INDIA COUNTRY BRIEF

101019

Basic Political Developments

  • The Shiv Sena Tuesday demanded a ban on burqa, calling the Muslim veil a threat to security interests.
  • Lok Sabha Speaker has tomorrow convened a meeting of leaders of political parties to ensure smooth functioning of the Lower House during the Session.
  • The fourth phase of the Bihar Assembly elections on November 1 is crucial because the districts which brought down the 15-year-old regime of Lalu Prasad Yadav in 2005.
  • The Income Tax department today conducted searches in the premises of businessman and BJP activist and some consortiums in Delhi and around to detect alleged financial irregularities in works related to the Commonwealth Games.
  • The BJP today sought to drag the PMO into it and demanded a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee on Common Wealth Games.

National Economic Trends

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

  • Led by Bharti Airtel, India Inc's outbound mergers and acquisitions deals tally rose to USD 20.76 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal from a meagre USD 527.8 million in the previous year, a study said.
  • The government auditor CAG has accused the Telecom Ministry for undervaluing 2G spectrum, sold to new players in 2008, and held that the allotment price was not "realistic".
  • Nilkamal Ltd today said it has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with US based Cambro Manufacturing Company (Cambro).
  • State Bank of India’s first retail bond issue of Rs 1,000 crore was subscribed over 17 times on the opening day, showing enthused participation from investors.
  • The government today said the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) can consider partnering with the private sector groups to execute their corporate social responsibility projects.
  • Aegis today forayed into Argentina by taking over BPO company Actionline, which has estimated revenues of over USD 50 million annually.
  • Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today said it has received order worth Rs 1,449 crore from DB Power for the Bhaskar Group company's Chhattisgarh project.
  • Bahrain Bay Development BSC, the $2.5bn landmark waterfront community on the north shore of Manama, has announced that its Indian Third Party Developer, the Ajmera Mayfair consortium, intends to invest up to $130 million in residential development within BahrainBay.
  • Telecom regulator TRAI today said it will bring a set of regulations over growing menace of unsolicited commercial calls and messages by this month.
  • Spicejet today said that Sun TV chief Kalanithi Maran and his firm KAL Airways have bought additional 2.28 per cent equity for Rs 43.58 crore.
  • State Bank of India (SBI) has earmarked highest ever fresh lending of Rs 300 crore to encourage commercial dairy farm projects in the state.
  • The public offerings of three bluechip navratna companies -- SAIL, Indian Oil and ONGC -- will hit Dalal Street in the first quarter of next year.
  • Coal India Ltd's Rs 15,000-crore mega initial public offer, the country's largest so far, got demands for 1.57 times of shares on offer hours before closure of the second day of the issue today.

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

  • Indian Oil Corp (IOC) today said its Rs 29,777-crore Paradip refinery in Orissa will be commissioned by March 2012.

Militant Activity/Terrorism (Particularly in Bangalore, Mumbai, Noida, Chennai, Coimbatore)

  • Standoff between security forces and a guerrilla holed up in a mosque in the Kashmir Valley ended Tuesday morning after the gunman succumbed to injuries.
  • A court in Nashik on Monday extended the police custody of Pune German Bakery blast accused Himayat Baig till October 25.

Labor/Social Unrest

  • Violence erupted in Bihar's Gaya District as members of two communities clashed following a dispute over a religious procession.
  • Police said at least five persons sustained bullet injuries in a group clash over immersion of Durga idols at Kulipara in West Bengal today.

Full Text

Basic Political Developments

Shiv Sena demands ban on burqa

Tue, Oct 19 12:41 PM

Mumbai, Oct 19 (IANS) The Shiv Sena Tuesday demanded a ban on burqa, calling the Muslim veil a threat to security interests.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamna, the party said Turkey had once banned the burqa and now France had followed suit.

It said criminals were using the burqa to commit crimes.

It cited how a new born was stolen from the V.N.DesaiHospital here, and how CCTV footage showed a 5.2 feet tall burqa clad person committing the crime.

Earlier, a burqa clad person stole a four-day-old infant from the LokmanyaTilakHospital in Sion.

In Mumbai, many thousands of woman roam around in the burqa, even in public hospitals, but it is not possible to lift the veil of each woman and check their antecedents.

If a security personnel did that, then it led to protests, it said.

The edit contended that Islam has nothing to do with the burqa and that India should ban the veil.

Lok Sabha Speaker calls all-party meet tomorrow

New Delhi, Oct 19 : Ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament that will begin on November 9, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has tomorrow convened a meeting of leaders of political parties to ensure smooth functioning of the Lower House during the Session.

Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD Chief Lalu Prasad, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee and DMK leader T R Baalu have been invited to the meeting.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and his deputy in the ministry V Narayansamy will also be present during the meeting.

