Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 348
Palash Biswas
Black money: Swiss banks want evidence, India makes list
Updated on Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 18:04 IST Tags:Black money, Swiss bank, Tax
New Delhi: Negotiating with Switzerland for treaty for unearthing black money stashed there, India will take up specific cases with Swiss banks, who on Tuesday said there must be concrete suspicion or evidence of wrongdoing for them to help. 
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A meeting is supposed to take place between Indian and Swiss officials over the issue in December.
Notwithstanding a revision in the Double Taxation Agreement between India and Switzerland, the Swiss Banks have made it clear that even under the new treaty fishing expeditions would not be allowed.
"I believe that India has lodged a request to revise its Double Taxation Agreement with Switzerland... (but) even under the new agreement and according to Organisation of Economic cooperation and Development Model Tax convention... there must be concrete suspicions and evidence of wrongdoing (for sharing the accounts details)," a top official of Swiss Bankers Association said from Basel.
Government sources here said that India is already negotiating with Swiss government for revising double taxation avoidance treaty. The present treaty between the two nations was signed in 1995. SBA's Head of International Communications James Nason said "the privacy of clients innocent of any wrongdoing should remain protected and any unjustified snooping be firmly prohibited."
Commenting on the uproar over Swiss banks not disclosing account details to India, the official questioned whether "banks in every other country of the world pin up the names of their clients on their front door for all to see."
"Citizens have a right to a high degree of privacy concerning their financial affairs," Nason said, adding that the Swiss bank-client confidentiality was never 100 per cent absolute, but sharing of details needed evidence of wrongdoings.
SBA also made it clear that the sharing of details with the US was limited to the accounts that "have clearly been used to commit tax fraud and the like."
"This is not a fishing expedition. This is a search based on very specific search criteria and the whole procedure conforms to existing Swiss law," SBA official added.
Switzerland was previously treating tax fraud and tax evasion differently when considering foreign requests for legal assistance in tax matters, but now it has agreed to give assistance for "all tax offences, including tax evasion."
"The new policy will be implemented through Double Taxation Agreements" such treaties with over 70 countries, including India, were in the process of revised accordingly, the official noted.
The issue of brining back black money stashed in Swiss banks had become a hot topic during the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, and the Supreme Court is also hearing a public interest litigation accusing the government of inaction in bringing the money back to India.
Earlier in May, the government filed an affidavit in the case on the action taken by it on the issue. The PIL was filed by former law minister and eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani and five others seeking a direction to the government to take action to bring back money to the tune of Rs 70 lakh crore lying in foreign banks.
The government counsel said in the court that the government was acting on the issue and noted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his opening speech at the recent G-20 submit in London, had said that "there should be an absolute transparency and banking secrecy should be over."
Late in July, the Prime Minister as also Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, informed Parliament that the action has started for getting back black money belonging to Indians in Swiss banks.
After Swiss banks said that it would now allow "fishing" of accounts to India, political parties accused the government of inaction.
BJP president Rajnath Singh said the government should build up diplomatic pressure on Switzerland, while the CPI(M) wondered why India can't do what America did.
JD(U) accused the government of "not actually wanting to do" anything about it.
Bureau Report
New Delhi: Negotiating with Switzerland for treaty for unearthing black money stashed there, India will take up specific cases with Swiss banks, who on Tuesday said there must be concrete suspicion or evidence of wrongdoing for them to help. | |
|---|
A meeting is supposed to take place between Indian and Swiss officials over the issue in December.
Notwithstanding a revision in the Double Taxation Agreement between India and Switzerland, the Swiss Banks have made it clear that even under the new treaty fishing expeditions would not be allowed.
"I believe that India has lodged a request to revise its Double Taxation Agreement with Switzerland... (but) even under the new agreement and according to Organisation of Economic cooperation and Development Model Tax convention... there must be concrete suspicions and evidence of wrongdoing (for sharing the accounts details)," a top official of Swiss Bankers Association said from Basel.
Government sources here said that India is already negotiating with Swiss government for revising double taxation avoidance treaty. The present treaty between the two nations was signed in 1995. SBA's Head of International Communications James Nason said "the privacy of clients innocent of any wrongdoing should remain protected and any unjustified snooping be firmly prohibited."
Commenting on the uproar over Swiss banks not disclosing account details to India, the official questioned whether "banks in every other country of the world pin up the names of their clients on their front door for all to see."
"Citizens have a right to a high degree of privacy concerning their financial affairs," Nason said, adding that the Swiss bank-client confidentiality was never 100 per cent absolute, but sharing of details needed evidence of wrongdoings.
SBA also made it clear that the sharing of details with the US was limited to the accounts that "have clearly been used to commit tax fraud and the like."
"This is not a fishing expedition. This is a search based on very specific search criteria and the whole procedure conforms to existing Swiss law," SBA official added.
Switzerland was previously treating tax fraud and tax evasion differently when considering foreign requests for legal assistance in tax matters, but now it has agreed to give assistance for "all tax offences, including tax evasion."
"The new policy will be implemented through Double Taxation Agreements" such treaties with over 70 countries, including India, were in the process of revised accordingly, the official noted.
The issue of brining back black money stashed in Swiss banks had become a hot topic during the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, and the Supreme Court is also hearing a public interest litigation accusing the government of inaction in bringing the money back to India.
Earlier in May, the government filed an affidavit in the case on the action taken by it on the issue. The PIL was filed by former law minister and eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani and five others seeking a direction to the government to take action to bring back money to the tune of Rs 70 lakh crore lying in foreign banks.
The government counsel said in the court that the government was acting on the issue and noted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his opening speech at the recent G-20 submit in London, had said that "there should be an absolute transparency and banking secrecy should be over."
Late in July, the Prime Minister as also Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, informed Parliament that the action has started for getting back black money belonging to Indians in Swiss banks.
After Swiss banks said that it would now allow "fishing" of accounts to India, political parties accused the government of inaction.
BJP president Rajnath Singh said the government should build up diplomatic pressure on Switzerland, while the CPI(M) wondered why India can't do what America did.
JD(U) accused the government of "not actually wanting to do" anything about it.
Bureau Report
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From van-rickshaw to land deal saddle | |||
| OUR BUREAU | |||
Calcutta, Aug. 24: Gaffar Mollah, the man at the centre of the Vedic Village flare-up, started out as a van-rickshaw driver but struck it rich by facilitating land deals for realtors keen to ride the property boom in North 24-Parganas. The birth of the luxury resort in the late nineties marked a turning point in Gaffar's transition from driving a van-rickshaw — and later a lorry — to steering far more rewarding deals in real estate. As police hunted for him on Monday, Chandpur Champagachi village was abuzz with stories about how the 38-year-old had raised a 150-strong mastan bahini (army of toughs) to arm-twist property owners and occupants who were reluctant to sell. "Vedic Village came up right next to where he lived, and his fortunes rose along with that of the resort," said a neighbour. "The police are looking for Gaffar Mollah and his associates, who are part of the land mafia and also have connections with Vedic Village," home secretary Ardhendu Sen said, without explaining what the law enforcement agencies had been doing if they were privy to such information. In less than a decade, Gaffar — a mason's son who used to share a hut with his parents and nine siblings — went from being a poverty-stricken villager to the owner of a Bolero and a two-storeyed house flaunting Belgian glass on the windows. The land dealer, who neighbours said fled the house along with his wife and four children a little after midnight yesterday, also got into the police's bad books along the way. "There are several pending cases against his name, including for murder," said an officer. Gaffar's parents and siblings still live in shanties adjoining the house that he built, though neighbours say all of them have benefited from his prosperity and clout in some way or the other. Apart from brokering land deals, Gaffar is known to be close to some CPM leaders and criminals who provided weapons to his personal army. Around two years ago, he started supplying building materials. "He would also meddle in dealings between realtors and other suppliers. His reach extended to 21 villages and nobody dared oppose him," said Rahamat Miyan, a building materials supplier who added that Gaffar owed him Rs 36,000. "Gaffar's aides would threaten me whenever I asked for the money," Miyan said. Zakir Hussain, a cousin of Gaffar, said he had severed ties with him because of his reputation. "We have nothing to do with that family," he said. A neighbour who works as a mason pointed to the locked gate leading from Gaffar's plot to Vedic Village. "His lifestyle changed after that resort came up. He later developed ties with other realtors. A picture of him on the rogues' gallery of Rajarhat police station was taken off at the behest of his realtor friends," the neighbour said. Henchmen Alauddin Mondal, Mintu Molla and Nendu — all three are absconding — controlled Gaffar's mastan bahini, investigators said. Raj Kishore Modi, the managing director of Vedic Realty, which built the luxury resort and ownership bungalows, said: "Many local residents have been associated with our project as brokers and materials suppliers. Gaffar might be one of them, but he was certainly not on our payroll." |
