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Legacy of 115yrold Amrutanjan helps tide over slowdownK Nageswara Rao launched the first pain balm. Amrutanjan health care limited started in Bombay in 1893 and later shifted to Chennai. K Nageswara Rao who was also a wellknown freedom fighter popularized the brand by distributing it free at antiBritish rallies. During tough times, Amrutanjan\'s legacy is helping it tide over the slowdown.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Dec 2008 | 2:55 pm Sebi issues code of conduct for membersMarket regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has adopted a code of conduct on conflict of interest for its board members. The new Sebi code is in addition to existing provisions under Section 7 (A) of the SEBI Act, 1992.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Dec 2008 | 2:17 pm New York Times to freeze salary hikesPublishing firm New York Times Company has decided to freeze salary hikes for its non-union employees in the print and web sections.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Dec 2008 | 2:07 pm Bush may open bailout kitty for automakers - domain-B
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 2:02 pm Bailout failure: GM, Ford India image may sufferWith the bailout of the US\'s big three automakers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler falling through, how much of a hit will their Indian subsidiaries get? Also, how does a possible bankruptcy similar to that of Daewoo impact the Indian customer? CNBCTV18\'s Sumantra Barooah reports.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Dec 2008 | 1:54 pm IT margins to be hit as US gets tough with visasCompanies which found a way to overcome the shortage of H1B visas, are now going to find the going tough. That\'s because the alternate L1 visa they used to send employees to the US are now harder to come by. This will hit IT company margins.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Dec 2008 | 1:53 pm Hoteliers eye areas near BIAL to set shopDespite the slowdown and the recent terror attack, hoteliers are still eyeing the rich hospitality pie in Bangalore. Expansion is the name of the game, and the New Bengaluru International Airport is driving it full throttle.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Dec 2008 | 1:20 pm France, Italy eye Fiat-Peugeot tie-up - reportMILAN (Reuters) - France and Italy are considering a potential tie-up between automakers PSA Peugeot-Citroen SA and Fiat SpA, Milano Finanza newspaper said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Dec 2008 | 1:11 pm Kerala group to campaign against multinational food companiesThe organisers of a five-day food and agro biodiversity event, to be held here Dec 27-31, Saturday said they would start a campaign against multinational food companies once the event is over.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Dec 2008 | 1:03 pm Now get Aamir Khan's 'Ghajini' look at Van Heusen!After actor Aamir Khan's hairstyle in the much awaited movie 'Ghajini' became a rage, fashion brand Van Heusen has launched a similarly-named collection for today's uber-confident young men that is inspired by the movie.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Dec 2008 | 1:02 pm PM calls for private investment in science researchStressing that only 112 out of every million Indians are involved in scientific research, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday asked the private sector to spend more on research and development (R and amp;D).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Dec 2008 | 1:00 pm Set up an Industrial Development Bank in UK: Lord PaulWith recession looming on Britain in the wake of the global economic downturn, NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has proposed setting up of an Industrial Development Bank.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:47 pm Japan, China, South Korea unite on financial crisisFUKUOKA, Japan (Reuters) - Japan, China and South Korea agreed at a North Asia summit on Saturday to bolster cooperation to tackle the global financial crisis, putting aside decades of animosity.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:38 pm GMR Infra beats slowdown blues, looks to double road bizWhile most highway construction companies are thinking twice before bidding projects in such troubled times, Infrastructure major GMR is looking at doubling its business from roads and is actively pursuing projects in the bidding seasonSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:36 pm Photographs take centrestage at Saffronart winter online auctionModern art made a comeback and photographs took centrestage at Saffronart's Winter Online Auction of modern and contemporary art that grossed total sales of Rs.140 million (US$ 2.9 million).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:30 pm Factory output down 0.4%, first in 15 years - Livemint
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:21 pm Navy repulses attack on merchant vessel, nabs 23 piratesNew Delhi: In another successful anti-piracy operation, Navy warship Saturday repulsed an attack on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden and nabbed 23 Somali and Yemeni sea brigands, in a show of resolve to weed out the menace that affected maritime trade in the region. The pirates on two speed boats had surrounded the merchant vessel flying the Ethiopian flag around noon, when INS Mysore warship intervened and warded off the attack, Navy spokesperson said here. The pirates had fired at the merchant vessel with their small arms, when it sent out a rescue call and the Indian warship, which was sailing nearby moved its Marine Commandos on an helicopter to help the distressed cargo vessel, he said. The attack took place about 150 nautical miles off Aden and INS Mysore was about 13 nautical miles away from the merchant vessel when it picked up the SOS call. The Navy flew its Marine Commandos on helicopters to the scene of the pirate attack and rescued the ship. MV Gibe was later escorted to safety, he added. The Naval commandos also boarded the pirates’ boats and seized seven AK-47 assault rifles, two other rifles, a grenade launcher and 13 fully loaded magazines of ammunition from the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni pirates on board the two pirate boats. Further search for other pirates, who fled from the spot following the Indian Naval intervention, was in progress, the spokesperson said. Last month, Navy warship INS Tabar, a missile-frigate, had sunk a mothership of the pirates and had also rescued two merchant vessels that were under attack from the sea brigands. