Marketing Brahminical Dominance and Manusmriti Post Modern!
Pakistan’s government takes on Islamist extremists in the heart of its capital in an effort to show the country’s moderate credentials
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
In Gandhigram, Finance Minister P Chidambaram
today suggested formation of 'democratic administrations' at
the district level, which, he said, would be a feasible
alternative to the present structure of governance.
"We must undo the present structure of governance that
lies heavily upon our villages. Such a model does not require
major constitutional changes," he said, addressing the 25th
convocation of Gandhigram Rural University here.
Chidambaram said he had asked himself what would be a
politically and economically viable unit of governance after
observing that villagers carry on their shoulders, 'a huge
burden of layers of authority,' beginning with the Centre and
through the state governments, down to panchayat samitis.
He suggested that on the principle of 'one person, one
vote, adult residents of the district elect a 10 member body
to run the district administration through elected panchayats.
This administration should have full powers to deal with
subjects like roads, drinking water, electricity distribution,
school education, health care and law and order, he said.
Both the Central and State governments should provide the
district administration with adequate funds. Over and above a
baseline, special funds must be given to districts where
social and economic indicators were below the average district
on level with other districts.
Wonders of Taj, or simply marketing?
Economic Times - 17 hours ago
GURGAON/NEW DELHI: Marketing gimmick or history in the making? In the presence of a beaming Bipasha Basu, Emperor Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal was declared one of the Seven Wonders of the World—on the basis of a global poll attracting nearly 100 million ...
SEZ approval validity to be extended on land buy delays
AMITI SEN & G GANAPATHY SUBRAMANIAM
TNN[ MONDAY, JULY 09, 2007 04:35:39 AM]

NEW DELHI: With land becoming a scarce resource after the politial furore over land acquisition by states, the central government has decided to extend the validity of approvals provided to special economic zones (SEZ). This follows complaints from SEZ developers that projects are being delayed due to problems related to purchase of land.
According to to government sources, developers with in-principal approval but are not in possession of land can get the validity of their approvals extended by two years. This means that approvals for projects such as Reliance’s multi-product SEZ in Gurgaon and Posco’s steel SEZ in Orissa, which were given in-principle approval last year, will not lapse this year.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/SEZ_approval_validity_to_be_extended_on_land_buy_delays/articleshow/2187398.cms

Boeing to spend $1.7 bn in buying goods, services from India
Hindu, India - 3 hours ago
Seattle, July 9 (PTI): Boeing, which has bagged orders for 68 aircraft from Air India worth over $ 11 billion at list prices, will invest $ 1.7 billion to ...
Friends!
This is time for simply Marketing Brahminical Dominance and Manusmriti Post Modern! Mamta Bannerjee has all the time in this Galaxy to visit countrywide and highlight Nandigram Singur with Hungry Processions. She has all the time to pose simlingly besides rigid rival Comrade jyoti Basu, but she has no time to visit the Submerged Bengal in floods inhibited by underprevileged, not even her recentmost political bases Nandigram and Singur. How may she compete a competent post modern chiefminsiter who along with his cabinet is well engaged in relief works.Thousands of people were marooned in the States of West Bengal and Orissa on Monday as several parts of the States remain submerged in the floodwaters.At least six districts in West Bengal remained cut off from the rest of the country after surging rivers broke through mud embankments and swamped hundreds of villages.Both the East and West Midnapore districts were the worst hit.The flood situation remained grim in the State as several rivers continued to flow above the danger mark. Health authorities in West Bengal yesterday warned people in areas which were flooded to take precautions as water-borne enteric diseases are ...

No let-up in Guj, Raj, MP flood scene; WB situation improves
Zee News - 30 minutes ago
New Delhi, July 09: Heavy rains continued to pound parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, leading to widespread loss of life and property, while the situation improved in Orissa and West Bengal.
Replicate West Bengal model in other states: Nilotpal
NewKerala.com, India - 20 hours ago
Chandigarh, July 8: Rajya Sabha member Nilotpal Basu today exhorted the Left party workers to take inspiration from the Left-front government in West Bengal ...