A Parliament official today said: ''This is not the customary meeting with the leaders ahead of the commencement of the winter session. This is to discuss the smooth functioning of the house.'' He added, ''The Speaker is anguished over the continuous disruption of question hour. She has always requested the MPs to maintain decorum.'' A Lok Sabha Secretariat notification issued yesterday said the Lower House would start from November 9 and conclude on December 13.

A similar notification from the Upper House was issued on October 15.

US President Barack Obama, who would be on his first state visit to India next month, would address members of both Houses in a joint sitting at the Central Hall of Parliament a day before.

Mr Obama is expected to arrive in India on November 5 on a five-day visit.

Former US President Bill Clinton had addressed a joint sitting during his visit in 2000. But his successor George W Bush, who visited India after six years, could not address a joint sitting of the Union Legislature in the face of the threat of the Left Parties to boycott his speech in protest against the US military action in Iraq and the Indo-US nuclear deal, forcing the government to consider certain other venues for an address by the then US President.

Among others who have addressed the joint session was former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who visited India in August 2007.

Fourth phase of Bihar Assembly elections on Nov 1

Patna, Oct 19 (PTI) The districts which brought down the 15-year-old regime of Lalu Prasad Yadav in 2005, will go to the fourth phase of the Assembly elections on November 1.

The 42 assembly seats are spread over Patna, Bhagalpur, Munger, Sheikhpra, Jamui Begusarai, Khagaria and Lakhisarai districts.

Prominent among 575 candidates in the fray, are state BJP stalwarts and ministers, Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Bhagalpur), Nand Kishore Yadav (Patna Sahib) Ramnarayan Mandal (Banka), besides JD(U) minister Damodar Raut.

While JD(U) is contesting from 25 seats, ally BJP is contesting in the remaining 17.

RJD has fielded candidates in 25, and ally LJP in 17.

The Congress and BSP have fielded candidates in all the constituencies.

The CPI-ML (L) is contesting 15 seats, CPI 13 seats while CPI-M is contesting six seats.

I-T raids on firms which got CWG contracts

New Delhi, Oct 19 (PTI) The Income Tax department today conducted searches in the premises of businessman and BJP activist Sudhanshu Mittal and some consortiums in Delhi and around to detect alleged financial irregularities in works related to the Commonwealth Games.

More than 200 officials of the I-T department swooped down on about 30 premises, including in Chandigarh and Ludhiana, of four business consortiums, with a foreign entity in each, to probe contracts worth more than Rs 700 crore which were awarded to execute overlays and other works for the sporting extravaganza.

I-T department sources said that the first consortium-- PICO international and Deepali Designs-- with Mittal as Director and his relatives as other stakeholders, has bagged contracts worth about Rs 230 crore.

BJP ups ante on CWG irregularities, demands JPC probe

New Delhi, Oct 19 (PTI) Going all out against the UPA government on corruption in Commonwealth Games projects, the BJP today sought to drag the PMO into it and demanded a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

At a special press conference here, BJP President Nitin Gadkari targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his entire cabinet, alleging that the Prime Minister himself sanctioned advances to Organising Committee head Suresh Kalmadi.

"Are you not directly responsible for all this mess? Is the whole cabinet not responsible for CWG chaos and corruption?" Gadkari said, raising questions for the Prime Minister.

He also sought to bring Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in the line of fire, saying as members of the Organising Committee they were also accountable.

"His (Kalmadi's) credentials are known to the country.

National Economic Trends

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

India Inc's outbound M&A at $21 bn during Apr-Sep: Assocham

NEW DELHI: Led by Bharti Airtel, India Inc's outbound mergers and acquisitions deals tally rose to USD 20.76 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal from a meagre USD 527.8 million in the previous year, a study said.

"The rise in outbound deals provides clear evidence that the Indian industry is consolidating, and at the same time aggressively working on global expansion," the study by Assocham said.

Total 59 outbound M&A took place during April-September 2010-11 against 27 in the same period of the last financial year.

The study said the total number of M&A deals (outbound, inbound and domestic) increased from 86 in first half of 2009 to 141 during April-September 2010. Of the 141 M&A, 68 were domestic deals and 14 inbound.

In value terms, the overall M&A deals rose 345.16 per cent to USD 52.6 billion during April-September 2010 from USD 11.8 billion in the year-ago period.

The major mergers and acquisitions occurred in telecom, metal and mining and energy sector, the chamber said.

Among the major outbound deals during the period India's telecom major Bharti Airtel completed a deal to buy Kuwait-based Zain Telecom's African business for USD 10.7 billion.