Human-reared crocodiles prey on humans | ||
| LALMOHAN PATNAIK | ||
Cuttack, Aug. 24: An unintended horror has visited villages around the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary as a conservation programme that "rears and releases" crocodiles threatens to go wrong. Endangered saltwater crocodiles are gliding out of the sanctuary's rivers and creeks at will to hunt for humans in the neighbourhood, with wildlife experts blaming a fault in the conservation project. They stressed that conservation itself is a laudable objective but the possible loophole should be plugged. All reptiles tend to return to their birthplace, an expert said, and at Bhitarkanika, the crocodiles are being released too far away from where they are being hatched, causing them to stray as they try to return. Lying in wait near the banks of rivers they are entering, the reptiles have killed and eaten three villagers in the past 20 days, terrorising a population of 30,000 living downstream of the river Brahmani. The crocodiles have been hunting on ground too, even dragging people off their crop fields. The forest department hired squads of skilled fishermen a month ago to beat back straying crocodiles. But the killings have continued in Rajnagar and Rajkanika, some 80km from here in coastal Kendrapara, with villagers alleging the government "cares more for crocodiles than human beings". Saltwater or estuarine crocodiles are one of the world's largest and fiercest predators, can grow up to 20 feet and 1.5 tonnes, and are capable of explosive charges from water or over land. Sanjukta Behera, 30, became the latest victim on Saturday, pulled into the river which flows near the backyard of her home in Mahuri village. "Sanjukta and I had walked to the river to wash utensils. The crocodile was hiding in the undergrowth," said Rebati Behera, 32. "Sanjukta did not notice the animal till it pounced on her." The villagers protested against the crocodile conservation programme in front of the local block office later in the day. "The government has been lukewarm to our protests. It seems to care more for crocodiles than human beings," said Niranjan Behera. Biswajit Mohanty, secretary, Wildlife Society of Orissa, explained the government's mistake. "The hatching is being done at one place (Dangmahal) and the release at another (Bausagada, 12km to 19km away). The crocodiles are returning to their original place of hatching, resulting in overcrowding. The hatching should have been distributed over the area where they plan to release the reptiles," he said. Mohanty added that the depletion of food for the crocodiles because of unchecked illegal fishing was also driving them out of their habitat into the Brahmani, and onwards into the Kharashrota, Hansua and Gobari rivers that flow near villages. Officials of the Rajnagar forest division admit that complaints are pouring in about crocodile attacks. Anadi Barik, 60, was killed while taking an early-morning bath in the river at Ranipokhari on August 10. Chanchala Digal, 50, was killed at Trilochanpur on August 4. Earlier, Bidyadhar Rout, 25, of Barajapur and Debendra Kumar Das, 24, of Vekta had been dragged from their fields. "We have hired four groups of four fishermen each on yearly contracts. Their job is to find the straying reptiles and chase them back into the Bhitarkanika river system," said Manas Ranjan Parida, a forest range officer in Kendrapada. The latest census had counted 1,572 estuarine crocodiles in Bhitarkanika, one of them the planet's largest crocodile at 7.1 metres or 23 feet. |
Haul of guns and goons in resort Govt blames mafia tactics | ||
| OUR BUREAU | ||
Calcutta, Aug. 24: Weapons have been found in a labour hutment in Vedic Village and the government cast aspersions on land acquisition tactics, prising open a can of worms that tumbled out because of yesterday's arson attack on the resort. Police stumbled on a cache of arms and ammunition — six improvised guns and 22 bombs and explosive devices — from the labour wing in the complex and arrested eight persons from the hutment. The eight are suspected to be the henchmen of Gaffar Mollah, an alleged land shark whose brawl with a rival soccer team in a nearby field led to the death of a teenager and triggered yesterday's backlash that gutted at least 10 per cent of the establishments in the 125-acre complex. Gaffar is absconding. "The goons who had rushed inside the resort with guns and bombs had left the arms and ammunition in the hutment," said Raj Kishore Modi, the managing director of Vedic Realty, the promoters of the resort-cum-bungalow project. Told that the weapons were placed in perfect order in the hutment, not strewn around as they would have been if left in haste by fleeing miscreants, Modi said: "These are not important details." Asked twice how the eight arrested could stay in the complex unnoticed for so long — the goons had allegedly rushed in before 6pm on Sunday and the police put the time of arrest at noon on Monday — Modi skipped the question. Queried the third time, Modi said: "We are still collecting the details. We don't have all the details of those arrested." So far, 18 persons have been arrested — the eight have been charged with murder while the rest are booked for vandalism. State home secretary Ardhendu Sen linked the rampage to local discontent with land sharks. "I would not hesitate to say that land was being purchased at gunpoint for the project and local people didn't like that," said Sen. The state government, however, had extended all help to the promoters of Vedic Village in the past few years to develop the luxury resort. The group is also developing an IT park in the area, the future of which looks uncertain now. "The police are looking for Gaffar Mollah and his associates, who are part of the land mafia and also have connections with Vedic Village," said the home secretary. According to Sen, the resort authorities were buying land to expand their project and Gaffar and his men were involved. Vedic Realty's Modi claimed that the company had stopped acquiring a land "long time ago". But villagers said the land mafia was very much active in the area to scoop up land for Vedic Village. "Gaffar is their main man…. These people not only forced us to sell off our land, they also failed to pay the right price," said a resident of Chandpur Champagachi village. Acquisition for Vedic Village started in 1999, when the price of land ranged between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 per cottah. In the past few years, land prices have soared to between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh per cottah, depending on the distance from paved road. Jamir Sardar, a resident of Shikharpur village, identified himself as a victim of Gaffar's muscle power. The 44-year-old said he had to part with his four-cottah-plus plot, located in Bishnupur mouza, in January 2008 under pressure from Gaffar. "My land was located close to the main road and the going rate then was Rs 3 lakh per cottah. But I got only Rs 1.75 lakh per cottah," said the autorickshaw driver who was a farmer till a year ago. Vedic Village is built over 125 acres of land out of which 75 per cent was acquired by the promoters directly from the villagers. Modi, however, said: "A lot of villagers sold us their land at the prevailing rates of those times. Today the rates have gone up…. Now these people are disgruntled and are trying to create unrest." |
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Vedic Village mob violence rattles realtors
KOLKATA: City realtors are shocked by the arson at Vedic Village in Rajarhat and fear that unless strong action is taken, investor and buyer
Terming the incident unfortunate, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) national president Santosh Rungta said it had raised basic concerns of how effective the administration is in tackling law and order problems.
"It is baffling how a row over a football match could have triggered such chaos, igniting mob violence. It also points to the poor response time of both police and fire brigade. At a Bengal Chamber of Commerce meeting held a couple of months ago, state home secretary Ardhendu Sen had hinted at a Brihottor Kolkata Police (force for greater Kolkata) that would bring adjoining areas like Salt Lake and New Town under its fold. This incident should hasten the formation of such a force because the regimen of Kolkata Police is definitely more superior than the force in the district," said Rungta, who has a number of projects in the Rajarhat belt.
Other than Action Area I, the other condominium developments in New Town are isolated. Security is a big concern and a deterrent. Sunday's incident, close to the pockets of development in Action Area II, has further heightened the concerns.
"After what happened at Vedic Village, I will not move in till there is more buzz and activity in New Town. No one in their right mind would decide to stay there now," said Rajiv Dasgupta, owner of an apartment next to the upcoming City Centre in the satellite township.
"The fears are real," realtor Pradip Kumar Chopra said. "It needs to be allayed with decisive action by the administration. If people don't feel secure to move into peripheral areas, the city's growth will stop. The incident has made me very apprehensive about future projects in the area. If it recurs, builders will look at other cities. We cannot do business in an environment of fear," Chopra said.
Space group director Piyush Bhagat, who was a partner in the Vedic Village project during its initial years, said the incident had already sent wrong signals. "If mob fury can happen in Rajarhat, it can happen in the city as well. It has shaken everyone's confidence. If faith is not restored in a couple of months, it will be disastrous for the sector," he said.
United Credit Belani Group director Sumit Dabriwala, too, termed the incident disastrous but did not think it was symptomatic of a larger malaise. "It is an isolated incident and should be viewed as such. But the response time of police should have been faster. If this is repeated, it'll become a huge challenge," he said.
Ambuja Realty managing director Harsh Neotia, who was the first to build a major project on the city fringes and has substantial investments in New Town, said police need to get to the bottom of what sparked the trouble.
"This is the first time something of this sort has happened since the agitation in the 1970s. I have developments in Raichak. Sushil Mohta has Ibiza on Diamond Harbour Road. There is Lakeland by Ram Ratan Chowdhury. Something like this has never happened before. I hope this is a one-off incident," he said.
Realtors are worried about mob psychosis moving from streets to a private property. "We've had trams and buses burnt at the slightest provocation. The government and administration must come down heavily on such acts. We've been silent for too long," said NK Realtors director Pawan Agarwal.
Neotia felt the mob mentality has deep roots in our psyche, given the agitational politics in a state that has been politically active for decades. "These are deeper socio-cultural issues that need societal addressing. There is no quickfix solution," he said.
