The Supreme Court called on the government on Monday to explain why it sent hundreds of police to end a peaceful anti-graft protest by a popular yoga guru and his followers, spelling more trouble for embattled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.Around 600 police broke up a mass hunger strike led by Swami Ramdev in New Delhi early on Sunday, detaining the guru and putting him on a plane to his home state. Dozens of followers and police were injured. Tapping into spiralling voter anger about corruption as Asia's third largest economy booms, Ramdev has called on the government to pursue billions of dollars in illegal funds abroad, and introduce tough anti-corruption legislation.He pledged to fast until his demands were met.The court's action suggests it has reservations about the raid. In recent months, the court has become more active in reprimanding the government on issues from probing corruption to how it appoints senior members.Ramdev's campaign was the latest embarrassment for a Congress Party-led coalition hit by graft scandals including allegations of kickbacks at the Commonwealth Games and a telecom scam that may have cost the government up to $39 billion in revenues.The handling of the protest is sure to further distract the government from working on reforms needed to modernise the economy, which analysts say economy is growing at around 8% not because of government action, but despite it.The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Monday it would hold peaceful protests across India against the crackdown."The government has lost the moral authority of the country," BJP spokesman Ravishankar Prasad told CNN-IBN, attacking Singh's record in office since 2004.Resignation Calls ResistedSingh has so far resisted calls for his resignation, and his party is unlikely to force him out because it does not have a credible successor to immediately take over.Congress, re-elected in 2009 and not due to face national polls until 2014, can also count on its allies in Parliament to carry on backing it, because they too would be punished in a snap election.Neither Singh nor the leader of the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, have made any statement since the protest controversy began last week.The crackdown has drawn condemnation from opposition parties on the left and right, as well as civil society and the media."The midnight police swoop on yoga exponent and telestar ‘Baba' Ramdev and his supporters was arbitrary, brutal and anti-democratic," influential newspaper The Hindu said in an editorial."Every Act and Scene of the tragicomedy, L'affaire Ramdev, has exposed the political bankruptcy of the United Progressive Alliance government."Opposition parties called on Gandhi and Singh to apologise to the nation.Ramdev has announced he is going back to fasting against corruption and popular social activist Anna Hazare has also said he would start a fast on 8 June in the Capital.Hazare carried out a successful fast in April, striking a chord with millions of Indians and forcing the government to make concessions on an anti-graft bill that effectively gives India an independent ombudsman to battle corruption.Hazare later said he would pull out of negotiations with the government over the bill to protest the treatment of Ramdev.(Reuters)
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Hillary Clinton will be in New Delhi to hold talks on second India-US Strategic Dialogue. But she is also likely to discuss three important subjects concerning telecommunication. A preliminary discussion was held early this month between DoT officials and a team from US Department of Commerce. "It has been discussed with Michael Camunez, Assistant Secretary US Department of Commerce," sources in DoT said. The three subjects that are likely to be taken up are mandatory technology transfer, data privacy and e-commerce and equipment manufacturing. Sources in DoT indicate that the US business lobbyists had briefed the US Commerce department about, what they perceive as "commercially risky" areas in doing business using telecommunications in India. Major area of concern for US is data privacy. DoT has prepared a report, which highlights the Indian government's concern about data privacy. It also highlight that legislation will be soon introduced as a law, that will protect data privacy. Penal provisions have also been incorporated for compromising with data security. "Once Law come into force, the private data can be accessed only through a due process of law," said a senior DoT official. A large number of US multinational companies in India use Blackberry. The Blackberry services, in India and globally has been under cloud on managing the security issues. Government has set up a committee to look into all types of known encrypted communication so that the issue of interception and monitoring of these services can be dealt comprehensively. The committee had submitted its report on 19 April 2011, but did not provide a clear road map, to deal with encrypted communication services, a senior DoT official said. Moreover, members from Ministry of Home Affairs, Intelligence Bureau and Special Action Group did not sign the report. "IB disagreed with most of the recommendations of the committee fully or found them to be of impractical nature," says an internal report of DoT. Therefore, the issue was further analysed and a comprehensive proposal has been prepared, which after consulting with MHA will be finalised soon. Department of Information Technology is also likely to be involved in the preparation of the report to be discussed with Clinton. The department has been asked to provide inputs for the initiative taken in e-commerce. According to a report released by the industry body Internet and mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the e-commerce market is expected to grow by 47 per cent from Rs 31,598 crore in 2010 to reach Rs 46,520 crore by end of this year. The commercial stakes are high for both Indian and US, so are the security concerns.