I have written you so many times that the Brahminical politaical parties do use the Dalits, BC, OBC, Tribals and minorities to gain mobile Vote Bank mendatory for political power. The intellectual, the Glam guies and glittering ladies come on streets to eat footage on media, but they happen to be least interested in affairs relating sustenance of the enslaved majority people. They try their best to sustain the rotten Brahminical system and it is seer marketing of class interest whenever they speak for the deprived!
We may remeber the backdrop of Basu Mamata summit earlier when National No SEZ convention set the National dalit Muslim Allaince in motion in post independent Bengal for the first time threatening to break the Brahminical dominance!
We notice the same phenemenon of Elite Politics of so called democracy accross the border as in a dramatic move, Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Awami League president Sheikh Hasina are learnt to have held a surprise `teletalk’ signalling a significant development in politics.(The BD Today) And what happens in Pakistan?
Pakistan’s government takes on Islamist extremists in the heart of its capital in an effort to show the country’s moderate credentials.Read:http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9449034
In a last ditch attempt to bring a
peaceful end to the Lal Masjid standoff, Pakistan President
Pervez Musharraf today sent a government delegation led by a
former premier to the besieged mosque for negotiations with
the holed up cleric amid an offer to keep him under house
arrest. The delegation, headed by former Premier Chaudhry
Shujaat Hussain and including several religious scholars,
reached the mosque hours after Musharraf took the decision at
a high-level meeting on ways to resolve the week-long crisis.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government would
allow Ghazi to be held under house arrest with his ailing
mother if he surrenders and frees women and children inside
the Red Mosque.

The Ruling Comradors of the third world, specially in this subcontinent are to much engaged to implement the agenda of Post Modern Manusmriti of Hindu Zionist US Imperialism declaring War against Sub Alern Life, Culture and livelihood! This is the ultimate Truth we have to realise in India, bangladesh and Pakistan. Everywhere!
Americans launch food festival in Kolkata
NDTV.com, India - 12 hours ago
These are just some of the American dishes on offer at the American food festival at Kolkata's Sonar Bangla hotel that will transport you to the US for a ...
The move came at a time when both the former prime ministers, who have long been leading their parties ?AL and BNP--, are facing mounting pressure from outside and within the party to quit politics or at least share party power with colleagues.According to sources, Begum Khaleda Zia made the call to Sheikh Hasina sometime between 2.00pm and 5.00pm on Sunday and discussed the political issues in the changed circumstances.
The teletalk between the two beleaguered leaders lasted a few minutes but the details could not be known immediately. However, speculations are rife that the two leaders talked about the possibility of a joint move to face the political onslaught launched against them separately.

