The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Food inflation rises to 17.47 pc RBI to reassess soft policy stance New Delhi, December 3 Food inflation surged to 17.47 per cent in the third week of November, fuelled by expensive onions and other essentials, prompting experts to ask RBI to tighten its monetary stance. RBI itself was in agreement that it would have to reassess the accommodative policy stance going forward, since the economy is on a rebound and prices were rising. While monetary policy does not have a direct bearing on bringing down prices of food products, the demand for tightening money supply is directed towards preventing food inflation from spreading to manufactured items. Food inflation stood at 15.58 per cent a week ago. On a weekly basis, onions turned expensive by over 12 per cent, while it surged by 30.89 per cent on a yearly basis. Pulses rose over 37 per cent, while rice wheat, fruits, milk turned expensive by over 10 per cent year on year. However, the rise in prices of potatoes that have been surging, declined to 94.17 per cent on yearly basis, against over 100 per cent increase a week ago. Meanwhile, the RBI today said it would reassess its soft policy stance amid food inflation soaring past 17 per cent even as the the PM's advisory panel and others called for tightening money supply. "Clearly now going forward, it (accommodative monetary stance) will have be to reassessed," RBI Deputy Governor Usha Thorat said at an ICRIER-OECD conference. She said a fragile economic recovery was at the back of RBI when it continued accommodative stance in its October policy review. However, the economy expanded by 7.9 per cent in the second quarter from 6.1 per cent in the previous quarter, giving hopes of durable economic rebound. Thorat said the Reserve Bank is looking at wholesale price inflation to reach 6-6.5 per cent with upward bias by this fiscal end. "CPI inflation is still elevated," she added. Before the conference, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan told reporters that rising food prices were a matter of concern and must be reined in by the RBI otherwise they would push up prices of manufactured items as well. "Food prices must be controlled, otherwise they have a tendency to lead to manufacturing inflation...this will require monetary action by RBI, especially (money) supply management," he said. Thorat, however, said so far this year money supply growth has been very low."... this have implications for the kind of decision that we take on monetary policy," she added. Thorat further said the RBI's economic growth projection of 6 per cent with upward bias for the current fiscal may have to be reviewed at the time of next policy. RBI only tightened money supply symbolically in October policy review. She said capital flows has been managed but looking forward it can be another challenge. "I think capital inflows is again an important issue because large capital inflows and asset price could feed on each other and this could be destabilising," Thorat said. — PTI
	Gold at new peak of Rs 18,550 New Delhi, December 3 Gold continued its rising spree today to set a fresh record at Rs 18,550 per 10 gram in the bullion market today as dollar remained weak. The precious metal gained Rs 90 from yesterday's level of Rs 18,460 as expectations of further rise in prices made the metal, the alternate investment option, more appealing to investors than risk-loaded equities. Marketmen said the stage for rally in gold was set by the Reserve Bank of India's purchase of bullion from the IMF in October, fuelling speculation that other banks would follow suit. "Gold rose on a bullish trend in overseas markets after dollar plunged and raised demand for the precious metal as safe hedge," said Mahesh Verma of Omsons Jeweller. He said there was hardly any buying by retailers and actual users for the current marriage season. Marketmen say gold is likely to continue its upward march in the coming days. Gold might reach a peak of $1,300 an ounce next year as more investors purchase bullion to preserve wealth against a declining dollar, leading global bank UBS said, and added that central banks buying also support a uptrend. Silver ready too spurted further by Rs 50 to Rs 29,900 per kg while weekly-based delivery fell by 100 to Rs 29,450 per kg on reduced offtake by speculators. — PTI
