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India not to withdraw from G-20 meet: Pranab
Day later, Parrikar says Advani remarks misquoted
YSR critics itching for a comeback
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Cong fields Prez’s son from Amravati
Tribal outfit declines to lay down arms before talks
Medical branch dodges MoD to deny facilities to SSC officers
Army chief: Pak ‘violates’ ceasefire to help infiltration
Cops: No casualty in Maoists-CPM firing
Petition in HC seeks Andhra Assembly session
Security for C’wealth Games on track
Drive to identify quake-hit buildings
NREGS gets e-transparent
Orissa seeks more Central forces
20 killed in BALCO chimney collapse
Ishrat Case
Muthalik moves court against ban
Hearing in Tytler case on Oct 31
3 chargesheeted in murder case
Senior leaders in NCP first list
Woman held in
TMC leader's murder case Tests don’t support rape charge, Shiney tells HC AI Board nod to 50 pc cut in incentives
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India not to withdraw from G-20 meet: Pranab
Kolkata, September 23 On the contrary, he pleaded that as long as the financial situation was unstable, India would remain in the G-20 and other international financial and economic forums for it’s own interest He said by participating in G-20 and other international forum, the country was in no way sacrificing its independence and sovereignty. The Finance Minister was addressing a seminar in the city today on the fiscal and economic management, when he claimed that the country was now rapidly overcoming the recessionary situation. He hoped that the bad economic condition could be soon overcome. He said there was plenty of stock of food grains and other essential commodities in the country and hence there was no reason to worry. Mukherjee, however, said the government’s restriction on the expenditure would remain for some time more since it was helping them in ensuring a proper financial management. Beside attending the seminar and some other official functions in the city today, Mukherjee also met Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and several WBPCC(l) leaders At the meeting with Mamata, there were discussions on the selection of the Mayor at the Siliguri municipality where both the Congress and the TMC obtained 15 seats each in the recently held elections. But both parties demanded the mayoral post. The discussions today were inconclusive and the leaders would be meeting again for finalising the mayoral candidate. Mukherjee also held in meeting with the party leaders and workers at the Bidhan Bhavan, where he reviewed the state’s present political situation vis-à-vis discussed the party’s future plan for a joint movement with the TMC against the CPM.
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Day later, Parrikar says Advani remarks misquoted
New Delhi, September 23 And Advani’s attempt to disown and distance himself from the August 19 decision of the BJP parliamentary board in Shimla to expel Jaswant Singh has in fact come in handy for his present and past critics. In the process the feeble attempt by former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to explain away his “rancid pickle” remark against Advani has not held much water within and outside the BJP. Parrikar, tipped to succeed Rajnath Singh as the next BJP president, issued a statement today that said: “An interview given by me to a local Konkani television channel has been twisted and blown out of proportion…I hold Advaniji in great personal esteem and any other inference of my interview is baseless and denied.” While BJP insiders pointed out that Parrikar has not denied the substance of the interview nor the “rancid pickle” remark, many in the party privately agreed with the essence of Parrikar’s remark. A party leader considered close to Advani claimed, “I have received at least 30 phone calls since morning and everyone has agreed with Parrikar.” This leader, actively involved with Advani’s election campaign, now turned full 180 degrees and said the decision to project him as prime minister itself was wrong. According to him, Advani lost it the day he declared his appreciation for Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi in 2005. After that he lost credibility with his constituency. “Everyone is not Vajpayee. And none but Vajpayee will be accepted as Vajpayee,” he remarked. Another BJP leader considered close to Advani — party general secretary Ananth Kumar — was the first to repudiate the senior leader when he formally announced that the parliamentary board decision was unanimous. A senior BJP leader had reacted strongly yesterday to Advani disowning Jaswant Singh’s expulsion. This leader present in the Shimla parliamentary board meeting said yesterday, “The decision was unanimous. Anyway it is unethical and immoral to disown collective decisions of the party. This is clearly an attempt to save one’s skin. But as you can see this is not the lone instance. There have been several similar instances earlier too.” Political observers see this as slow but steady build-up to force Advani out. But sources said Advani is distancing himself even from his trusted confidants like S. Gurumurthy. He disclosed that immediately after general elections results started coming in on May 16, Gurumurthy called up Advani asking him not to announce his resignation before wider consultations.
