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.India Seeks Exclusive N-Clubs' Memberships
NEW DELHI: Three weeks after the prime minister suggested to world leaders at a nuclear summit in Seoul that India should get membership in the world’s four major export control regimes, foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai on Wednesday fleshed out that statement into a detailed case. Addressing a gathering of...
Coal Ministry May Issue Notices To 58 Companies This Week
The Coal Ministry is likely to begin this week the process of issuing show-cause notices to 58 captive coal block holders, including PSUs, which have not started the development work of mines in stipulated time. “The coal ministry is likely to issue show-cause notices to 58 coal block holders,...
Coal Ministry Deals Blow To OPGC's Expansion Plan
KOLKATA/BHUBANESWAR: In a setback to the expansion plan of state owned Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC), the Ministry of Coal has ruled out the possibility of offering tapering coal linkage for the 1,320 MW project at Banharpali near Jharsuguda. The expansion project which involved adding two units of 660...
CIL Board Divided On FSA Scope, Agrees To Abide By Presidential Directive
KOLKATA: Coal India’s board remains divided over fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with private power producers for plants being commissioned after December 2011 although its has agreed to abide by the Presidential Directive to sign agreements with older plants, company sources said. In its meeting last week, discussions about plants...
Colonel Jailed Wrongly, To Be Reinstated
GCM vitiated, charges could not be proved: AFT CHANDIGARH: After having spent a year in jail on conviction over charges which “were never proved beyond doubt”, a Colonel has been honourably acquitted, with the army being directed to reinstate him in service in the post and rank from where...
Defence Preparedness
Action needed to end critical deficiencies by Gurmeet Kanwal The Army Chief’s leaked letter to the Prime Minister and the CAG’s recent report have revealed that the state of defence preparedness is a cause for serious concern. The Chief’s letter has brought into the public domain what has been...
Pak Army Chief Urges Less Spending On Defence
Pakistan’s powerful army chief on Wednesday said he would like to see Pakistan spend less on defence, arguing that national security depended on development as much as on protecting borders. Chief of the Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kayani, said “peaceful co-existence” with arch-rivals India was vital to both countries...
Bombardier To Expand Its Engineering Service Office
CHENNAI/BANGALORE: Bombardier, the Canada-based aircraft manufacturer and world’s third largest commercial aircraft maker, has started an engineering service office (ESO) in Bangalore with 20 engineers. The company, while refusing to share investment details for the facility, said the Bangalore facility will provide the engineering design, structural analysis and stress...
Agni-V, India's First ICBM Test-Fired Successfully
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday test-fired for the first time its most-ambitious strategic missile, the over 5,000-km range Agni-V, in a bid to join the super exclusive ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) club that counts just US, Russia, China, France and UK as its members. The solid-fuelled Agni-V, which will...
Ruias in talks to sell $1 billion Aegis BPO
MUMBAI: Diversified conglomerate Essar Group is considering a sale of its billion-dollar business process outsourcing (BPO) company Aegis, after receiving non-binding offers from private equity giants. Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), among others, have been in discussions to buy out Aegis, which is the second...
ECB Norms For Power Companies Eased; RBI To Issue Guidelines In 7 Days
New Delhi: Government has allowed power companies, such as NTPC and Reliance Power, to use 40% of the funds raised through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) route for refinancing rupee debt, raised from Indian financial institutions and banks. The rupee refinancing window would be allowed only if the balance 60%...
India-Asean Services Deal Stuck
NEW DELHI: The much-awaited services pact between India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) trading bloc has reached an impasse. The deal, which was expected to open a huge services market, is stuck over stiff differences. Since the negotiations started, talks on services trade have faced...
Project Completion Highest In Years, Pipeline Robust
MUMBAI: In a season of bad news, the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE) has sprung a pleasant surprise. In its latest data, the research body has said projects worth Rs 4 lakh crore were completed in FY12, the highest in the last few years. In the previous...
India Pips Japan In Purchasing Power Parity
NEW DELHI: Its economy may be in the grips of a slowdown, its polity paralysed and markets morose, but all this hasn’t prevented India from overtaking Japan to become the world’s third-largest economy in purchasing power terms. Data just released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that India’s...
Government Orders PSU Banks To Cut Rates Right Away
KOLKATA: The government has ordered state-run banks to lower lending rates immediately even before the ink has dried on the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to cut interest rates, potentially adding to the corporate governance debate triggered by the imposition of its will on Coal India. The direction from...
Mamata Losing Her Goodwill Fast
By Kalyani Shankar Of late the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Her honeymoon with the press seems to be short. Today she is facing criticism for her unexplainable actions like arresting an academic...
Manmohan Being Considered For President’s Post
The Congress high command may finally end up shifting Manmohan Singh from 7 Race Course Road to Rashtrapati Bhawan. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is all set to be Congress candidate for the President of India‘s post. There is serious concern within the Congress top brass over the fast decline...
RBI Cut Should Help New Investment
By Anjan Roy Two years after it started raising interest rates, the Reserve Bank of India cut its policy rates on April 17 for the first time. While doing this, RBI has added a rider that given the upside inflation risks still persisting, the scope for future rate cuts...
