Thinking Big: Elections 2009

A reply was received against the call for "vote for BJP" in a different Forum [the call has also been published here] .. since it applies to all INDIANs it is getting posted here.

I have not read the complete message. However, after reading the first Para, I am forced to think what is the difference between a poor voter who sells his vote for Rs.100.00 or a bottle of DESI DARU and asking votes for BJP or for that matter any party on the promise of a weird offer of TAX SOPS.

At least that poor voter is wise enough not to believe in "TWO IN THE BUSH". He votes only after having the "BIRD IN HAND". And who knows he might milch all of them and vote as per his convictions.

All the parties (of some political stature) are infamous for beating hasty retreat on poll promises as soon as they come to power. 33% reservation for women is one issue on which all political parties have broken the promise.

There is much more than money, pay and perks in life. At least THINK BIG, no matter, whether you are able to get to your goal or not. Vote as per your convictions and not on the basis of personal gains. Election is a serious affair not a business. Have consideration for society and not for individual gain all the time.

Mahendra Gaur

Our counter- reply to the above
There are too many people in this country.. 1 billion to be exact (am I right? not very good at GK!) .. so each will have his own ideas and that can really be a problem at times.. because of so many interests which sometimes cut one another ... nothing new for me to have mine and Mr Gaur to have his.. but we can all at least meet at some common ground... a ground where we may all see some logic and some facts..

• The common ground here is I DO NOT SEE ANYBODY in the POLITICAL ARENA who is NOT CROOKED...If you can give me proof of some.. then probably I will find him in a different area (not where I vote) .. and if you can give proof then I will certainly support the people who vote for those candidates.. [I doubt though of your ability to give proof because there is nothing such as a honest Politician].
• The next common ground is all this big talk is only big.. until YOU get somebody up there to contest as honest people asking to vote as per convictions.. makes no sense.. when all my conviction tells me is that NOBODY is good and a few if they are at all - maybe the new ones contesting this year will either prove to be useless or same as others if they win (I am not arguing about them not winning.. but assuming that they win) .. eg. Mallika Sarabhai at Gujarat.. she may be good.. then Ms Meera Sanyal at Mumbai who is an ABN AMRO bank Top Official as independent.. or Dr (some) lady at the same mumbai constituency.. who is member of the newly floated Professional party.. or Sashi Tharoor who is at Kerala on Congress ticket.. what will they do? What Manmohan Singh did? What can a few honest ones do alone when the whole world is different?
• The common ground here is that I do not disagree that somebody somewhere needs to start & let these people start and ALSO win-- ALL of them even Sashi Tharoor on the congress ticket.. (I DO HOPE THEY will TAKE THE NEXT STEP to JOIN hands across parties and join in the name of good!!- a distant dream!! ) .. but I am a voter.. and so am concentrating on where I can get something out of this melee .. this free for all.. there is nothing ideal here.. there is nothing 'THINK BIG' here.. even though they go back on promises.. I will STILL ASK VOTE VOTE FOR BJP.. (even though I agree that BJP was the one who brought in FBT .. at least now they are saying they will remove it..I have not forgotten what they did last time to us salaried class people -- NOBODY actually thinks of salaried class.. !!)
• Common ground is EACH VOTE is an OPPORTINTY FOR ALL.. Since this is a big NATION.. You & I do nothing.. Unless we are able to put up new people across India whom voters can VOTE.. in the NATIONAL LEVEL I am just one in 1 billion misguided fools.. and we are like driving our cars on a crowded road.. and nobody rewards a rule abiding driver.. he keeps falling behind.. while those who drive on the wrong side gets ahead.. so here when all that we salaried class (yes we are a class too.. how can we forget? You are now not in that class.. so I cannot give that weight to your words this time) have only salary revision and tax breaks to hope on.. what else we got? -So anybody giving us these tax breaks gets out vote.. NOTHING TO THINK BIG ABOUT....

And by the way we are a society too.. a society of Salaried class... so when we vote somebody or some party over another. we ARE thinking of our Society.. ALAS.. we cannot be GODs when we keep dying..We are acting as per the age old rule.. Roti Kapda Makaan.. (now do not say that PSU or OILMEN have all these.. I too know.. this is figuratively speaking).. BUT when we feel our roti size is smaller than expected.. SURELY WE WILL ACT in selfish manner.. Do the Politicians act selflessly?

I know we may be helping them to power by giving them their power in return of this SOP just like a poor man sells his vote for a bottle of arrack...but then does it make sense or is it possible to "VOTE INDIA" as so many SO CALLED INTELLECTUALS are SHOUTING FOR? What VOTE INDIA? Who are these GOOD PEOPLE that we can vote for ? Any list floating??

Like I said I am just a voter here..not in position to setup new people in all the constituencies of India.. if I had that power.. or somebody does that.. then yes.. sure we will choose as per candidate and work as per conscience..

A Hungry man cannot have conscience.. We are hungry too.. there is no shame in declaring that even when there are hungrier people than us!! So ??