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YSR critics itching for a comeback
Hyderabad, September 23 The critics of YSR, though in a miniscule minority, are opposed to anointing his son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as the next Chief Minister, though they have been refraining from airing their views in public for fear of inviting the wrath of Jagan’s supporters. With central leadership sending out clear signals that it was not in a hurry to replace the present Chief Minister K Rosaiah, the anti-YSR group, which was out of the reckoning for several years, feels emboldened now and is slowly coming out of political hibernation to play its part in the unfolding succession drama. The AICC spokesman and Rajya Sabha member K Kesava Rao appears to have emerged as a rallying point for these forces within the party. His remark that there was no vacancy at present for Chief Minister’s post and that Rosaiah was handling the job efficiently has kicked off ripples in the party circles. The former APCC chief’s conduct and public utterances are causing alarm among the loyalists of Jagan Mohan Reddy. “Rao’s observations on CM issue are not acceptable. They amount to insulting the sentiments of the public and the party cadre. The high command’s diktat that no one should air their views on leadership issue also applies to him,” APCC general secretary Ambati Rambabu said. During the last three days of his stay in the state capital, Rao had called on veterans G Venkataswamy, a CWC member, N Janardhan Reddy, a former Chief Minister and M Satyanarayana Rao, a former minister, all considered critics of YSR and were sidelined in the party for a long time. Rao’s individual meetings with the senior leaders are seen as part of a mission to checkmate the Jagan camp. Forced into political oblivion during the YSR regime, these senior leaders are seeking to make a comeback. And the convenient way they have chosen for this is to fully back the high command on succession issue and pitch for continuing K Rosaiah in the CM’s post. When YSR was at the helm, it was a one-man show all the way as he had completely dominated the party and held sway over its affairs. The sulking seniors now appear to be in a mood to hit back. State Congress president D Srinivas, who also did not have the best of relations with YSR, his predecessor Kesava Rao, veterans Venkataswamy and N Janardhan Reddy are repeating the line that the decision on succession issue should be left to the high command. They have noticed a change in political atmosphere in the wake of pro-Jagan camp toning down its aggressive campaign for anointing the young MP as Chief Minister.
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Cong fields Prez’s son from Amravati
New Delhi, September 23 Grappling with the tricky situation after Deshmukh declared that he was in no mood to take things lying down, the Congress finally declared the first list of 159 out of 174 candidates it would be fielding in Maharashtra. Sources say Congress president Sonia Gandhi has withheld the announcement of party nominees for constituencies like Latur and Solapur seats, from where some other sons and daughters of senior Congress leaders are aspirants. However, if the green signal by the party for the President’s son is any indication, other high profile candidates may also get party tickets in the second list. While Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has pitched in for daughter Praniti from Solapur, former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh wants a ticket for his son Amit from Latur. There are other senior leaders in the queue as well. Interestingly, the list declared by the party today has more than 70 new faces. While leaders claim that the decision to include fresh faces was in line with the party’s policy of promoting the youth, political observers believe it is the party’s way of countering the 10-year-old incumbency factor that the Congress-NCP alliance is likely to face in the coming elections. Party sources say general secretary Rahul Gandhi also had a major say choosing a couple of young candidates. As many as 13 sitting MLAs have been denied tickets this time. Today’s list includes 49 Maratha, 43 OBC, 17 SC, 13 ST and 33 others candidates. The party is likely to field around 15 women this time. Interestingly, though sons and daughters have been given tickets for the October 13 Assembly polls by rival parties, the candidature of Shekhawat has raised most eyebrows. That the Congress was in dilemma over whether or not to include Shekhawat is evident from the fact that the first list was declared just 48 hours before the last day of filling nomination. But, despite much discontentment in the party over election tickets for sons and daughters of senior leaders, Shekhawat’s name was cleared by Sonia Gandhi. However, senior party leaders say that Amravati will prove to be a big challenge for the Congress because Deshmukh, a two-time winner from the constituency, is a highly rated minister who has the backing of majority of his cabinet colleagues and the people in his constituency. Refusing to oblige the high command, Deshmukh has threatened to contest as a rebel candidate. A proposal to accommodate him elsewhere failed and the party fears that an imposed candidate will not just affect Amravati, but adjoining seats as well. Meanwhile, Shekhawat is the second son in Indian history to be fighting elections whose parent is a sitting President. The first one to do so was V Shankar Giri, son of president V V Giri, who fought and won on a Congress ticket from Madhya Pradesh in the early 70s. Shekhawat’s mother and father have represented Amravati in the past as MP and MLA, respectively.
