New Delhi: The fear of an economic slowdown has turned to be a real one, as for the first time in recent months, India's industrial economy has actually shrunk, which may lead to job cuts, high inflation and more bearish stock markets.
In fact, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has warned of job losses and appealed for urgent measures to tackle the slowdown after the Index of Industrial Production fallen to minus 5.1 per cent in October.
The CII further said a lack of investments can act as a drag on growth and that a continued decline in the mining sector can have consequences on livelihoods. Economic experts say the manufacturing sector is likely to see job losses and warned that inflation will continue to stay high even as the stock markets may continue to be in bear grip.
The industrial output was 1.9 per cent in the month of September and the fall comes after a sustained slowdown over the past few months, led by a steep fall in production of almost sectors, particularly manufacturing, mining and capital goods.
The biggest fall has come in the capital goods as well as in the manufacturing sector and mining. The capital goods growth is at minus 25 per cent while manufacturing activity has declined to minus 6 per cent from 2.1 per cent a month ago.
Factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had grown by 11.3 per cent in October 2010.
The negative growth in factory output pulled down the BSE Sensex by 343 points or 1.12 per cent on Monday to below the 16,000 level after two weeks.
The Sensex, which had lost 664 points in the past two trading sessions, fell further by 343.11 points to end the day at 15,870.35, closing below the 16k level after November 25.
The BSE 30-share benchmark has lost over 1,000 points in the last three sessions, eroding investor wealth by nearly Rs 3 lakh crore.
The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty has also lost 102.10 points or 2.10 per cent to 4,764.60 on Monday.
Though, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Advisor C Rangarajan hoped that the GDP growth will still be between 7-7.5 per cent, it looks hard to achieve due to lack of corrective measures on the part of the UPA Government.
With the headline inflation remained above the 9 per cent-mark since December 2010, the Reserve Bank has hiked interest rates 13 times since March, 2010, to tame inflation.
India Inc had attributed the slowdown to rising interest rates, which have led to an increase in the cost of borrowing, thus hindering fresh investment.
But for long, the political turmoil has prevented the scam-hit UPA Government from taking any major policy decisions.
Some leading industrialists at the annual Indian summit of World Economic Forum has already alleged that the Central Government has been suffering from policy paralysis.
Moreover, a combined attack by the Opposition and some its own allies forced the Government to hold back its decision on allowing FDI in retail sector, which put a big question mark on the ability of the Government to go for any further economic reforms.
As a result, it seems the crisis-hit UPA Government is in no position to infuse the confidence that needed to boost the falling economy, which is already facing turbulence due to gloomy global economic scenario.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Special project for Naxal areas to be extended to 18 more districts
NEW DELHI: Government has decided to expand its ambitious Integrated Action Plan (IAP) being implemented in 60 selected tribal and backward Maoist-affected districts to 18 more districts.
The Union Cabinet has cleared the home ministry's proposal of expanding the project under which the government is carrying out various development schemes like construction of roads, bridges, school building, provide drinking water to rural population, sanitation and electric works.
Of the 18 additional districts which will be covered in the 12th five year plan beginning next fiscal, six are in Andhra Pradesh, three each in Orissa and Jharkhand and two each in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Under the focused development of 60 tribal and backward Maoist districts in nine states, government sanctioned Rs 25 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 30 crore in 2011-12 through which 63,416 projects were sanctioned and 26,593 projects completed, incurring an expenditure of Rs 1,391 crore till November.
The funds for the project are placed at the disposal of a Committee headed by the District Collector which oversees its implementation.
Among the projects undertaken under IAP scheme, drinking water, sanitation and electric lighting together account for nearly 30 per cent of the projects, school infrastructure 16 per cent and anganwadi centres 13.5 per cent.
The first phase of 60 selected districts are: 15 in Orissa, 14 in Jharkhand, 10 in Chhattisgarh, eight in Madhya Pradesh, seven in Bihar, two in Andhra Pradesh, two in Maharashtra and one each in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Naxal violence has been reported in areas falling under 270 police stations in 64 districts in eight states.
