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Courts should not interfere in economic policies: SC
New Delhi, Feb 26: The Supreme Court today cautioned courts not to interfere in matters related to economic and financial policies, saying it would amount to encroaching into the "domain of the executive and the legislature." Since economic policies involve planning by experts, courts should refrain from interfering unless they are unconstitutional, the apex court said while upholding an Andhra Pradesh government's legislation to check undervaluation of property at the time of registration.
"The court does not consist of economic or administrative experts. It has no expertise in these matter and in this age of specialisation, when policies have to be laid down with great care after consulting specialists in the field, it will be wholly unwise for the court to encroach into the domain of the executive and the legislature," a bench of Justices H K Sema and Markandeya Katju observed.
The bench upheld the constitutional validity of section 47A of Indian Stamp Act, which was amended by "AP Act 8 of 1998" for checking rampant under valuation of property.
The apex court set aside an AP High Court judgement which had ruled that the legislation was unconstitutional.
The Andhra Pradesh government had amended section 47A of Indian Stamp Act, with "AP Act 8 of 1998 empowering the authorities to verify the market value of a property sought to be sold by individuals vis-a-vis the value mentioned in the stamp papers pertaining to the sale deed." PTI
Govt giving priority to keep inflation in check: Chidambaram
New Delhi, Feb 26 : Amidst the wholesale-price based inflation touching the six-month high of 4.11 per cent (for the week ended January 26), the government today said it has given high priority to arrest the price rise.
"The government has given high priority to check inflation," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
Both fiscal and monetary measures have been adopted by the government for this purpose, he said.
Elaborating on anti-inflationary measures, he said, the government has allowed private trade to import wheat at zero duty. The customs duty on pulses has also been done away with.
In order to augment the domestic availability of foodgrain, he said, central issue price for wheat and rice has been kept unchanged from July 2002, while a ban has been imposed on export of non-Basmati rice.
Besides, futures trading in tur, urad, wheat and rice, has been suspended, while strengthening the monitoring mechanism of the public distribution system, he said.
About the monetary steps, he said, cash reserve ratio has been increased on many occasions to make it 7.5 per cent. Repo rate has also been revised upwards to suck up surplus liquidity from the market. PTI
Education loans to be cleared within one month: Chidambaram
New Delhi, Feb 26: Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the public sector banks are required to clear education loans within 15-30 days and they should also institute an on-line system to clear such loans.
"As per the norms prescribed under the Model Education Loan Scheme, the banks are required to dispose of loan applications within a period of 15 days to 1 month," Chidambaram told Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
In order to provide better services to students across the country, he said, the government has advised the banks to institute an on-line system of loan applications.
This will enable students to download the loan application form, apply online and learn the status of their loan application, he said adding the facility is now provided by all major public sector banks.
Referring to information provided by the Reserve Bank, Chidambaram said educational loans worth Rs 18,992 crore were outstanding as on November 23 this fiscal, sanctioned by the public sector banks.
Declining to give state-wise information about the amount of educational loans sanctioned, the Finance Minister said, data on amount of educational loans sanctioned by the PSBs and the number of applications received were not recorded bank-wise across each state. PTI
Markets extend gains, Sensex jumps 156 pts after rail budget
Mumbai, Feb 26 (PTI) Investors gave a thumbs-up to the Railway Budget proposals, which among other things include a cut in freight rates, as the markets extended their gains for the second day today.
The 30-share benchmark Sensex on the Bombay Stock Exchange settled the day at 17,806.19 points, a net rise of 155.62 points, or 0.88 per cent, over its previous close.
Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Energy posted a smart gain of 4.59 per cent on news that the company's board meeting on March 5 will consider buy back of its equity shares.
Marketmen said the Railway Budget 2008-09, it seems, have lifted the investor sentiments further as the proposals provide across-the-board concessions in the fares and freight rates with a thrust on modernisation of rail infrastructure.
