Apr

29

Congress poor distribution of tickets cause for the MCD debacle

A Congress leader said that the meeting was convened to find out reasons of dismal performance by the party in the MCD elections. “MLAs will give their feedback and reasons of their loss of municipal seats,” he said. The loss in the civic body is a huge setback for the party — it had lost the seats which were traditional Congress seats.

On results of MCD elections Dikshit blamed the inflation and corruption,  she advocated  that no single person can be blamed for the defeat and it is the collective responsibility of every Congressman.

Majority of Congress leaders have blamed poor distribution of tickets for the MCD debacle.

Sandeep Dikshit who attributed the defeat to an anti-Congress mood generated by scams like 2G and price rise and a disconnect between people and the Government. Man Mohan Singh categorically rejected that Congress’s poor show in the MCD was not due to inflation and corruptions.  “The MCD polls were fought on local issues.

Sheila Dikshit and DPCC  president Jai Prakash Agarwal, in quandary  to point out specific reasons for the defeat despite the fact that the party contested the election on the development work of the State Government and trifurcation of MCD.

 Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Saturday analyzed in a meeting with her ministers and legislators the reasons behind the Congresss defeat in the recent Delhi civic polls, a statement said. Dikshit met all her cabinet ministers and the members of legislative assembly as well those who lost the 2008 assembly polls and asked them not to be "disheartened" and "work with full energy".

Lower and Declining Growth in Core Sectors in India

The rate of growth of eight core sectors improved from 2.8% in 2008-09 to 6.6% in 2009-10. It moderated to 5.8% in 2010-11. In 2011-12(Apr-Feb), eight core sectors recorded a growth of 4.4% compared to a growth of 5.8% in the corresponding period of 2010-11. Lower growth rate during 2011-12 has mainly been due to a lower growth in crude petroleum, natural gas and steel sectors.

Government has initiated several steps to augment the production of core sectors by promoting state of the art technologies and by augmenting resources for exploration and mining through private sector participation. To facilitate development of necessary infrastructure, Viability Gap Finding, under the Scheme for support to PPP, has been extended to capital investment in fertilizers sector, oil and gas storage and pipelines facilities. To remove the fuel supply constraints affecting the power generation , the government has advised the Coal India Limited to sign fuel supply agreements with the power plants. In the Budget 2012-13, full exemption from basic duty has been provided to fuels such as natural gas, liquefied natural gas, uranium concentrate etc. imported for power generation. Further, basic customs duty on surveying and prospecting machinery and instruments imported for use in the mining sector has been reduced. Full exemption from basic customs duty has been provided to coal mining projects.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Posted just now by Nksagar

Empower people with skills and capabilities

Finance Minister calls for need to empower people with skills and capabilities for continuous and inclusive growth; Releases Logo for 46th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of ADB; India to host the next ADB Annual Meeting in Delhi in May, 2013 The Union Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that if Asia has to continue growing rapidly, its path of development needs to be inclusive and people need to be empowered with skills and capabilities that will enable them shape their own lives. The Finance Minister said that we believe in sustaining high and inclusive growth in Asia; and to ensure that requires policies and programs designed with a focus on empowerment. The Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee was speaking after formally announcing that India will host the next Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB) i.e.46th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank on May 2-5, 2013 in New Delhi. He also unveiled on this occasion the special logo titled “Web of Life” created for the said Meeting. This logo for the Annual Meeting of ADB represents the web of life which is based on the tribal motifs of central India which signifies the cycle of life. The logo has been designed by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Shri R.Gopalan, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Dr Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Adviser, representatives of CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance were also present on the occasion.

The 46th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank is expected to see the visits of official delegations from 67 countries, where the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of different countries usually lead the country delegations. A large gathering of approximately 4000 people including delegates from different countries, economists, investment bankers, corporate leaders, Nobel laureates, Civil Society, media etc. are expected to participate in the event in 2013.

This would be the third time that India would be hosting the Annual Meeting; the first time was in 1990 at Delhi and the second time in 2006 at Hyderabad. The venue for the 2013 Annual Meeting would be India Expo Mart, Greater Noida. Given the size and scope of the event, the Government of India has invited Industry Associations (CII, ASSOCHAM and FICCI) to partner in the organization of the event. This is the first time that such a Public Private Partnership approach has been adopted for an event of this scale in India.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that ADB has been a valued multilateral partner in India’s journey towards economic development and growth. He said that the theme for the Annual Meeting is “Development through Empowerment”. This theme encompasses issues that are critical for sustaining high and inclusive growth in Asia. This theme reflects the development strategy of India, namely, empowerment backed by legal entitlement and encompasses issues that are critical for sustaining high and inclusive growth in Asia, the Finance Minister added.

Speaking at this special function, the Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that the Annual Meeting of ADB will provide a valuable opportunity for brainstorming and cross fertilization of ideas amongst intellectuals and policy makers from across Asia and the World. He said that India’s association with the ADB dates back to 1966 and is a founder member of this multilateral institution. ADB’s lending operations in India commenced two decades later in 1986, and India has just completed 25 years of partnership with ADB. Shri Mukherjee further said that this will help bring countries of Asia closer to each other and also facilitate the formulation of policies that can lead us towards greater prosperity and well being.

The Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that the rapid growth of emerging market economies in Asia has been a noteworthy feature of the global economy in recent years. Led by China, India and several other Asian countries, this dynamism makes Asia the world’s most vibrant region contributing close to 50 per cent of world growth, the Finance Minister added. He further said that Asian countries have transformed themselves from primarily agricultural and resource based economies to industrial and increasingly services based economies in less than half a century.Shri Mukherjee said that Asia’s high growth over the last several decades has improved lives and lifted millions out of poverty.

Later speaking on behalf of the Industry, Shri Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said that Industry is privileged to be part of this very prestigious event and would extend all support to ensure that the event is commensurate with India’s stature in the world today.

North of Tokyo bus crashes,police say 7 dead

A bus has crashed into a wall of an expressway in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo, killing seven people.
Local police say the deaths from cardiopulmonary arrest were confirmed by doctors at the scene.

The accident took place shortly before 5 AM on Sunday near a junction on the Kan-etsu expressway in Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture.Local fire and emergency authorities say at least nine people were seriously injured. Pictures taken from an NHK helicopter show that the front part of the bus is badly damaged, and much of the vehicle is sticking into mid-air off the expressway.Media agencies NHK

Greek ruling coalition in fix

Leader of the largest party in the ruling coalition in Greece has said that there will be no new taxes, in an apparent attempt to win back support.Head of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, or PASOK, Evangelos Venizelos was talking to his party on Saturday ahead of the nation's parliamentary election on May 6th.

Austerity measures introduced to rebuild the Greek economy and its fiscal system have made the ruling coalition unpopular and the opposition is gaining support.Opinion polls suggest that the two parties in the ruling coalition are expected to lose many of their seats in parliament and may not be able to secure a majority.
A coalition partner promises to increase the guaranteed minimum amount of pension to win back support.
Media agencies

Who Will Be India's Next President? A cause of Snap Poll?

Share: by Nksagar | April 29, 2012:158 views |

Presidential polls: Smaller parties hold the key?

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Congress dismal show in recent state elections ensure regional parties hold the key to who will be India's 13th president.President Pratibha Patil steps down this July and with neither the UPA ruling conglomerate  nor the NDA the opposition consoritum having the numbers to push through their candidate, all options are open right now.

The list of probables to the coveted post  are Sam Pitroda, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Congressman Karan Singh, former speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Nationalist Congress party leader P.A. Sangma. To continue the list  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Samajwadi Party's Mulayam Singh Yadav and Janata Dal-United's Sharad Yadav.

Hamid Ansari, a career diplomat, was most obvious choice.His chances are feeble and lost some of his clout after his infamous adjournment of the Rajya Sabha during the Lokpal debate that earned him the opposition ire.
  Manmohan Singh. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has always insisted there is no question of replacing him as prime minister. And Pranab Mukherjee. He remains the principal trouble-shooter for the party could be contender for President of Congress Party.
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance holds 40 percent of the votes and the Bharatiya Janata Party  has 30 percent in the Electoral College that consists of members of parliament and the state legislatures.
Gopal Krishna Gandhi  name for possible candidate. He being Mahatma Gandhi's  grandson help clear several hurdles for him.  He may come out as the choice of Mamata Banerjee. Gopal enjoys good equations with CMs Naveen Patnaik, Nitish Kumar and J Jayalalithaa.
The President of India is key to apex appointments for the nation is a key of governance in tight control.To keep the democratic institutions work for democracy norms presidential nomination is very critical in coalition government.Congress and BJP ruling in more than half of the states of India the role of regional parties, Samajvadi Party,ruling in Uttar Pradesh, BSP,the Main Opposition party in UP, AIADMKin Tamil Nadu , BJD in Orissa , TDP in Andhra  and JD(S) in Bihar  TMC in Bengal cannot be ignored thus coming together of these regional  parties  in consolidated or splinter may give nod to the presidential candidates.

Foreign Minister Gemba to tour South Asia, Middle East, Africa

by sagarmedia

Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba is on a 10-day tour of South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Gemba likely to discuss Iran’s nuclear program in Israel and the Middle East peace process with Palestinian officials.
Gemba departed Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Saturday morning for Nepal. He will also visit India, Israel, the Palestinian-controlled area, Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco.
In India, Gemba and his Indian counterpart are expected to agree on a new framework to discuss cooperation in maritime affairs, designed to counter China’s expanding maritime activities.
In talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Gemba is expected to urge a peaceful resolution to Iran’s nuclear standoff. Israel has threatened a military strike on Iran’s facilities.
On Visiting Egypt, where the first presidential election since the collapse of the Hosni Mubarak government is scheduled for May, Gemba will express Japan’s willingness to support the country’s democratization.Visiting Morocco, Gemba will attend ministerial talks of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD. He is to announce Japan’s support for African countries in building infrastructure and fighting pirates.Media agencies NHK