The Union Cabinet has cleared the home ministry's proposal of expanding the project under which the government is carrying out various development schemes like construction of roads, bridges, school building, provide drinking water to rural population, sanitation and electric works.
Of the 18 additional districts which will be covered in the 12th five year plan beginning next fiscal, six are in Andhra Pradesh, three each in Orissa and Jharkhand and two each in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Under the focused development of 60 tribal and backward Maoist districts in nine states, government sanctioned Rs 25 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 30 crore in 2011-12 through which 63,416 projects were sanctioned and 26,593 projects completed, incurring an expenditure of Rs 1,391 crore till November.
The funds for the project are placed at the disposal of a Committee headed by the District Collector which oversees its implementation.
Among the projects undertaken under IAP scheme, drinking water, sanitation and electric lighting together account for nearly 30 per cent of the projects, school infrastructure 16 per cent and anganwadi centres 13.5 per cent.
The first phase of 60 selected districts are: 15 in Orissa, 14 in Jharkhand, 10 in Chhattisgarh, eight in Madhya Pradesh, seven in Bihar, two in Andhra Pradesh, two in Maharashtra and one each in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Naxal violence has been reported in areas falling under 270 police stations in 64 districts in eight states.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Indian Govt bows before people's mandate, suspends FDI in retail
New Delhi: The reforms in retail that were meant to signal the end of the government's policy paralysis, have been suspended. The Finance Minister shared this decision with all political parties today and got in return the truce the government desperately needed - Parliament will now get back to work.
That's essential for the government because important legislation is pending. Headlining that list is the Lokpal Bill, intended to combat corruption. Anna Hazare and his team of activists have warned of massive protests, a new hunger strike by the 74-year-old activist, and a campaign against the Congress in five states headed to elections. To prevent this, the government has to deliver a Lokpal Bill that Anna finds acceptable before this Parliament session concludes on December 21.
At a meeting of all political parties, that lasted less than half an hour, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee read out a short statement -"The decision to permit 51% FDI in retail trade is suspended till a consensus is developed through consultations among various stakeholders." Mr Mukherjee then formally shared the same resolution in the Lok Sabha at 11 am. He stressed that the "stakeholders" he referred to include Chief Ministers and political parties. Without the involvement of state governments, he said, the new FDI policy cannot be implemented.
The opposition accepted the government's stand. The BJP's Sushma Swaraj said it is a victory of democracy that has forced the government to bow before the "will of the people."
The Left says that the government's announcement amounts to a "virtual rollback" - a rollback was the pre-requisite declared by the BJP and the Left for parliament to start functioning again. Members of the UPA coalition, however, say the reforms have been paused, not cancelled. Rajiv Shukla, junior minister for parliamentary affairs, said, "They asked for a few clarifications. It has been decided that the Parliament will function from today. The government's decision is that till the time a consensus is reached, the FDI would be suspended."
Taking full credit for the end to the logjam is UPA ally Trinamool Congress, which effectively arm-twisted the government into its climbdown on the reforms move. Looking pleased after the all-party meeting, the Trinamool's Sudip Bandhopadhyay said, "This had already been discussed between Pranab and Mamata earlier, it was just presented to all parties today." Parliament would now function he said, "this is Mukherjee and Banerjee's game."
Mamata Banerjee, the government's biggest ally, indeed owns responsibility for forcing the U-turn on FDI in retail. First, the Trinamool chief made it clear that her party will not support FDI. Then she announced on the weekend that Mr Mukherjee had phoned her to share that the policy would not be implemented for now. Ms Banerjee has the muscle of 18 Lok Sabha MPs. The opposition said that if the government did not rollback its decision, a vote was needed in parliament. With Ms Banerjee making it clear that she would not vote for the government, the math was precarious for the UPA. It would skid through a vote, with a serious dent to its moral authority.
