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Coming up: Ration sugar price hike, rise in FDI limit in insurance
Rs 1.86 lakh crore figure very conservative, says CAG
EC seeks civil society’s help for better voter turnout
CEC VS Sampath in New Delhi on Friday. — PTI |
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Airborne early warning system to
be deployed in Western sector
UPA’s decision on retail FDI illegal: Mamata
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee greets pilgrims at Haj House in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, on Friday. — PTI
Govt mulls sugar imports, farmers threaten stir
Agni-III test-fired successfully
The test-fire of Agni-III ballistic missile at the Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast on Friday. — PTI
HC refers service matters of armed forces to AFT
Be tolerant to check hatred: Lankan Prez
LPG dealers to resume home supply
Indian Navy rescues Maldivian boat
Fuel loading begins at Kudankulam
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Coming up: Ration sugar price hike, rise in FDI limit in insurance
New Delhi, September 21 However, the immediate next on the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs’ agenda next week is to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 49% from 26% and increase the price of retail price of sugar sold through ration shops - suggestions that have the potential to snowball into another political controversy, especially that pertaining to the latter, considering its direct effect on the Below Poverty Line segment in the country. Although the Food Ministry has not recommended any specific figure and has left the sensitive decision to the CCEA, sources say officials have recommended increasing the price of sugar sold through ration shops from the existing Rs 13.50 per kg to around Rs 23 per kg to decrease the subsidy burden on the exchequer. “If the proposal is accepted, the quantum of increase will be decided on the basis of all governing factors,” they say. Coming ahead of the festival season, it is a move that is not expected to go down well with the Opposition parties, which are already on a warpath on various other economy-related issues. It is also the decision that the government will find the trickiest to implement, considering that it affects the bottom rung of the economic ladder in the country. But with Mamata out of the way, some of the in-house problems will be reduced. Officials contend that as far as this particular issue is concerned, the UPA has limited choices. Sugar price was last fixed more than 10 years back in March 2002 and since then, the market dynamics have undergone a major change. The open market price of sugar is hovering around Rs 40-50 a kg depending on the quality. There are allegations that apart from the huge subsidy burden that the government incurs every year by procuring levy sugar at Rs 19.05 a kg from mills and selling it with the subsidy component of Rs 5.55 per kg, a large chunk of this highly subsidised 27 lakh tonne sugar ends up in the open market. The subsidy burden for the government was Rs 1.39 a kg in 2002 when ex-mill price for levy sugar in 2002 was Rs 12.11 a kg. Even though the move is largely expected to benefit the government, sugar stocks are back on buyers’ radar. Experts say their optimism is based on the hope that the next in line of economic reforms may be an increase in ex-mill price of levy sugar to make it more economically sound for the industry. Mills supply levy sugar at 60 per cent of the cost of production, resulting in an annual industry loss of about Rs 2,500-3,000 crore. Mills are obliged to sell a tenth of their annual output to the government for this sale through ration shops. Meanwhile, the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to fast-track the Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill will give its recommendations. Even though it has the blessings of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and president Sonia Gandhi, who, as the head of the National Advisory Council, has been pushing for the law after framing its broad contours, the legislation has been hanging fire for long. The legislation has not gone down too well with the industry and has seen vehement resistance from UPA ministers handling economic and infrastructure portfolios. Their contention that stringent norms of acquisition envisaged in the legislation will discourage industrialisation and urbanisation will be examined by the panel on September 27 after which it will hit the Cabinet. Officials say some “tweaking” in the new Bill may be undertaken to dispel misgivings of states and industry but basic spirit of the Bill has always embodied faster urbanisation and industrialisation. Rural development Minister Jairam Ramesh has also insisted that no dilution would be made in provisions relating to resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R), compensation and consent of landowners.
On fast-track
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Coalgate Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 21 The government has been accusing the CAG of exaggerating the benefit figure of Rs 1.86 lakh crore that resulted from the no-auction policy. CAG Vinod Rai, however, implied that benefits were larger than the auditor estimated. He said the sale price of coal was determined on its sourcing for which three price ranges prevail - imported coal whose average import price in 2010-2011 was Rs 3,677 cr per ton; e-auction for which the average price per ton of National Coal Fields was Rs 2,387 cr; and Coal India’s average sale price per ton for all grades of coal produced in open cast mines, which for 2010-2011, was Rs 1,028 cr. “Audit considered the lowest and the most conservative CIL average price as reference. Thus in the computation of gain to captive block allottees, at worst, the audit can be accused of extreme conservatism only,” Rai told PAC members. The coal scam report of CAG has been referred to PAC after being tabled in Parliament during the monsoon session which was washed out on account of losses to the exchequer. To Congress MPs of PAC who asked why CAG examined allocations starting 2004 and not 1993 — when captive coal blocks for private mining began — to be given through the screening committee, Rai said, “2004 was the watershed year”. He cited how it was in June 2004 that the Coal Ministry first made the concept of auction public; the then Coal Secretary had noted in files that allocations through a screening committee were non-transparent and led to windfall gains to private players; he cited that competitive bidding would tap part of those profits for public purpose. “In August 2004, the Coal Ministry approved the auction policy and directed that draft Cabinet note be prepared. On November 1, 2004, the PMO communicated the PM’s final decision to the change in policy of allocation of coal blocks for captive mining. Hence, 2004 is a watershed year,” CAG said.