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Tribal outfit declines to lay down arms before talks
Guwahati, September 23 Unlike the Dimasa tribe militant group, Dima Halam Daogah (J) or the Back Widow militant outfit whose 374 cadres laid down arms last week in response to a call by the Union Government to pave the way for peace talks, the KLNLF has stated that it is not going to accept the condition of surrendering weapons under any circumstances before beginning a
dialogue. The KLNLF has, in fact, unilaterally suspended “operations” since April this year giving time to the government till the end of this month to start a dialogue process as it wanted a democratic political dialogue with the Centre for the greater interest of peace and development of the two hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar. However, the Centre has already made it clear that from now onwards any militant outfit willing to hold talks with the government would have to first deposit their weapons and take refuse in designated camps. The KLNLF, which is known to have operated in close coordination with the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), was behind a series of attacks on Hindi-speaking people in Karbi Anglong district in 2007. The outfit demands a “self-ruled homeland for the Karbi tribe” comprising Karbi Anglong and parts of North Cachar hill district and a special economic package for development of the hilly region in the state. The outfit is believed to have 250 armed cadres. The outfit has stated that if the government of India fails to respond to its calls for peace talks without any precondition of laying down weapons, it will be forced to review its suspension of operation.
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Medical branch dodges MoD to deny facilities to SSC officers Chandigarh, September 23 Medical facilities to ex-SSC officers at military hospitals were withdrawn by the DGMS some time ago, following which they had raised the issue with the Army authorities. The matter was referred to the MoD for clarification and earlier this year, the Army issued a circular that pending the MoD’s final decision, military hospitals would continue catering to ex-SSC officers. A letter issued a few week ago to the medical branches of all commands by the DGMS (Army) to the effect that the direction of the Central Government and the Army headquarters on the subject of providing medical facilities to non-pensioner ex-servicemen be ignored. Medical facilities in military hospitals were earlier available to only retired defence pensioners as per the Regulations for Medical Services of the Armed Forces (RMSAF). However, in 1996, a Presidential sanction amended the said regulations and extended the facilities to all personnel who had earned the status of ex-servicemen. Despite the amendment, sporadic incidents were still reported wherein old non-pensioners such as world war veterans, Emergency Commission Officers and SSCs were refused treatment. Interestingly, in response to queries under the Right to Information Act, the Directorate-General, Armed Forces Medical Services, which oversees the medical directorates of the three services, has stated that the provisions of the amended regulations are being followed. This is contrary to the stance of the DGMA (Army) which has asked the commands to restrict facilities to only those personnel who are mentioned in the original unamended RMSAF, thereby ignoring the amendment already issued by the Central Government and the consequent orders issued by the Army chief. Incensed veterans have now written to the MoD against the “highhandedness” of the DGMS (Army) and the DG Armed Forces Medical Services. Veterans have also pointed out that the military medical establishment had earlier also requested for the withdrawal of these facilities from non-pensioner ex-servicemen, but the request was rejected by the government.
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Army chief: Pak ‘violates’ ceasefire to help infiltration
Jaipur, September 23 “There has been a violation by Pakistan in the past couple of days,” he told media after reviewing the Mounted Parade of 61st Cavalry at polo ground here. “Those violations are being used as a means by Pakistan to push in additional terrorists before the winter sets in, so that there is a degree of instability in the valley and Jammu and Kashmir. Forces are quite well versed with these tactics. They are quite alive to these tactics," Kapoor said when asked if Pakistan was violating ceasefire norms. “We have appropriately deployed the forces and they would ensure to contain any infiltration bid further,” he said. “Let me ensure, Indian borders are extremely safe. We are fully alive to any challenges to face... Nothing worrying on borders”. Asked if western borders are under scanner, the Army Chief said, “As the winter is approaching, there will be defence from other side to push in infiltrators. As you would have noticed, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is peaceful for the past 7-8 months”. About recent encounters, Gen Kappor said, “There were two encounters in the valley. Troops are ensuring to contain intrusions. The army has to fight to ensure that peace is maintained in the valley”. “For terrorists, no law is applicable (during encounter). We have to work in limits against militants,” Gen Kappor added. Pakistani troops had fired nearly 135 rounds on Indian positions in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Sunday night. It was the second such incident this month.