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You have heard about all-terrain boots and trousers. And now there's all-terrain gadgets. Meant for those who like to get their itchy feet on dangerous grounds. So, if you happen to be an adventurer — or just want your thingamajig to outlive the occasional drops and plunges — here are four gadgets that you can count on.LaCie XtremKeyTouted as ‘10-ton truck resistant', the XtremKey, a USB storage device, from LaCie boasts a 2-mm-thick metal casing and is sealed with wear-resistant screw threads. And it is not just a bull without brains. Available in capacities ranging from 8 GB to 64 GB, it provides instant compatibility, fast transfer speeds and cross-platform convenience to both PC and Mac users. Prepare to shell out $79.99 (Rs 3,630) for a 16-GB variant.Olympus Stylus Tough-8010You've just bought your dream camera, and it turns into a nightmare when you accidentally drop it in the pool. But if it's the Olympus Stylus Tough-8010, you needn't bother. Shockproof, freezeproof and crushproof, the Olympus Stylus Tough-8010 is meant to take the rough with the smooth. Featuring a 2.7-inch LCD and 2 GB of internal memory, this 14-megapixel digital camera allows users to record high-definition movies 33 ft under water. Priced at $379.99 (Rs 17,250), the Stylus Tough-8010 also offers 5X optical zoom and a useful One-Touch HD Movie button.Panasonic Toughbook C1Panasonic has forged a ‘tough' reputation with its Toughbook series of laptops and tablet PCs. At 1.49 kg, the new Toughbook C1 is the world's lightest 12.1-inch convertible and is supposed to withstand a 30-inch drop, not just once or twice, but multiple times. It has a shock-mounted 250-GB hard drive and a spill-resistant keyboard, besides an Intel Core i5 Processor and 2 GB of RAM. Unfortunately, though, this toughened tablet has a starting price of an astronomical $2,499 (Rs 1.13 lakh).BlueAnt T1Though a bit bulkier than its predecessors, the BlueAnt T1 — a rugged Bluetooth headset — has a great voice user interface and delivers good quality audio. While the proprietary Wind Armour Technology ensures clear audio in wind speeds up to 35 kmph, the removable silicon covers protect the headset from accidental impact. It retails for $79.99 (Rs 3,600) on BlueAnt's online store.(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 06-06-2011)
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India's rise offers a huge opportunity for Pakistan which is facing major economic challenges, a top US official has said, advocating that Islamabad should consider improving its trade ties with its neighbour."India's economic rise presents a huge opportunity for Pakistan, a bilateral breakthrough could provide a catalyst for wider regional economic integration in South and Central Asia," Robert Hormats, Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs, said.Hormats said the pace of economic integration in the Asia Pacific region as a whole over the last two decades has been unprecedented and should serve as an example for other regions."It should, and I believe it can, be replicated in South Asia as well. Hundreds of millions of people would benefit from such increased collaboration," he said.Hormats, who is part of the high-power US delegation for next week's India-US Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi, said the two countries already work together in a wide range of areas resulting in enhanced trade and investment and mutual job creation.Trade between the US and India has doubled twice in the past ten years. It continues to grow and drive their economic partnership.In 2010, the two-way trade was up almost 30 per cent from the year before."In Delhi and Chennai (the two cities to be visited by the US delegation) we will consider ways to further expand these numbers," Hormats said. Indian foreign direct investment in the United States was $5.5 billion at the end of 2009, growing at approximately 35 per cent between 2005 and 2009, making India the seventh largest growing source of FDI in the United States."We welcome such investment, we welcome more and more of it, and we will also discuss this while we are in India," Hormats said.However, he said, it is unfortunate that some economic barriers continue to make it hard for US exports to gain access to certain portions of India's markets, especially in agricultural goods."Restrictions in retail, insurance, defence and other key areas continue to limit the expansion of American firms and US and Indian firm partnerships in India. We would like to see more of those partnerships. We will also discuss these topics during our trip," he said."We must encourage and recognise the benefits of market openings that will allow trade and investment between our two countries to grow and to thrive to the mutual benefit of both," Hormats said.(PTI)
