Holding that honest officers should not be harassed for bonafide mistakes made while making "well-meaning" decisions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today warned that if this was not done, decision making will suffer badly and governance will be stifled.He also called for moderation of public debate about corruption as "unwarranted condemnation" of the decisions and imputation of "guilt and malafide" on decision makers need to change.Addressing the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the Prime Minister said it was an ultimate aim of any anti-corruption mechanism to contribute towards improvement of the processes of governance and delivery of services which can happen only when bold and innovative decision-making was encouraged."Therefore, we must make sure that honest officers are not harassed for bonafide mistakes that they might make while taking well-meaning decisions," he said, adding that CVC should live upto the words of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri who had said the commission should be a fearless champion of the man of integrity and source of terror to corrupt officers."We must ensure the championing of the cause of the man of integrity in all our institutions. In the scenario in which this does not happen, decision-making would suffer badly and instead of improving the processes of governance, we would end up stifling them," Singh said. The Prime Minister said during the last 10 years of UPA rule, fight against corruption has undergone transformation with time."This process of change has particularly picked up in the last 10 years of the UPA government. New laws have been enacted to ensure probity, transparency and accountability in administration," Singh said, citing statutes like the Right to Information Act and the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act.He said that there have been very vigorous debate on corruption in the country in which civil society and media were active participants."I believe that this debate has been for the good. It has led not only to increased awareness in the people about their rights and the responsibilities of public authorities but also a realisation in public authorities of the heightened expectations that people have from them," he said.Singh said, "In the past few years, we have been witnessing a very vigorous public debate in our country on matters relating to corruption, with accusations flying thick and fast."While informed discussion on such matters is certainly desirable, much too often we see a trivialisation of complex public policy issues. This is accompanied by unwarranted condemnation of the decisions taken and imputation of guilt and malafide on part of those who took the decisions," the Prime Minister said, noting that "there is a need to change this state of affairs." Expressing willingness to further insulating CBI, the Prime Minister, however, said that oversight of political executives was expected in a democracy."Investigating agencies have always enjoyed complete autonomy in investigation of criminal cases. Our government has also been willing to do more to insulate the CBI from extraneous influences."However, it is also necessary to ensure that the political executive exercises the oversight that it is expected to in a democratic polity over any investigating agency," Singh said.He said another balance that agencies like CVC must maintain is between the need to be careful and detailed and the need for speed."Matters like disciplinary proceedings and grant of vigilance clearance must be disposed of in time. Excessive delays make such exercises meaningless," he said.The Prime Minister said a number of new laws are under consideration of Parliament which include the Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, the Public Procurement Bill and a bill to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act."These legislative initiatives have been accompanied by administrative steps in the same direction. Greater use of information and communications technology has also helped in increasing transparency and reducing opportunities for corrupt practices," he said.(PTI)
Read More
India has won! good days are ahead," BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said on Friday (16 May) in his first reaction to the poll trends that indicate an impending BJP victory in the Lok Sabha polls."India has won! Bharat ki Vijay. Ache din ane wale hai (good days are ahead)," Modi, who is all set to become prime minister, tweeted.Modi later met his mother to seek her blessings.In initial trends, BJP alone was leading in 275 seats - its best ever tally in Lok Sabha polls, while the NDA is set to cross the 300-mark. The earlier best by BJP was 182 seats in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls when the party formed its government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee.Top BJP leaders including L K Advani and Rajnath Singh congratulated Modi for the party's electoral victory.Buoyed by the party's stellar performance, celebrations started at the party's Delhi headquarters right from the time initial trends started trickling in and workers and leaders danced to the beats of 'dhols' and distributed sweets.Modi, who is contesting from Vadodra and Varanasi was leading at both the places. While he was leading with a hefty margin of over 5.6 lakh votes in Vadodra, in Varanasi he was leading by over one lakh votes.(PTI)
Read More