But is it also to do with unequal development that widens the gulf between the haves and the have nots rather than bridge it? "Development always begins in pockets and then spreads out. But there is need for corporate social responsibility in the sector. Every development needs to have a human face, whether it be creating an better access road that helps everyone, providing drinking water and sanitation facilities, schools or hospitals," Rungta said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/kolkata-/Vedic-Village-mob-violence-rattles-realtors/articleshow/4930674.cms
Hospitality hub feels the heat | |||
| SUBHRO SAHA | |||
The mob fury that ravaged parts of Vedic Village on Sunday has not just reduced a few thatched roofs to rubble at a resort on the outskirts — it could have singed the city's emerging hospitality hub. For starters, the imminent deal between the Sanjeevani Group, developers of Vedic Village, and international hotel major Best Western for an 80-room luxury property on the Rajarhat campus, could be in jeopardy. The Vedic authorities have already received anxious calls from Best Western. "We were on the verge of sealing the deal by November, which means the rooms could have become operational by this year-end. This sure sets us back by a few months at least. It's extremely unfortunate, but we will bounce back," M.J. Robertson, the director & CEO of Vedic Village, told Metro. The attack on Vedic Village comes even as Calcutta's king-sized hospitality dream along the extended corridor to the airport reels under the downturn blow, with not even 20 per cent of the promised injection of 2,000 new five-star rooms expected to be ready by 2010. Many fear the mob fury — apparently triggered by a potent mix of land acquisition, money deals and muscle power — will blot the city's image for global tourists. "This was the only spa-resort in the city we could sell to international tourists and Vedic had a high foreigner occupancy. This is a big blow to the local tourism industry as security concerns will seriously hit overseas traffic now," lamented Anil Punjabi, the chairman (east) of the Travel Agents' Federation of India. The impact was already being felt at Vedic Village the day after the arson. An elderly couple from Canada, visiting Vedic Village with plans to buy a villa in Phase II, now under construction, are having second thoughts after Sunday's attack in which their car was damaged. Outstation owners of villas at Vedic Village were desperate to get news from the ground. "I got to know of the fire late on Sunday. I have told my local contacts there to visit Vedic Village and inspect how bad the scene is," said Vijay Agarwal, a Goa-based businessman who owns a Whirlpool Home. The Vedic Village violence comes at a time when Bengal is fast gaining a bad name for political violence. "This incident will do nothing to improve that perception. There will surely be some impact on the investment outlook, but I hope it's a short-term setback," said Pradeep Sureka, the president of Credai's state chapter. A staggering 4,000-plus hotel rooms in the organised sector, across all categories, were announced between 2005 and early 2008, riding the resurgent economy in the state. The mood is very different now. Harsh Neotia, whose Ambuja Realty is finishing a 130-room star hotel in the City Centre New Town mall, said: "It's a most unfortunate incident, the real impact of which can only be gauged over a period of time.... It does queer the pitch somewhat for real estate development in that area in the near future at least." Officials at Bengal Unitech Universal, with plans for three star hotels in Rajarhat offering 500-plus keys, were "shocked" by the rampage at Vedic. "It's a shame and all of us who have a stake in New Town are concerned," said Sameer Bahri, who heads the group's operations in the east. At Vedic, the big challenge for the authorities will be restoring the image of the resort. "I feel the property loss is not as much as the impact on the credentials of the resort. People will think twice now. The value of the property may go up or down but if the people lose confidence it will be a big setback," said Ajay Arya, ENT surgeon at Apollo Hospitals, who owns a Garden Villa at Vedic Village. | |||
| WITH INPUTS FROM KARO CHRISTINE KUMAR |
Commercial real estate rentals seem to be bottoming out
Mumbai continues to be the second costliest city in Asia Pacific in terms of prime rental rates. With rent of about USD 800 per sq metre per
With GDP growth expected to bounce back in 2010, India and China would outperform the global markets with a 7-10% growth rate. The early signs of recovery are visible in Delhi and Mumbai markets. Having dropped by 24% in March'09 quarter over the preceding quarter, Mumbai's decline in June'09 was well below 10%. Delhi followed with an 8% decline, which was half of what it was in the quarter before.
The average decline for India in June'09 was 8.3% as against 19% in the quarter prior to that. This showed that the rate of decline in rentals has also slowed down in the June'09 quarter as compared to March'09 quarter. It is believed that rents in these cities have bottomed out. Pune outperformed with just about a 4% decline.
This trend is likely to improve by 2011 when the absorption rate would overcome the supply. With 57 million sq feet of office space expected to be operational by the end of 2009, vacancy rate would continue to be high at 27% in 2010 till it comes down to a little above 20% in 2011.
Talking city wise position, Bangalore is expected to relatively outperform other cities with a low vacancy rate as it has received good response for pre leasing properties.
Companies form telecom and pharma sector seem to be fast taking advantage of the low rentals and expanding their geographic reach. For example recently Aircel and Telenor Unitech wireless signed more than 50000 sq feet of real estate space. As rents become more affordable, we could see more companies scaling up their expansion plans.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/articleshow/4933106.cms
K'taka loses Rs 1,387 cr farm crops due to drought, floods
BANGALORE: The Karnataka government is estimated to have lost about Rs 1,387 crore worth of Kharif crops like paddy and pulses due to drought and "The crop loss due to floods and drought is together estimated to be Rs 1,387 crore during the 2009-10 Kharif season," a state government official said. The drought has damaged Rs 871 crore worth of crop, while excess rain have affected Rs 516 crore of both agricultural and horticultural crops in the state, he said, adding that paddy, jowar, bajra and pulses like green gram and black gram are most affected crops. "A central team is expected to be in the state tomorrow to study the drought situation. We have sought a central assistance of Rs 394 crore and Rs 317 crore to tackle both drought and floods, respectively, in the state," the official said. He further said that the impact of drought has been severe in the state as 16,00,000 hectare of crop area has suffered due to paucity of water, while excess rain have affected 1,34,926 hectare of agricultural crops and 23,000 hectare of horticultural crops, he added. Over 10,000 hectare of paddy area has suffered badly due to heavy rain and drought. The state has planted paddy in 7.05 lakh hectare, below the government's target of 10.50 lakh hectare, according to official data. Farmers in Karnataka have sown Kharif crops in much as 66.38 lakh hectare, it said. | |
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DLF bags1.7kcr Gurgaon mega land deal.India's largest real estate developer DLF has won the bid to acquire 350-acre land parcel in Gurgaon for Rs 1,703 crore in
"The possession of land will be given as and when DLF submits 10% of the total amount (Rs 170 crore), over and above the earnest deposit of Rs 25 crore," Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure development Corporation (HSIIDC) MD Rajesh Arora told ET.
The company has 30 days to deposit 10% of the bid amount, following which the government will issue a formal letter of allotment . The company will have to pay another Rs 100 crore in two instalments in the next two years and rest of the money in equal instalments from third through seventh year.
DLF will be expected to develop a golf course as well as residential and commercial properties on the given land. HSIIDC had invited bids in January for the Gurgaon land, but refloated tender in July after DLF, the sole bidder in the first round, sought easier payment terms.
The financial bids for the land were opened on Tuesday, where DLF had emerged the sole qualified bidder. Other two contenders—country's second largest developer Unitech and Bharti group's Bharti Realtywere disqualified on technical ground. DLF's bid was only marginally better than the reserve price of Rs 1,700 crore.
The Gurgaon land deal is the fourth-largest land deal in India in terms of value after Delhibased BPTP's failed purchase of Rs 5000-crore Noida land in March 2008, Unitech's Rs 3,300-crore buy in Vishakhapatnam in 2007 and Adani's Rs 2,250-crore deal in Mumbai in 2006.
Vedic Village EPISODE in Kolkata has EXPOSED the REALTY Muscle Power as the Management has accepted Mafia connection while India's security council wants more FDI scrutiny!Negotiating with Switzerland for treaty for unearthing black money stashed there, India will take up specific cases with swiss banks, who today said there must be concrete suspicion or evidence of wrongdoing for them to help.
Highly placed sources said that government is in the process of compiling the details and is expected to approach the Swiss authorities with specific cases.
Notwithstanding a revision in the Double Taxation Agreement between India and Switzerland, the Swiss Banks have made it clear that even under the new treaty fishing expeditions would not be allowed.
"I believe that India has lodged a request to revise its Double Taxation Agreement with Switzerland... (but) even under the new agreement and according to Organisation of Economic cooperation and Development Model Tax convention...
Indian Economy depends on Foreign capital Inflow, FDI and FIIs most while it is calaimed, as ZERO Inflation and INFLATED Satyam Asatyam Fundamentals projectd as Public Issues to play INDICES Bullish that India not planning to borrow more than estimate!
Indians spend 30,000 crore annually to deal with outages!
Govt may divest stake in Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam!
The commercial property
"We have seen a strong demand in the residential property market from December-January and now we may see buying activity in the commercial property market post-Diwali," Religare Securities' Associate Vice-President, Suman Memani, told reporters here today.
Banks and financial services would be seen buying office spaces, but IT and ITeS sectors are yet to enter realty market as they are still passing through degrowth.
"We still remain negative on retail segments and expect sentiments to improve only 15-18 months from now as the economy gradually gets back on track," Memani said.
