Oriental Bank of Commerce – Q1 Financial Results

July 30, 2012

 FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR Q1 OF FY-2012-13
                                                                           Amt.                            (YoY Growth) 

                                      Business Mix           Rs. 2,72,100 crore      (12.06%)

                                      Deposits                     Rs. 1,58,200 crore      ( 9.41%) 

                                      Core Deposits          Rs. 1,16,200 crore      (19.61%)

                                      Advances                  Rs. 1,13,900 crore      (15.97%)

                                      Net Profit                    Rs. 391.42 crore         (10.35%)

CD RATIO AT 72.21%

GROSS NPA AT 2.97%

NET NPA AT 2.05%

                                                                                    

Performance Highlights for the First Quarter of FY 2012-13

Ø  Yield on Advances increased by 76 bps (Q1 to Q1) to reach 12.38% from 11.62%.

Ø  Interest Income increased by 19.20% (Q1 to Q1).

Ø  Non Interest Income increased by 26.11% (Q1 to Q1) mainly due to recovery of Rs. 196.73 crore in Technical Write Off Accounts.

Ø  Net Interest Margin (NIM) stood at 2.79% (Sequential Increase of 11 bps over Q4 of FY 2011-12).

Ø  CRAR of the Bank is at 12.29% under BASEL-II (Tier-I Capital: 9.92%; Tier –II Capital: 2.37%).

Ø  Bulk Deposits reduced from Rs. 47,180 crore to Rs. 41,478 crore showing a reduction of 12.08%.

Ø  Provision Coverage Ratio has improved to 64.42%.

Ø  Total Delivery Channels: 3100 (1808 Branches/ECs plus 1292 ATMs).

PROFIT

Ø  Net Profit of the Bank stood at Rs. 391.42 crore for Q1 of FY 2012-13 as compared to a profit of Rs. 354.70 crore for Q1 of FY 2011-12, showing an increase of              Rs. 36.72 crore and 10.35% (YoY).

Ø  Operating Profit of the Bank stood at Rs. 896.54crore for Q1 of FY 2012-13 as compared to a profit of Rs. 801.37 crore for Q1 of FY 2011-12 showing an increase of   Rs. 95.17 crore and 11.88% (YoY).

BUSINESS

Ø  Total Business of the Bank increased to Rs.2,72,048 crore as on                            30^th June, 2012 from Rs. 2,42,770 crore as on 30^th June, 2011, registering a YoY growth of 12.06 %.

Ø  Total Deposits increased to Rs. 1,58,152 crore as on 30^th June, 2012 from                  Rs. 1,44,554crore as on 30^th June, 2011, registering a YoY growth of 9.41%.

Ø  Core Deposits increased to Rs. 1,16,247 crore as on 30^th June, 2012 from                  Rs. 97,192crore as on 30^th June, 2011, registering a YoY growth of 19.61%.

Ø  Retail Term Deposits increasedto Rs. 52,012 crore as on 30^th June, 2012 from                  Rs. 40,614crore as on 30^th June, 2011, registering a YoY growth of 28.06%.

Ø  Advances of the Bank increased to Rs. 1,13,896 crore as on 30^th June, 2012 from Rs. 98,216 crore as on 30^th June, 2011, registering a YoY growth of 15.97%.

Ø  CASA Deposit increased by Rs. 4235 crore to Rs. 37,990 crore as on 30^th June, 2012 from Rs. 33,755 crore as on 30^th June, 2011, registering a YoY growth of 12.55% .

Ø  CASA Deposits to Total Deposits at 24.02%.

Ø  Credit Deposit Ratio at 72.21%. 


INCOME

Ø  Total Income during Q1 of FY 2012-13 increased by 19.77% to Rs. 4696 crore from Rs. 3920 crore in Q1 of FY 2011-12 due to healthy growth of 19.20 % in Interest Income which reached Rs. 4287 crore and 26.11% growth in Non Interest Income.

Ø  Non Interest Income during Q1 of FY 2012-13 increased by 26.11% to                        Rs. 408 crore from Rs. 324 crore in Q1 of FY 2011-12 mainly due to recovery of Rs. 196.73 crore in Technical Write Off Accounts.