Speaker Meira Kumar of Congress is trailing in Sasaram. Cheedi Paswan of BJP is leading by 21,339 votes in the seat.In Patna Sahib, BJP nominee Shatrughan Sinha is leading over nearest Congress rival and Bhojpuri actor Kunal Singh by a small margin of 892 votes.In Ara, former Union Home Secretary and BJP candidate R K Singh is leading by 21,242 votes over nearest RJD rival Bhagan Singh Kushwaha.In the high-profile Saran seat, Lalu Prasad's wife Rabri Devi is trailing Rajiv Pratap Rudy of BJP by 6923 votes.In Bhagalpur, Shailesh Kumar alias Bullo Mandal is ahead of his nearest BJP rival Shahnawaz Hussain by 5788 votes.In Hajipur, LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan is leading over his nearest Congress rival Sanjeev Prasad Tony by 1357 votes.In Madhepura, JD(U) President Sharad Yadav is ahead of nearest RJD competitor Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav by 1287 votes.In Patliputra, Lalu Prasad daughter Misa Bharti is leading over 'uncle' Ramkripal Yadav of BJP by 3602 votes.In Vaishali, former Union minister and RJD candidate Ragubansh Prasad Singh is trailing behind LJP candidate Rama Singh by 6029 votes.In minority-dominated Kisanganj, Congress's Maulana Asrarul Haque is maintaining a decisive lead of 76,577 votes over his nearest BJP rival Dilip Jaiswal.In Darbhanga, RJD'S M A A Fatmi is ahead of his BJP rival Kirti Azad by 753 votes.In Jamui (SC) seat, Ramvilas Paswan's son Chirag Paswan is ahead of his nearest RJD rival Sudhansu Sekhar Bhaskar by an impressive 28,286 votes.In Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Nalanda constituency, JD(U)'s Kaushlendra Kumar is leading Satyanand Sharma of LJP by a slander margin of 4314 votes. Congress candidate Ashish Ranjan Sinha who is a former state police chief of Bihar is at third position.The trend in Buxar changed with BJP candidate and former Bihar minister Ashwani Choubey leading by 24789 votes over nearest BSP candidate Dadan Singh, who was leading in initial rounds.In Aurangabad, Congress candidate and former Kerala Governor Nikhil Kumar is trailing behind BJP's Sushil Kumar Singh by 8562 votes.(PTI)
Read More
India's high inflation probably eased to a seven-month low last month as food and fuel prices showed signs of moderating, providing some respite to the Reserve Bank of India which has been hiking interest rates to curb soaring prices, Reuters polls showed on Tuesday (11 February).Ominously, though, factory activity likely contracted 1.0 per cent in December due to sluggish mining activity and weak consumer demand.If confirmed, such a figure would signal the third straight month of contraction and the longest streak of shrinking manufacturing activity in Asia's third-largest economy since December 2008.Reuters surveys conducted from Feb 4-10 showed inflation, as measured by the wholesale price index, likely eased to 5.80 per cent last month, while retail price growth slipped to 9.40 per cent -- the slowest since May.In December, wholesale prices rose 6.16 per cent annually while consumer prices climbed 9.87 per cent.That should be welcome news for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), since its recent rate hikes have come against the backdrop of weak economic growth and stalled investment under the corruption-scandal battered Congress party government of Manmohan Singh, which faces an uphill battle in elections due by May."The central bank should draw comfort from the gradual deceleration in inflation," said Radhika Rao, an economist at DBS in Singapore."But until consumer inflation makes a decisive turn south, the central bank is likely to maintain a tight policy stance, even at the expense of short-term growth."The RBI has hiked its benchmark interest rate three times since September in a bid to tame stubbornly high inflation.In addition to a surprise rate rise last month, it has effectively begun to target inflation based on consumer prices, a dramatic shift in approach for a central bank that has struggled to manage the balance between growth and inflation.In doing so, it cited a "glide path" towards lowering the CPI below 8 per cent by next January and 6 per cent a year later -- targets that were laid out in sweeping proposals to revamp the way monetary policy is conducted in India.Food prices continue to rise, however, as the country's poor infrastructure means produce takes longer to reach markets, with large amounts spoiling on the way.But with a good harvest bringing down vegetable prices, economists said inflation could be headed lower.(Reuters)
Read More
The United States plans to take India to the World Trade Organisation over subsidies New Delhi gives to its solar power industry, an Indian government source said on Monday 910 Frbruary), a step that could further strain relations between the countries.There was no immediate comment from US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who is due to make a trade enforcement announcement linked to India at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Monday. The Indian official said Washington had informed New Delhi of the trade action it planned to take.The United States filed a challenge with the WTO last February over elements of India's national solar programme, which it said discriminates against foreign solar products in violation of a core global trade rule.It was not immediately clear how Monday's scheduled announcement relates to that action.India's solar programme, launched in 2010, appears to discriminate against US solar equipment by requiring solar energy producers to use Indian-manufactured solar cells and modules and by offering subsidies to those developers for using domestic