"We believe that there has been a significant rental correction happening in the commercial segment in Tier I and Tier II cities. However, there has not been any erosion of capital value of commercial properties," Memani said.
Lower home loan rates, property price cuts, apartment downsizing, and a recovery in the job market are translating to a pick-up in demand for residential projects as evidenced by an increase in property registration in major cities.
With the improvement in macro-economic conditions as well as buyer affordability, developers witnessed a stronger response to new launches across cities over the past quarter.
Now that property prices have climbed down and the risk of job lay-offs has diminished, the service class is likely to participate actively in property absorption, leading to a strong recovery in residential demand in Q2 FY 10, he said.
Commenting on realty prices, Memani said, "after going into a severe tailspin from January 08 onwards on account of weakening economic dynamics, we believe realty prices have started to bottom out and have already troughed in a few locations. With the return of liquidity to the sector in the form of FDI, QIPs and bank loans in recent months, the balance-sheet position of realty players has started to improve, in turn changing the risk dynamics of the business."
Listed real estate stocks were in the danger zone, a key risk measure for bankruptcy-but with equity infusion, the chances of bankruptcy have diminished, he added.
Most developers are looking to enhance their execution capabilities in this space. If 60 per cent of the planned development is executed, it will improve the balance-sheet of realty players and also enhance buyer affordability, he said.
Realty stock prices corrected 85-95 per cent over January 08-March 09, but have bounced back significantly thereafter. Still, they remain 25-30 per cent of their peaks. With positives like liquidity infusion, stronger balance-sheet positions, a stable reform-oriented Government and an improved employment outlook, "we expect the sectors' fundamentals to improve," he said.
The government may sell 10 percent of its stake through a public offering in power producer Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd, a senior
The Himachal Pradesh government holds 25 percent stake in the firm, while the remaining 75 percent is held by the federal government. "
Himachal Pradesh government has given NOC (to the federal government) and we have supplied them a roadmap for disinvestment in seven months," the company official told reporters. The company currently has a capacity to generate 1,500 megwatt of hydro power and it aims to raise the capacity to 4,800 MW by 2017. He said the roadmap was supplied two months back to the Department of Disinvestment. "We hope listing should happen by the end of this fiscal," the official said.
Indians spend a whopping 30,000 crore every year on fuel and maintenance cost on power back-up equipments
According to a pan-Indian study commissioned by Wartsila India, The Real Cost of Power, the expenses on power generation using inverters, generators and other back-up equipments is almost 80 per cent more than what consumers pay on grid supply.
The operational expenses on generating back-up power in the country are estimated to be around Rs 30,000 crore every year, the study says.
Dwelling on the cost difference, it says a consumer on an average spends 80 per cent above the grid cost when faced with 6-7 hours of load-shedding everyday and the cost increases three-fold if all the appliances like fridge and TV are run on back-up.
On the correlation between the growth of the gross domestic product and power generation capacity, the study suggests that the growth rate for both should be same.
Releasing the study, Wartsila India Managing Director Rakesh Sarin said a 'reliability surcharge' of as little as 50 paisa per unit can support rapid (power generation) capacity build-up in the country.
"This surcharge would be far less than the extra charges consumers incur on back-up equipments," Sarin added.
British oil explorer Cairn Energy said its large Indian oilfields would begin producing oil this week, but warned that meeting targets
Cairn said in a statement on Tuesday the target for completing the second processing train at the Mangala field and an associated pipeline remained the end of 2009, despite the challenges. The company also reported a first-half loss after tax, and before exceptional item, of $20 million.
India yet to review impact of weak monsoon rains!
A panel of Indian ministers will meet on Tuesday to review the impact of patchy monsoon rains and discuss if there is a need to modify some of the steps initiated to manage drought, the media reported. The media did not cite sources for the information. Annual monsoon rains, a key factor in determining the country's farm and overall economic growth, are 26 per cent below normal so far in the season from June, threatening oilseeds and sugarcane crops.
The country's agriculture
"If the dry spell continues for the next month, the situation will be serious as the seed availability in the country will be affected leading to lower output," Deputy Director General (Crop Science) Swapan Kumar Datta said on the sidelines of a two-day Annual Review meeting of Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) Seed Project here.
On tackling the drought in the country, Datta said we need to distribute quality breeder seeds directly to the farmers this year instead of depending on only the certified ones so that the crop for the next season is not affected much.
About 246 districts have been declared drought-hit in the country. There is also a need for enhancing production of oilseeds and pulses to become self sufficient in future, Datta added. ICAR Seed Project was launched to ensure adequate and uniform availability of quality seed to farmers.
India produces enough breeder seeds, which are seeds produced by scientists, out of which only 20 per cent get certified to be distributed among farmers.
"There is a huge gap between the breeder seeds and the certified ones, which needs to be looked into," Datta added.
According to the Directorate of Seed Research (DSR) Mau Project Director Asit Mandal, the seed production is just one fourth of the total requirement in the country.
India is considering strict laws for scrutinising foreign direct investments to thwart security risks, officials said on Tuesday, a
Govt ready to import foodgrains, says FM
While finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the government is ready to import foodgrains to contain the impact of drought
While the global prices were rising in the second and third quarter of 2008, India banned exports of most of the commodities to keep domestic prices under control. But between October and December, the global commodity prices fell due to the financial crisis. However, commodity prices in India did not come down.
Despite WPI in the country declined year-on-year , showing a negative inflation, CPI is ruling at 10-14 %. According to the government data, prices of staple food items in WPI have risen sharply, led by rice, which is up by 15.2%, vegetable by 21.8%, pulses by 15.9%, sugar by 34% and tea and coffee by 25.6%.
In its global economic monitor, Nomura Global Economics said that though India has sufficient buffer stock of rice and wheat at 32.3 million tonnes and 25.3 million tonnes respectively, the prices are rising mainly due to the fact that government machineries do not move quickly enough to sell buffer stock in the open market and take action against the hoarders. The report said that prices for products such as pulses, sugar , oilseeds and coarse cereals , where no such buffer stocks exists, could rise further due to hoarding.
Increase in the minimum support prices (MSP) of commodities has also led to the spurt. But, government sources said that increase in MSP helped revive rural economy, which in turn has generated demand for steel, cement and other consumer items. This helped the other section of economy tide over impact of the global slowdown.
The fear is that when India will enter the global market to purchase foodgrains, prices worldwide will also firm up. This was evident in the case of sugar, whose prices in the global futures market jumped to 28-year high on the news of India's decision to increase sugar import.
The National Security Council (NSC) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wants to arm the government with powers to cancel or suspend FDIs over fears of terror funds entering India and stop any acquisition or mergers that could be against New Delhi's strategic interest.
"The proposal is still under consideration," said Ajay Shankar, Secretary, Industrial Policy and Promotion. "It is still being discussed and no final decision has yet been taken." Police intelligence bureau officials have also suggested top company posts be headed by Indians and not foreigners, especially in the telecoms sector, to reduce the threat of phone calls being intercepted or monitored, officials said.
The NSC in its report wants to scrutinise FDI particularly from countries such as China, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, North Korea, Mauritius and the Cayman Islands before being approved. Although China is still India's biggest trading partner, India has restricted imports of Chinese toys and cheap mobile phones from its neighbour. The NSC report is being circulated among the various ministries for feedback and one official said a final decision would be taken later this year. "We are very open to foreign investment now. We don't see any contradiction," Ajay Shankar, the senior commerce ministry official told Reuters.
A global economic crisis has already slowed down FDI inflows. FDI inflows stood at $8.5 billion in the January-April period, down 45 percent against the same period last year, ministry officials said. Some experts say stricter laws could further slow down FDI inflows into India, but the decision could have been made keeping New Delhi's strategic and security interests in mind. "Most countries are sensitive about their strategic sectors.
It is a familiar pattern India is following," Uday Bhaskar, an expert in strategic affairs said. "On the one hand, countries agree to globalisation. But when it comes to strategic sectors such as energy and defence, there are reservations," Bhaskar, director of National Maritime Foundation, a New Delhi think-tank added.
REUTERS reports:
NEW DELHI: The Indian government has no plans to borrow more than the budget estimate, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters on Tuesday. Drought-relief expenses will be adjusted from higher revenue receipts, he said on the sidelines of an event organised by channel ET Now. The government plans to borrow a record 4.51 trillion rupees in fiscal year 2009/10 (April-March).
Government working to raise income generation:ET Bureau quotes Indian FM
: The Finance
  |
The Finance Minister said that the rate of investment
Reiterating on the fact that India cannot afford to lower its guard, finance minister said that India cannot wish away the impact of global crisis. Government is working to attract investment.
Pranab Mukherjee said the process of economic reforms would continue "in right earnest" to get the economy back on 9% growth path. He said that the Budget addressed some short term imperatives and stressed that government borrowing will not raise interest rates.
Outlining the reform agenda ahead, Mr Mukherjee said the government was moving ahead with setting up an autonomous debt management office and would soon introduce repos in the corporate debt market. On the taxation front, he said all efforts were being made to implement a goods and services tax from next year while the new direct tax code will be presented in parliament after public debate.
