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Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal announced on Tuesday (25 March) that he will contest from Varanasi, taking on BJP Narendra Modi whom he accused of being an "agent" of industrial houses along with Rahul Gandhi. Kejriwal, who had declared earlier that he would contest against Modi from wherever he is fielded, announced his decision at a rally here after seeking the views of his supporters in his typical style. "I want to ask you whether I should contest from Varanasi against Narendra Modi. I am ready to accept this challenge," the former Delhi Chief Minister announced after a day-long road show in this constituency of Uttar Pradesh. "Why do I want to contest from Varanasi, it is because at a time when leaders look for safe seats to fight elections, I take on them to defeat them," he added. Attacking Modi, Kejriwal said that a myth about Modi having developed Gujarat was being perpetuated by a section of media while in reality the BJP leader was gifting away farmers' land to industrialists and followed policies which were against small businessmen. Kejriwal appealed to people to ensure that Modi loses from Varanasi and Rahul Gandhi gets defeated from Amethi so that both the NDA and the UPA receive a jolt. "These are both armies -- one named UPA and another named NDA. While Rahul Gandhi is the 'shahenshah' (emperor) of the UPA, Modi is the same for NDA. If you defeat both Rahul and Modi, then these armies will automatically be crushed," he said.(PTI)
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Time is running out for the World Trade Organisation’s Bali agreement. The Bali meet had revived the relevance of the multilateral organisation, but the standoff between India and the developed world has again put a question mark over WTO’s abilities to manage conflicting interests. India has taken the position that it will go ahead with its food security programme with or without WTO. Under the WTO agreement, no country can spent more than 10 per cent of the value of its agricultural produce on subsidies. Now India has said that unless this is allowed, it will not accept the Trade facilitation Agreement. The DNA of WTO is such that is seems to be unable to understand the imperatives of developing countries. It was created by a club of rich countries but floundered when poor countries began to influence the agenda. When current Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was Commerce Minister, he led the Indian delegation to WTO Ministerial at Cancun a decade ago. Jaitley had taken a tough stance on market access for Indian agriculture sector. This along with other developing countries’ grievances led to a failure of the ministerial. It marked the beginning of WTO’s decline. WTO is at a similar point in history. It has to understand the needs of India and developing while ensuring further progress on trade facilitation. India on the other hand will have to tread a fine line without being obstructionist. India will have more to gain by reduced red tape in global trade. India’s food security programme is flawed and inefficient. It would be counter productive for India to give up an efficient trade regime for a leaking food programme.
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An unexpected request by the Election Commission for the government to defer a rise in gas prices until after a looming general election hit shares in Reliance Industries Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corp on Tuesday (25 March). A price increase had been due to come into effect on April 1, just days before India starts voting in an election that starts on April 7 and will end on May 12. The Election Commission gave no reason for its decision late on Monday. But Supreme Court on Tuesday resumed a hearing on two petitions to strike down the cabinet's June 2013 approval of a doubling in the gas price on grounds that it favoured a corporate house and was against the interests of the nation. The government told the court on Tuesday that it would comply with the Commission's request. Arvind Kejriwal, the head of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which briefly controlled the state government in New Delhi, last month called for a criminal investigation into government officials and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani over the matter. Kejriwal had also called for the Election Commission to stall the price rise. Reliance Industries is India's second most valuable company, and Ambani is the country's richest man. The cabinet last year approved a near-doubling of gas prices from the current $4.20 per million British thermal units to spur investment in exploration for gas. Following the Election Commission's action, shares in Reliance fell as much as 3.8 per cent to Rs 872.50, on a day when the Mumbai share markets were trading broadly flat. ONGC was also down 3.8 per cent and state-run Oil India Ltd was trading down 2.5 per cent. "It sends a very bad signal to the outside world. In this country, due to elections even the commercial decisions can be postponed," said Deven Choksey, managing director at Mumbai brokerage K.R. Choksey Securities. Many brokerages had upgraded earnings estimates for Reliance and ONGC after the cabinet approved the price hike last year. "Thank you Election Commission for saving the people of India from huge price rise that would have happened if gas prices had increased from 1 Apr," Kejriwal tweeted after the commission announced it had called for a delay. Reliance says Kejriwal's allegation that it created an artificial gas shortage to "blackmail" the government into raising prices is baseless. It has long maintained that geological complexities have pushed production lower and costs up, warranting an increase in prices in order to boost