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.It’s Advantage Tokyo In India-Japan Economic Pact
NEW DELHI: n Exports toIndiashowed a record jump of 40.96% in 2011-12, whileJapan’s imports fromIndiagrew only 18.39% Since the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) took effect last August, trade between the two countries has grown a bit faster compared with the traditional growth. However, this is in favour...
Telecom Chiefs Contest Re-Auction Calculation
NEW DELHI: GSM telecom service providers, who are meeting Communications Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday, will question three key recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on the re-auction of 2G (second-generation) spectrum. These would include the assumption that the base price for 1,800 MHz spectrum must...
Govt Wants Better Fix On UMPP Coal
NEW DELHI: With excess coal becoming an issue of contention in the Sasan ultra mega power project (UMPP) of Reliance Power in Madhya Pradesh, the government has decided to be cautious and allot coal blocks only after a higher degree of certainty about reserves. The ministry of power is...
45 Indian CEOs Head To Pakistan To Pitch For Free Trade And Investment
NEW DELHI: Weeks after Pakistan opened up a long-standing barrier to Indian imports by moving to a negative list of trade items from a restrictive positive list, 45 Indian CEOs are headed to Lahore for a two-day conference with the who’s who of the Pakistani establishment including prime minister...
Diluted Insurance Bill Coming Up
NEW DELHI: The government appears to have buckled under political pressure, as the finance ministry is set to take a diluted version of the Insurance Bill to the Cabinet in the coming week. The revised Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill proposes to retain the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in...
Banking Bill To Aid Shareholders
By Anjan Roy The union cabinet has cleared a long pending change in banking regulation which can have deep impact on how banks are run in the country. The amendment bill raises the voting right of bank shareholders. A bill making the necessary changes in the banking act will...
Financial Crisis Worsens In Punjab
Badal Clueless On Action Programme By B.K. Chum in Chandigarh Eight weeks are too short a period to judge the performance of a new ministry. But the eight weeks yardstick cannot be applied to the incumbent Badal-led Akali-BJP government which took oath on March 14 as the coalition, for...
India To Approve 75 PC-7 MK.2 Basic Trainer Aircraft
India will soon approve a deal withPilatusfor 75 PC-7 Mk.2 basic trainer aircraft to train it’s rookie air force pilots. The deal is expected to be approved shortly, withIndia’s apex Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) scrutinizing the final contract. A Korea Aerospace company, whose KT-1 trainer was runner-up in...
Blackstone set for major CalPERS commitment: source
Blackstone Group LP (BX.N), the world’s largest alternative asset manager, is close to securing a major managed account on behalf of CalPERS, one of private equity’s largest investors, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. In an increasingly competitive fundraising environment, diversified private equity firms have been...
Punjab To Give Promised Incentives To HMEL’s Bathinda Refinery
CHANDIGARH: With the USD 4 billion Bathinda oil refinery getting commissioned, fund-starved Punjab government will now give incentives, which were promised by it for the setting up of the ambitious 9 million tonne per annum project. An Empowered Committee headed by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is likely...
Bulk Power Open Access Now, States Told
NEW DELHI: Armed with the attorney-general\’s opinion that the Electricity Act makes it obligatory for power distribution companies (discoms) and bulk consumers to sign agreements for electricity purchase, the Centre has directed all states to institute mandatory open access regimes in distribution. The toughening of stand comes after similar...
House Panel Wants CBI Probe Into Irregularities In FMC Exchanges
NEW DELHI: The parliamentary standing committee on food and consumer affairs has recommended CBI to look into cases of irregularities in the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) exchanges. “Despite regulatory mechanism in the FMC, there are reported cases of trading irregularities and market manipulations…The Committee recommends that FMC should seriously...
Private Equity Funds Seek To Co-Invest With Rivals To Fetch Large Deals, Lower Risks
MUMBAI: Many private equity funds (PEs) are seeking to invest jointly with rivals in companies as it mitigates risks and insulates them from allegation of failures. “Co-investments are certainly becoming a trend not only from the size perspective but also from the view of jointly evaluating and negotiating transactions,”...
Coal Ministry Plans Sovereign Fund For Coal Buys Abroad
NEW DELHI: The coal ministry has proposed a sovereign fund to facilitate the acquisition of coal properties abroad. The proposal comes following the demands from steel, fertiliser and power companies that have been trying hard to buy mineral assets in countries like Indonesia and Australia. “Though Coal India has...
RBI Eases Norms To Boost Inflows As Rupee Weakens
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India swung into action today after the rupee depreciated 1.7 per cent in four trading sessions and went close to its all-time low levels in early trade today. In a communication made after market hours, the central bank relaxed norms to encourage foreign currency...
Pranab Emerging As Consensus Candidate
By Harihar Swarup The BJP has lost the first round even as battle lines are being drawn for the Presidential elections; firstly by tactlessly floating the name of APJ Abdul Kalam for yet another term and, secondly, by doubting the credentials of the Vice-President Hamid Ansari to become the...
Fresh Jolt To CPI(M) In Bengal
From Ashis Biswas KOLKATA: For the beleaguered Left parties in West Bengal, the realisation that they cannot politically capitalise on the numerous blunders committed by the ruling Trinamool Congress(TMC) must be acutely frustrating. A year after the State Assembly polls of 2011, the sad truth is that any setback...
Increasing Casteisation Of Kerala Politics
From P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The caste syndrome is getting more pronounced in Kerala politics. That is the unmistakable message emanating from the formation of a new political party called the Kerala People’s Front (KPF) by the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, an organization of the Ezhava community. The...
