Social Engineering in UP Elections opened the Eyes of RSS to see Indira in Mayawati!

Social Engineering in UP Elections opened the Eyes of RSS to see Indira in Mayawati!

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - One Hundred forty Four

Palash Biswas


Social Engineering in UP Elections opened the Eyes of RSS to see Indira in Mayawati! It wants to have menifested the Hindurashtra with SAMRAS Hindu society as projected in UP results. In fact, dalit movement in the most neglected feudal set up of the COW Belt has got the momentum with Casteology which is well against the Left as well as Right Ideologies and Ruling Comaradors of Hindu Zionist Imperialism!

RSS is trying to communalise the acievement of Dalit Leadership which broke the Zinx of Brahminical supremacy!

Anil Sarkar, the Education Minister of Tripura and a reputed bengali poet rightly understands the chemistry and welcomed Mayawati with writing poems! While, leftists in West bengal blame her sleeping with Enemy! Mayawati has endangered Brahminical supremacy, it is not a good news of Ruling Brahminical Marxists.

Mayawati has spoiled the game! But CPIM and left parties project Pranab Mukherjee as the next President to take away the credit to put in a Kuleen bengali Brahmin in Raiseena hills! So that the Bengali ruling class may continue to prefer Buddha Dev to Mamta Bannerjee, who contrary to the popular Bengali sentiments, proposed Vajpayee as the Next President.

After all Mamata happens to be a brahmin who feels at home with RSS and has not the vision to align with Mayawati`s casteology to overthrow the Absolute Marxists at the Helms!

Kolkat has always been a safe base of the Colonial Rulers! It has become equally safe heaven for the Comrador Comrades! Masses never got any support from Kolkata in their resistance against Feudalism or Imperialism! Kolkata betrayed in1857 and even during Neel Revolt!

Kolkata has no Space or Time for the dalits!
Kolkata drove away all dalit refugees coming from East Bengal out og Benagli Geopolitics and History! And Kolkata is planning to uproot rural Bengal now. Singur and Nandigram happens to be just the beginning.

Resistance of kolkata sems to me just as a good ploy to have maximum milage in Comfort Zone as the Intellegentsia has not any sympathy either for the Dalits or the Minorities. They have been tamed as they knew well about marichjhapi and Keshpur.They know well about the plights of Dalit Refugees in and out of Bengal! It is commercially sensational hot cake to write a poem or any literarry piece on Nandigram! Do they have any commitment to change the Destiny of the Underpreveleged, dalits and Minorities in Bengal.

Market is Open. Global Manusmriti has given an opportunity to have your time of Harvesting!

Indian tycoon buys Scotch whisky distiller! A new cultural breakthrough for Kolkata Unbound!

Contrarily, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Naxalbari uprising, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) has demanded abandonment of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act of 2005, saying it is an anti-peasant and pro-capitalist policy.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Naxalbari movement that was launched in 1967 by Charu Mazumdar, Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal, the CPI-ML (Liberation) has also launched Krishak Jagaran Yatra, a state-wide campaign among peasants from Naxalbari.

An Indian billionaire from Kolkata today completed the £595m takeover of Scotch whisky distiller Whyte & Mackay.Vijay Mallya, head of the spirits giant UB Group, agreed the deal for the Glasgow-based firm. The firm's current owner, Vivian Immerman, took over Whyte & Mackay two years ago. The acquisition by United Spirits, part of the UB Group, offers the tantalising prospect for the Scottish distiller of wider access to India and other large emerging markets like Russia and China. Mr Mallya - dubbed India's Sir Richard Branson after he took his Kingfisher beer brand into airlines - will become chairman and chief executive of the firm, while Mr Immerman will be kept on as his strategic adviser. Whyte & Mackay's self-branded whisky holds around 3% of the UK whisky market. The company, which employs more than 500 staff on sites around Scotland, also owns the Dalmore and Jura brands as well as Vladivar vodka and Glayva liqueur.