Why blame the poor? True they are even better than us.. they are taking the bird in hand.. but then nobody has offered the bird in hand.. we have only one in the bush.. the proverb does not APPLY here.. .. if we too had been given two birds one in hand and one in the bush.. we would have gone for the one in hand.. CONGRESS was GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIFT us a bird IN HAND.. they did not gift us.. BJP is giving us one in the bush.. we have to take a chance!!

What is the other alternative? Show me 271 honest candidates in India for all the 271 seats needed to make a majorty govt..!

Let us not just make IDEALISTIC statements for the sake of making it.

To end this.. you know what is HAPPENING THIS YEAR? because of all the hype of media - "lead india" -- "lead mumbai"-- "Corporate Mumbai" "youth" Amir Khan on TV exhorting us to VOTE INDIA!! .. and so on? I think there will be a totally hung parliament this year.. is that GOOD? Already a set of leaders in Bihar have started playing their game.. Laloo and Paswan.. not giving a single seat to Congress but saying they are with UPA.. because they know Congress will not get majoriry and will need them again..! And how everyone from Sharad Pawar to Mayawati to everybody is SHAMELESSLY Drooling for the PM SEAT!! I think VOTING for BJP who is still the one party across regions.. can get us some better stability in the face of this impending chaos!!

As it is we have the usual segments and classes that vote - cross vote and so on..

Now additionally we have a large group of youth who has seen Ram Sene.. and they have been shown Rahul; Gandhi's Foolish but pretty white-skin face.. so a large amount of vote will go for him.. (if he is standing--or his party).

Some people in Kerala who have been voting for CPIM will vote for Sashi Tharoor.. because he has a cute face.. and seems to be intelligent.. a good writer..

Corporate Mumbai is waking up.. tell me why? because the terror war entered their bedrooms.. they always thought they were insulated from terror by their money.. and TERROR happens only in Rly Stations.. or Kashmir or middle class markets like Sarojini Nagar.. not at TAJ!! So what are you talking about? ALL are talking of 'THINK BIG" but actually everybody is thinking about themselves only!! Plus do you think Corporate India and its noise.. is thinking of only better Governance? Will they not extract their pound of flesh (in terms of reduction of excise duty, tax holidays etc if they can control the govt??)

So who is thinking BIG? Everybody is going by some wrong reason only.. when it is a melee and everybody is stumbling one over another to get his pie.. WE TOO NEED TO DO THAT..

SO AGAIN I SAY VOTE FOR BJP.. because they have promised 3 lacs and 3.5 lacs limits!

VOTE enmasse for BJP - for one reason only!!

Vote for BJP:- [ I am not a BJP activist but this thought came to my mind after reading newspaper today where I saw we will get an income tax limit raise to 3 lacs!! Kuch To Milega then! After the poor show in our salary increase by the cheaters in Congress !!]

One truth: All Politicians are bad because they serve only their interests. So trick is to choose ones / parties which will serve the greater good and also serve ours.

Why? - Let me analyse a few SIMPLE things about BJP and its image. I am not a Political analyst and will onl go by my own intersts and just see whether National Interests in general are getting helped.

1. We need one stable majority Party to Rule. --> This will help the Nation in general ("serving greater good") Even though the parties have become too many and too regional based and the voters too have become too much mixed (even a large number of youngsters and said lead India or "no criminals in Politics" whatever campaigns seem to be churning the voters in all directions!) & we can see all the Politicians recognising this polarisation or depolarisation whatever you call it more this time which is why you find all of them seeming to keep their feet in all boats at the same time eg. Laloo and Paswan not giving a single seat to congress in Bihar and yet saying they are with UPA! What do they mean? All these are crooks only.. small time crooks.. so why not go with the major party which still has some semblance of single mindedness and not like these regional bosses? At least the NEW PM will get respite from trying to take along with so many parties to keep his seat!

2. Congress's Dynastic Rule --> Is very harmful.. as if we are slaves to that FAMILY!! And that too its ambition of a Duffer Rahul Gandhi as PM does not bear good for this Nation! He does not even know the full form of IAEA!! Voting for BJP which is not based on Dynastic or Regional Rules is good for India. ("serving greater good")

3. Congress cheated us.. even its honest PM cheated us PSUs. [Ok when BJP was in power their FM Yashwant Singh brought in some tax laws that were not okay for salaried class. but they are prepared to make amends this time. Congress got a chance this time w.r.t. PSU salaries but they have shown their true colours so they MUST GET OUT!] [Serving our PSU / SALARIED class interests"]

4. BJP is going to Raise the Income tax limit for men from 1.5 lacs to 3 lacs and women from 1.85 lacs to 3.5 lacs.! If NOT for anything else AT LEAST for this SINGLE OFFER.. VOTE FOR BJP!! This will reduce our sadness of not getting OUR DESIRED SALARY INCREASE!! BJP has also offered various SOPs to DEFENCE and other groups of people.. and I think these ALONE deserve them the MAJORITY Rule..! ["Serving our interests"]

5. Change is always better. --> Give BJP a chance but give them a FULL CHANCE. A MAJORITY ! ("serving greater good")

6. Hindutva is the only negative thing against BJP But take two cases.. One is Gujarat.. though during Modi we saw Godhra etc... even Muslims in Gujarat have recognised that they are better off under his rule and the state of Gujarat has flourished like anything under Modi Rule.. so when a state or Country flourishes who gains? All.. including Muslims.. Then second.. look at the last time BJP was in power? Where were any such acts of injustice against Muslims during their rule? We educated class at least know.. that these are ONLY POLL Gimmicks.. to get the illiterate votes.. BUT actually BJP is as secular as Congress or CPI(M).

