Author
India's Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi looked triumphant after voting on Thursday (30 April) in the seventh stage of the world's largest election, but the man tipped to be the next prime minister is still not assured of winning an outright majority.Some 139 million people were registered in the 89 constituencies that polled on Thursday in a race pitting Modi against the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty-led ruling Congress party and a pantheon of satraps. Results are due on May 16.Casting his vote in his home state of Gujarat, the leader whose pro-business policies have delighted investors brandished his party's lotus symbol and taunted Congress heavyweights for shying away from the fight."The prime minister himself is not fighting the election. The finance minister is not fighting the election. All its top leaders have run away," Modi said to cheers from a large crowd gathered at the polling station in the state capital, Ahmedabad.He snapped a "selfie" and posted the photograph on Twitter.It is unusual for Indian politicians to give speeches after voting and Modi's opponents complained to the election commission that his use of the party symbol broke electoral rules.Modi, who is standing in both the Gujarat town of Vadodara and the holy city of Varanasi, has shaken up Indian politics with an innovative campaign that has combined a massive social media outreach with up to five rallies a day. The 63-year-old has even appeared as a hologram campaigning in remote hamlets.Opinion polls give a coalition led by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a strong lead and predict the worst ever result for the ruling party, which led India to independence from Britain in 1947 and has dominated politics ever since.But most surveys predict the BJP will fall short of the 272 seats needed for a parliamentary majority, meaning it will need to find allies. The size of the shortfall will determine whether a Modi government can pass free market reforms aimed at reviving the economy, or be constrained by protectionist allies."The BJP is unlikely to win an outright majority," said Nida Ali of Oxford Economics in a research note. "Given the deep roots of India's current predicament and the type of reforms required to turn the economy around, investors' optimism about an economic bounce-back appears unfounded."Indian shares rose 6.5 per cent in 2014 through Tuesday, outperforming the 0.5 per cent drop in the MSCI emerging equities index, on expectations the industry-friendly BJP would score an emphatic win. But shares have cooled in recent sessions, as traders turn cautious ahead of election results.India is sometimes described as a collection of countries united mainly by a common currency. The results of its elections are notoriously hard to predict, with block voting by caste and religion. Dramatic last-minute swings can confound experts, with opinion polls getting the result wrong in 2004.In a reminder of the difficulties in converting Modi's popularity into seats, Arun Jaitley, a possible future finance minister, risks losing a contest in the state of Punjab over anger with the state government headed by a BJP ally.The BJP's president, Rajnath Singh also faces a tough fight in Lucknow, the capital of the mammoth state of Uttar Pradesh, where voters lined up at schools despite the blazing summer sun on Thursday."Crucial Mistakes"The election remains Modi's to lose, however, and in recent days several senior Congress leaders have appeared to concede that prospects are gloomy. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said on Monday "crucial mistakes" were made as public anger rose against corruption in 2010 and 2011.The Congress party has governed for two terms and oversaw some of India's fastest ever growth, but lost popularity as the economy slowed and rampant graft was uncovered.Chidambaram himself chose not to contest this election, a decision seen by many as a sign of weakness. A top adviser to Congress president Sonia Gandhi told the Times of India on Monday that the party would consider backing a non-BJP coalition led by a different party to stop Modi.The party has since distanced itself from the comments."The Congress party and its allies will form the next government at the centre," said Shakeel Ahmed, a party general secretary.But Congress has fought a lacklustre campaign so far, led by Rahul Gandhi, the great-grandson of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Gandhi's mother Sonia has also been a prominent campaigner, as has his sister. Some party leaders have even hinted a spell in opposition would be welcomed.Modi wants to break the hold of the dynasty on Indian politics once and for all. He appealed to voters to put a strong government in place."The voting that has happened has achieved two things. One, the mother-son government is gone ... Second, a new government with a strong foundation will be in place," he said on Thursday. (Reuters)
Read More