equipment instead of imports, the U.S. trade office said last February.Last April, India hit back at the US accusations, suggesting Washington was also guilty of the banned practices. It asked Washington to justify incentives offered to US companies to use local labour and products in renewable energy and water projects, in filings to the WTO.The trade spat comes on the heels of a recent case involving an Indian diplomat in New York that seriously damaged India-US ties. The diplomat was arrested in connection with visa fraud and strip-searched, sparking fury in India and prompting retaliatory measures against US diplomats there.India is widely perceived by lawmakers and business groups in Washington as a serial trade offender, with U.S. companies unhappy about imports of everything from shrimp to steel pipes they say threaten US jobs.Both countries have taken disputes to the World Trade Organization on several occasions.(Reuters)
Read More
The Delhi High Court on Thursday (14 May) sought response of the Centre and Reliance Industries Ltd on a plea by state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) which has accused the Mukesh Ambani-led group of exploiting gas from its natural gas block in Krishna-Godavri basin. Justice Manmohan issued notice to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and RIL on ONGC's petition in which the PSU has contended that RIL has drawn out 18 billion cubic meters of natural gas from the combined reserves of both companies since 2009. "The present petition is necessitated in view of bona fide belief on the part of the petitioner (ONGC), based on the seismic data made available by Respondent 3 (RIL) very recently in 2013-14 which suggests that while exploiting its own block and operating four wells for that purpose, RIL has exploited not only natural gas within its Block but has exploited substantial natural gas from Blocks in the control of ONGC. "In effect, RIL has, as is recently believed, taken out gas running into approximately 18 billion cubic metres (bcm) quantity between the years 2009 to September 2013 and continues to do so even till date from the combined gas reserves of ONGC and RIL," the PSU's petition has said. The court listed the matter for further hearing on May 29. ONGC has claimed that of the said total quantity of gas exploited by RIL from its block adjoining that of the PSU, more than half belongs to it. ONGC has sought directions to the government to set up an independent agency to ascertain the amount of gas drawn out by RIL and how much of it belongs to ONGC and whether the PSU is entitled to compensation. It has alleged the current situation arose due to lack of vigilance on the part of the ministry and directorate general of hydrocarbons and their failure to take precautionary measures has resulted in loss of several thousands of crores of rupees to ONGC. ONGC has also accused the government and RIL of not having followed the mechanism internationally accepted for joint development and which has been expressly provided in the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) signed between the ministry and RIL. It has submitted that owing to the fact that the blocks of RIL and ONGC were adjacent to each other, the government should have ordered that they be jointly exploited by both of them. ONGC has also sought directions to RIL to give an undertaking that it would compensate the PSU if the Mukesh Ambani-led group is held liable for the same. It has also sought directions to RIL to "submit full accounts of the gas produced and to be produced and sold and to be sold and the values thereof from its four wells for the period from the date of actual production till date and for future production...". (Agencies)
Read More
With tax authorities pressing with over Rs 21,000 crore in unpaid dues, Finnish telecom major Nokia has invoked the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) India has with Finland to resolve the dispute.Nokia late last month wrote to Prime Minister invoking dispute settlement clause in the India-Finland BIPA to settle the row that had led to its Chennai plant being left out of the over $ 7.2-billion deal with Microsoft.The treaty provides for amicable conciliation proceedings and arbitration under local and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)."Nokia is keen to work with authorities in India to resolve the tax disputes. As one of our actions, Nokia has sent a letter under Finland India Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) to the Prime Minister of India. The letter seeks for amicable resolution of the current tax disputes," a Nokia spokesperson told PTI.Nokia, which last month completed sale of its handset business to Microsoft for over $7.2 billion, could not sell its Chennai manufacturing plant to the software giant as it is embroiled in the tax dispute with the Income Tax Department and the Tamil Nadu Government.The company had approached the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) last month with the request.However, BIPA clauses state that if a dispute between the country and the investor cannot be settled amicably within 3 months, the investor can approach local courts or seek international conciliation under UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules for its resolution.The party can also approach the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes or approach an adhoc arbitral tribunal under the Arbitration Rules of UNCITRA.On the status of request made by the Finnish government last year to consider resolving the tax row under mutual agreement procedure, Nokia said: "Both the governments started the mutual agreement process (MAP) with an aim to resolve double taxation as per the provisions of India - Finland double tax treaty and negotiations are still on."The application for negotiated settlement of the tax dispute was filed under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and Finland.(Agencies)
