Microbial Siege of Kolkata under Deep Depression with Cyclone Alert. Damp Diwali! Spineless Bull Wrshipped in Vain and PM, FM and Gang World Bank IMF fail to Assure FREE FALL Prone Periphery Economy! Asia Eyes Key Stake in New Global Financial System.Left to PM: Reconsider Policies if You Want Our Support.PM Returns the volley: No Industrialisation at the Expense of Farmers!
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 94
Palash Biswas
Fresh News
RBI wants lower deposit rates to aid loans
Hindustan Times - 2 hours ago
The Reserve Bank wants depositors to get less, so that borrowers can get loans cheaper. It wants public sector banks to reduce interest rates on deposits.
RBI cancels license of SK Patil Bank Financial Express
RBI allays fears of a recession Hindu
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Rediff
The message RBI missed
Livemint - 42 minutes ago
The reason for the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) masterly inactivity last Friday was presumably because the central bank believes the measures it had taken to add to liquidity, such as the cuts in the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the special repo ...
Repo cut to lower interest rates Economic Times
Don't expect rate cut, says SBI chief Business Standard
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Gold sales shoots up phenomenally in this festive season
Livemint - 5 hours ago
PTI New Delhi: Gold sales have picked up phenomenally after a fall in its prices to 12000-level following consistent steep fall in equity markets which has boosted the demand for the metal as a safe investment option.
Gold loses shine on firm dollar and falling crude Economic Times
No eclipse on tola during this Diwali Times of India
NDTV.com - Hindu Business Line - Hindustan Times - Press Trust of India
For marketers, no Diwali cheer this year
Livemint, India - 20 minutes ago
This year, both Dussehra and Diwali are in October and Hero Honda decided to go for the jugular. But, Krishnan, a sales manager at Himgiri Automobiles, ...
Light a diya, celebrate Diwali with TOI Times of India
Light diyas with Times at NCR bazaars Times of India
Flash is the name of the game, happy diwali!
Livemint, India - 8 hours ago
“How can you not play cards in the Diwali month?” said a young colleague who was introduced to a card playing group a week ago and says is now hopelessly ...
Patta dos hit by meltdown Times of India
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The Great Indian Left parties known for betrayals and ideological hypocricy as best portrayed by the Marxist speaker in Person, on Sunday virtually rejected Washington Planted super slave Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's desire to work with them in future and asked him to reverse his government's economic policies. While West bengal is well inflicted by Chikungunya, dengue cases in Kolkata, surrounding areas! Privatisation and capturegame in mediacl sector alone reflect the Marxist reality of socialism! How may they persuade Same Side to a Governance Culture of corporate americanism?
Is it possible any way? When financially shell-shocked American consumers postpone purchases of big-ticket durable goods — such as automobiles and kitchen appliances — steelmakers are sure to feel the pain. A loss of consumer confidence in recent weeks has caused steelmakers’ orders to soften, and the price of their products to slide. And the War Criminal turns a marxist poster Boy!Already, ArcelorMittal, the largest steelmaker on the planet and one of the more aggressive players in the industry, has announced plans to cut its total production by up to 15 percent.
And what about the Marxist capitalist Highway of Development based on SEZ, Chemical Hubs, Nuclear Parks, Retail chain, Realty Boom, Privatised Services, disinvested and closed industries, retrenched and straving workers, displaced killed Peasants in Marxist ruled states in India?
Farmers should be appropriately compensated when their land is acquired for setting up industries, Singh returned the Volley very well against the marxists, when asked to comment on the Nano controversy On Board PM's Special Aircraft returning Home! India must industrialise to realise its destiny but such efforts should not come at the expense of the nation's farmers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.Talking to reporters after his return from the 7th ASEM summit Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he had a fruitful meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Dr Singh said “We discussed all issues having a bearing on our bilateral relations and I would say that there was a complete meeting of mind.” He added that, “Pakistan is in serious difficulties. India is ready to support Pakistan in getting help from IMF.” On being asked about his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao Dr Singh said, “India and China will remain in contact over the current financial turmoil and will work with like-minded countries to find practical and pragmatic solution.”
Singh said India needs to be industrialised to find solutions facing the nation.
"Let me say that India needs to industrialise, without industrialisation we cannot find solutions to our employment or development problems.
"The real issue is what are the terms on which the land is acquired. It should not be acquired at prices which keep the farmers dissatisfied," Singh told reporters accompanying him to Japan and China.
Singh said he felt ‘sad’ because a lot of efforts were already made by Tata in setting up the Nano plant in West Bengal.
There should be an increasing attempt to reward the farmer appropriately," he said, suggesting that efforts should also be made to give them a stake in the enterprises which come into existence on the land that is acquired.
The rehabilitation policy, the amendment to the Land Acquisition Act, the Bill is before Parliament.
"I would like that this is not an issue which should create fiction and division among parties, because India must industrialise to realise its destiny," he said.
"The only thing is industrialisation cannot be on the backs of the poor farmers. They should be given remunerative compensation wherever land is acquired," he added.
It is raining in Kolkata and all over south Bengal since last evening continuously! A wet, not crackling, Diwali is the Met office forecast with a warning of heavy rain in Calcutta and the districts in the next 48 hours!A depression over the Bay of Bengal triggered widespread rains and squally winds in coastal Orissa on Saturday with weather officials forecasting downpour at some places in the next two days. The low pressure area, which developed yesterday over the west-central Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression and lay centred about 400 km south of Paradip, meteorological department sources here said. Heavy to very heavy rains were likely to occur at isolated places over the coastal areas in the next 48 hours and thundershowers at some places in interior Orissa, they said.
KOLKATA, the City of Joy already sufferd a Damp Durgapuja despite PUJA Countdown of Fifty days with Feel America! Now it is MICROBIAL Siege within. A Camus of Plague could have painted the Human Scape so Gloomy and helpless! Nevertheless, Stock may be in freefall, but bullion is buoyant. A combination of the festive sentiment, a fall in the price of gold and the lack of other trustworthy options is bringing the middle-class Indian back to the jeweller. The glitter of the yellow metal has always held an appeal, but there is renewed interest with the price falling from a peak of Rs 14,500 per per 10 gm or per tola on October 8 to Rs 11,500 on October 24.
The Meteorological Department here is all set to issue a cyclone warning for the coastal region of West Bengal as the depression, formed in the Bay of Bengal yesterday, intensified on Sunday, holding out the threat of a wet Diwali and Kali Puja.
The weathermen have predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall, accompanied by squally winds reaching a speed of upto 55-66 kmph, in gangetic West Bengal and the coastal region for the next 48 hours as the 'deep depression' lying 460 km south-west of the city showed no signs of weakening, the Regional Met Director Dr G C Debnath told PTI here on Sunday.
"We are issuing a cyclone alert for the coastal region because the wind speed may reach 75 kmph in the later part of the day. Fishermen have been advised not to venture out into the sea," Debanth said.
Kali Puja and Diwali seem to be DAMP in Kolkata. Idols were being shifted to the Pandals before two days ironically the Pandals remain still incomplete. My locality Gosthokanan in Sodepur is celebrating Golden Jubille of Kali Puja and the boys are doing their best to erect the panadal round the clock. The landscape and human scape remains the same everywhere in south Bengal, metro Kolkata and suburban areas around. Barasat and naihati boast of their special effects but the rain has spoilt everything.
Any Fever may be Fatal! As the thirty years of Left Marxist rule in West Bengal has killed the Health Service. Health sector is an ingredient part of the Marxist Gestapo. you may suffer from anything but no doctor is capable to diagnoise!This season, vector-borne diseases have killed eleven people in the city, though the Kolkata Municipal Corporation puts the figure at eight After dengue, malignant malaria and Japanese Encephalitis panic, Kolkata is in the grip of a new killer disease — Meningoencephalitis.
At home, I am feeling the panges of Mass suffering as Savita is unwell once again with various complaints. We are depending on Homeo medicines for the time being and never know where to go as Savita discovered her mouth pained this morning and it turned out to be a suspected Tumer! very small, still dangerous!
The mosquito sting has claimed yet another victim.
A 28-year-old Tollygunge resident died of meningoencephalitis — a mosquito-borne disease like malaria, dengue and Japanese encephalitis — at MR Bangur Hospital on Friday.
Sailendra Kumar Chowdhury is the ninth victim of a vector-borne disease this season, going by the state health department’s records. Or seventh, if the civic body’s figures are to be believed.
The student of computer programming had been suffering from high fever for the past four days. He was taken to SSKM Hospital on Thursday night when he complained of severe abdominal pain.
A Dengue case was detected in West Bengal's Bankura district on Friday, Health department sources said.
Subodh Narsariya (42), a resident of Bankura town was suffering from fever for the last few days. His blood tests confirmed that he was suffering from Dengue, sources said.
Narsariya has been admitted to a nursing home in Bankura town, where he is undergoing treatment, sources added.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) seems to be fighting a losing battle against the spread of vector-borne diseases. Sujata Ghosh (33) of Behala’s Jaysree Park died of an unknown fever on Saturday morning. She had been suffering from high fever since Wednesday.
Ghosh died within a couple of hours of being admitted to Vidyasagar Hospital on Saturday morning. According to South 24-Parganas chief medical officer of health, Sacchidananda Sarkar, she was being treated by a local physician and did not get her blood tested till she was hospitalised.
Unlike Ghosh, Arun Mandal, a 32-year-old security guard, got admitted to NRS Medical College and Hospital after testing positive for malignant malaria three days ago. He succumbed to the dreaded disease on Saturday morning.
In fact, Mandal’s death was the sixth from malignant malaria in the past two months. More than 1,500 people have been diagnosed with carrying the germs of this deadly disease, the KMC health department sources said.
After Japanese Encephalitis, it is now the turn of meningoencephalitis. Sailendra Singh (18) of Tollygunge Road succumbed to the deadly
disease at M R Bangur Hospital on Friday morning.
According to hospital sources, Sailendra was admitted on Thursday night with symptoms of encephalitis. His condition deteriorated later. Though Singh’s family members alleged inaction on the part of hospital authorities, a doctor at M R Bangur said that when Sailendra had been brought to the hospital, the disease was at an advanced stage.
Wose is the Business as markets now may not resist FREE FALL despite assurances of PM, FM, FINMIN, RBI and the gangsters of world bank and IMF. more than Rs. One Lac corore have been pumped into the Market to feed the Greedy Money machine corporate and foreign. Indian Incs of the Periphery plunge in deep American love. Spineless BULL is worshipped in Vain! Diwali brings no HAPPINESS this time despite Happy Diwali Greetings from the Warmonger george BUSh! The economic slowdown has dampened the festive mood this season, with even business houses slashing their budget for corporate gifting by almost 25 per cent. According to an industry estimate, the festive gifting market, largely unorganised, is estimated at Rs 4,500 crore(nearly $ 1 billion).
Asian leaders now will find the first global summit on the current financial turmoil a perfect venue to demand a key stake for the region in any new international financial system, experts say. As Europe and the United States clash over their leadership role in framing a new international financial architecture at the November 15 meeting in Washington, Asians feel they have much of a stake in the stability of the global system as the industrialized countries, the experts said.
Five days after Chandrayaan-I shot off successfully into space from Sriharikota, the spacecraft is now a step closer to the moon. According to the command control at ISRO, Chandrayaan's liquid engine was fired for 550 seconds on Sunday morning at approximately 7am. The firing was meant to put the satellite closer to its destination -- that is the moon's elliptical orbit. The spacecraft which is reportedly in good health has covered 1,64,600km since it was launched. In a historic feat, Chandrayaan-I was launched on October 22, 2008 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Why, we are a Hindu Zionist Superpower, Two in One, coupled with corporate Imperialist white Amrica! The Brahaminical hegemony is quite justified to celebrate the Risilience so! But the majority enslaved Black Untouchables indigenous communities and the Minorities have to heavy Price for this brahaminical resurgence unprecedented!
But the Facts are Facts at last!
Datas remain Datas!
The xxxxx Sensex enjoying infinite copulation airconditioned have expsed lot of the Hegemony Dirty Skin as The meltdown at the bourse washed away a big chunk from the market valuation of corporate behemoth Reliance Industries even as others like IT major Infosys Technologies and diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd managed to swim against the tide.