The Congress party, which surveys suggest will be ousted from power in elections due by May, called on Wednesday (26 February) for opinion polls to be banned during the campaign after a TV news report alleged survey data was routinely manipulated. The News Express channel said a "sting operation" using hidden cameras had exposed malpractices by a clutch of polling agencies that included fudging numbers at the behest of political parties, sometimes for money. Two large media groups said after the News Express report they would suspend polling usually carried out on their behalf. The party of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty first made its call for polling to be banned in the world's largest democracy last year, but the opposition Hindu nationalist party called it an attempt to suppress bad news in the run-up to the election. After 10 years in power, the Congress party-led ruling coalition is facing an uphill battle to convince voters, dismayed by a string of corruption scandals and a sharp slowdown in economic growth, that it deserves a third consecutive term. Ajay Maken, a senior Congress leader, said in a Twitter comment that the TV channel investigation had "vindicated our stand" that opinion poll data is deliberately massaged. He said he had gone to the Election Commission on Wednesday to voice support for its proposal to restrict opinion polls. The commission has long sought to halt such surveys once election dates are announced and wants the government to enact a law to that effect. They are currently banned 48 hours before voting begins. India's size and diversity means that election issues can vary widely between districts and local leaders hold great sway, making results notoriously tricky to predict. A first-past the post system for winning parliamentary seats makes it even harder to extrapolate results from projections of vote shares. In the run-up to the last national election in 2009, most opinion polls by large agencies correctly forecasted that the Congress would win more seats than the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party but underestimated the size of its winning margin. Several other major parties have previously voiced support for tighter restrictions. "It's shocking," said Yogendra Yadav, who made a name for himself analysing polls and elections before joining the recently formed Aam Aadmi or "Common Man" Party, which grew from a wave of mass protests over corruption in 2011. He said it should not prompt a hasty ban on polling. "(But) it does prove that people like me were mistaken, that manipulation was of a much higher order," he said in a TV debate. "These organisations appear to be willing to change their forecasts depending on who the sponsor is." (Reuters)
Read More
The Central Government has asked the European Union to lift a ban on Indian mangoes, as the country has already addressed the issue cited by the 28-nation bloc in a clampdown on shipments from next month.The EU informed India in March that shipments of premium Alphonso mangoes would be blocked from May until December 2015 after authorities in Brussels found consignments infested with fruit flies."Since we got to know about the issue in March, we've put in place an elaborate examination and certification procedure that addresses the issue raised by the EU," said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), a body affiliated with the trade ministry.The FIEO and the trade ministry have asked Brussels to lift the ban, Sahai said.Although Europe is not a major market for Indian mangoes, any ban typically weighs on prices, hitting farmers' incomes.Local prices have fallen about 15 per cent in the past few days, said Sahai.The Middle East buys 80 per cent of mango exports from India, the world's biggest producer of the fruit, accounting for about half of global output.Other major producers include China, Thailand, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria and Egypt.Asia, excluding India, accounts for more than a third of world mango output.(Reuters)
Read More
Under flak from various quarters for raising rates, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Wednesday (26 February) the central bank is committed to the "strongest growth possible" and stressed it is on the same page as the Finance Ministry on this front. "Note that the RBI is committed to getting the strongest growth possible; there is no difference between us and North Block on this," said Rajan, who has hiked rates thrice since taking over as Governor in September. He was speaking at a fixed income industry (Fimmda-PDAI) event here where the media was not allowed and only given a copy of the speech. North Block, which houses the Ministry of Finance, has not been pleased with the Reserve Bank's rate increases, given their impact on investor sentiment and growth in general. Rajan justified his actions, saying the best way to foster sustainable growth in the current circumstances is through monetary stability, which is bringing down inflation over a reasonable period of time. The Governor, who went against the majority view of an internal panel advising on the monetary policy and surprised all by hiking rates in January, also reiterated the central bank's determination to get retail inflation down to 8 per cent by January 2015 and 6 per cent by January 2016. He explained that even though some people may believe that in the short-run, the RBI's rate hikes may impact growth, the best way for a central bank to generate growth is to bring down inflation. "Sooner or later, the public always understands what the central bank is doing, whether for the good or for the bad," he said. (PTI)
Read More