They said the rail budget has further ballooned the expectations of large scale concessions in the next Union Budget, which is to be presented on February 29.
The government's clarification on lending and borrowing of securities under the securities lending and borrowing scheme, has given hopes of some tax sops, mainly related to corporate tax, for the capital markets, marketmen added.
The BSE barometer settled the day at 17,806.19, a net rise of 155.62 points, or 0.88 per cent, over its previous close. The key index had touched the day's low of 17,678.74 during afternoon trade.
Analysts termed it as a technical bounce and attributed it to approaching expiry of Futures contract and Finance Minister P Chidambaram's last Budget. PTI
Lalu proposes Rs 2,50,000 cr investment in 5 years
New Delhi, Feb 26 (PTI) Government today proposed a huge investment of Rs 2,50,000 crore in next five years for expansion, modernisation and upgrade of railway network, and said it will resort to public-private partnership modal to part finance the schemes.
"We have made a plan to invest Rs 2,50,000 crore within the next five years. For funding a large portion of this plan, use of internal resources and borrowings will be resorted to," Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said while presenting Rail Budget 2008-09 in the Parliament.
He said that it would be difficult to finance such a large investment programme solely from Railways' own resources and "therefore, we have started many public-private partnership (PPP) schemes for attracting an investment of Rs 1,00,000 crore over the next five years".
These will include projects for provision of world-class facilities at metro stations, setting up state of the art rolling stock production units and construction of multi-model logistics parks.
Prasad also announced the Railways will invite global competitive bids for developing railway stations at New Delhi, Patna and Secunderabad, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai. He said concessions would be awarded for developing these stations.
"We expect to attract an investment of nearly Rs 15,000 crore on these stations. Through open competitive bidding, PPP partners would be selected for setting up diesel loco, electric loco and rail coach factory at an estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore," the minister said.
The concessions, committing an investment of about Rs 25,000 crore, are likely to be awarded in 2008-09 for various PPP projects, he added. PTI
Harbhajan under fresh verbal attack by Aussies
Ashish Shukla
Hobart, Feb 26 (PTI) India's Harbhajan Singh today came under a fresh attack by Australian cricketers with opener Matthew Hayden calling the off-spinner an "obnoxious little weed", a remark which has the potential to create more bad blood between the two teams.
The Indian spinner, who was at the centre of a racism row involving Andrew Symonds, has borne the brunt of the Australian sledging during the explosive tour which has been marked by a series of verbal exchanges between rival players.
"Its been a bit of a long battle with Harbhajan, the first time I ever met him he was the same little obnoxious weed that he is now", Hayden said on Brisbane radio.
"His record speaks for itself in cricket. There is a certain line that you can kind of go to and then you know where you push it and he just pushes it all the time.
"That's why he has been charged more than anyone that's ever played in the history of cricket," Hayden said.
Hayden's fresh salvo came a day after the Indian team management lodged a written complaint with Match Referee Jeff Crowe regarding Australia players' "provocative" behaviour.
Hayden and Harbhajan were involved in an ugly tussle at the SCG on Sunday with the Indians claiming that the Australian opener had termed the Indian a "mad boy." However, Hayden made light of the incident and claimed India was complaining because "they are losing every game they are playing." "I called him a bad boy," Hayden insisted. PTI
Dhoni warns Aussies not to provoke his side in finals
Ashish Shukla
Hobart, Feb 26 (PTI) Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni today made it clear his team will not back down when it comes to matching the Australian aggression in the tri-series finals and blamed the world champions for the on-field bitterness between the two sides.
He criticised the Aussies for their "provocative behaviour" during Sunday's Sydney ODI, which prompted the Indians to lodge a formal complaint with the match referee.
"We believe it was the Australians who have been provoking us. It's been going on for a while. In due course I am sure (my team's) youngsters will learn from it," he said.