7. The Ram Sene thing at Mangalore seemed to have angered youth of the Country.. but again my logic on Poll Gimmicks hold true here too and I also appeal to the youngsters to understand one thing.. look around you! There will always be such Fanatics.. moral police and all were there in India even before BJP was in the light.. it is always city based or local problems... caused by rowdies.. and moreover do not let these incidents make you lose sight of the fact that Advani is a seasoned person.. and is capable of leading.. give him a chance... you cannot just say BJP is harbouring anti youth groups like Ram Sene.. and so want a young PM because you Identify yourself with youngster LIKE RAHUL.. ahh he did not even know the full form of IAEA when a newsreporter asked him during the public debate on nuclear agreement with USA... all he claims to have is a DYNASTIC hold in India! That is all he has to his credit!

8. Look at the rest. Congress has ministers we saw who cheated us PSU.. BSP is a ONE LADY ambition Game... (everybody has ambition. but I always am awary of overnight Players.. Mayawati has come up so fast by her wiles.. and such wiles are not to be trusted.. all she will do is work for herself and her group of people.... I do not think she even has a NATIONAL Leader capbility .. why try a new one.. who is not tested.. Advani is a much more experienced NAtional Leader... .CPI(M)... Tsk Tsk.. they do not know which way the wind is blowing.. always keep talking against economic policies.. and yet ARE COWARDS who WIL ALWAYS be OUTSIDE Govt.. because sitting outside and criticising is easy.. and Look at WB.. do you want to make India Like WB? And the rest of the local regional leaders.. all they know is to look after their local needs!

9. Remember the "India Shining Campaing"? What went wrong at that time was BJP failed to take care of the Poor, but Economy did start to LOOK up during their time and the CONGRESS only reaped that Benefit.. BUT did NOTHING to MAINTAIN it and so INDIA too now has got caught in the World Recession and all.. Bringing Back A REFORMED BJP will get India back on track - A BJP which, I hope, will ALSO take care of the poor and Middle Class.

Ok ok.. Go back to first para..what I said?
All Politicians are bad because they serve only their interests. So trick is to choose ones / parties which will serve the greater good and also serve ours.

There is HIGH CHANCE OF a TOTAL Deadlock or Hung Parliament because of so many Parties that are Harping and playing on Regional Ambitions [--& are actually HARMING INDIA as a whole BECAUSE by promoting such Regional Aspirations they have gone one step further harming INDIA -earlier factors were based on caste, creed, society- now they are going even deeper.. and CONGRESS is PLAYING the same GAME Because it is NOT depending on Regional Party Support] and a sudden awakening of voters !!

So only if BJP comes to power with a Majority India stands a chance.. or else we will see a 5 year term full of squabbles only.. (you saw what happened when Left withdrew support and Amar Singh's party played!!!!)

VOTE FOR BJP this time!!

Since this site supports all views.. a contrary view to above and reply to it has been posted here.

RTI Amendments Needed

RTI act has been in India for some time now. But the petitioners rarely seem to get justice through this act. The reason being those people against whom information is sought are also ones who are to give you the information.

Urgent Amendments Needed to the Rti Act-081208

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Final Pay Revision- Conclusions

A Game was played by UPA Govt against the PSUs this time. And the bureaucrats had their way. We have even lost faith in the honesty of PM Manmohan Singh, who did not even want to meet the OSOA Leaders and gave a free hand to P Chidambaram and his GOM to KILL all aspirations.

And what is MEDIA Doing? Still Like IDIOTS who ONLY thrive on Exciting words are printing HEADLINES like "BONANZA before ELECTIONS" as it UPA gave this to us to get votes.. as if elections has anything to do with it! They totally forgot that this PAY revision is effective 1/1/2007 2 YEARS BEFORE ELECTIONS!!

And what BONANZA?? As if we got some gold biscuits!!!
Majoroty of us will still be on stagnation again.. and that too for next 10 years!! BAH!! Bonanza!! LOL!! What tricks they play.. they are saying 20% increase and so on.. But has anyone thought what that increase is? The net increase in salaries that will happen is actually because of the :-

(1) Original Minor Increase given in the 26/11/08 order - which we all REJECTED because it was NOT in tune with the TIMES (recession is only a short term and recent phenomenon.. ther was no recession in 2007 and DOES THE DONKEY MEDIA know THAT even if there is upturn our fates are SEALED FOR NEXT 10 YRS??? I wish I can see ONE SUCH REPORTER in fron og me.. I will become physical!! I am sure you all will).

