Now it is unilateral Honey Moon with darling Condy!
Mission Moon with Rural Retail Chain
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Now it is unilateral Honey Moon with darling condy as Indian Ministers woo the lady most powerful in this galaxy. She is the mind behind the setup in Oval House run new galaxy Order. Iran may proclaim that they have no Homosexual , Who else can? Honeymoon politics in India with Marxist flavour has become neo liberal Live Together for Free Sex and breaking the old gold institution of Marraige. It is well suited to this scenerio of social disorganisation and national disorganisation! West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said an estimated Rs 90,000 crore would be invested in the state's industrial sector to meet the unemployment problem.
Once the US finalises the civil nuclear deal with India, it will help one of the world's fastest growing economies to meet the aspirations of its people by launching a second green revolution, American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.
India is launching its lunar mission 'Chandrayaan-I' next year and is expected to announce Chandrayaan-II soon after.India's rural retail market is expected to grow by 29 percent to 1.8 trillion rupees by 2010 helped by rising incomes and changing consumption patterns, an industry body report said. Determined to continue their efforts for reforms in the United Nations, India, Brazil and South Africa have called for “immediate, element-based and result-oriented” inter-governmental negotiations for the expansion of Security Council.Buoyed by surging bilateral trade, China and India have made progress in joint research on the feasibility of initiating a regional trade arrangement (RTA), China's Ministry of Commerce announced here today.Reliance Industries, India's biggest private company, announced it will sack 1,000 workers and put on hold plans to open supermarkets in the north and east of the country after mounting protests from small traders.The move came after officials in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, shut 10 Reliance Fresh supermarkets in the face of protests. Such moves, say analysts, highlight the difficulty in modernising the country's economy.Many state governments are unwilling to support western-style supermarkets, fearing a backlash from small shopkeepers, who say they will lose their jobs if large companies end up controlling the retail business. Large companies account for only 5% of India's £180bn retail market, which it is estimated will expand more than 55% in the next four years.
Meanwhile,Israel is lobbying nuclear exporting countries to lift restrictions that prevent them from doing business with the Jewish state, according to documents made available Tuesday to The Associated Press, in a move that could concern Arab nations which already considers their neighbour as the region's atomic arms threat. The initiative appeared to be linked to the Indo-US deal that would effectively waive NSG rules by allowing the United States to supply India with nuclear fuel despite its refusal both to sign the nonproliferation treaty and to allow the IAEA to inspect all of its nuclear facilities. Israeli officials began examining how their country could profit from the Indo-US deal as early as in 2006, at one point proposing that the US help them cut a deal with NSG countries, said a diplomat. But the US turned down that request, he said, demanding anonymity for discussing restricted information.
Faster chemical weathering of Himalayan rocks has been contributing to global cooling in the region, with its river basins rapidly absorbing emissions of the noxious green house gas such as carbon dioxide, says a study. On the other hand,India cannot compromise on economic growth but it was equally determined not to let its greenhouse gas emissions increase beyond those of industrialised nations, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Wasington Thursday.
Iran warned India that it would sign a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline deal with Pakistan alone if New Dehli did not swiftly agree terms on transit pricing with Islamabad. Iranian and Pakistani officials are holding a new round of talks this week over finalising the long-delayed pipeline, which would see Iranian gas sent to Pakistan and to India via Pakistan.
But Indian officials have been absent from the talks over the so-called "peace pipeline" as New Delhi and Islamabad have yet to agree over the payment of transit fees by India to Pakistan.
"We prefer it to be a tripartite deal, but if it does not happen we will sign it with the Pakistanis," caretaker Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari told reporters.
But he repeated that the door is not totally closed for the Indian side.Sunil Bharti Mittal is not shy about ambition.Mr. Mittal, the 49-year-old chairman of Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s most powerful conglomerates. New York Times comments.In August, Mr. Mittal signed a deal to bring Wal-Mart to India as a wholesale operation. Neither party has disclosed the financial details, but if their venture succeeds, it will create India’s first modern wholesale distribution system. Refrigeration will be essential to that, Mr. Mittal said recently in an interview. “The cold chain — the trucking, the storage — will all ensure that the whole nation gains,” he said. India “can become a food supplier to the rest of the world.” In spite of such sweeping certainty, or perhaps because of it, Mr. Mittal has become a figurehead of Indian capitalism. He leads the welcome wagon when foreign politicians and business executives visit, and he encourages them to invest. And this week, he headed up a business delegation to the United States, ostensibly to celebrate 60 years of Indian independence, but also to sell India as a destination for foreign business and capital.
