Palash Speaks

Orissa govt to renegotiate Posco displacement problems
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
BHUBANESWAR: Worried over Posco project supporters stopping land demarcation and socio-economic survey of the area, the Orissa government on Friday decided to renegotiate the problem of displacement.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who returned from a three- day visit to Delhi, told reporters here that the problems of opposition from people considered supporters of the project, would be solved through negotiation.
"We are hopeful the ground-breaking ceremony of the country's biggest FDI will be done on the scheduled date, April 1," he said adding that the displaced people would be informed about the resettlement and rehabilitation package.
He said the project would generate a good amount of revenue for the state and create employment and things would improve.
Officials on the other hand said the Jagatsinghpur district administration failed to start land demarcation and socio-economic survey of the area scheduled from this week.
Government-appointed nodal officer for the Posco-India project P Patnaik said the people should not oppose the land demarcation and socio-economic survey as it would help the administration to announce R&R package for the affected.
Farmers Exploitation By Sugar Mills In UP & Maharashtra

Farmers in UP and Maharastra continues to be exploited by mill owners in UP and Maharashtra . Both private and co-operative mill owners are equally responsible. President, Agriculture Ministers at centre and state operate Co-operatives that exploit farmers in Maharashtra was covered in News Today.

Can you imagine very few farmers get bank credit and had to take money at over 36% to 120% rate of interest don’t get paid for their produce on time that delays sowing of wheat crop?

1. High Interest to moneylenders. 2. Less prices for their produce. 3. Delayed payments. 4. Delayed starting of crushing delaying wheat crop and 5. Poor quality of seeds and inputs etc.

Farmers are subjected to al kinds of harassment leading them to suicide.

In following story you will find Ambanis were richer by 150% in just 12 months without developing any technology or new product.

Ravinder Singh December16, 2007
Corruptionfree08@ gmail.com
Ore exports may not be the part of National Mineral Policy
NEW DELHI: The much-awaited National Mineral Policy is unlikely to address the contentious issue of banning iron ore exports with the Mines Ministry putting the onus of taking a decision on finance and commerce ministries.
"The issue of exports is not part of the NMP. It is a totally separate issue which would be decided by the Finance and Commerce Ministries along with the Prime Minister's Office," Minister of State for Mines T Subbarami Reddy said.
The issue was also raised by chief ministers of five mineral-rich states during their meeting with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 19.
In their memorandum, they had said: "We strongly advocate that the export of minerals should be phased out since minerals are non-renewable and finite resources."
While the steel industry has demanded banning exports to use the mineral for their expansion plans, the Anwarul Hoda Committee, in its recommendations for the mineral policy, had favoured removing quantitative restrictions on overseas sales. It had, however, said the issue could be reviewed after a certain period.
Reddy also said that the ministry would consider the demand of mineral-rich states to bar foreign direct investment in mining of iron ore, chromite and bauxite. "We have taken note of this issue and have assured them there concerns on the issue would be addressed," he said.
The CMs of Orissa, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh had opposed FDI in prospecting of iron ore, bauxite and chromite as a lot of local entrepreneurs are undertaking operations of these minerals.
Naxal menace: Naveen seeks Centre’s help
Special Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: As the Maoist menace was showing no signs of decline in the State, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday sought assistance in a series of areas from the Central Government to cope with the situation.
Addressing the Chief Ministers’ Conference on Internal Security in New Delhi, Mr. Patnaik demanded sanction of five more India Reserve Battalions for the State.
The Chief Minister urged the Centre to assist the State in terms of manpower and financial resources to strengthen its internal security system. He requested the Centre to expand the scope and coverage of the current police modernisation scheme. The size of police modernisation scheme for Orissa should be enhanced from Rs. 26.5 crores to Rs.60 crore, he said.
With a view to strengthening the police force, Mr. Patnaik demanded sanction of Central assistance for upgrading the capability of remaining 58 police stations located in the areas affected by naxalite violence. He also requested the Centre to consider on priority basis deployment of two more battalions of the Central paramilitary forces in the naxalite-hit regions. The Chief Minster also reiterated his demand for increased support for the proposed Vijayawada-Ranchi Highway to improve the communication network in 14 extremist-prone districts in the State. He further sought sanction of establishment of a coastal police station at Puri.
Plea for special grant

Mr. Patnaik asked the Centre to give a special grant of Rs. 30 crores for the Training Resource Centre of Special Operations Group that was coming up near Bhubaneswar. The Centre is being developed into a permanent training resource centre for counter terrorism, jungle warfare and anti-extremist operations.
With regard to the new police system that will be implemented in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on January 1, Mr. Patnaik urged the Centre to provide Rs. 15 crores to facilitate the launching of the new police Commissionerate system. Mr. Patnaik requested the Centre to develop and implement a composite socio-economic package for the naxalite-affected areas, and a comprehensive dialogue on the developmental issues to check the spread of Left wing extremism. There was a need for relaxation of existing norms of the ongoing schemes and creation of a special fund for direct and immediate intervention to fill up the critical gaps, he suggested.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/21/stories/2007122157300100.htm
Orissa Governor releases CSE's report on mining RSS
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KalingaTimes Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, Dec 21: India 's richest lands – with minerals, forests, wildlife, water sources - are home to its poorest people. Mining in India has, contrary to government's claims, done little for the development of the mineral-bearing regions of the country, says the latest publication from New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
The first national release of the 356-page 6th State of India's Environment Report titled `Rich Lands, Poor People – Is Sustainable Mining Possible?' took place in the mineral-rich state of Orissa on Friday. The report was released by Orissa Governor M. C. Bhandare at a function held here.
CSE's 'State of India's Environment' reports have been widely acknowledged as the most comprehensive and authoritative series of publications on the subject of

environment and development in India. The report on mining lives up to the reputation and the promise of using knowledge for change, the organisation said in a press release.
Extensively researched and richly illustrated, the publication details the issues of mining in different states of the country, impacts on environment and people, and the policy reform that is essential to practice more 'sustainable' mining.
Rich lands, poor people
“If India 's forests, mineral-bearing areas, regions of tribal habitation and watersheds are all mapped together, they will overlay one another on almost the same areas,” said Sunita Narain, Director of CSE.
The CSE report echoes her. “The three tribal-dominated states of Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are the most productive mineral-bearing states as well; also, the forest cover in these states is far higher than the national average,” it says.
Orissa, for instance, accounts for 7 per cent of India 's forests and 11 per cent of its surface water resources – it also holds 24 per cent of India 's coal, 98 per cent of its chromite and 51 per cent of its bauxite. Mineral industries are, naturally, flocking to the state.
But for all its mineral wealth, the state performs very poorly in terms of human development indicators. The state has a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.404 – worse than that of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh or West Bengal.
The CSE report points out that Orissa's per capita income has actually declined during the second half of the 1990s – precisely the period when the state went on an industrial overdrive.
All the mineral-rich districts of the state feature in the list of 150 most backward districts of the country, says the report.
In Keonjhar, the most mined district in the state, 62 per cent of the population lives below poverty line. In Koraput, the bauxite capital of India , 79 per cent live below poverty line.
“Statistics indicate that the income from mineral extraction rarely benefits the regions from where these minerals come – in fact, poverty is increasing in many of these districts,” point out the writers of the report.
Bearing the brunt: environment and people
The report paints a horrific picture of the devastation that has been wrought by mining in the country. The statistics are shocking:
* Between 1950 and 1991, mining displaced about 2.6 million people. Not even 25 per cent of these displaced have been rehabilitated.
* For every 1 per cent that mining contributes to India 's GDP, it displaces 3-4 times more people than all the development projects put together.
* Forest land diversion for mining has been going up. So has water use and air pollution in the mining hotspots.
* Mining of major minerals generated about 1.84 billion tonne of waste in 2006 – most of which has not been disposed off properly.
Orissa has the dubious distinction of clearing the maximum amount of forest land for mining in the country: of total forest land cleared for mining in India , Orissa accounts for 17 per cent. The state's water resources are as stressed, contrary to the belief that Orissa is water- surplus. The state's hilly terrains, with their natural springs, are being destroyed by mining, contends the CSE report. Orissa's second largest river, the Brahmani, is one of the 10 most polluted rivers in India – "due to the large-scale mining operations on its banks".
The state's 6 million strong tribal population has borne the brunt of these environmental impacts, says CSE, has displaced about 500,000 people (mostly tribals) in the state.
Employment is a promise not kept
All governments justify mining arguing that the sector will provide employment, but this is a chimera. The report using government data shows how employment has fallen in the mining sector as a whole. The fact is that the modern mining industry does not require people.
Between 1999 and 2005, the value of mineral production in the state increased three-fold - at the same time, employment reduced by 20 per cent.
In fact, says, Chandra Bhushan, CSE's associate director and the coordinator and co-author of the report, "Modern industrial growth requires resources of the region - minerals, water or energy. It does not require people.
“In other words, it does not necessarily provide local benefits. If it provides employment benefits, it is outside the poor region in which it is based. In other words, inclusive growth will require ways to value local resources - be it water, minerals or energy - so that it gives back more than it takes. The mineral industry degrades the land, uses local water, but does little to return back wealth. Worse, the royalty on minerals goes to state exchequers, not to local communities. This will have to change."
Is sustainable mining possible?
The CSE report points out that mining cannot be sustainable or truly environment-friendly: one, because all ore bodies are finite and non-renewable and two, because even the best managed mines leave "environmental footprints". But it also concedes that mining and minerals are necessary. "The issue is not whether mining should be undertaken or not. Rather, it is about how it should be undertaken. It is about ensuring that mining is conducted in an environmentally and socially acceptable manner,” adds Chandra Bhushan.
The report goes on to recommend a range of policy initiatives that could help India meet this challenge. Some of its main recommendations include recognising people's right to say 'no' (mining should not take place without the consent of the people); independent, impartial preparation of EIA reports; disallowing mining in forests; framing stronger mine closure regulations; and "doing more with less – a key to sustainable development".