(2) The effect of fitment.. this always happens.. Fitment is simple.. Earlier you were in scale A now you are in scale -B . B scale is higher than scale -A. So you need to be fitted somewhere.. Usually you get one jump.. this is to explain fitment to those duds in media.. in simple terms..

But this fitment is one time. The cumulative effect is not much because the ACTUAL SALARY Scales did not get INCREASED AS DEMANDED!!

Let us see what we got, until SOMEONE Else corrects the following observations:-

1. See the new DPE order (on the IOOA Blog page) & find out the Delta. The delta will tell you what we have got after the 26/11/2008 order (that too is on the IOOA Blog page).

This delta is only in allowing 50% merger of DA for calculation of Fitment !! --> So what? fitmen is fitment.. All this 20% or 30% or whatever is the increase as demanded... and nor are they REAL increase on account of higher scales.. and this is FOR NEXT 10 YEARS but but that is net increase on account of Fitment only... So once the effect of Fitment is gone.. (once you get new scales) you will start filling the pinch.. ..if you [PSU friends] get what I mean.

2. Superannuation Benefit getting calculated now on Basic +DA and not just Basic--> So what? There is NO REAL Delta here at all!! As it is in INDIANOIL this benefit is already frozen at 2003 level.. so how does it matter what BA+DA we will be getting at time of retirement?

3. HRA rates remain same.. (I believe the new rates as per 26/11/08 order] are less than what you are getting now?? eg in cities with less than 50 lac population I believe there is a reduction in HRA ?) But what they have done here is that your Net take home will not get reduced.. the reduction from HRA will be paid to you as Personal Pay.. till your basic increases to enable you to get HRA as earlier! --> No DELTA you got here.. but you are not losing as in earlier order. But in terms of Arrears the effect is only from 26/11/08 or later as worded in the order. This HRA amount is only for those who claim HRA.. obviously.. not all.

4. Cost of perks on account of Hospitals, Schools, Clubs etc being maintained at locations (The units where these are will charge these perks to the salaries of those employees from now on!!) calculation method changed --> This is an additional perks so less salary. The delta on this is that due to revised calculations you may be charged less perks previous DPE order.

5. Effective date of 26-11-08 if President signs within one month or date of signing if later! This affects your Arreas.. you will not get arrears from 1/1/07 but from 26/11/08 or from Some date in May 2009. The arrears will have two parts.. one effective 1/1/07 based on earlier order.. the second based on the above new dates. So when they calculate net payout.. you may be getting arrears you may not be getting arrears.

Nothing else other than above.. No higher scales!! No 20% increase! No 30% increase ON SCALES or Basic etc... .. whatever was there on scales in earlier order remains..,.Limit of 50% on perks remain so you will get reduced benefits probably on account of this newly imposewd 50% limits in perks and inclusion of new things as perks!! ... nothing changes !! is it not so??

So much HOPE among YOU HAD -- PEOPLE!!! I do not see any genuine aspirations being supported by anybody as promised loudly.. .

So what to do now? START BY VOTING CONGRESS and its allies out of POWER!!
VOTE for BJP..

Judicial Reforms alone can induce all other Reforms

There is so much wrong everywhere around us. Where does one start? The question can be answered by another question-- where do you go if you are wronged? Ans: The courts!

But then what do you find? Do you find justice always and that too on time and properly?

The judiciary is probably the worst institution in our country. It seems to exist only to justify the crimes of the rich and powerful. In fact if the judiciary is not perfect where can one go for justice?

Here is a Letter to CJI Kerala [is he not the CJI Supreme Court Now?] by someone in 2004. He is still fighting for these reforms..

Letter to CJI of Kerala dtd 18/11/2004

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SUPPORT THE RAIPUR SATYAGRAHA FOR THE RELEASE OF DR. BINAYAK SEN

Release Dr Binayak Sen !!
Send a FREE FAX to the Chhattisgarh government to demand:

1. Immediate release of the doctor to the workers DR. BINAYAK SEN
2. End to the state repression of democratic dissent, revocation of the CSPSA
3. Disbanding of SALWA JUDUM, full compensation to all victims
VISIT http://petitions.aidindia.org/binayaksen09/

The Raipur Satyagraha, a mass civil disobedience movement, was successfully launched on Monday, March 16th, to urge for the immediate release of Dr. Binayak Sen. Every Monday, batches of 50-100 people will court arrest in front of the Raipur Jail where Dr. Sen in incarcerated, to prevail upon the government to reverse its illegitimate action.

It is now 22 months since Dr Binayak Sen, the well-known public health and human rights activist was imprisoned by the Chhattisgarh government on false charges of abetting activities of an outlawed organization. In the days and months following his incarceration, Dr. Binayak Sen has received tremendous support from within India and outside. Twenty two Nobel Laureates have signed a letter in support of Dr Binayak Sen. International and national media, through news stories and editorials, have consistently pointed to the unjustified nature of Dr. Binayak Sen's imprisonment.