"Mitigating the impact of the deficient monsoon and the rural economy is a high priority," he said.
Growth has fallen sharply to 6.7 percent in 2007/08 from rates of around 9 percent seen in recent years as the global financial crisis hit exports and dented consumer confidence.
On reforms, Mukherjee said the government was moving ahead with setting up an autonomous debt management office and all efforts were being made to implement a goods and services tax from next year.
The new tax reform bill will be presented in parliament after public debate and the government would soon introduce repos in the corporate debt market. Presently, only repos in the government bond market
Mukherjee declined to mention a timeframe by when these reforms, which have been mentioned earlier by government officials, would be implemented.
However, he said delayed rains had hit many parts of agri economy and the challenge now was to mitigate the impact of drought.
Emphasising that that offseting impact of poor rains remained a top priority for the government, Mr Mukherjee said government is constantly monitoring the situation and working to ensure availability of food. He said the economy will grow at around 6% in the current financial year.
Education, security, infrastructure need urgent attention: Pramod Bhasin, chairman, NASSCOM
NEW DELHI: With over 2 million IT-BPO employees part of the $50 billion Indian IT exports market doing everything from code writing to
Pramod Bhasin, chairman, Nasscom in an impassioned address to the FM and industry leaders said, "we have the volume, scale, size and market share as our critical competitive advantages. Its time we have public-private partnership that could trigger adoption of technology in the domestic market."
Though he acknowledged there are shortcomings that need to be addressed urgently to achieve the goal of IT for the masses.
Setting a three point agenda he said: The areas that need urgent attention include education, which calls for a complete change so that we have more employable graduates.
Security, not just homeland security but also computer security to tackle threats from hackers and viruses alike. And the third is to urgently address the woefully inadequate public infrastructure be it roads or civic services.
India to meet deficit target despite drought woes
India's fiscal deficit is unlikely to widen further this year, a top policy adviser said on Monday, even as the government spending on
In July, the government projected the fiscal deficit for 2009/10 (April-March) to be 6.8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), a 16-year high, to be funded by a record high market borrowing of 4.51 trillion rupees ($93 billion). However, rain deficit in the June-September monsoon season, is feared to impact crops including rice and sugar and has already sent food prices higher by over 10 percent from the previous year.
"I don't think there is any reason to think that the 6.8 per cent will be crossed," Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of India's Planning Commission, told reporters. Farm Minister Sharad Pawar said food subsidy would top 600 billion rupees this year, about 15 percent higher than what was estimated last month. Economists estimate India's drought relief measures could push up fiscal deficit by $4 billion, or 0.5 percentage points.
In 2002/03, the last major drought year, the federal government's fiscal deficit came in at 5.9 per cent of GDP, higher than the budget estimate of 5.3 per cent. "There are many factors that determine the budget deficit, so whatever happens to one item can get offset by another item, (like) more revenue." Ahluwalia said. Last week, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla said the government would meet drought relief expenses from the existing budget and would not resort to additional borrowing as revenue receipts via direct taxes were expected to rise this year.
India's central bank expects the economy to grow by 6 percent or more, compared with 6.7 per cent last year after three years averaging 9.4 percent. But private economists estimate that a poor farm output, which makes about 17 percent of the country's GDP, could shave off the growth by as much as 2 percentage points. Ahluwalia said the plan panel members including the prime minister will meet on Sept.1 to review the state of the economy.
NCR brokers do a realty 'check' again
24 Aug 2009, 0740 hrs IST, Sanjeev Choudhary, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: The broker-builder nexus that propelled property prices to unreasonable levels to beguile home buyers in the National Capital Region 
Brokers are increasingly underwriting properties in new projects being launched by developers—blocking a large number of apartments during so-called soft-launches, hoping to offload them at a premium to end-buyers after the formal launch.
This will help builders claim huge sales immediately and create an artificial scarcity in the market. But if brokers fail to offload the stock to end-users or long-term investors, property prices may take a beating and the nascent recovery in the residential market may be hit.
"End-users are back in the market and we think we will be able to sell the properties we underwrite," a property dealer in Noida said, claiming he has underwritten several apartments in new projects launched in the area. "Given the interest among home buyers, prices will soon start rising and we can easily extract a premium," he said, requesting anonymity fearing an exposure could spoil his relationship with builders.
The Indian economy, which expanded by a creditable 6.7% in the financial year ended March 2009 despite a global economic downturn, seems to be encouraging speculators in the property market.
Property prices had fallen around 25% in the past one year in Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad. Some analysts had anticipated a further correction in prices this year with a large number of property firms announcing launches after a gap of almost two years. The combination of builders and brokers have now managed to keep prices steady despite a huge increase in supply.
New properties in Gurgaon are being offered at around Rs 3,600 per sq ft while in Noida and Faridabad, prices are hovering around Rs 2,925/sq ft and Rs 2,250/sq ft, respectively.
Brokers usually charge a commission from developers, generally 3-4% of the value of the property. But during the boom, several brokers started underwriting properties slated for launch with the backing of a bunch of investors.
The problem started arising when the property market went into a deep downturn and these broker-underwriters were left with huge unsold stock.
Tax code is unfair to the salaried
The tax rates proposed for the future in the Direct Taxes Code are generally being welcomed. In this hype, one tends to lose sight of the huge
Unable to curb large-scale tax evasion, the I-T department has been eyeing soft targets like salary earners for many years now. The Standard Deduction available to them (a lumpsum deduction for employment-related expenses) was discontinued on the specious ground that these were 'personal expenses.' Then, through the Finance Bill, 2009, the benefit of section 89(1) to salaried people for amounts in excess of Rs.5 lakh, received on account of voluntary retirement, which is exempt under section 10(10C), has been discontinued, though nearly half a dozen high courts have held that both the benefits can be claimed by such taxpayers.
The "most unkindest cut of all" could turn out to be new Code. Consider these:
* For umpteen years, VRS payment, commuted pension
* A person saves during his service period so that when he retires, the drop in his income may be made up, to some extent, by accumulated savings invested in the manner he thinks appropriate. Also, money may be required to meet the family obligations like marriages of the children, their education, unexpected illness, etc. Once the code comes into force, this would be possible only after the payment of income-tax, which could be as high as 30%. This amounts to autocratic decision-making.
* Under the new Code, the salary will also include, inter-alia, the following:-
* The value of rent-free or concessional accommodation provided by the employer, irrespective of whether the employer is government or any other person. The value of rent-free accommodation is to be determined for all employees in identical way.
* The value of any leave travel concession.
* The amount received on encashment of un-availed earned leave or retirement or otherwise.
* Medical reimbursement.
* The value of free or concessional medical treatment paid for or provided by the employers.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Tax-code-is-unfair-to-the-salaried/articleshow/4930845.cms
Gas row: Ministerial group decides to take NTPC's concerns on board
NEW DELHI: A panel of ministers is today believed to have decided to incorporate in the government's petition before Supreme Court, power PSU The group of four ministers or G-4, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, had its final meeting today and decided to either withdraw and amend the Special Leave Petition or file separate affidavit or an interlocutory application this week, a top source said. In its present form, the government is seeking annulment of the part of the Ambani family MoU that provides for dividing gas from RIL's KG-D6 fields between companies run by brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani. Law Minister Verappa Moily said the NTPC issue had been sorted out and there will be no more meetings of G-4. "... that is the stand which we have sorted it out," he told reporters here. Moily said the Petroleum Ministry has already filed an SLP and "if any amendment is to be filed they will do it." Asked what was the specific outcome, he said: "That you can see in the Supreme Court...Now the ball will be in the court of Supreme Court." NTPC, the source said, will not file any petition to become a party to the RIL versus Anil Ambani Group firm RNRL court case in the Supreme Court but was free to appeal in the apex court on any aspect of its case against RIL in the Bombay High Court. NTPC's claim for gas at USD 2.34 per million British thermal unit was a rate RIL had committed in its tender of 2004 and this is likely to be incorporated in the revised SLP, the source said. " (The) Government is committed to protecting NTPC's interest and top law officers are currently deliberating on how to incorporate its claim in the revised SLP," he said. The issue was deliberated at length at the meeting of G-4 ministers that includes Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, besides Mukherjee and Moily. NTPC Chairman and Managing Director R S Sharma besides top law officers were also present at the meeting today. The source said the amendment to the SLP which may be by way of withdrawing the original and filing a fresh or filing an additional affidavit was likely to be done this week. The Supreme Court is to hear the gas dispute on September 1. NTPC has taken RIL to the Bombay High Court seeking supply of 12 million standard cubic meters per day gas for its Kawas and Gandhar expansion projects at USD 2.34 per mmBtu, the same price quoted by Anil Ambani Group firm RNRL to claim at least one-third of the peak output of 80 mmscmd from KG-D6. The source said the revised SLP may state that if NTPC's claim is upheld in the courts then the government will force RIL to sell the gas at rates 44 per cent lower than its approved rate of USD 4.2 per mmBtu. However, RIL will be made to pay royalty, profit petroleum and taxes at USD 4.2 rate. | |
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Politics of the new tax code
At a broad political and philosophical level, the draft direct taxes code unveiled last fortnight by Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram has many
Of India's individual taxpayers, 97% will be charged income tax at only 10%. The new code levies only 10% income tax for a taxable income of up to Rs 10 lakh. Only the remaining 3% of taxpayers fall in the higher taxable income slabs of beyond Rs 10 lakh. The rates for these are prescribed at 20% for up to Rs 25 lakh income and 30% beyond it. We are told these slabs may even be indexed to inflation so that not many changes to income-tax rates be made for a long time. In a sense, one may only see expenditure budgets in the future as there will be no tax rate or exemptions to tinker with!