In Philadelphia, feels Finance Minister P Chidambaram It would be an epic waste if India lets go off the opportunities, including the end to nuclear isolation, thrown open by the civil nuclear deal with the US . Speaking on the nuclear entanglement, he told students at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania here that he believed India should go ahead and complete the rest of the steps for implementing the 123 agreement. It is fundamental that India gets access to fuel, which along with the ability to run the 22 nuclear reactors in full capacity, would give it new technology. Besides, the country has to come out of nuclear isolation, the Finance Minister said. India was placed under international sanctions after the 1974 nuclear test and the isolation became complete after the 1998 tests. But the civil nuclear deal will end this segregation even without India signing the NPT. "This is because of our impeccable record in non-proliferation," Chidambaram noted. The deal aims to give India access to American nuclear fuel and equipment to help meet its soaring energy needs, but the government's key Left allies are fiercely against it, contending that it would compromise the country's sovereignty. Earlier when asked about the pros and cons of the deal, Chidambaram said jokingly: "If you want the pros, I can tell you. But if you want the cons, you should invite Prakash Karat."
Former President A P J Abdul Kalam today mooted creation of a World Space Council to prevent conflicts in outer space. Such a council with the involvement of all countries was required to prevent possible conflicts over space assets, he said. Kalam, a missile scientist, made the proposal in reply to a question during an interaction with school students at the on-going 58th International Astronautical Congress in Hyderabad. Asked why he did not accept Presidency again despite demands from several quarters, he said "You know, you are simply a fantastic girl (the questioner). Before becoming President, I was involved in teaching. I worked in the political system for five years. The job is over. Now I have come back to teaching and research."
As differences between Left parties and the UPA over the Indo-US nuclear deal seems irreconcilable, the outside supporters have planned meetings of their decision-making bodies over the weekend to review the prevailing political situation. While the CPI(M) is holding a day-long meeting of its Politburo tomorrow followed by a three-day session of the Central Committee in Kolkata, the Forward Bloc Central Secretariat is meeting here on Saturday. The CPI has already convened unscheduled meetings of its National Executive and Council meeting in October-end. The Left build-up comes ahead of the October 5 meet of the Left-UPA panel on the Indo-US nuclear agreement, with a top CPI leader warning that the government cannot have the Left parties on board if it wanted to clinch the deal.
Meanwhile,Rahul Gandhi had a brainstorming session with senior party leaders on Thursday on the future challenges before the Congress at a time when the talk of mid-term polls is gaining momentum.
In the backdrop of the Indo-US nuclear deal facing stiff opposition from Left parties, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to review bilateral issues.Meanwhile, India will develop its own technology to launch an astronaut into space rather than rely on outside support, the head of the country's space agency said on Thursday. India and Russia held discussions here on possibility of cooperation in space exploration, including missions to the moon and Mars. General Anatoly Perminov, Head of the Federal Space Agency, Russia met Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G Madhavan Nair on the sidelines of the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Hyderabad.Under the Indo-Russia joint project CORONAS-PHOTON, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research will supply a low-energy gamma-ray telescope for a Russian spacecraft that will be launched before mid-2008 to study solar physics. Discussions were also held to explore the possibility of India launching the Russian GLONASS-M satellites from its GSLV platforms and join Russia in developing the next generation GLONASS-K satellites for the Russian global navigation system.
Britain will champion the cause of India being given a permanent seat in an expanded United Nations Security Council, Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, has said.
Meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, the two discussed ''a gamut of items of cooperation'' and international issues of concern, a release issued by the Indian Permanent Mission here said.
However, the release did not say whether the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal came up for discussion.
The US administration has been saying that the 123 agreement to operationalise the deal must be completed in the life of the present US Congress.