Even though the state has been unable to produce any evidence against him, Dr. Binayak Sen’s pleas for bail have been repeatedly refused by judicial institutions at all levels in the country. We oppose the use of bail as punitive measure to intimidate human rights defenders and demand and demand the immediate release of Dr. Binayak Sen.

The Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA), under which Dr.Binayak Sen has been arrested, allows the state to bypass many routine forms of due process through the law's unreasonably broad definition of unlawful activity, and acceptance of vague and unreliable evidence, all in the name of national security. The unclear provisions of this law have been used unfairly by the State to silence government critics such as Dr. Binayak Sen, Ajay TG , a film maker and PUCL activist, and Journalist Sai Reddy (and many others). We demand that draconian laws which have been used unfairly to harass human rights activists be immediately repealed.

Salwa Judum, the State-sponsored militia set up in 2005, has been responsible for killing, looting, rapes and forced eviction from their homes of more than 100,000 indigenous people to camps with inhuman conditions. Common concern for many is that the arrest and detention of Dr. Sen was directly related to his activities in defending the rights of the indigenous communities in Chhattisgarh state, and to his open criticism of the Salwa Judum. We condemn the state government for arming Salwa Judum and abetting terror against innocent civilians and tribals, and demand that it be immediately disbanded.

A letter endorsed by over 50 international peace and justice groups has already been sent to the Chhattisgarh government.
Add your support to these demands by sending a free fax NOW! VISIT http://petitions.aidindia.org/binayaksen09/


For more information, see the following:
· Information on the Raipur Satyagraha for the Release of Dr. Binayak Sen is available here: http://raipursatyagraha.wordpress.com/
· More information on Dr. Binayak Sen and his case:
o For a detailed analysis of the state’s case against Dr. Sen, read the 3-part series in Indian Express by Vinay Sitapati: http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/indian-express-series-on-binayak-sen/
o A timeline of Binayak Sen’s case is available here: http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/timeline-of-events-in-the-strange-case-of-dr-binayak-sen/
o A compilation of news articles on Dr. Sen can be found at http://www.binayaksen.net/ , http://www.freebinayaksen.org/ and http://www.aidboston.org/FreeBinayakSen/media.htm
· On Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005:
o The text of the law and its analysis by People’s Union for Democratic Rights can be found here: http://cpjc.wordpress.com/chhattisgarh-special-public-security-act/
o A law and its victim, Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Frontline, Oct-Nov 2008 http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2522/stories/20081107252212400.htm
o Caught between Naxals and police, Indian Express, June 11, 2008 http://in.news.yahoo.com/indianexpress/20080611/r_t_ie_nl_general/tnl-caught-between-naxals-and-police-aaaedd4_1.html
· Fact-finding reports on Salwa Judum can be obtained from the website for the Campaign for Peace and Justice in Chhattisgarh, http://cpjc.wordpress.com/reports-by-fact-finding-teams-on-salwa-judum/
· Letter to the Chhattisgarh government by over 50 international peace and justice groups can be found here: http://docs.aidindia.org/Documents/AID-Chapters/Maryland/campaign/Binayak_Sen_Org_Endorsement.pdf
__________________________________________________________________

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ONGC may Suffer 3k crores losses in 2008-09

ONGC may suffer losses of 3k crores on a/c of gas sales.

ONGC may make Losses March 2009

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PSUs to feed state-run banks

PSUs to feed state-run banks
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India-Business/PSUs-to-feed-state-run-banks/articleshow/4273299.cms
17 Mar 2009, 0000 hrs IST, Sanjay Dutta, TNN

NEW DELHI: The government has extended by a year an order asking profitable state-run entities to park their surplus funds with public sector banks to ensure that the financial institutions have enough cash at a reasonable cost which they can lend at the present reduced rate of interest through the economic slowdown. TOI had first reported on June 26 last year that the government had ordered PSUs to park funds, or at least 60% of the corpus, with public banks. It came in the wake of debt waiver and fresh loans for the farm sector were announced.

The banks had said raising cash for such schemes were prohibitive as they had to borrow at a higher cost as well as compete against private banks and offer higher interest rates for securing deposits and accounts from public sector units. The order was issued for a year. But with the economic slowdown continuing, it has been extended to help banks to maintain lower lending rates for all borrowers. With the order in place for another year, PSUs are likely to renew their deposits with the same bank. This will ensure that the cost of funds remains low for banks and provides leeway in reducing lending rates further. For PSUs, however, the extension will mean loss in additional income for another year to entities such as flagship explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, which alone parks some Rs 17,000-18,000 crore in such deposits and wrestled about Rs 400 crore extra interest annually by securing higher rates through bidding. The interest rates offered in bids were about 200 basis points higher than their prevailing market rates. Profitable PSUs such as ONGC, generation utility NTPC, equipment manufacturer BHEL, steelmaker SAIL and other entities together are estimated to have over Rs 100,000 crore surplus cash. They used to keep this in term deposits of a year or more with banks chosen through bidding -- whichever offered higher interest.