"Ishant only reacted to what Symonds said to him," he added when asked about the young pacer showing the "send-off finger" to Andrew Symonds in that game, for which Ishant was docked 15 per cent of his match fee.
"It's never friendly in international cricket and aggression is okay if you don't cross the line," Dhoni said.
"Ishant will learn this art in due course. I call it an art because it happens in international cricket all the time," he added.
In the Sydney match, Dhoni had to part with his gloves after the match referee was concerned about their legality.
However, Dhoni chose to sidestep the issue.
"I thought the gloves were quite okay but I don't want to start a controversy. Out of my 100 catches, only a few have been held with those gloves," he said. PTI
India move into tri-series final by thrashing Lanka
Hobart, Feb 26 (PTI) An inspired India stormed into the cricket tri-series final as they relied on a clinical display by their young pacemen to thrash Sri Lanka by seven wickets in a crucial game here today.
Desperately needing to win the last match to secure a place in the final, the Indians completely dominated the encounter with pace sensation Ishant Sharma (4/41) and rookie pacer Praveen Kumar (4/31) bundling out the islanders for a paltry 179 in 47.1 overs to set up the victory.
The Indian batsmen then overhauled the target without much fuss with 17.4 overs to spare in what turned out to be a one-sided encounter at the Bellerive Oval.
Sachin Tendulkar, who has not been in the best of touch in the series, marked his return to form with a sizzling 54-ball 63 on a good batting track.
Gautam Gambhir, who remained not out on 64 from 90 balls, held the innings together after Robin Uthappa, promoted to open the innings, was out cheaply for 11 in the second over.
The Delhi batsman also hit the winning runs off Muttiah Muralitharan, who was hammered for 54 runs from his 8.2 overs, to trigger off wild celebrations in the Indian dressing room.
The emphatic victory also gave India a bonus point, taking their tally to 17 points from eight matches.
Australia, who have already qualified for the finals, have 26 points while Sri Lanka were languishing at the bottom of the table with 6 points. The last match between Australia and Sri Lanka on Friday has now been rendered inconsequential.
The first of the best of three finals will be played on March 2 at Sydney. PTI
Sachin not worried of his form; says too many brains working
Hobart, Feb 26 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar has not been in the best of touch in the ongoing tri-series, but the master batsman said he was not concerned about "overreaction from too many brains" about his form.
Tendulkar, who has scored 191 runs from eight innings so far, said he was hitting the ball well and his confidence level has not gone down.
"I scored in the 30s twice against Sri Lanka and 40-odd against Australia. I failed only in the last three innings. It is a case of too may brains working (over my form)," he said after hitting a sizzling 54-ball 63 in India's seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka today.
"I am all right and hitting the ball well. I am confident and the team is confident. The normal tendency is people get carried away because of more expectations. People should not react more than what is necessary," he added.
Today's win ensures that India face Australia in the best of three finals starting in Sydney on March 2 and Tendulkar emphasised the need for the top order to fire if they have to turn the tables against the world champions.
The top order has been the Achilles' heel for India, largely annulling the fine show by the young bowlers so far in the series.
"We have to ensure that we do not lose early wickets against Australia. Only then we have a chance to beat them.
"We have to plan our strategies for the finals. Brett Lee has been bowling well, I think we have to work out how to tackle him." PTI
Musharraf gets "continued" support from Bush
Washington/Islamabad, Feb.26: As he resists pressures to step down, Embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf got a big boost getting "continued" support from US President George W Bush, a day after PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari made conciliatory gestures.
Washington also maintained it has no role in the formation of a new government in Pakistan amid reports that the Bush administration was guiding the formation of the next setup.
"It will be up to the people of Pakistan to see what their new government will look like. But the president (George Bush) does certainly support him (Musharraf) and has continued to," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said yesterday.
