With the Supreme Court order on gay sex creating a major uproar, the government today said it is considering all options to decriminalise homosexuality and filing a curative petition in the apex court could be one of them. "The Government is considering all options to restore the (Delhi) High Court verdict on (Section) 377 (of IPC). We must decriminalise adult consensual relationships," Law Minister Kapil Sibal said. Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the Supreme Court ruling was "wrong" and all options would be looked at to set right the Supreme Court order. Terming the judgement "disappointing", he said the court should have applied "current social and moral values" in the case. He said the government should file a review or curative petition and that the matter should be heard by a five-bench judge. Chidambaram, the former Home Minister, said the Delhi High Court judgement was a "well-researched one" which the Union government accepted and did not challenge in the Supreme Court. He added that the government's decision of not opposing the High Court judgement in the Supreme Court was also his party's view. Chidambaram noted that the bench that gave the order, should have referred the matter to a five-judge bench and that the interpretation of law cannot be static. Chidambaram said the government should ask for a review for a curative petition and the matter should be referred to a five-judge bench. "I think the bench should have referred it to a five-judge bench and they should have looked into all aspects of law. Interpretation of law cannot be static. What you have done is, (you have) gone back in time, in 1860, and I am therefore terribly upset," Chidambaram said. Noting that the current section 377 was made in the year 1860, the Finance Minister said it reflected the social and moral values of that age and the knowledge of psychology, physiology, genetics in that era was extremely poor. "But today in the year 2013, there is so much knowledge about human psychology, human physiology, human genetics to say that something like intercourse against the order of nature (is not right) and that is the social and moral value today, and therefore, it is the legal value of today. That (judgment) is completely outdated, completely retrograde," he said. When asked why did the government not amend section 377 while amending the rape laws in the wake of Delhi gang-rape incident, Chidambaram said the High Court judgment laid down section 377 only in a limited manner. "They decriminalised homosexuality only among consenting adults and in private. Therefore, there was no need to amend section 377," he said. Chidambaram added that legislative option still remains open, because if one looks closely at section 377, that option is not required. "Section 377 can remain, because between two non -consenting adults it still remains a crime. So, there was no occasion to amend the section. And the amendment of the section was necessary only after the final announcement of the judgment. The case was pending in the Supreme Court and there was no occasion to amend it," he said.(PTI)
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Tackling inflation will be a priority, the finance minister and RBI governor said on 11 December, after high prices contributed to painful losses for the ruling Congress Party in state elections.Finance Minister P. Chidambaram also reiterated promises of budget discipline as investors worry the Congress-led minority coalition will boost spending to improve its standing before general elections due in May.Data on 12 December is expected to show consumer prices were up 10 per cent in November from a year earlier, with wholesale prices due out on Monday expected to have risen 7 per cent.Inflation will increase expectations the Reserve Bank of India will raise interest rates for a third time in four months at its policy review next week, despite the slowest economic growth in a decade.Although rate hikes are unpopular with businesses and investors, Chidambaram said: "It is common knowledge that the government of the day will pay a price for high inflation, especially if inflation persists over a long period of time."Speaking an event organised by the Finance Ministry, he called monetary policy a "blunt instrument"."The answer to inflation, therefore, especially inflation in food articles, is to increase supplies and to radically transform the manner in which commodities and food articles are stored, transported, distributed and sold in the various markets, especially urban markets."Chidambaram has repeatedly vowed to honour budget deficit limits, but investors worry that the polls will prompt spending on the lines of the $20 billion plan to provide cheap grain to the poor earlier this year.The government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been widely criticised for policy drift and for allowing corruption to spin out of control. Congress lost four key state elections, according to results on Sunday.Inflation has been another thorn, leaving the RBI with a tricky balance between fighting high prices or boosting growth.So far it has tried to squeeze inflation, raising interest rates by a quarter percentage point in September and again in October. Its next policy meeting is on December 18."Our effort is firmly on controlling inflation," RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said at the same conclave."We can spend a long time