In metal and mining sector Adani Enterprises , India's largest importer of coal, bought coal mine assets in Queensland from Australia's coal-to-liquid company Linc Energy for USD 2.7 billion.

CAG accuses Telecom Ministry of undervaluing 2G spectrum

NEW DELHI: The government auditor CAG has accused the Telecom Ministry for undervaluing 2G spectrum, sold to new players in 2008, and held that the allotment price was not "realistic".

"Policy failed to address the issue of price-discovery of spectrum... The August 2007 Report of Trai brought out that entry fee as it existed in 2001 was not a realistic price for obtaining a license in the changed situation, considering the dynamism and growth of telecom sector and it needs to be reassessed through a market mechanism," the CAG said in its latest report on 2G spectrum.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) is facing allegations of having distributed new telecom licences and spectrum (radio waves) at throwaway prices, causing huge losses to the exchequer.

Nine firms were issued licences, bundled with start up 2G spectrum, in January 2008 at Rs 1,658 crore for pan-India operations.

The CAG report said that the telecom regulator TRAI observed that the value of spectrum was not correctly reflected in the extant pricing model and recommended for delinking of spectrum from allotment.

The report, however, also observed, "... TRAI did not favour any change in 2G spectrum pricing even for new entrants on the grounds that it would affect the principles for level playing field for the new operators."

The government auditor has said that the price at which the spectrum was alloted in 2008 was based on 2001 prices which was quite low and has resulted in a loss to the government exchequer.

The statutory auditor also highlighted that first-come, first-serve basis was not followed in its true sense for the allotment of spectrum.

The CAG also alleged that the DoT decided on cut-off dates twice in November 2007, and later changed it in January 2008 that favoured select companies.

"It was noticed that 13 applicants were even ready with demand drafts drawn on dates prior to the notification of cut-off date and some had even managed securing bank guarantees," the report said.

The CAG report also said that the these benefited applicants had prior information about the documents and high value demand draft, hence they were able to "comply with the LOI conditions within a few hours and in as less as 41 minutes in respect of 22 service areas."

According to CAG, the Telecom Ministry ignored the concerns voiced by the Prime Minister's Office, the Finance Ministry and the Law Ministry and went ahead with 2G spectrum allotment at a price discovered 7 years back.

"The availability of this spectrum has become scarce and the government has to incur huge expenditure for getting it vacated from Defence Authorities by providing alternate media to them," the report said.

Nilkamal enters into JV with US based Cambro

New Delhi, Oct 19 : Moulded furniture manufacturer, Nilkamal Ltd today said it has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with US based Cambro Manufacturing Company (Cambro) to make and import products for the food service and hospitality segment.

''The JV shall carry on the business of manufacturing and importing of extensive range of quality products for the commercial food service and hospitality segment and distribution of such products in India and other territories as has been mutually agreed,'' a company statement said.

Further, the investment by both the companies in the proposed JV will be in the ratio of 50:50, it added.

Cambro has currently manufacturing operations at US, Germany, Turkey and China and sells its products globally through dealers and distributors network all over the world.

SBI’s debut bond sale oversubscribed 17 times

Country’s largest lenderState Bank of India’s first retail bond issue of Rs 1,000 crore was subscribed over 17 times on the opening day, showing enthused participation from investors.

The issue, which opened for subscription yesterday, will close on October 25.

Market sources said that in the bond sale, the portion reserved for wealthy individuals (High Networth Individuals) was subscribed by over 16 times, while that reserved for retail investors was oversubcribed 6.4 times.

The offering comprises issue of bonds worth Rs 500 crore, with an option to raise it further upto Rs 500 crore by issuing additional bonds, with the total aggregating to Rs 1,000 crore.

The bonds would offer an interest of 9.25 per cent for 10 years and 9.5 per cent for 15 years.

Citigroup, Kotak Mahindra Capital and SBI Capital Markets are the managers for the issue. The bonds are proposed to be listed on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE).

The application size for retail investors in the issue is Rs 5 lakh, for HNIs is Rs 250 crore and for qualified institutional buyers (QIB) it is Rs 250 crore.

Market sources said electronic subscriptions were not available for retail investors in the said issue.

They said that the market regulator SEBI has barred electronic subscription for retail investors to avoid confusion at the time of allotment. The bonds would be allotted to all categories on “first come first serve basis” based on the date of application.

SBI scrip were trading 0.31 per cent higher at Rs 3,177 in the morning trade on the BSE.

Govt. asks PSUs to partner Tata in social responsibility

The government today said the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) can consider partnering with the private sector groups like the Tatas to execute their corporate social responsibility projects.

Many of the business houses have been doing CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) for the last 40 years, Secretary in the Department of Public Enterprises Bhaskar Chatterjee said at a Standing Conference of Public Enterprises function here.