The deal, which aims to give India access to American nuclear fuel and equipment to help meet its soaring energy needs, has to be approved by the US Congress, the IAEA and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
The Supreme Court Thursday barred the Karnataka government from changing the firm executing the state's ambitious Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP). The crisis in the Karnataka government deepened Thursday with the ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) stating that the situation was not conducive to transferring power to its partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Oct 3. The transfer of power between Janata Dal (Secular) and BJP in Karnataka seems to have run into rough weather with JD(S) president and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda returning to Bangalore without meeting the BJP leadership.
Amid a premature speculation for mid-term poll, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau will sit for a crucial meeting here tomorrow to take a final stand on the Congress-led UPA Government over the contentious issue of Indo-US civil nuclear deal. Even as his comrades warn about the dangers from "US imperialism", West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharaya is wooing American investment for his communist-ruled state. Buddhadev Bhattacharjee today said the government has moral responsibility to build group theatre movement.
After the tough experience in Singur and Nandigram over acquisition of land for industry, the West Bengal government has mooted a policy for giving a comprehensive compensation package to marginal farmers for giving away their agricultural land, Industry Minister Nirupam Sen has said.
senior official of Posco, which has been facing troubles in acquiring land for its mega steel plant in Orissa, today described West Bengal as "suitable" for investors as the ruling Left Front knew how to implement projects and attract investments.
This was stated by Posco Research Institute's Director Chang-ho Kwang here at a seminar on 'Emerging Steel Scenario in India -- Focus Orissa'.
Posco proposed to set up a 12 million tons a year greenfield steel plant near Paradip in Orissa at an investment of Rs 52,000 crore, but has not been unable to acquire land despite signing an MoU with the Orissa Government in 2005.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has reviewed the preparations for the forthcoming `Global Investors Meet`, scheduled to be held at Indore on October 26-27. A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has sentenced a senior official of the Madhya Pradesh government to two and a half years rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs.5,000 over taking bribes for selection to government jobs.
Despite the Centre sanctioning a hefty relief for Maharashtra in view of the agricultural crisis resulting in farmers' suicides, the rural labourers in the state have not got the required succour even from National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP), designed to provide them minimum employment of 100 days a year.
To encourage IT majors to set up IT parks in tier II towns in Tamil Nadu, the state Cabinet has decided to make available land to IT majors, even as it is all set to unveil a new Industrial Policy next week.
Suicide over loan harassment: ICICI pays Rs 15 lakh
Prakash Sarvankar had committed suicide following harassment by recovery agents.
http://www.ibnlive.com/nation/index.html
Hockey players getting peanuts, says Gagan Ajit Singh
Hindustan Times, India - 19 hours ago
Press Trust Of India Hockey star Gagan Ajit Singh on Wednesday lamented there was "grave injustice and discrimination" done with hockey players, ...
London Olympics veteran backs Carvalho's boys Mangalorean.com
India@60: Still a long way to go
Ujjal Bhattacharya
September 26, 2007
India is in its 60th year of independence. Yet the poor continue to be poor, the rich continue to get richer and in between is the perishing Indian middle class. Islands of wealth and prosperity are surrounded by a sea of poverty. It is a grim battle, and the middle class is slowly losing its grip.
In a growing economy, the middle class has to be big enough to consume what is produced. But they are burdened by taxes and sometimes squeezed by choice.
The media has created this urge to 'have it all & have it your way.'
In the coming days only the ones who have a better control over their needs will survive; like those avoiding the 'want' for the latest Plasma TV, the latest iPods and iPhones, and foreign tours year after year. We have to be like the Capitalists controlling Capital rather than be their labourers.
The sheer bounty of the gadgets that we really do not need has become indispensable.
As long as people believe status is the most important thing and are willing to pay any price to display a certain status, there is trouble brewing for the middle class. Majority of the professional middle class is now part of the Diaspora.
Everything in India has happened despite the system. However, the system needs a complete overhaul -- into one of strict meritocracy -- and until that happens India will continue to play second fiddle to China. Is it because it is a benchmark against Pakistan and being happy about its progress or is it because we already assume that China is beyond reach? ...