A spate of accidents involving the Naval warships on Wednesday (26 February) claimed the job of Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi who quit taking moral responsibility and his resignation was promptly accepted by Defence Minister A K Antony. The resignation of 59-year-old Joshi, who had about 15 months more left in service, came hours after submarine INS Sindhuratna had a mishap off the Mumbai coast in which seven sailors were taken seriously ill and two officers were missing. Smoke engulfed the Russian-made submarine and the seven affected sailors had to be airlifted to a hospital in Mumbai. A specialist in anti-submarine warfare, Admiral Joshi had taken over as the Navy Chief on August 31,2012. Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral R K Dhowan was named as the Acting Chief till regular Chief is appointed. "Taking moral responsibility for the accidents and incidents which have taken place during the past few months, the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral D K Joshi today resigned from the post of Navy Chief," Defence Ministry said. "The Government has accepted the resignation of Admiral Joshi with immediate effect," it said. After the Navy was hit this morning by the 10th mishap involving its warships in the last seven months, the concerned Defence Ministry sought a detailed report from the force. This would be the first time in the last 15 years that a Naval chief has had to leave office in controversial circumstances after Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat was sacked by the NDA Government in 1998 when George Fernandes was the Defence Minister. Reflecting the gravity of the mishap, Defence Minister A K Antony briefed President Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the accident. There have been 10 reported incidents involving naval assets in the last seven months involving the INS Sindhuratna mishap early today in which two officers are missing and seven sailors were affected severly due to smoke inhalation. The biggest mishap occured when the INS Sindhurakshak sank inside the Mumbai harbour killing all 18 personnel on board on August 14. Earlier this month, INS Airavat, an amphibious?warfare vessel, ran aground after which the commanding officer was stripped of his command duties. After the sinking of the INS Sindhurakshak, one of the mishaps involved INS Betwa which was damaged after probably hitting some underwater object. India's leading minesweeper, the INS Konkan that was undergoing repairs in Vizag, also caught fire and suffered major damage to its interiors.?The Pondicherry-class minesweeper was getting a refit at a dry dock when the incident occurred. The naval headquarters is concerned over the spate of mishaps in the Western Command and had even summoned Western Naval Commander Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha on the issue. The Western Command headquarters was damaged when Naval Armament Depot personnel misfired a heavy-calibre gun at it while checking it.(Agencies)
Read More
The rupee rose to its highest in more than a week on Wednesday (30 April), on heavy dollar selling by exporters and corporates, traders said.The rupee rose to 60.30/31, a level last seen on April 21. At 9:17 am, the rupee was at 60.35/36 versus its close of 60.42/43 on Tuesday (29 April).A higher start for local equities also supporting the rupee, traders said.The market sees the rupee moving in a 60.15 to 60.45 range during the session.(Reuters)
Read More
Rejecting Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily's proposal to give Sudhir Vasudeva a post-retirement extension, Dinesh K Sarraf was appointed the new head of Oil and Natural Gas Corp on Wednesday (26 February), the nation's most profitable firm. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved appointment of Sarraf, who at present is Managing Director of ONGC's overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd. Sarraf replaces Vasudeva, who turned 60 on Tuesday (25 February) and is due to superannuate on Friday (28 February). Sources in the Oil Ministry said the ACC, whose members include the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the minister of the concerned ministry, approved the appointment of Sarraf based on August 30 recommendation of the Government headhunter Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB). The appointment of Sarraf, 56, comes even as Moily was keen on getting Vasudeva one-year post-retirement extension on the plea that his appointment was delayed by eight months due to false complaints. Also, ONGC needed his presence to complete ongoing strategic initiatives. The Ministry, they said, had forwarded to ACC a proposal containing two sets of options -- give Vasudeva an extension or appoint Sarraf as the next Chairman and Managing Director of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). While Sarraf had all clearances, Vasudeva did not have approval of anti-corruption watchdog CVC which on February 10 had told the Ministry that there were "a total number of six complaints/cases against Vasudeva which are pending in the ministry and are yet to be taken to their logical conclusion". The ministry, which in the proposal to the ACC, stated that CVC approval for Vasudeva might be taken post-facto, in a statement said the extension of Vasudeva was recommended by Moily "purely on merit and in the interest of the organisation i.e. ONGC." Sarraf, 