CRPF begins questioning villagers on new found graves
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashchandrabiswas@gmail.com">palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
Yechury slams CBI’s ‘leaks’
Statesman News Service
NEW DELHI, Dec. 20: The CPI-M today attacked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for “selective leakage” of information on Nandigram, and proposes to take up the issue with the Central government.
The party politburo member, Mr Sitaram Yechury, told reporters at the start of the party’s three-day Central Committee meet that the CBI was giving out information that had not even been submitted to the High Court.
Asked for reaction on some photographs of Nandigram “police firing” in a section of the Press, he said the state government had expressed its displeasure on the CBI’s act.
The West Bengal chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who is attending the Central Committee meet, was also upset over the information leaks.
“According to the latest information available to me from West Bengal, the CBI has not yet submitted its report to the state High Court,” Mr Yechury told reporters.
During the three-day Central Committee meet, the CPI-M leaders will review the political scenario as well as discuss various aspects of the Nandigam issue and the Indo-US nuclear deal. The Central Committee will give final touches to the political resolution to be adopted at the party congress.

Nandigram: The CRPF has begun interrogating residents of two villages after five empty graves were found at Sherkhanchowk in the CPI(M) stronghold of Khejuri adjacent to Nandigram.
Assistant Commandant Arindam Mukhopadhyay, chief of CRPF's Gokul Nagar camp, visited the graves today and posted a team of 10 to 12 personnel there to question the people of Sherkhanchowk village and adjacent Pankhai.
The CRPF personnel have been posing questions to the villagers pertaining to the identity of the missing bodies, how they disappeared, who had dug up the graves and whether the land was used as a graveyard earlier, the CRPF sources said.
Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee had claimed yesterday in Midnapur that the police carried five bodies from Khejury to Kolkata for post-mortem the previous night.
Three new graves had also been found at Mansinghber, in Khejuri, yesterday. These graves could be of women as torn pieces of sarees and bits of bangles and a necklace were found.
A PTI correspondent, who visited Sherkhanchowk yesterday, had seen burnt wood and portions of bicycle tyres lying around the shallow graves.
Villagers alleged that five bodies of CPI(M) workers killed while making bombs there on October 28 were burnt at the spot and buried for a night before being taken away.
Nineteen CPI(M) supporters had been killed while making bombs on October 28, they claimed.
Earlier on December 6, human bones had been unearthed by the CRPF from five graves at Bidyapith village in Khejuri.
The CBI had also recovered bones from Talpati canal at Bhangabera in Nandigram.

CBI exposes truth about Nandigram
http://ultracurrents.blogspot.com
Daily Pioneer
Edit Desk
It is unfortunate that the investigations into the
violence of March 14, 2007 at Nandigram in West Bengal
have now been brought under a cloud of controversy.
The report on the March massacre at Nandigram
submitted by the CBI to the Calcutta High Court is
disturbing for it has put a question mark on the
fairness of the police investigation, such as it was,
ordered by the Left Front Government, as also on the
establishment of peace -- as claimed by the Marxist
regime -- in this district.
If the facts of the CBI report are true, and there is
no reason to doubt them, then it would appear that the
CPI(M) is attempting a cover-up of the ghastly killing
of 14 innocent people -- claimed to have been shot
dead by the police but in all probability victims of
Marxist cadre on the rampage -- by intimidating
witnesses.
The State Government should take note of these charges
and act, for such intimidation is not tolerable. If it
has any respect for the rule of law, the Government
must intervene immediately to put an end to the reign
of fear that prevails in the villages of Nandigram.
A judicially founded inquiry cannot be affected by
extraneous considerations nor must it give the
appearance of being so affected. As for the events of
March 14, it will be recalled that the police had
claimed that these deaths occurred when they tried to
enter Nandigram and were "attacked" by thousands of
villagers.
The CBI investigation has so far recorded the
contention of the villagers that the police resorted
to firing without giving them a chance to disperse.
They have also denied that they resorted to violence
against the police. The CBI's initial report submitted
to the court provides only a glimpse of the true story
of Nandigram. Its final report -- the agency has been
given two more months by the court to conclude its
investigations -- would reveal the full contours of
Marxist barbarity. Although the report is meant for
the court, public interest demands that it should not
be kept under wraps.
That the CPI(M) would try to cover up the crimes
committed by its cadre on March 14 -- as also in
end-October and early-November -- was only to be
expected. The State police, which has been thoroughly
politicised by the Left Front Government and is no
more than an extension counter of the ruling party,
could not have acted otherwise.
If it had conducted a fair inquiry into the events
leading up to March 14, then the Government would have
been severely embarrassed and the CPI(M) exposed.
Hence, a web of lies and deceit was spun to foist the
impression that casualties were not as high as was
claimed by the victims and the media. Those lies now
lie in tatters: The CBI inquiry shows many more people
were wounded than was admitted by the Government. For
all we know, more than 14 people died that day.
url:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=EDITS&file_name=edit2%2Etxt&counter_img=2
http://ultracurrents.blogspot.com/

CPI demands for shifting of POSCO project
KalingaTimes Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, Dec 15: Orissa government should stop using police and hooligans to suppress the ongoing peaceful democratic agitation by the locals against establishment of the proposed steel plant of POSCO in Erasama block of Jagatsinghpur district, and shift the project to an area having no cultivation, the Communist Party of India (CPI) demanded on Saturday.
Extending the party's support to the agitation by the villagers, veteran CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said Orissa would lose much more than what it would gain by facilitating setting up of the POSCO steel plant as per the agreements reached between the State government and the company.
The State government should shift the project to any other place not having cultivation, he demanded.
The company should not be allowed to have captive iron ore mines as well as a captive port, Dasgupta said.
If the company had captive mines and a captive port, the State government will not be able to know how much iron ore was extracted and exported, Dasgupta said at a press conference on his return from the proposed POSCO project area.
The decision of allowing POSCO to take water from Jobra barrage near Cuttack to run its proposed steel mill will adversely affect irrigation in four districts that were part of the erstwhile undivided Cuttack district, he said.
Narrating his experience on his visit to Dhinkia village, Dasgupta condemned the alleged use police force and goons by the government in an attempt to suppress the people's agitation under the guise of growing support for the project.
“Dhinkia village has been encircled by police and anti-socials and people living there are apprehending that they might be attacked,” Dasgupta said.
He warned the Naveen Patnaik Government to refrain from using the State apparatus to help the company set up the steel project by depriving 20000 people of their livelihood sources.
The CPI leader said before leaving the State he was to discuss the issue with senior Congress leader J.B. Patnaik. He appealed to the opposition parties to join hands against setting up of the POSCO project in the area selected by the State government.
CPI speaks its mind
KOLKATA, Dec. 20: The CPI leadership today continued to snipe at the CPI-M over the front's functioning. But while CPI state secretary Mr Manju Kumar Majumdar today appealed to the RSP and Forward Bloc to mellow down, Mr Dipankar Bhattacharya, senior CPI(M-L) leader, observed that there could be no truck with a party that was responsible for "the genocide in Nandigram". The bloodbath in Nandigram could have been avoided had the plan of action outlined in an eight-point note submitted by the CPI at a LF meeting been followed, Mr Majumdar said. Had all LF partners been consulted and and a hasty decision not taken, the Nandigram episode could would not have occurred, he said when asked whether the CPI still held the CPI-M entirely responsible for the incident. Mr Majumdar said a CPI delegation will visit Nandigram after its state conference was over. Mr Bhattacharya of the CPI(M-L) pointed out that while the CPI-M was opposing a Special Economic Zone in Raygarh in Maharashtra, it was trying to set up SEZs in the state. Though the CPI (M-L) is seeking to build an alternative to Left Front with some Front partners, Mr Bhattacharya said it would have nothing to do with the CPI-M. n SNS