Top 10 cos add Rs 20k cr in a week; ONGC most valued PSU
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4266709.cms
15 Mar 2009, 1330 hrs IST, PTI
MUMBAI: The country's 10 most valued firms witnessed an addition of nearly Rs 20,000 crore in their market valuation last week, with ONGC toppling Beware of the 'penny stocks' power producer NTPC as the most valued state-run entity.

State-run oil producer ONGC added Rs 6,951 crore last week to clinch the second place in the elite club, replacing NTPC, which lost Rs 5,483 crore to skid to the third spot.

During the week, shares of ONGC surged five per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange taking its market capitalisation to Rs 1,50,994 crore. While, scrip of NTPC dipped four per cent dragging its valuation down to Rs 1,40,338 crore.

The coveted club of top 10 firms, which comprises four private entities and six public sector companies, gained Rs 19,763 crore during the last week with total valuation of Rs 9,86,966 crore.
In the previous week, the valuation of the club stood at Rs 9,67,202 crore.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries regained its Rs trillion turf in valuation by adding Rs 17,595 crore last week. RIL scrip surged by 10 per cent during the week on BSE, taking its valuation to Rs 2,01,816 crore from Rs 1,84,221 crore in the previous week.

Amid the domestic bourses witnessing some rally last week, only two firms -- NTPC and Bharti Airtel-- among the top 10 most valued firms witnessed a combined erosion of Rs 13,731 crore from their valuation.

Power equipment maker BHEL rose to the sixth spot by adding Rs 3,011 crore, while PSU trading firm MMTC dropped to seventh slot despite adding Rs 300 crore to its market cap.

Private telecom services provider Bharti Airtel, which lost Rs 8,248 crore from its valuation last week, stood at the fourth place. Besides, IT bellwether Infosys Technologies added Rs 4,418 crore to its market cap.

Diversified conglomerate ITC added Rs 226 crore to its valuation while the market cap of two state-run firms, SBI and NMDC, rose by Rs 775 crore and Rs 218 crore, respectively.

Apart from the top 10 most valued firms, two private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank together added Rs 5,809 crore to their valuation last week.

While, ICICI Bank saw its market cap surge by Rs 4,386 crore to Rs 34,366 crore, HDFC Bank added Rs 1,423 crore to Rs 57,210 crore at the end of trade on Friday last week.

RIL, the numero-uno in the list, is followed by ONGC (Rs 1,50,994 crore), NTPC (Rs 1,40,338 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 1,06,054 crore), Infosys (Rs 74,234 crore), Bhel (Rs 67,265 crore), MMTC (Rs 66,140 crore), ITC (Rs 62,408 crore), SBI (Rs 60,507 crore), NMDC (Rs 57,211crore).

Swiss Banks Agree to end Secrecy

Swiss Banks Agree to end Secrecy

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4266161.cms
15 Mar 2009, 0520 hrs IST, AGENCIES

GENEVA: Wealthy individuals and companies will no longer be able to hide their riches in Zurich's bank accounts now that Switzerland has bowed to international pressure to end the era of no-questions-asked banking.

Under pressure from the US and other troubled economies, the Swiss government announced on Friday that it would cooperate in international tax investigations, breaking with its long-standing tradition of protecting wealthy foreigners accused of hiding billions of dollars. Austria and Luxembourg also said they would help.

Against the background of the financial crisis, international cooperation has grown stronger, especially against tax crimes, Swiss president Hans-Rudolf Merz said.

The decision was a hard one for the Swiss, whose renowned discretion has long attracted the wealth of famous foreigners as well as refugees fleeing political or religious persecution.

Swiss banks hold an estimated $2 trillion of foreign money, and financial services account for about 12% of the country's GDP. According to the Boston Consulting Group, those holdings amount to one-fourth of the world's foreign-owned assets.

The famed numbered accounts that do not bear the owner's name will still be available for clients willing to pay for added anonymity. But the government will now be able to demand account holders' identities in cases of suspected wrongdoing, and to share that information with foreign authorities.

Switzerland's move comes ahead of a meeting next month in which world powers will discuss stepping up their fight against tax cheats. The greatest pressure has been on Switzerland, which has been embroiled in a dispute with the US over wealthy Americans who have stashed their money in its biggest bank, UBS AG.

Seeking to avoid being blacklisted as uncooperative tax havens, other countries have also announced plans to open their books to foreign tax inspectors. Austria and Luxembourg said on Friday that they would offer more help on tax investigations. Over the past month, leaders have made similar promises in Singapore,

Liechtenstein, Bermuda, the British islands of Jersey and Guernsey, and tiny Andorra on the border between France and Spain.

The move comes as a fillip to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's attempts to clamp down on tax havens at the G20 meeting.

Women work in oil rigs too

First Alphabet
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4278196.cms?flstry=1

17 Mar 2009, 2119 hrs IST, Hemamalini Venkatraman & V Balasubramanian, ET Bureau


CHENNAI: Energy companies have started throwing doors open to women in the male-dominated oil and gas industry. Be it rigs (on land or sea),
drilling or exploratory work, women are making their mark in frontline operational and engineering roles.