The government had initially said that it would neither defer nor rethink its FDI policy - while stressing the right of the Executive to mandate policy, ministers said that in deference to Ms Banerjee, who is the Chief Minister of West Bengal, states had the right to reject the reforms being introduced. However, there were other states that were keen on FDI, Commerce minister Anand Sharma pointed out. The Prime Minister went public with the assertion that FDI in retail would benefit the country and that it was here, and here to stay. The U-turn is being looked at as a serious dent in the PM's authority.
Now that they have been suspended, sources in the government say the reforms in retail , which will allow the entry of global super-chains like Tesco and Wal-Mart, will be erased from the government's to-do list till after the UP elections, expected within the next few months. There was subtle opposition to the move even within the Congress, partly because of the elections in UP, a key state.
India Inc has made it clear that a suspension of the reforms announced will have disastrous economic consequences. "It's a disappointing, regressive step," said Harsh Mariwala, President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Earlier, FICCI Secretary General Rajiv Kumar had warned that market sentiment would "weakened, decimated.
That's essential for the government because important legislation is pending. Headlining that list is the Lokpal Bill, intended to combat corruption. Anna Hazare and his team of activists have warned of massive protests, a new hunger strike by the 74-year-old activist, and a campaign against the Congress in five states headed to elections. To prevent this, the government has to deliver a Lokpal Bill that Anna finds acceptable before this Parliament session concludes on December 21.
At a meeting of all political parties, that lasted less than half an hour, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee read out a short statement -"The decision to permit 51% FDI in retail trade is suspended till a consensus is developed through consultations among various stakeholders." Mr Mukherjee then formally shared the same resolution in the Lok Sabha at 11 am. He stressed that the "stakeholders" he referred to include Chief Ministers and political parties. Without the involvement of state governments, he said, the new FDI policy cannot be implemented.
The opposition accepted the government's stand. The BJP's Sushma Swaraj said it is a victory of democracy that has forced the government to bow before the "will of the people."
The Left says that the government's announcement amounts to a "virtual rollback" - a rollback was the pre-requisite declared by the BJP and the Left for parliament to start functioning again. Members of the UPA coalition, however, say the reforms have been paused, not cancelled. Rajiv Shukla, junior minister for parliamentary affairs, said, "They asked for a few clarifications. It has been decided that the Parliament will function from today. The government's decision is that till the time a consensus is reached, the FDI would be suspended."
Taking full credit for the end to the logjam is UPA ally Trinamool Congress, which effectively arm-twisted the government into its climbdown on the reforms move. Looking pleased after the all-party meeting, the Trinamool's Sudip Bandhopadhyay said, "This had already been discussed between Pranab and Mamata earlier, it was just presented to all parties today." Parliament would now function he said, "this is Mukherjee and Banerjee's game."
Mamata Banerjee, the government's biggest ally, indeed owns responsibility for forcing the U-turn on FDI in retail. First, the Trinamool chief made it clear that her party will not support FDI. Then she announced on the weekend that Mr Mukherjee had phoned her to share that the policy would not be implemented for now. Ms Banerjee has the muscle of 18 Lok Sabha MPs. The opposition said that if the government did not rollback its decision, a vote was needed in parliament. With Ms Banerjee making it clear that she would not vote for the government, the math was precarious for the UPA. It would skid through a vote, with a serious dent to its moral authority.
The government had initially said that it would neither defer nor rethink its FDI policy - while stressing the right of the Executive to mandate policy, ministers said that in deference to Ms Banerjee, who is the Chief Minister of West Bengal, states had the right to reject the reforms being introduced. However, there were other states that were keen on FDI, Commerce minister Anand Sharma pointed out. The Prime Minister went public with the assertion that FDI in retail would benefit the country and that it was here, and here to stay. The U-turn is being looked at as a serious dent in the PM's authority.
Now that they have been suspended, sources in the government say the reforms in retail , which will allow the entry of global super-chains like Tesco and Wal-Mart, will be erased from the government's to-do list till after the UP elections, expected within the next few months. There was subtle opposition to the move even within the Congress, partly because of the elections in UP, a key state.