Coordination Committee no to retail trade
Statesman News Service
KOLKATA. Dec. 20: In a potentially embarrassing development for the state government, the CPI-M backed State Coordination Committee today opposed the entry of big players, including Reliance, into retail trade a day after the CPI-M voted against a Trinamul Congress sponsored non-official motion in the Legislative Assembly against entry of big capital, both foreign and indigenous into retail trade. This is the first time a frontal organisation of the CPI-M has publicly opposed the the entry of Reliance or any other multinational companies as the protests has been so long spearheaded by its partner in Left Front, the Forward Bloc.
The Coordination Committee, which is an organisation of state government employees, today said that shopping malls have already sounded the death knell for the small traders and with the entry of big players in retail trade their existence would be at stake.
“We are opposed to multinational companies monopolising retail trade. If Reliance enters retail trade, it would drive out the small traders. The farmers would also be affected. There is a need to adopt policies to give protection to the small traders against the big players," Mr Jyoti Prasad Basu, general secretary of the State Coordination Committee, said.
It bears recall that chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had welcomed Mr Mukesh Ambani with open arms for setting up retail outlets in Writers’ Buildings in 2006.
But Reliance had to backtrack from its plans to set up retail chain in the state due to strong opposition from Forward Bloc members of which even went to the extent of launching attacks on its outlets. Yesterday, during a debate on the non-official motion brought by Trinamul Congress, housing minister Mr Gautam Deb had argued for the entry of big, domestic companies into retail trade but with restrictions. The CPI-M found Forward Bloc by its side, though, when it came to voting on the motion in the House.
Women’s team takes stock
KOLKATA, Dec. 20: The West Bengal Women's Commission (WBWC) visited Nandigram today to listen to complaints from women CPI-M supporters of Kamalpur of allegedly being beaten up by CRPF jawans on 16 December. CRPF commanding officer, Mr Jayant Kumar said that there is “not even an element of truth in the allegations”.A seven-member team led by Ms Roma Das of the WBWC, first visited Reyapara Hospital to meet women from Kamalpur who alleged they had been beaten up by CRPF jawans. They also alleged that CRPF needlessly searched houses in the village.
Later, the team went to Kamalpur to speak with villagers and met the SP, Midnapore East, Mr SS Ponda. The women's team did not speak to any of those injured in the November violence in Nandigram.
Ms Roma Das said they would submit a report of their findings today to the state women's commission on their return to Kolkata.
Asked about the matter, Mr Jayant Kumar said: “These are baseless allegations. We did not search any of the homes, nor did the CRPF beat up anyone. CRPF jawans have standing instructions to move away as soon as women start agitating, as molestation charges may be leveled against them at any time.”
The CRPF commanding officer said that on 16 December, around 9.30 p.m., a CRPF team went to Mr Dilip Mondal's (a local CPI-M leader) house to speak with him. When the section approached the house, Mr Mondal's wife blew the conch, hearing which some women from the village gathered.
Trinamul meeting
Miss Mamata Banerjee, Trinamul Congress chief would be holding meeting at Khejuri, CPI-M's stronghold on 28 December. After the 10 November Nandigram massacre, this is for the first time she will hold a meeting at Khejuri. n SNS

Taxes must be moderate: Chidambaram
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
India : Visakhapatnam to be new global apparel supply chain hub
December 20, 2007
Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC) the state of the art apparel supply chain city is on schedule to be operational by the second quarter of 2008.
Based on an innovative ‘Fibre-to-Store’ concept, the city will be a “fully integrated one-stop-shop” with capabilities in spinning, fabric, accessory and apparel manufacturing, complete with onsite customs and recreational facilities.
The Brandix Apparel City (SEZ) will be the first of its kind and has already attracted several world-class supply chain partners to invest in the SEZ.
In October this year, Ocean India, backed by fabric giant, Fountain Set Holdings of Hong Kong broke ground to set up the largest knit fabric mill in the region.
In 2007 alone it has attracted, Pioneer Elastics of Hong Kong, Mauritius based apparel giant, CMT, Quantum Clothing from The United Kingdom and several support service providers (courier, accessories, financial services, logistics etc,) along with India’s BSNL (telecommunication) to support operations in the City.
Brandix Apparel India, the Indian manufacturing arm of Brandix, Sri Lanka, commenced commercial production early this year, at a temporary location in Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) premises.
It has systematically increased its local workforce, and has a combined strength of 822 (eight hundred and twenty two) associates, with world-class apparel being exported to top customers such as Victoria’s Secret (USA) & Hanes (USA).

Landlords get more power
21 Dec 2007, 0447 hrs IST,Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Landlords_get_more_power/articleshow/2639377.cms
NEW DELHI: In what could spell a better deal for harried landlords, the Supreme Court has put up a "good behaviour" signal for tenants, making it clear that those who misbehave with the owner of the premises are liable for eviction.
Not just that. The apex court has also said that tenants causing damage to property are also liable for eviction. While it has not spelt out the nature of damage, this definition may also include wholesale alterations of old properties that are under tenancy for decades.
The obligation to be civil and to take care of the premises must be welcome to landlords in several cities who have been at the receiving end of defiant tenants who, taking advantage of laws that are seen to be loaded in their favour, refuse to vacate properties they got for a song years ago.
Any violation of these conditions would make the courts rule in favour of the landlord if he seeks eviction of the tenant, said a Bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran and P Sathasivam in a recent judgment.
The ruling put paid to the effort of a tenant who, accused of misbehaviour and damaging a portion of the house, was determined to stay put. The tenant broke a collapsible gate at the rented premises. When the landlady protested, he threatened her with dire consequences.
The ruling brought the curtains down on an eviction litigation that started more than 30 years back in 1976. In the process, it also served to highlight the vulnerability of landlords before tenants, who take advantage of the tortuous legal process to frustrate eviction efforts.
In many cities, landlords who rented out their premises have ended up being evicted from their own houses, in some cases forced to hire accommodation at rates several times higher than what they get as rent from their own properties.
In Delhi and Mumbai, many tenants have held on to the premises in commercial districts and upscale residential localities, paying rents as ridiculously low as just a couple of hundred rupees a month.
The two caveats entered by the Supreme Court, however, don’t alter the legal regime dramatically. But as precedent, they can potentially right the balance somewhat, bringing the pendulum in the tenant’s favour towards the centre. Significantly, the apex court gave the ruling under a central law, Transfer of Property Act, 1882, with the Bench reading it along with the provisions of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act.

Mumbai : Buoyed by healthy tax collections so far this fiscal as well as during the three-and-half years of the UPA regime, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday hinted at a moderation of taxes in the forthcoming Union Budget.
"We believe taxes must be moderate and must be administered in a tax payer-friendly manner," he said, while expressing his happiness with the record tax compliance.
"I am happy with the tax compliance and in the three-and- -half years of the UPA Government, tax compliance improved dramaticaly, partly due to greater respect for tax payers."
Chidamabaram said several new legislative and administrative measures taken by the Government had resulted in fiscal stability and increased tax revenues.
The Minister was speaking after releasing the booklet `Service Tax: Frequently Asked Questions' prepared by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) on FBT on Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs).
Publication of booklets is an act of demonstrating transparency in tax administration in the country, he said.
Service tax has been among the fastest-growing taxes in the country. Beginning with a modest figure of Rs 407 crore during 1994-95 when the tax was introduced, the service tax collections are set to cross Rs 50,200 crore during the current fiscal.
The financial capital, at about Rs 19,000 crores, accounts for 38 per cent of the total service tax collection in the country.
More than 1.4 million Indians have been moved from their land in four states alone in the last decade to make way for industry and infrastructure, and most of them are unhappy about it, a report said on Wednesday. Reports Jonathan Allen for Reuters from New Delhi.