While Schlumberger — a leading oilfield service MNC with a market cap of $30 billion — takes pride in saying that it has a much better sex ratio than anyone else in this field, companies like Cairn Energy too have started deploying women in such challenging offshore assignments.

In all, Schlumberger has about 100 hardcore women technical staff engaged in various roles like research and tool installation. There are about 30 to 40 women technocrats offshore, who spend 24x7 days on rigs, matching their male counterparts. They work in the sea bases of Mumbai, Rajahmundry and Kakinada and land rigs of Assam, Rajasthan and Gujarat, a Schlumberger field engineer said.

Some have been hired from IIT, where campus records peg an Indian posting at Rs 23 lakh per annum. Senior field engineer Neha Sahdev, who has completed three years with Schlumberger, deems field exposure necessary to move up the career ladder. She also has led a crew, which has motivated her to perform better.

Acceptance levels have gone up and there is enough scope for women in this profession. Usually, it takes about three to four years of field experience, before an engineer graduates to managerial or office base positions, she told ET .


Other companies too are catching up on this front. Cairn Energy, for instance, reckoned among the fastest-growing and low-cost E&P (exploration and production) companies, now has women working onsite on one of India’s biggest oil and gas development (onshore hydrocarbon discovery) projects in Rajasthan in the last two decades.

Take the case of Monica. After completing her engineering from Rajasthan, she decided to plunge into an off-beat career at Cairn. She and 19 others from various districts of the state were recruited under Cairn’s campus hiring programme.

MBM Engineering College, Jodhpur, Jai Narain Vyas University and Mody Institute of Technology and Science are the varsity names, from where such candidates were hired. Some of them are first generation degree holders.

Of Cairn’s 900-plus employee base, women constitute 10.8%, but by end-2009, this percentage is expected to change, its HR and administration director P Senthil Kumar said.



"Cairn India has always managed to create new frontiers, be it in local recruitment or focusing on improving the gender ratio through the recruitment process in a male-dominated industry," he told ET.

Aruna and Tharangini, recruited from local colleges, were the first women lab trainees to join the Cairn’s Ravva chemistry laboratory.

Despite extreme climate with temperature hovering around 50 degree celsius at these remote locations, the job environment is conducive, which is attracting more women. "Not for a moment have I felt out of place in this so-called male dominated field. I have received cooperation from all quarters and things have been as difficult or easy as my other colleagues," says geologist Jayayanti Basu Mallik, who has been with Cairn India since 2006.

Geology has limited career options in India — in research, geological surveys and oil industry, she pointed out.
Says Live Connections CEO Hema Subramaniam, the oil and gas sector has still not evolved as an industry that encourages the entry of women. For example, in the Gulf co-operative council region, the head-hunting firm found that the profile of a woman candidate for an HR function was rejected as the Abu Dhabi-based oil and gas company wanted to hire only a man for this role.

While Live Connections has done over Rs 1.2 crore business in the Gulf region between April 2008 and now, it finds that hiring women by this sector is still nascent.

Even ONGC is male terrain. Though women constitute around 5% of its 32,000 plus workforce, they are mostly engaged in non-technical disciplines. "It is men mechanical engineers, who become drilling engineers," said an ONGC official.

Women mechanical engineers are deployed in workshops and other establishments. ONGC refrains from deputing women staff offshore because of dormitory lodging arrangements. "However, a group gathering station (Navagam, Gujarat) — a collecting point for crude oil from many wells — is headed by a lady," he said.

Ms Namita Godharam, who joined Cairn in September 2007 in electrical department (operations), says her career choice has inspired many of her batchmates to consider this path.

To give the work-life balance, companies like Cairn India ensure that the employees onsite get the best of facilities be it in living quarters as well. The onsite employees are supported well, Mr Kumar said.

Kingfisher is top defaulter on fuel dues

Vijay Mallya Parties. We wondered where he is getting money to buy back Gandhi's Belongings and Frolicking with Miss Indias at GOA in new year. We have wondered how PSUs are USED as tools to SERVE Political Masters. We have always wondered how (pls someone tell me the exact %) 5% of people in INDIA hold on to 90% of wealth of this Country and why POOR remain Poor.. Well here is just one News item. Remember that Kingfisher owner is Rajya Sabha member and these people are powerful enough to make Govt Order PSUs to give what they want.

http://www.livemint.com/2009/04/03002000/Kingfisher-is-top-defaulter-on.html

Kingfisher Airlines owed around Rs1,000 crore to IOC, BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd as of February
Tarun Shukla, Utpal Bhaskar and P.R. Sanjai

New Delhi / Mumbai: On Tuesday, the last day of the fiscal year gone by and the deadline for closing out dues to state-run oil firms who supply it jet fuel, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, India’s largest carrier by passengers flown, missed making good the payments, ending fiscal 2009 with around Rs1,000 crore in arrears.