Ø  Net Interest Income during Q1 of FY 2012-13 increased by 10.56% to                         Rs. 1126 crore from Rs.1018 crore in Q1 of FY 2011-12.


IMPORTANT RATIOS

Ø  Gross NPA ratio stands at 2.97% as at 30^th June, 2012 and Net NPA ratio at         2.05%.

Ø  Provision Coverage Ratio at 64.42%.

Ø  Net Interest Margin (NIM) at 2.79% (Sequential Increase of 11 bps over Q4 of  FY 2011-12) .

Ø  Return on Assets (RoA) at 0.87 %.

Ø  Cost of Deposit is at 7.98% for Q1 ofFY 2012-13.

Ø  Yield on Advances is at 12.38% for Q1 ofFY 2012-13.

Ø  Cost to Income Ratio is at 41.57%.

Ø  Book Value Per Share at Rs. 377.24 as on 30^th June, 2012 as against                        Rs. 337.93  as on 30^th June,2011.

Ø  CRAR of the Bank is at 12.29% under BASEL-II (Tier-I Capital: 9.92%; Tier –II Capital: 2.37%).

Ø  Business per Branch increased to Rs. 151.64 crore from Rs. 147.67 crore registering a growth of 2.69 % (YoY).

Ø  Business per Employee stood at Rs. 14.72 crore.

DELIVERY CHANNELS

Ø  Bank’s Branch Network stood at 1794 Branches besides 14 Extension Counters.

Ø  17 Branches opened and 5 Extension Counters upgraded by the Bank during Q1 of FY-2012-13.

Ø  Bank Installed 22 New ATMs during Q1 of FY-2012-13. The total number of ATMs as on 30^th June, 2012 stood at 1292 (including 09 Mobile ATMs, 333 offsite ATMs and 06 Biometric ATMs).

Ø  ATM Coverage isat 72% vis-à-vis Branch Network.

Ø  Over 1 lac ATM Cards were issued during the quarter taking the total ATM customer base to 33.72 lac.

Ø  4.70 lac internet banking users and 27.51 lac customers availing SMS facility.

Ø  82.42% of eligible cash transactions happening through ATMs.
  

RETAIL CREDIT

Ø  Retail loans at Rs. 11,872 crore constituted 10.42% of Total Advances and grew by 16.98 %(YoY).

o   Vehicle Loan Portfolio grew by 29.21% (YoY) to reach Rs. 1230 crore as on 30^th June, 2012 from Rs. 952 crore as on 30^th June, 2011.

o   Education loan Portfolio grew by 4.79% (YoY) to reach Rs. 1173 crore as on30^th June, 2012 from Rs. 1120 crore as on30^th June, 2011.

o   Direct Housing Loan Portfolio grew by 19.36% (YoY) to reach                          Rs. 5481 crore as on 30^th June, 2012 from Rs. 4592 crore as on 30^th June, 2011 .

 PRIORITY SECTOR

Ø  PS Advances grew by 10.35% (YoY) to Rs. 40,244 crore as on 30^th June, 2012 from Rs. 36,469 crore as on 30^th June, 2011.

o   Agricultural advances grew by 11.91% (YoY) to Rs. 15,010 crore as on                    30^th June, 2012 from Rs. 13,412 crore as on 30th June, 2011.

o   Bank issued 24,198 Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) during the Quarter ended                      30^th June, 2012 with an amount of Rs. 550 crore. Total number of KCCs as on 30^th June, 2012 was 4,32,242 KCCs with an amount of  Rs. 9007 crore.

MICRO,SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Ø  Number of MSE (Micro & Small Enterprises) Accounts increased to 1,83,996 from 1,69,137and Bank’s Fund Based exposure under MSE to Rs. 17,900 crore from            Rs.15,886 crore thereby registering a growth of Rs. 2014 crore i.e. an increase of 12.68% (YoY).