debating the source of inflation. But, ultimately, inflation comes from demand exceeding supply and can be contained only by bringing both in balance."Although India's current account deficit has narrowed, easing some pressure on the currency and economy, the RBI governor acknowledged in a separate speech in the afternoon that it was too early to be confident."The prospects of growth are a little better. I would say growth is stabilising. It is still too early to say we are in the midst of a strong recovery," Rajan said in a speech at an industry function in the eastern city of Kolkata.Data on Wednesday showed the trade deficit narrowed in November as gold and silver imports slumped 80.5 percent, but the pace of exports of goods slowed from October.Rajan said no single data point would drive the next monetary policy decision.Stagflation"Today the Indian situation is unique. In all developed and developing countries, nobody has as high an inflation rate as India has despite the fact that we have slowed down so acutely," said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda in Mumbai."It's a politically sensitive issue and the government is in the election frame of mind," she added.The government also faces the challenge of delivering on its promise to keep the fiscal gap to 4.8 per cent of gross domestic product. The deficit has reached 84 per cent of the fiscal year target in the first seven months.On Wednesday, Chidambaram sought parliament's approval for an extra 131.2 billion rupees to cover costs such as higher fertiliser and fuel subsidies, saying this spending would not have a "significant" impact on the deficit."There can be no compromise, and I speak for the government when I say there will be no compromise, on the decision to walk on the path of fiscal prudence and contain the fiscal deficit, step by step, year by year, until we reach the goal of 3 per cent of GDP in 2016-17," Chidambaram said.(Reuters)
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The rupee fell on Wednesday (11 September), snapping a five-session winning streak, as the pace of exports last month slowed, raising some concerns about the economy despite a trade deficit that narrowed after gold and silver imports slumped.The country's merchandise deficit narrowed to $9.2 billion in November, but exports growth eased to 5.9 per cent from 13.5 per cent in October, government data showed.The exports data came on a day when Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said inflation remained a priority despite noting it was too early to call a bottom in the economy.India is due to post consumer inflation data on Thursday amid worries a high reading could spur the central bank to raise interest rates next week for the third time in four months, denting growth and hitting domestic shares."We expect even better data, and believe that the results are not good enough to support the INR, because the trade gap is still a huge 6.1 pct in monthly terms and 9.0 pct of GDP in 12-month rolling terms. Moreover, the data underestimates the actual deficit," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, a Hong-Kong based strategist at Credit Agricole CIB.The partially convertible rupee closed at 61.245/255 per dollar compared to 61.04/05 on Tuesday.Dealers also cited large dollar buying by a state-run bank, likely for state-run oil refiners.Some concerns were also sparked after Standard & Poor's said India's ratings may be pressured if the next general elections due by May end with a hung parliament or with a government unable to push through reforms.The rupee has gained 2.1 percent over its past five sessions through Tuesday primarily on the back of the strong electoral showing by the key opposition party which is perceived to be business-friendly.In the offshore non-deliverable forwards, the one-month contract was at 61.62 while the three-month was at 62.50.(Reuters)
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India's Supreme Court on Wednesday (11 December) threw out a 2009 ruling by a lower court that had decriminalised gay sex, in a major setback for the cause of gay rights in the world's largest democracy.The top court stated that only India's parliament could change the law, by deleting a section of the penal code dating back to the 19th century, thus ruling that the Delhi High Court had overstepped its powers with its decision four years ago.The move shocked gay rights activists, who had expected the court simply to rubber-stamp the earlier ruling. In recent years, India's Supreme Court has made progressive rulings on several rights issues."We see this as a betrayal of the very people the court is meant to defend and protect," said Arvind Narayan, one of the lawyers representing the consortium of gay rights groups that was defending the 2009 judgment."In our understanding, the Supreme Court has always sided with those who have no rights."Section 377 of India's penal code bans "sex against the order of nature", which is widely interpreted to mean homosexual sex, and can be punished with up to 10 years in jail. The rule dates back to the days of British colonial rule in India."One would never expect the Supreme Court of India to make such a retrograde order, that is so against the trend internationally," said rights lawyer Colin Gonsalves."This takes us back to the dark ages. This is a day of mourning for us in India."India's Law Minister Kapil Sibal said he could not comment