investment that will lead to higher output. "A political party has written to the Election Commission (EC) to keep on hold a bona fide decision of the Union Cabinet on gas pricing. The party has a history of ill-informed diatribe," Reliance said in a statement issued on Sunday. The company declined to comment after the Election Commission announced its decision late Monday. High Demand, Low PriceAnalysts noted that the cabinet approval was granted long before the election dates were announced, and some said the Commission's intervention could further undermine sentiment towards an energy sector that has struggled to attract investment. The election commission can ask the government to put on hold any decision that comes into effect after announcement of the poll schedule if the move is seen influencing voters or benefitting any particular political party, but it did not explain its reasoning in this case. In a letter to the petroleum ministry's secretary, the commission said it had decided the proposed price increase could be deferred, without elaborating. In its statement on Sunday, Reliance said the government's decision to implement the new price from April 1 was part of a "contractual obligation", as current gas prices are valid until March 31. Demand for gas in India far outstrips consumption and domestic supply, but the government has kept prices below global market levels for producers of fertiliser and electricity, which has deterred investment in domestic exploration and production. India, the world's fourth-largest energy consumer, has few energy resources other than coal, which meets 56 per cent of its energy needs. Oil, mostly imported, accounts for 26 per cent. Gas output from wells operated by Reliance and its partner BP off India's east coast, has fallen sharply since 2010. The companies say the decline in due to the geological complexity of the KG D6 block. (Reuters)
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Libya will release the crew of a tanker that loaded oil at a rebel-held port and was stopped by the US navy off Cyprus, its state prosecutor said on Monday (24 March).Three Libyan rebel fighters who had boarded the tanker will stay in jail, Abdelqadir Rawdan told Reuters. The crew was made up of sailors from Pakistan, India, Syria, Sudan and other countries."The crew will be released and expelled," he said.On Sunday, the Morning Glory arrived in the Libyan capital Tripoli after US special forces stormed the tanker a week ago and handed it over to Libya's nascent navym which had initially failed to stop it.The ship had docked two weeks ago at the Es Sider port, which is under control of rebels demanding autonomy and a greater share of oil for Libya's east of the country.Rawdan said the crew was still being investigated but it was clear that its members had acted at gun point.The return of the tanker was a rare victory for Tripoli, which is struggling to end a port blockade by rebels, one of many challenges facing the central government which has failed to secure the country three years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.Former anti-Gaddafi rebels and militias refuse to surrender their weapons and often use force or control of oil facilities to make demands on a state whose army is still in training with Western governments.Western governments, which backed NATO's air strikes to help the 2011 anti-Gaddafi revolt, are pressing the factions to reach a political settlement. (Reuters)
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The Election Commission of India has asked the government to defer a hike in gas prices due to start April 1, ahead of next month's election, a development that is likely to hurt Reliance Industries Ltd and other gas producers.India last year approved a near doubling of gas prices from the current $4.20 per million British thermal units to spur investment in exploration for gas and boost returns for firms including state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp <ONGC.NS>.Some political parties, however, interpreted the move as aimed primarily at helping energy conglomerate Reliance, which has been calling for an increase in prices when the contract for sales from its gas block off the east coast expires on March 31.India's young anti-graft Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) party had asked the election commission to put on hold the federal cabinet's decision on the gas price hike ahead of the national election, local media reported.Petitions to block the gas price hike also were filed with the Supreme Court, which is due to resume a hearing on the case on Tuesday (25 March).A cabinet panel approved the hike in June last year.In a letter to the federal petroleum ministry's secretary, the election commission said it had decided the proposal could be deferred. The letter was posted on the commission's website late on Monday. It did not elaborate."It sends a very bad signal to the outside world. In this country, due to elections even the commercial decisions can be postponed," said Deven Choksey, managing director at Mumbai brokerage K.R. Choksey Securities.A decision on the gas price hike is now expected to be taken by the new government after it takes office in May.Demand for gas in India far outstrips consumption, but the government has kept prices low for strategic industries such as fertilizer producers, deterring investment by companies in the sector.India, the world's fourth-largest energy consumer, has few energy resources other than coal. It uses coal for nearly 56 percent of its energy needs, while oil, mostly imported, accounts for 26 percent.Creates UncertaintyReliance Industries, India's second-most valuable company which is controlled by its richest man Mukesh Ambani, operates the KG D6 block off India's east cost, where gas output has fallen sharply