Meanwhile,The European Union is holding its 12th film festival here in collaboration with Nandan, the West Bengal Film Centre from May 19 to May 24, showcasing over 17 films, each representing a different country in the EU. Many of the films have already been widely acclaimed in Europe and some had won prestigious prizes in recent years, the sources said, adding the film 'Mother and Mine' from Finland had won prizes at several international festivals. The package included among others, "Persona Non Grata" by Krzysztof Zanussi. One can also view a documentary "Iberia" by Carlo Saura that can also be described as a 'musical film'.

Kolkata served as the capital of India during the British Raj until 1911. Once the centre of modern education, science, culture and politics in India, Kolkata witnessed economic stagnation in the years following India's independence in 1947. However, since the year 2000 an economic rejuvenation has arrested the morbid decline, leading to a spurt in the city's growth. Like other large cities, Kolkata continues to struggle with urbanisation problems like poverty, pollution and traffic congestion.A vibrant city with a distinct socio-political culture, Kolkata is noted for its revolutionary history, ranging from the Indian struggle for independence to the leftist and trade union movements. Referred to as the "Cultural Capital of India", "The City of Processions", and the "City of Joy", the city is known for its literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage.

This is Kolkata Unbound! Shining Kolkata of Marxist Capitalist Chief Minister Of West Bengal who manages DOWS. Salim, Reliance, King Fisher, Bhushan better than state affairs!The flamboyant tycoon has been criticised by the spirits industry for trying to sell cheap Indian whisky in Europe, while New Delhi refuses to scrap import tariffs of up to 550% on Scotch. Industry analysts have said Mr Mallya was keen on acquiring a major UK distiller so he could take advantage of its distribution network to sell his own Indian-made whiskies throughout the UK. But, nevertheless,Vijay Mallya enjoys the support of the Chief Minister!

History of Kolkata
When the British grew tired of the charms of the trading town of Hooghly in 1686, they moved downstream to three villages - Kolikata, Sutanuti and Gobindapur. Led by Job Charnock, an English merchant, the established a factory at Sutanuti on August 24, 1690, the date accepted as the foundation day of modern Calcutta. The British then went on to build a single post out of the three villages. Ten years later, a fort was built near what is today known as BBD Bag and the consolidated city of Calcutta was set up.

In 1707, Calcutta became a separate presidency under the control of the directors of The East India Company. In 1717, Mughal emperor Aurangazeb's grandson Farrukh Siyar gave the Company duty-free trading rights in Bengal for a yearly payment of Rs 3,000. Calcutta became an important port and trading centre.
http://www.kolkatahub.com/travel-in-kolkata/history-of-kolkata.html

History of Kolkata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kolkata (Bangla: ['kolkat?a] (help·info) ??????; formerly named Calcutta (help·info)) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in eastern India on the east bank of the River Hooghly. The city is a colonial city developed by the British East India Company and then the British Empire. The city was the capital of the British Indian empire till 1911 when the capital was relocated to Delhi. Kolkata witnessed a fast rise as the second city of the British Empire in the 1800s accompanied by the development of a culture that was a coalescence of European philosophy with Indian tradition. The city is also noted for its revolutionary history, ranging from Indian struggle for independence to the leftist Naxalite and trade union movements. Labelled the "Cultural Capital of India", "The City of Processions", and the "City of Joy", Kolkata has also been home to luminaries such as Rabindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose, Mother Teresa and Satyajit Ray. Problems related to rapid urbanisation started to plague the city from 1930s and still the city is an example of an urban hotbed of the developing nations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Kolkata
Kolkata
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http://www.historyofbengal.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bengal
http://www.geocities.com/pankajb_ind/Travel/calcutta.htm
http://tanmoy.tripod.com/bengal/ancient.html
http://www.isical.ac.in/~icafmie-06/about%20calcutta.htm
http://www.nvo.com/ghosh_research/historyandhistoricfiguresofbengal/
https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no29297.htm
http://www.indiaheritage.org/history/history_bengal.htm
http://www.abac-usa.org/bsc/chair_speech.html
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~dludden/agrhist_bdesh.htm
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g304558-Activities-c1-Kolkata_Calcutta_West_Bengal.html
http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/AuthorLounge/AuthorDetail.asp?aid=3631
http://www.indiamike.com/india/archive/index.php/t-14427.html
https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no29086.htm


The chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee ’s attempts to rebuild bridges with the antagonised section of the Left intellectuals came to a nought when members of Natya Akademi who had resigned following the carnage at Nandigram refused to withdraw their resignations today.
“The issue over which we had tendered our resignation from Natya Akademi is yet to be resolved. Hence, we have decided against withdrawing our resignation for the time being,” said Mr Chandan Sen after a meeting with other members of the Akademi at Sujata Sadan. In a letter addressed to the chairman, Mr Kumar Ray, the theatre personalities and members of Natya Akademi have communicated their decision.
It may be too early to predict whether the all-party meeting will bring out a solution to the Nandigram crisis, but the efforts of spin-doctors who have been burning the midnight oil, met with some success today.
After talking to Mr Ashok Ghosh over telephone this evening, Ms Mamata Banerjee declared in Delhi that the Trinamul will take part in the all party meeting if it is held at Mahajati Sadan on 26 May. It could not, however, be ascertained whether the CPI-M will have a problem with the date since the party’s politburo meeting is scheduled to be held on 25-26 May. Earlier in the day Forward Bloc state secretary Mr Ashok Ghosh held a meeting with Left Front chairman Mr Biman Bose to discuss some crucial aspects of the proposed meeting, namely agenda, venue and participants. A number of leaders in Forward Bloc, RSP and CPI are still apprehensive about Miss Mamata Banerjee’s “mood swings” and “staunch anti CPI-M attitude”.

Tea workers'death to be raised at UNAds By Google Tapan Das
Kolkata, May 13, 2007

The pathetic and continued deaths of closed and abandoned tea gardens workers in the Dooars and Darjeeling regions will be raised for the first time at the United Nations (UN) through the International Labour Organisation (ILO), says the RSP's Minister of State, PWD, Manohar Tirkey.

Claiming that about 2,500 deaths have occurred since 2000, due to starvation, malnutrition and abject poverty, Tirkey said the plight of workers and their families, numbering nearly one lakh has, become a national shame. It is a slur on the Left Front government of Bengal as well, he charged.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=a22ca804-42d1-4b75-80ff-d7b15c35821a&&Headline=Tea+workers'+death+to+be+raised+at+UN



Drop Scene!

The Lok Sabha was adjourned abruptly before lunch Tuesday after Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members, disrupted the proceedings over what they called 'forced land acquisition' in West Bengal.Banerjee demanded amendments to the Land Acquisitions Act and insisted that the central government respond to her demands immediately. As the treasury benches did not oblige, Banerjee and BJP members disrupted the proceedings, which also provoked some of the left members.The chaotic scenes forced Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to adjourn the house till 2 p.m., 15 minutes ahead of the schedule.


The Left parties, which hold the key to UPA's success in the Presidential election, were appeared to be pushing for their own candidate. The four parties, which met here today to discuss the election, seemed confident that crucial parties like the Samajwadi Party, BSP and others would support their candidate for which they would also seek the UPA's help.At a press conference after the hour-long meeting, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat did not disclose the Left's strategy, saying they had only finalised the criteria which should be fulfilled by the Presidential candidate. No names were finalised, he maintained. The candidate to be "put up by all of us should be a person of political stature, should have requisite political background and experience to fulfil the responsibilities under the Constitution, create a balance between Executive, Judiciary and Legislature and have an integral knowledge of the functioning of the political system", he said. He said the nominee should also be "strongly secular to uphold the secular principles of the Indian state".

On the basis of these criteria, the Left parties have already held a round of consultations with the Congress, RJD, NCP, DMK and other parties both "within the UPA and outside".



