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Govt asks steel poducers to reduce prices
New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) Government today asked steel producers to voluntarily reduce steel prices failing which it may consider setting up a regulatory authority for the purpose.
"I am concerned that steel producers have raised prices (despite Finance Minister P Chidambaram giving duty relief)," Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.
He said he had held meeting with steel makers on March 1 soon after the Budget presentation and asked them not to increase prices. "(But) steel prices have increased... It is a matter of concern." Some producers, he said, had raised finished steel product prices more than the rise in raw material cost. "I once again ask them to voluntarily reduce prices, otherwise the Government will have to consider a regulatory authority (for regulating prices)." Paswan said while import duty on melting scrap has been waived off, excise duty has been cut from 16 per cent to 14 per cent. Import duty on capital goods for project has also been cut from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent.
But these measures did not result in reduction in prices as raw material cost has risen, he said. Price of coking coal has risen 73 per cent, iron ore 133 per cent, shredded scrap 29.4 per cent and sponge iron 22.1 per cent.
Retail price of some steel products have risen as much as 28 per cent, he said.
Paswan said his ministry did not favour export of iron ore. Domestic requirement has to be fulfilled first and unless that happens iron ore export should be stopped. The issue is now before the Cabinet, he added.PTI
Russia to start delivery of MiG-29-K fighters in May
Vinay Shukla
Moscow, Mar 14 (PTI) Russia will start in May the delivery of MiG 29-K fighters to the Indian navy for deployment on Gorshkov aircraft carrier after its induction, Naval chief Admiral Suresh Mehta said here today.
A team of Indian naval pilots will be arriving in Russia for a five-month training programme, Mahta said after visiting the MiG plant, which is assembling the fighters for the deployment on Gorshkov after its induction as INS Vikramaditya in 2012.
Mehta, who arrived here on a six-day visit yesterday, is also expected to discuss the vital issues of cooperation with his Russian counterpart Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky and fly the MiG-29K fighter.
The issues of seagoing trials of Admiral Gorshkov by the Russian Navy prior to its delivery are also expected to be discussed by Admiral Mehta with his Russian counterpart.
The Russian shipyard has promised to deliver the 44-thousand tonne vessel for the 18-month sea trials in 2010 provided more funds are allocated to cover cost escalation.
Admiral Mehta is scheduled to visit Severodvinsk-based Sevmash shipyard in Arctic Russia for the inspection of requirements of Gorshkov upgradation, amid indications of New Delhi's readiness to revise the cost of the deal.
Before leaving for home on March 19, Admiral Mehta will also discuss the issues of other naval projects with the officials of several naval design bureaus in St Petersburg. PTI
Stock market reflecting worldwide developments: FM
New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) Noting that some volatility is to be expected in the bourses due to turbulence in global financial markets, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the stock market is not the sole indicator of India's economy.
"The stock market is reflecting worldwide developments. In fact, it is really reflecting the developed economies as well as the Asian economies," he said in a reply in Lok Sabha.
"But some volatility is to be expected especially when there is turbulence in the international financial markets," the minister said.
"The stock market is an important indicator, but we should not look at the stock market as the sole indicator of India's economy," Chidambaram said.
He said the Sensex only captures the share price movement of 30 stocks and the Nifty captures the share price movements of either 50 or 100 stocks.
He said the country has a well-established regulatory system in place and it would ensure there is no excessive volatility in the market.
On the appreciation of the rupee, he said it is not solely attributable to US recession.
"It is the result of a number of factors like our productivity gains in India -- both labour productivity and capital factor productivity," Chidambaram said.
He said the rupee has appreciated rather significantly against the US dollar which he said is weakening for reasons which are relevant to the US.
The rupee has not appreciated to the same extent against the Euro or the Yen, Chidambaram added. PTI
No FDI in retail sector: Govt
New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) Government is not considering any proposal to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail sector, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said today.
"There is no proposal to allow FDI in retail (and) Government is not thinking of it because it wants to protect the interest of retailers," he said replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.
He said International Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) will submit its report on impact, if any, of domestic organised retailing on the unorganised retail sector by May-end.
The study on 'The Impact of Organised Retailing on the Unorganised Retail Sector' was commissioned in March 2007. ICRIER was to submit its report in July 2007 but the schedule was changed to enable additional survey.
It would cover "effect of organised retailing on small retailers and vendors in the unorganised sector keeping in mid the likely growth in the overall market and effect on employment," he said.
The recommendations and findings of the study would help Governemnt take a view on the need to have a policy on the issue, he said.
Pawar said the Centre does not regulate retailing and it falls under the jurisdiction of the state governments. State governments can allow or disallow setting up of retail establishments.