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President Barack Obama will decide on Saturday whether to summon lawmakers for a new round of debt and deficit talks, weighing the chances of progress as both sides stick to their positions on spending and taxes.Congress must raise the $14.3 trillion limit on US borrowing by Aug. 2 or the government will run out of money to pay its bills, causing turmoil in global financial markets and potentially forcing the United States into another recession.Congressional leaders met with fellow lawmakers on Friday to gauge support for a deal, but movement appeared limited.Republicans want a deficit-cutting deal in order to raise the debt limit, but they disagree with Democrats on how to do it. The White House wants some tax increases on wealthy Americans to be part of a package; Republicans reject that.On Friday, Obama, a Democrat, called for Republicans to provide a "serious plan." John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, said the White House had no serious plan of its own.As the two sides bicker, the consequences of not reaching a deal are looming.Ratings agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's have signaled they may cut the gold-plated US credit rating if the borrowing limit is not raised and deficit-reduction measures are not laid out.The White House and congressional leaders have tried to reassure markets that the United States would not default on its debt.A backup plan put forward by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell may be the solution all sides embrace if a big deal cannot be reached.McConnell's plan would establish a legal framework to raise the debt limit and put nearly all the burden on Obama to carry it out. Senate Democrats are working to modify the plan, but it remains unpopular with conservatives.Republicans in the House of Representatives said they would vote next Tuesday on a bill to raise the debt ceiling by the $2.4 trillion Obama has requested as long as Congress adopted a balanced budget amendment -- an unlikely prospect. The measure will consume much of next week.Back To The Table?On Thursday evening Obama gave lawmakers 24-36 hours to get back to him with proof of a plan going forward. He could call for further talks on Saturday or Sunday if needed.The president spelled out the consequences of default in a news conference on Friday."We could end up with a situation, for example, where interest rates rise for everybody all throughout the country, effectively a tax increase on everybody," he said."Whether you're using your credit or you're trying to get a loan for a car or a student loan, businesses that are trying to make payroll, all of them could end up being impacted as a consequence of a default."Boehner said Obama had to embrace "real" spending cuts."The White House must step up and embrace real spending reforms and cuts that will show job creators America is finally serious about addressing the debt," he said in a statement after Obama's press conference."Democrats and Republicans must lock arms together in the days ahead and take real action to stop the spending binge that has put our nation in economic jeopardy." (Reuters)
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We are slowing down. The index of industrial production (IIP) for May grew at a slower rate of 5.6 per cent as against 5.8 per cent in May 2010. There is nothing new to it, but the problem is we could be taking the wrong measure for it. Just look at the revisions made.Growth in capital goods for April stood revised at 7.3 per cent from 14.5 per cent; for basic goods, it was 6.9 per cent (7.3 per cent); consumer non-durables were at 4.9 per cent (21 per cent); the IIP itself at 5.8 per cent is a revision from 6.3 per cent. There is to be another revision this month. "Analytically bewildering" is how Reserve Bank of India governor D. Subbarao described the poor quality of data at the central bank's disposal.Now, there is nothing to suggest that it is only IIP data that can be misleading; it can hold true for inflation too. Headline inflation rose to 9.44 per cent for June 2011 compared to 9.06 per cent in May. The April figure at 9.70 is a revised one — up from 8.7 per cent or a difference of 100 basis points. "There is nothing you can do about it. The RBI governor has picked holes in the data, but that is all we have to work with," says a bank economist.Of course, there is a better way to look at how the economy is doing — by looking at specific numbers. Citi says on a year-on-year basis (April 2011-10), sales of two-wheelers grew by 23 per cent, cars (12.9 per cent) and commercial vehicles (10.3 per cent). This, when over April 2010-09, two-wheelers grew at 40.6 per cent, with cars at 19.9 per cent. The verdict: we are slowing down.(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 25-07-2011)