The Marxist CM way ahead on the Capitalist way of development does not remembers his uncle , the poet Sukant Bhattachary. Though Buddha himself is a reputed poet! Neither he cares for bengal Heritage, even the recent history!

Over the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violent Marxist-Maoist movement — the Naxalites — damaged much of the city's infrastructure, leading to an economic stagnation. In 1971, war between India and Pakistan led to the mass influx of thousands of refugees into Kolkata resulting in a massive strain on its infrastructure.[11] In the mid-1980s, Mumbai overtook Kolkata as India's most populous city. Kolkata has been a strong base of Indian communism as West Bengal has been ruled by the CPI(M) dominated Left Front for three decades now — the world's longest-running democratically-elected Communist government.[12][13] The city's economic recovery gathered momentum after economic reforms in India introduced by the central government in the mid-1990s. Since 2000, Information Technology (IT) services revitalized the city’s stagnant economy. The city has also experienced a growth in the manufacturing sector.


Sonia Talks about Transparency on SEZ!

Amid debate over Special Economic Zones (SEZ), Congress president Sonia Gandhi today made it clear that land acquisition for SEZs must be done in a transparent manner.

"Our party's position is very clear. Land acquisition for these SEZs, like indeed for any economic activity, must be done in a transparent manner," she said addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting here.

Ministerial war in the offing over Reliance SEZ
domain-B, India - 7 hours ago
Mumbai: Despite chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh`s explicit orders to halt land acquisition notification for the controversy ridden Reliance SEZ, ...
Ban on land acquisition, SEZ who? Afternoon Dispatch & Courier
Reliance SEZ plan in limbo as Rane, Deshmukh face off Financial Express
`No bar on land acquisition for Reliance SEZ` Zee News
all 12 news articles »
Essar Steel VP arrested for customs evasion at Hazira SEZ
Moneycontrol.com, India - 5 hours ago
Essar Steel's Vice President has been arrested for customs duty evasion in Hazira SEZ. Government sources say that Essar could lose SEZ status for Hazira, ...
The essar’s Hazira Steel SEZ may lose tax benefits Economic Times
Essar Steel official nabbed for duty evasion Business Standard
all 4 news articles »
Govt expected to clear new rehabilitation policy on SEZ
Zee News, India - 2 hours ago
New Delhi, May 16: Government is expected to clear "very soon" a new rehabilitation and resettlement policy and a legislation on the issue while effecting ...
Land acquisition must be transparent: Sonia Hindu
Central govt may let states acquire land for SEZs Economic Times
'Farm land for SEZs won't hit food security' Economic Times
Times of India - Business Standard
all 8 news articles »
Gates sez we've sold 40 million Vista licenses
Pocket-lint.co.uk, UK - 9 hours ago
by Amy-Mae Elliott. 16 May 2007 - Bill Gates told a conference of hardware developers yesterday that Microsoft had shifted 40 million Windows Vista licenses ...

Farmers decide not to yield ‘an inch’ for Videocon SEZ
Expressindia.com, India - 19 hours ago
Pune, May 15: While farmers in Wagholi on Tuesday decided against yielding ‘even an inch of land’ for the 1880-hectare Special Economic Zone (SEZ) jointly ...
Videocon SEZ may follow Magarpatta model Pune Newsline
After Maan, Wagholi against land acquisition for SEZ Pune Newsline
all 3 news articles »
Pirro Sez American Le Mans Championship Hunt Is On
PaddockTalk - 22 hours ago
Mission accomplished through four rounds. After winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year, Pirro and Werner reunited with Frank Biela to win overall at ...

New twist in Gurgaon SEZ protest
Indian Muslims, CA - 14 May 2007
Hooda assured a delegation of villagers from Manesar that their houses, falling within the area marked for the SEZ, would neither be acquired nor ...
SEZ plan runs into irate farmers Times of India
all 7 news articles »
Bajaj Auto finetunes SEZ plans in run-up to demerger
Economic Times, India - 14 May 2007
Bajaj Auto is working on a plan to float an auto and auto component SEZ company, converting 260 acres of land to an auto-focused SEZ at Waluj where Bajaj ...



