Opinion
Appeal
The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.NTPC, Coal India To Sign Fuel Supply Pacts On 2009 Terms
The NTPC and CoalIndiahave agreed to sign new fuel supply agreements (FSA) on 2009 terms. The only change is the trigger level, which has been scaled down to 80 per cent from 90 per cent, as directed by the Prime Ministers’ Office. The trigger level is the point up...
Jaipal Reddy In Turkmenistan Today To Seal GSPA
NEW DELHI:Indiais expected to sign an agreement withTurkmenistanthis week that will secure 38 million standard cubic meters per day gas supply from the Central Asian country at around $11.5/unit, government officials said. Oil minister Jaipal Reddy is visitingTurkmenistanon Tuesday to sign the gas sale purchase agreement (GSPA) this week,...
India Not To Accept Any UN Resolution
Indian Defence Minister Krishna Menon yesterday threatened that the ceasefire agreement in Kashmir would exist no longer ifPakistanbartered away “India’s legal rights over Azad Kashmir” toChina. Mr Menon, who was addressing a public meeting at Sapru House, saidIndiahas “never abjured the use of force” though it has promised not...
Sonia’s Dithering Harms Pranab
By Amulya Ganguli The Congress has unnecessarily complicated the scene for itself by failing to make a final choice till now on a candidate for the presidential poll. Yet, for once, it was in a position to do so. In fact, by floating the names of Pranab Mukherjee and...
Cartoon Ban Shames Democracy
By Praful Bidwai It is profoundly distressing that all political parties without exception joined hands in Parliament to create mayhem over a cartoon published in 1949 about Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s role in the making of the Constitution of India. The cartoon, reproduced in a Class XI textbook published...
Bitter Battle Between SP And BSP Is On
From Pradeep Kapoor LUCKNOW: Two months after the results for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls were announced, Samajwadi Party and BSP are engaged in bitter fight on the issue of law and order and corruption. At a time when two national parties BJP and Congress have been marginalized, the regional...
Top Private Life Insurers Shut 1,500 Branches In 2 Years
MUMBAI: With “profitable growth” replacing “expansion drive” as the buzzword in the sector, the country’s top private life insurers have significantly reduced branches and employees over the last couple of years to cut costs and improve efficiency. ICICI Prudential, the second largest private life insurer in the country, has...
Dollar Inflows From Exporters' Forex Accounts To Support Rupee
MUMBAI: Having fallen to fresh lows thrice last week, the rupee is expected to get some respite, with dollar inflows from Exchange Earners Foreign Currency (EEFC) accounts and hopes that the central bank would take further steps to arrest the fall. On Friday, the rupee fell to an all-time...
Govt To Facilitate Use Of 6.6L-Crore Reserves By PSUs
NEW DELHI: After failing to cajole the private sector into loosening its purse strings, the government is now looking at the . 6.6-lakh-crore cash pile of state-run companies to spur growth. The finance ministry has constituted a committee under additional secretary Shaktikanta Das to explore and suggest ways to...
Divestment Only Via Placements Or Offer For Sale, Says FinMin
NEW DELHI: The finance ministry has ruled out any more follow-on offers of state-run companies, saying it will instead rely on institutional placement or offer for sale to meet its . 30,000-crore disinvestment target for the current fiscal. The change in the ministry’s stance came after several public sector...
Bankers Meeting Today To End Misuse Of Debt Restructurings
MUMBAI: Bank chiefs will on Monday assemble at the 25-storeyIDBITowersin south Mumbai to draw up guidelines to prevent incompetent and unscrupulous promoters from exploiting the debt restructuring mechanism, which is becoming a drag on the financial system. Following a recent warning by the government, the bank bosses will also...
Presidential Contest: Jayalalithaa’s Trial Run For A Non-Congress Front
By S. Sethuraman Take it, between now and 2014 – and a snap poll for the next Lok Sabha cannot be altogether ruled out at this stage- the AIADMK leader Ms. Jayalalithaa wants to ride a non-Congress front to take on the faltering Congress-led UPA, with little to boast...
European Economy Is Tottering
By Anjan Roy If the beauty of a Grecian urn had inspired John Keats to write his imperial ode to it, the continuing uncertainty of Grecian affairs is driving the global economy to the brink of an economic precipice. Better would have been if the European Union had taken...
Crisis In Kerala CPI(M) Deepens
From P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The crisis in the Kerala CPI(M) has deepened with the party stalwart V S Achuthanandan demanding a change in the leadership of the state unit of the party and constitution of an ad hoc committee. In a strongly-worded letter to CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat,...
India Inducts 15 MiG-29KS For Carrier Operations
Fifteen new Russian-made MiG-29K fighter jets have been inducted for Indian Navy carrier-borne operations, Indian Defence Minister, A.K. Antony told the country’s Parliament. These aircraft will operate from the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, formerly called the Admiral Gorshkov when in Russian service, which is planned for induction in December....
Cabinet To Consider Aviation FDI Proposal Soon: Anand Sharma
NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said on Friday that the proposal for allowing foreign carriers to pick up 49% in Indian airlines would be taken up by the Cabinet very soon. “I have discussed it (the proposal) both with the finance minister and the Prime Minister....
Policy Package To Shore Up Falling Rupee On Cards
NEW DELHI: The rupee’s alarming plunge and the central bank’s limited and depleting armoury to stem the fall have jolted the government into coming up with a comprehensive policy package. According to top government sources who do not wish to be identified, several measures to boost dollar liquidity are...
Fall In Oil Price Helps OMCs, Rupee Spoils Party
NEW DELHI: Oil marketing companies — IOC, HPCL and BPCL — have benefited from a fall in crude oil price in global markets since the beginning of the fiscal, although the depreciation in rupee against the dollar has severely restricted their relief from the softening of oil price. The...