The bloodbath on the bourses has wiped off a whopping Rs 1.50 trillion from market valuations of country's of 10 most valued firms in the past week, with Reliance Industries suffering the worst blow.
Meanwhile, IT, Housing, Infrastructure, Banking, Insurance, Realty, Construction, Service, Tourism, Airlines, Auto, Durable Consumer goods,Steel,Oil, Chemicals, Capital goods tend to FREE FALL !
It is quite ironical that the Greatest Communist of Modern times turns to be the President of capitalist Imperialist America, the War Monger George Bush who replicates the Bran Buddha, the Marxist ways of capitalism ditto!
Wonder of wonder is the fact that Indian Private sector, the Americanised Corporates and MNCs now demand more regulation and more nationalisation in a bid to break an escape Route out of the financial Tsunami!
What the Hell brekas in the Periphery Indian economy!
Eleven thousand Corores have been withdrawn by the FIIs!
Common Masses lost faith in Mutual fund. The withdrwal amounts to more than Thirty thousand!
Industry lobby recommends interest rate cut!
Leading industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Sunday came up with a set of recommendations, including further cut in key i
nterest rates, to help the economy tide over the current financial crisis.
"It is necessary to further reduce repo rate by at least 50 basis points and in CRR (cash reserve ratio) by 150 bps to ensure adequate liquidity and reasonable cost of funding," the chamber said in a statement.
According to CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee, Indian economy faces five major problems - inadequate liquidity, high cost of capital, non-availability of credit, instability in foreign exchange markets and low levels of confidence.
"All these five are inter-linked. We are already seeing the impact of these on the manufacturing sector and soon we are likely to see its impact on other sectors too, particularly in the services sector," Banerjee added.
"In addition, there is a requirement for provisioning of liquidity to mutual fund and NBFC (non-banking financial company) sectors, to enable orderly operation of financial markets," the statement said.
The CII has also urged the government to guarantee all bank deposits for a two-year period to maintain depositor confidence in the banking sector.
Expressing concern about the depreciating rupee, the CII made four specific suggestions - focused exchange rate management to prevent volatility without reducing rupee liquidity, relaxation of foreign investment norms, utilisation of foreign exchange reserves for meeting foreign currency needs, and removal of the cap on non-resident external and foreign currency non-resident deposits.
The key problem that industry is facing is the drying up of credit in the system. The CII has suggested a special corpus fund for lending to small and medium enterprises and speedy release of government funds for various projects.
How worse is the situation!
The combined market cap of the elite club saw an erosion of Rs 1,50,730 crore in the past week, dropping to Rs 8,94,000 crore from the previous week's Rs 10,44,000 crore.
With the market going for a free-fall last week, the country's most valued firm Reliance Industries lost Rs 45,600 crore in its market value dipping below the crucial Rs 2,00,000-crore mark.
RIL, which announced its second quarter results last week, registered its profit up by 7.4% at Rs 4,122 crore, while its revenue rose by 39.4% to Rs 44,938 crore.
Shares of RIL plummeted for three days in row last week to settle at Rs 1,015.50 on BSE on Friday, wiping off as much as Rs 29,038 crore or about 16% of its market value in a single day.
However, Infosys defied negative market trend and managed to add Rs 2,645 crore to its market cap of Rs 71,491 crore at the end of Friday's trading last week. ITC gained Rs 245 crore to stand at Rs 60,019 crore.
Notwithstanding the fall in valuation, however, Mukesh Ambani-led firm stood at the numero-uno position with Rs 1,59,818 crore of market cap on Friday, against Rs 2,05,419 crore in the week-ago period.
Here you are!
It may prove the best joke of the season Diwali! Gamble, dear gamble! They have made the Indian nation a royal casino!
India would not see recession, even if the international situation remained uncertain, said RBI governor D Subbarao on Saturday. However,
he added that the growth momentum would be more moderate if the global financial crisis continued.
"First if there is a recession (outside India), our exports will be hurt. And the longer the recession, the deeper the hurt," Subbarao said. While ruling out a decoupling suggestion he, nevertheless, claimed that if at all any large economy could decouple from the advanced countries, it would be India with its deep domestic demand and consumption base.
Pegging GDP growth for 2008-09 at 7.5-8%, he said, this was "our best growth estimate", even though there were other estimates ranging from 7.2-8.7%. India had grown at 9% in 2007-08. Justifying RBI's cautious credit policy announced on Friday, Subbarao said that as a central bank, it had to balance growth and financial stability with price stability.
Between October 6 and 20, the RBI injected Rs 1,85,000 crore liquidity into the system and "the one per cent repo rate cut was aimed at getting the financial markets going," he explained.
If the situation warranted, RBI wouldn't hesitate to infuse or withdraw liquidity from the system, he said.
It happens quite a reveres against the FINMIN and RBI claims!
Diwali may prove the best Mirror of the Indian Economy. Consumer Durable Goods and Capital goods have been the base of the Great indian Growth story!
And now?
Sales of consumer durables this festive season will see a downward trend on account of a severe credit crunch and the stock market crash,
experts and traders said here on Friday.
"Liquidity will certainly increase due to the CRR (cash reserve ratio) reduction, but the PLR (prime lending rate) has still not changed, which will deter people from taking loans from banks unless it is unavoidable," Delhi University Professor of Economics Shri Ram Khanna told reporters.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Friday further cut CRR by 100 basis points, which means it will leave the banks with more money to lend in the market.
CRR is the amount of funds banks have to keep with RBI against their deposits. If the central bank decides to increase this amount, funds available with the banks come down, while if it is reduced - as was the case Friday - banks are left with more disposable money.
In India, sales of consumer durables such as refrigerators and air-conditioners increase during the festive season beginning end-September and early October.
However, following a severe liquidity crunch this year in the aftermath of a global meltdown and stock market crash, sales of these goods are likely to be hit hard.
Moreover, with the PLR remaining unchanged, people are not inclined to take loans from banks.
PLR is the benchmark rate at which banks lend money.
"People will not borrow from banks to buy refrigerators or AC when there is double digit interest on them," Khanna said.
Increasing instances of terrorist activities is also deterring consumers from shopping, he added.
Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of Confederation of All India Traders (Cait), echoed the sentiment, saying: "The international economic scenario is a dampener on the festive season sales."
"Traders are incurring huge losses as consumers are not only facing financial strain but also security concerns that are deterring them from going shopping," he added.
According to D.K. Joshi, chief economist at credit rating agency Crisil, while the market is certain to be impacted, there are factors that could offset it also.
"The Sixth Pay Commission has pumped in money, which will increase purchasing power and raise demand," Joshi said.
However, the liquidity crunch is certainly a dampener on consumer durables sales especially when people make token purchases during Diwali, Joshi added.
The government needs to take extra measures to ensure extra liquidity in the market and make available soft loans to the traders to meet their production costs, Cait's Khandelwal said.
He said the markets till last year had seen sales rising 30-40 percent during the festive season that lasts till January-end to early February.
However, instead of witnessing any growth, trade is on a downswing with losses mounting, Khandelwal claimed.
"Though the Sixth Pay Commission has given the salaried class more liquid cash, it is only on paper till now. Unless people get the money in hand, sales will remain sluggish and traders will suffer losses," he added.
India's benchmark securities index crashed Friday by nearly 1,000 points within minutes of opening but recovered substantially after the central bank announced a cut in the CRR to inject an estimated Rs.400 billion.
In addition, RBI has reduced the CRR by 50 basis points Monday, which will likely inject about Rs.200 billion into the system.
The meltdown at the bourses has left corporate India not even worth its revenue base with the collective market capitalisation of all the listed companies slipping below their cumulative latest fiscal revenues.
After a 1,071-point Sensex plunge on Friday, the market value of all the listed companies plummetted to about Rs 27,75,000 crore -- which is less than the total full-year revenue of close to Rs 30,00,000 crore reported by these companies in their latest financial years.
Besides, two fiscal quarters have already passed for a majority of the companies -- as most of the Indian companies follow April-March financial year -- and the industry has witnessed a considerable revenue growth in this six-month period.
Even a modest estimate of 10 per cent revenue growth for the current fiscal would take the total revenue to near Rs 33 trillion, while the market capitalisation are said to be under further pressure given no signs of recovery in global markets.
In another interesting turn of events, the market value figure for a majority of the companies have slipped below their latest fiscal revenues, marking a reversal of the trend till early this year prior to the beginning of the downslide on the bourses.
As on January 10, the day when the Sensex had scaled its all-time high of 21,206.77 points before embarking on its downhill path, close to 2,000 companies had a market capitalisation figure higher than their full-year revenues. In comparison, just about 1,000 companies' market values were below their full fiscal revenue figures.
In comparison, there are only about 800 companies left today which have their market value higher than their latest fiscal revenues, against more than 2,000 firms having a market value lower than their full-year revenue.
Reacting to Singh's remarks on Saturday to accompanying journalists on his way back from China that he would like to work with Left parties for secularism and national unity, CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury said "if the concern for secularism is so sincere then all this should have been thought before rushing into surrender to the US" on the issue of civil nuclear deal.
He asked the Prime Minister to reconsider his economic policies.
CPI Secretary D Raja said unless the Prime Minister and the Congress-led UPA government reversed its politics and get out of the Indo-US nuclear deal, it would be difficult to work with them.
He said the government should reverse its economic reforms and stop pursuing strategic ties with the US.
Yechury said it was "our pressure that prevented the government from going in from a full capital account convertibility and enact laws to open up insurance and banking sectors. Had it happened we would have been ruined today".
Raja said it was due to the Left opposition that the government could not proceed with full rupee convertibility or put in pension funds into the stock market.
Both the leaders were asked to comment on Singh's statement that he hoped to find ways and means to work with Left and secular parties even though he disagreed with them on economic issues.
If it is the public Exposure grand by the Left, the RSS Ramp nevour lacks the Glamour!If averting a no-trust being tabled is animating the government's efforts to adjourn the current session of Parliament till December, BJP might challenge this assumption as it feels that the July 22 confidence vote cannot be treated as a "no confidence" motion.
Leader of Opposition L K Advani told TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Adjourning_session_wont_protect_govt_from_no-trust_vote_Advani/articleshow/3630772.cms) that "the trust motion in July was not initiated by the Opposition. Suppose the support to the government again changes within six months. Can it then be argued that the government has no cause to prove its majority on the floor of Lok Sabha?"
While not stating whether BJP was planning a no-confidence motion, Advani said the notion that adjourning the current proceedings, which are a "continuation" of the July 22 special session, will not protect the government from its majority being tested.
He pointed out that the six-month bar applied to a no-confidence motion being initiated by the Opposition. In the event the trust vote was sought by the government there could be no reason to prevent the Opposition seeking to press a no-confidence vote within six months, technically even in the same session.
Going by indications the July 22 session was going to be spread out over more than four months and in such a situation the Opposition could hardly be prevented from moving a no-confidence motion.
Thus, the Nuke Opera never ends and beats all Reality shows on indian televison!
Menwhile, Heavy rain continued to batter Kerala for the third successive day on Saturday, flooding low-lying areas and forcing the government to open control rooms in all districts to mobilise relief operations.The rain was especially severe in north Kerala, with the gauge in several places in the districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur, Wayanad and Kannur touching levels ranging between 24 cm and 12 cm during the 24 hours that ended at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday.Weather models had predicted that the cyclonic circulation will move west to the Oman coast in the northwest Arabian Sea, relieving the Kerala coast. But the system has continued to stay put in the region off the Kozhikode-Mangalore coast.
What’s more, another such system is likely to form near the Andaman and Nicobar islands on October 26 and head towards the eastern coast. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) today said the low pressure has been formed off the AP coast. The system may concentrate into a depression during the next 48 hours. This, the weather office said, will enhance rainfall activity along the east coast during the next three to four days. Diwali would be celebrated on Tuesday.