on the judgment and did not say if the government planned to seek an amendment to the law.But it seems unlikely the government will risk taking a stand on the issue in the short term. General elections are coming up in May in largely socially conservative India, and the Hindu nationalist opposition is already gathering momentum.The 2009 ruling to exempt gay sex between consenting adults from the ban was the result of a case brought by the Naz Foundation, an Indian sexual rights organization, which fought a legal battle for almost a decade.After the Delhi High Court ruling in its favour, a collective of mostly faith-based groups took an appeal to the Supreme Court."All the major communities of the country -- the Hindus, the Christians and the Muslims -- had appealed against the ruling of the Delhi High Court," a lawyer for a Muslim charity told reporters."They had said that this unnatural sex is not permissible in all the religions of the world."Thursday's decision could now be appealed through a so-called "curative petition", which would be heard by a panel of five judges."The Supreme Court's ruling is a disappointing setback to human dignity, and the basic rights to privacy and non-discrimination. But now the government should do what it should have done in the first place and seek to repeal section 377," Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement."Now it should join countries like Australia and New Zealand that have already abolished this colonial law that they too inherited and take the lead in ending such discrimination."In an apparent protest against the ruling, suspected hackers posted the phrase "supremecourt is so gay" on Pepsi India's Twitter account on Wednesday. The post was deleted and Pepsi India said its account had been "compromised." (Reuters)
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Inflation is forecast to remain close to 9-month highs in November, a Reuters poll showed, putting further pressure on the RBI to follow up on its back-to-back interest rate hikes despite slowing economic growth.The poll of 26 economists predicted India's November wholesale price inflation was at 7 percent year-on-year, unchanged from October - which was the highest since February.Consumer prices were forecast to have risen 10 per cent annually last month, barely changed from the 10.09 per cent clocked in October."A moderation is expected in primary articles (prices), particularly food. At the same time, there could be some pickup in non-food items," said Sujit Kumar, economist at Union Bank.Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said last month high inflation warranted an appropriate policy response after raising the key repo rate for the second time in as many months in October to 7.75 percent.If actual data for November reflects median forecasts in the poll it would harden expectations for another interest rate hike at the RBI's meeting next week."Will Dr Rajan feel the need to respond to the rise in both WPI and CPI inflation? We expect he will and still look for a (final) 25 basis point hike at the 18 December meeting," wrote Robert Prior-Wandesforde, research analyst at Credit Suisse in a note to clients.Persistently high food price inflation, stoked by weak supply of staple items, has forced Rajan to tighten monetary policy at a particularly vulnerable time for the economy.The interest rate hikes come even as the pace of growth has slowed to its lowest in a decade, with some analysts fearing Asia's third-largest economy is potentially entering a stagflationary-type environment, marked by high inflation but weak growth.Those concerns were underscored by data last month showing the economy notched up a fourth successive quarter of below 5 percent growth in the three months through September.That rate is far lower than the 8 percent growth the government says is needed to reduce poverty and provide more jobs for the country's burgeoning youth population.October's wholesale food inflation remained close to a three-year high at 18.19 per cent. Rising food prices were also reflected in a faster-than-expected spike in consumer prices that month.Although a good monsoon harvest and a consequent increase in supply probably brought down the pace of food inflation last month, retail inflation stayed high, economists said.Last month Rajan acknowledged that food prices were "worryingly high", underlining the delicate balancing act for policy makers as they try to tame inflation at a time of weak growth.(Reuters)
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Draft guidelines issued by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) on December 6, 2013, resulted in the fall in exchange rates of power generations companies. But utilities are confident that the regulations can be negotiated.Power companies are up in arms against the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)’s draft regulations which will decide power tariffs for five years from 1 April 2014. Analysts placed the impact of these guidelines anything between 3-7 per cent decline in profits for companies like NTPC and NHPC. This led to panic in the stock market and shares of power generation and distribution firms declined following the announcement - NTPC (down 10.33 per cent), Adani Power (down 2.96 per cent), Power Grid Corporation of India (down 2.27 per cent), GVK Power & Infrastructure (down 2.77 per cent), Tata Power Company (down 2.08 per cent), Torrent