— PTI
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Cops: No casualty in Maoists-CPM firing
Kolkata, September 23 The incident followed the CPM’s attacks on tribal women in Eniathpure village in the morning when they went out to the local market for shopping. As many as five tribal women received bullet injuries and they were admitted to the district hospital. The police admitted that the Maoists and the CPM were involved in clashes in which several rounds of bullets had been fired from both sides. Later, the police found five cadres lying unconscious inside the party office with severe gunshot injuries. But the Maoists leaders Kishenji and Bikash claimed that they had killed six CPM workers and injured several others at Eniathpore village in response to their attacks on the innocent tribal women. Kishenji further claimed they themselves had carried the bodies inside the jungle and buried them there. CPM party secretary Biman Bose alleged that the police had played the spectator’s role and failed to protect the innocent people against the Maoists attacks in the Eniathpore village. He demanded that Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who looks after the Home Department, should take appropriate actions against the errant police men. PTI adds: “The police has been able to enter the area. There is no casualty," West Midnapore's Superintendent of Police Manoj Verma said.The police had earlier said that some people were killed on Monday in the exchange of fire between armed CPM supporters and Maoists in the area. Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters that there was no death in the armed encounter, but three persons suffered bullet injuries. "The political affiliation of the injured was not yet known," he said.
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Petition in HC seeks Andhra Assembly session
Hyderabad, September 23 An advocate from Guntur district A Ravi filed a petition in the court contending that there was constitutional and administrative vacuum in the state after the sudden death of former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy in a helicopter crash in Nallamala forest area on September 2. Though Rosaiah, the senior-most minister, was immediately made the Chief Minister, he was yet to be elected as leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) nor did he submit the list of MLAs supporting him to the Governor to demonstrate his majority. Arguing that it was necessary to summon the Assembly to enable the incumbent Chief Minister to prove his majority, the petitioner cited the Supreme Court direction in Jagadambika Pal versus Union of India case to support his contention. He requested the court to give necessary directions for summoning a special session of the Assembly. The petitioner also wanted the court to direct the Chief Minister not to take major decisions till he proved his majority in the House. Quoting from the apex court’s judgment in the Madan Murari Verma versus Chowdari Charan Singh case, Ravi said the courts could exercise their jurisdiction to avoid administrative and constitutional vacuum and deadlock. The petitioner argued that Rosaiah was not elected as the CLP leader as the Congress High Command was yet to give permission for CLP meeting.
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Security for C’wealth Games on track
New Delhi, September 23 This was decided on the first day of the Conference of Security Liaison Officers of Commonwealth countries and representatives of Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs). During the meeting, Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken and Union Home Secretary GK Pillai told 76 delegates from 26 of the participating countries that India was committed to make the game a big success. “As part of the overall plan, security is of paramount importance and the Ministry of Home Affairs is fully geared up to make these games free from any security related incidents,” Maken said. During the presentation, the Indian side informed security experts from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and others participating nations, that there was no specific terror threat to the games in which 8,000 athletes of 72 countries would participate and over 1,00,000 spectators were likely to turn up. The meeting discussed issues like crowd control, routes of the athletes from games village to venues, VIP visit arrangements, security at the entry and exit points and preparedness during emergency situations, besides medical facilities at each venue.
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Drive to identify quake-hit buildings
Guwahati, September 23 Meanwhile, the administration of Kamrup (Metropolitan) district has been directed to take steps to ensure safety of people living in those buildings in which structures were affected in the impact of the earthquake. Evacuation may be one of the measures that can be considered for the purpose. The instruction came following an emergency meeting chaired by State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Dr Bhumidhar Barman who also inspected some of the affected high-rise buildings in the city today. Official sources said the state government had instructed the administration to engage competent engineers to identify structurally vulnerable buildings including in the city and take necessary steps ensure safety of the people staying in those buildings. The survey will cover all educational institutions in the city. The government has also directed the administration to widen all narrow lanes in the city so that trapped people could be reached fast in case of a disaster.