"If I am going to be displaced from the land of my birth in the name of progress, I have every right to ask to be the first beneficiary of that progress," said Shabana Azmi, an actor and campaigner for ActionAid agency that did the survey.But this is not how things turn out, according to the anti-poverty group's account of its interviews with more than 1,700 displaced people.Most of those displaced are among the poorest in the country and yet live in areas rich with minerals and other resources.This has led to fraught and sometimes deadly battles between developers of factories, dams, mines and powers plants. India's poor and the authorities are still trying to work out how to resolve these tensions as India industrialises.
In October, the government announced a relief and rehabilitation policy to ease anger over the issue, under which those affected would be provided alternative land, jobs in the project, housing benefits and vocational training.
ActionAid said most of those surveyed belong to tribal communities. Nine in every 10 respondents said they had not received enough compensation for moving.
Many said they had only moved in the first place because of threats from developers' agents.
Although most projects promise to resettle affected people, two-thirds said no such assistance had come by.
At least 34 people have been killed this year in Nandigram in West Bengal during protests by farmers who refuse to give up their land for industry.
Britain's Vedanta Resources is having difficulty trying to get India's Supreme Court to let it shift a tribal community in Orissa so it can mine a bauxite-stuffed hill range considered sacred by the tribe.
Similar disputes can be found in many parts of the country.
In two of the four states studied, around two-thirds of shunted people had not found a new source of income. Newly created jobs at the project for which they gave up their homes typically went to people from outside the affected community.
ActionAid arrived at the number of displaced people by studying thousands of government land acquisition documents for Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, which record the transfer of more than 10 million acres of land.
India's economy could be growing by 10 percent a year by 2012 with the right set of policies, but the U.S. subprime crisis might trim exports and capital flows, the prime minister said on Wednesday.
Annual growth dipped to 8.9 percent in the September quarter, falling below 9 percent for the first time in three quarters, as industrial output slowed due to monetary tightening designed to trim inflation.
Top officials are confident they can maintain growth momentum despite a surge in the value of the rupee against the dollar this year, which is hurting exporters, and high interest rates.
"It is possible that with the correct set of policies ... we will not only be able to maintain this momentum of high growth into the near future but may be able to raise it to 10 percent," Manmohan Singh told top policy makers.
India, the world's fastest-growing major economy after China, grew 9.4 percent in the last fiscal year, its strongest in 18 years. Its surging expansion has attracted global investors, fuelling a stock market boom and pushing firms to expand capacity.
"This high growth rate has become possible because of the historically high savings and investment rates which we are witnessing," Singh said at a meeting of the National Development Council set to approve a policies for the 5 years to 2012.
"Our savings rate after stagnating for almost two decades has touched 34 percent of GDP and the investment rate has crossed 35 percent. These high rates ... are likely to go up in future because of our young population profile."
Trade Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday expansion in the 2007/08 fiscal year to March 31 would be in excess of 9 percent, and analysts say the central bank's forecast of 8.5 percent should be met in Asia's third-largest economy.
Tata on top; but Ford wants other suitors around
Not wanting to alienate other suitors including Mahindras, Ford may wait till the New Year to announce the winner for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, although Indian conglomerate Tatas have emerged as the top choice, media reports said on Friday. "Tata Motors is set to be chosen by Ford as the preferred bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover as early as Friday," a report in Financial Times said quoting people close to the situation.
"For all intents and purposes, Tata is the preferred bidder," the report quoted a person close to one of the rival bidders, who added that Ford might select a preferred bidder without making an official announcement to avoid alienating other suitors, whom it needed to keep on side in case talks with the favoured candidate fell through.
When contacted, a Ford spokesperson said, "No decision has been made at this time... We anticipate an agreement early next year at the latest." "These are complex commercial discussions and it is in the interests of all parties concerned if the process is conducted in a confidential manner," the official added.
The Financial Times report said that Tata Motors had pulled ahead of two rival bidders - another Indian carmaker Mahindra and Mahindra and One Equity, a private equity firm led by former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser.
"Ford is likely to make an official announcement after the New Year," Financial Times said, adding offers were in the range of $1.8-2.2 billion. It added that Tatas would be given an exclusivity period to finalise the detailed agreements and a final deal was expected to be signed early in 2008.
"Ford is expected to take the successful preferred bidder before the Jaguar and Land Rover pension trustees for further negotiations. They would then begin the complicated negotiations required to reach a final arrangement," Financial Times report said.
The successful bidder would be asked to sign about 40 contracts as part of the deal, including those for engine production and information technology systems, it added.
"There could be several more sticking points that could undo a deal, such as the cost of complying with stricter emissions regulations in Europe and whether the successful bidder would be permitted to use intellectual property belonging to Jaguar and Land Rover in other parts of the group," the report noted.
Earlier yesterday, a report in Birmingham Post had quoted unnamed Land Rover sources as saying that Tatas are set to be named on Friday the top choice.
The sources had told the paper, "It is definitely Tata. There is one final meeting and so long as there is no last minute hitches, which are not expected, then an announcement will be made on Friday," adding the final details would be worked out in the next six weeks, it added.
The report had also quoted a union official as saying that Mahindra's bid fell flat because of links to a private equity firm as the Indian firm was working with Apollo.
Birminghan Post had said Tata officials are coming from India to the UK for the announcement and the deal has been supported by the staff as well as the government.
Noting that unions had approved the decision, the report quoted a union official as saying: "We cautiously welcome this development, although the devil will be in the detail."
Catholic women oppose economic zone project, fight for their land

MUMBAI, India (UCAN) :About 150 Catholic women have accused a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project of "grabbing our land."

Two Catholic priests, a nun and some lay leaders accompanied the women at a press conference on Dec. 18 in Mumbai to highlight the government's "high-handedness" in uprooting them from their land.
Mumbai, formerly Bombay, is capital of Maharashtra, an industrialized state in western India. The city, 1,450 kilometers southwest of New Delhi, is the country's commercial hub. It is also the base of Bombay archdiocese, India's largest diocese, with at least 514,000 Catholics.
The Catholic women oppose the Gorai-Manori SEZ project that threatens 10 villages. Gorai and Manor are two major villages. Gorai, a picnic spot, is 40 kilometers north of Mumbai on a peninsula generally reached by boat. The first phase of the project includes a 1,000-hectare multi-product SEZ. Later phases likely will extend to other areas, depriving people of their ancestral land.
Agnes Bandu, a fisherwoman who addressed the journalists, declared that the government can claim "our land only over our dead bodies." The 55-year-old mother of six, draped in a green sari, said she resents the government plan to give her land to a private firm to set up an entertainment project.
The parishioner of Uttan's Our Lady of the Sea Church, who dropped out of school at seventh grade, said she had been born and got married in the area. She thanked Catholic priests and nuns for supporting the people's struggle.
Cherryl D'Mello, a mother of two who produces salt for a living, told the reporters women are worried. "Sometimes we don't even sleep at night, and the next morning we have to work in our farm or salt pan, or sell fish caught by our husbands," said the woman from Murdhe, another affected village.
After the conference, Lourdes D'Souza, secretary of Dharavi Beth Bachao Samati (save Dharavi island council), told UCA News the SEZ project would adversely affect about 125,000 Catholics in the Gorai-Manori region.
She said the government also plans to build a National Judicial Academy at Uttan, part of the region. The academy was set up in 1993 as an independent society to manage judicial education in the country.
D'Souza said the state government allotted five hectares of land to the Bombay High Court on Nov. 27, but two days later, court officials decided to set up the academy on land that local people have possessed for more than 150 years. She said the proposed project has shattered people's faith in the government and galvanized them to safeguard their land.
Father Anselem Gonsalves, parish priest of Gorai's Holy Magi Church, told UCA News his villagers were shocked when the government put demolition notices on their houses on Nov. 23 and demolished them the next morning. The people had no time to go to court for justice, he said. Moreover, he added, the demolition squad also cut down hundreds of mango, jackfruit and eucalyptus trees planted by students of Uttan's St. Joseph School.
In 1981, Uttan parish applied for regularization of the 14.17 hectares of land it had possessed for 150 years, but the authorities have repeatedly ignored the request. In contrast, the National Judicial Academy applied for the same land in 2005 and got government approval, Father Gonsalves noted.
Father Barthol Machao, parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Kalyan village, questions the propriety of erecting an institute to train lawyers on "unjustly" obtained land. Joseph Dias, general secretary of Catholic Secular Forum, says building it would be "the most scandalous event" in India's judicial history. Dias told UCA News that more than 7,000 people from affected villages blocked a road for two hours on Dec. 16 to draw public attention.
Noel Kinny, chairperson of Gorai Machchimar Samiti (Gorai fishermen council), commends the priests' involvement in the common people's struggle. The priests have the blessing of Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, he said.
India began promoting SEZs in 2000 to enhance economic activities, attract investment, create jobs, encourage exports of goods and services, and develop state-of-the-art infrastructure, but Kinny wonders who needs such projects.
The 37-year-old Catholic farmer told UCA News that "farmers and fishermen and salt producers here are self-sufficient and happy," and he wants the government to leave the people alone.