56, was Director (Finance) in ONGC before moving to ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) in September, 2011. He transformed OVL into an aggressive overseas firm, stitching 4 deals worth over USD 11 billion since taking charge of the company. Vasudeva took over as Chairman of ONGC on October 3, 2011. "On advice of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) the proposal was submitted in the prescribed format for consideration of the ACC. "DoPT also advised to obtain comments from the CVC and the matter was accordingly forwarded to CVC. Certain observations/ queries were raised by CVC regarding the pending complaints against Vasudeva. "Considering that only few days were left for his retirement, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas on recommendation of the Secretary, Petroleum, referred the matter back to the DoPT with complete vigilance profile of Shri Sudhir Vasudeva with a request to place the matter before the ACC for decision, as deemed appropriate," the statement said. Earlier in the day, opposition BJP and the Left parties slammed Moily for seeking an extension for Vasudeva without CVC clearance saying this is the second instance of the UPA government ignoring CVC in appointment to key positions. Earlier this month, Archana Ramasundaram, a 1980-batch IPS officer from Tamil Nadu, was appointed by the government as Additional Director in CBI apparently ignoring the anti-corruption watchdog's recommendation. On November 4, 2013, Moily wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking one-year post-retirement extension for Vasudeva. Sources said while the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) asked the Oil Ministry to submit a proper proposal, government headhunter PESB selected Sarraf to succeed Vasudeva on February 28. Sarraf, who was previously Director (Finance) in ONGC, got CVC clearance, but the same for Vasudeva could not be obtained. (PTI)
Read More
India has invited bids for three coal blocks containing reserves of about 499.4 million tonnes, the Coal Ministry said, in its first auction of mining rights following investigations into its earlier practice of allocating them. The allocation controversy, dubbed "Coalgate", came up in 2012 after an auditor questioned the government's exercise of awarding mining concessions without competitive bidding. The CBI has already launched probes against industrialists and companies. "The government has initiated an auction of coal blocks by inviting applications for the first time for allocating coal blocks through competitive bidding for specified end-uses," the Coal Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Two of the coal blocks are located in Jharkhand and one in neighbouring West Bengal. The type of coal from the blocks would be used in the steel, cement and sponge iron industries, the statement said. The ministry said in September that bidders would have to agree to milestones for obtaining environment and forest clearance permits and for developing the blocks. Many companies that received coal blocks over the past decade had to give them up recently as the government found them slow to develop the blocks. Difficulties in obtaining environmental approval and securing land for mining have made India the third-largest importer of coal, even though it sits on what BP ranks as the fifth-largest reserve. State-run Coal India is the dominant producer but frequently fails to meet targets. (Reuters)
Read More
India's economic growth likely slowed to a near decade-low at the end of last year as high interest rates hit factory activity, according to economists polled by Reuters who don't expect a pickup in investment before May elections.The poll of 36 economists, conducted Feb 19-25, predicted Asia's third-largest economy grew 4.9 per cent over a year ago in the three months to December, similar to the 4.8 per cent rate in the previous quarter.That is a shadow of the close-to-double-digit growth rates in recent years and is a signal of the problems gripping Indian factories, which are weighed down by both high interest rates and diminishing consumer demand.Industrial output contracted in each of the last three months of 2013, led by steep falls in capital and consumer goods production."High borrowing costs necessitated by elevated inflation, coupled with subdued demand, have kept manufacturing and investment interest on the back foot," said Radhika Rao, economist at DBS.A stalled investment cycle due to uncertainty over government policy has also pushed many infrastructure projects onto the back burner in recent years.That situation is unlikely to improve soon and all 22 economists who answered an extra question said they didn't expect any substantial improvement in investment before general elections in May.Elevated borrowing costs have added to manufacturers' woes after the Reserve Bank of India hiked interest rates three times between September and January to curb stubborn inflation which showed no signs of easing even as growth tumbled.While wholesale inflation did slow to an eight-month low in January, the fall was driven by softer food and vegetable prices which are considered volatile and could head higher again.Still, economists have mostly predicted the RBI will pause its rate hike spree, especially after the central bank said it did not foresee further near-term