, addressing the function at Valiamala, said the institution would be shifting to the new campus by January 2010. Post-graduate courses in space science disciplines would start at the IIST at the beginning of the next academic year. The institution has just completed admission to the third batch of students in B.Tech. programmes in Avionics, Aerospace Engineering and Physical Sciences.
With the addition of the third batch, this institution, started in 2007, will have nearly 450 students on its rolls. Those who attended the function included Ministers M.A. Baby, N.K. Premachandran, and M. Vijayakumar and Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy.
‘Talks only after Pakistan fully dismantles terror infrastructure’
NEW DELHI: India has ruled out “meaningful dialogue” with Pakistan till it fulfilled its commitment of completely dismantling the terrorist infrastructure from its soil. Maintaining that India’s goal was a stable Pakistan at peace with itself and the rest of the world, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told the 112 heads of Indian missions abroad on Monday that India wanted to address its differences with Pakistan through dialogue.
The tone for spelling out New Delhi’s foreign policy objectives with respect to Pakistan was set by a four-page cable sent a week back to Indian envoys abroad by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. Apart from spelling out the areas with potential and those of concern in resetting ties with Pakistan in the post-Mumbai attacks scenario, Ms. Rao also dwelt on the contentious issue of Balochistan being mentioned in the Indo-Pak joint statement issued at Sharm-el-Sheikh last month.
Reliable sources said Ms. Rao justified the mention of Balochistan on grounds that India had clean hands and therefore was ready for a discussion on the unrest in Pakistan’s largest State.
Mr. Krishna repeatedly referred to the message conveyed to the Pakistani leadership of the desire to engage in meaningful discussions and develop bilateral relations in a positive manner. But he also pointed out that a meaningful dialogue will only be possible if Pakistan honoured its pledge to root out all anti-India terrorist activity. Pakistan did take some steps “under the pressure of evidence presented to them,” but it was yet to take effective steps to end infiltration and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure .
The highlight on the opening day of the five-day annual interaction of over 100 Indian envoys with senior policy makers here was the address by National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan on Indo-U.S. ties and the spate of questions that followed. In fact, according to diplomats, more questions were put on the tenor of India’s relations with the U.S. than on its future course of action on ties with Pakistan.
Speaking about the immediate neighbourhood, Mr. Krishna termed Bangladesh’s return to multiparty democracy as an “encouraging development” and wished the peace process in Nepal would end quickly on the basis of the “widest possible consensus.”
India also wanted Sri Lanka to ensure an effective devolution of power to bring about a lasting political settlement now that the LTTE was militarily defeated.
There was space for both China and India to grow and while there was congruence in views on many global issues, there were outstanding bilateral issues that needed a peaceful solution through dialogue.
India’s ties with Russia were given a contemporary characterisation in areas such as nuclear energy, space and defence and it was decided to build upon the “positive momentum” in ties with the U.S. achieved over the last few years.
Earlier, welcoming the envoys , Ms. Rao dwelt on aspects such as training, greater use of technology, inter-agency cooperation and security and effective communications.
In the interactive session, diplomats suggested improved communication and exchanges between the missions and the Foreign Office.
The tone for spelling out New Delhi’s foreign policy objectives with respect to Pakistan was set by a four-page cable sent a week back to Indian envoys abroad by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. Apart from spelling out the areas with potential and those of concern in resetting ties with Pakistan in the post-Mumbai attacks scenario, Ms. Rao also dwelt on the contentious issue of Balochistan being mentioned in the Indo-Pak joint statement issued at Sharm-el-Sheikh last month.
Reliable sources said Ms. Rao justified the mention of Balochistan on grounds that India had clean hands and therefore was ready for a discussion on the unrest in Pakistan’s largest State.
Mr. Krishna repeatedly referred to the message conveyed to the Pakistani leadership of the desire to engage in meaningful discussions and develop bilateral relations in a positive manner. But he also pointed out that a meaningful dialogue will only be possible if Pakistan honoured its pledge to root out all anti-India terrorist activity. Pakistan did take some steps “under the pressure of evidence presented to them,” but it was yet to take effective steps to end infiltration and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure .
The highlight on the opening day of the five-day annual interaction of over 100 Indian envoys with senior policy makers here was the address by National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan on Indo-U.S. ties and the spate of questions that followed. In fact, according to diplomats, more questions were put on the tenor of India’s relations with the U.S. than on its future course of action on ties with Pakistan.