Ø  Number of MSME (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) Accounts increased to 1,85,963 from 1,70,142 and Bank’s Fund Based exposure under MSME to                    Rs. 20,288 crore from Rs. 17,716 crore thereby registering a growth of                        Rs. 2572 crore i.e. an increase of 14.52 % (YoY).

Ø  During Q1 of FY 2012-13, 4896 MSE Accounts with an amount of Rs. 343 crore & 4951 MSME accounts with an amount of Rs. 370 crore were opened.

Ø  17 MSME Specialised Branches and 51 MSME focused Branches were functional as on 30^th June, 2012.
 
FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Ø  1,09,183 NO FRILLS Accounts were opened during Q1 of FY 2012-13 taking the total number of NO FRILLS Accounts to 22,44,482 as on 30^th June, 2012 with an outstanding balance of Rs. 426.29 crore.

Ø  569 Villages have been allotted to the Bank with population of more than 2000 and all of them were already covered during the last Financial Year itself.

Ø  4,89,522 No Frill/ Other Savings Accounts have been opened in 569 covered villages  up to 30^th June, 2012 covering 3,35,038 households.

Ø  2,16,997 Biometric Cards have been issued in FIP allotted villages and 4,51,030 transactions have been done through the same.

Ø  A campaign was launched on 16.05.2012 to ensure at least one bank account of each household in 569 villages allotted to the Bank under Financial Inclusion Plan.  Under the campaign, a structured survey of all households in villages allotted under FIP was carried to identify all households without a bank account. Simultaneously, accounts have been opened preferably in the name of head of the family during the survey. Under the campaign, a total number of 30,486 new accounts were opened completing coverage of 100% households in 569 FIP allotted villages.     

 HR INITIATIVES

Ø  Bank recruited 187 personnel including 20 Specialist Officers during Q1 of                   FY-2012-13.

Ø  The process for recruitment of 325 Probationary Officers and 100 Agriculture Officers is under process.

Ø  808 Employees promoted during the quarter ended 30^th June,2012.


NEW INITIATIVES

Ø  Bank came out with Attractive Features in Oriental Home Loan & Oriental Vehicle Loan Schemes with reduction in Rate of Interest, Lowest EMI, Higher Loan Eligibility, Flexible Repayment Period and special concessions in interest rate to loyal customers.

Ø  Leading initiative was taken by the Bank in waiving the NEFT Charges on transactions up to Rs. One Lac. This initiative of the Bank was also appreciated by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the then Hon’ble Finance Minister during his meeting with the Chief Executives of Public Sector Banks and Financial Institutions on 12.06.2012.

Ø  The Bank has recently launched ORIENTAL DOUBLE DEPOSIT SCHEME where as per the existing interest rates the money gets doubled in 90 Months (Senior Citizens) and in 96 Months (Others).

Ø  An MoU was signed on 18^th June,2012 with E-Billing Solutions Pvt. Ltd (EBS) for offering aggregator services.  EBS is a neutral payment gateway solution for merchants to facilitate online shopping across a spectrum of banks debit & credit cards and Utility Bill Service provider’s viz. IndiaIdeas.com Ltd (BillDesk), Techprocess Ltd, CCAvenue, and IRCTC thereby facilitating Net Banking customers to make online payments. 

IT INITIATIVES

Ø  Unclaimed Deposits / Inoperative Accounts displayed at Bank’s website in compliance with RBI Guidelines.

Ø   Loan EMI Payment – The new functionality will enable our retail Net-Banking customer to make online payment of their Loan EMI installments.

Ø   Payment gateway to Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and SGSITS Indore.

Ø   Online CBS Connectivity through Laptops at Mobile Branches & Ultra Small Branches.

Ø   Implementation of Centralized MIS project.

Ø  SMS alert for customers for SMA/NPA Accounts.

Ø  M/S STQC, a wing of Ministry of Information Technology has renewed “ISO27001” certification. It confirms that our Bank is adopting international best practices for processes and security framework for Data Centres.

Ø  At Mewat District field test has been successfully completed for inter-operability of Smart Cards for Financial Inclusion.