Now see the Gret Indian Democratic National roundup of the Political market!
Mamata plays birthday card to soften Marxist Patriarch Comrade Jyoti Basu and Gandhi`s grandsons in race for Vice Presidential poll as Left has objections.Communist patriarch Jyoti Basu turned 94 Sunday and urged the opposition at a function here to back the state government's industrialisation policy, saying what the Left government was doing was "not bad after all".
The names of two grandsons of Mahatma Gandhi are among those doing the rounds as possible candidates of the UPA-Left for the Vice Presidential election, the process for which was formally set in motion on Monday. Rajmohan Gandhi had unsuccessfully contested against Rajiv Gandhi some two decades back from Amethi in the Lok Sabha polls.
Tata Motors to invest Rs 12,000 cr in three years
Tata Motors will invest Rs 12,000
crore in the next three years to roll out a slew of models in
cars and commercial vehicles segments, Tata Group Chairman
Ratan Tata said today.
Addressing the company's shareholders here, Tata said:
"Capital expenditure will be Rs 12,000 crore in the next three
years in Tata Motors. We will come out with slew of products."
Tata also said the home-grown auto major was not afraid
of competition from European car makers but feared the
Chinese, which could come out with cheaper cars.
"We are not afraid of European car makers, they don't
make cheap cars. But greater threat to us is when Chinese
companies come to Indian market," Tata said.
New models that were in the offing included new
generation Indica and Indigo, cross-over models of car and
utility vehicle that it recently launched Geneva Auto show,
new pick-up trucks to be developed in Thailand, improved Sumo
and a new range of trucks.
After declaring 13 per cent dividend last year, Tata
Motors declared 15 per cent dividend this year.
"We are giving a modest dividend as we want to conserve
the reserve for capital expenditure. We just do not want Tata
Motors to remain an Indian company, we want to put it on the
global scale," he said.
Despite the bitter rivalry over Singur and Nandigram, Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee today met CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu on his 94th birthday, even as the veteran communist leader urged the opposition to support the Left Front government's industrialisation movement.
In a dramatic meet, only two days after the campaign against Mr Buddhedeb Bhattacharjee and his government in the CPI(M) stronghold of Kerala, the Trinamool Chief wished the nonagenarian Marxist good health and long life.
''I wish that he remains healthy and lives long. I have come here to see a senior leader. This has no relation with politics,'' she said after coming out of Indira Bhavan, Mr Basu's residence at Salt lake.
Mamata visited Mr Basu straight after her arrival from Chennai, after taking out a 'Bhuka Juloos' at Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram that she organised to highlight 'CPI(M)'s atrocities' in Singur and Nandigram.
Denying that she had any other talks with the CPI(M) leader, except for exchanging pleasantries amid the height of bitterest of acrimony that the ruling party and opposition ever had in West Bengal, Ms Banerjee said she had decided to call on Mr Basu the day she had visited him last month to discuss the problems of Nandigram and Singur.
''The last time I met him, he said he would turn 94 on July 8 and said he did not hope to live long. I kept that in mind.
That is why I came here today,'' she said.
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his Tripura counterpart Manik Sarkar conveyed their hearty greetings to Mr Basu on his 94th birthday.
''As soon as I reached Agartala, Mr Manik and I wished Mr Basu over the phone for his long and healthy life,'' said Mr Bhattacharjee during a public rally in Agartala.
Mr Basu, meanwhile, said, '' I take this opportunity to wish our Opposition too and urge them to support our industrialisation efforts. All that we are doing is not bad after all.'' Mr Basu said this in a programme held at the CPI(M) patriarch's residence at Salt Lake by his long time protege and Transport Minister Subhash Chakraborty to celebrate his birthday.
''We are now on top in agriculture and panchayat rule and fourth in industry. We will be on top in industrialisation too in a few years. The opposition should support our good work, '' Mr Basu said during the programme.
Reliance Communications and QUALCOMM Collaborate on CDMA2000 ...
CNNMoney.com - 3 hours ago
At the same time, Reliance also announced their world leading CDMA2000 network expansion, covering more than 20000 towns in India. ...
BPOs of MNCs not liable to tax in India: SC
Economic Times, India - 39 minutes ago
PTI [ MONDAY, JULY 09, 2007 07:30:01 PM] NEW DELHI: In a relief to captive BPOs of foreign firms operating in India, the Supreme Court on Monday held that ...
Tatas to roll out small car on schedule: Ratan Tata
Mumbai: Undeterred by the controversies over
its manufacturing plant in West Bengal, Tata Group Chairman
Ratan Tata today asserted the Rs one lakh car will be rolled
out from the Singur facility as scheduled in June 2008.
Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of Tata Motors
here, Tata said the company would go ahead with the investment
in Singur plant and more investment would be made by other
Tata Group companies in the state.
"We went to West Bengal when the whole country was at our
disposal, but as a responsible corporate citizen, we wanted to
boost the development of the region and West Bengal in
particular," Tata said.
He criticised the lobby against the project that has been
entangled in controversies over acquisition of farm land and
praised the state government for industry-friendly attitude.
Stating that the plant was caught in a political
cross-fire amid a lot of misinformation, Tata said the project
would emerge as a turning point for West Bengal's industrial
development.
Tata said the company has already placed orders for
equipment for its Singur project and the company was working
hard to meet the deadline.
Asked whether Tata Group would make further investments
in West Bengal after the furore over the Singur project, Tata
said group firm Tata Steel already has operations in Haldia.
"In addition to that Telcon, a Tata Motors subsidiary
engaged in manufacturing and sale of construction equipment,
and Tata Power are also looking at investments in the state,"
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee expressed concern at the poor relief and rescue work which have resulted in a sorry state of affairs in the flood affected areas of East and West Midanpore districts.Both the districts were the worst affected in the deluge that wrought havoc in the state since the past five days.
Talking to mediapersons in Kolkata after reviewing the flood situation in various affected areas in the districts, Mr Bhattacharjee admitted that delay in repair of the river embankments had worsened the situation.The districts received more than 300 mm of rainfall in the past few days, according to the Met department.The chief minister also announced a relief fund of Rs 25,000 to each of the affected families along with sufficient relief materials, dry food, medicines and speed boats as demanded by the district magistrate of West Midnapore.
''I admit that we were unable to put much effort, especially for the repair of major embankments, to solve the post disaster problems,'' Mr Bhattacharjee added.
About 7,63,000 people were affected in West Midnapore alone and four people had died so far in the floods, he added.
Para-military forces had been deployed to carry out the rescue operation in Ghatal and Sabong areas, which were badly hit places in the district, the Chief Minister said.
Other affected areas were Narayangarh, Dantan, Keshiary, Pingla, Pataspur, Jamboni and Jhargram.
The Chief Minister also informed that thousands of people had been rescued and kept in temporary camps.
State Health Minister Surya Kanta Mishra alleged that the DVC authorities had not informed the government regarding the release of water from the dams, which added to the crisis.
When Asked why he had not visited any of the flood affected areas, the Chief Minister said that it would disturb the ongoing relief and rescue work there.
India said seeking wheat at $330 per tonne maximum
Reuters India, India - 39 minutes ago
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's State Trading Corporation has recommended various options with an upper price band of $330 per tonne to buy wheat against its ...
Another action-packed month for fund-thirsty India Inc
Economic Times, India - 14 hours ago
In the first week of July, India Inc raised around $1.4 billion, or close to Rs 6000 crore, from markets here and abroad. The two notable issuances were ...