	Gas Row Owner can’t be ignored in pricing: Govt R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, December 3 The government today contended in the Supreme Court that being the owner of gas it could not be left without a role in the pricing, while Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) described as invalid the Petroleum Ministry's affidavit clarifying its stand on National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). Explaining the ministry's affidavit, Solicitor-General Gopal Subramanium said the government's production sharing contract (PSC) with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which was only a contractor for gas exploration and production, would become redundant if RIL was allowed to decide the price. Since the government was the owner it had every right to control and regulate the contractors, the SG said, clarifying that the Centre would maintain equal distance from both RIL and RNRL. It was up to the companies of the two estranged brothers to find their own solutions to the dispute over the pricing of gas, complying with the PSC. In the affidavit, filed with the special Bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, the ministry has maintained that the cases of NTPC and RNRL could not be equated as the gas price for NTPC was decided through competitive global bidding. Also, NTPC was a PSU and enjoyed over-riding public interest. Arguing for RNRL before the Bench, which included Justices B Sudershan Reddy and P Sathasivam, senior counsel Ram Jethmalani contended that the ministry's affidavit had legal value as it was "based on records" and "advice" given by some unidentified sources. Citing judgments by various Constitution Benches of the Supreme Court, Jethmalani said all original records should be submitted to the court if the affidavit was based on such documents. Also, no information could be provided without identifying its source and doing so would go against order 19 and rule 3 of the law pertaining to affidavits. Solicitor-General Gopal Subramanium said a similar affidavit had been accepted by the Bombay High Court at the time of hearing of the gas disputes case, upon which Jethmalani's retorted: "You can't carry on with incompetence here also." The government affidavit maintaining that RNRL was a cut below NTPC in the matter of pricing amounted to saying that NTPC could make a request for lower price while RNRL would have offer a "bag full of money. This is open invitation to corruption," Jethmalani argued.
	Bharati Shipyard zooms 17 pc Mumbai, December 3 Shares of shipbuilding firm Bharati Shipyard, which is looking to acquire a controlling stake in Great Offshore, today surged 17 per cent, gaining over 10 per cent for the second straight session. Bharati Shipyard and ABG Shipyard were locked in a battle for a controlling stake in Great Offshore. The scrip of Bharati Shipyard yesterday shot up 10.5 per cent after ABG Shipyard virtually opted out of the race to acquire Great Offshore. Shares of Bharati Shipyard closed at Rs 207.80, up 17 per cent on the BSE. During the market hours the scrip surged nearly 20 per cent to an intra-day high of Rs 213.10. On the volume front, over 45 lakh shares of Bharati Shipyard changed hands on the BSE. — PTI
	Dubai crisis may hit remittances, says RBI New Delhi, December 3 The Reserve Bank today said the financial crisis in Dubai could have some impact on remittances and would affect those parts of the country that receive inflows from the Gulf nation in larger quantity. "Some parts of the country are certainly more dependent on remittances from Dubai but overall I think it is too early to say. There could be some impact obviously", RBI Deputy Governor Usha Thorat said, when asked about the impact of the crisis on the country. Many states, especially Kerala, receive large amount of remittances from persons working in the Gulf region. "We have to see how far this (Dubai financial crisis) spreads", she said, adding that it might be too early to say anything about the fallout of the crisis on the country. As far as banks are concerned, Thorat said, the crisis will not impact India's banking sector as the exposure "is not significant and not a matter of concern...It is not something that materially affects their balance sheet." Among the state-owned lenders, Bank of Baroda had an exposure of Rs 5,000 crore in Dubai. State Bank of India too had provided Rs 1,500 crore to companies in the UAE, of which Dubai is one of the seven emirates. The financial crisis in Dubai erupted last month with conglomerate Dubai World asking for six months time to repay its $59 billion debts. — PTI
	Ban on transaction of Raju’s land Suresh Dharur Tribune News Service Hyderabad, December 3 The Andhra Pradesh government has banned registration and other transactions pertaining to 2,807 acres of land on the city outskirts belonging to benami companies of former Satyam Computers Chairman B Ramalinga Raju and his associates. The state Revenue Secretary M Sahoo has issued orders invoking the clauses under Section 22 A of the Registration Act, 1908 to prohibit any transactions on the lands. As many as 328 companies and 36 individuals associated with Raju own the lands, located in Ibrahimpatnam, Bachupally, Loyapally and Medchal villages on the city outskirts. Raju and eight others have been jailed for perpetrating the Rs 14,000 crore fraud at Satyam Computers. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate has seized 287 properties, worth Rs 1,000 crore, belonging to Ramalinga Raju and his brother and former Managing Director Rama Raju. After a thorough investigation, the ED took over the assets as they were found to be acquired with the scam money.