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India's economy grew at its slowest pace in five quarters during the March quarter, as rising interest rates crimped consumption and investment, although the Reserve Bank is expected to continue tightening rates in its battle against inflation.Annual gross domestic product grew 7.8 per cent in the March quarter, lower than the 8.3 per cent expansion in the previous quarter and below the median forecast for growth of 8.2 per cent in a Reuters poll.For the full fiscal year 2010/11, the economy grew 8.5 per cent compared with the government's forecast of 8.6 per cent."Not a disaster but adds to the idea that EM (emerging market) growth is cooling as tighter policy kicks in," said Jonathan Cavenagh, senior FX strategist in institutional FX sales for Asia at Westpac Institutional Bank In Singapore."With inflation still elevated and more work to be done by the RBI, tighter policy still seems likely, which will not be welcome by the equity market," he said.Most economists expect the central bank to raise its main policy interest rate by 25 basis points at its review on June 16, after it raised its key rates by a bigger-than-expected 50 basis points early this month.India's 10-year benchmark bond yield fell 2 basis points to 8.37 per cent immediately after the data, which was seen to ease pressure on the RBI to tighten rates aggressively.The 30-share BSE index pared gains to be up 0.7 per cent at 18,369.92 points. It was up about 1 per cent before the data was released."From the policy perspective clearly this could be some surprise, but it's not enough to change expectations. Would still think that 25 basis points should be on," said Nomura economist Sonal Verma, referring to an expected June rate increase.The farm sector expanded at 7.5 per cent during the quarter from the previous year, while manufacturing grew 5.5 per cent, lower than 6.0 per cent annual growth a quarter ago.Agriculture is expected to perform well for the second straight year after the government forecast a normal monsoon in 2011. Prospects for the summer harvest got a boost after annual monsoon rains hit Kerala two days ahead of schedule.Still, rising borrowing costs and higher input prices have started to crimp consumer demand.The Reserve Bank of India has raised its policy rate by a total of 250 basis points in nine moves since March 2010 as part of battle against stubbornly high inflation. Analysts have expected a further 75 basis points of increases by the end of December.April car sales rose at their slowest pace in nearly two years, rising 13.2 per cent from a year earlier, as higher interest rates, fuel prices and vehicle costs crimped demand in the world's second-fastest growing auto market.Construction of big projects was delayed during the winter over environmental clearances as well as difficulty securing coal for new power plants.(Reuters)
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In almost every case, where real estate builders run foul of the law and flout regulations, it is the buyers who pay the price. But in the Greater Noida Shahberi case, the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of investors and has asked builders to refund the money to the buyers since the land remains disputed. The judgement should be used by the government to enact a proper law that will bring some order to the unruly world of construction. Two aspects highlighted by this case require immediate attention. First, even before construction on the project starts, the developer usually uses up the funds either in completing pending projects or for buying land for future projects. This makes refund of the investors money very difficult. The guideline of keeping money raised for a project in an escrow account for use only in that particular project should be made mandatory.Second, builders must not be allowed to sell projects unless they have at least 80-85 per cent of the requisite clearances in hand. If this is made a blanket requirement, cases like Shahberi region could be prevented.Anjuli BhargavaTELECOM: Gains Of NetworkingTelecom operators in India have begun to appreciate the Swedish proverb, "Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow." Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular will share their 3G networks. Roaming agreements — both inter and intra circle — will be the norm. It will help all operators provide seamless service. Network sharing is inevitable since no private operator opted for an all-India 3G spectrum licence.Private operators paid Rs 67,719 crore in last year's spectrum auction, but only some have rolled out 3G networks so far. Also, the spectrum is being used only for voice services, instead of data services. Voice is still the priority for telecom operators.In network sharing, revenue is shared by the host and the operator in a 60:40 ratio. But this will change when the data traffic increases, says a telecom industry analyst. The current sorrow will then be transformed to shared joy.M. RajendranBirds To WatchThe Angry Birds are getting hungry. Rovio, the maker of the popular mobile/ computer game with over 250 million downloads, is now seeking to tap its huge audience for ad revenues. Its options: profile players to tempt advertisers; linkup with Facebook; and build its own social network.(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 25-07-2011)