If the direct taxes code is implemented in its present form, the budget of 2011-12 will be as much of a dream budget as the one in 1997, at least for individual taxpayers. The UPA will bag the political dividends this will generate in the 2013 general elections. This should certainly worry the main opposition party which is currently undergoing a bloodbath over India's pre-independence history.
The proposed direct taxes code seeks to lower the rates while doing away with exemptions at both the individual and corporate levels. At a broad philosophical level, the new income tax code is also an invitation to the rapidly rising class of individual traders, shopkeepers and small businessmen to come clean and declare their income at effective tax rates of 10% to 15%. This is what is expected to widen the tax net hugely and increase compliance.
The incentive to small businessmen to come into the income-tax net will be further strengthened by a transparent goods and services tax (GST) regime which will seek to capture all businesses along the value chain with a clean one-time indirect tax to be shared by the state and Centre.
In a sense, the direct taxes code has to work in tandem with a GST regime which will ensure a large number of small businesses come into the income tax net. So the GST should actually result in a major widening of the income-tax net.
For instance, a small contractor in the construction space, with an annual taxable income of Rs 15 lakh, may be avoiding paying income tax because he buys most of his materials without official billing to avoid cascading local taxes. But with a simple and transparent one-time levy of GST the contractor may bring his activity into the official channel and also pay the new effective tax of around 12.5% on his income.
Jinnah was once committed to a unified India: Sudarshan
NDORE: In the midst of a debate over Mohammad Ali Jinnah's role in Partition, former RSS chief K S Sudarshan has said that the Pakistan founder
"There were many facets to Jinnah. If you read history correctly, he was with Tilak and was committed to a unified India. If (Mahatma) Gandhi had insisted that Partition would not happen, then it wouldn't have happened," he said yesterday on being asked if the Muslim League leader was secular.
Recalling that Gandhi had started the Khilafat movement with the idea that the fight was against the British and if Muslim joined in then their support will help gain independence, Sudarshan said, "But at that time, Jinnah opposed it saying that if the Caliph in Turkey has been dethroned what has India got to do with it.
"Then nobody listened to him. This saddened him. So he quit the Congress and left for England and only returned in 1927," he said.
On Jaswant Singh's expulsion from BJP, he said, "It is an internal matter of the party."
When pointed out that the Sangh had taken a tough stand during his leadership when L K Advani made his comments on Jinnah in Pakistan, Sudarshan said he gave clarifications on the matter later.
Asked if he was satisfied with the clarification, he answered in the affirmative.
What was Kulkarni doing in party for 13 years, asks BJP
NEW DELHI: BJP, which acknowledged the fickleness of its fair weather fans, on Monday hit out at former Advani aide Sudheendra Kulkarni for his
"It took 13 years for Mr Kulkarni to realise that he is not comfortable with the BJP's ideology. That he is out of sync with BJP's beliefs never donned on him when the party was in power. Mr Kulkarni, who made a lateral entry into BJP was given positions of power and authority," BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad said.
Mr Kulkarni, who worked as a close aide of Mr Advani for over a decade, had blamed Sangh parivar's "interference" in the BJP's functioning for the debacle in the last Lok Sabha polls. He had also criticised the way former Union minister Jaswant Singh was expelled from the party.
An ex-Trotskyite, Mr Kulkarni was the co-author of Mr Advani's audacious Jinnah reappraisal project. Mr Advani's advisors had calculated that accrediting Jinnah, the force behind two-nation theory, as a "secularist" would create an ambience that can accommodate the BJP leader's prime ministerial ambitions. Mr Advani, who was swept off his feet by melodrama involved in his interactions with Pakistanis and film songs such as "ghar aya mera pardesi" during banquets at his honour, went along with Mr Kulkarni's script.
Incidentally, it was Mr Jaswant Singh, who was fielded by BJP in 2005 to reject Mr Kulkarni's Jinnah line that found acceptance in the Advani household. "These are the individual and personal views expressed by a member at a gathering which had nothing to do with BJP,'' Mr Jaswant Singh had told reporters at a press conference in Delhi on June 21, 2005.
Since the days of the NDA government, Mr Kulkarni had pushed the theory that BJP could not hope to increase its tally in the Lok Sabha without co-opting Muslims. On the eve of the general election in 2004, he had floated the proposal to organise ``Vajpayee Himayat Yatra'' — a project to enlist the support of the Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. The yatra bus had Pervez Musharraf's photograph pasted on it as Mr Kulkarni calculated that Mr Musharraf had a large following among Indian Muslims. The yatra flopped miserably, and BJP ended up with just 10 seats in the politically-crucial state.
Mr Kulkarni was involved in Mr Advani's image building efforts during the last Lok Sabha polls. It was Mr Kulkarni and his friends that advised Mr Advani to conduct a personality-oriented campaign in the election. The results have proved that the BJP's slogan "Mazboot neta, nirnayak sarkar" just did not connect with the people.
Will recovery go global?
Before we get too giddy about any US economic "recovery," we should remember that the preceding economic collapse was global. No recovery Developing countries would seem to be the obvious replacement for American spending as the world's economic motor. These countries already account for nearly half of global economic output, estimates the International Monetary Fund. China (11.4 percent), India (4.8 percent) and Brazil (2.9 percent) alone represent nearly a fifth. By comparison, the United States is also a fifth. All these societies have huge needs for housing, consumer goods, health care and more. Except as a job creator, export-led growth doesn't make much sense. Logically, these countries should produce more for themselves and less for export. Stronger domestic spending would also increase their demand for imports. As a result, the United States would export more and import less. What economists call "global imbalances" — big US trade deficits matched by big surpluses in China and elsewhere — would shrink. World economic growth would revive. Problem solved. Just possibly, this transformation is starting. Other countries have stimulated their economies, most conspicuously China. Government spending increased; credit eased. China expanded at an impressive 7.9 percent rate in the second quarter. "Asia's Astonishing Rebound," headlines The Economist, which also notes fast growth in Indonesia and South Korea. As for India, the IMF reckons it will grow 5.4 percent this year and 6.5 percent next. Brazil's long-term prospects are good, judges Norman Gall, an American who heads the Fernand Braudel Institute in Sao Paulo. The country has a "strong industrial base and energetic and creative entrepreneurs"; government debt has dropped from 85 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2002 to 65 percent now. Even France and Germany show signs of recovery. Sounds reassuring. Still, there's room for skepticism. If Americans are spending less and saving more, then a balanced global economy requires people elsewhere to spend more and save less. That's the permanent fix, not repeated bursts of temporary economic "stimulus." The large trade imbalances fundamentally stemmed from high saving rates, especially in Asia, that dampened domestic spending and encouraged export-led growth. In 2008, China's saving rate was an astounding 54 percent of GDP, Hong Kong's 35 percent and Taiwan's 28 percent, reports economist Eswar Prasad of Cornell University. The US saving rate, including both households and businesses, was 12 percent of GDP. | |
Top selling automatic cars in India
John Sarkar, ET Bureau
It's your left leg they want. The right can still hang about for the brake and gas pedal. A clutch of carmakers in the country is slowly but steadily pushing the sales of automatic transmissions. Earlier it used to be the domain of small market niches, but with companies such as Honda Siel, SkodaAuto, Hyundai Motor, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz spoiling buyers with an exciting array of models, the sales graph of automatic cars has finally started moving north.
It all started when Maruti Suzuki India, which sells more than half the cars sold in the country today, imported customised automatic Zens (hatchback) for the physically disabled. But now, it is the ease of driving which is tempting buyers.
Check out: Most dependable cars in India
Jaswant is toast of the town: SP wants him, Pak too
IBNLive.com - 43 minutes ago
New Delhi: Senior politician Jaswant Singh has had new doors opened to him after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled him for writing a biography of Pakistan's founder MA Jinnah.
Video: Shourie takes on BJP, Rajnath NDTV.com
NDTV.com Amar Singh invites Jaswant Singh to join Samajwadi Party Hindustan Times
Maoists strike in Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar
Press Trust of India - 1 hour ago
Rourkela/Patna/Ranchi, Aug 25 (PTI) Maoists struck on the second day of their 48-hour bandh in three of the five states -- Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar-- today blowing up a railway station and community centre besides trading fire with the police.
Maoists attack 4 places across 3 states Times Now.tv
Karna HC judge declares his assets
Press Trust of India - 38 minutes ago
Bangalore, Aug 25 (PTI) Karnataka High Court Judge DV Shylendra Kumar, who stirred a hornet's nest by differing with the views of Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan on disclosure of assets by judges of superior courts, has filed a statement on his ...