since 2010.Reliance and its partner BP have attributed this to geological complexity. The company has said gas prices need to be increased in order to encourage further investment to try and boost output.Some analysts said the deferment of the price hike was negative for Reliance in the short-term. Many brokerages had upgraded their earnings estimates for Reliance and ONGC after the price hike announcement last year."In the short term, this will create uncertainty about the timing and quantum of the gas price hike. The company will have to wait for a few more months," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, chief strategist at SMC Global Securities.A Reliance spokesman on Monday declined to comment on the election commission's decision.But in a statement issued on Sunday, the company said that the decision to implement the new price from April 1 was part of a "contractual obligation", as the current gas prices are valid till March 31."Even a bare reading of this factual position leads to a simple conclusion: a change in gas pricing from April 1 is not a new decision but only implementation of a cabinet decision taken in June 2013," it said.Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the AAP who burst onto the political scene with a victory in Delhi's local election in December, had ordered a probe into Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani and policymakers over gas pricing last month.Kejriwal, who was chief minister of Delhi for 49 chaotic days before resigning, said he would ask the federal government to suspend any order to raise gas prices until the issue was resolved."Thank you election commission for saving the people of India from huge price rise that would have happened if gas prices had increased from 1 Apr," Kejriwal tweeted after the election commission's announcement.(Reuters)
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The United States on Friday (25 July) set new import duties on solar products from China and Taiwan after the commerce department found that the solar panels and cells are being sold too cheaply in the US market.Preliminary anti-dumping duties as high as 165.04 per cent for Chinese goods would come on top of anti-subsidy levies imposed last month, as the US arm of German solar manufacturer SolarWorld AG seeks to close a loophole allowing Chinese producers to sidestep duties imposed in 2012.China's Trina Solar Ltd faces total import duties of nearly 30 per cent and Suntech Power nearly 50 per cent as a result of Friday's decision.Taiwanese producers face anti-dumping duties of up to 44.18 per cent, with the highest rate applying to Motech Industries Inc, Commerce said. There will be no doubling-up of duties with those from the 2012 case.The new duties, which must still be confirmed, are likely to inflame US-China tensions already exacerbated by recent accusations that Chinese military officers were cyber-spying on US companies involved in trade disputes, including SolarWorld.SolarWorld said the new duties would average 47 per cent for most companies, compared with 31 per cent in the 2012 case.The company, which makes crystalline silicon solar panels in Oregon, complained that Chinese manufacturers dodged those duties by shifting production of the cells used to make their panels to Taiwan."Today’s actions should help the US solar manufacturing industry to expand and innovate," said SolarWorld Industries America President Mukesh Dulani. "We should not have to compete with dumped imports or the Chinese government."But the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, which represents mainly installers, said the duties would hinder the deployment of clean energy by raising the prices of solar products and hurting consumers.The solar industry has been battered over the last four years by a glut of products from China, falling prices and a withdrawal of consumer subsidies in Europe, which has pressured solar companies' margins and sparked a rash of trade cases.India has slapped levies on panels from the United States and China. The European Union also has targeted Chinese panels and China has moved against imports of US polysilicon, solar’s key raw material.Meanwhile, the United States is challenging India's solar program at the World Trade Organization. The WTO found irregularities in the previous US-China anti-subsidy case.US imports of solar products from China were worth $1.5 billion in 2013, half the level of 2011, while imports from Taiwan more than doubled to $657 million over the period, according to Commerce data.Commerce will make its final decision by Dec. 15. The US International Trade Commission is due to make a decision on whether the imports pose or threaten injury to US producers by Jan 29.(Reuters)
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The rupee is trading at 60.78/79 versus its Friday's (21 March) close of 60.8950/9050, tracking gains in most other Asian units versus the greenback.The domestic share market will be watched for cues on foreign fund flows during the day.The pair is expected to move in a 60.60 to 61.20 range during the day.Asian shares gave up earlier gains on Monday after the China HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to an eight-month low in March.(Reuters)
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The rupee is trading at 60.14/15, little changed versus its previous close of 60.12/13.The unit hit 60.98 during trade on Thursday (24 July), its strongest since July 14.The rupee is seen in 59.90 to 60.30 range during the day with month-end import dollar demand seen supporting the pair.The Nifty is currently trading down 0.2 per cent and will be watched for clues on foreign fund flows.An index of Asian shares pulled away from a three-year high after a mostly flat day on Wall Street, though a fresh S&P closing record and upbeat US employment data underpinned sentiment.(Reuters)