Speaking about the immediate neighbourhood, Mr. Krishna termed Bangladesh’s return to multiparty democracy as an “encouraging development” and wished the peace process in Nepal would end quickly on the basis of the “widest possible consensus.”
India also wanted Sri Lanka to ensure an effective devolution of power to bring about a lasting political settlement now that the LTTE was militarily defeated.
There was space for both China and India to grow and while there was congruence in views on many global issues, there were outstanding bilateral issues that needed a peaceful solution through dialogue.
India’s ties with Russia were given a contemporary characterisation in areas such as nuclear energy, space and defence and it was decided to build upon the “positive momentum” in ties with the U.S. achieved over the last few years.
Earlier, welcoming the envoys , Ms. Rao dwelt on aspects such as training, greater use of technology, inter-agency cooperation and security and effective communications.
In the interactive session, diplomats suggested improved communication and exchanges between the missions and the Foreign Office.
Indian envoys begin brainstorming, Pakistan high on agenda
A three-day conclave involving about 120 Indian envoys posted abroad began in New Delhi on Monday with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna outlining the country's strategy in dealing with key foreign policy challenges, ranging from terrorism and climate change to global meltdown and soft power projection.
Enunciating the traditional values of India's foreign policy, Krishna set the tone by exhorting diplomats to sharpen their skills in dealing with emerging challenges like climate change, the global financial meltdown and multilateral trade negotiations, said official sources.
He also spoke about giving a fresh impetus to improving India's relations with neighbours and sustaining momentum in ties with major powers like the US, Russia and the European Union, the sources said.
National Security Adviser MK Narayanan stressed on India's security strategy, its nuclear posture and a multi-pronged approach to dealing with global terrorism, including linkages with cross-border terror, a festering issue that bedevils India's ties with Pakistan.
The conference of the Indian heads of missions abroad is a closed-door meeting, the first such exercise after the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition returned to power in May.
The last such conclave was held here in December last year against the backdrop of India's diplomatic offensive soon after the 26/11 Mumbai carnage.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to interact with the envoys Tuesday.
Manmohan Singh is likely to explain to diplomats his reasons for embarking on a "trust but verify" policy vis-a-vis Pakistan and address their concerns over the Sharm-el-Sheikh joint statement.
The July 16 joint statement, which delinks actions on terror by Pakistan from the composite dialogue process and includes the first-ever reference to Balochistan in a bilateral document, has not gone down well with sections of India's foreign office.
The conference this year has a wider canvas and includes special sessions on soft power projection, climate change, economic diplomacy and WTO negotiations. Interactions with leading think tanks like the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) have also been arranged.
A host of cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Minister of Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi and Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor will address the envoys over the next two days.
The reorganisation and expansion of the Indian foreign office and issues relating to housekeeping will also figure prominently in the discussions.
Enunciating the traditional values of India's foreign policy, Krishna set the tone by exhorting diplomats to sharpen their skills in dealing with emerging challenges like climate change, the global financial meltdown and multilateral trade negotiations, said official sources.
He also spoke about giving a fresh impetus to improving India's relations with neighbours and sustaining momentum in ties with major powers like the US, Russia and the European Union, the sources said.
National Security Adviser MK Narayanan stressed on India's security strategy, its nuclear posture and a multi-pronged approach to dealing with global terrorism, including linkages with cross-border terror, a festering issue that bedevils India's ties with Pakistan.
The conference of the Indian heads of missions abroad is a closed-door meeting, the first such exercise after the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition returned to power in May.
The last such conclave was held here in December last year against the backdrop of India's diplomatic offensive soon after the 26/11 Mumbai carnage.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to interact with the envoys Tuesday.
Manmohan Singh is likely to explain to diplomats his reasons for embarking on a "trust but verify" policy vis-a-vis Pakistan and address their concerns over the Sharm-el-Sheikh joint statement.
The July 16 joint statement, which delinks actions on terror by Pakistan from the composite dialogue process and includes the first-ever reference to Balochistan in a bilateral document, has not gone down well with sections of India's foreign office.
The conference this year has a wider canvas and includes special sessions on soft power projection, climate change, economic diplomacy and WTO negotiations. Interactions with leading think tanks like the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) have also been arranged.