...The Communist Party of India has a different theory on corruption. According to them, people hate corruption as long as they are not part of it. They have been ruling West Bengal for 30 years, democratizing corruption by letting a large number of people benefit from it.
It is high time we amend the Indian Police Act of 1861, which is more suited to the colonial style of ruling. This act was more designed to serve the interest of colonial administration and the government seems to be enjoying it. It has in-built provisions for delays, prolonged litigations and evasion... which is what is happening today.
Nuisance factor is the highest among the police. With conviction rate less than 10 per cent in our criminal courts, corruption is a high-profit business. Even if somebody wants to take on the system, the risks in terms of loss of profit are much more than the gain. This Act needs to be modified to facilitate the maintenance of law and order by police without giving any license to violate human rights.
The biggest cause of corruption in today's India is undoubtedly the political patronage given to it. The nexus between the corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and builders have been clearly proved in recent years. Another reason could be that in India, making money fast is often admired.
A government employee feels he should earn enough not just for himself and his lifetime but also for his children, grand children and perhaps for the generations to come. This is probably the basic motivation to amass public wealth. We are also laid back in nature and try to find immediate solutions when faced with a problem... so corruption thrives.
We are selfish, greedy and lazy and wish to get things done at any cost.
Is consumer really the king?
Then comes consumerism and as it spreads, in some ways, the environment, health and happiness suffer. Desire has overtaken need. Desire for bigger cars and bigger houses lead to higher levels of debt and lifestyles, leading to accumulation of mostly non-essential goods.
Banks and credit card companies will do anything to extract the money from customers.
Luxuries are converted to necessities by those smart marketing agents. The merchants these days do not have a liking for debit card holders and always offers benefits to credit card holders.
They target low income people with low credit ratings so that the original amount has been paid several times over. They encourage customers to borrow more and stretch out the repayment. They also reserve the right to change the terms at any time without any reason.
So, more consumerism leads to increased debts, which leads to longer working hours to pay for that extravagant life style at the cost of lesser time with family and friends. How often do we fall prey to this despite knowing everything?
The march of the migrants
Mumbai and Kolkata continue to look down upon migrant labourers from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh, but what about the millions of migrants coming from across the border.
They may not have a passport in their own country, but definitely have more than one here. Influx of Bangladeshis has created problems... initially in Assam but now spreading to Tripura, Nagaland and West Bengal.
It is no longer Assam or Tripura's problem alone, but one that must concern everyone in India. At this rate, very soon Arunachal Pradesh will become another Tibet.
On one side we have massive migration and on the other side infiltration. Between the year 1997 and 1998 a financial crisis swept like a forest fire through the then "tiger economies" of Southeast Asia.
These countries (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and South Korea) registered some of the most impressive economic growth rates in the world. However, it came to an abrupt end in the beginning of 1998 when in one country after another, stock markets and currency markets imploded.
http://in.rediff.com/news/2007/sep/26guest.htm
Nifty crosses record 5000 level, Sensex regains 17K peak. The Centre is likely to partially yield to state governments’ demand and allow stamp duty to be levied on the non-processing areas of the special economic zones (SEZs). But the suggestion by the empowered committee of state finance ministers to allow state taxes on all goods consumed in the non-processing area is unlikely to make the cut, sources told ET. Initially, the commerce department was planning to exempt SEZs from stamp duty. But with land prices soaring, the states do not want to lose out on this important source of revenue. “The Centre is likely to listen to this particular demand made by states,” the official said.
While the SEZ Act has been passed by Parliament and SEZ rules have been framed, the rules are modified from time to time through official notifications to accommodate valid interests of stakeholders. Earlier, finance ministers of states had said they wanted to impose all taxes like stamp duty and value-added tax among others on the non-processing area. The Centre is also planning to allow states to ask developers to furnish bank guarantees for the stamp duty exemption given to them. This will help the state governments recover the exempted amount if the SEZ does not get notified or the land is used for some other purpose.