CSR INITIATIVES

Ø  As a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, the Bank has set up a Trust in the name of ‘OBC Rural Development Trust’ on 09.12.2005 for setting up of Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs). The Trust has set up Institutes in five Districts, viz., Jaipur, Sriganganagar, Ferozepur, Dehradun and Palwal. Since inception, a total of 793 training programmes have been conducted benefiting 27,285 candidates. During the Financial Year 2012-13, 40 training programmes have been conducted benefiting 1,437 candidates.

Ø  The Bank has opened 4 Financial Literacy & Credit Counselling (FLCC) Centres in Karnal and Palwal districts of Haryana, Sriganganagar in Rajasthan & Ferozpur in Punjab. A total of 14,635 persons were counselled in these FLCCs, out of which 91 cases were referred for debt restructuring.

Ø  A Project for extending social welfare schemes such as NREGA, Pension, etc. has been launched in 6 Districts viz. Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Muktsar in Punjab and Jind in Haryana. A total number of 2,75,766 smart cards have been issued and activated up to 30^th June, 2012.

Ø  A Skill Development Program for probable women entrepreneurs on tailoring & embroidery has started in FIP village Marora, District Mewat, Haryana. Initially, 40 women are undergoing training for a period of 30 days.

Ø  Installation of 8 solar lights in Village Rasoolpur Jatan, District Muzaffarnagar, UP and construction of toilets at Primary School.

Ø  Tri-cycle was provided to a physically challenged student of primary school, FIP village Kasmandi Kalan, Block Malihabad, District Lucknow. Ceiling fans were provided to Panchayat Bhawan and Primary School in that village.

Posted 1 minute ago by Nksagar

Gagan Narang wins bronze

July 30, 2012

PM congratulates Gagan Narang on his Olympic medal. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has congratulated Shri Gagan Narang on his winning the Olympic bronze medal in London: “I join the nation in congratulating Shooter Gagan Narang on his winning the Olympic bronze medal in the 10 metre air rifle event. I wish Narang more success in the two other events he is participating in.”
Shooter Gagan Narang ended India’s medal drought at the London Olympics 2012 after clinching bronze medal in the 10 metre air rifle event with an over all score of 701.1.
Narang shot 103.1 in a gripping ten-shot finals for an aggregate of 701.1 after scoring 598 in the qualifying round in which also he stood third.The gold was won by Romania’s Moldoveanu Alin George who tallied 702.1, which included 103.1 in the final, to upset world number 1 Niccolo Campriani of Italy who stood second with 701.5 at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
After a good start when he shot 10.7, Narang was off target with his second shot that fetched him 9.7.He gathered his wits and steadied his aim to collect 10.6 10.7 10.4 and 10.6 in the following four shots to at one stage remain on course for bagging even a silver.However, he slipped a bit and had to fight for the bronze medal with China’s Wang Tao who finished fourth with 700.4.After returning poor scores of 9.9 and 9.5 in the seventh and eighth attempts, Narang pulled up his socks to seal the bronze with impressive scores of 10.3 and 10.7.Narang’s compatriot and defending champion Abhinav Bindra had, however, suffered a shocking exit with his dismal show in the preliminaries in which he stood 16th out of 47 contestants with a score of 594 out of 600.Narang’s bronze medal is only the third in shooting on the planet’s biggest sporting event after Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s silver in double trap in Athens 2004 and Bindra’s gold in the last Games at Beijing.This was also India’s eighth individual medal in the Olympic Games.With Alin George and Campriani able to maintain their grip on the top two positions, the competition for the bronze medal had boiled down to a tense contest between the Indian and his Chinese rival over the last few shots in which Narang prevailed.There was stage when Campriani’s poor efforts of 9.9 and 9.4 in the eighth and the penultimate series gave Narang a whiff of chance of winning the silver, but the Italian fired a 10.4 in his last shot to dash the Indian’s hope of finishing second.
Earlier, Narang had kept alive India’s hopes by advancing to the medal round after Bindra crashed out.Bindra, who scripted history four years ago by becoming the country’s first-ever individual gold medallist in the Olympics, shot 594 out of 600 to finish a shocking 16th out of 47 competitors and lost the golden chance of becoming the world’s first shooter to win two successive gold medals at the mega event. Narang kept India in the hunt by finishing third with 598, a point behind Campriani and Alin George who both shot an Olympic record-equalling 599 to stand first and second in the qualifying round.
Steel Sports Council (SSC) of the Ministry of Steel has decided that medal winners at London Olympics 2012 will be awarded Rs. 50 lakh each for winning Gold Medal, Rs. 25 lakh each for Silver Medal and Rs.20 lakh each for winning a Bronze Medal.
The award to the medal winners will be disbursed by Minister for Steel, Shri Beni Prasad Verma, who is the ‘Patron’ of the Steel Sports Council.