The weather office said the low pressure will concentrate into depression by Sunday. It means rainfall activity will continue on Monday and Tuesday. ‘Going by the progress of the system, rainfall activity is likely during Monday as well as Tuesday. Diwali is likely to be affected,’ Director, IMD, Orissa, S.C. Sahu said.Interestingly, the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting sources said a second low pressure would form off the Andaman by Sunday. While the current system is expected to move parallel to Orissa coast before heading towards West Bengal-Bangladesh coast, the second system is likely to head towards North Orissa.
Daylong drizzle coupled with cold winds disrupted life in the capital and elsewhere as a well-marked low over the Bay of Bengal grew into a depression yesterday.
Met office in Dhaka predicted that the squally weather conditions may continue for a couple of days with the depression threatening to strengthen further.
In a special bulletin, it said the low, formed over the west-central Bay and adjoining northwest Bay, has been moving north-westerly after becoming a depression.
“Under the influence, heavy to very heavy rainfall may occur at places across Chittagong, Barisal, Khulna and Dhaka divisions during the next 24 hours,” read the Met office warning issued yesterday afternoon.
Meanwhile, a launch carrying 40 passengers aboard overturned in Meghna in Hatia. However, no casualties were reported in the capsize.
G.C. Debnath, the director of the weather section in the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore, said: “The depression now lies about 700km south-west of Calcutta. Under its influence, heavy rain is expected in coastal districts and some parts of Calcutta. The depression is likely to intensify further and Kali Puja may be affected.”
Met officials said the inclement weather had led to a day temperature drop and a sense of chilliness.
“Yesterday, the maxi- mum temperature was pegged at 29.3°C. Today, it dropped to 26.5°C, which is four degrees below normal,” a Met official said.
The sea has also turned rough, the weather office added.
“Gusty winds with a speed between 45kmph and 55 kmph are expected to lash the coast and fishermen have been advised not to venture into the high seas,” the official said.
The depression, the Met office said, has shown signs of moving northward. “However, it is yet to be seen if it travels towards Bengal or moves towards Orissa or Bangladesh at the last moment,” the official added.
“October-December is the cyclone season and low pressures and depression often develop in the Bay of Bengal at this time.”
Today, the city woke up to cloudy skies. By 1pm, a drizzle had started, but heavy rain was not reported from anyw- here in the city or the dist-ricts.
“This is because the depression is still far away from the coast,” the Met official said.
The out-of-season rain could worsen the microbial siege of Calcutta, experts warned today as undiagnosed fever killed a woman and a double dengue-malaria strike left a child seriously ill.
The outbreaks have highlighted several lapses by civic and state health officials:
Spraying of repellents irregular in large city areas
No surveillance of any type of fever
Deaf ear to World Health Organisation warning of mosquito-borne diseases because of late onset of monsoon
Hardly any awareness drive against water accumulation
Dengue test-kit shortage in state-run hospitals
A health official passed the buck: “The civic authorities should have acted faster.”
Sujata Ghosh, 33, of Behala is probably the 10th Calcuttan killed by mosquito-borne infections in October (see chart). She had shown symptoms of dengue but test results on her blood sample, drawn this morning before her death, are awaited.
The city is facing a simultaneous outbreak of malaria, dengue, encephalitis and chikungunya — although civic and state health officials could not provide incidence figures — and must brace for worse.
“The rainfall will cause fresh water to accumulate, helping the breeding of mosquito larvae. This can lead to further spread of diseases,” said Amitabha Nandi, director, Centre for Tropical Medicine and Parasitology.
Met officials forecast heavy rain till Monday and possibly on Tuesday too. ( ).
“We have asked our vector-control teams to work overtime,” said Deb Dwaipayan Chattopadhyay, chief municipal health officer.
The city reported three more patients today, with Isha Ghosh, 7, of Mominpur testing positive for dengue and malaria. Biswarup Dutta, in his 20s, of Behala has dengue and Biren Singh, 60, a shanty-dweller from near the FB block market, became Salt Lake’s first confirmed chikungunya patient.
Sujata, employee of a finance company, had been down since Wednesday night with high fever, shivering, body- ache and rashes. She was declared dead on arrival at Behala’s Vidyasagar Hospital, which will do a post-mortem. Her family said Sujata suffered from kidney and thyroid diseases too and had high blood sugar.
“The civic body hardly ever sprays mosquito repellents here,” said a neighbour in Behala.
Consumer Goods
Consumer goods are the goods bought by the households or end users for their personal/own consumption. These include:
Durable Goods
Durable goods are the good used by end users for a long period of time repeatedly and continuously such as major appliances. Generally durable goods have a larger life span with regard to its use.
Semi Durable Goods
These goods have a specific/limited lifespan and can be utilized at multiple occasions such as footwear, linens, clothing, artificial jewellery etc.
Non Durable Goods
Non durable goods are the goods that can be used only once.These have a very short life span and are not reusable. For instance : food, household supplies etc.
Manufactured Goods
Manufactured goods are goods that have been processed in any way. As such, they are the opposite of raw materials, but include intermediate goods as well as final goods.
Advantage India
India is a major hub for all businesses and consumer goods is the most emerging sectors in India. As a business hub India provides a better advantage of setting up business due to both federal policies and consumer markets. With increase in mobile factors of production the availability of labour is creating opportunities for Multi nationals. Another advantage in India as a business destination the currency. The rise in currencies lead to higher productivity resulting in increased purchasing power.Another factor influencing the business atmosphere is the India's federal system of Government with clear line of powers within the state and the Central Governments.
Apart from these India provides a liberal, attractive, and investor friendly investment climate. India has the most liberal and transparent policies on foreign direct investment (FDI) among major economies of the world. India is among the top 10 FDI destinations.In addition to all this Government of India accords high priority to development of infrastructure in highways, ports, railways, airports, power, telecom..
Advantage India at a Glance
General
A stable Government with second stage reforms in place
Well established corporate ethics
Major tax reforms including implementation of VAT
Strengths : Indian FMCG Sector
Well-established distribution network extending to rural areas
Strong brands in the FMCG sector
Low cost operations
Opportunities
Large domestic market
Export potential
Increasing income levels will result in faster revenue growth
Returns and Investments
$130 billion-plus investment in infrastructure by year 2010
$ 10 billion FDI in infrastructure development and capital market by year 2008
Stock market rose by nearly 40 per cent in 2005; foreign investors are flooding in
Market
India has the largest young population with over 890 million people below 45 years of age
600 million-plus consumers by year 2010
550 million-plus people under the age of 20 by year 2015
70 million-plus people earn over Rs.8,00,000 ($18,000) a year - number to rise to 140 million by year 2011
Consumer Spending Pattern
In India the Total Consumer Spend was Rs.20,00,000 crore ($445 billion) in the year 2005
Size of Retail market Rs.10,50,000 crore ($233 billion);
Organised Retail sector is worth Rs.35,000 crore ($8 billion)
Leading retailers' sales growth (2005): 50-100%
India is the fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power
A consumer market of 1.02 billion
A growing middle class of over 400 million with increasing purchasing power
FDI and Global Retailers
51% FDI allowed in single brand retailing
FDI laws relatively liberal in wholesale trade
Metro AG and Shoprite already operational
More foreign retailers eyeing possibilities in wholesale
Tesco, Carrefour and Wal-Mart expected to operate soon
Woolworths (Dick Smith Electronics - durable retail arm) entering through a JV with the Tata conglomerate
Foreign Exchange Controls
Rupee is freely convertible on current account
Rupee is almost fully convertible on capital account for non-residents
For FDI- Profits earned, dividends and proceeds out of the sale of investments are fully repatriable
There are some restrictions for resident Indians on capital account on incomes earned in India
"The big question is how you can restructure the international economic regime in a way that makes countries such as India and China feel that they not only have a stake but also have real influence," said Eswar Prasad, former head of the China division at the International Monetary Fund.
The Washinton-based IMF has often been criticized as increasingly unrepresentative of the global economy, with emerging economies, especially Asian ones, chronically underweighted in their voting shares.
"The problem with the Bretton Woods institutions in the way they are currently structured is that these major economies feel that those institutions are still the fiefdoms of the US in particular and advanced economies in general," Prasad said.
The IMF and the World Bank are institutions established under the Bretton Woods agreement, which has guided international finance since World War II but which mainly European leaders want rewritten after a massive US home mortgage meltdown sparked the world's worst financial crisis since the Geat Depression.
US President George W. Bush has called for a series of summits, beginning with the November 15 talks, to discuss the causes of the problems in the global financial system and begin developing reform for financial regulatory bodies and institutions.
Leaders from China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea and Indonesia are the Asian regional invitees to the summit, that also include the United States, the European Union, Britain, France, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey.
"For the architecture of the international financial system, I certainly think they should be raising the whole question of the over-representation, particularly of Europe and to some extent the United States, and the extreme under-representation of emerging markets, many of which are in Asia," said Nicholas Lardy of the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics.
He said that without some really fundamental changes, for example, in the distribution of voting rights in the IMF, "it is hard to see how it is going to remain a relevant international organization".
IMF member nations approved reforms earlier this year for developed countries to give up a small fraction of their voting rights -- equivalent to 1.6 percentage points -- to the benefit of emerging and developing countries. It was criticized by experts as inadequate.
"They are really moving at a snail's pace," Lardy said despite IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's pledge to restore what he called relevance and credibility to the heavily criticized multilateral institution.
While there is some agreement on the need for a powerful and effective multilateral institution that would bring everyone to the table and actually have some leverage over the key players, it is not clear whether the Washington summit would seek a new international financial framework, experts said.
"A big concern China and India have is that institutions, like the IMF, may not have leverage over the key advanced country players," said Prasad, now with the Washington-based Brookings Institution. "So, how you correct that imbalance or at least the perception of that imbalance is going to be very critical," he said. The current financial turmoil has inspired widespread speculation of a shifting balance of power away from the United States and other advanced economies of Europe toward the major emerging economies, said Sabina Dewan of the Washington-based Center for American Progress.
"Whether this is indeed the case is yet to be seen, but that emerging economies such as China and India are becoming critical players in the global economic game is clear," she said.
Celebrate Diwali in the virtual world
Kolkata: Burst crackers without noise pollution or offer puja to the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi, in the virtual world on PCs or GPRS enabled mobile phones this Diwali.
"The e-fireworks can continue for an unlimited period. An exciting range of fireworks can be burst by logging on to multilingual portal Webdunia.Com, which is offering it as part of its 'Go Green'campaign, on its religion channel under virtual pooja and Online eCrackers," Webdunia sources told PTI.
"The cyber world promises to fire your imagination this Diwali, with eco-friendly crackers in all shapes and sizes," the sources said.
Computer users can burst e-crackers and offer puja to Lakshmi by logging on to www.Hindi.Webdunia.Com/religion/occasion/dipawali/.
Those with GPRS enabled mobile phone users can log onto wap.Webdunia.Com, free of cost, the sources said.
For a special divine experience mobile phone users can also check out the Lakshmi Poojan application on wap.Webdunia.Com.
The application works on Java enabled mobile phones and can be downloaded free from http://wap.Webdunia.Com.
Webdunia, is a multi-lingual portal, headquartered in Indore and has development centres in Chennai, Indore and Thiruvananthapuram.
Retailers hoping customers will splurge before Diwali
NEW DELHI: With just two days left for Diwali, organised retailers are hoping that more customers will come to their stores and lift sales, which hav
e been slack in the past few months.
Retail majors, including Reliance Retail, Koutons India, Vishal Retail and V-Mart have reported low to marginal rise in business but are hopeful that business will pick up in these days.
Reliance Retail has witnessed sales and footfalls rising in the past 10 days after a period of slow business.
"The month of October started in a slow way but over the last 10 days tempo has picked up across all our 840 stores located in various states. Diwali is the key selling season for any retailer and we expect to make the best out of it," Reliance Retail President and Chief Executive Officer (Lifestyle) Bijou Kurien said.
He said the company is expecting a sales figure of "much higher than 15-20 per cent" over and above the normal rate during an average day.
Asked about increase in footfalls, Kurien said: "Most of our outlets have been in business for less than one year and this would be their first Diwali. So, it is difficult to predict the footfall size."
Apparel and accessories major Koutons India reported a decline in footfalls during the second half of September and first week of October. However, sales have picked up since then for the 1,465 store strong value chain.