Bangladeshis being driven from land
Global warming is blamed for encroaching rivers
May 16, 2007

BY LAURIE GOERING

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

ANTARPARA, Bangladesh -- Muhammad Ali, a wiry 65-year-old, has never driven a car, run an air conditioner or done much of anything that produces greenhouse gases. But he is on the verge of becoming a climate refugee.In the past 10 years, the farmer has had to tear down and move his tin-and-bamboo house five times to escape the encroaching waters of the huge Jamuna river, swollen by severe monsoon downpours and greater glacier melt in the Himalayas.

Now, the last of his land is gone, and Ali squats on a precarious piece of government-owned riverbank -- the only ground available -- knowing the river will probably take that as well, once the monsoons start this month.

Bangladesh, which has 140 million people packed into an area a little smaller than Illinois, is one of the most vulnerable places to climate change.


http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070516/NEWS07/705160428/1001/NEWS

Outrage over PUCL activist's arrest
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 (Raipur)
There is a growing sense of outrage over the arrest of civil rights activist Binayak Sen in Chhattisgarh on unsubstantiated charges of supporting Naxals.Sen, a pediatrician who has worked in the Naxal-hit villages of Chhattisgarh for many years, was arrested on Monday and sent to Raipur central jail.The police claim his meetings with jailed Naxal leader Narayan Sanyal prove his links with the rebels.But Sen argues that both visits were under police supervision.

''I was not doing anything secret. Whatever I did was in the cause of human rights and not to further the interests of CPI (Maoists),'' he added.
Sen has been involved in developing a low cost health programme for tribals.As a member of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), he has been a vocal critic of the anti-Naxal Salwa Judum movement. He was also at the forefront of a campaign to highlight an alleged fake encounter in Dantewada a fortnight ago in which eight people were killed and four are still missing.


'Clever acts cannot bring peace in Nandigram'Ads By Google
Kolkata, May 15, 2007

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and former PCC chief Somen Mitra have expressed concern about the “mechanism” that the Left Front leaders are working on for the proposed all-party meeting to restore peace in the troubled-torn area of Nandigram in Bengal.Both the Opposition leaders shared their apprehensions in a telephonic conversation that they had on Monday night after they came to know that the Left.Front has agreed to hold the peace meeting on Nandigram at the State level, but has asked Left Front chairman Biman Bose and Forward Bloc State secretary Ashok Ghosh to work out the “mechanisms” of the meeting.

Mamata insists that to make this peace meeting a success, Forward Bloc State secretary Ashok Ghosh, who took the initiative to call this meeting, should be empowered by the Left Front so that his observations and findings become binding on the State government.

Both Somen and Mamata concurred that though they are keen to sit for talks with the Left Front leaders, but the success of the meeting would largely depend on the agenda of the peace meeting and how far the State government was willing to take cognisance of the complaints that the Opposition would make in the meeting.

Left objects to pension fund authority's notification
Left parties today objected to the government's move to allow "back-door" entry to foreign and private firms for managing pension funds and decided to take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The government had last week invited preliminary bids for managing pension funds of central and state government staff. Foreign funds have also been allowed to own up to 26 per cent stake in entities that will be set up by state-owned banks, mutual funds and financial institutions to manage the pension funds. Left parties say only public sector entities should be entrusted with the task of managing these funds.

RR policy promises jobs to displaced families
Times of India - 1 hour ago
NEW DELHI: Government on Wednesday said the Resettlement and Rehabilitation policy for people affected by SEZs and other industrial projects will make it mandatory on the developers to employ at least one person from each displaced family.