"The President does support President Musharraf for all of the work that he's done to help us in counterterrorism. And if you look at what we asked President Musharraf to do, which is to take off the uniform, to set free and fair elections, and to lift the emergency order, he did all of those things." US Ambassador Anne Patterson has had a couple of meetings with Zardari and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif in the last few days after the two opposition parties decided to join hands to form a new coalition following the defeat of Musharraf's allies in the recent Parliamentary elections.
Zardari, who is co-chairman of the PPP, was quoted in The Wall Street Journal as suggesting he would seek a working relationship with Musharraf because the victorious coalition does not have a two-thirds majority in Parliament to impeach the president. "Our main objective is to work for the smooth transition to democracy," he said.
As PPP and PML-N wait for formation of their new coalition government, their leaders have meanwhile sought advice from legal experts to address differences over how to reinstate judges deposed during last year's emergency. PTI
PPP, PML-N grapple with legal issues on restoring judiciary
Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Feb 26 (PTI) The PPP and PML-N, set to form a coalition government in Pakistan, have sought advice from legal experts to address differences over how to reinstate judges deposed during last year's emergency.
The advice of the experts was sought as lawyers and constitutional experts appeared to be divided over ways to reinstate the judges as well as the fate of the judicial set-up established by President Pervez Musharraf during the emergency.
After imposing emergency on November 3 last year, Musharraf sacked about 60 members of the superior judiciary, including former Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who refused to endorse the measure. He also filled the courts with hand-picked judges.
The PML-N promised to reinstate the judges during its election campaign which allowed it to garner a lot of support during the February 18 polls.
PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has since asserted that delivering on the promise will be a priority after forming government with the Pakistan People's Party.
In view of the "gravity of the situation", the PPP and PML-N have asked several senior legal experts to give their advice.
"I am coming to Islamabad as both Nawaz Sharif and the PPP have asked me to help them in finding a solution," legal expert Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim told the Dawn newspaper.
Top human rights activist and constitutional expert Asma Jehangir too met PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari yesterday to discuss the issue. PTI
When it comes to homes, it is all about opulence this season
Annie Samson
New Delhi, Feb 26 (PTI) Minimalism is out. Interiors this year for the Indian market is expected to be more opulent and ostentatious with added emphasis on brighter and more vibrant colours, forecast industry experts.
"During the previous five years or so there was this minimalistic trend, people did up their interiors with fewer furniture and straighter lines. Now they are reverting to the earlier period of more furniture and bolder and stronger colours," says Padmini Sharma, chief designer with a leading furniture retail company in the capital.
Experts point out that from homes sporting simple surfaces that made unwanted edges in a structure disappear, along with natural textures and clean and fine finishes, interiors were now turning more flamboyant with rustic and earthy colours and oversized ethnic prints, in bright colours along with distressed and antiqued mirror work surfaces.
"The walls and ceilings are also reflecting the rustic look that is very contemporary and very in, says Sharma. Adds Deepa Sam, an achitect based in Chennai.
"I have noticed that a lot of clients are focusing attention on one single item in their rooms instead of refurnishing the entire room by changing everything in it. It could either be a very nice flower vase, a ceiling chandelier or an exquisite wall hanging, they are reworking the room based on that one piece.
"One client had a very nice floor tile which was very expensive. So he arranged other tiles around that one tile to create a glamorous look," she says. PTI
Indian defence market, the new battleground for pvt players
Snehesh Alex Philip
New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) From traditional Indian auto makers to large constructions giants, Indian private companies are gearing up to tap into the multi billion dollar Indian defence market.
Even though, firms like Tata, Mahindra and Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Larsen and Toubro (L&T) among others have been associated with the Indian military for some years, industry leaders point out that in the coming years, defence would turn out to be a huge market in which the private players will play a major role.
While the Union Budget 2007-2008 has earmarked Rs. 96,000 crore for national Defence, industry Chambers like CII, estimates that total defence spending over acquisition and purchases for the next five years would be approximately Rs 1,88,000 crores (USD 45.85 billion).
And, experts point out that this market potential is driving Indian firms to set up R&D and ink JVs with foreign defence players eager to offer their products to the Indian military.