Supreme Court Upholds Basel Convention but allows hazardous US Ship Exxon Valdez 

Parliamentary Committees Intervention Will Be Sought To Stop Hazardous Waste Dumping  ࠼br>

Hazardous Waste Rules need to be revised for compliance with Conventionࠠ࠼br>

New Delhi 30/7/2012: The Bench of Supreme Court, Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice J. Chelameshwar, upheld UNⳠBasel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal but allowed the end of life ex US Ship Exxon Valdez (MV Oriental N) at Alang beach, Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

The implication of this direction would be that all the ships which are have entered or are entering the Indian territorial waters have to show compliance of Basel Convention. In case there is non compliance, all these ships should go back to country of origin.

The Applicant in the case, Gopal Krishna commented, ㅸxon Valdez did not follow the Basel Convention and therefore according to the judgment dated 06.07.2012 it should have been sent back to the country of export. The Court ought to have applied Precautionary Principle not for the purpose of dismantling the ship but for sending it back because the principle implies that the pollution of hazardous nature has to be avoided particularly when its impact on environment and human health are not known.伳pan style>  A copy of the Basel Convention and its Technical Guidelines is attached. ༯span>

ࠠࠠࠠࠠࠠ In fact the Bench asserted in this order what they have said in their final judgment dated 06.07.2012 namely that all Ships coming for dismantling have to follow Basel Convention and if there is any violation, action should be taken according to the Municipal Laws.

The main concern of the Applicant was that ships like Exxon Valdez are End of Life ships and the entire ship itself is hazardous waste which are regulated under Basel Convention as it is embedded with asbestos waste, cables containing PCT, heavy metals, paint chips etc. the argument was not that the Ship contains any hazardous waste in loose form. None of the above mentioned authorities had given any inventory to the court about hazardous waste contained in the body of the Ship.

The arguments which were advanced by ApplicantⳊadvocate Mr. Sanjay Parikh regarding following Basel Convention namely, that there should be prior decontamination by the country of Export and prior permission by the country of Import before Ship enter the Indian territorial waters. These have been recorded in the judgment. ༯span>

It is noteworthy that Basel Convention is related to the control of Trans-boundary movements of hazardous waste and their disposal. Article 1, Article 2, paragraph 1 and 4 and Annex IV, paragraph B of the said Convention are relevant. Ships destined for ship-breaking operations are within the definition of "wastes" as defined by the Basel Convention. The Convention defines "wastes" as: "substances or objects which are disposed of or are intended to be disposed of or are required to be disposed of by the provisions of national law" (Article 2, paragraph 1.).

The term "disposal" is further defined to mean "any operation specified in Annex IV to this Convention" (Article 2, paragraph 4). Annex IV includes final disposal operations and operations which lead to recovery, recycling, reclamation, direct re-use or alternative uses. Under Annex IV, paragraph B., ships destined for ship-breaking will, in fact, fall within the entry: "R4 Recycling/reclamation of metals and metal compounds".

Notably, ships destined for ship-breaking operations are "hazardous wastes" under the Convention.