tightening if consumer price inflation eased as projected.India's retail inflation slowed to a two-year low of 8.79 per cent in January.The poll also showed economists were split down the middle on whether Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's estimate of containing the fiscal deficit at 4.6 per cent of gross domestic product was achievable.While 11 of 22 said Chidambaram's estimate is 'about right', an equal number said he was being optimistic.The concern, though, is on the roll-over of subsidies."The deficit of 4.6 per cent will be achieved artificially through pushing the energy subsidy payments into the next fiscal year and through the one-time non-tax revenue from wireless spectrum sale and special dividends from state-owned corporations," said Hanna Luchnikava, economist at IHS Global Insight."Without these measures, the deficit is estimated to have reached around 5.2 per cent of GDP."Economists in the poll predicted the economy would grow 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2014.(Reuters)
Read More
Dr Tara Chaitanya’s unfortunate experience during the purchase of an expensive medical device is by no means an isolated episode. She has clarity in terms of specifications, functionality and price of the device and high expectations regarding ethical and professional performance. The cost effectiveness of the ultrasound equipment is critical to the viability of Tara’s investment and practice. That she is sensitive to gender-related disadvantages to women in India that impede access to affordable healthcare and plans subsidised prices for them is noteworthy.There is an apparent disconnect between a motivated and target-driven senior management and mid-level and field staff who exhibit delayed responses and poor preparation for meetings. There was marked improvement in behaviour when Company A’s sales staff interacted with Shiv, Tara’s husband, revealing gender bias. This unfortunate and widely prevalent attitude is due to cultural conditioning in the male-dominated Indian society where professionally competent women are consistently at a disadvantage.Company A’s management approach is lacking in many ways: a) Information was highly compartmentalised between the technical team and the sales staff leading to lack of a holistic picture of available options for Tara. b) The company did not inform Tara regarding delays at Customs, which was mandatory. c) Site assessment and determining the cost of any modifications required was not addressed in multiple meetings. The suggestion from the installation engineer to repeatedly press keys to make the device function reflects another typical Indian mindset of jugaad in the absence of reliable quality parameters. Does the high-end Company A’s management know about this?The Indian medical electronics industry, currently valued at $1 billion, has been growing at an average of 17 per cent for the past couple of years and is expected to grow to nearly $6.5 billion in size by 2020. “There are so many orders. What all will I remember” is a telling comment from Company A’s Akhilesh Awasthi, indicating the attitude of a sellers’ market.To reduce the pain of purchasing expensive medical devices, doctors like Tara can take some steps: The buyer needs to have a thorough knowledge of the functions and exact specifications required. The specifications should be categorised as vital, essential and desirable so that price-functionality payoffs can be easily decided. Feedback regarding performance and the after sales service provided is essential.Buyers should be armed with a format listing out every parameter that can impact decision-making, including price, insurance, transportation, taxes, customs duties, AMC (annual maintenance contract) with and without spare parts, possibility and incentives for upgradation, annual and lifecycle operating costs to enable realistic comparisons.While one expects that the vendor will be diligent about site evaluation, but based on Company A’s conduct, it is best for buyers to obtain information about regulatory site requirements — spatial, electric, temperature, humidity, etc.One valuable advice to doctors like Tara: Form a consortium for purchase of medical devices. This pools expertise and enables volume discounts like centralised purchase in hospital chains.Tara and Shiv should also have negotiated so that the final instalment of 10 per cent is paid only after satisfactory functioning of the equipment for some weeks, thus removing jugaad while operating the equipment.As for gender bias, this will not go away for a very long time in India. Lady doctors can, in the interim, hire/ persuade a tough looking male to sit in on their purchase sessions, learn to talk turkey and develop a thick skin.Shocking, but one has to advise vendors to include gender acceptance in their training, as well as how to respond promptly to calls, be on time, go prepared for meetings, etc., by role playing sessions and simulations. Finally business success will demand that companies like A, B and C adopt process standards that will reduce buyer angst. Good luck, Tara! The writer is a medical doctor from AFMC with a PG in Hospital Administration. She is Dean, Faculty of Health & Allied Sciences and Director, Amity Institute of Hospital Administration(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 19-05-2014)
Read More