	BSE to start MF trading today Mumbai, December 3 Asia's oldest bourse the Bombay Stock Exchange is set to kick off mutual fund trading platform tomorrow with participation from around 20 leading fund houses. "Through this platform, we will be facilitating an inclusive industry-wide participation of mutual fund players. Around 20 MFs are already in agreement with BSE to join the platform," a BSE spokesperson told PTI here today. The funds include Reliance Mutual Fund, Tata, Birla Sun Life, Fidelity, SBI, HDFC, ICICI Prudential, UTI, DBS Cholamandalam, DSP Backpack, JM Finacial, Kotak MF, Edelweiss, Axis, Mirae, Taurus, Deutsche, J P Morgan and Motilal Oswal. The exchange is understood to have selected both NSDL and CDSL as the depositories for the new venture. BSE is launching the platform on the heels of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which kicked off trading in mutual funds early this week. With a view to attract investors, NSE and NSDL have waived all charges in the initial period and the BSE is also expected to follow the suit. Market regulator SEBI recently gave approval for facilitating transactions in MF schemes through the stock exchange infrastructure. At present, there are 37 mutual fund houses operating in the country. Association of Mutual Funds in India is also planning to come with its own MF trading platform by March. — PTI
	Decks cleared for Gucci’s India entry New Delhi, December 3 Italian designer goods maker Gucci can now go ahead with its plans to enter the Indian retail market through single brand stores with the government allowing it to pick up a majority stake in its Indian franchisee Luxury Goods Retail Pvt Ltd. The government has cleared a proposal by Luxury Goods Retail for foreign equity participation of 51 per cent by Gucci Group NV, Netherlands with an investment of Rs 1.04 crore for retailing Gucci brands in the country. Luxury Goods Retail currently sells products under the Gucci brand in India under a franchise agreement. Gucci India had in 2006 entered into a franchise agreement with Murjani Retail for selling its products in the country. The pact was terminated in July 2009 and replaced with a new franchise. — PTI
	International convention centre for Amritsar Varinder Singh Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 3 Egyptian dry fruits like cashewnuts, figs, almonds, almond oil, Pakistani marble and onyx stone artefacts, handicrafts and Burmese jewellery proved to be a big attraction for hundreds of visitors at the Punjab International Trade Expo 09 here. What attracted the visitors most was the Pakistani artefacts and showpieces priced between Rs 50 and Rs 1 lakh a piece like Onyex stone lions, stone lamps, huge and decorative chess boards. Similarly, people made a mad rush to the stalls selling kitchen items ranging from chapatti makers to choppers of varied shapes and varieties. Overwhelmed at the response of people of the holy city, Mohammed Ashraf of Karachi, who was selling onyex handicrafts, said it was for the first time that he had seen such a huge attraction for Pakistani items among people of Punjab. George from Rangoon in Myammar, who handled a jewellery stall, said Ruby jewellery crafted in Burma had attracted a huge crowd, but, there was no sale due to high prices of the artefacts. “We have items ranging from an earring worth Rs 3,000 to a Ruby necklace worth Rs 1.20 lakh. However, there is hardly any buyer so far though we are flooded with onlookers,” he said. The maximum rush of visitors was at the Egyptian sweet shop selling Egyptian delicacies and dry fruits. “The figs, dry fruits and other dry fruits were not only more sweeter than their Indian counterparts but these were also more nutritious,” said Esa Mohammed from Cairo adding that people were lapping up dry fruits of his country inspite of the cost factor. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal also visited the Expo and addressed industrialists. He said in the post licence Raj regime, industry could be lured only by ensuring proper infrastructure, road and air connectivity, besides surplus and cheap power. He announced that the Punjab government would soon set up international convention centre at Amritsar to facilitate business exhibitions. He also agreed to make Punjab Expo an annual feature. Earlier, Rajiv Bali, chairman, PHD Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the Deputy Chief Minister. Badal also released Amritsar City Guide and exhibitor’s catalogue on this occasion.