Power (down 2.2 per cent),The draft seeks to tighten operating norms for generators, including parameters governing heat and oil consumption and links incentives to the plant load factor (PLF). Generators will be incentivised for higher generation reflected in PLF. There is also a disincentive to be levied if plants are available for less than 85 per cent of the time. The stricter guidelines imply “profitability squeeze”, explains Kameswar Rao, Leader Energy Utilities and Mining, PwC India.But the largest power producer says there is no need to panic as “These are just draft guidelines and there are many positive aspects as well that are not being counted.” The negatives we will be further discussed with the regulatory authority explained NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhary, who is confident that in return the company will receive some relief.According to NTPC, the fact that Return on Equity (ROE) of 15.5 per cent remains unchanged, additional ROE of 0.5 per cent on early completion of project remains unchanged, special allowance for operating station after useful life has been enhanced to 7.5 lakh /mw/year from 5 lakh /mw/year in 2009-10, water charges to be excluded from O&M expenses and will be pass through separately, annual escalation on O&M expenses to 6.35 per cent from 5.72 per cent. Compensation allowance (Rs lakh /mw/year) has been enhanced, during R and M of units O&M expenses and interest on loan will be pass-through, rate of late payment surcharge increased from 1.25 per cent to 1.5 per cent per month, debt equity ratio remains the same, pay revision recognised as pass through.These guidelines are only applicable to power generators not granted under competitive bidding process and who supply electricity to more than one state therefore will have little impact on the private power developers immediately explains Kameswar Rao. But he cautions against the long term impact of these norms as they could mean a reduction in surplus and equity therefore impacting growth. According to him, “Large companies like NTPC use surplus to set up new plants and with stricter norms there will be less surplus and little equity to expand... it is not like the government will put in money to set up new plants.”mmatbworld@gmail.com
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The setback for ruling Congress Party in recent state elections could imperil the country's fiscal deficit target by tempting the government to have less restraint on spending, Fitch Ratings warned on Tuesday.The party, which rules India through a minority coalition, lost three of four key state polls held since last month, according to results unveiled on Sunday, in a major setback ahead of general elections due by May.Although Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has repeatedly pledged the country will meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.8 percent of gross domestic product for the year ending in March, investors now fear the government could crank up spending in a bid to boost its electoral standing.Fitch said on Tuesday the likelihood of that happening was increasing, but said the government has little room to manoeuvre on spending, given that India's fiscal deficit has already reached 84 percent of its target in the first seven months of the year."An evident anti-incumbency trend against the Congress could mean an increasing likelihood of political pressure to limit expenditure cut-backs," Fitch said in its note."This would help support economic recovery in the run-up to the national elections which must be held by May 2014. But it may raise some doubt about the government's ability to meet its stated near-term fiscal goals."Fitch noted that unless revenue unexpectedly surged, India would ultimately need to cut spending if it wanted to meet its fiscal deficit target.Investors are increasingly betting the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and its prime minister candidate Narendra Modi could win general elections next year after its strong showing in state elections.Although Indian shares hit a record high on Monday after the state results because of widespread perceptions of the BJP as a more business-friendly party, bonds have struggled, partly due to fear of less spending restraint by the government.The new benchmark 10-year bond yield is up 2 basis points at 8.87 percent this week.Still, analysts said markets were willing to give the government the benefit of the doubt for now."The growth in the planned expenditure gives a lot of scope to cut back. So we have to give benefit of doubt to the finance minister," said A. Prasanna, an economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd.Fitch returned India's outlook to "stable" in June, a year after it had downgraded it to "negative", citing the government's efforts to contain the fiscal deficit and revive economic growth.(Reuters)