"Sales were a bit down in late September and early October. Since then it has moved upwards and we are having footfalls of around 10 per cent in excess of any normal day," Koutons India Chairman and Chief managing Director D P S Kohli said.
India to support Pak efforts to overcome financial crisis: PM
In what could be seen as a major confidence building measure, India has said it will support Pakistan government's efforts to tide over a
serious financial crunch by backing Islamabad's plan to seek help from the IMF.
"I wish the new democratic government in Pakistan well. We would like them to succeed," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters on board his special aircraft while returning home from a two-nation trip to Japan and China last evening.
"Pakistan is in serious difficulties and is going to the IMF. We will support Pakistan getting help from the IMF," said Singh, who met his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Beijing on the margins of the ASEM Summit on Friday.
Singh said he and Gilani discussed "all issues having a bearing on our bilateral relations and I would say that there was a near complete meeting of mind."
The Prime Minister's remarks came as Pakistan is facing a major economic crisis with plunging foreign exchange reserves and high inflation. The rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the country's sovereign debt to level of 'CCC-plus', close to defaulting on its commitments of external loan repayment.
Islamabad is seeking loans from international donor funds and member states of 'Friends of Pakistan' group, which will convene a meeting next month in the UAE.
The Prime Minister said he had extensive discussions with Gilani on trade.
"We expressed happiness at the opening of the trade route in Jammu and Kashmir. We expressed our wish that trade should be expanded and discussed the problem of visa liberalisation and people-to-people contact," Singh said.
He said Gilani briefed him about the discussions on terrorism in Pakistan's Parliament.
Singh noted that Pakistan's Parliament had for the first time passed a strong resolution against terrorism that said Pakistani territories would not be allowed to be utilised for terrorist activities against neighbours.
"It was a good meeting but we are yet to see how effectively it is implemented...," Singh said.
Meltdown takes spark out of Diwali
26 Oct 2008, 0026 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: Most of the Capital's main market areas recorded 50% less footfalls on Saturday even with Diwali just two days away. In markets like
Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Karol Bagh, South Extension, Chandni Chowk etc shopkeepers claimed nobody was buying due to the recent share market meltdown. Moreover, security concerns also refrained shoppers from heading to crowded market areas.
The crowd at the city's markets was the same as seen on any other weekend. Most shops were empty and only the decorations put up by traders' associations were a reminder of the fact that Diwali is round the corner.
Said Sanjay Bharghav, owner of a ready-made garments shop at Chandni Chowk: "The festive season has been very dull. In fact, it doesn't even feel like Diwali is approaching. The garment shops have been the worst hit. No one is buying gifts. Even the eateries in Chandni Chowk are hardly crowded.''
According to shopkeepers though, security which was lax on Friday had been stepped up by Saturday. Heavy police presence was seen in many of the local market areas. Said Rekha Sinha, who was shopping at Madhu Vihar on Saturday evening: "By evening, people had started venturing out of their homes to buy diyas and other decoration items and there was a lot of police in the markets. The police officers were even checking shopping bags.''
With most bomb blasts having taken place on a Saturday, market places which have witnessed blasts in the past saw even lesser footfalls as compared to others. Said a shopkeeper in Sarojini Nagar: "Business has been badly hit this festive season. As most of the blasts happened on a Saturday, very few people actually came out to shop, especially in market areas like Sarojini Nagar where blasts have taken place in the past.''
Said an employee of Classik electronics in Lajpat Nagar: "Hardly any electronic goods have been purchased even though Diwali is coming up. The crash in the share market has made people very cautious about splurging on luxury goods. Security is also one of the reasons for slow business.'' Agreed Gurjeet Singh: "The usual gift hampers are also not selling. We are now stocking less.''
Said a shopper at South Extension, Lucky Singh: "My wife and I were advised against stepping out of our houses by our families due to security concerns. But, this being our first Diwali, we decided to celebrate it like every year by shopping for new clothes and buying necessary items for the festive season.''
With Dhanteras on Sunday, shopkeepers still hope for their business to pick up slightly. Only jewellers seem to be smiling all the way. The sale of gold has been more or less the same this Diwali.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/Meltdown_takes_spark_out_of_Diwali/articleshow/3641105.cms
Singh overture to ‘Left colleagues’
MANINI CHATTERJEE
Singh in Beijing. (PTI)
On board PM’s aircraft, Oct. 25: In his first major overture to the CPM-led Left parties since the bitter divorce in July, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he was “not happy to part company with our Left colleagues” and hoped that he could once again work with them especially on questions of secularism and nationalism.
In a politically astute move, he made no mention of the nuclear deal which had led to the acrimonious break-up three months ago but focused on issues which had brought the Congress and Left together in the first place — and could bring them together again after the 2009 elections.
Speaking to the media on his flight home from Beijing tonight, the Prime Minister’s pro-Left sentiments extended to Bengal too — breaking his silence on the Singur fiasco, he said the circumstances under which Ratan Tata had to pull out the Nano factory was “certainly sad.”
Asked to comment on Tata’s decision to move out of Bengal to Narendra Modi’s Gujarat, the Prime Minister said that in a democracy, entrepreneurs were free to decide the location of their plants but the decision itself was sad. “It is sad because a lot of work had been done in Bengal and there was a date fixed for the Nano’s appearance in the market….”
CPM’s Prakash Karat
Aware that the land acquisition issue could have political repercussions with elections round the corner, Singh, however, sought to strike a fine balance between the imperatives of industrialisation and the well-being of farmers — almost as though he were agreeing with both Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Mamata Banerjee.
In reply to a question, he said, “India needs to industrialise; without industrialisation we cannot find solutions to our employment or development problems... (but) industrialisation cannot be on the backs of the poor farmers.”
Pointing out that the real issue is the terms on which the land is acquired, the Prime Minister said, “There should be an increasing attempt to reward farmers appropriately, also perhaps giving them a stake in the enterprises which come into existence on the land that is acquired.”
The bill to amend the Land Acquisition Act (which is expected to guarantee better compensation to farmers) is before Parliament, Singh said and hoped that it would not create any friction and division among parties “because India must industrialise to realise its destiny”.
The Prime Minister took the same nuanced approach towards the Left as a whole — disagreeing with its economics but seeking its help in politics. On claims made by CPM leaders that India would have fared much worse in the current financial crisis if the Left had not blocked attempts to open out the banking, insurance and pension funds sectors, Singh said: “I am afraid I don’t agree. Strengthening India’s banking system, strengthening India’s insurance system has enabled us to deal with the crisis more effectively. I beg to differ (with them on this).”
But he took the opportunity to express his unhappiness at parting with the Left parties. “In my view,” the Prime Minister said, “all parties which are committed to secularism and nationalism must work together to deal with the communal and regional divide which is being sought to be created by some anti-social elements. There are issues which require all political parties which think alike to sit together, and I very much hope we can find ways and means to work with our Left colleagues.”
In contrast to his expansive comments on Left-related issues, the Prime Minister remained circumspect on other questions relating to politics. The next general election will be held “on schedule”, he said but sidestepped a query on whether he would contest a Lok Sabha seat with a non-committal “we shall see when the time comes”.
Similarly, he refrained from guessing at the outcome of the Assembly elections round the corner. “All elections are in one way or the other a test of popularity. But that’s part of the democratic process one has to go through,” he said.
Following up on his remarks at the ASEM summit in Beijing last evening in which he admitted that India’s economy was under strain because of the international financial crisis, Singh said: “It would be wrong to say that I am not worried. It is my duty as Prime Minister to worry when things don’t go as planned.” He also refused to spell out a time frame for the end of the crisis, saying that “it all depends on how long it takes the world community to restore confidence to the global financial markets.”
On the proposed G20 summit in Washington next month, the Prime Minister confirmed that President Bush had called him in Tokyo to invite him to the summit but said a decision would be taken only after consultations in Delhi.
The Prime Minister, who met Chinese President Hu Jintao earlier this evening, said they had discussed the financial crisis in detail and would take co-ordinated positions to tackle it. Singh, whose speech came in for much praise at the ASEM summit last evening, also confirmed that he had predicted the crisis well in advance. “I have been saying for the past 18 months that there are clouds on the horizon which, if not checked, would create trouble for the world economy,” he said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081026/jsp/frontpage/story_10022027.jsp
Mamata rally time after pujas
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Calcutta, Oct. 25: The end of the puja season means Mamata Banerjee’s rallies are round the corner.
“We have kept quiet for a pretty long time,” Mamata said at her Kalighat home today.
“During the festival season, we had suspended protests against the ruling party for about a month. Now that Kali Puja and bhai phonta will be over by October 30, we will begin our agitation against the government from October 31.”
Four days ago, she had said the Trinamul Congress would refrain from blocking rail and road traffic over trivial issues.
Mamata’s first rally will be in Burdwan’s Ausgram where Trinamul men were allegedly being threatened and minorities attacked by CPM goons.
After that, she plans to gherao the offices of the superintendents of police across the state. “Our agitation would spread to every district in the form of an SP office abhijaan between November 10 and November 20,” Mamata said.
“The CPM is now realising that its end is pretty near. It will get the answer in the Lok Sabha polls. This has to be told to the masses. That’s why, I will visit some districts.”
A party leader said Mamata’s decision to re-launch the agitation against the government is aimed at winning support in the districts ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year and elections to the Howrah Municipal Corporation and the municipalities in Krishnagar, Behrampore and Jhargram on November 30.
“Didi spoke to some of our district leaders who told her that the agitation against the ruling party has to be kept alive as Lok Sabha elections are near. She is expecting an announcement for the general elections in January-end or February next year,” the leader said.
Mamata said she would go to Singur on November 2 to demand that 400 acres be returned to the unwilling farmers. “I will hold a meeting supporting the unwilling farmers. Their land was taken forcibly. Our meeting would again demand the return of 400 acres.”
She added: “Industry is welcome on the remaining part of the acquired land and the government can float global tenders to set up units there.”
On November 10, Mamata would be in Nandigram addressing a meeting denouncing the “armed recapture of land by CPM goons’’. “Don’t forget it was the CPM, with police as onlookers, which recaptured Nandigram on November 10 last year,” she said.
Today, the Deolpota Seva Samity, the NGO invited for talks on land acquisition for the Geonkhali shipyard, said it would boycott Monday’s meeting with the East Midnapore district magistrate.
Singur OC transfer
The officer in charge of Singur police station, Priyabrata Bakshi, has been posted in Pandua. Bhadreshwar OC Ashok Mishra will take his place.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081026/jsp/bengal/story_10022119.jsp
How to restore faith in a failed economic system
26 Oct, 2008, 1419 hrs IST, IANS
BRUSSELS: The trouble with telling nervous customers you have solved their problem is that you first have to admit there is one. That is the dilemma
facing the world's banks, governments and financial institutions as they desperately try to restore faith in an economic system which millions of customers now believe has failed.
"We have shown the world that the United States of America will stabilise our financial markets and maintain a leading role in the global economy," US President George W. Bush proclaimed on Oct 3 after the US Congress passed a $700-billion bank rescue plan.
His words spectacularly failed to restore global confidence, with stock markets nosediving in the days following the vote.
Europe, meanwhile, has "taken too much time to look at confidence - we've ignored it too long", Hans Redecker of the BNP Paribas bank said in London.
The word "confidence" has become a watchword for world leaders since the current financial crisis began in early September.
Analysts around the world have highlighted the lack of trust as a key reason for the global slowdown, with banks unwilling to lend to one another, and customers of banks such as Britain's Northern Rock desperate to take their money out before the institution collapsed.
European leaders have backed up that analysis with action, offering trillions of dollars in guarantees of deposits and inter-bank loans in a bid to keep their populations from panic.
Their moves "seem to have helped, but they seem to have almost reached the maximum (governments) could have done, barring full nationalisation", Karel Lannoo, head of the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, said.
The psychological pressure has been particularly acute in Germany, where memories of the rocketing inflation and financial crashes of the 1920s and 1930s are burned deep in the national psyche.
"I wondered what would happen if queues formed outside German credit institutions as they did for Northern Rock. The traumatic events of the twentieth century (have) imprinted themselves far more deeply in this country than in others," German Foreign Minister Peer Steinbrueck told the Die Zeit weekly Oct 16.