Meanwhile,The Finance Ministry has asked all Central ministries and departments to effect a 5% cut in their non-Plan expenditure sanctioned in Budget 2007. The move comes at at time when revenue collections have shown remarkable buoyancy during the initial months of the financial year, with direct taxes growing by over 40%. The government had pegged non-Plan expenditure during 2007-08 6.5% higher at Rs 4,35,421 crore. Instructions have been issued to all central ministries and departments to curtail the allocation by 5% as the government has to find resources for priority schemes. Mandated FRBM targets also need to be met, a government source said. Finance minister P Chidambaram has already emphasised that revenue deficit needs to be wiped out by 2008-09 as mandated in the Fiscal Responsibility & Budget Management (FRBM) Act.
ET reports: India needs a strong brand image to lure foreign investors, but failing to deliver on promises could cause irreversible damage than do any good, top industry leaders cautioned today. In short, India requires its creaking infrastructure to be set right for the experience to change, experts felt. New Delhi has estimated that it needs $492 billion to revamp urban and rural infrastructure, including roads, ports, airports and power sector, besides water and sanitation.As CII and Ministry of Tourism celebrate 'Incredible India@60' in the Big Apple, leading global communication services player WPP's Chief Executive Martin Sorrell said: "If people don't live the brand promise... it's dead. We can advertise a bad product (only) once." India's Tourism Ministry Joint Secretary Amitabh Kant agreed that branding was fine, but welcoming tourists with garbage and filth will ensure the initiative never takes off.
At a separate event, Finance Minister P Chidambaram echoed a similar view when he said: "the Taj (Mahal), the Himalayas, the Ganges, the shore temples in Mamallapuram they can be the sentinels of Incredible India, but what can make India credible is... progress (in all areas)."
"India should not be more incredible. It should be more credible," he said, summing his thoughts about the way forward for the country.
Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, whose company bought controlling stake in India's third-largest mobile operator six months ago, said: "We can have an Incredible this and Incredible that campaign, but it must deliver."
The NSE index, Nifty, today surged over the 5,000-points mark in early trade, on aggressive buying by foreign and domestic funds, while the BSE benchmark Sensex regained its 17,000-point level. Stock market investors have become richer by over Rs 2,00,000 crore in just six trading sessions during the Sensex`s leap from the 16,000 to 17,000, taking the total valuation of the market to Rs 51,19,729 crore. The total market capitalisation of all the companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange stood at about Rs 49,17,402 crore on September 19 when the Sensex hit the 16,000 level for the first time in history.
At the end of today`s trading session, which saw the benchmark Sensex scaling a new peak of 17,000, the total market cap of all the firms on the BSE soared to Rs 51,19,729.07 crore, data available with the exchange shows. Today`s rally for the 17,000 milestone has made the investors richer by over Rs 2,02,000 crore, despite the Sensex finally settling at 16,921.39 points after breaching the 17k in the morning. Out of the two-trillion rupee gain registered during this period, a vast majority has been contributed by the country`s biggest blue-chip firms present on the Sensex. The collective market cap of 30 Sensex scrips today stood at Rs 22,12,256.59 crore as against Rs 21,32,443 crore on September 19 -- representing a gain of about Rs 79,813.59 crore for the shareholders in these companies.
Reliance Industries was the major contributor to today`s rally for the 17k along with other heavy-weight stocks like ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel. Reliance industries added a neat Rs 20,769.81 crore to the investors` kitty, ICICI Bank contributed Rs 3,693.35 crore while Bharti Airtel joined in with its share of Rs 13,552.78 crore increase in market cap.
Jai Balaji Industries will invest Rs 450 crore for setting up a steel processing special economic zone (SEZ) in West Bengal, and has already obtained in-principle approval from the government. Investments would be funded through a mixture of internal accruals, debt and issue of fresh equity, Jai Balaji's Chairman and MD Aditya Jajodia told reporters on the sidelines of an annual general meeting here today.
This still image from NASA video shows US space shuttle Atlantis. Mission Specialist Danny Olivas working outside the International Space Station on June 11, 2007.India will develop its own version of the Global Positioning System by launching seven satellites in the next six years, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair said in Hyderabad on Thursday.The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), expected to be functional by 2012, will be used for surveying, telecommunications, transport, identifying disaster areas and public safety among others.The satellites will be placed at a higher so-called geostationary orbit to have a larger signal footprint and lower number of satellites to map the region, he said.The first satellite of the proposed constellation, developed at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore is expected to be launched in 2009.Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Nair said India had the capability to launch a mission to Mars but there were no concrete proposals for research on the Red Planet.