Article 1 of the Convention determines the scope of the Convention and defines "hazardous wastes". The definition of "hazardous wastes" includes, inter alia, "wastes that belong to any category contained in Annex I, unless they do not possess any of the characteristics contained in Annex III". Ships destined for ship-breaking typically contain, inter alia, the following Annex I hazardous substances to an extent that they do constitute hazardous wastes:

-Y9 Waste oils/water, hydrocarbons/water mixtures, emulsions;

-Y10 Waste substances and articles containing or contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) and/or polychlorinated terphenyls (PCTs) and/or polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs);

-and a host of Y19 to Y45 constituents such as Y23 Zinc compounds, Y26 Cadmium; cadmium compounds, Y31 Lead; lead compounds, Y36 Asbestos (dust and fibers).The Parties to the Basel Convention further supplemented Annex I and III by elaborating specific wastes as hazardous wastes and including such wastes in Annex VIII. Annex VIII contains many entries of specific wastes which are contained in ships destined for ship-breaking.

i.ࠠࠠࠠࠠ࠼/span>The ship-breaking operations in non-OECD countries like India do not constitute environmentally sound management as required by the Convention. Ships destined for ship-breaking contain significant quantities of asbestos, PCBs, hydraulic fluids, paints containing lead and/or other heavy metals, tributyltin or TBT antifouling coatings, contaminated holding tanks, and other substances rendering them hazardous waste and extremely dangerous to human health and the environment when scrapped in the existing ship-breaking yards.

ii.ࠠࠠࠠࠠ In addition, Article 4, paragraph 3 requires the Parties to "consider that illegal traffic in hazardous wastes or other wastes is criminal."Article 4, paragraph 4 requires that "Each Party shall take appropriate legal, administrative and other measures to implement and enforce the provisions of this Convention, including measures to prevent and punish conduct in contravention of the Convention."Therefore, each Party has a legal obligation to prohibit such ship exports and must do so with respect to all persons ("any natural or legal person" - Article 2, paragraph 14) subject to its jurisdiction, e.g., exporters, importers, brokers, owners, those persons in possession and/or control of the ship, captains, etc.

iii.ࠠࠠࠠࠠIn order to export a ship for ship-breaking, there is a legal requirement to decontaminate it such that it no longer contains Basel Convention hazardous substances prior to export.

iv.ࠠࠠࠠ࠼/span>Among other things, what is emphasized in the Convention is prior informed consent and the disposal of waste in an environmentally sound manner. India has signed and ratified the said convention, in the order dated 14.10.2003- (2005)10 SCC 510 it has been observed that the Basel Convention is a part of Article 21 of the Constitution.

v.  Basel Technical Guidelines under the Basel Convention on Ship dismantling read as follows:

㔲ansboundary movements of hazardous wastes or other wastes can take place only upon prior written notification by the state of export to the competent authorities of the states of import and transit.伳pan style> 

vi. ༯span>The Basel Convention Technical Guidelines specifically points out: Ballast water which is fresh, brackish or marine water that has intentionally been brought on board a ship in order to adjust the shipⳠstability and trim characteristics in accordance with various operating conditions 㭡y contain pollutants, such as residual fuel, cargo hold residues, biocides, oil and grease, petroleum hydrocarbons, and metals (e.g. iron, copper, chromium, nickel, and zinc). Ballast water in cargo tanks (oil) is referred to as dirty ballast water. The transport of large volumes of water containing organisms from shallow, coastal waters across natural oceanic barriers can cause massive invasions of neritic marine organisms. Because ballast water is usually taken from bays and estuaries with water rich in animal and plant life, most ships carry a diverse assemblage of aquatic organisms. Aggregate sediments typically found in ballast tanks will contain living species which reflect the trade history of the vessel.䠼/span>

It further adds: ᔨe arrival condition of the dismantling candidate is most likely that of 㩮 ballast䮠The discharge of ballast water/ sediment species into the coastal sea-area may be a potential source for introducing unwanted organisms which threaten the ecological balance in the surrounding seas and thereby represent a direct threat to biodiversity. Ballast water can be the carrier of viruses and bacteria transferred to humans causing epidemics. In order to limit the biological threat represented by the introduction of invasive species via ballast water, the vessel should undergo recommended de-ballasting.ࠠࠠࠠࠠ