"The retailers/traders register their shops with concerned authorities in various states. At present, there is no restriction on the entry of any domestic investor into retail sector," he said pointing to 10-12 big corporate and industrial houses envincing interest in organised retail. PTI
Top notch players for first ever India Open
New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) Indian sports lovers would have the opportunity to watch some of the best badminton players in the world in action at the USD 120,000 India Open to be held in Hyderabad next month.
The event was originally scheduled for September last year but was postponed due to the twin bomb blasts that rocked the city a few days prior to the tournament.
The Grand Prix championship, to be the first badminton competition of that level in the country, will feature three of the top 10 men players as well as six of the top 10 women, including the current top three.
"This will be an annual event from this year and would be rotated between different centres in the country," Badminton Association of India president V K Verma said at the launch.
"All top badminton countries in the world have a tournament named after them - be it China, Indonesia, Korea or Malaysia. With the India Open, we have also joined the big league," Verma said.
He said that there was every likelihood that the Grand Prix would be elevated to the level of a Super Series event, making it part of the most elite badminton circuit in the world.
"There ar 12 Super Series events at the moment and the proposal is to increase the number to 14 by 2010. India would have the best chance to benefit from that decision," the BAI chief, who is also the Executive Board of the Badminton World Federation and the secretary general of the Asian Badminton Confederation, said. PTI
MPs gang up to remove Gill
New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) Notwithstanding his refusal, a move is afoot among the Members of Parliament to seek Prime Minister's intervention for removal of IHF chief KPS Gill in the wake of India's failure to qualify for the Olympics.
Aslam Sher Khan, a former MP and a hockey great, has launched a campaign to remove Gill from the post and claimed to have got the signatures of 100 MPs till now.
"The MPs are very angry and want me to do something to save hockey and remove Gill. All senior and new MPs have come together and I have collected signatures of around 100 members and the memorandum will be submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday or Tuesday. The number of supporting MPs could go up to 200," Aslam told PTI.
A member of the 1975 World Cup winning team, Aslam said Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar cannot shirk his responsibility to take action against the IHF chief.
"Government should look after proper utilisation of the facilities they provide like infrastructure, coaches and funds to the Federation. The Government also gives permission to teams for their foreign visits. So, Aiyar can't wash his hands of the issue," he said. PTI
Fisichella impresses in first practice, Force India eyeing Q2
Amlan Chakraborty
Melbourne, Mar 14 (PTI) Giancarlo Fisichella assured Force India has not entered the elite Formula One league just to make the numbers as the veteran Italian came an impressive ninth in the afternoon practice session to ahead of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park here.
A three-time F1 winner, Fisichella braved sweltering heat here today to post timings that brought cheers to the Force India camp, which is hoping to produce something extraordinary tomorrow to book its place among the cars that line up the grid on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the fierce rivalry between world champion Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton continued here too with Raikkonen topping the timesheet at 1 minute 26.461 seconds during first 90-minute session, while the British teen clocked 1:26.559.
In the relatively comfortable morning session, Fisichella gave enough evidence that Force India has it to emerge as a serious mid-field outfit when he timed 1m 29.230s to finish 12th, ahead of the likes of David Coulthard's Red Bull (1m 29.301s), Sebastien Bourdais' Toro Rosso (1m 29.363s), Rubens Barrichello's Honda (1m 29.533s) and Nick Heidfeld's BMW Sauber (1m 29.561s).
Compatriot Adrian Sutil finished 17th at 1m 30.155s.
In the second session, Fisichella impressed again and bettered his morning session to clock 1m 28.469s to finish ninth on the same Albert Park circuit where he had won the 2005 Grand Prix, then as a Renault driver. PTI
Aslam criticises Aiyar, seeks PM help to save Indian hockey
New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) An angry hockey great and former Parliamentarian Aslam Sher Khan today criticised Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar for refusing to take action against IHF Chief KPS Gill and said MPs would seek the Prime Minister's intervention to revive hockey in the country.
Aslam, who was a member of the 1975 World Cup winning team, has launched a campaign to remove Indian Hockey Federation President Gill and save the game by obtaining signatures of over 100 Member of Parliaments on a memorandum addressed to PM Manmohan Singh.
"Government should look after proper utilisation of the facilities they provide like infrastructure, coaches and funds to the Federation. The Government also gives permission to teams for their foreign visits. Aiyar can't bail himself out of the situation," Aslam told PTI.
The MPs are agitated because of the country's failure to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games and as a result Indian team would not be a part of the sporting extravaganza for the first time in 80 years.
"The MPs are very angry and want me to do something in order to save hockey and remove Gill. All senior and new MPs have come together and I have collected signatures of around 100 members and the memorandum will be signed on Monday or Tuesday. The number of supporting MPs could go up to 200," Aslam said. PTI
No fresh disclosure clauses for investment through PNs: Govt
New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) The Government today ruled out more disclosure clauses for investment through Participatory Notes (PNs) for specific identification of investor.