Expressing concern over delay in the appointment of the Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal today said both politicians and scientists were to blame for it. Zeenews reports.
The post has been lying vacant for the past eight months after R A Mashelkar retired as the Director General of the CSIR, one of the country's top most research organisation.
"We have not found a CSIR Director for last six months and responsibility has to be shared jointly by the politicians and scientists," Sibal said at the CSIR foundation day celebrations here.
He said an organisation like CSIR does not have a leader to take forward the research and development work because of "our ponderous bureaucratic machinery".
Thirumalachari Ramasamy, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, has been holding additional charge as Director General CSIR, which governs 38 publicly-funded research laboratories across the country.
The appointment to the post is made by the Central government on the advice of National Scientific Adviser.
A few names, including those suggested by the Prime Minister's Scientific Advisory Council, have been doing the rounds, but there has been no agreement yet, sources said.
A search committee was constituted early this year and it even suggested three names, but no consensus has been reached between the government and scientific adviser.
Government and private sector firms will have to focus on specialised infrastructure to tap India's rural population accounting for over Rs 4,157 billion ($100 billion) in consumer spending by far the biggest buyers in the country.
Poor infrastructure, seasonality of demand, heterogeneous population, complex buying behaviour and price sensitivity are the main challenges that companies planning to enter rural retail need to overcome, states a report prepared by CII and YES Bank.
The report titled 'Rural Retail: The next phase in retailing' also highlights that once the sector grows there would be a slew of positive implications.
"While rural sector is at a nascent stage, rural retail will have a direct impact in boosting infrastructure, employment, increased revenue and tax generation and check rural migration," said Kalyan Chakravarthy G K D, country head Food and Agribusiness Strategic, YES Bank.
In addition the farmers, intermediaries and manufacturers will also undergo a major change that would bring a positive impact to the rural retail, states the report.
"Rural folks have to be seen from the background, that what and how much they were exposed to," DCM Shriram President Rajesh Gupta said.
He also emphasised the importance of building trust in rural retail. "Unlike urban retail, in rural retail there are fixed set of customers and cannot cheat them. The area that would be addressed is within 25-30 kms, unlike in urban retail where customers come from far flung areas," said Gupta.
Despite protests from small traders, Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart are confident that their Indian joint venture is supported in the country. "I think it’s a big change for India, the move from mom-and-pop to organised retail," Raj Jain, head of Wal-Mart’s India operations, said in an interview on Monday.
"I think most people understand that it is a necessary evolution which has to go through for everybody to benefit from and for the economy. Bharti chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said the next generation’s perspective was not reflected in protests against change by mom-and-pop, or family-owned, stores.
The four-day Independent Peoples Tribunal (IPT) on the World Bank in India concluded here today hearing numerous depositions indicting the Bank’s policy and project interventions in India. Over six hundred people from communities, social movements, research institutes, NGOs and universities attended the proceedings. The Tribunal, supported by the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Teachers Association (JNUTA) and Students’ Union (JNUSU) was held in the university premises.
The IPT invited the World Bank two weeks ago and while they did agree to make a presentation responding to some of the evidence, they failed to show up despite provision of adequate space and time by the organisers. They stated on their website that they had taken this decision because they are not accountable to the Tribunal process. We must record our shock at their blatant disregard of any need to be accountable to civil society and to a jury comprising retired justices of the Supreme and High Courts as well as leading writers, academics, religious leaders and activists.
In its preliminary findings, the IPT observed the Bank had an undue and disturbingly negative influence in shaping India’s national policies disproportionate to its contribution, financial or otherwise.
While India is the world’s largest single cumulative recipient of World Bank assistance, with lending totaling about $60 billion (Rs. 240,000 crores) since 1944, current annual borrowing amounts to less than 1% of the country's GDP. The loans, however, have been used as leverage to bring about important policy changes and impose conditionalities in areas such as governance reform, health, education, electricity, water and environment – as many of these with obvious political and social consequences. The loans also legitimize substantial additional funding from a diversity of bilateral and multilateral