India Inc has made it clear that a suspension of the reforms announced will have disastrous economic consequences. "It's a disappointing, regressive step," said Harsh Mariwala, President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Earlier, FICCI Secretary General Rajiv Kumar had warned that market sentiment would "weakened, decimated.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Suspend violence, will give dates for talks in 72 hours : Home Ministry's fresh Truce Offer to Maoists
New Delhi: The Centre today offered talks with Maoists and insurgents in the north east with a condition that they should suspend violence.
"Violence does not pay and violence will not pay. The State will not bend before anyone who uses violence as an instrument of policy to achieve political demands... That is why we tell them suspend violence and come for talks and when you come for talks, you will be treated with dignity and honour. And we can resolve your political demands through talks," Home Minister P Chidambaram told a press conference on a day he completed three years in the ministry.
He was replying to questions on the bomb blast in Manipur today and about talks with different insurgents groups in the north east.
"Yes, it applies to maoists also. I have made this statement several times before and I make it again today as I complete three years. Even maoists should suspend violence. We are not asking for more at this stage. Just say there will be no violence and my offer stands," Mr Chidambaram said.
"After consulting Chief Ministers of the States concerned, within 72 hours we will get back to them to fix the dates and venue for starting talks. But they must suspend violence," he said.
Rejecting allegations of fake encounter, Chidambaram said there were "no doubts" that maoist leader Kishenji was killed in a gun battle with security forces in West Bengal last week.
"Reports indicates that he was killed in a gun battle that started on November 22 and concluded on November 23. We have no doubts about the encounter. He was killed in an encounter," he said.
"Violence does not pay and violence will not pay. The State will not bend before anyone who uses violence as an instrument of policy to achieve political demands... That is why we tell them suspend violence and come for talks and when you come for talks, you will be treated with dignity and honour. And we can resolve your political demands through talks," Home Minister P Chidambaram told a press conference on a day he completed three years in the ministry.
He was replying to questions on the bomb blast in Manipur today and about talks with different insurgents groups in the north east.
"Yes, it applies to maoists also. I have made this statement several times before and I make it again today as I complete three years. Even maoists should suspend violence. We are not asking for more at this stage. Just say there will be no violence and my offer stands," Mr Chidambaram said.
"After consulting Chief Ministers of the States concerned, within 72 hours we will get back to them to fix the dates and venue for starting talks. But they must suspend violence," he said.
Rejecting allegations of fake encounter, Chidambaram said there were "no doubts" that maoist leader Kishenji was killed in a gun battle with security forces in West Bengal last week.
"Reports indicates that he was killed in a gun battle that started on November 22 and concluded on November 23. We have no doubts about the encounter. He was killed in an encounter," he said.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
CRPF confirms Kishenji, ellusive Maoist leader, killed in encounter
ishenji, the elusive Maoist leader, has been killed on Thursday evening in a 30-minute gun battle between the rebels and joint forces inside the dense forest of Burishol in West Midnapore, CRPF confirmed. The security forces said that the 207 Cobra battllion killed the Maoist
leader.
“Acting on specific tip-off that few top Maoist leaders, including Kishenji, are hiding inside the dense forest of Burishol the joint force is raiding the forest since Wednesday. Within 30 minutes after we initiated a gun battle on Thursday jawans noticed a body that resembles Kishenji,” said P K Tripathi the superintendent of police of West Midnapore told a television channel.
This is for the second time that the dreaded Maoist leader came in direct confrontation with the joint force.
On March 26, 2010 Kishenji was rumoured to have suffered injuries in a 12-hour gun battle in the Hatishol forest, around 8 kms east of Lalgarh.
The 52-year-old Kishenji, alias Kotteswar Rao, was CPI(Maoist) Politburo and Central Military Commission member. He was charge of the eastern regional bureau for the Maoists.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Maoists withdraw ceasefire in WB
West Bengal government's attempt to open peace talks with the Maoists came to a virtual end after the ultras withdrew their ceasefire offer made a month ago for lack of communication from the government.