Read More
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was tonight lavishly praised at a farewell dinner hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and attended by a galaxy of party leaders except Rahul Gandhi who skipped it, raising political eyebrows. The function at 10, Janpath, Sonia's residence, was held as a mark of gratitude by the party whose coalition government 81-year-old Singh led for 10 long years. A memento was presented to Singh with signatures of top Congress leaders and Union ministers and Pallam Raju read out the dedication inscribed on it in praise and honour of the prime minister. Both Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur were presented with bouquets and party leaders were seen scrambling for a photograph with the couple and Sonia Gandhi. The only sour note was the absence of Rahul at the dinner. PMO sources late on Wednesday (14 May) said that Rahul met the Prime Minister on Saturday to say that he won't be in town and had already thanked him. There was speculation that Rahul was probably travelling abroad and would be back before counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls begins on Friday. When asked why Rahul had not attended the dinner, Union Minister Kamal Nath said that he was not aware of the reason. "I do not know why he did not attend," he said. Another minister R P N Singh when asked about questions raised over Rahul's absence said, "It is unfortunate that politics is being done over it." "Sonia Gandhi honoured the Prime Minister and handed him a 'prashasti patra' (citation). No speeches were made at the farewell," Union Minister Rajiv Shukla said. The economist-turned-politician had announced his retirement in January, saying he would not run for a third term. Minister of State J D Seelam said it was a "thanksgiving dinner for the Prime Minister and all of us greeted him for his great contribution in the last 10 years of the UPA government". The party had only yesterday hailed Singh's able stewardship of the government, underlining how he had led the country through difficult times. "Singh's experienced and seasoned stewardship, his personal integrity and ability to lead the country through difficult times is noteworthy and India is proud to have earned so many laurels and respect during the 10 years," AICC had said. Singh would be demitting office on May 17, a day after the Lok Sabha election results are announced. He had assumed office on May 22, 2009, for his second straight term as prime minister and already holds the distinction of being the third-longest serving head of the Union government after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. A former governor of RBI, Singh -- who is often described as the architect of India's economic reforms -- entered politics in 1991 when he was made Finance Minister by the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.(PTI)
Read More
Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade has sought dismissal of the visa fraud case against her on the ground that the indictment was filed?in a court here a day after the US accorded her full diplomatic immunity and the country did not have criminal jurisdiction over her.Khobragade's lawyer Daniel Arshack submitted her reply, in a federal court here, to Manhattan federal prosecutor Preet Bharara's memorandum that had opposed her motion to?dismiss the indictment.Khobragade was present in the US at the time the indictment was returned and "the State Department's recognition of her diplomatic position with the?Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations conferred diplomatic immunity upon her requiring that the entire 'proceeding or action' be dismissed," Arshack said in?his 17-page motion filed late yesterday."The instant indictment was returned and filed with the Court prior to Khobragade's departure (from the US) when she was still recognised as a diplomat and?still imbued with diplomatic immunity...The prosecution could not then and cannot now proceed further on that invalid instrument," Arshack said.He, however, acknowledged that the prosecution is not prevented from prosecuting Khobragade in future but insisted that the current case against her be dismissed?since she had diplomatic immunity when the indictment was filed.Arshack's motion comes a week after Bharara submitted a US State Department declaration that Khobragade did not enjoy immunity from arrest or?detention at the time of her arrest and she does not presently enjoy immunity from prosecution for the crimes charged in the indictment.Arshack said the indictment must be dismissed because the immunity bestowed upon Khobragade "applied retroactively".The court could now order to hear arguments on the motions.Khobragade, 39, was arrested on December 12 on visa fraud charges, strip-searched and held with criminals, triggering a row between the two countries with India retaliating by downgrading privileges of certain category of US diplomats among other steps. .Khobragade was indicted on visa fraud and making false statements by a US grand jury. She returned to India after she was asked to leave the US by the State Department.Arshack