But governments and banks alike have struggled to overcome a counter-current of market uncertainty which has read their guarantees as a sign that things are even more serious than had been feared.
German banks, for example, reported a flood of anguished enquiries the day after Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a blanket state guarantee for retail bank deposits, as though the guarantee had confirmed the scale of the problem rather than solving it.
That leaves governments needing to do nothing less than rebuild the financial system if they are to restore confidence, analysts say.
"As mistrust in the financial system has spread to ordinary citizens, a broad institutional and regulatory plan needs to be put in place to convince them that policy-makers have learned the necessary lessons from this crisis," Lannoo wrote in a briefing paper Tuesday.
But while governments have been quick to offer national bail-out plans and a European-level "tool box" for future interventions, analysts say they have not done nearly enough on the global scale.
"What we see is a response with very little coordination. The international cooperation is still missing," Redecker said.
World leaders have recently lined up behind a call from French President Nicolas Sarkozy for an emergency summit to "re-lay the foundations of responsible capitalism" on Nov 15.
But such a response, negotiated between the world's most powerful and self-assertive countries at a time of massive domestic stress, is likely to take a great deal of time.
"It will take an extremely long-term effort: to restore a lost reputation takes a lot of time," Lannoo pointed out.
And with Europe's markets and citizens already spooked by talk of a looming recession, further bank bail-outs, slumping industrial profits and financial turbulence in key export countries such as the US and Russia, time is the commodity they can least of all afford.
"Our view since March has been that the solution would be to stabilise the banking sector, but the measures which were introduced came very late. The question now is, was it too late?" Redecker said.
Market mayhem: Realty stocks take a beating
25 Oct, 2008, 1345 hrs IST,Nimish Shukla, TNN
AHMEDABAD: Real estate stocks fell like nine pins on Friday as investors panicked and jettisoned their stocks at whatever price the markets gave them.
Amidst free fall in the markets, stock price of Unitech halved and settled at Rs 30.10 with a loss of 51.29%, unforeseen for a Nifty stock in a single day earlier.
The stock lost around 91% of its value from its peak price of Rs 547 that was seen during January 2008.
Among realty stocks, Puravankara Projects, DLF, Orbit Corporation, Parsvnath Developers and Phoenix Mills had taken larger beating and these stocks were down more than 20%. Even the BSE realty index fell by 24% in a day.
The markets on Friday disappointed after the Reserve Bank of India kept its key rates unchanged in its credit policy.
Selling pressure on realty stocks became intense following the concern that banks may not reduce interest rate following the RBI's decision.
Brokers go slow on structured products
25 Oct, 2008, 0454 hrs IST,Gaurav Pai, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: After pushing them for years, brokers are going slow on structured products — mostly capital protection schemes, which also promised to captu
re a certain percentage of the upside in the stock market. These products have lost their sheen because of the collapse of several global investment banks and defaults on bonds by many countries recently. In structured products, it is the NBFC arms of investment banks that mostly structure these equity-linked notes.
“We have been in a holding pattern on the structured products side, as we want to be more comfortable about the end use of the money that we take from investors,” says Maneesh Kumar, head of wealth management solutions at ASK Wealth Advisors, a Mumbai-based financial planning & wealth advisory firm. “We want to be careful and ensure that the use of monies on the debt component of the investment is not leveraged. The portion in derivatives also has to pass through our scrutiny,” he adds.
The broking houses that structure these products usually invest nearly three-fourths of the money raised in ‘unsecured debentures’ issued by a non-banking finance company (NBFC).
So, if an investor has invested Rs 100 with the broking house, Rs 75 is invested in debentures, which at a compounded rate of 10% over three years (usually the tenure of the structured product) grows to Rs 100, thus protecting the capital. The remaining 25% is usually invested in Nifty-linked derivatives — either options or futures — to capture the upside in the index. The structured product industry is estimated to house more than Rs 10,000 crore, with Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Kotak accounting for a sizeable chunk of the market.
Akhilesh Singh, business head — wealth management and distribution services, Emkay, says although investors have been expressing concern about the credit quality of structured products, there have been no redemption. “But the appetite for any fresh investments in structured products has reduced greatly,” he says.
Other officials at broking houses say there is no evidence of defaults in any of the existing structured products. But they point out that it is only when a large number of such products come up for redemption that investors know whether the apparent safety of their funds is for real.
A host of wealthy Indians had put their money in structured products to protect the profits they had made from the bull run. Investors with less risk appetite also found such products attractive because these products were supposed to guarantee the capital. But with NBFCs —the counterparties in such transactions — taking hit in recent days, investors are finding that guarantee may have just been a mirage.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3638993.cms
Inclusion and regulators' dilemma
25 Oct, 2008, 0053 hrs IST,Sanjay Sinha
Supporting development and growth of the financial system at the same time as ensuring its smooth functioning is the role that all national financial regulators are required to play. The usually conflicting tensions between liberal rule-making and forbearance on the one hand and cautious restraint on the imprudent behaviour of mavericks on the other, is a dilemma that regulators must live with.
By and large, regulators are a conservative lot and tend to favour caution over liberal growth. Thus, in India we have seen the facilitation by regulators of a high capital financial system while alternatives with lower capital requirements are either limited to government ownership, as in the case of the regional rural banks, or disallowed altogether in the insurance sector. The result is a financial system that is skewed towards the needs of the largely urban, organised economy while smaller and more informal enterprises do not enjoy the same access to the formal system. The net result is a far higher cost of doing business for small and informal enterprise than would occur in a more liberal regulatory regime.
The dampening effect of regulatory conservatism on economic inclusion and ultimately on economic growth is a matter that can only be speculated upon. The excellent report of the Raghuram Rajan Committee on financial sector reforms estimates that a better functioning financial sector alone could release enough economic energy to add up to 2% to the rate of economic growth. This is not a release to be sneezed at.
For this, the Raghuram Rajan Committee makes a number of important proposals. First, the committee favours the introduction of what it calls “small finance banks”; deposit-taking banks with far lower levels of capital than the Rs 300 crore of equity that conventional commercial banks are required to have. The risk associated with the limited geographical focus of such banks would be offset by higher capital adequacy norms and lower allowable concentration in loans to a single party. This is essentially a revival of the local area bank idea that was abandoned by the RBI amidst concerns about the honesty and viability of such banks. Yet, as the committee points out, recent experience in India and elsewhere shows there is no direct correlation between honesty and the size of banks. By being more selective in applying its “fit and proper” criteria to a larger number of applicants, the RBI can in fact ensure a better and more responsible management than is possible with the few applicants there are for large bank licences. Viability, the committee argues, can be improved by applying technological solutions that will also enhance transparency.
Second, the committee recommends the liberalisation of the business correspondent regulation by allowing more diverse local agents to extend such services while using technology to reduce transaction cost and limit fraud. This would enable the tapping of various distribution networks such as cell phone kiosks and kirana shops for bridging the last mile between large banks and small, and sometimes geographically scattered, customers.
Third, the recommendations of the Vaidyanathan Committee on cooperative reforms are reinforced to emphasise that better management would result if members of cooperative institutions had their funds at stake since this would lead them to exercise real control because there would be no prospect of government intervention or interference. This would enable unviable cooperatives to be closed while the best ones could even explore the possibility of conversion to small finance banks.
Fourth, the committee argues for the liberalisation of the interest rate regime with appropriate safeguards such as full transparency on the effective interest rate and publication of annual average and maximum rates charged to the priority sector.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Inclusion_and_regulators_dilemma/articleshow/3638552.cms
How to cope with recession
19 Oct, 2008, 1605 hrs IST,Rajiv Vij,
Every time we are faced with a real personal crisis — loss of job, onset of a terminal illness, divorce or financial crisis — some of the questions that cross our mind are: Why did this happen to me? Will it ever get better? How will this impact my social position? It is only natural to start feeling down and feel anxious about the future. However, people who have weathered such storms, and whom I have had the opportunity to meet during my corporate career and my life coaching practice, usually say that the crisis was the best thing that happened to them. It made them to get off their treadmill of maddening activity and do some real soulsearching towards creating a better and happier future.
Drawing from those experiences, it may be useful to look at ways of dealing with such crises in multiple dimensions.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Comments__Analysis/How_to_cope_with_recession/articleshow/3615413.cms
26 Oct, 2008, 0034 hrs IST, AGENCIES
26 Oct, 2008, 1515 hrs IST,
China, country's top banker said on Sunday.
26 Oct, 2008, 1311 hrs IST, REUTERS
ly Nikkei reported on Sunday. The international lender aims to double its long-term loans to those countries from $13.5 bn in 2007 to help them cope with the global credit crisis, the paper said.
26 Oct, 2008, 1257 hrs IST, REUTERS
entral bank action to calm markets as well as corporate earnings and key economic data.
26 Oct, 2008, 0934 hrs IST, AGENCIES
uestion if it will translate into quick, firm action as promised.
The emergency Washington summit on November 15 will gather the Group of 20 largest industrialised countries and developing economies to look at ways to end the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.
26 Oct, 2008, 0851 hrs IST, AGENCIES
trap" of excessive regulation as the debate about global financial reform heats up.
international policy-making.
Or should it be the start of a reversal of the opening up and deregulation of global markets since the 1980s?
He declared on Thursday that "the ideology of the dictatorship of the market is dead" and announced a French sovereign wealth fund to "intervene massively" in companies of national strategic importance. But the leaders of the United States, Britain and Germany take a far less radical view.
'Brand America' dented by crisis but still admired in China
26 Oct, 2008, 0846 hrs IST, AGENCIES
rs demanding they change their name. The letters have stopped now, but the accountants are suddenly open to a name change, said Dickson Leung, a senior partner at the firm.
Though dented, "Brand America" remains much admired in China -- but at the same time the Chinese are keenly aware the tectonic shifts in the global economy may also be their break-out chance.
"They feel there is better quality control, people aren't going to cut corners, put in bad ingredients in order to make money," Rein said. "So on the consumer side, that 'Made in America' label is still very powerful."
26 Oct, 2008, 1830 hrs IST, REUTERS
ive short-selling transactions, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.
26 Oct, 2008, 2028 hrs IST, AGENCIES
pay off in the long run, and noted it holds over 90 percent of its assets in cash just as global equity markets are plummeting.
11 Oct 2008, 0312 hrs IST, Himanshi Dhawan , TNN
women dying during pregnancy, delivery or post-partum complications, a large proportion — about 50% — are from the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
Sea level rise and surge-induced flooding threatens more than 3,000 cities
JOHANNESBURG, 24 October 2008 (IRIN) - People in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, prefer to commute in three-wheeled autorickshaws, taxis and buses that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), in their bid to slow down global warming.
African coastal cities that could be severely be affected by rising sea levels include Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire), Accra (Ghana), Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Cape Town (South Africa), Casablanca (Morocco), Dakar (Senegal), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Djibouti (Djibouti), Durban (South Africa), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Lagos (Nigeria), Libreville (Gabon), Lome (Togo), Luanda (Angola), Maputo (Mozambique), Mombasa (Kenya), Port Louis (Mauritius), and Tunis (Tunisia).
"With an urban growth rate of more than four percent annually, Dhaka, which already hosts more than 13 million people, is one of the fastest growing cities in Southern Asia, and is projected to accommodate more than 20 million by 2025.
A girl picks through a garbage heap; the looming food crisis has added to the desperation of many impoverished families
KARACHI, 23 October 2008 (IRIN) - Zaheer Ahmed, a daily wage earner in Karachi, finds it increasingly difficult to meet household bills on the Rs 350 (US$4.37) a day he earns.
Photo: Kamila Hyat/IRIN
Oxfam says the price of wheat flour - used in baking 'roti' or flat bread - increased 100 percent between January 2007 and April 2008 in Pakistan
In the wake of a severe wheat crisis compounded by the smuggling of wheat to Afghanistan, the price of the staple `roti’ bread has risen to Rs 6 (0.07 US cents). Rice, pulses, edible oil and sugar have also gone up sharply. Angry masses are coming out onto the streets every day demanding the new government to do more, say experts.