Sahara Samay
SBI, Reliance Comm help Sensex hold 14k
Economic Times - 1 hour ago
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex Wednesday managed to close above the 14000 mark, after much push and shove. It had help from State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Reliance Communications, BHEL, and Tata Motors.
Rupee rebounds to close at 40.78/79 a dollar
Economic Times - 1 hour ago
PTI [ WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2007 06:25:53 PM]. MUMBAI: The Rupee today rebounded sharply to close 18 paise higher at 40.78/79 against the US currency due to heavy dollar selling amid weak dollar overseas and smart rise in equity markets.
Microsoft Acting Like a Patent Troll?
TidBITS - 1 hour ago
In an article in Fortune, several high-level Microsoft executives talked about the company's plans to take on the open source world - notably Linux - on patent infringement grounds.
After traveling across globe, METRO creates a spell in India
IndiaGlitz - 14 May 2007
UTV Motion Pictures’ ‘Life in a… METRO’ finally reached India last week after being screened at successful premières around the world at Sydney, Melbourne, Leicester Square, London (first time for an Indian movie) and Grand Cineplex, Dubai.


CPM spins a tale for Governor

Uday Basu writes in In The Statesman,Kolkata, 16 May,2007
KOLKATA, May 15: Even when the CPI-M’s state leadership is desperately trying to restore peace at Nandigram and treat the whole episode as a closed chapter, its district unit today tried to present before the Governor and the chief minister a distorted picture about the situation prevailing there.
A Left Front delegation from East Midnapore, which met Governor Mr Gopal Krishna Gandhi, reprotedly told him the number of villagers still unable to return home was around 2,000. The figure crossed 3,000 when the same delegation met the chief minister and then it came down to around 800 when it briefed the media at Writers’ Buildings.
LF insiders told The Statesman the CPI-M’s district leadership had yesterday wanted to put the number of villagers evicted from their homes at 5,000 in the memorandum to be submitted to the governor.
However, at the insistence of the LF junior partners the figure was changed to around 2,000. The discrepancy was mentioned during the meeting with the chief minister and it was learnt Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee wasn’t pleased with the matter. Similarly, the CPI-M’s district unit put the number of schools closed at Nandigram since the trouble erupted at “over 70 per cent”. But the truth, according to LF insiders, is out of 122 schools only 11 still remain closed. Another distortion was about mid-day meal. Contrary to the figures provided by the CPI-M mid-day meal can’t be given at only two schools and that too because the panchayant pradhans there are away.
Mamata nod to talks, Left cautious


Bhushan Steel plans 2-mln-tonne plant in West Bengal

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bhushan Steel & Strips Ltd. has signed an agreement with the West Bengal government to set up a two-million-tonne steel plant and a captive power plant in the state, a company official said.

The company is currently expanding its integrated steel plant in Orissa.

Shares in the company were up 6.74 percent to 625 rupees in the Mumbai market.


Starvation stirs hunger bowl
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070516/asp/frontpage/story_7782405.asp

OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bhubaneswar, May 15: Five people from separate families in Bolangir, suffering from weakness due to “starvation”, were released from district headquarters hospital today.

With their cases, the hunger bowl of India — as Bolangir is known — is once more under scanner, as the patients’ families alleged that the five had gone hungry for several days before falling ill. They were admitted to a hospital on Monday.

Bipin Nag (60), Abhel Harpal (60), Radha Nag (75), Pancha Nag (40) and Jamuna Mahanand (45) of Jharnipali village in Agalpada panchayat samiti of Bolangir were admitted to Loisingha primary health centre yesterday, after they complained of weakness. They were later shifted to Bolangir district headquarters hospital.

Angry villagers alleged that the PDS rice, distributed under Antodaya and Annapurna schemes, has not being distributed to the villages for months now. They further added that the PDS supplies were being withheld for more than two months.

However, Bolangir collector R. Sant Gopalan denied the allegations. Also, Chittaranjan Panigrahi, the doctor treating the five at Bolangir district headquarters hospital said the villagers were victims of “mild to moderate dehydration” and were released after being administered IV fluids and ORS solution. “There were no symptoms of starvation,” said Panigrahi.

The collector further defended himself by saying that the allegation (of PDS supply being held up for more than two months) was an “exaggeration”. “There might have been a delay of one week at the most, but no more,” he said, adding that steps have been taken to normalise PDS rice distribution in the block.