said the "pertinent" facts in the case are that Khobragade was given full diplomatic status by the Department of State at 5:47 pm (local time) on January 8 when it approved her appointment as Counsellor to the Permanent Mission of India to the UN.The grand jury returned the indictment on January 9 "after she was already cloaked with diplomatic immunity"."It is acknowledged that the prosecution is not forever precluded from prosecuting the defendant. Our application is only that this proceeding must be?dismissed.The prosecution is clearly legally able to seek a new indictment at this time or at some point in the future now that Khobragade no longer possesses such?diplomatic status and immunity, but it may not proceed further with this case," Arshack said.He said in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the case should have been dismissed on January 9, because Khobragade did not become a?"former" diplomat until later that evening when she left the country."The proceeding must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because at the time the?indictment was issued, the US did not have criminal jurisdiction over Khobragade," he said.Arshack rebutted Bharara's allegation that Khobragade had employed her domestic worker in her personal capacity and not as India's Deputy Consul?General in New York, which made her not immune to criminal prosecution."The prosecution goes to great lengths in its opposition to make inapposite distinctions between the immunity conferred upon consular officials versus?diplomats under the respective Vienna Conventions as the ostensible basis to deny the requested relief. Such distinctions are a clear effort to obfuscate, are?irrelevant and do not assist the Court in resolving this matter," Arshack argued.(PTI)
Read More
CNG price in the national capital was cut by a steep Rs 14.90 per kg and cooking gas piped into kitchens by Rs 5 per unit with effect from midnight tonight.Compressed Natural Gas, or CNG, will cost Rs 35.20 per kg from tomorrow as against the current rate of Rs 50.10 per kg.Rates of piped natural gas (PNG) that households use for cooking, was cut by Rs 5 per standard cubic meters (scm) per day. This is the first reduction in fuel rates in almost six years. CNG rate was cut in March 2008 when prices were cut by 30 paise following a reduction in excise duty.However, the relief may be temporary, as the domestic natural gas prices will almost be doubled to $8-8.2 from April 1. The rate hike may translate into a CNG price increase of Rs 10.6 per kg and PNG rates of Rs 8/scm.PNG rate cut was for both the consumption slabs.Simultaneously, Indraprastha Gas Ltd - the firm that retails CNG and PNG in the national capital region, announced 20 per cent increase in quantity in the lower consumption slab.Consumer price of PNG to households in Delhi in the lower slab is being cut from Rs 29.50 per scm for consumption upto 30 scm in two months to Rs 24.50 per scm for consumption of up to 36 scm in two months with effect from February 8, 2014.In the higher slab, for consumption beyond 36 scm in two months, applicable rate in Delhi would be Rs 47/scm, which was earlier Rs 52/scm beyond consumption of 30 scm in two months.The rate cut follows oil ministry's decision to give city gas distribution firms cheaper domestic gas to meet all their needs for CNG and PNG supplies compared to the previous limit of 80 per cent for most states.As a result, CNG price in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad has been cut by Rs 16.5 per kg to Rs 40.15 per kg.Due to differential tax structure in Uttar Pradesh, the applicable price of domestic PNG in the lower slab to households in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad would be Rs 26.20/scm upto consumption of 36 scm in two months. This has been reduced from existing Rs 31/scm for consumption upto 30 scm in two months.In the higher slab, for consumption beyond 36 scm in two months, the rate applicable in these cities would be Rs 47.65/scm. This was earlier Rs 54/scm beyond consumption of 30 scm in two months, IGL said in a statement.Announcing the reduction in prices of CNG and domestic PNG, IGL Managing Director Narendra Kumar said, "Subsequent to the increase in our domestic gas allocation to meet the full requirement for CNG and domestic PNG by the government, IGL has decided to pass on the entire benefit to its esteemed consumers by reducing the consumer prices."Thanking the government for ensuring that all city gas distribution (CGD) companies get their full requirement from domestically produced gas, he said that this step would reduce the cost of commuting for the public apart from contributing to the environment.With the revised price, CNG would offer 65 per cent savings towards the running cost when compared to petrol driven vehicles at the current level of prices.When compared to diesel driven vehicles, the economics in favour of CNG at revised price would be 36 per cent, the statement said.IGL, a joint venture of state-owned gas utility GAIL India, refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Delhi government, is currently catering to nearly 7,50,000 CNG vehicles in the national capital, which include nearly 4,50,000 private cars.The 30 per cent reduction in CNG prices will have a major impact on per km running cost of CNG run vehicles. "For autos, the per-km running cost will come down by 43 paise per km, while for taxis, it would reduce by 72 paise per km. In case of buses, the running cost will decrease by over Rs 4.25 per km," it added.(PTI)
Read More