Photo: Zofeen Ebrahim/IRIN
Maulana Abdul Sattar Edhi
“We consume tea worth Rs 500 million [US$6 million] and Rs 300 million worth of cigarettes. Nobody is willing to drink one less cup of tea or give up smoking,” he said.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81075
The global financial meltdown is expected to dampen the festive season sales of housing this Diwali and also hit Christmas sales, when NRI buying generally peaks.
Concerns about a cash crunch and stalled loans batter the stock of realty major Unitech by 49 per cent in a single day. Reports about an accidental breakage in a single turbine blade in the US send the Suzlon Energy stock crashing by 39 per cent in a day. And recurring speculation about vague “financial troubles” culminate in the country’s largest private lender ICICI Bank’s stock plunging 48 per cent in a month.
Each of these stocks, all index heavyweights, continued to head southwards even after the companies in question came out strongly to deny rumours and issued clarifications to the stock exchanges. If these are not signs of investors in the grip of unreasoned panic, then it is difficult to say what is.
http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14784675
One Industry Sees Opportunities, Lessons
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By Rama Lakshmi
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, October 26, 2008; Page A22
About 60 percent of India's outsourcing business comes from the United States, and 40 percent of the work is in the banking, insurance and financial services sectors.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/25/AR2008102501861.html?hpid=topnews
New Delhi (IANS): Uttar Pradesh has once again emerged as a hotbed for P 1, the most deadly polio strain, which was slowly being eliminated in India. But Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous State, is again seeing a surge in the paralytic disease thanks to the virus being imported from neighbouring Bihar.
26 Oct, 2008, 0418 hrs IST,Amitabh Baxi, ET Bureau
Apollo Hospitals
Turnover: 1,150 cr (Mar ’08)
Today Apollo Hospitals is the country’s premier healthcare provider and has played a pioneering role in helping India become a global healthcare hub.
The group today includes over 43 hospitals in India and overseas, diagnostic clinics, Apollo pharmacies, medical BPO and health insurance services and clinical research divisions.
Says Dr Hariprasad, CEO, Apollo Health City, Hyderabad: “Healthcare industry in India is unaffected by the current recessionary trends, our patient flow, revenues remain unaffected. Therefore our growth and expansion will be on track as planned.”
He adds that “as the dollar is strengthened and also due to huge recession in US and developed countries, more patients can be expected to travel to India from other countries for their healthcare needs, this gives further boost to the industry here.”
Fortis Healthcare
Turnover: 548 cr (Mar ’08)
The group has drawn a blueprint for technology upgradation at its various hospitals.
This is designed to equip the hospitals with cutting edge diagnostics capabilities and latest medical equipment for quality medical services.
“Healthcare being a need-based industry, there’s not much impact of the slowdown. There’s a huge shortage of capacity and how you deliver value and quality care are important. Of course, some players who have over extended their expansion plans may have issues with raising debt and meeting cash flows. All our initiatives, however, are on track and we see a huge potential in preventive healthcare,” says Sudarshan Mazumdar, CEO, Fortis Healthcare.
Dreams grounded: Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines
26 Oct, 2008, 0457 hrs IST,Raja Awasthi, ET Bureau
Jet Airways
Turnover: 2,759 cr (Mar ’08)
Marketshare: 26%
India’s biggest private airline, Jet Airways has put all its expansion plans on hold. Now the airline’s top brass says it wants to rationalise operations and derive maximum synergies.
“Reconsideration of our operations has been ongoing for some time now and this adjustment in personnel numbers did not result from the planned alliance with Kingfisher Airlines. If at all, improved economies in other areas would obviate such steps in future,” said a senior airline official.
The latest decision comes on the heels of the voluntary retirement scheme offered by the airline to 687 staff of JetLite, its 100% subsidiary, which was taken up by 387 personnel.
According to sources, these were exceptional times and company has put its fleet expansion on hold, curtailed flights and grounded some aircraft as well.
Kingfisher Airlines
Turnover: 557 cr (Mar ’08)
Marketshare: 15%
The turbulence in the air is evident from the fact that two major airlines, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, had to announce an agreement to the formation of an alliance of wide-ranging proportions that will help both carriers to significantly rationalise and reduce costs and provide improved standards of service and a wider choice of air travel options to consumers with immediate effect.
After Jet Airways gave pink slip to many of its staff, Kingfisher followed with reduction the salary of its co-pilots.
“With a view to tiding over the ongoing turbulence in the aviation industry and keeping in mind the reduction in capacity deployed, Kingfisher Airlines has effected a downward revision in the emoluments of a small pool of 50 trainee co-pilots. Theses pilots will continue to remain on the payroll of the company and will continue to enjoy all benefits & privileges given to other employees of the company,” said a Kingfisher Airlines official.
Kingfisher and Kingfisher Red combine have together cut back by nearly 100 flights a day.
Fitness notes: ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank
26 Oct, 2008, 0509 hrs IST,Aman Dhall, ET Bureau
ICICI Bank
Turnover: 7,892 cr (Jun ’08) (In Rs)
The country’s largest private bank’s focus right now is to proactively respond to the slowdown looming over the Indian financial system. The bank intends to trim its current retail credit exposure and tighten lending norms.
It, however, remains on track on its plans to extend its rural footprint, improve technology and strengthen customer service.
But strategy is not the only worry for the country’s largest private bank.
With its archrival, HDFC Bank closing the gap, the bank is in danger of losing its numero uno position. Already, HDFC Bank’s market capitalisation is running neck on neck with ICICI Bank on Dalal Street.
Ever since the financial crisis broke out, the bank has lost more than Rs 30,000 crore valuation on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
For Chintamani, mascot of ICICI Bank, there’s a lot to introspect and answer in the coming days!
HDFC Bank
Turnover: 3,622 cr (Jun ’08) (In Rs)
For India’s second largest private bank, it’s been a case of slow and steady wins the race. The bank, with its consistent performance, has even made slowdown appear like a business opportunity.
The Aditya Puri-managed HDFC Bank has its strategy outlined — to become a one-stop shop for meeting a customer’s entire requirements.
The bank doesn’t have any immediate plans to make its international operations a large balance sheet play, and the focus primarily remains to maintain its growth domestically.
It intends to leverage organic growth to maintain its strong grip in mobilisations and fee income market.
On competition, an industry source says: “While rabbit (ICICI Bank) has a lot at stake, it’s everything to gain for tortoise (HDFC Bank). The rivalry will reach its peak once tortoise wins the race, and has to defend his title.”
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/The_Sunday_ET/Special_Report/Fitness_notes_ICICI_Bank_HDFC_Bank/articleshow/3641814.cms
Booster shot needed: Ranbaxy Labs, Dr Reddy’s
26 Oct, 2008, 0452 hrs IST,Amitabh Baxi, ET Bureau
Ranbaxy Labs
Turnover: 6,692 cr (Dec ’07)
With Ranbaxy Laboratories’ board approving an allotment of preferential shares and warrants to Daiichi Sankyo Co, the Japanese drug maker has acquired a 52.5% stake in Ranbaxy.
The top Indian pharma company now expects to assimilate the available synergies of both partners to exponentially enhance the overall scope, scale and effectiveness of the business.
According to Malvinder Mohan Singh, CEO & MD, Ranbaxy: “The substantial cash being infused by Daiichi at this stage will be used to expand our business aggressively through the organic and inorganic routes while significantly strengthening our balance sheet, making it leveragable for newer initiatives.”
Emerging markets, niche and specialty segments...there’s a lot new on Ranbaxy’s horizon this year.
Dr Reddy’s
Turnover: 3,386 cr (Mar ’08)
Export-driven Indian pharma companies such as DRL are facing stiff pricing pressure as more drug makers enter into the generics space. Compounding this now is the global financial meltdown.
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories reported worse-than-expected 52% drop in second quarter net profit due to forex losses, continued pricing pressures in Germany and the global financial crisis.
“The financial turmoil has impacted the pharma industry in terms of CPS business, with firms shrinking their outsourcing contracts,” according to G V Prasad, vice-chairman and CEO, DRL.
The downturn may, however, favour the generics market as branded formulations become more expensive, feel pharma experts.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/The_Sunday_ET/Special_Report/Booster_shot_needed_Ranbaxy_Labs_Dr_Reddys/articleshow/3641802.cms
Feeling the liquidity heat: DLF, Unitech
26 Oct, 2008, 0434 hrs IST,Neha Dewan, ET Bureau
DLF
Turnover: 1,278 cr (Jun ’08)
The realty sector has been one of the worst hit in the face of slowdown. High interest rates and a severe cash crunch have hit realty companies hard.
But for India’s largest real estate developer, DLF, the going is still steady. With a land bank spread over 32 cities, the realtor continues to tap emerging markets.
Operating across various verticals of real estate, the realtor has carved a distinct niche for itself over the years.
Differentiation and identifying growing avenues ahead of competition has made the real estate developer a market leader.
It announced a profit of Rs 18.64 billion during the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, a growth of 23% from the corresponding period last year.
Unitech
Turnover: 740 cr (Jun ’08)
Unitech, the second largest listed real estate developer in India, has a pan-India presence.
With a land back of about 16,000 acres, the developer also has major infrastructure construction projects to its credit.
However, in times of a slowdown, the realtor has changed its product portfolio.
“Our focus has been more on affordable housing in range of Rs 40 lakh-Rs 70 lakh in NCR. The demand is more in this segment now and has slowed down in luxury apartments,” says a Unitech spokesperson.
The realtor is, however, facing a severe cash crunch. Recent media reports said that the realtor has defaulted on two payments worth Rs 150 cr to the Greater Noida Authority on a housing project.
Dengue: Who will stop the spread?
Hospitals as breeding grounds
Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, Oct. 24: How effective is the notice served by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to most state-run and Central hospitals asking them to clear stagnant water from their hospital premises?
The Statesman found that while some hospitals like Lady Dufferin Victoria Hospital and BR Singh Hospital have taken pains to get rid of stagnant water, other state-run hospitals like Calcutta Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), NRS Medical College and SSKM Hospital have simply ignored both the KMC's notice and the motionless water in their premises.
Stagnant water could be seen beside the maternity ward of CMCH, near the surgery department of NRS Medical College and near the orthopaedic department of SSKM Hospital, providing suitable conditions for mosquito breeding. Hospital authorities, however, claimed they have already informed the Public Works Department (PWD) to clear up the water within the premises after receiving the KMC notice.
Dr Lakhikanta Ghosh, medical superintendent of NRS Medical College and Hospital said: “After receiving the notice we have sent our sweepers to clear the stagnant water within our premises.”
Dr Ashok Ghosh, medical superintendent of SSKM Hospital said: “We have already informed the PWD to clear up the drains as well as the stagnant water to eliminate existing and potential breeding of mosquitoes inside our campus.”
Some hospital authorities even said the civic body keeps sending such notices at regular intervals even though they do not have stale water in the hospital. Dr Anup Roy, medical superintendent of CMCH said: “The civic body keeps sending such notices, so this is not a new development. We do not have stagnant water or garbage dump at our hospital premise.” A senior official of Lady Dufferin Victoria Hospital said: “We routinely clean our hospital premise and PWD has cleared the mess three days back.”
Relatives of a patient who were staying outside the maternity department of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital said they had not seen any cleaners since Monday morning. Mrs Shyamali Roy said: “Till Monday morning we have not seen any sweepers cleaning the drains. Drains were covered with filth.”
Facts about figures...
KOLKATA, Oct. 24: The civic health department seems reluctant in declaring the actual figure of people afflicted with malaria and that too at a time when the civic body is boasting of bringing into effect the Citizens’ Charter to help citizens.
The wish to present a rosy picture of the outbreak of malaria in the city has led civic officials to withhold facts and figures leading to confusion about the actual number of afflicted people. In one such incident, mayor Mr Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya had to ask his chief municipal health officer (CMHO), Dr Deb Dwaipayan Chattopadhyay to re-check and present updated figures of affected people in the city.
Civic doctors said that as per initial reports presented to Mr Bhattacharyya the number of afflicted figures stood at 650 till Wednesday. Discrepancies arose after some deputy chief municipal health officers (CMHOs) on Wednesday brought the discrepancies to the mayor’s notice. According to them the number of afflicted stood at over 1,400.