A host of cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Minister of Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi and Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor will address the envoys over the next two days.
The reorganisation and expansion of the Indian foreign office and issues relating to housekeeping will also figure prominently in the discussions.
Indian envoys meet evades talks on Indo-Pak joint statement
NEW DELHI
: Two days into an annual conference of India's envoys in the capital has seen a reverberating silence into the UPA government's most
recent foreign policy affair. There has been no reference to, and almost no questions asked, about the India-Pakistan joint statement at Sharm el-Sheikh, which raised a political firestorm in the country only weeks ago. Interestingly, though privately Indian ambassadors repeatedly refer to the joint statement, at the envoys' conclave there has been a remarkable lack of curiosity about the event.
On Tuesday, the ambassadors gathered together for a pow-pow on India's neighbourhood policy. Initially Pakistan was not even on the agenda, which only goes to show what everyone has always suspected, that India's policy on Pakistan is driven by domestic politics and domestic imperatives.
But later the agenda was amended to include Pakistan and it was left to the ambassadors to grill India's high commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal about Pakistan. The general consensus after the discussion seemed to point to the fact that despite recent events of Pakistan forces going after the Tehrik-e-Taliban, there was no change in their attitude towards India.
Neither the Prime Minister nor the foreign minister, in their speeches, referred to Sharm el-Sheikh. The only person to make an honest reference to it was National Security Adviser MK Narayanan. In his remarks on Monday, Narayanan clarified that Sharm el-Sheikh did not signify any substantive change in India's approach to Pakistan. He also made it clear that there would be no talks with Pakistan until there was action against India-specific terrorists in Pakistan.
In an interview on Tuesday, foreign minister SM Krishna emphasised the UPA government's inflexibility on Pakistan and terrorism.
: Two days into an annual conference of India's envoys in the capital has seen a reverberating silence into the UPA government's most
recent foreign policy affair. There has been no reference to, and almost no questions asked, about the India-Pakistan joint statement at Sharm el-Sheikh, which raised a political firestorm in the country only weeks ago. Interestingly, though privately Indian ambassadors repeatedly refer to the joint statement, at the envoys' conclave there has been a remarkable lack of curiosity about the event.
On Tuesday, the ambassadors gathered together for a pow-pow on India's neighbourhood policy. Initially Pakistan was not even on the agenda, which only goes to show what everyone has always suspected, that India's policy on Pakistan is driven by domestic politics and domestic imperatives.
But later the agenda was amended to include Pakistan and it was left to the ambassadors to grill India's high commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal about Pakistan. The general consensus after the discussion seemed to point to the fact that despite recent events of Pakistan forces going after the Tehrik-e-Taliban, there was no change in their attitude towards India.
Neither the Prime Minister nor the foreign minister, in their speeches, referred to Sharm el-Sheikh. The only person to make an honest reference to it was National Security Adviser MK Narayanan. In his remarks on Monday, Narayanan clarified that Sharm el-Sheikh did not signify any substantive change in India's approach to Pakistan. He also made it clear that there would be no talks with Pakistan until there was action against India-specific terrorists in Pakistan.
In an interview on Tuesday, foreign minister SM Krishna emphasised the UPA government's inflexibility on Pakistan and terrorism.
Suspected LeT man held in Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) A suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist carrying a Jammu and Kashmir identity card and a Pakistani passport was arrested here today, days after Hizbul Mujahideen members were nabbed in the walled city area.
Yusuf alias Salim (27) was caught by Delhi Police's Special Cell from New Delhi Railway Station at around 12:40 pm following a tip-off, Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P N Aggarwal told reporters here.
Sources said Yusuf, who came to Delhi from Jammu, hails from Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir and was believed to be headed towards Mumbai.
They said investigators are trying to ascertain whether he was going to Mumbai. However, there was no official confirmation about this
Yusuf alias Salim (27) was caught by Delhi Police's Special Cell from New Delhi Railway Station at around 12:40 pm following a tip-off, Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P N Aggarwal told reporters here.
Sources said Yusuf, who came to Delhi from Jammu, hails from Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir and was believed to be headed towards Mumbai.
They said investigators are trying to ascertain whether he was going to Mumbai. However, there was no official confirmation about this
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