Justice Kannan, only judge to make assets public Express Buzz
FTN: Is disclosure of judges' wealth mandatory? IBNLive.com
Lashkar suspect arrested from New Delhi railway station
Hindustan Times - 2 hours ago
A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative holding a Pakistani passport as also a Jammu and Kashmir voter identity card was arrested with explosives from the New Delhi railway station in the capital on Tuesday, police said.
Suspected LeT terrorist arrested Press Trust of India
India plans to build $5bn power plant in Iran
Times of India - 2 hours ago
NEW DELHI: State-owned power utility NTPC is planning to build a power plant in Iran worth $5 billion, power secretary HS Brahma said here on Tuesday.
India may build $5.1 bln power station in Iran - govt Reuters India
Talks with Pak not possible till terror ends: India
Times of India - 2 hours ago
NEW DELHI: The second Indian heads of missions meet kicked off on Monday with foreign minister SM Krishna reiterating that it is not possible for India to have meaningful talks with Pakistan at this stage because Islamabad has not done enough against ...
Krishna asks Pak to honour its pledge Economic Times
Advantage Cong in Haryana as BJP & INLD part ways
Economic Times - 10 hours ago
CHANDIGARH: BJP has severed ties with the Indian National Lok Dal and decided to go solo in the forthcoming Haryana assembly elections after INLD refused it equal number of seats in the forthcoming assembly elections.
BJP, INLD part ways for Haryana polls Hindustan Times
10 Bhishmas join Army
Express Buzz - - 11 hours ago
CHENNAI: Strengthening the arms of the Indian Army, the first batch of 10 indigenously built Bhishma –the T-90 tanks rolled out of the Heavy Vehicle Factory in Avadi on Wednesday.
Indian Army inducts first indigenous T-90 tanks Hindustan Times
Solo option gains currency in Cong
Economic Times - 10 hours ago
MUMBAI: Emboldened by its unexpectedly good performance in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress seems to be doing everything it can to put the alliance partner NCP on the back foot.
Mamata-Pawar 'neighbourly' axis Calcutta Telegraph
'Good to go in Oct polls, sans allies' The Statesman
'Two bullets in Ombale's body were fired by Kasab'
Times of India - - 14 hours ago
MUMBAI: A ballistic expert told a special court on Monday that two of the bullets recovered from the body of deceased constable Tukaram Ombale had come from Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab's AK-47 rifle.
Limbavali warns fee guzzling colleges
Daily News & Analysis - - 4 hours ago
Bangalore: Reacting to the increasing number of complaints being registered by students with regard to private engineering colleges charging excess fee, higher education minister Aravind Limbavali on Monday warned these colleges of stringent action.
Comed-K wants govt support Times of India
Limbavali warns overcharging colleges Express Buzz
Near-miss over city airport
Times of India - 13 hours ago
MUMBAI: Two private planes, a Cessna Citation and a Bombardier Challenger, were involved in a horrible mix-up at Mumbai airport on Sunday morning, leading to a near-miss.
Simultaneous takeoffs from main runway Expressindia.com
DGCA may submit report on near-miss at Mumbai airport Business Standard
Accused in double murder case dies in custody
Press Trust of India - 1 hour ago
Chennai, Aug 25 (PTI) A murder accused who was caught by the public and roughed up after he killed a former merchant navy captain and his wife here, died in custody today, a top police official said.
Double murder accused dies in custody Times Now.tv
Neelankarai murders: Killer too is dead News Today
State moves high court over dropping of MCOCA
Times of India - - 10 hours ago
MUMBAI: The state government has moved the Bombay high court to challenge the dropping of all charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against 11 Malegaon blast accused, including former armyman Lt Col Prasad Purohit and ...
Maharashtra govt challenges in Malegaon blast case The Statesman
State govt moves high court to press MCOCA charge Daily News & Analysis
Suspected terrorist opens fire at rly station, one killed
Press Trust of India - 7 hours ago
Ludhiana, Aug 25 (PTI) A suspected terrorist today opened fire at the railway station here, killing a vendor and injuring two GRP head constables when they tried to check his luggage, police said.
Himachal approves 311 mini-hydro projects since December 2007
Sify - 2 hours ago
Himachal Pradesh has approved 311 mini-hydroelectric power projects with a combined generation capacity of 608 MW since December 2007, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said Tuesday.
Govt targeting addl capacity of 1000 MW energy in HP Press Trust of India
Allahabad HC seeks report from police into Joshi case
Zee News - 2 hours ago
Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court Tuesday sought progress report from the police regarding their investigation into arson at UP Congress Committee president Rita Bahuguna Joshi's residence in July this year.
Rita Joshi case: HC notice for Maya India Today
Rita Joshi seeks CBI probe into arson case Times of India
Muthoot scion murder work of a gang: IG
Express Buzz - 3 hours ago
ALAPPUZHA: Paul Muthoot George was stabbed to death by a Changanassery-based 'quotation' team and 11 members of the team have been arrested, said IG Vinson M Paul at a press conference here on Monday evening.
Police arrest Muthoot scion's killer Times Now.tv
Students in oust-Ibobi chorus
Calcutta Telegraph - 15 hours ago
Imphal, Aug. 24: Students today joined the "oust Okram Ibobi Singh" campaign in protest against the July 23 killings while Opposition Manipur Peoples Party urged AICC president Sonia Gandhi to intervene in the state.
MPP writes to Sonia to have Ibobi resign KanglaOnline
Worse killers
The Hindu - - 35 minutes ago
A CHILD SUFFERING from Japanese encephalitis at a hospital in Gorakhpur on September 13, 2005. Uttar Pradesh accounts for the largest number of deaths from the disease in the country, Gorakhpur being its epicentre.
Encephalitis kills 200 in India BBC News
Black money: India to begin talks with Switzerland
Press Trust of India - 26 minutes ago
New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) In the midst of a row over tainted money stashed in banks in Switzerland, the government today said it will begin talks with that country in December for amending the relevant treaty and it was not interested in a "roving ...
Govt may allow repos in corp bonds shortly - Mukherjee Reuters India
Drought will be addressed, growth ensured: Mukherjee Hindustan Times
Maruti rolls out small car Estilo at Rs 3.12-3.95 lakh
Moneycontrol.com - 2 hours ago
Maruti Suzuki has launched its new small car Estilo at Rs 3.12-3.95 lakh. Shinzo Nakanishi, MD, Maruti Suzuki India , says the new Estilo launch price is only introductory.
Maruti Suzuki launches new Estilo Business Standard
Anil Ambani group seeks proper audit of Reliance gas costs
Times of India - 3 hours ago
NEW DELHI: The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has asked the oil ministry to appoint an expert panel to revaluate the high capital expenses claimed by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries for the Krishna-Godavari gas basin.
Govt to file petition in SC to protect NTPC's interest Press Trust of India
Ministerial group to take NTPC concerns on board Business Standard
HCL Tech rises 6%; BSE IT index leads gainers' pack
Economic Times - 1 hour ago
MUMBAI: Shares of HCL Technologies today moved up by nearly six per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company reported a better-than-expected earnings figure for the financial year ended June 30, 2009.
HCL Tech beats street, sees tough pricing environment Reuters India
HCL Tech Q4 beats street; co promises high growth ahead Moneycontrol.com
Daihatsu to India?
Business Standard - 5 hours ago
Toyota Motor Corporation, the world's largest car-maker, is evaluating the Indian market to launch its Daihatsu range of compact cars.
Toyota gears up to make India its small car hub Economic Times
Hospital sale to help Khorakiwala repay Rs 500 cr debt
Business Standard - 4 hours ago
The sale of 10 key proporties will overnight turn Habil Khorakiwala-promoted Wockhardt Hospitals from being among the top four healthcare chains in India to a minnow.
Wockhardt agrees to sell 10 hospitals to Fortis Economic Times
Fortis Healthcare gains 4%; Wockhardt up 2.32% Hindu Business Line
Over 400 IIT-Delhi professors on leave over pay dispute
Sify - 12 minutes ago
Following the protest move of the other Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), over 400 professors of IIT-Delhi went on casual leave Tuesday over pay disparities.
Video: IIT faculty strike work NDTV.com
NDTV.com India rupee trims fall as stx gain; mo-end demand hurts
Reuters India - - 4 hours ago
MUMBAI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee trimmed losses on Tuesday afternoon, helped by a recovery in local shares, but month-end dollar demand from refiners continued to weigh.
Rupee down 20 paise at 48.81 a dollar in early trade Press Trust of India
Authorities take up pilots' strike notice: Jet
Press Trust of India - 3 hours ago
New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) The Regional Labour Commissioner (Central Region) has decided to mediate between Jet Airways and its pilots who have issued a strike notice to protest the airline's decision of not reinstating two terminated employees.
Jet Airways Faces Pilot Strike Threat Wall Street Journal
No alternative to strike, say Express Buzz
Suven Life up 20% on BSE
Hindu Business Line - 6 hours ago
MUMBAI: Shares of Suven Life Sciences on Tuesday surged 20 per cent in morning trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company said it is in talks with four global pharma majors for out-licensing its Alzheimer's molecule.