Despite the CPI(M) ruling out withdrawal of support to it, the Congress-led coalition is expected to come under renewed pressure from the Left parties.
The Marxists are planning to be ''more assertive'' both inside and outside Parliament in the coming days.The decision of the CPI(M) has come at a time when the Monsoon Session of Parliament is round the corner and is expected to start in the first week of August.

West Bengal Governor Gopal Gandhi as also former MP Rajmohan Gandhi are being mentioned in political circles but a section of the Left parties has reservations over Gopal Gandhi in the wake of his statement following the Nandigram incident.
"For the Vice Presidential election, it was decided that we should suggest the name of a person who does not belong to the Congress party," CPI(M) has said in a resolution adopted at its Central Committee meeting last month.

The names of Mushirul Hasan, Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia, film maker Shyam Benegal and noted journalist N Ram are also being talked about. N Ram happens to be the media defenceline on Nandigram carnage!While speculation on the name of CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan is there, it appears unlikely given the fact the UPA-Left Presidential candidate Pratibha Patil is from Maharashtra, Bardhan's home state. With Patil of the Congress getting the Presidential nomination, a non-Congress candidate is expected to fill the Vice Presidential slot.
DMK is also reported to be pitching for the post. Meanwhile, the Election Commission today issued a notification formally setting in motion the process for the August ten Vice Presidential poll to elect a successor to Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
''Unhappiness with the government's policies and performance should be expressed by the party taking a firm, independent position,'' the party's Central Committee which met recently has remarked.
12.Bangladesh to review hilsha export to India, says official
Hindustan Times - 9 minutes agoScarcity of hilsha fish has forced Bangladesh to "temporarily" restrict its export to India and the ban would be revised with the normal availability of the delicious fish in local markets, officials said on Monday.
India has capability to increase range of Agni-III
India Daily - 1 hour, 55 minutes agoIndia has the capability to increase the range of its 3,000 km Agni-III missile by another 1,500 km, according to country's top defence scientist Dr M Natrajan.
25.India's defence acquisition extremely poor
The Economic Times - 09 Jul 02:27PMNEW DELHI: Defence acquisition has an indigenous and import component. India's record of defence acquisition in both spheres is extremely poor.
Policy matters
Noting that the CPI has called for review of support to the UPA government, the highest decision making body of the party said withdrawal of support by the Left would mean bringing down the government.
''At this juncture, this would be counterproductive and the resultant crisis will only help the BJP and the right wing forces,'' it said.
As against this, the CPI(M) should take positions on the issues when they come up. On all policy matters and people's issues, ''we should be more assertive, both inside and outside Parliament. Our intervention should be backed up by mass campaigns and movements,'' it said.
After the Presidential elections, the CPI(M) should be able to formulate the stand in which ''we set out the major policy matters and issues concerning the people on which we want the government to respond,'' it said.
The party has already announced that it would launch a nation-wide campaign in mid-August to raise what it called ''people's issues'' like price rise, farmers' problems and unemployment to put pressure on the UPA government.
FB demands improvement of socio-economic condition of Muslims
The Forward Bloc today demanded
improvement of the socio-economic condition of Muslims in West
Bengal and urged the state government to take necessary steps
in this regard.
"Though we have been successful in making a mark in
different sectors, we have not been able to do much for
Muslims. The socio-economic condition of Muslims in the state
is pathetic and we have requested Chief Minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee to take special initiative," state Secretary of
Forward Bloc Ashoke Ghosh said here.
A five-member party team led by FB leader Hafiz Alam
Sairani met the Chief Minister to discuss the condition of
Muslims and demanded preservation of Wakf properties in the
state.
Though Ghosh denied the Sacchar Committee's report
that the condition of Muslims in the state was not healthy, he
said the community should be provided technical education so
that it could become financially independent.
Bhattacharjee, however, said that "the government has
taken certain steps to improve the condition of Muslims" and
promised to give a better package for minorities.
Dark side of 'India Rising'
The Times of India - 09 Jul 03:01AMShocking though it may sound, Kafeel Ahmed is one more sign of India's new-found internationalism. He must be seen as part of that overflowing basket of 'India Rising' commodities, now on display to the world.
40.After 42 years, train from India reaches Dhaka
ANI via Yahoo! India News - 08 Jul 07:51PMDhaka, July 8 (ANI): After a gap of 42 years, a train from India today reached Bangladesh capital Dhaka, as a part of the trial run before both the countries launch a regular passenger train service facility between them. The train named Moitree (Friendship) that began the 400-km long journey from Kolkata in West Bengal entered Bangladesh through Darshana border outpost. However, this time only ...