Subcollector Nagendra Mund, who visited the spot, admitted that the executive officer has been on a leave for the past one month, after he was “threatened” by a local strongman. “But we are still supplying the rice, irrespective of whether retailer licences were renewed or not. Besides, the elderly persons were regularly receiving their pension,” he said.

But Opposition leaders believe that the situation in the district has worsened in the past seven years. “The PDS in the block is in complete disarray. Licences of 46 PDS distributors have not been renewed since March 31 and there has been no distribution of rice to beneficiaries since then,” alleged former Loisingha MLA Balgopal Mishra, adding that several cases of starvation go unreported. “Starvation would be ‘imminent’ in the entire district unless the PDS is resumed soon,” he said.
Finmin, Plan panel spar over crop cover

OINEETOM OJAH
http://news.indiamart.com/cgi-local/news-link.pl?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efinancialexpress%2Ecom%2Ffe%5Ffull%5Fstory%2Ephp%3Fcontent%5Fid%3D164269

NEW DELHI, MAY 15 : The Planning Commission and the finance ministry are at loggerheads yet again, this time over crop insurance. The two sides are involved in a tug-of-war over whether the premium subsidy given under the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) should be a part of the Plan expenditure or moved to non-Plan expenditure.
The finance ministry is opposed to a proposal suggesting that the entire subsidy amount should come under non plan expenditure as the move would increase it s financial burden.

The government is restructuring the NAIS and considering further expansion of the scheme in the face of rising farmers' suicides. The feud between the Plan panel and the ministry has held back any decision on the issue and delayed the proposal from being sent for Cabinet approval.

A single national model for extending crop-risk insurance coverage is not possible as any actuarial premium will vary sharply not only from state to state, but even within states. Also, an alternative insurance product like weather insurance is a feasible alternative, the commission said.

Suggesting alternatives, the commission said states should be encouraged to develop and adopt their own models of risk management. However, the Centre will continue to participate in both infrastructure development and subsidy sharing. Also, the existing NAIS should continue but the premium subsidy should be moved from Plan to non-Plan side.

Bone Of Contention
• Whether premium subsidy should be a part of the Plan or non-Plan expenditure
Finmin Notion
• Entire subsidy should come under non plan expenditure as the move may up burden
Plan Panel Theory
• A single national model is not possible as any actuarial premium will vary sharply

The Centre can evolve two different schemes to support the extension of actuarial-based crop insurance scheme by states. The first can be a central sector scheme or centrally sponsored scheme to provide infrastructure development for administration of crop insurance products. The second can be an additional central assistance to provide for the Centre's contribution to subsidies that may be involved in insurance schemes initiated by states.

The commission is also of the view that states should share the cost of infrastructure development for administration of crop insurance products, though the major share will be borne by the Centre. There may be the need for grading of subsidy, depending on actuarial risk and accordingly, the feasibility of introducing differential premium regime varying from state to state should also be examined.

The joint group set up by the government had suggested that the Centre and the states share the premium burden along with the farmers and banks concerned. Based on the recommendations of the joint group, the agriculture ministry has formulated a proposal for modified NAIS. Both the joint group and the commission's working group also said the crop insurance scheme covered under the government's subsidy programme should exclude high-risk crops.



CAG report highlights management deficit in PSUs

NEW DELHI, May 15: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) today pulled up public sector units for what it termed, deficiencies in their management, resulting in significant financial implications. The CAG reports, which were tabled in Parliament today, took up five sectors ~ Public distribution (Food Corporation of India); Civil Aviation (Airports Authority of India and Indian Airlines Limited); Insurance (Oriental Insurance Company Limited and United India Insurance Company Limited); Steel (Steel Authority of India Limited); and Petroleum and Natural Gas (Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited). The reports spoke of avoidable expenditure, idle investment and delay in commissioning of projects among a host of financial woes facing the PSUs.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=156383