In view of the July 30 and July 6, 2012 judgments of the Court, Union Ministry of Environment & Forests will have to revise its Hazardous Rules to become complaint with the CourtⳠorder and Basel Convention. ༯span>

The Applicant will approach the relevant Parliamentary Committees to seek their intervention because CourtⳠorder and international law is being violated through subordinate legislations and through creating a fait accompli situation like in the case of end of life ships like Riky, Blue Lady, Platinum II and now Exxon Valdez to facilitate hazardous waste dumping. ༯span>

A separate application is being filed in the larger matter of hazardous waste management in the country to ensure compliance with CourtⳠdirections of the October 14, 2003 order and the recommendations of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes.࠼span style>Bangaldesh Supreme Court order had taken cognisance of the hazardous materials on ship and has reproduced its diagram both are attached.  

For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), 9818089660, E-mail:krishna1715@gmail.com, Web:toxicswatch.blogpsot.com

: Anna begins indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar

On Day 5 of the indefinite fast, Anna Hazareji joined Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai and 400 anshankaris at Jantar Mantar. Supporters turned out in hordes at Jantar Mantar - according to estimates, the footfall at Jantar Mantar touched 1.5 lakh today.

In the evening, another 50,000 people assembled at India Gate circle and walked towards Jantar Mantar with a candle in their hand in support of Annaji. Prashant Bhushan led the rally.

In the morning, Anna ji released Swaraj book written by Arvind Kejriwal written today. Anna Hazareji said that people should read Swaraj and decide for themselves whether it is the government which has drifted apart from the path or the IAC movement. He said that a true democracy is one in which people make decisions and not politicians or bureaucrats. This is the true meaning of Swaraj.

He explained to the people that Gram Sabha was supreme. Its members - those who attain 18 years of age in a village - are the ones who elect MPs and MLAs and send them to Legislative Assembly, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. He explained that Gram Sabha are 'Swayambhu' or self sustainent.

Arvind Kejriwal while releasing the book Swaraj and said, “I would like to thank Vinod Mehta, Yogendra Yadav and Harper Collins. For this book, I travelled for two years and met people and tried to understand their problems. I travelled to Ralegan, Hiwre Bazaar, Kutambakam and to a tribal village called Lekha Medha. I met the sarpanches there. These villages earlier were in a very bad state and poverty stricken. But after these sarpanches took charge, they just did one thing which was different. They took all decisions in an open gram sabha meeting. Today, all these villages have become model villages."
He said, a similar practice of mohalla sabhas should be started in the cities as well.

Recalling his stint in Income Tax department he said, "When I was with the IT department, we had conducted a raid on a Japanese company. The CEO who was a Japanese warned us said that if he wished he could get any law passed in our Parliament and could get us transferred. A few days after that a senior officer was transferred. Then I had thought that maybe he had the power to get us transferred but was bluffing about the getting any law passed issue. My worst fears came true when during the voting for Nuclear Bill, some MPs waived bundles of cash in Parliament."

He said, "we conducted referendum in many areas and found that 90 per cent people wanted Jan Lokpal Bill. Despite that for one-and-a-half years we have been fighting for it and nothing has happened."

He concluded his speech with an appeal to all students to take leave for a week and come out on to the streets for just one week. 

Kiranji addressed the crowd in the afternoon and explained the need to make CBI independent. Prashant Bhushan spoke on the charges against Sharad Pawar, SM Krishna and Kamal Nath. Prashant Bhushan said he was not surprised by the large number of supporters since he knew people would rise up in support of the movement and that the right-thinking people want to save the country from the massive corruption, anarchy and chaos it is currently in.