Statesman News Service reports from MIDNAPORE/KOLKATA:Complaints of inadequate supply of relief material and allegations of the relief materials not reaching the villagers also poured in from the flood hit districts even as fresh areas at Sabang in West Midnapore were inundated in floodwaters today. The overall flood situation in the state, however, improved.
Even though the water level of the Silabati river was receding and life in several parts of West Midnapore like Ghatal was limping back to normal life, fresh areas were inundated at Sabang in Midnapore West as the Kapaleswari, Keleghai, Chandia and Bagui rivers breached their embankments at 10 places since last night. Ten gram panchayat areas have been submerged affecting about 2 lakh people.
Meanwhile, three women, Bulti Maity, 25, Rina Maity, 31 and Dipa Maity, 37 of Kharar in Ghatal drowned in a canal while being ferried last evening raising the death toll to eight in the district.
Echoing Mr Manas Bhunia, Congress MLA from Sabang, Mr Gurudas Dasgupta, CPI MP from Panskura, complained against inadequate relief and blamed the district administration for it.
Food packets were dropped from a IAF helicopter in some areas among the flood victims in Sabang and Sankrail along with those by Army personnel.
Air Commodore PS Gill, Air Officer Commanding, Kalaikunda Air Force Station, said apart from providing relief in different villages in Jhargram subdivision medical help was also being provided.
But the plight of 1,500 tribal people of Kakatpol, Karatsol, Chhuchada and Bhadrakhal under Harda gram panchayat in Belpahari is perhaps the worst in the district as no relief material has reached them. Villagers alleged that the BDO of Belpahari did not attend to their needs.
Kakotpol village, still under 4 ft water, has vanished from the district’s map with a total of 160 mud-built huts razed to ground. Residents are residing under trees. The flood situation in Khanakul and Arambag in Hooghly has not improved with more than 25 villages still remaining under knee-deep water. In Behala, Kolkata and Barrackpore many areas are still flooded.
Flood victims of Singergar, Patna, Durlavchak and 10 other mouzas under Bhabanipur I gram panchayat in Debra, Midnapore said they were affected by the Kangsabati floods caused by wrong handling of the situation by an overseer and his contractor.
Prowling tiger
Jul 9th 2007
From the Economist Intelligence Unit ViewsWire
http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9462984
India pushes anew for special economic zones