Banks turn to RBI for cash as call rates rise
The ongoing festive season, an extended weekend, coupled with banks' needs to meet reserve requirements, brought cash conditions in the banking system under further strain. Consequent to the advance tax outflows earlier this month and a hike in the cash reserve ratio announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October, liquidity in the money market had already begun to tighten.
Banks, which were parking funds worth Rs 20,000-30,000 crore with the central bank on a daily basis in October, have now begun borrowing funds from the central bank through the repo window by parking surplus government securities held under the SLR basket.
Ahead of a five-day extended weekend, banks have borrowed more than Rs 20,000 crore from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at its daily repo window. While demand for cash typically rises during the festive and holiday season, call money rates have crossed the 8%-mark, reflecting a severe crunch in cash conditions. Markets will be closed on Friday for Id. They will also be closed on Tuesday for the Christmas celebration.
One reason for banks borrowing from RBI is that the other alternative for them is to borrow from the inter-bank call money market. Call rates were found quoting at over 8%-levels in the morning. Hence, banks found it cheaper to borrow at 7.75% levels from RBI. However, only banks with an excess SLR can borrow from RBI, and the rest have to resort to the call and CBLO markets. According to traders, some banks started lending in the call and CBLO markets, in an attempt to leverage high rates there. But once the LAF results were declared, the rates on these markets dipped. Rates in the CBLO market went as low as 1%, while call rates touched the 4%-mark.
Given that this weekend was also a reporting fortnight, banks were also forced to borrow from the central bank because they had to maintain reserves to meet cash reserve ratio stipulations. Axis Bank president of treasury Partha Mukherjee said, "The tightness in cash conditions has increased recently, mainly due to the advance tax payouts that took place last week. Earlier, the effect of such payouts would be neutralised within a couple of days, but now it takes a relatively longer duration. Also, the long weekend ahead is contributing to the tightness, with players building up positions. Call rates may not come down soon. As long as they are stable, the markets will be able to cope with the present rates."
In the bond market, yields took some comfort in the lower inflation figures and eased by a few basis points. The bond market saw trading volumes of around Rs 4,000 crore. Of which, the benchmark paper saw trades of around Rs 1,300 crore.
A senior treasury manager at a bond house said, "The signs of a rally at the shorter end of the curve are getting more visible. Much of the trade on Thursday was concentrated in the 9-10 year segment, where yields dipped by around five basis points. Once cash conditions improve, these securities would be the most preferred lot."The yield on the 10-year benchmark bond, the 7.99% bond maturing in 2017, ended at 7.87%, a notch below the previous close of 7.88%. Liquidity conditions in the banking system are expected to stay under pressure at least till the end of this year. Treasury managers feel that once the new year begins, the situation may see some improvement. "This is on the back of the government beginning its spending exercise and some inflows on account of interest payments (worth around Rs 22,000 crore) on special deposit schemes (SDS) to superannuation funds," said IDBI Gilts head-fixed income S Raghavan.

SEZs to create more than 3 lakh jobs
Special economic zones (SEZs) are continuing to attract huge investments and are creating jobs throughout the country, says the commerce ministry. SEZs have attracted investments worth $13 billion and have created one lakh new jobs since SEZ rules were notified in February previous year.
These figures have been collected by the commerce department over a period of 21 months between February 16, 2006 and November 30, 2007.
According to commerce ministry estimates, the number of new jobs will go up to 3 lakh and the investment will treble. Commerce secretary GK Pillai said that investments have been flowing into SEZs as anticipated.
"By next year end, total investments in SEZs may touch $40 billion. Creation of new jobs is also expected to increase three times to 3 lakh," he said.
Subsequent to the approval of SEZ rules last year, a total of 404 proposals for setting up SEZs have been formally cleared, of which 172 zones have been notified. As many as 50 SEZs have started operations. There are 165 proposals that have received in-principle clearance.

Taxes must be moderate: Chidambaram
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
India : Visakhapatnam to be new global apparel supply chain hub
December 20, 2007
Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC) the state of the art apparel supply chain city is on schedule to be operational by the second quarter of 2008.
Based on an innovative ‘Fibre-to-Store’ concept, the city will be a “fully integrated one-stop-shop” with capabilities in spinning, fabric, accessory and apparel manufacturing, complete with onsite customs and recreational facilities.
The Brandix Apparel City (SEZ) will be the first of its kind and has already attracted several world-class supply chain partners to invest in the SEZ.
In October this year, Ocean India, backed by fabric giant, Fountain Set Holdings of Hong Kong broke ground to set up the largest knit fabric mill in the region.
In 2007 alone it has attracted, Pioneer Elastics of Hong Kong, Mauritius based apparel giant, CMT, Quantum Clothing from The United Kingdom and several support service providers (courier, accessories, financial services, logistics etc,) along with India’s BSNL (telecommunication) to support operations in the City.
Brandix Apparel India, the Indian manufacturing arm of Brandix, Sri Lanka, commenced commercial production early this year, at a temporary location in Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) premises.
It has systematically increased its local workforce, and has a combined strength of 822 (eight hundred and twenty two) associates, with world-class apparel being exported to top customers such as Victoria’s Secret (USA) & Hanes (USA).

Landlords get more power
21 Dec 2007, 0447 hrs IST,Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Landlords_get_more_power/articleshow/2639377.cms
NEW DELHI: In what could spell a better deal for harried landlords, the Supreme Court has put up a "good behaviour" signal for tenants, making it clear that those who misbehave with the owner of the premises are liable for eviction.
Not just that. The apex court has also said that tenants causing damage to property are also liable for eviction. While it has not spelt out the nature of damage, this definition may also include wholesale alterations of old properties that are under tenancy for decades.
The obligation to be civil and to take care of the premises must be welcome to landlords in several cities who have been at the receiving end of defiant tenants who, taking advantage of laws that are seen to be loaded in their favour, refuse to vacate properties they got for a song years ago.
Any violation of these conditions would make the courts rule in favour of the landlord if he seeks eviction of the tenant, said a Bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran and P Sathasivam in a recent judgment.
The ruling put paid to the effort of a tenant who, accused of misbehaviour and damaging a portion of the house, was determined to stay put. The tenant broke a collapsible gate at the rented premises. When the landlady protested, he threatened her with dire consequences.
The ruling brought the curtains down on an eviction litigation that started more than 30 years back in 1976. In the process, it also served to highlight the vulnerability of landlords before tenants, who take advantage of the tortuous legal process to frustrate eviction efforts.
In many cities, landlords who rented out their premises have ended up being evicted from their own houses, in some cases forced to hire accommodation at rates several times higher than what they get as rent from their own properties.
In Delhi and Mumbai, many tenants have held on to the premises in commercial districts and upscale residential localities, paying rents as ridiculously low as just a couple of hundred rupees a month.
The two caveats entered by the Supreme Court, however, don’t alter the legal regime dramatically. But as precedent, they can potentially right the balance somewhat, bringing the pendulum in the tenant’s favour towards the centre. Significantly, the apex court gave the ruling under a central law, Transfer of Property Act, 1882, with the Bench reading it along with the provisions of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act.

Mumbai : Buoyed by healthy tax collections so far this fiscal as well as during the three-and-half years of the UPA regime, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday hinted at a moderation of taxes in the forthcoming Union Budget.
"We believe taxes must be moderate and must be administered in a tax payer-friendly manner," he said, while expressing his happiness with the record tax compliance.
"I am happy with the tax compliance and in the three-and- -half years of the UPA Government, tax compliance improved dramaticaly, partly due to greater respect for tax payers."
Chidamabaram said several new legislative and administrative measures taken by the Government had resulted in fiscal stability and increased tax revenues.
The Minister was speaking after releasing the booklet `Service Tax: Frequently Asked Questions' prepared by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) on FBT on Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs).
Publication of booklets is an act of demonstrating transparency in tax administration in the country, he said.
Service tax has been among the fastest-growing taxes in the country. Beginning with a modest figure of Rs 407 crore during 1994-95 when the tax was introduced, the service tax collections are set to cross Rs 50,200 crore during the current fiscal.
The financial capital, at about Rs 19,000 crores, accounts for 38 per cent of the total service tax collection in the country.
More than 1.4 million Indians have been moved from their land in four states alone in the last decade to make way for industry and infrastructure, and most of them are unhappy about it, a report said on Wednesday. Reports Jonathan Allen for Reuters from New Delhi.