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NREGS gets e-transparent
Hyderabad, September 23 Developed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the web-based software package has helped check corruption, fix loopholes in identification of beneficiaries and the works and resulted in effective implementation of the scheme, covering nearly 11 million people in the state. From the time a job seeker enrolls with a local panchayat office to monitoring of assigned work and final wage payment, the entire process is registered and tracked online, using the software solution. The system allows the officials to sift through entire data, including the number of job cards issued across 22 districts and identify the loopholes. The progress of the NREGS works could be monitored through an automated system and the workers have been paid based on the amount of work they complete, independent of the number of hours they put in. In fact, AP has been the first state to introduce social audit system to effectively monitor implementation of the scheme. Social auditing involves a process where teams visit the NREGS work sites in every gram panchayat and physically crosscheck the work done with the records. Each team has been led by district resource person and consists of four to five persons drawn from civil society organisations. “The point of an audit is that it should be conducted by people from outside the government,” said the principal secretary of Rural Development Department K Raju. Social auditing involves consolidating the muster roll and feeding it into the software that verifies it with the pay order to detect discrepancies. In another novel initiative, the government has introduced biometric smart cards to make payment to the NREGS beneficiaries. The smart cards, similar to the ATM cards, contain encrypted fingerprints of the beneficiaries. A call centre to answer queries related to the NREGS has also been launched.
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Orissa seeks more Central forces
Bhubaneswar, September 23 “I have already written a letter to Chidambaram in this regard and will follow it up in order to get additional force without delay,” he told reporters before his departure for Delhi on Dasehra vacation. The state government had sought seven battalions (about 7,000 personnel) from the Centre for deployment in Maoist-infested southern districts such as Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada and Gajapati. "I will convince Chidambaram about Orissa's requirements, including additional central para-military force (CPMF), to carry out anti-Maoist operation in the southern part of the state," Patnaik said. The Centre should cooperate with the state in its bid to fight the Red Rebels, he said. Experts, including senior police officers, in the state feel that a joint operation comprising the Central and state forces like those at the Lalgarh area in West Bengal and Dantewada in Chhattisgargh, would also be effective for Orissa.
— PTI
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20 killed in BALCO chimney collapse
Raipur, September 23 The state government ordered a judicial inquiry into the accident that took place when about 100 workers and engineers were engaged in the construction work at the Balco Nagar area, some 250 km north of state capital Raipur. “It’s a massive accident, we have retrieved 20 bodies so far, and many more are trapped under the collapsed chimney’s debris. A rescue and relief operation is underway,” District Superintendent of Police Ratanlal Dangi said. Balco officials said work was on to construct a 275-metre chimney and construction work was completed for some 100 m. The chimney structure collapsed amid heavy rain. Police officials at Korba said angry workers held Gannon Dunkerley and Company Ltd (GDCL) responsible for the tragedy as it is assigned the chimney construction work. They also manhandled GDCL officials, the police said. The thermal power plant of two units, each of 600 MW capacity, is owned by BALCO, in which Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd holds 51 per cent share while remaining 49 per cent belongs to the Indian government. The state government instructed the district collector and superintendent of police to register a FIR against the BALCO management for allegedly overlooking security aspects and announced a judicial probe into the chimney crash. The state also announced compensation of Rs 1,00,000 to the family of each of those killed. — IANS
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Ishrat Case
New Delhi, September 23 Virtually warning the Centre not to puruse such a course, BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy wondered whether this would not undermine the eminence of Intelligence Bureau (IB) as an institution and the credibility of its reports despatched on a regular basis to the states. Rudy said, “If Centre keeps changing its stand every now and then why would states rely on IB reports and what would be the credibility of IB reports if the Central government itself questions their credibility”. He cited the instance of 26/11 attacks and reminded how the Maharashtra government was repudiated for not heeding to IB reports and said this way the IB is trying to trash all IB reports. He also wondered how the Centre could now disown its earlier affidavit given on oath to the Gujarat High Court. |
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Muthalik moves court against ban
Panaji, September 23 In a petition filed today, Muthalik said the orders given by both North and South Goa district collectorates in March this year, under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), were in violation of the principle of natural justice as the officials did not hear him before passing the orders. The petition, which is expected to come for hearing later this month, has also sought that both the orders be declared 'null and void'. Both collectors Mihir Vardhan (North Goa) and G.P. Naik (South Goa) have been made party to the petition. The state government had banned the SRS chief from entering Goa following reports that he would visit the state to start a branch of the Hindu hardline group here. Muthalik, who shot to infamy after his SRS attacked women in a Mangalore pub in January this year, had said subsequently that he wanted to curb the 'pub culture' in the tourist state.