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In 2005, when China completed building the world's highest railways in the Tibetan plateau at a height of over 5,000 metres, many believed the sole purpose of the railways would be to open up Tibetan resources for feeding the Chinese economy. In fact, only four years ago, in 2001, China had discovered massive oil and gas reserves in Tibet which could be compared favorably with the biggest oil reserves in the world. In 2006, PetroChina invited global bids for participation in the exploration of oil blocks in Qiantang. The block in Qiantang alone held 10 billion tonnes of oil and gas, reported The Guardian. With its massive efforts at building roads and railways connecting Tibet to the mainland, the Chinese intention of placing Tibet as an important piece in the Chinese energy supply was clear.However, to do that, it is transmission lines and not railways that need to be built. It is not the oil but the abundance of clean energy resources in Tibet that holds more promise and a one cleaner too. Tibet is blessed with good solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy resources. To develop these resources, transmission lines connected to the demand centres are required, as there is not enough demand in Tibet itself to realise this clean energy promise. Building transmission lines are far easier and cheaper to build than high speed railway tracks. Obviously enough clean energy generation will also do a lot more global good and cause no local environmental degradation. After the Sahara desert, Tibet has the world's best solar energy potential. The high quality of solar radiation available in Tibet along with the low temperatures mean that the cost of producing the solar energy on Tibetan plateau would be a third lower than the cost of producing the solar energy even at the best of sites in Rajasthan, India. This great quality of solar radiation when coupled with the Tibetan plateau spread over 1.2 million square kilometres explains the near limitless potential for solar power generation in Tibet. As the cost of solar panels continue to reduce - also due to lower manufacturing costs in China- coupled with the Tibet's natural cost advantage, it is easy to see why financing of solar power in Tibet would be easier.Tibet has the potential to become the solar energy capital of the world. In spite of the fact that Sahara desert has better radiation available than Tibet, the latter has some unique features that works in its favour. Solar panels not only require more solar radiation but also lower ambient temperatures to function at high efficiency. Tibet being situated in the lap of the Himalayas enjoys low temperature as compared to the high temperatures in the Sahara desert. This aids in more energy generation. But beyond that it is also the location that matters. While Tibet is still located nearer to the energy hungry areas in China, the Sahara is located in a region where there is little appetite for the solar energy. Most adjoining African regions being rich in oil have access to cheaper although more unsustainable energy from oil. Also the political and technical conditions of the nations in the vicinity of the Saharan desert will impede the development of the Saharan solar resources. In fact, an ambitious idea of developing solar farms in Sahara desert and then transmit ting the electricity to Europe across the Mediterranean is yet to find much traction. The various components required for completing this vision- of which laying underground transmission cables across the Mediterranean sea is only one - are facing financing troubles. In contrast, laying a transmission line between the Tibetan plateau and the Chinese mainland will be both easier and cheaper. Investments worth $300 million aimed at installing 100 MW of solar power is slated for this year, reports The China Daily.But there is more to the 'forbidden empire' than just solar power. Tibet is the water tower of South Asia. Many rivers on which China already have and continue to build massive hydroelectric power stations also originate in Tibet. All provinces in Tibet already have small scale hydro power plants. However, hydro power also continues to be afflicted by other environmental and social concerns and therefore we might shift our attention to the other renewable energy resources in Tibet.Being a Himalayan plateau, Tibet also has good wind resources pegged at more than 93 billion Kwh annually along with more than a thousand prospective geothermal energy generation sites as per china information centre. Another report by climate connect pegs this potential at around 300 GW. That is an enormous number considering the fact that the total electricity generation in 2010 in India was only half this number.In fact, only if the Tibetans could buy reprieve from the Chinese ambitions for the Tibetan resources in lieu of clean energy generation then the roof of the world could be saved from much of the unwanted environmental degradation. In a land that believes in Buddhism, a religion that has environmental virtues deeply built into it, that would be a much welcome reprieve. The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet has often expressed his concern over climate change and its effects. Generating clean energy