Suven Life Sciences in demand on Alzheimer drug deal Economic Times
Exploration success ratio at 60-70%: Oil India
Moneycontrol.com - 3 hours ago
NM Borah, CMD, Oil India , says the company's exploration success ratio stood at 60-70%. "We plan to undertake exploratory drilling in Libya by November.
Oil India's exploration success ratio is 60-70% Stock Market Today
Keeping Bernanke adds clarity to cloudy outlook
Reuters - - 20 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's decision to tap US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for another term gives global investors a degree of clarity at a time when the economic outlook remains murky.
Video: AP Source: Fed's Bernanke Picked for Second Term The Associated Press
The Associated Press Obama to Reappoint Bernanke as Fed Chief Wall Street Journal
UP sugar mills want restriction on crushing by khandsari units
Business Standard - - 18 hours ago
Sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh (UP), the country's second largest sugar producing state, are seeking a restriction on the operation of gur and khandsari units until January 15 next year so that more sugarcane is available for crushing by mills.
Sugar flat as trade awaits policy change Reuters India
Deficit won't cross targeted 6.8 per cent: Ahluwalia
domain-B - 1 hour ago
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said India's fiscal deficit will not exceed the projected 6.8 per cent this year, in spite of increased spending on food imports and drought relief that is expected following the poor ...
Only 13 per cent Indians have pension cover
Indian Express - 8 hours ago
Despite having the highest savings ratio in the world, 58 per cent Indians are clueless about how they are going to fund their retirement, says a recently conducted survey, 'The Future of Retirement' by HSBC Life Insurance.
One-fourth Indians without pension coverage: survey Business Standard
BF Utilities board OKs spinning off investment units
Reuters India - 1 hour ago
MUMBAI (Reuters) - BF Utilities said on Tuesday its board has approved hiving off its investment units into a single company - BF Investment Ltd.
BF Utilities to de-merge investment business Moneycontrol.com
BF Utilities to demerge investment business Stock Market Today
Bharti-MTN: Cash may be upped; deal value to remain same
Moneycontrol.com - 5 hours ago
The proposed merger deal between India's Bharti and South African telecom major MTN is headed towards the last lap most of the issues have been resolved, sources close to the development say.
Company Review: Bharti Airtel Livemint
Bharti, MTN Chiefs meet Finance Minister Siliconindia.com
Mahindra Satyam senior VP quits
Economic Times - 10 hours ago
HYDERABAD: Keshab Panda, senior vice-president of Mahindra Satyam, has put in his papers, marking another high-profile exit from the tainted IT firm, the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services.
Mahindra Satyam: Keshab Panda puts his papers MediaMughals | Technology First
Punjab National Bank to raise Rs 500 cr through bonds
Business Standard - 3 hours ago
PTI / Mumbai August 25, 2009, 13:54 IST Public sector lender Punjab National Bank today said it would raise Rs 500 crore through the issue of bonds to meet its business growth and capital requirements.
NEW ISSUE-Punjab National Bank to sell perpetual bonds Reuters India
PNB to raise Rs 5 bn via bonds Myiris.com
Livemint - Equity Bulls - TopNews
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Prosecutor Named to Probe CIA Prisoner AbusesNew York Times - - 4 hours ago By REUTERS WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday named a special prosecutor to probe CIA prisoner abuse cases, a move that could distract President Barack Obama from his drive to reform the healthcare system. Video: Probe into CIA Torture CBSNewsOnline Inside the CIA's haphazard interrogation program The Associated Press Afghan candidates allege widespread vote fraudCNN International - 45 minutes ago KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Last week's elections in Afghanistan have been marred "by widespread fraud and intimidation" which could cast doubt on the legitimacy of the vote, six presidential candidates declared Tuesday. Ryan Jenkins was a 'wonderful, thoughtful' manTelegraph.co.uk - 2 hours ago Ryan Jenkins, the reality TV star who apparently committed suicide after a manhunt was launched for the murderer of his wife, was corrupted by fame, his father has claimed. Murder mystery ends with suicide in Canadian hotel The Associated Press Malaysian court puts caning of woman on holdThe Associated Press - - 59 minutes ago KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - An Islamic court in Malaysia on Tuesday indefinitely put on hold the caning of a woman found guilty of drinking beer, saying the sentence was too harsh, a news report said. Malaysian judge orders review of caning sentence Reuters India Malaysia PM urges caning appeal Aljazeera.net Brown to face Lockerbie questionsBBC News - 1 hour ago Gordon Brown is set to comment for the first time on the release of the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. The prime minister will be asked about the decision to free Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds at a press conference ... Video: Scottish Government Defends Bomber's Release The Associated Press 2 Koreas to Discuss Family ReunionsNew York Times - - 7 hours ago SEOUL - South Korea and North Korea agreed Tuesday to hold talks this week about arranging reunions of families separated by the Korean War more than 55 years ago. Cameroon: Salutary Gap Bridging AllAfrica.com Greek insurers see limited impact from wildfiresReuters - - 47 minutes ago ATHENS, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Greek insurers said on Tuesday they expected claims of property losses from the wildfires that swept through the Athens suburbs to be small, though it was too early to give an accurate figure. Greece claims wildfire victory BBC News Japan minister warns of poll revoltAljazeera.net - 3 hours ago Japan's finance minister has warned the country's ruling party it faces a tough battle in this weekend's elections saying it could spell the end of Taro Aso's tenure as prime minister. Elders group of former statesmen visits MideastAFP - 4 hours ago JERUSALEM - A group of prominent former statesmen and business leaders kicked off a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Tuesday in a bid to encourage Middle East peace efforts. Iran puts leading reformers on trial over unrestReuters - - 36 minutes ago TEHRAN (Reuters) - An Iranian prosecutor called on Tuesday for "maximum punishment" of a senior reformer for acting against national security, a crime punishable by death, in the fourth mass trial of moderates after ... Iran resumes mass trial of opposition figures The Associated Press Iran calls for death penalty on reformists Times Online Obama unpacks his holiday readingguardian.co.uk - 2 hours ago Prezcation ... Obama arrives in Cape Cod at the start of his holiday in Martha's Vineyard. Photograph: Vincent Dewitt/EPA There will be no battered copies of Dan Brown or Dick Francis in the beach bag of Barack Obama as he relaxes at Martha's Vineyard ... Video: Obama Begins Vineyard Vacay The Associated Press Obama and family to relax, have fun during vacation Press Trust of India 14 corpses found in apparent Pakistan revenge attacksAFP - 1 hour ago PESHAWAR, Pakistan - The bodies of 14 men, most of them suspected Taliban, have been found in Pakistan's Swat valley, officials said Tuesday, raising fears of extra-judicial killings or brutal revenge attacks. Bodies found in Pakistan valley BBC News Taiwan seeks to prevent epidemics after floodingThe Associated Press - - 29 minutes ago TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwanese authorities scrambled to disinfect villages Tuesday that were flooded in the worst typhoon to hit the island in 50 years after four soldiers helping with the cleanup were confirmed to have swine flu. A deal in Copenhagen should keep Kyoto's weak enforcementguardian.co.uk - - 25 minutes ago Laser rays set up by Greenpeace write 'CUT CO2' on Takaragaike hill in Kyoto during the last major talks to agree carbon reductions. Q+A-Is the Pakistani Taliban in transition or disarray?Reuters - - 2 hours ago ISLAMABAD, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The naming of a new leader has failed to dispel strong suspicions that the Pakistani Taliban is riven with factional rivalry following the killing of Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike three ... Profile: Zulfiqar Mehsud BBC News Chechen attack kills four policeBBC News - 1 hour ago Four police officers have been killed and another injured in a suicide bombing in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya, reports say. Pakistan urges release of aid cashpileAFP - 1 hour ago ISTANBUL - Pakistan on Tuesday urged the release of billions of dollars of promised international aid for development projects as it argued that economic prosperity was the best way to counter extremism. Forum in Turkey seeks to boost aid to Pakistan The Associated Press Germany exits recession, prospects brightenReuters India - - 41 minutes ago BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany exited recession in the second quarter despite a massive drop in inventories and restocking by firms could spur the economy to faster growth. Chinese Officials Deny Reports About Ethnic Rioting TrialsNew York Times - - 10 minutes ago BEIJING - As reporters gathered in the western region of Xinjiang this week in anticipation of the start of trials related to ethnic riots in July, an official with the news media office of the local Communist Party ... China says no Xinjiang riot trials this week Reuters India Confusion over Xinjiang trials BBC News Afghan journalist killed in Pakistan's Khyber PassReuters India - - 19 hours ago JAMRUD, Pakistan, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead an Afghan journalist known as an outspoken critic of the Taliban as he travelled by bus through Pakistan's Khyber Pass on Monday, a Pakistani government official said. Afghan journalist shot dead in Khyber Agency Daily Times |
age last updated at 12:54 GMT, Tuesday, 25 August 2009 13:54 UK |
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Bernanke to get second term
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