While the anshankaris might have seen a fall in health, there is no depletion in their spirit. Despite forgoing food for 5 days, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai are showing every sign of seeing this fast through till as long as it takes. Their vitals in the evening were:

Annaji: Pulse - 78, BP-160/102, Sugar-104

Arvind Kejriwal: Pulse-80, BP-110/67, Sugar-75, Ketone-4+

Manish Sisodia: Pulse-84, BP-130/81, Sugar-75, Ketone-4+ 

Gopal Rai - Pulse-76, BP-120/73, Sugar-88, Ketone-5+

Amongst the 400 anshankaris who are on the indefinite hunger strike, 11 had to be taken to hospital due to ill health. 90-yr-old Maniram was in high spirits though, and thanked Anna Hazareji for uniting people – even while he showed signs of weakness and had to be shifted to hospital. A 60-member medical team is constantly monitoring the health of al anshankaris. However, the callousness of the govt was marked by an absence of oxygen cylinders in the Delhi police ambulances which were transferring patients to Ram Manohar Lohia government hospital.

The donation collected was released in the evening. The collection for first 4 days was approximately Rs 12 lakhs.

The anshan carried on across the country as well.

In Chennai, more than 100 protestors sat peacefully in front of Chidambaram's house. They were  man-handled and detained. They were released by evening only.

Many roads of Mumbai were also choked by IAC supporters. Marine Drive was congested by protestors who had come out in droves to support the movement. A massive Car rally was organised today which was flagged off by Anupam Kher.

In Hyderabad, one volunteer (G Venkateshwar Rao, 65) who has become very weak was taken away by the police. Presently 5 volunteers are on Ankshan since the past five days.

In Ujjain, last night 2 anshankaris were brutally hit by unknown people and their tent was completely destroyed. They filed an FIR later in the day.

Agra saw large attendance as well, attended by children and adults. A rally of schoolchildren in support of the July Kranti and indefinite fast took place in Ajmer from Gandhi Bhawan till Collectorate Ajmer.

In Bhiwani, women came out in full support of the andolan and gathered at Nehru Park, Ghanta Ghar in large numbers.

Instituto Cervantes Nueva Delhi

2 de agosto de 2012 / August 2nd of 2012

CONCIERTO: MUSIC FOR THEM Jueves 2 de agosto a las 7pm en el auditorio, entrada libre. Sinopsis: La ONG “Streets of India” inaugura su gira de conciertos en el Instituto Cervantes. Tras cinco años de experiencia haciendo voluntariado en Calcuta, se dieron cuenta del poder curativo de la música y el entretenimiento en gente en situaciones vulnerables. Con esta premisa nace el proyecto musical “Music for them”, un espectáculo de música y baile que ya ha pasado por hospitales, centros de enfermos y orfanatos de Calcuta en 2009 y 2010, y en ciudades de Rajasthan (Jodhpur, Narlai, Luni y Khejarla) en 2011. Ya han sido más de 5.000 personas las que han interactuado con “Music for them”. Este 2012 el grupo de 6 músicos españoles se lanzan a conquistar los corazones de los niños y niñas en la gira que da comienzo en nuestro centro y que continúa en Antyodaya Niketan (Delhi), Naya Nagar (Gurgaon), y los centros de rehabilitación de la Fundación Vicente Ferrer (Anantapur). Más información sobre el proyecto en su blog. Video de la gira de 2011 de Music for them.   CONCERT: MUSIC FOR THEM Thursday 2nd of August at 7pm at the auditorium, free entrance Synopsis:  The NGO “Streets of India” is opening their concerts tour at Instituto Cervantes. After 5 years of experience volunteering in Calcuta, they realized that curative power of music and entertainment on the most vulnerable people. With this premise they created the project “Music for them”, a show of dance and music that has already been performed in hospitals, centers for the ill and orphanages in Calcutta during 2009 and 2010, and in the Rajasthan cities of Jodhpur, Narlai, Luni and Khejarla in 2011. More than 5.000 people have already enjoyed and played with “Music for them”. For this 2012, the group of 6 spanish musicians will conquer the hearts of the children in their tour, starting at our center, in Antyodaya Niketan (Delhi), Naya Nagar (Gurgaon), and the rehabilitation centers of Vicente Ferrer Foundation (Anantapur). More information about the project in their blog. Video from the tour of 2011 of Music for them.

Instituto Cervantes Nueva Delhi 48, Hanuman Road Connaught Place 110 001 Nueva Delhi India