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EC seeks civil society’s help for better voter turnout
New Delhi, September 21 Named ‘inclusive voting and electoral participation’, the formal consultation will be held with civil society groups from across the country. In his keynote address at the consultation, Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath called for active support of civil society organisations for higher registration and higher voter turnout. “The ECI’s goal is to build wider social support in favour of participatory democracy and to promote and sustain it through election education and voter participation,” Sampath said. Asking the civil society organisations to sensitise people about issues to help them make informed choices during elections, Election Commissioner HS Brahma said the civil society could be of great value in spreading the ECI’s message of informed and ethical voting. Caitlin Wiesen, Country Director, UN Development Programme (UNDP), commended the ECI’s initiative to partner with the civil society in promoting inclusive voter participation. Wiesen said, "It would strengthen participatory democratic governance." Later, civil society organisations held intense consultation on various aspects of inclusion and participation. The consultation is being organised by the Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation Division of the ECI in association with the UNDP. Over 40 civil society organisations from across the country working in the field of voter education, women empowerment, inclusion and other related fields are participating in the consultation. The consultation aims at coming up with recommendations on six important issues in elections -- meeting gender gap, fighting urban apathy, overcoming youth disconnect, inclusion of marginalised and weaker sections, ethical voting-beyond intimidation and inducements, and electoral services support by NGOs.
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Airborne early warning system to
be deployed in Western sector
Bangalore, September 21 Browne, accompanied by DRDO chief VK Saraswat, was addressing the media after attending a function organised here to celebrate the arrival of the first modified Embraer aircraft from Brazil. Two more modified Embraer-145 jets are slated arrive in India, including one next year, to be mounted with indigenous AEW&C radars. Browne said while the exact places where these aircraft - which are equipped with air-to-air refuelling facility — would be hovering had been already identified, he would not like to disclose these. Successful integration of the indigenous radar with the modified aircraft would pave the way for bigger projects such as the AWACS (India), Browne said. Under the AWACS(I) project, being executed by the DRDO in collaboration with the IAF, 360-degree AESA (active electronically scanned array) radars will be mounted on large aircraft like IL-76 or Boeing or Airbus. AWACS (airborne warning and control system) and AEW&C are considered huge force multipliers in air warfare because they can detect incoming aerial threats, including enemy fighters and cruise missiles, much before ground-based radars. While Pakistan already has four Swedish Saab-2000 AEW&C aircraft with four more Chinese ZDK-03 AWACS in the pipeline, China reportedly has around 20 AWACS. The IAF has only three Phalcon AWACS mounted on IL-76 aircraft with a range of over 400-km and 360-degree coverage by each of these. The IAF is supposed to deploy two more Phalcon AWACS in the near future. Fitting of the Embraer jets with the indigenous AEW&C is known as
the mini-AWACS project. DRDO chief VK Saraswat said that the most complex and challenging phase
of the programme — that of integrating the radar with the aircraft — would begin now.
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UPA’s decision on retail FDI illegal: Mamata
Kolkata, September 21 “We have already withdrawn our support from the
UPA-II, which is now in minority and hence, the decision of the minority government taken last night on acceptance of FDI in retail trade is illegal, immoral and unethical,” the TMC supremo alleged. She said the Centre will have to roll back the diesel price hike, withdraw the decision pertaining to FDI in retail trade and the cap on LPG and “other anti-people steps taken without consulting the partners of the
UPA-II”. The CM was addressing a public meeting at Gaighata, North 24-Parganas, today when the six TMC ministers in the
UPA-II government were tendering their resignations to PM Manmohan Singh in Delhi as per the party’s decision. The decisions of the resignation and the party’s withdrawal of support from the
UPA-II were taken at a meeting in Kolkata two days ago. Mamata said they would now start a nation-wide campaign against the UPA-II’s “pro-capitalist” and “anti-people decisions” for protecting the common men from the onslaught of the Congress. But she did not spell out any future roadmap of the protests and agitations along with other like-minded parties.
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Govt mulls sugar imports, farmers threaten stir
Mumbai, September 21 A section of the sugar industry in Maharashtra had sought from the Centre scrapping of the import duty on raw sugar to bring down prices. Sugar cooperatives in Maharashtra, which are promoted by politicians in the state, are on the forefront in demanding that import duty on raw sugar be abolished. Maharashtra’s Cooperation Minister Harshvardhan Patil raised the demand on the grounds that sugar mills in the state were operating below capacity due to erratic rainfall in cane-producing regions. Sugar cooperatives want to import raw sugar for processing at their factories, which would improve their operational efficiencies, Patil had told leaders of cooperatives in Pune recently. According to the buzz in the sugar industry, ships carrying raw sugar from Brazil are en route to India as importers expect the 10 per cent import duty on raw sugar to be withdrawn by the time they dock at Indian ports.