"As there was no official communication to our letter and demands either from you or the government, so the tenure of the agreement ends," Maoist state secretary Akash in a letter to one of the government-appointed interlocutors said.
The letter, written on October 31, came just a month after an agreement was signed between the Maoists and interolocutors by which they agreed to a ceasefire provided the government suspend the joint forces' operation for a month.
Alleging the Mamata Banerjee government had failed to live up to expectations, the letter said "we want peace and we have tried our level best to cooperate with the interolocutors and the government."
"We declared ceasefire unilaterally and the government not only continued with their operation but at the same time decided to recruit 5,000 policemen and informers from Jangalmahal. The state government is trying to create another Salwa Judum (vigilante groups of civilians) in West Bengal," it said.
The letter alleged the joint forces and Trinamool Congress with its newly formed 'Bhairab Bahini' was terrorising the people of the village and said they were still ready for talks but the government would have to give a written recognition to the 'agreement'.
"We also seek an explanation from the government about its stance and an answer to all our letters. We have nothing new to say", Akash said in the letter.
"As there was no official communication to our letter and demands either from you or the government, so the tenure of the agreement ends," Maoist state secretary Akash in a letter to one of the government-appointed interlocutors said.
The letter, written on October 31, came just a month after an agreement was signed between the Maoists and interolocutors by which they agreed to a ceasefire provided the government suspend the joint forces' operation for a month.
Alleging the Mamata Banerjee government had failed to live up to expectations, the letter said "we want peace and we have tried our level best to cooperate with the interolocutors and the government."
"We declared ceasefire unilaterally and the government not only continued with their operation but at the same time decided to recruit 5,000 policemen and informers from Jangalmahal. The state government is trying to create another Salwa Judum (vigilante groups of civilians) in West Bengal," it said.
The letter alleged the joint forces and Trinamool Congress with its newly formed 'Bhairab Bahini' was terrorising the people of the village and said they were still ready for talks but the government would have to give a written recognition to the 'agreement'.
"We also seek an explanation from the government about its stance and an answer to all our letters. We have nothing new to say", Akash said in the letter.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
A new but quiet strategy to fight Maoists
The center-state combined force has launched the anti-Maoist operation in a full scale to flush out the Maoists from Jangalmahal but this time with an altogether new strategy. Instead of creating too much of hullabaloo, the security personnel are silently carrying out their job mainly by
picking up key Maoist leaders one after another, recovering arms and ammunition and alienating the extremists from the common villagers. Mamata Banerjee’s government has made it clear to the force that the common and innocent people of Jangalmahal must not be harassed during the operation and the think tank of the joint force has designed the blueprint following this strict government instruction.
In order to attain the goal, Cordon and Area Searching Operation (CASO), which was an indispensable part of the anti-Maoist operation earlier, has been opted out this time. At the time of CASO, an entire village or two-three villages had be cordoned of and all villagers had to come out from their residences with their identity proofs. If security personnel suspected some of the villagers, they were detained and brought to the nearest police station or police camp.
Earlier, especially during the Left Front regime, in several occasions, the joint force was accused for doing highhandedness and harassing and assaulting innocent people at the time of carrying out CASO.
“There is always a risk of police excess in CASO. We cannot avoid it. It is then better to avoid the CASO to evade the risk of harassing innocents,” said a senior official of the state police.
“We have been asked to take extra precautions during the operation so that the innocents are not harassed by any means. Therefore, we are carrying out operations on the basis of specific and definite information. We are basically giving priority on pinpointed intelligence inputs,” Praveen Tripathi, superintendent of police in West Midnapore told Hindustan Times.
The arrest of Suman Maity alias Saota, a Maoist area commander, and the recovery of five sophisticated firearms looted from Silda EFR camp from Salboni area on Thursday are the classic examples of the success in this new style of operation.