— IANS
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Hearing in Tytler case on Oct 31
New Delhi, September 23 Pleading his case before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit, CBI counsel Sanjay Kumar contended that only two persons came forward to depose against Tytler during investigation and both of them were unreliable. Surinder, who is no more, and Jasbir had made false statements to implicate Tytler, he argued. The Magistrate also went through the audio-visual evidence produced before the court by the CBI, purportedly showing that Tytler was around the body of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when the riots broke out. Notably, the case relates to a November 1, 1984, incident in which a mob had set afire Gurdwara Pulbangash in north Delhi, killing three persons — Badal Singh, Thakur Singh and Gurcharan Singh. On October 31, the court would also hear further arguments of the CBI over the version given by Jasbir.
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3 chargesheeted in murder case
New Delhi, September 23 Dutta was murdered on September 12, 2006. The case was initially investigated by the Guwahati police. Later, on December 19, 2007, it was transferred to the CBI and was investigated by its Special Crime Branch, Kolkata. It had been revealed during the investigation that Dutta had seized huge consignments of ganja smuggled by the gang of a mastermind of this murder case on several occasions. The accused and his nephew threatened the deceased, but this did not deter him from performing his duty.
— TNS
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Senior leaders in NCP first list
Mumbai, September 23 The NCP announced candidates for 80 of the 114 seats it is contesting in the 288-member assembly. The Congress is contesting the remaining 174 seats.
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Woman held in TMC leader's murder case Nandigram (WB), September 23 Mondal was shot dead by unidentified persons at Sonachura in Nandigram last night near his home. Superintendent of Police Bastab Baidya said Rina Pradhan was detained for interrogation following complaints by Mondal's family that outsiders had gathered at her residence more than once in recent days to hatch a conspiracy. Rina's husband Lakshman Pradhan had been on the run since the last panchayat polls when the Trinamool Congress had trounced the CPM. Trinamool leader Swayam Kazi Mondal alleged the couple was with CPM who wanted to eliminate Mondal as he was a popular leader. Meanwhile, life was paralysed in the area in response to a 12-hour bandh call given by Trinamool Congress. Most of the shops in the area were closed and vehicles remained off the road, official reports said. Mondal had been formerly with CPM but joined Trinamool Congress later and was one of the key persons behind the land acquisition resistance movement (Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee). — PTI
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Tests don’t support rape charge, Shiney tells HC Mumbai, September 23 The investigation in the case was over and his custody was no longer required, the application said. Shiney has been in jail since June 15. The sessions court was to frame charges against the actor today, but it was postponed as Shiney’s lawyer sought forensic reports of the accused and the victim. The sessions judge is expected to decide on the plea for the reports on September 25. — PTI
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AI Board nod to 50 pc cut in incentives New Delhi/Mumbai, Sept 23 The Board, which met in Mumbai to review the impact of various cost-cutting measures it has taken over the past few months, accepted the recommendation of the committee headed by Anup Srivastava, director, personnel, to review PLI paid to employees. It approved a cut of 25 per cent in the PLI of those who are getting Rs 10,000 or less. The maximum cut of 50 per cent was for those who get an incentive of above Rs 2 lakh. Those who get PLI between Rs 10,001 and Rs 25,000, the cut is 35 per cent, and the reduction is 40 per cent for those who receive between Rs 25,001 and Rs 50,000. Incentive in the bracket of Rs 50,001 to Rs 2 lakhs attract a cut of 45 per cent. “The cut would be effective for PLI payable in August 2009 onwards, and over 7,000 employees were likely to be affected by today’s decision,” an airlines spokesperson said. The cash-strapped national carrier had sought a Rs 5,000-crore bailout package, including additional equity from the government. Mukherjee had made it clear that any assistance would come only after the airline took concrete measures to cut flab, reduce costs and improve savings. Keeping this in mind, the Board is understood to have reviewed steps to control costs in several areas like procurement of materials and spares, reducing interest liability, slashing lease rentals of leased aircraft and route rationalisation, airline sources said. The management also discussed steps to go for borrowings from banks to carry out its day-to-day activities, they said. As air travel has been hit due to economic recession, low fares and poor yields were affecting the entire industry in a market which had surplus capacity. In this situation, there was limited scope for enhancing revenues and efforts were being made to check costs to bridge the gap between expenditure and income, they said. — PTI
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