Airlines such as National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India and Jet Airways (India) Ltd, too, have missed some payments due to oil firms, but have dues much less than their bigger rival, said two executives at Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC).

“There are some delays and defaults by different airlines. They have agreed to pay in April on different dates. While some have paid, Kingfisher did not pay us anything after their last payment. They have written to us recently asking us for an extension till 10 April,” said a senior IOC executive, who asked not to be identified.

Separately, Kingfisher Airlines also missed paying Airports Authority of India (AAI) dues of at least Rs150 crore over use of the airports run by the regulator, a senior government official said. The airline was to make this payment to bring its dues with limits of its bank guarantees furnished to AAI.

As the consequence of missing the deadline for oil dues, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) has stopped selling jet fuel to Kingfisher Airlines on credit and instead moved to a so-called cash and carry arrangement, joining IOC in adopting a no-credit stance with the carrier, chaired and run by flamboyant millionaire Vijay Mallya.

The 31 March cut-off date was the sixth and last in a series of deadlines set out on 22 October, when the Union government allowed the country’s three largest carriers—Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines—to pay dues amounting to Rs2,962 crore over a period of six months to oil marketing firms.

The dues had accumulated and piled up, mostly in the first three quarters of 2008, as jet fuel prices scaled record highs through the year and peaked in August.

The staggered payment option was extended to the airlines, who had reported losses of a cumulative Rs2,888.13 crore in fiscal 2008. The deal, put together in the presence of oil minister Murli Deora and aviation minister Praful Patel, included fortnightly reviews of jet fuel prices instead of a monthly revision earlier, and offering a credit period of up to three months to help keep the airlines afloat.

But as the fiscal year came to an end, Kingfisher Airlines had not met its commitment, said a second IOC executive, who too asked not to be identified, even as Air India and Jet Airways had paid most of their dues by 31 March. It was not immediately clear how much these two carriers owed the firms.

Kingfisher Airlines owed around Rs1,000 crore to IOC, BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd as of February and there was no change, this executive added. Air India and Jet Airways have not paid interest on payments due, he added.

IOC, the country’s largest oil marketing firm, withdrew its credit facility to Kingfisher Airlines earlier this year, IOC chairman Sarthak Behuria had said in a 13 February interview. “I can only say that what you owe to me, you have to pay. If you don’t pay, you will be on (a) cash and carry basis,” he had said then.

Kingfisher Airlines, which has said it plans to raise $400 million (Rs2,012 crore), is now in talks with banks such as State Bank of India to raise up to Rs3,000 crore loans, said an executive with UB Group, of which the carrier is a part of, on condition of anonymity.

The deal, which is in the final stage of being signed, according to this executive, will help the airline meet its expenses and also help it pay its dues. Kingfisher is also trying to shore up funds from other private banks, he added.

Mallya on Thursday, when asked if his airline was in default of dues to oil firms, did not answer the specific question, instead telling reporters in Mumbai that all his aircraft were flying. Details of loans cannot be made public yet, he added. Kingfisher Airlines operates 400 daily flights with a fleet of 75 planes.

A spokesman for Kingfisher said the airline “does not wish to discuss or comment upon supplier relationships or banking arrangements” in response to emailed questions on dues.

Meanwhile, payment of interest on the dues continues to be a contentious issues between the airlines and the oil firms. The carriers say the issue was not discussed at the 22 October meeting with Deora, Patel, senior officials at both the oil and aviation ministries, and executives of the oil marketing firms, as also Mallya, Jet Airways executive director Saroj Dutta and Air India chairman and managing director Raghu Menon, in New Delhi.

Oil firms argue that is is understood that interest has to be paid on deferred payments.
On Thursday, senior officials at the aviation and oil ministries said they were not willing to intervene any more.

“It is for the oil marketing companies (OMCs) and the airlines to decide the issue. These are business decisions between them. The government had intervened when there were bad times for the airline industry. The time is different now,” said a top oil ministry official, who requested anonymity. “We have not been asked for any intervention in the matter by the OMCs.”
A senior civil aviation minister official, who asked not to be named, said it was a commercial issue that has to be dealt between two business entities.

Shares of Kingfisher Airlines rose 0.73% on the Bombay Stock Exchange to Rs34.55 each on a day the bourse’s benchmark index, the Sensex, surged 4.5%.
tarun.s@livemint.com

My dear Mr Vijay Mallya.. why do you not use your own funds on your Airlines instead of spending them on your women and drinks. Do please spare Public Money.

Nothing we got from CONGRESS

Nothing we got from Congress Govt.. and its Prime Minister and GOM and etc !!!!

The salary revision order is out finally.. Strike was killed.. PSU officers are Killed.. All the media bullshitting on Bonanza is false! Check the DPE orders on the IOOA Blog page. And see for yourself..

Friends in Colleges DO NOT JOIN PUBLIC SECTOR.. !! Except for Job Security there is NOTHING ELSE.. NO HIGH PAY NO HIGH MOTIVATION.
Govt will own you, bureaucrats will own you.. You will be nothing!!!