After a fresh report was presented to the mayor on Thursday it was said that the number of afflicted stood at 1,496. However, it was stated that the number of affected figures included those from pathological and private laboratories.
“The idea that the CMHO intends to present to the mayor is that there has been no such serious outbreak of malaria in the city. However, the actual scenario is not so rosy. Various malaria clinics of KMC have already reported a high number of patients coming in for treatment,” a civic doctor said. However, the controversy over the figures refuses to die down. It has now been alleged by a section of civic officials that the number of afflicted do not include any figures from the pathological laboratories. According to another report of the civic body, the reports received from the various clinics of the civic body, the number of affected patients upto September this year stands at 1,496.
n Abhishek Law
Notices served, action awaited
KOLKATA, Oct. 24: Notices served by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to state government hospitals, residential buildings and business establishments where mosquito larvae were found in underground reservoirs and overhead tanks have proved to be nothing but an eyewash.
Over the past one decade the civic authorities had issued countless notices but action was taken against 10 establishments including residential buildings only. The civic authorities can impose a fine of Rs 500 or disconnect the water supply which, however, is restored the moment the fine is paid. It can clean the overhead tanks or underground reservoirs and can ask the owner to pay the cost of cleaning. Interestingly, the KMC has not cleaned a single underground reservoir and asked its owner to pay the cost. The civic authorities have again issued notices to several state government hospitals over the past few days following outbreak of vector-borne diseases in the city.
A senior official of KMC's health department said neither it has man power nor the will to combat the menace seriously. A team that visits a building be it a state or Central government establishment or privately owned never takes the pain to follow up the matter. Not only the overhead tanks and underground reservoirs, the team is supposed to check flower pots, air conditioners, water containers and filters as well. According to norms the water tanks should be emptied and cleaned and civic authorities should visit the building for three consecutive days. n Tarun Goswami
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=228340
City’s top hospitals breeding grounds of mosquitoes
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Pragya Paramita
Posted: Oct 21, 2008 at 0240 hrs IST
Kolkata, October 20 More than 48 hours have passed since the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) served notices to four leading hospitals of the city after they were found to be breeding grounds for mosquitoes. But hospital authorities are yet to clean up the mess.
While three of the four hospitals — Lady Dufferin Hospital, BR Singh Hospital, NRS Medical College and Hospital and ESI Hospital in Kankurgachi — remained indifferent, NRS Medical College and
Hospital officials said that they were yet to receive the KMC notice.
“The civic body keeps sending such notices, so this is not a new development. We do not have stagnant water or garbage dump in our hospital premises,” said Dr RK Mondol, Medical Superintendent of B R Singh Hospital.
However, when The Indian Express team visited B R Singh Hospital, it witnessed a different scene. Although the premises had been cleaned superficially, they were greeted by a leaking tap that had formed a puddle in the toilet.
At the NRS Medical College and Hospital, the team found filthy drains and unused construction materials lying around the campus.
Pobitro Rai, relative of a patient, who has been staying outside the centenary building of the NRS Hospital for the last eight days said, “I have not seen any cleaners since Saturday morning. Drains are brimming with filth and there are so many mosquitoes here.”
A Group D employee of NRS Hospital said the hospital was seldom cleaned in spite of having enough number of sweepers.
“Hospital grounds are still overflowing with garbage. The area behind the staff quarters is the worse affected and it is not a surprise that people here are suffering from malaria,” he commented.
Tanya Mondol, a senior official of The Lady Dufferin Hospital, said the KMC notice was not served to the hospital, but to the PWD team working within its premises.
“We routinely clean our hospital. The PWD has cleaned up its mess two days ago,” she said.
The civic body, meanwhile, said it would take legal action against The Lady Duferrin Hospital authorites. Civic officials said the hospital was sent similar notices thrice before, but nothing was done to clean the premises.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/citys-top-hospitals-breeding-grounds-of-mosquitoes/375920/
West Bengal cautions puja revelers on HIV
Saturday, 04 October , 2008, 15:36
Kolkata: As West Bengal gears up to celebrate the mega festival of Durga Puja, health authorities and some NGOs are cautioning youth about the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS during the five nights and days of revelry.
Owing to the trend of high alcohol consumption and a carefree lifestyle during the puja days beginning October 5, sexually transmitted health disorders among youngsters could go up, they say.
Engineering students achieve AIDS breakthrough
"It's true, the young population is more susceptible to HIV/AIDS on festivals. Youngsters often tend to lead a reckless life because of the sudden change in their daily routine and the leniency shown by their parents on such occasions," D N Goswami, West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society (WBSAPCS) Programme Officer, said.
"Generally, on festive days young members are given some amount of freedom by their families. They don't have to follow family restrictions and they can spend the nights with their friends outside.
"They often drink to celebrate. Excessive drinking develops into a tendency to visit red light areas which makes them more vulnerable to STD," Goswami said.
There are about 12 red light pockets in the city in addition to the large concentration of sex workers in Sonagachi.
The total number of registered AIDS cases in West Bengal stood at 3,888 till March 2007, while India has 2.5 million HIV/AIDS cases.
Tarit Chakraborty, president of the Bengal Network of Positive People (BNP+), an NGO working with the HIV/AIDS cases, said: "We've observed that susceptibility among the young generation increases because of brothel visits and unsafe sex. Most of them, especially in an inebriated state, are not very careful about using condoms."
'Condom Condom' ringtone supports India's AIDS campaign
BNP+, with more than 4,500 members across the state, is dealing with thousands of cases of STD infections in West Bengal since 2001.
"We've also seen many people who stay in other states - like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh - come to West Bengal during the pujas. They are also very potent carriers of HIV and facilitate the spread of sexually transmitted infections," said Chakraborty, who is also the regional coordinator of Indian Network of Positive People.
"Drug abuse also increases during this time," he added.
According to the 2001 Census, people aged 15-24 years constituted 18.28 percent of West Bengal's 80 million-plus population.
West Bengal Health Director Sanchita Bakshi said: "In the festive season, of course, there is a serious risk factor of getting infected by sexually transmitted diseases.
"There's no study available with the government about the HIV prevalence rate in the particular season. But the government and a number of NGOs are working in tandem to disseminate awareness during the coming puja festival by launching extensive campaigns in all major pandals," she said.
Chakraborty said: "We are also trying to carry out a state-wide campaign against HIV infection. We've formed a music band and a drama team with our own members - all of them positive cases. We conduct stage shows to make people aware about this ailment.
"Our performances are based on true stories and we try to draw a picture of the physical and mental suffering one faces after getting infected," he added.
Do you have an HIV+ kid? Donate to this orphanage
The first case of HIV infection in West Bengal was detected in 1986. In the last few years, HIV has spread to the general population and is no longer restricted to the most at-risk groups.
A study by the National Behavioural Surveillance Survey (NBSS) in 2001 revealed that 66.40 percent of female and 78.10 percent of the male respondents of the state's urban areas had knowledge about the sexual route of HIV transmission.
But in the rural areas, the corresponding figures were much lower at 32.30 percent for females and 56.60 percent for males.
"I think India is, in many ways, ‘sui generis’ in that regard," she added.
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14770666
Chikungunya, dengue cases in Kolkata, surrounding areas
Staff Reporter
Steps being taken to check their spread
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17 test positive for chikungunya in South 24 Parganas
Three positive cases of dengue in Howrah district
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KOLKATA: There have been reports of chikungunya and dengue affecting people in the city and some surrounding districts and steps are being taken by the local health authorities to check the spread of the diseases.
One person has died of dengue in the city on September 24.
So far 17 persons tested positive for chikungunya in South 24 Parganas district near here, its district magistrate, Sanghamitra Ghosh, said on Friday.
She said steps such as organising mobile medical camps, spraying DDT in the affected areas and spreading awareness among people are being undertaken in the district.
“The death of a thirteen-year-old boy in the Howrah district from high fever on Wednesday triggered off panic of chikungunya but no trace of the parasite was found in the boy’s blood sample,” said district magistrate Khalil Ahmed. Three positive cases of dengue have been reported from the district, he added.
Dengue fever has claimed the life of an eight-year-old girl in the city and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has also received reports of suspected cases of chikungunya through the authorities felt that the situation was not alarming.
“Though several cases of chikungunya are being reported, none proved to be positive after blood tests were conducted on the patients,” said Subodh Kumar Dey, member of mayor-in-council (health) of the KMC.
So far 55 cases of dengue reported from the city have been found to be positive, he added.
Anti-larval operations
Health workers were carrying out anti-larval operations in the affected wards and the civic authorities have also organised awareness campaigns across the city to prevent the spread of the disease.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/18/stories/2008101853550700.htm
Action call over maternal deaths
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of mortality in childbirth
Urgent action is needed to reduce the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth, the World Health Organization has said.
Its director of maternal health, Dr Franciso Songanem, said funding needed to be better co-ordinated.
And he admitted the 2015 target to reduce maternal deaths by 75% from 1990 levels was likely to be missed.
Analysis in 2007 show rates have changed little - latest figures show 500,000 women are dying each year.
The research by Harvard University, shows that between 1990 and 2005 mortality rates fell at less than 1% per year.
Urgent global action is needed to increase investment and political commitment to scale up these life-saving services for mothers and their children
Dr Franciso Songane, of the World Health Organization
The study said unsafe abortions, haemorrhaging and problems delivering were the major causes.
Dr Songane, director of the WHO's Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, said maternal deaths were still far too common and the 2015 target was "unlikely to be met".
"Some 99% of maternal deaths occur in the poorest communities of the world. Most deaths could be prevented and solutions exist, but are not available to those who need them most.
"Urgent global action is needed to increase investment and political commitment to scale up these life-saving services for mothers and their children."
He said the solution lay in more investment and directing funds to local projects that could make a difference.
He cited a project in Matlab in the south of Bangladesh run by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, which is featured in the BBC World series Survival.
Nine in 10 women in Bangladesh give birth at home without any medical intervention, with more than one in 50 dying.
The scheme trains local women to offer advice about diet, run ante-natal classes and help deliver babies.
Dr Muhammad Yunnus, who is helping to run the project, said: "We have to give all women a better chance of surviving childbirth."
Survival is being broadcast on BBC World on Saturdays and Sundays until 9 November.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7690434.stm
Women's health fuelling poverty
Tackling female health would not only save millions of lives but reduce global poverty, experts say.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says 99% of maternal deaths are preventable yet every minute a woman dies from pregnancy-related causes.
This loss impacts not only on the family and society, but also on the economy, its latest report says.
UNFPA says investment in reproductive health and gender equality could spur growth and sustainable development.
Preventable killers
An estimated 529,000 women died from complications of pregnancy and childbirth in 2000, virtually all in developing countries.
For every woman who dies, roughly 20 more suffer serious injury or disability - between 8 million and 20 million a year.
Experts agree that the majority of maternal deaths are preventable through family planning to reduce unintended pregnancies, skilled attendance at all deliveries and timely emergency obstetric care in all cases where complications arise.
If women are healthy then they can jump start the life of their family and the economy
Executive director of UNFPA Thoraya Obaid
Being pregnant in Africa
One of the eight Millennium Development Goals set by world experts in 2000 was to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio by 2015.
Major reductions in the number of deaths have taken place in countries with either low or moderate levels of maternal mortality. Similar progress, however, has not been made in countries where maternal mortality is high.
Executive director of UNFPA Thoraya Obaid said: "The problem is implementation and monitoring implementation.
"You have to spend more on healthcare and on looking after women.
"If women are healthy then they can jump start the life of their family and the economy."
She called for the "utterly immoral" gap between the reproductive health of rich and poor women to be closed.
"In no other area of health are the disparities between rich and poor so wide and the tragic consequences so utterly immoral," she told a news conference at the Foreign Press Association in London to launch a population report .
HIV/Aids
She said another big area of health affecting women was HIV/Aids.
Worldwide, young women aged 15-24 are 1.6 times as likely as young men to be HIV positive.
"In Africa, HIV/Aids has a young woman's face and many of them are married. It is their husband who brings HIV into the house.
Part of the problem is that developing countries are facing critical shortfalls of contraceptives and condoms.
She said that in sub-Saharan Africa: "One man has access to six condoms a year. Certainly that is not sufficient to protect against HIV."