Sources told the police that Saota was hiding at Shyamapada Mahato’s house in Pairachuli village. When the sleuths crosschecked the information and found it true, the joint force carried out the operation and started cordoning the area.
“But instead of cordoning the entire Pairachuli village, we had just barricaded Mahato’s house and adjacent three houses. These were all to avoid the risk of harassing innocents,” Tripathi told HT.
The arrest of Saota will scale down the influence of the Maoists in a vast area that falls under Salboni and Lalgarh police stations. The security force are putting stress on arresting this type of key and influential leaders so that the extremists and their supporters will find no other option but to leave this path due to lack of leadership.
“At present, to our assessment, the common people of Jangalmahal by and large are against the Maoists. Basically, they do not want to see again the days of bandh, road blockade, strike, violence, abductions and murders. We should take this advantage. But harassment of innocents during the operation can make them hostile to the joint force and the government. Therefore we have to carry out the operation in such a way so that the innocents must not be harassed at any cost. For this, definite intelligence inputs are necessary. And specific intelligence inputs have started coming. Otherwise we could not have got key men like Saota and Jayanta Mahato in recent times,” said an official of the state home department.
Similarly, the force is asked to open the fire if only the Maoists first attack them and if the Maoists try to flee. Again, the firing should be aimed at the lower portion of the target.
picking up key Maoist leaders one after another, recovering arms and ammunition and alienating the extremists from the common villagers. Mamata Banerjee’s government has made it clear to the force that the common and innocent people of Jangalmahal must not be harassed during the operation and the think tank of the joint force has designed the blueprint following this strict government instruction.
In order to attain the goal, Cordon and Area Searching Operation (CASO), which was an indispensable part of the anti-Maoist operation earlier, has been opted out this time. At the time of CASO, an entire village or two-three villages had be cordoned of and all villagers had to come out from their residences with their identity proofs. If security personnel suspected some of the villagers, they were detained and brought to the nearest police station or police camp.
Earlier, especially during the Left Front regime, in several occasions, the joint force was accused for doing highhandedness and harassing and assaulting innocent people at the time of carrying out CASO.
“There is always a risk of police excess in CASO. We cannot avoid it. It is then better to avoid the CASO to evade the risk of harassing innocents,” said a senior official of the state police.
“We have been asked to take extra precautions during the operation so that the innocents are not harassed by any means. Therefore, we are carrying out operations on the basis of specific and definite information. We are basically giving priority on pinpointed intelligence inputs,” Praveen Tripathi, superintendent of police in West Midnapore told Hindustan Times.
The arrest of Suman Maity alias Saota, a Maoist area commander, and the recovery of five sophisticated firearms looted from Silda EFR camp from Salboni area on Thursday are the classic examples of the success in this new style of operation.
Sources told the police that Saota was hiding at Shyamapada Mahato’s house in Pairachuli village. When the sleuths crosschecked the information and found it true, the joint force carried out the operation and started cordoning the area.
“But instead of cordoning the entire Pairachuli village, we had just barricaded Mahato’s house and adjacent three houses. These were all to avoid the risk of harassing innocents,” Tripathi told HT.
The arrest of Saota will scale down the influence of the Maoists in a vast area that falls under Salboni and Lalgarh police stations. The security force are putting stress on arresting this type of key and influential leaders so that the extremists and their supporters will find no other option but to leave this path due to lack of leadership.
“At present, to our assessment, the common people of Jangalmahal by and large are against the Maoists. Basically, they do not want to see again the days of bandh, road blockade, strike, violence, abductions and murders. We should take this advantage. But harassment of innocents during the operation can make them hostile to the joint force and the government. Therefore we have to carry out the operation in such a way so that the innocents must not be harassed at any cost. For this, definite intelligence inputs are necessary. And specific intelligence inputs have started coming. Otherwise we could not have got key men like Saota and Jayanta Mahato in recent times,” said an official of the state home department.
Similarly, the force is asked to open the fire if only the Maoists first attack them and if the Maoists try to flee. Again, the firing should be aimed at the lower portion of the target.
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