"If I am going to be displaced from the land of my birth in the name of progress, I have every right to ask to be the first beneficiary of that progress," said Shabana Azmi, an actor and campaigner for ActionAid agency that did the survey.But this is not how things turn out, according to the anti-poverty group's account of its interviews with more than 1,700 displaced people.Most of those displaced are among the poorest in the country and yet live in areas rich with minerals and other resources.This has led to fraught and sometimes deadly battles between developers of factories, dams, mines and powers plants. India's poor and the authorities are still trying to work out how to resolve these tensions as India industrialises.
In October, the government announced a relief and rehabilitation policy to ease anger over the issue, under which those affected would be provided alternative land, jobs in the project, housing benefits and vocational training.
ActionAid said most of those surveyed belong to tribal communities. Nine in every 10 respondents said they had not received enough compensation for moving.
Many said they had only moved in the first place because of threats from developers' agents.
Although most projects promise to resettle affected people, two-thirds said no such assistance had come by.
At least 34 people have been killed this year in Nandigram in West Bengal during protests by farmers who refuse to give up their land for industry.
Britain's Vedanta Resources is having difficulty trying to get India's Supreme Court to let it shift a tribal community in Orissa so it can mine a bauxite-stuffed hill range considered sacred by the tribe.
Similar disputes can be found in many parts of the country.
In two of the four states studied, around two-thirds of shunted people had not found a new source of income. Newly created jobs at the project for which they gave up their homes typically went to people from outside the affected community.
ActionAid arrived at the number of displaced people by studying thousands of government land acquisition documents for Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, which record the transfer of more than 10 million acres of land.
India's economy could be growing by 10 percent a year by 2012 with the right set of policies, but the U.S. subprime crisis might trim exports and capital flows, the prime minister said on Wednesday.
Annual growth dipped to 8.9 percent in the September quarter, falling below 9 percent for the first time in three quarters, as industrial output slowed due to monetary tightening designed to trim inflation.
Top officials are confident they can maintain growth momentum despite a surge in the value of the rupee against the dollar this year, which is hurting exporters, and high interest rates.
"It is possible that with the correct set of policies ... we will not only be able to maintain this momentum of high growth into the near future but may be able to raise it to 10 percent," Manmohan Singh told top policy makers.
India, the world's fastest-growing major economy after China, grew 9.4 percent in the last fiscal year, its strongest in 18 years. Its surging expansion has attracted global investors, fuelling a stock market boom and pushing firms to expand capacity.
"This high growth rate has become possible because of the historically high savings and investment rates which we are witnessing," Singh said at a meeting of the National Development Council set to approve a policies for the 5 years to 2012.
"Our savings rate after stagnating for almost two decades has touched 34 percent of GDP and the investment rate has crossed 35 percent. These high rates ... are likely to go up in future because of our young population profile."
Trade Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday expansion in the 2007/08 fiscal year to March 31 would be in excess of 9 percent, and analysts say the central bank's forecast of 8.5 percent should be met in Asia's third-largest economy.
Tata on top; but Ford wants other suitors around
Not wanting to alienate other suitors including Mahindras, Ford may wait till the New Year to announce the winner for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, although Indian conglomerate Tatas have emerged as the top choice, media reports said on Friday. "Tata Motors is set to be chosen by Ford as the preferred bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover as early as Friday," a report in Financial Times said quoting people close to the situation.
"For all intents and purposes, Tata is the preferred bidder," the report quoted a person close to one of the rival bidders, who added that Ford might select a preferred bidder without making an official announcement to avoid alienating other suitors, whom it needed to keep on side in case talks with the favoured candidate fell through.
When contacted, a Ford spokesperson said, "No decision has been made at this time... We anticipate an agreement early next year at the latest." "These are complex commercial discussions and it is in the interests of all parties concerned if the process is conducted in a confidential manner," the official added.
The Financial Times report said that Tata Motors had pulled ahead of two rival bidders - another Indian carmaker Mahindra and Mahindra and One Equity, a private equity firm led by former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser.
"Ford is likely to make an official announcement after the New Year," Financial Times said, adding offers were in the range of $1.8-2.2 billion. It added that Tatas would be given an exclusivity period to finalise the detailed agreements and a final deal was expected to be signed early in 2008.
"Ford is expected to take the successful preferred bidder before the Jaguar and Land Rover pension trustees for further negotiations. They would then begin the complicated negotiations required to reach a final arrangement," Financial Times report said.
The successful bidder would be asked to sign about 40 contracts as part of the deal, including those for engine production and information technology systems, it added.
"There could be several more sticking points that could undo a deal, such as the cost of complying with stricter emissions regulations in Europe and whether the successful bidder would be permitted to use intellectual property belonging to Jaguar and Land Rover in other parts of the group," the report noted.
Earlier yesterday, a report in Birmingham Post had quoted unnamed Land Rover sources as saying that Tatas are set to be named on Friday the top choice.
The sources had told the paper, "It is definitely Tata. There is one final meeting and so long as there is no last minute hitches, which are not expected, then an announcement will be made on Friday," adding the final details would be worked out in the next six weeks, it added.
The report had also quoted a union official as saying that Mahindra's bid fell flat because of links to a private equity firm as the Indian firm was working with Apollo.
Birminghan Post had said Tata officials are coming from India to the UK for the announcement and the deal has been supported by the staff as well as the government.
Noting that unions had approved the decision, the report quoted a union official as saying: "We cautiously welcome this development, although the devil will be in the detail."
Catholic women oppose economic zone project, fight for their land

MUMBAI, India (UCAN) :About 150 Catholic women have accused a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project of "grabbing our land."

Two Catholic priests, a nun and some lay leaders accompanied the women at a press conference on Dec. 18 in Mumbai to highlight the government's "high-handedness" in uprooting them from their land.
Mumbai, formerly Bombay, is capital of Maharashtra, an industrialized state in western India. The city, 1,450 kilometers southwest of New Delhi, is the country's commercial hub. It is also the base of Bombay archdiocese, India's largest diocese, with at least 514,000 Catholics.
The Catholic women oppose the Gorai-Manori SEZ project that threatens 10 villages. Gorai and Manor are two major villages. Gorai, a picnic spot, is 40 kilometers north of Mumbai on a peninsula generally reached by boat. The first phase of the project includes a 1,000-hectare multi-product SEZ. Later phases likely will extend to other areas, depriving people of their ancestral land.
Agnes Bandu, a fisherwoman who addressed the journalists, declared that the government can claim "our land only over our dead bodies." The 55-year-old mother of six, draped in a green sari, said she resents the government plan to give her land to a private firm to set up an entertainment project.
The parishioner of Uttan's Our Lady of the Sea Church, who dropped out of school at seventh grade, said she had been born and got married in the area. She thanked Catholic priests and nuns for supporting the people's struggle.
Cherryl D'Mello, a mother of two who produces salt for a living, told the reporters women are worried. "Sometimes we don't even sleep at night, and the next morning we have to work in our farm or salt pan, or sell fish caught by our husbands," said the woman from Murdhe, another affected village.
After the conference, Lourdes D'Souza, secretary of Dharavi Beth Bachao Samati (save Dharavi island council), told UCA News the SEZ project would adversely affect about 125,000 Catholics in the Gorai-Manori region.
She said the government also plans to build a National Judicial Academy at Uttan, part of the region. The academy was set up in 1993 as an independent society to manage judicial education in the country.
D'Souza said the state government allotted five hectares of land to the Bombay High Court on Nov. 27, but two days later, court officials decided to set up the academy on land that local people have possessed for more than 150 years. She said the proposed project has shattered people's faith in the government and galvanized them to safeguard their land.
Father Anselem Gonsalves, parish priest of Gorai's Holy Magi Church, told UCA News his villagers were shocked when the government put demolition notices on their houses on Nov. 23 and demolished them the next morning. The people had no time to go to court for justice, he said. Moreover, he added, the demolition squad also cut down hundreds of mango, jackfruit and eucalyptus trees planted by students of Uttan's St. Joseph School.
In 1981, Uttan parish applied for regularization of the 14.17 hectares of land it had possessed for 150 years, but the authorities have repeatedly ignored the request. In contrast, the National Judicial Academy applied for the same land in 2005 and got government approval, Father Gonsalves noted.
Father Barthol Machao, parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Kalyan village, questions the propriety of erecting an institute to train lawyers on "unjustly" obtained land. Joseph Dias, general secretary of Catholic Secular Forum, says building it would be "the most scandalous event" in India's judicial history. Dias told UCA News that more than 7,000 people from affected villages blocked a road for two hours on Dec. 16 to draw public attention.
Noel Kinny, chairperson of Gorai Machchimar Samiti (Gorai fishermen council), commends the priests' involvement in the common people's struggle. The priests have the blessing of Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, he said.
India began promoting SEZs in 2000 to enhance economic activities, attract investment, create jobs, encourage exports of goods and services, and develop state-of-the-art infrastructure, but Kinny wonders who needs such projects.
The 37-year-old Catholic farmer told UCA News that "farmers and fishermen and salt producers here are self-sufficient and happy," and he wants the government to leave the people alone.