There is no such proposal under consideration of the Government for the present because at this point of time, it is felt that disclosure norms laid down under the SEBI (Foreign Institutional Investors) Regulations, 1995, for FIIs issuing PNs are adequate, Minister of State for Finance P K Bansal told Lok Sabha in a written reply.
PNs are instruments through which unregistered entities invest in India through FIIs and their agents. Late last year, SEBI had announced certain curbs on this kind of investment.
Margins: SEBI has specified the margins to be collected by the stock exchanges from brokers. However, the quantum, the form and the mode of collection of margins from clients is left to the discretion of the brokers, Bansal said in another reply.
SEBI has advised stock exchanges to ensure that brokers provide daily report to each client, clearly bringing out his margin liability. It also advised the exchanges to commence public awareness programmes with special focus on the margin system, he said.
NSDL has frozen 15.25 lakh accounts which have securities amounting to Rs 51,750 crore because of non-compliance of PAN requirement as on March 8, this year, Bansal said in another reply.
CDSL has frozen 3.42 lakh accounts, which had securities worth Rs 10,981 crore in this connection, he said. PTI
Gold crosses Rs 13K mark at opening trade
Mumbai, Mar 14 (PTI) Gold prices crossed Rs 13,000 mark per ten grams for the first time on the history of the bullion market here today on persistent stockists buying triggered by higher global advices.
Silver also resumed at an all-time peak in line with gold prices.
Despite US Federal Reserve's bailout package of USD 200 billion, the share markets later displayed a distinctly weak trend forcing stockists and investors to go for these safe-haven assets.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) opened higher by Rs 70 per ten grams to Rs 13,035 from yesterday's close of Rs 12,965.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also moved up to Rs 13,095 from Rs 13,025.
Silver ready (.999 fineness) also firmed up to Rs 25,170 from Rs 24,980 previously.
In New York, gold futures pushed past USD 1,000 an ounce on Thursday as the dollar continued to wane amid economic concerns.
Most-active April gold rose USD 13.30 to USD 993.80 an ounce after hitting a contract high USD 1,001.50 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nearby March gold added USD 13.50 to close at USD 992.30 after hitting an all-time front-month record of USD 998.50.
Related financial-market "apprehension" helped gold futures above USD 1,000 an ounce, dealers said.
Comex May silver rose 42.5 cents to USD 20.42. PTI
Zardari acquitted in last graft case
Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Mar 14 (PTI) A Pakistani anti-corruption court today dropped the last of seven graft cases against PPP Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, removing a major hurdle in his becoming the prime minister.
Zardari, who has emerged as a frontrunner to lead a coalition government elbowing past PPP vice-president Makhdoom Amin Fahim, had been cleared in the six other cases by anti-corruption courts in Rawalpindi earlier this month in line with a Supreme Court order last month.
The decision in the seventh case had been reserved by Rawalpindi Judge Sagheer Quadri till today due to a "technical hitch". In the case registered in 2004, Zardari, 51, was accused of importing a BMW car while allegedly passing himself off as a student in order to evade paying duties.
Acquitting Zardari, the court said there was no proof that he had imported the car.
"After a lapse of 11-and-half years, the truth has prevailed today and justice has been done. Mr Zardari, who was falsely implicated in these cases because of political reasons, has been acquitted in all the cases," Zardari's counsel Farooq H Naek said emerging from the court.
Zardari, widower of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, had spent over eights years in jail in connection with the graft cases dating from Bhutto's spells as premier from 1988-1990 and 1992-1996.
Naek indicated that the dropping of the seventh case took longer as it was not covered by the National Reconciliation Ordinance, a controversial law passed in October last year by President Pervez Musharraf to grant amnesty in graft cases to PPP leaders, including Zardari and his slain wife Benazir Bhutto. PTI
UK rules out blanket amnesty to illegal immigrants
H S Rao
London, March 14 (PTI) Ruling out a blanket amnesty to over 4 lakh illegal immigrants, Britain has said it will deal with the issue on case by case basis while it sought cooperation from Indian community to make the controversial new points-based immigration system "fair and stable".
"Over 1,000 case workers are currently engaged in making decisions on case by case," Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said at a seminar on immigration organised by the Ethnic Minority Citizens Forum here last night.
Faced with a barrage of complaints about the "disastrous" impact of the new immigration system on Indian restaurants in the UK and the accute shortage of low-skilled workers in the curry houses, the minister said the current visa system needed an overhauling as it was "clumsy, outdated and wretched." He sought cooperation from the Chinese and Indian communities to make the new points-based immigration system "fair and stable". At the moment there were 80 different ways in which immigrants could come to the UK.