"Though industry estimates have stated that in the next 3-5 years, Indian defence spending is likely to increase to around USD 40 billion, our analysis say that the market figures are underestimated," Mahindra and Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Anand Mahindra told PTI.
He adds, "The market can anywhere be around USD 100 billion and this gives the private players like us a huge market to tap into." He says, at present Defence contributes to just about Rs 100 crore to the firm's annual income.
Not just the Mahindras, Tata, one of the largest private industrial group in India, is also keen to tap into the defence market. PTI
Ayurveda, finding favours from CEOs
Anurag Sharma
New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) With rise in demand for ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines, thanks to advertisement and marketing techniques, traditional ways of treatment systems are sought after by patients who are looking for ways for cure of various chronic and lifestyle induced ailments.
Anoop Misra, Director, Department of Diabetes and Metabolism, Fortis Group of Hospitals, says that the demand for Ayurvedic medicines has fast increased in the last five years to more than 3,000 crores, as they have started marketing their products in a better manner and also done scientific trials to prove the permanent cure of some diseases.
But as far as the emergency and cardiac medicines are concerned, there is no alternative to allopathy, he adds.
According to a survey by ASSOCHAM, of the 400 Indian CEOs surveyed, over 40 per cent of the CEOs are taking to ayurvedic treatments to handle stress like naturopathy, massage, acupuncture and acupressure. Metros and towns in the coming 5-6 years would have huge ayurvedic centres for treating stress related disorders, it said.
Amrit Kalsi, Senior Medical Officer, Delhi Government, says, "The demand for homeopathic and ayurvedic medicines has increased in the last few years and to cure chronic ailments such as respiratory diseases, fevers, skin diseases, viral infections, asthma and allergic disorders, people are choosing the traditional way of treatment before allopathic." There were 28 homoeopathic dispensaries in Delhi in 1978 and the number now has gone up to 78. The number of patients taking homeopathic medicines has increased from around 8 lakhs patients in 1997 to 13,62,174 patients in 2006, she adds. PTI
Bra as shopping bag! lingerie design turns funky
Annie Samson
New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) A bra that doubles up as a shopping bag and another that can store chopsticks. Having come out with these innovative ideas, a leading lingerie brand is now challenging designers to create innerwear that will both appeal to the fashion conscious and promote awareness on environmental issues as well.
Switzerland-based Triumph International which previously has brought out wacky brassiere collections such as 'the Eco-Globe','My chopsticks bra,' 'The Warm Biz' 'Recycle PET' and the 'No Shopping bag bra,'is now organising the contest for students from more than 40 countries including India to produce "inspiring designs" for lingerie.
The winning designer, judged by experts in the field of design, fashion and the media, at the final held in July next year at Bejing, would bag a cash prize of Euro 15,000 and get a chance to sell the product in select stores worldwide.
"The winning design will be adapted and interpreted by our design team for commercial production. Also, the winner would also get a chance to get the design to be adapted and produced commercially to be sold as a limited edition along with his or her name," says Thorsten Allenstein, Country Head of Triumph.
"My Hashi bra" (my chopsticsk bra), features a pair of foldable recycled chopsticks that can be stashed in the sides of the bra and removed to eat a meal of rice and soup or while eating out.
"The product comes with removable , traditional cases on the shoulder straps and a detachable 'chopstick rest at the centre of the bra that is made of paper recycled from wooden chopsticks," says a company official."The idea is to highlight the need to reduce waste and establish a recycling -based society, the official adds. PTI
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Sensex: 17806.19, +155.62
The sensex closed at 17806.19, up 155.62
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1 U.S. $ = 39.895 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.3699 INR
1 British Pound = 78.749 INR
1 Canadian $ = 40.335 INR
1 Singapore $ = 28.379 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 10.863 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 10.641 INR
1 Euro = 59.376 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 10.971 INR
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