will go a long way in contributing to that vision. Perhaps only if it were a choice left to the Tibetan people, I'm sure it would have been exercised. But even for economic reasons alone it makes a good case to tap the clean energy potential at the roof of the World. If Tibet does becomes the solar capital of the world, it would also bring much global attention to this part of the world and the uncomfortable history of Lhasa, something that the Chinese government wants to keep out of global debate. It is very likely that the political consideration will supersede economic one in this case.Yash Saxena is a sustainability consultant with Emergent Ventures, a climate change mitigating consultancy. He also works on innovation evangelism with Techpediayash (dot) saxena (at) emergent-ventures (dot)com
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Last month Pepsi unveiled a 'green' bottle that is entirely made up of plant based material. It is a 100 per cent renewable bottle, made up of plant based materials like switch grass, pine barks and corn husk. Pepsi further aims to develop the technology to also use orange peels, potato peels, oat hulls and other agricultural byproducts from within its agriculture supply chain to produce bottles.Interestingly In mid 2009, Coca-Cola had also unveiled its 'green' bottle which was made up of 30 per cent plant material, using cane and molasses as its constituents. Coca-Cola named its green bottle 'PlantBottle' and registered the term as a trademark, possibly with an aim of using the term strategically in future. Coca-Cola has plans to take the renewable component up from 30 per cent to 100 per cent.In what looks like a race for producing the greenest bottle, Pepsi has reached the goal of 100 per cent renewable bottle first. However in terms of bringing this technology to market, Coca-cola seems to have outsmarted Pepsi. Dasani, a mineral water brand has been using Coca-Cola's 'PlantBottles' for its mineral water bottles since 2009. Coca-Cola had planned to produce 2 billion such 'PlantBottles' by the end of 2010. In contrast Pepsi has no plans to mass produce its green bottle before 2012.Yet in this seemingly, war to go green, it is the underlying potential to improve profitability and revenues that is leading the cola giants to keep pushing on sustainability. Using renewable and environmental friendly bottle will allow Pepsi to achieve greater environmental sustainability and create more synergies in its supply chain. There is a growing trend of consumer preference for environmentally sustainable products around the world. A 2009 GMA-Deloitte study found that 54 per cent of the shoppers consider sustainability as a key decision factor while buying. Another TNS survey found that as many as 53 per cent of Americans and 83 per cent Brazilians would be willing to pay more for more environmentally sustainable products. Sustainability is emerging as a very important component of the brand architecture and it will play a key role in retaining the customers going forward. Given the central role that 'brand' plays in the FMCG sector, the sustainability agenda of cola giants seems a natural progression.Pepsi's internal goals on environmental sustainability also reflect the same which includes 'absolute carbon reduction' goals, elimination of solid waste from Pepsi's manufacturing and reduction of packaging weight by 350 million pounds by 2012. The introduction of green bottles seems to be a part of the continuum to reduce waste.However another strategic advantage of using waste (agricultural wastes) within your supply chain as an input for your bottles is the creation of greater value within the supply chain. By using the wastes generated within their supply chain, Pepsi would be able to provide more business to stakeholders within its own agricultural supply chain rather than providing that business to PET bottle manufacturers (petroleum based supply chain). This will allow Pepsi to share more value in the supply chains more strategic to their business - which in this case will be the agricultural produce supply chain. This would improve Pepsi's relationship with its most strategic suppliers which happen to be farmers and plantation owners. Infact sharing the value with agricultural producers will also make it socially more beneficial. It will contribute towards creating more wealth in the agricultural sector.Additionally reducing the dependence on petroleum supply chain for its PET bottles, Pepsi can reduce the price volatility and rising costs associated with the petroleum products. This should give Pepsi a steadier pricing for its inputs.The benefits of retaining consumer preference, improvements in supply chain and de-risking of input prices from volatile crude prices- represent some strong business reasons that are expected to keep this race for 'going green', red hot in the times to come.The author is a sustainability consultant with Emergent Ventures, a climate change mitigating consultancy. He also works on innovation evangelism with Techpedia
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