Giving mothers, babies and children the care they need is an absolute imperative
Dr Lee Jong-Wook, director general of WHO
She believes the solution to the HIV problem is combination of sex education, abstinence, couples remaining faithful to their partners and greater use of condoms.
Other gender inequalities that need to be addressed include violence, education and human rights, says UNFPA.
"When women are educated, healthy and employed, and able to make decisions about childbearing and reproductive life, everyone benefits," it says.
The World Health Organization has already warned that unless concerted effort is undertaken to meet global healthcare goals, the 2015 deadline set by the governments of the world will be missed.
Its World Health Report 2005, back in April, said being poor or being a woman was often a reason for being discriminated against.
WHO's director general Dr Lee Jong-Wook said: "Giving mothers, babies and children the care they need is an absolute imperative."
Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National AIDS Trust said: "The UNFPA is right to focus on the need for greater effort to tackle gender inequality.
"Worldwide, millions of women are unable to protect themselves from HIV infection due to lack of prevention methods that can be controlled by women, causing unneccessary suffering and death. "One of the most urgent actions is to increase funding for microbicide and vaccine development and invest in education that will ensure they are accepted within communities."
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Your comments:
This is not about birth rates, this is about the lack of meaningful investment in proper medical care, hygiene, education, and proper nutrition. If you think the forced abortions in China are superior to democracy, I'm surprised you even care about starving millions.
Mrs Stokes, Redditch, UK
A progressive society can be measured by the way that its women are treated
Needa M, Philadephia PA
Women are the bearers of new life. In order to protect future lives we must protect women. Promoting women's health physically and mentally should be a top priority internationally. A progressive society can be measured by the way that its women are treated. If women are healthy then their children and families will have a greater chance of also being healthy and productive. There is no excuse for this grave human inequality. Women should no longer be valued as second class citizens.
Needa M, Philadephia PA
It is sad seeing mothers and kids dying every minute from a cause that can be prevented. As a student nurse, I am hoping one day I can pass on the knowledge to other women who are in the situation.
Vivian, Uesund, Norway
If all the money that has been poured into aid for third-world countries was used for contraception, there would be no hunger in the world today. Forget about saving the starving millions, you cannot even dent the surface. Stop the runaway birth rate and a couple of generations will see the answer. China is leading the way- democracy is preventing governments from making the difficult decisions
Devon Fletcher, Australia
Self supporting , self sufficient , independent and educated. This should be the mantra for women today. Only then can we hope to see a change in the situation.
Karl Irani, Bombay, India
These are such very basic common-sense recommendations that it's appalling they're not already in place. Compare the situation to the US, where we have all these measures (or, at least, the middle classes and rich do), but where the powerful "religious right" is lobbying to take them away.
Kaz, Briton in NJ, USA
I think we should see more articles like this. Women's health has always been at the bottom of everyone's list. Articles like this bring to the fore front the seriousness of this issue. The reality that if women are not looked or looking after themselves our whole society pays the bill. We need to hear more on the subject.
Deirdrie Ellis, London Canada
Health is not a gender issue but a poverty issue. It effects men as women and depends on the area they live. For this to be seen as a woman issue is typical of the real discrimination. Western women will use this sort of article to further discriminate against men.
Peter Evans, Bristol
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4331996.stm
Minorities differed on bill for communal harmony: PM
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Agencies
Posted: Oct 26, 2008 at 1153 hrs IST
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On Board PM's Special Aircraft, October 25: The Government planned to introduce a Bill to promote communal harmony but the move has not succeeded because some minority communities have reservations over it, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday.
"We prepared a Bill on communal harmony. The Bill was submitted to Parliament but several minority groups came back and said this is not a legislation that is to our liking," he said, adding that due to lack of consensus, the government had to halt the move.
"This was a legislation meant to apply some balm on the communal situation, but if the minority communities say they are not satisfied, if NGOs said they were not very happy, so there is this delay and we have not been able to resolve these tensions," Singh told reporters travelling with him to Japan and China.
Commenting on the Armed Forces Special Powers, Singh said it is true that in the wake of the Manipur agitation, the government had appointed a group to study the situation.
"But quite honestly, the situation in the North East, the situation in Manipur, even the government of Manipur which has withdrawn the Armed Forces Special Powers Act being applied to Imphal is also of the view that this cannot be done away with until the situation improves.
"We have problems in Jammu and Kashmir, we have problems in North East, therefore, I cannot take these risks with the security of our country," he added.
India should lift ban on LTTE: Prabhakaran
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Agencies
Posted: Oct 26, 2008 at 1535 hrs IST
Colombo, October 26: LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran has asked India to lift the ban on his outfit in order to “fulfil the aspirations of Tamil people," while admitting that Lankan forces have made inroads into the Tiger areas and were at the doorstep of their key town Kilinochchi.
"We expect that it (India) would lift the ban on our organisation and support us to fulfil the long awaited aspirations of the Tamil people," the 53-year old leader of the LTTE said in an interview.
Conceding that security forces had closed in on the rebel strongholds and had even entered key areas, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, however, said capturing the Tigers administrative capital Kilinochchi was still a distant dream for them.
"The Sri Lankan forces have entered parts of our homeland and are stationed in close proximity to Kilinochchi town. But, capturing Kilinochchi is just a day dream of (Sri Lankan President Mahinda) Rajapaksa," he said.
In an e-mail interview to Chennai based Tamil Magazine Nakkeeran, Prabhakaran hailed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's stand of seeking quick relief measures for the displaced Tamils.
The LTTE leader also expressed dejection over AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha distancing herself from the Tamil problem, while praising other leaders of the state for taking up the ethnic issue in the island state.
"Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Kalaignar is a Tamil nationalist. He has not only voiced his concern against the Sinhala state terrorism in Tamil Eelam, but has also showed it in action.
Dalai Lama 'gives up' on China, hints at retirement
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Agencies
Posted: Oct 26, 2008 at 1638 hrs IST
Dharamsala (HP), October 26: Hinting that he was planning to retire, the Dalai Lama has said he has ‘given up’ on efforts to convince China to allow greater autonomy for Tibet after having led the Tibetans' struggle for half a century.
"I have been sincerely pursuing the middle way approach in dealing with China for a long time now but there hasn't been any positive response from the Chinese side," the Tibetan temporal head said at a function in Dharamsala on Sunday ahead of the third round of talks between his envoys and Beijing.
"As far as I'm concerned I have given up," said the 73-year-old noble laureate, according to excerpts of the speech of the Tibetan monk provided by the office of Karma Cheophel, Speaker of Tibetan Parliament in-exile.
The Dalai Lama said he would now ask the Tibetan people to decide on how to take the dialogue forward.
Cheophel, who translated the speech of the Dalai Lama at the function, said, "Earlier he (the Dalai Lama) used to say that he is semi retired but now he says he is almost completely retired."
The Dalai Lama recently underwent a gall bladder surgery in Delhi.
The spiritual leader's spokesman Tenzin Takhla said on Sunday that the Dalai Lama has called a six-day special meeting of Tibetans at Macleodganj starting November 17 to discuss other options for resolving the vexed Tibetan issue.
The meeting is being attached great importance as this is for the third occasion after 1951 and 1959 that such a conclave has been organised.
After a failed uprising against Chinese, rule the Dalai Lama had fled to India in 1959.
The special meeting would be attended by officials of the Tibetan government in-exile here, intellectuals, social workers and people from different walks of life, Takhla said.
During the deliberations, alternate options would be discussed to take forward Tibetans struggle for solution of the vexed issue in view of the fact that China was not showing any ‘positive’ inclination to the Dalai Lama's middle way approach.
Takhla said the next round of talks between the special envoys of the Dalai Lama and Chinese authorities is expected by the end of October. He did not specify the dates.
Two rounds of inconclusive talks have been held between the two sides this year on resolving the Tibetan issue following massive pro-Tibet protests that threatened to overshadow Beijing Olympics.
On China repeatedly accusing the Dalai Lama of ‘masterminding’ protests in Tibet, Takhla said it was just an ‘excuse’ to keep the solution of the Tibetan issue at the backburner.
Beijing could send their representatives to Dharamsala, headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile, to go through our files, speeches of the temporal head and watch our daily activities, he said.
Dharamsala (HP), October 26:
Hinting that he was planning to retire, the Dalai Lama has said he has ‘given up’ on efforts to convince China to allow greater autonomy for Tibet after having led the Tibetans' struggle for half a century.
"I have been sincerely pursuing the middle way approach in dealing with China for a long time now but there hasn't been any positive response from the Chinese side," the Tibetan temporal head said at a function in Dharamsala on Sunday ahead of the third round of talks between his envoys and Beijing.
"As far as I'm concerned I have given up," said the 73-year-old noble laureate, according to excerpts of the speech of the Tibetan monk provided by the office of Karma Cheophel, Speaker of Tibetan Parliament in-exile.
The Dalai Lama said he would now ask the Tibetan people to decide on how to take the dialogue forward.
Cheophel, who translated the speech of the Dalai Lama at the function, said, "Earlier he (the Dalai Lama) used to say that he is semi retired but now he says he is almost completely retired."
The Dalai Lama recently underwent a gall bladder surgery in Delhi.
The spiritual leader's spokesman Tenzin Takhla said on Sunday that the Dalai Lama has called a six-day special meeting of Tibetans at Macleodganj starting November 17 to discuss other options for resolving the vexed Tibetan issue.
The meeting is being attached great importance as this is for the third occasion after 1951 and 1959 that such a conclave has been organised.
After a failed uprising against Chinese, rule the Dalai Lama had fled to India in 1959.
The special meeting would be attended by officials of the Tibetan government in-exile here, intellectuals, social workers and people from different walks of life, Takhla said.
During the deliberations, alternate options would be discussed to take forward Tibetans struggle for solution of the vexed issue in view of the fact that China was not showing any ‘positive’ inclination to the Dalai Lama's middle way approach.
Takhla said the next round of talks between the special envoys of the Dalai Lama and Chinese authorities is expected by the end of October. He did not specify the dates.
Two rounds of inconclusive talks have been held between the two sides this year on resolving the Tibetan issue following massive pro-Tibet protests that threatened to overshadow Beijing Olympics.
On China repeatedly accusing the Dalai Lama of ‘masterminding’ protests in Tibet, Takhla said it was just an ‘excuse’ to keep the solution of the Tibetan issue at the backburner.
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Agencies
Posted: Oct 26, 2008 at 2050 hrs IST
"The Chief Minister assured me that he will not precipitate any crisis for the UPA Government," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after emerging from a meeting with Karunanidhi.
Indian Air Force lacks equipment, admits Antony
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Agencies
Posted: Oct 25, 2008 at 2129 hrs IST
"I don't dispute the fact that because of our failure in providing necessary radars and other equipment to our forces, there is some serious problem. We are lagging behind," Antony said on the sidelines of an air display of HAL-development aircraft.
2008-10-26 [10:24:41 hrs]
A section of West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) association on Saturday decided to seek legal redress over a government notification on seniority that allegedly favours officers promoted from allied services to the elite state cadre.
“The notification favours the promoted officers who are selected on the basis of experience from allied services rather than clearing the recruitment examination,” general secretary of the West Bengal State Civil Service (Executive) Association, Sutanu P rasad Kar, said at the end of the its convention here.
2008-10-26 [10:42:54 hrs]
The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha today served an ultimatum to All India Gorkha League chief Madan Tamang to quit politics and leave Darjeeling by November 7 for his remarks that GJM President Bimal Gurung secretly met West Bengal Home Secretary before calling off a recent agitation for creating a separate statehood.
Around 1000 supporters of GJM, which had earlier this year forced GNLF chief Subhas Ghising to leave the hills, gheroed Tamang's residence at Batasi in Darjeeling this afternoon and shouted slogans against him, Superintendent of Police Rahul Srivastava said.
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Kolkata is noted for its revolutionary history, ranging from the Indian struggle for independence to the leftist and trade union movements.It is also a major commercial and military port, and the only city in the region to have an international airport. Once India's leading city and Capital, Kolkata experienced a steady economic decline in the years following India's independence due to the prevalent unstabilised political condition and rise in trade-unionism supported by left-wing parties.
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