India’s efforts to replicate China's conspicuously successful development of special economic zones (SEZs) began to generate controversy as soon as the policy came into force in early 2006. Opposition has ranged from complaints by government ministers to violent protests against acquisitions of rural land for SEZs, prompting the government to place SEZ approvals on hold in January-April 2007. However, SEZ development now seems to be back in full swing, notwithstanding some recent tweaking of the guidelines to mollify critics. Some 36 new SEZs were approved on June 22nd, bringing the total number approved to 339.
SEZ attractions
The rationale behind India's SEZ policy is quite straightforward. Inadequate infrastructure continues to head the list of companies' woes in India, constraining firms that compete overseas in export markets and deterring foreign companies looking at India as a manufacturing base. Since establishing world-class industrial infrastructure throughout India will be an extremely expensive, long-term endeavour, the next best solution is to build pockets of excellent infrastructure in the form of SEZs. By offering various incentives to private developers, the government is also attracting private investment for setting up such zones, easing the financial burden of a task that has traditionally been the responsibility of the state.
Proposals for SEZ projects in India have to be approved by a committee composed of central government bureaucrats from various ministries. After a project is approved, SEZ developers are entitled to a number of fiscal incentives, such as exemption from income tax for ten years and from customs duties. The government also offers a host of incentives to firms setting up units in SEZs. In bureaucracy-heavy India, where regulations and required procedures create significant headaches, an important incentive is “single window” clearance from central and state government authorities.
A flurry of projects
Attracted by the commercial returns and incentives on offer, a large number of entities—including Indian and foreign companies, real-estate developers and state government agencies—have submitted project proposals for SEZs. In addition to the 339 SEZ projects that have been formally approved, another 170 proposed projects have received in-principle approval.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which is the architect and implementer of the SEZ policy, views it as a major initiative for expanding exports, improving infrastructure, attracting foreign and domestic investment, and providing employment. The ministry estimates that the SEZs formally approved thus far could provide investment of Rs3trn (about US$74bn) and create around 4m jobs. The Ministry also estimates that exports from SEZs set to become operational in the 2008/09 fiscal year (April-March) will exceed Rs1trn in that year. However, because most of the people affected by SEZ development—primarily by the acquisition of land—are agricultural workers who do not expect to receive any benefit from the new zones, the projects have continued to generate serious opposition.
Land acquisition
In part because India is a democracy, acquiring land for infrastructure projects has often been problematic. People who are displaced by projects and receive inadequate compensation can express their dissatisfaction openly through political participation and protest. When land is acquired for use by private companies--as opposed to infrastructure projects such as roads meant for public use--the level of dissatisfaction is often higher. A common perception is that SEZ projects are mere land-grabbing exercises, with real estate being acquired at unfairly low costs. In January-March this year opposition to land acquisition turned violent in Nandigram, West Bengal, where a chemicals SEZ was being planned by Indonesia's Salim group. Around 20 people lost their lives in clashes between police, farmers and political workers.
However, the SEZs themselves are not necessarily the focus of these disputes; any policy involving land acquisition is bound to arouse opposition. The land-acquisition disputes also needs to be seen in a broader perspective. Total land required for the SEZ projects that had received formal or in-principle approvals as of mid-June amounted to about 1,845 sq km—less than 0.1 % of India’s land area. In this light, the controversy surrounding the displacement of farmers and the loss of arable land appears somewhat exaggerated.
SEZ critics have expressed other concerns as well. For instance, some argue that the incentives offered to developers are too generous and will result in a large amount of foregone revenue for the government. The response from supporters of the SEZ policy is that most of these incentives are already being offered to exporters and infrastructure developers through other schemes—the SEZ policy merely offers them as a package.
Recent policy changes
Land-acquisition problems have forced New Delhi to make some policy changes. In April 2007 the central government announced an upper limit of 5,000 ha (50 sq km) on the area of SEZs. State governments were directed not to undertake any forced land acquisitions and were authorised to prescribe an even lower limit on the area of SEZs. Meanwhile, the central government's Ministry of Rural Development is in the process of formulating a comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation policy, according to which SEZs will be required to provide a livelihood for at least one person from each displaced family.
This tweaking of the SEZ policy to make land acquisition more politically acceptable is an expedient solution. However, the changes will make it more difficult for the policy to fulfil the lofty expectations of its proponents. If SEZs are expected to provide world-class infrastructure, they need to be large enough to contain the necessary airports, road links and the like. And if they are to boost industrial capacity, they need to be large enough to benefit from economies of scale. But many of the recently approved SEZ projects are so small that their chief advantage appears to be the fiscal incentives. This is strikingly evident from a comparison of the size of SEZs in China and India. The average size of SEZs approved in India is a mere 4 sq km--a tiny fraction of the size of their Chinese counterparts. China's SEZ in Shenzhen is a massive 327 sq km. Placing further limitations on the size of India's SEZs could make their task of emulating the success of SEZs in China a distant dream.

CPM asks rank & file to bury the hatchet
KOLKATA: CPI-M state secretariat member Mr Benoy Konar today asked the Singur CPI-M leaders to desist from infighting and stand united ahead of the panchayat polls slated for next year. Mr Konar’s closed-door meeting with party leaders came in the heels of the arrest of Mr Suhrid Dutta, a member of the party’s district committee in connection with the murder of Tapasi Malik. The meeting began around 3 pm at Bani Sangha stadium in Singur and lasted for nearly two-and-a-half-hour. Mr Konar has reacted to the arrests made by CBI, terming it as a “political conspiracy” against the CPI-M.
The CPI-M had managed to ascend to power in Singur panchayat samity during the 2003 polls. But the land acquisition in Si