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Unseasonal rains and hailstorms this month have damaged the winter-sown crops of millions of Indian farmers, but Rekha Garole lost more than others.Her 42-year-old husband Santuka killed himself this month after hail devastated the wheat and chickpea crops that they had been counting on to repay a bank loan of Rs 90,000."He committed suicide to escape his debt burden," says Rekha, who met nearly a dozen political leaders in a week at her mud house in the Nanded district of Maharashtra but has yet to receive any financial aid.Santuka, like other farmers in his village of Golegaon, prayed last year for bountiful rains to end two years of drought in the region.Ample rainfall did come, but at the wrong time. In September, cloudbursts damaged soybean and sorghum crops that were ready to be harvested, forcing farmers like Santuka into debts that they could not pay due to the latest crop damage.Millions of small farmers are struggling to survive as erratic weather hits their only source of income. They are seeking government help to stay afloat until the next harvest, but bureaucrats are moving slowly to record crop losses.Anger is mounting among affected farmers tired of hearing empty promises. Many have given up hope.Nearly five dozen farmers in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have committed suicide this month over debt worries, farmers' advocacy groups say.This could spell trouble for the ruling Congress in a five-week general election that starts on April 7, as the farmers' vote helped it retain power in 2009. Opinion polls suggest that Congress faces a heavy defeat."It will make the government more unpopular just before the elections," said Jaidev Dole, a political analyst based in the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra."The farmers affected are unhappy with the government's response, and that can be reflected in votes. Opposition parties have already started to make this an election issue."In Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, nearly 3 million hectares of crops have been hit, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said. Crops have been damaged in Rajasthan and Punjab and in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to a lesser extent.Orange, grape and mango farmers were the worst hit by the storms, along with wheat, rapeseed, chickpea and red gram.The damage could force the government to slash production estimates for key winter-sown crops like rapeseed, chickpea and wheat, but the immediate worry would be vegetable supplies.Prices Rise AgainAfter moderating in recent weeks, vegetable prices have started to rise again as supplies have been disrupted by the rains. Double-digit food inflation contributed to the Congress' defeat in key state elections last year.Opposition parties, mainly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that is favourite to form the next government, are already cornering the government over farmer suicides and price rises.Campaigning in the hail-hit areas, the BJP's candidate for prime minister, Narendra Modi, said: "Despite India being an agrarian economy, the government's wrong policies are forcing farmers to commit suicide."The central government will provide Rs 1350 Crore to farmers hit by the precipitation in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, a government source said on Thursday.Farmers' leaders say the aid is too little even to cover the cost of seeds and fertilisers."Farmers have taken loans from banks and private money lenders. With government help of a few thousand rupees, they can't even repay their debts," said Vijay Jawandhia, a farmers' leader from Maharashtra.Any financial help comes too late for Rekha, who has two school-age children: "After a suicide everyone makes promises," she told Reuters by phone. "But the ones who commit suicide will never return."(Reuters)
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In order to weed out the hassle of sending by post a hard copy of e-filed return, the Income Tax department has decided to bring in the facility of electronic signatures for taxpayers to endorse their bonafides.The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex office to formulate policies for the Income Tax department, has decided to implement the new mechanism by the end of the next financial year in March, 2015.Official sources privy to the development told PTI that the CBDT will get in touch with the Union Ministries of Law and Communications and Information Technology to establish the legal position and technology requirements respectively before it operationalises the new protocols for the e-returns called 'ITRV'."It has to be seen what will be the procedure to obtain electronic or digital signature by the taxpayers. There should not be an additional cost or procedural burden for the taxpayer who opts to file his or her I-T return online," a senior official said.In case of digital signatures (used by corporate entities as of now), a bonafide statement that verifies the identity of the sender, it is required to be created by paying a fee and this requires regular renewal, which is why this is being seen as a burden on salaried class and other categories of small taxpayers.The department, within the same time-frame, is also desirous of enabling the e-filing of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) statements through its official web portal which is used by taxpayers currently to file their electronic returns.As per the norms in force at present, a taxpayer who files an e-return has to mandatorily send a copy of the same by post to the I-T department's Central Processing Centre (CPC) in Bengaluru in south India.(PTI)
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