Banks turn to RBI for cash as call rates rise
The ongoing festive season, an extended weekend, coupled with banks' needs to meet reserve requirements, brought cash conditions in the banking system under further strain. Consequent to the advance tax outflows earlier this month and a hike in the cash reserve ratio announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October, liquidity in the money market had already begun to tighten.
Banks, which were parking funds worth Rs 20,000-30,000 crore with the central bank on a daily basis in October, have now begun borrowing funds from the central bank through the repo window by parking surplus government securities held under the SLR basket.
Ahead of a five-day extended weekend, banks have borrowed more than Rs 20,000 crore from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at its daily repo window. While demand for cash typically rises during the festive and holiday season, call money rates have crossed the 8%-mark, reflecting a severe crunch in cash conditions. Markets will be closed on Friday for Id. They will also be closed on Tuesday for the Christmas celebration.
One reason for banks borrowing from RBI is that the other alternative for them is to borrow from the inter-bank call money market. Call rates were found quoting at over 8%-levels in the morning. Hence, banks found it cheaper to borrow at 7.75% levels from RBI. However, only banks with an excess SLR can borrow from RBI, and the rest have to resort to the call and CBLO markets. According to traders, some banks started lending in the call and CBLO markets, in an attempt to leverage high rates there. But once the LAF results were declared, the rates on these markets dipped. Rates in the CBLO market went as low as 1%, while call rates touched the 4%-mark.
Given that this weekend was also a reporting fortnight, banks were also forced to borrow from the central bank because they had to maintain reserves to meet cash reserve ratio stipulations. Axis Bank president of treasury Partha Mukherjee said, "The tightness in cash conditions has increased recently, mainly due to the advance tax payouts that took place last week. Earlier, the effect of such payouts would be neutralised within a couple of days, but now it takes a relatively longer duration. Also, the long weekend ahead is contributing to the tightness, with players building up positions. Call rates may not come down soon. As long as they are stable, the markets will be able to cope with the present rates."
In the bond market, yields took some comfort in the lower inflation figures and eased by a few basis points. The bond market saw trading volumes of around Rs 4,000 crore. Of which, the benchmark paper saw trades of around Rs 1,300 crore.
A senior treasury manager at a bond house said, "The signs of a rally at the shorter end of the curve are getting more visible. Much of the trade on Thursday was concentrated in the 9-10 year segment, where yields dipped by around five basis points. Once cash conditions improve, these securities would be the most preferred lot."The yield on the 10-year benchmark bond, the 7.99% bond maturing in 2017, ended at 7.87%, a notch below the previous close of 7.88%. Liquidity conditions in the banking system are expected to stay under pressure at least till the end of this year. Treasury managers feel that once the new year begins, the situation may see some improvement. "This is on the back of the government beginning its spending exercise and some inflows on account of interest payments (worth around Rs 22,000 crore) on special deposit schemes (SDS) to superannuation funds," said IDBI Gilts head-fixed income S Raghavan.

SEZs to create more than 3 lakh jobs
Special economic zones (SEZs) are continuing to attract huge investments and are creating jobs throughout the country, says the commerce ministry. SEZs have attracted investments worth $13 billion and have created one lakh new jobs since SEZ rules were notified in February previous year.
These figures have been collected by the commerce department over a period of 21 months between February 16, 2006 and November 30, 2007.
According to commerce ministry estimates, the number of new jobs will go up to 3 lakh and the investment will treble. Commerce secretary GK Pillai said that investments have been flowing into SEZs as anticipated.
"By next year end, total investments in SEZs may touch $40 billion. Creation of new jobs is also expected to increase three times to 3 lakh," he said.
Subsequent to the approval of SEZ rules last year, a total of 404 proposals for setting up SEZs have been formally cleared, of which 172 zones have been notified. As many as 50 SEZs have started operations. There are 165 proposals that have received in-principle clearance.

Mobile Mother Sacrifices Child!

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

It was a very very shocking experience. I may not overcome the trauma for longtime as I am afraid of. A child, I could not question the gender, aged five or six years old was to die as the Mother was busy in chatting on Mobile Phone on a RLY crossing beside Sodepur RLY station, about 15 KM away from Kolkata. The child was set free to loiter around the tracks while the train passed. I saw the body of the child packed in polythene to be carried away for Post Mortem. Humanity exists no more as all human beings have become Consumers free from values, legacy, liability, culture and whatsoever ideal. I am afraid to say that this so called Generation should not be allowed to produce children anymore as they cease to deserve to hold the Biological quality. Robotix has taken over all sensitivity. Mindless chemical embodiment loiter around. We face the headless chicken around us. This is Carnival Time of consumption in OPen Market. We pay for services unnecessary and live on credit. Mindless purchasing capacity has overwhelmed whatever Good.

Days before, a Pullcar carrying School Children collied as the driver was busy on Mobile. Luckily the Children escaoped with minor or major injuries only. We witness so many Bike Accidents daily while the rider. So is the case with busy Road or Railway crossing, heavy traffic. Browsing Net, Chatting, Video, MP3 and other latest imported mobile telephony technology thus subvert the jobless, futureless, text despising, motivedevoid mindless Generation Next in Virtual Reality. The life and the world happen to be an entertaining soapopera or Reality show. Information Explosion provides for On Line Fuck_ ing!

Mobile phones and driving safety
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This Manhattan driver is juggling two phones at onceMobile phone use while driving is common but controversial. Using a cellular telephone while operating a motor vehicle has been shown to increase the risk of accident. Because of this, many governments have made use a cell phone while driving illegal.

Contents [hide]
1 Increased Risk
1.1 Case-Crossover Studies
1.2 Epidemiological Cohort Studies
1.3 Simulation Studies
1.4 Meta-Analysis
1.5 As a Percentage of Distraction-Related Accidents
1.6 Hands-Free
2 Legislation
2.1 Effectiveness of legislation
2.2 Illegalization
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Increased Risk
The American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that the inattention and distraction created by the use of a cellular telephone while driving is similar to that associated with other distractions in increasing crash risk. However, the data are insufficient to indicate the magnitude of the safety problem.[1]

[edit] Case-Crossover Studies
A 1997 Canadian study [2] and a 2005 Australian study [3] both estimated the risk of a collision when using a cellular telephone was four times higher than the risk when a cellular telephone was not being used. 699 and 456 drivers, respectively, who owned phones, were involved in crashes, and volunteered for the studies were examined. By collecting volunteers' cell phone records, scientists were able to determine who placed telephone calls shortly before the time of crash, and through case-crossover analysis (a technique often used in medical studies of heart-attacks and air pollution) of cell phone habits, calculated the increase in risk. Both studies found that hands-free devices were not considerably safer.

[edit] Epidemiological Cohort Studies
A more traditional study method was used by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) for their 2003 study. Questionnaires were sent to 175,000 drivers and analysis was done on the 36,078 who responded. The questionnaire asked about driving habits, risk exposure, collisions over the past 24 months, socio-demographic information, and cell phone use. Questionnaires were supported with data from cell phone companies and police crash records. The study found that the overall relative risk (RR) of having an accident for cell phone users when compared to non-cell phone users averaged 1.38 across all groups. When adjusted for kilometers driven per year and other crash risk exposures, RR was 1.11 for men and 1.21 for women. They also found that increased cell phone use correlated with an increase in RR. When the same data were reanalyzed using a Bayesian approach, the calculated RR of 0.78 for those making less than 1 call/day and 2.27 for those with more than 7 calls/day was similar to cohort analysis. When the data were reanalyzed using case-crossover analysis, RR was calculated at a much higher 5.13. The authors expressed concern that misclassification of phone calls due to reporting errors of the exact time of the collisions was a major source of bias with all case-crossover analysis of this issue. [4][5][6]

[edit] Simulation Studies
Simulations are particularly useful for comparing cell phone use while driving with the known-dangerous drunk driving. A 2003 Utah study measured response time, following distance, and driving speed of a control group, subjects at the legal BAC limit, and subjects involved in cell phone conversations.

Means and standard errors (in parentheses) for the Alcohol, Baseline, and Cell-Phone conditions Alcohol Baseline Cell Phone
Total Accidents 0 0 3
Brake Onset Time (msec) 888 (51) 943 (58) 1022 (61)
Braking Force (% of maximum) 69.6 (3.6) 56.4 (2.5) 55.2 (2.9)
Speed (MPH) 52.8 (.08) 54.9 (.08) 53.2 (.07)
Following Distance (meters) 26.5 (1.7) 27.3 (1.3) 28.5 (1.6)
½ Recovery Time 5.4 (0.3) 5.4 (0.3) 6.2 (0.4)

From the report:

Drivers in the cell-phone condition exhibited a sluggish behavior (i.e., slower reactions) which they attempted to compensate for by increasing their following distance. Drivers in the alcohol condition exhibited a more aggressive driving style, in which they followed closer, necessitating braking with greater force.

After controlling for driving difficulty and time on task, the study concluded that cell phone drivers exhibited greater impairment than intoxicated drivers. [7]

[edit] Meta-Analysis
A 2005 review by the Hawaiian legislature entitled Cell Phone Use and Motor Vehicle Collisions: A Review of the Studies contains an analysis of the current state of knowledge on cell phone/motor vehicle accident causality.

Meta-analysis by The Canadian Automobile Association [8] and The University of Illinois[9] found that response time while using both hands-free and hand-held phones was approximately 0.5 standard deviations higher than normal driving.