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Indian factory output probably shrank in October, hurt mainly by key infrastructure industries cutting production for the first time in eight months, a Reuters poll found on 10 December.However, other data on Thursday is expected to show retail inflation remained elevated, giving little room for the Reserve Bank of India to support dwindling output.India's new central bank chief, who has raised policy interest rates twice since taking office in September to tackle price pressures, said last month no single data point will determine its next move on curtailing high inflation.Industrial production probably contracted 1.2 per cent annually in October, after rising 2.0 per cent in September, according to the median of 26 economists."The notable deceleration in the October core industries index, taken as an indication of the broader investment momentum, sets the stage for a weak IP (industrial production) outcome," said Radhika Rao, an economist at DBS in Singapore.Production in the core industries - also known as infrastructure output and includes coal, electricity, cement, crude oil and steel factories - contracted in October year-on-year for the first time since February.Output in those industries, which account for more than a third of overall factory production, fell 0.6 per cent annually that month versus 8.0 per cent growth in September, according to data last week.Weak factory production will also be in line with the findings of an HSBC purchasing managers' index (PMI) which showed manufacturing activity contracted for the third straight month in October on dwindling demand.However, the latest PMI reading showed factory activity returned to growth in November, suggesting a slow recovery in manufacturing may be under way."Overall the outlook (for industrial output) is for a modest recovery. I think we have seen the worst of it," said Vishnu Varathan, an economist at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.Although the PMI survey pointed to some good news on inflation, the Reuters poll showed retail inflation is forecast to have remained at uncomfortable levels for policymakers in November due to stubbornly high food prices.Annual consumer inflation is expected to just nudge lower to 10.00 per cent in November, from 10.09 per cent in October, according to the poll of 21 economists.Food prices rose 12.56 per cent in October and analysts say prices of vegetables still remain high due to supply-chain problems - despite a good monsoon harvest.An expansion in farm output and some infrastructure helped India's economy recover slightly in the July-September quarter, but growth still hovered close to decade lows, tempering hopes of a sustained rebound ahead of national elections due early next year.(Reuters)
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The rupee is trading at 61.23/24 versus its close of 61.13/14 on 9 December, tracking losses in the domestic sharemarket and on the back of dollar demand from oil importers.The BSE Sensex is down 0.2 per cent on profit-taking after hitting record highs in the previous session.Traders expect the pair to remain in a 60.90 to 61.40 range during the session with stocks moves the key to direction as traders will watch the likely direction of foreign fund flows.Almost all Asian currencies trading stronger to the dollar.(Reuters)
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Get It Done SoonerGetting things done becomes so much easier when the planning is enjoyable. And the iPhone app Sooner makes it so. This rather expensive app(Rs 350) uses gestures in a most unusual interface. It’s like a clock face. You drag a plus sign to the edge of the clock to add a task or list of tasks under a category. So you can make lists within broader lists. But its main idea is to lay out tasks and goals to span the clock, which is when you can actually get them done, one by one, in priority. Sooner has much-needed tips that come up contextually as you try to do something. Calendars, reminders, notes, etc., all pop up when needed and can be accessed with a swipe or tap. It’s very much a personal use app but you can edit the categories given and include professional work out tasks and goals to span the clock. A Network Of Wallpaper UsersFor the easily bored, here's a free app that changes your wallpaper every time you unlock your Android phone. If that's too much of a good thing, you can tune it down and change every once in a while. The wallpapers in Bitmado come from users. When you submit a photo to the wallpaper collection, Bitmado checks out the resolution and rejects the picture if it doesn't make the cut. So no one gets to see low-quality images. The context is up to the users and fortunately is mostly very nice. Users vote up or down an image and the selections show up on screen. It's addictive especially when you put in your own images. The app is like a social network of wallpaper users and could be more interesting. It would also be nice if the app didn't register users with their Google or Facebook logins. Change The LookLaunchers, or applications that can change the interface of your Android phone, have tended to be complicated to use. Sometimes, in fact, they only work with a ‘rooted’ phone. But they’re getting easier and mainstream. Find on the Google Play Store, an app called Themer. It’s still in beta, so you have to ask for an invite. Once you do, open it and allow it to be your main launcher temporarily. With the new themes from Themer, you can set widgets and apps afresh, in a new look, changing the look of your phone completely. Be prepared to find things that you’ve put in familiar places to have disappeared. They’re all in the app drawer and the widgets section, of course, and you can get back to them by selecting your smartphone’s own interface again. Themer is free. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 30-12-2013)
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