"We want to make the immigration system simpler, fair and stable," Byrne, who recently took a cross-party delegation of Asian community leaders to India, said.
The points-based system will allow non-European migrants in the country only if they can prove that there is shortage of their skills in the UK and has been criticised as discriminatory.
Byrne said he would publish a blueprint of the new immigration system in a month's time. Besides, the Migration Advisory Committee, an independent committee, will publish a list showing occupational shortages.
The Minister, however, rejected a proposal for a cap on immigration. PTI
Indian in US admits to smuggling sensitive components to India
Sridhar Krishnaswami
Washington, Mar 14 (PTI) The Indian owner of an international electronics company today pleaded guilty to conspiracy to illegally export restricted components from the US to Indian government entities involved in space programme and production of missiles and fighter jets.
Parthasarathy Sudarsan, 47, CEO of Cirrus Electronics, entered his guilty plea in US District Court for the District of Columbia to the felony charge of conspiracy to violate various laws, including Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
A resident of South Carolina, Sudarshan supplied microprocessors and other electronic components to Indian agencies including the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL), which is involved in development and production of ballistic missiles, between 2002 and 2006, the US Department of Justice claimed.
"Both VSSC and BDL are on the Department of Commerce's Entity List and exports of US-origin commodities to these entities are restricted and require prior authorisation in the form of a license from the Department of Commerce," the Department said.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 16. Sudarshan faces a maximum punishment of five years in prison, a USD250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Cirrus has offices in Simpsonville, South Carolina, Singapore and Bangalore, India.
The court documents accuse Sudarshan and others at Cirrus of providinng the US companies with fraudulent certificates that claimed that the end-users of these electrical components were non-restricted entities in India, when, in fact, the items were for VSSC. PTI
Young people getting attracted to classical music: Hema Malini
Ashwini Shrivastava
Gwalior, Mar 14 (PTI) Witnessing a renewed interest among youngsters in the country for Indian classical dance and music, actress turned politician Hema Malini says it emphasises the need for greater promotion of such art forms in the country.
"Classical music is getting popular among the next generation. The need is to promote classical dance and music in the appropriate way," says the 'Dream Girl' of Bollywood, who was here to perform at the closing ceremony of the three-day-long Gwalior heritage festival.
The actress along with her younger daughter Ahana also put up a performance at the festival.
Asked whether she would continue doing films, she said, "I love working. I would act in the films provided I like the scripts." Pointing out that the country has all that is required to appear as a tourists paradise on the world map, she said "We need to explore places to promote tourism in the country, so that people can understand the great Indian culture." The festival at Gwalior had a number of classical and fusion performances including that of Amjad Ali Khan, noted Hindustani vocalists Pandit Laxman Krishna Rao, Mita Pandit and Begum Parveen Sultana. Renowned sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan along with his sons Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan mesmerised the audience during the second day while the tone of the last day was set by iconic Ustad Rashid Khan, doyen of Hindustani vocal music. PTI
MIT designs better fit for the Jaipur Foot
New Delhi, Mar 12 (PTI) A team of students at MIT, including an Indian, has come up with an improved and better fitting design for the Jaipur Foot, an artificial leg for amputees.
The new method uses a hand-powered system to build the prosthetic that is expected to last longer than the ones currently being built and sold in the country by the Rajasthan-based charity, Jaipur Foot Organisation, according to news from MIT.
The modified design that eschews dependence on electricity is also expected to bring down the cost of the artificial limbs and benefit more patients in rural areas. The present electrically powered fitting system often requires bringing along a bulky generator.
The JFO, also known as the Bhagwan Mahavir Viklang Sahyata Samiti, claimed to be the world's largest provider of prosthetics, currently manufactures artificial legs using electric power to create the mould with Plaster of Paris.
The new design of the custom-built limbs is the result of a year-long project by the Mechanical Engineering wing of the MIT, the four participants of which spent two weeks in Jaipur in January this year and conducted one test run of a fitting.
"The personnel at the JFO were really pleased with the results," says engineering student Maria Luckyanova, who was in the country for testing the device.
"They liked the fact that the new system produced less waste, required no electricity and seemed to produce a better fit that might lead to a longer-lasting prosthetic. That's because the plaster of paris in the traditional method shrinks slightly as it hardens, making the fit less exact," says Luckyanova. PTI
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Sensex: 15760.52, +403.17
The sensex closed at 15760.52, up 403.17
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1 U.S. $ = 40.435 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.4018 INR
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1 Canadian $ = 40.794 INR
1 Singapore $ = 29.189 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 11.012 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 10.797 INR
1 Euro = 62.903 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 11.122 INR
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