[edit] As a Percentage of Distraction-Related Accidents
Driver inattention is estimated to be a factor in between 20-50% of all police-reported crashes. Driver distraction, a sub-category of inattention, has been estimated to be a contributing factor in 8-13% of all crashes. Of distraction-related accidents, cell phone use may range from 1.5-5% of contributing factors.[10] However, large percentages of unknowns in each of those 3 categories may cause inaccuracies in these estimations. A 2001 study sponsored by The American Automobile Association recorded "Unknown Driver Attention Status" for 41.5% of crashes, and "Unknown Distraction" in 8.6% of all distraction related accidents.[11] According to NHTSA, "There is clearly inadequate reporting of crashes that may be related to cellular telephone use while driving".[12]

Currently, "Outside person, object, event" (rubbernecking) is the most reported cause of distraction-related accidents, followed by "Adjusting radio/cassette/CD".

[edit] Hands-Free
Several studies argue that the increased "cognitive workload" involved in holding a conversation is the real danger, not the use of hands. [13][14][15] Several studies carried out at the Accident Research Unit at the University of Nottingham have warned of the dangers posed by driving while talking on a mobile phone.[16] As these studies deal with the effect of increased attentional load on driving performance, they also apply to hands-free phones, which are considered by some countries to be safe. The major problem is that the person with whom the driver is conversing cannot see the traffic situation and therefore does not regulate their level of conversation to allow the driver to concentrate when, say, approaching a junction. This problem does not apply to conversations with a passenger, as passengers can regulate the flow of conversation according to the perceived level of danger, and also provides a second pair of eyes to spot hazards. [17]

A study carried out by the University of Utah found that driving while using a mobile phone is "at least as dangerous as driving while over the legal alcohol limit". They also found that hands-free devices do not reduce the distraction caused by talking on a mobile phone.[18][19] According to a study published in the British Medical Journal and funded by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there was only a slight safety benefit from using a hands-free phone. The study showed that drivers who use cell phones, even hands-free models, are four times as likely to be involved in wrecks involving a serious injury than are drivers who do not use cell phones.[20]

[edit] Legislation
Accidents involving a driver being distracted by talking on a mobile phone have begun to be prosecuted as negligence similar to driving while intoxicated. In the United Kingdom, from 27 February 2007, motorists who are caught using a hand-held mobile phone while driving will have three penalty points added to their license in addition to the fine of £60.[21] This increase was introduced to try to stem the increase in drivers ignoring the law.[22] In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is illegal to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving, but there are currently no laws on this subject in the rest of Canada.

At least 30 countries restrict or prohibit mobile phone use while driving:

Japan, Portugal and Singapore all prohibit mobile phone use while driving.
Countries that prohibit the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving are: Albania, Australia (in the state of New South Wales and Victoria learner and first year provisional licence holders are not allowed to use mobiles even in hands free mode), Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland,Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the Philippines, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
Legislation to restrict mobile phone use has been proposed in 40 states in the United States.[23]
California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Washington, DC, and Washington state have passed such a law.[24] The state of Arkansas voted on such a law, which took place in the last week of January 2007.[citation needed] In the United States, such laws were first passed by individual cities and towns, until state legislatures began to pass similar laws. The first American town to pass such a law was Marlboro Township, New Jersey. California's 2007 law requires the use of hands-free wireless phones as of July 1, 2008.[25]
In May 2007, Washington became the first state to ban text messaging while driving, effective January 1, 2008.[26] However, the infraction is not serious enough to compel police to pull over the driver. New Jersey followed suit by passing its own text messaging ban in November 2007.[27]
On September 19, 2007 the city of Phoenix, Arizona passed a city ordinance prohibiting text messaging while driving. Fines are $100 if caught while driving and $250 if it causes an accident. The city provided a 30 day warning period which ended October 19, 2007.

[edit] Effectiveness of legislation
Current laws banning cell phone use in New York and Connecticut have proven to be ineffective, due to a lack of visible enforcement. The percentage of offenders decreased from 2.3% to 1.1% immediately after the ban was implemented, but after being in effect for a year the percentage increased to 2.1%, which is not significantly different from the pre-ban figure. The authors of the study conclude that "vigorous enforcement campaigns accompanied by publicity appear necessary to achieve longer term compliance."[28]

[edit] Illegalization
Places where driving while talking on a mobile phone is illegal:

Italy (unless using a handsfree set)
Finland (unless using a handsfree set)
Austria (unless using a handsfree set)
Belgium (unless using a handsfree set)
Ireland
Czech Republic (forbidden to hold the mobile phone)
France (unless using a handsfree set)
Germany (unless using a handsfree set)
Netherlands (unless using a handsfree set)
Norway (unless using a handsfree set)
Australia (unless using a handsfree set)
United Kingdom (from December 1, 2003) [1]
Parts of the United States:
Albuquerque, New Mexico (as of June 2007)
California (as of January 2008)
Chicago, Illinois
New Jersey
New York City (from November, 2001) [2]
Washington, D.C.
Washington (as of January 1, 2008)

Japan
Greece {as of January 2007}

[edit] References
^ An Investigation of the Safety Implications of Wireless Communications in Vehicles. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (1997).
^ Redelmeier, Donald (FEBRUARY 13, 1997). "ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CELLULAR-TELEPHONE CALLS AND MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISIONS". The New England Journal of Medicine 336 (7): 453-458.
^ McEvoy, Suzanne (2005), Role of mobile phones in motor vehicle crashes resulting in hospital attendance: a case-crossover study,
^ Laberge-Nadeau, Claire (September 2003). "Wireless telephones and the risk of road crashes". Accident Analysis & Prevention 35 (5): 649-660.
^ Claire Laberge-Nadeau (October 2-5, 2005). "Linking data from different sources to estimate the risk of a collision when using a cell phone while driving".
^ Claire Laberge-Nadeau et al. (2006). "Crash Risk and Cell Phone Use: Important Questions on the Real Risk for Legal Decision Makers" (PDF).
^ Strayer, David; Drews, Frank & Crouch, Dennis (2003), FATAL DISTRACTION? A COMPARISON OF THE CELL-PHONE DRIVER AND THE DRUNK DRIVER, University of Utah Department of Psychology,
^ Jeffrey K. Caird et al. (October 25, 2004). "EFFECTS OF CELLULAR TELEPHONES ON DRIVING BEHAVIOUR AND CRASH RISK: RESULTS OF META-ANALYSIS" (PDF). CAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
^ Horrey, William; Christopher Wickens (Spring 2006). "Examining the Impact of Cell Phone Conversations on Driving Using Meta-Analytic Techniques". Human Factors 38 (1): 196-205. Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
^ Eby, David; Lidia Kostyniuk (May 2003). "Driver distraction and crashes: An assessment of crash databases and review of the literature". {{{booktitle}}}.
^ Jane C. Stutts, Ph.D. et al. (May 2001). "THE ROLE OF DRIVER DISTRACTION IN TRAFFIC CRASHES" (PDF). AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
^ An Investigation of the Safety Implications of Wireless Communications in Vehicles. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (1997).
^ Recarte M. A. & Nunes L. M. (2003). "Mental Workload While Driving: Effects on Visual Search, Discrimination, and Decision Making.". Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied 2 (9): 119-137.
^ Strayer D. L., Drews F. A. & Johnston W. A. (2003). "Cell Phone-Induced Failures of Visual Attention During Simulated Driving.". Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied 1 (9): 23-32.
^ Strayer D. L. & William J. A. (2001). "Driven to distraction: Dual-Task Studies of Simulated Driving and Conversing on a Cellular Telephone.". Psychological Science 6 (12): 462-466.
^ "Driven to distraction", APA Online.
^ David Crundall, Manpreet Bains, Peter Chapman, Geoffrey Underwood (2005). "Regulating conversation during driving: a problem for mobile telephones?". Transportation Research, Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour 8F (3): 197-211.
^ "Mobiles 'risky as drink-driving'", BBC News, 29 June 2006.
^ Fox, Maggie. "Cellphone talkers as bad as drunk drivers: study", Reuters UK, 29 June 2006.
^ Vallese, Julie. "Study: Drivers on cells more likely to crash", CNN, 12 July 2006. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
^ Drivers face new phone penalties
^ Careless talk
^ List of countries that ban cellphone use while driving. Cellular-News (May 24, 2007). Retrieved on June 15, 2007.
^ Cite error 8; No text given.
^ California DMV (Jan 1 2007). 2007 SB 1613 Chapter No. 290.
^ Cell phone bill, text message ban signed into law. KOMO News (May 11, 2007). Retrieved on December 21, 2007.
^ State Cell Phone Driving Laws. Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) (November 2007). Retrieved on December 21, 2007.
^ A T McCartt and L L Geary (2004). "Longer term effects of New York State?s law on drivers? hand-held cell phone use.". Injury Prevention 10: 11-15.

[edit] See also
Driver-Attentive Notification System

[edit] External links
Accident Research Unit, University of Nottingham, UK
6.5% of drivers are on the phone
California passes cell phone law
Hands-Free Cellular Phones; Greatest Hidden Public Hazard on the Roadway
Cell Phones and Driving - Insurance Information Institute
A wiki devoted to driving research
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