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HC refers service matters of armed forces to AFT
Chandigarh, September 21 The significance of the order can be gauged from the fact that the HC has disposed of, through the order, nothing less than 31 writ petitions filed by Army personnel “pertaining to the disability pension, dismissal from service, etc.” The bunch comprised writ petitions against the orders passed by the CAT and Regular Second Appeals against the judgments and decrees of the courts below. Taking up the petitions by Naik Prem Singh and other petitioners against the Union of India and other respondents, a Division Bench of the HC asserted the petitions pertaining to the disability pension, dismissal from service, etc. of Army personnel fell within the definition of “service matters” as defined in Section 3(O) of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007. The bench added: “At the outset, counsel for the respondents have raised a preliminary objection by placing reliance on Section 34 read with Section 14 and 3(O) of the Act. A conjoint reading of these Sections would show that all service matters concerning the members of Armed Forces, involving pension and other retiral benefits, pending before this court are required to be transferred to the AFT, Chandigarh Bench, which is constituted for this jurisdiction”.
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Be tolerant to check hatred: Lankan Prez
Sanchi, September 21 The visit of Rajapaksa amid tight security was marked by protests by Vaiko and 750 workers of his Tamil party who were arrested at the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border while setting out on a march to Sanchi, about 45 km from Bhopal. MDMK has been opposing Rajapaksa's visit as they hold him responsible for the alleged atrocities on Tamils in Sri Lanka. "I think the message of tolerance and understanding is of great relevance today, as we see the tragic results of enmity and hatred towards other faiths leading to violence and destruction, and great loss to societies. "This message of tolerance is of equal importance in the East and West alike," Rajapaksa said in his address after laying the foundation stone of the 'Sanchi University of Buddhist and Indic Studies'.
— PTI
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LPG dealers to resume home supply
Chandigarh, September 21 Sources said the LPG dealers, under the aegis of the All-India LPG Distributors Federation, had met officials in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas yesterday. The delegation was assured by the ministry officials that modalities with regards to home delivery of unsubsidised LPG cylinders would be worked out soon and a correct pricing mechanism would be brought into force. The federation held a meeting here today evening and decided to resume the home delivery of cylinders. The LPG distributors in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh had stopped the home delivery of cooking gas cylinders. These dealers had refused to take responsibility for ensuring that only six subsidised cylinders are delivered to each consumer, and in case of default, to take on the financial burden of delivering more than the prescribed limit of subsidised LPG cylinders. The dealers were also demanding a one-price mechanism for LPG distribution.
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Agni-III test-fired successfully
Balasore (Odisha), Sept 21 The indigenously developed surface-to-air missile, capable of carrying a warhead of 1.5 tonnes and protected by a carbon all-composite heat shield, blasted off at 1.15 pm from a mobile launcher at launch complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR), defence sources said. “The trial was successful and met all the mission objectives,” a defence scientist said. The launch operation was carried out by strategic forces command of the Indian Army with logistic support from Defence Research and Development Organisation.
— PTI
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Indian Navy rescues Maldivian boat
New Delhi, September 21 “A 95-feet-long Maldivian mechanical boat with four personnel on board, reported missing at sea off the Southern coast of Maldives since September 17, was rescued by Indian Navy warship INS Shardul yesterday,” the Navy said in a release. The location of the boat was such that beyond that, there is no land till Antarctica. Indian Navy warship INS Shardul and its on board chopper were launched to locate the missing vessel on September 19 following a request from Maldivian authorities.
— TNS
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Fuel loading begins at Kudankulam New Delhi, September 21 "The fuel loading has started on Wednesday," a senior official in the nuclear establishment said. The Kudankulam nuclear plant had run into a rash of protests following concern in the local communities on safety issues in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in March last year. The loading of fuel is expected to take about 10 days, officials said. — PTI
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In the first-ever move to involve civil society members in increasing the voting percentages, the Election Commission of India (ECI) started a two-day consultation process here today.
Named ‘inclusive voting and electoral participation’, the formal consultation will be held with civil society groups from across the country.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has stated that so long as TMC is in power in Bengal, it would not allow any entry of the FDI in the multi-brand retail trade and also any further inroad of foreign investment into any other fields including pension and insurance sectors.
“We have already withdrawn our support from the UPA-II, which is now in minority and hence, the decision of the minority government taken last night on acceptance of FDI in retail trade is illegal, immoral and unethical,” the TMC supremo alleged.
She said the Centre will have to roll back the diesel price hike, withdraw the decision pertaining to FDI in retail trade and the cap on LPG and “other anti-people steps taken without consulting the partners of the
UPA-II”.
Balasore (Odisha), Sept 21