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:11 pm FIIs may get to trade in currency futuresMumbai: India’s capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), is all set to allow foreign institutional investors (FIIs)—the main driver of the Indian stock market—to participate in the country’s nascent currency futures market, according to two senior Sebi officials. The officials spoke on the condition they wouldn’t be identified. Sebi has already had discussions with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on this issue and both regulators have in principle agreed that FIIs will be allowed to enter the currency futures market, an RBI official also confirmed. He can’t be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media. The matter could potentially come up for discussion as early as Friday at a scheduled Sebi board meeting in Mumbai. Also See Rising Volumes (Graphic) If Sebi formally signs off, FIIs can hedge the forex risk on their investments in Indian equities on the exchange-traded platform. Currently, these investors are dependent on the larger but relatively less transparent over-the-counter (OTC) market, where banks quote prices on contracts. FIIs have taken out at least $12.5 billion (Rs62,375 crore) from Indian market in 2008 after investing $17.36 in Indian equities during 2007 and about $12 billion in 2006. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s (BSE) benchmark index, the Sensex, has lost about 56% since January. The value of FII investments in Indian stocks has eroded more than that since the Indian rupee has fallen about 20% against the dollar in 2008. If FIIs are allowed to hedge their position in the currency futures market, they will be able to protect their portfolio from the loss arising out of the erosion in the value of local currency. Separately, Sebi is also planning to raise the position limits for currency futures significantly. The quantum of hike is still under discussion but one Sebi official said it could be raised to as high as $100 million. On this issue too, both Sebi and RBI have held discussions. According to the existing guidelines, the position limits for a single client is $5 million or 6% of the open interest, whichever is higher. On 26 November, the open interest on currency futures at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the first entity to kick off the currency future trade, stood a tad above 170,000 contracts. Since the lot size of each contract is $1,000, the open interest was $170 million. So, the maximum position allowed for a single client, on Wednesday, was a little above $10 million. This limit is too low for the hedging needs of most large Indian companies and this has been keeping them away from this market. A hike in position limits will help attract these companies to participate in currency futures. Apart from the low limit, the so-called margin requirement is also a deterrent for the growth of the currency futures market. Companies are required to deposit 1.75% of the value of the contracts as margin with the exchange to trade in futures but such margins are not required for booking forward contracts through banks where companies pay a flat fee per contract. Mint couldn’t immediately ascertain whether Sebi will make any change in the margin requirements. One of the Sebi officials Mint spoke to said that the decision to allow FIIs was taken considering the stability and the rising volumes in the currency futures market. Initially, the limits were set low and FIIs were kept away “to avoid large guys manipulating at low volumes”, the official said. Daily turnover in the currency futures market was around 560,000 contracts, or $560 million, on 20 November, the highest in recent times. This is almost a 10-fold jump from around $50 million daily average turnover in this market, when it was kicked off in the last week of August. The average daily volumes at the forwards market in India is about $3.5 billion and that of non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) overseas is about $1 billion. NDFs are contracts that do not require settlement in dollars. India is the 17th largest foreign exchange and derivatives market in the world. The average daily turnover in the foreign exchange market has almost doubled, from $25.8 billion in 2006-07 to $48.1 billion in 2007-08, reflecting large international trade inflows. So far, currency futures are offered only in dollars. NSE is planning to introduce futures in other currencies such as the Japanese yen, euro, Chinese yuan and pound sterling to increase volumes on its platform. Apart from NSE, two other exchanges, BSE and the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd’s stock exchange, are allowed to float currency futures products. A fourth exchange, which is being set up by at least 12 banks, led by Kerala-based private lender Federal Bank Ltd and other financial institutions, has applied to Sebi for approval. Foreign exchange dealers have been saying that unless regulatory restrictions such as the $5 million cap and ban on trades by non-resident Indians, FIIs and mutual funds are relaxed, the market will not be liquid. They also said the currency futures market may face the same fate the interest rate futures market faced in 2003. Interest rate futures, introduced in June 2003, failed to take off as market participants were apprehensive of betting on futures in the absence of a reliable spot curve. The pricing benchmark was also not clear and there were only three products in the market—the 91-day treasury bill, 10-year zero coupon bond and 6% 10-year bond. Sebi and RBI have been talking about the reintroduction of interest rate futures in next few months. Meanwhile, the entry of FIIs will deepen the currency futures market manifold. Ravi Krishnan contributed to this story. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:54 am Parliament attack memories come alive on its 7th anniversaryNew Delhi: The gory memories of 2001 Parliament attack today came alive at a function to mark the martyrdom of the security personnel who laid down their lives to save the symbol of democracy. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani, Chairperson of United Progressive Allinance Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders of various political parties offered floral tributes. The widow and son of Ghanshyam Singh of Delhi Police were among others who offered flowers at the plaque put up on the spot of the encounter with the terrorists on 13 December, 2001. Advani later told reporters that the Mumbai mayhem was not a solitary incident but part of a war unleashed by terrorists two decades back. “The government must give a befitting reply to such attacks.” He said the entire world was looking forward to India to see how the resolution to fight terrorism recently adopted unanimously in Parliament was being implemented. Both Houses of Parliament had Friday paid tributes to the martyrs and recalled the supreme sacrifice by the security personnel in foiling the attempt of the terrorists. Five security personnel of Delhi Police, one woman constable of the CRPF and two security assistants of Parliament Watch and Ward section had died preventing the entry of terrorists into Parliament House. A gardener and a photojournalist too lost their lives. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:52 am White House promises auto rescue !The Bush administration declared it would step in to prevent the collapse of the US auto industry.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:42 am No respite from industry slowdown till 2009 end: Economists!The industrial production index, which contracted by 0.4 percent in October for the first time in 15 years, will continue to show a slowing trend till the end of 2009.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:42 am Canada announces USD 2.8 billion in auto sector aid!Canada has agreed to issue some 2.8 billion dollars in aid to the country`s auto sector once the United States agrees on a rescue plan for its carmakers, authorities said on Friday.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:42 am WTO drops plans for year-end Doha meeting!The World Trade Organisation (WTO) dropped plans on Friday to seek a breakthrough for a new trade deal this year, risking an increase in protectionism as the world economy suffers its worst crisis in decades.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:42 am Ecuador defaults, says to fight creditors!President Rafael Correa declared a default on Ecuador`s foreign sovereign bonds on Friday, vowing to fight "monster" debt-holders in court in one of most aggressive moves against investors in the region for years.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:42 am Asian powers in rare summit on economic crisis, NKorea!Leaders of China, Japan and South Korea were set for a rare joint summit on Saturday to try to shield Asia from the global economic crisis and break an impasse in stemming North Korea`s nuclear drive.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:42 am PNB to review housing loan rates as per govt package!Punjab National Bank (PNB) K C Chakrabarty today said it is already offering credit at 10 percent and would review the rates further after details of the package are made public.Source: Zee News : Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:42 am Weekly wrap: Sensex gains 725 pts - Sify
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:18 am Taj hotel to reopen Dec 21The Taj Mahal Palace and amp; Tower Hotel announced Saturday that it will reopen Dec 21, exactly 25 days after it was targeted by terrorists who India says came from Pakistan.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:02 am JSW Steel gets coal reserves for West Bengal projectSteel manufacturer JSW Bengal Steel has been allotted three reserves in West Bengal to source coal for its 10-million-tonne steel plant project at Salboni in the state, a top official said here Saturday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Dec 2008 | 11:00 am Stimulus helps equities retain gains during weekThe Indian equities market posted healthy gains during the week despite concerns about the troubled US auto market, with a key index gaining 724.87 points or 8.08 percent over its close Dec 5 thanks to the fiscal stimulus package the government announced Dec 7.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Dec 2008 | 10:30 am Goa doesn't need migrant labour: CIICiting the need for 'economic balance', industry lobby Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Goa's corporate sector have advocated recruiting locals over migrant labour in the state.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Dec 2008 | 10:30 am Genpact eyes Govt contracts, outsourcing dealsBPO major Genpact will pursue Government contracts next year and also target outsourcing deals from large nationalised companies in China, its CEO, Mr Pramod Bhasin, has said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Dec 2008 | 10:13 am ONGC, IOC join hands for exploration, marketingONGC and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) have joined hands for mutual cooperation in the fields of oil and gas exploration, production, and marketing.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Dec 2008 | 10:12 am BHEL expects cost pressures to ease from Q4The public sector power equipment major, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, which had earlier projected a growth of 2530 per cent for the current year, is today confident that it would end the year with not less than 30 per cent surge in sales.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 13 Dec 2008 | 10:10 am Bangalore to get Rs 100 crore nano-tech instituteBangalore would host a Rs 100 crore institute for nano science and technology on a 14-acre campus. Speaking at the second 'Bangalore Nano 2008' conference, Prof C N R RaoSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Dec 2008 | 9:54 am Palmolein and coconut oils rise on retailers' demandPalmolein and coconut oils rose up to Rs 50 per quintal in the national capital on pick-up in retailers demand against restricted arrivals.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Dec 2008 | 9:37 am Sebi looking at stricter entry rules for MF industry - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 9:30 am What can you do with 3G - Times of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 8:18 am Reliance adds 1.77 new telecom subscribers in NovMUMBAI (Reuters) - Reliance Communications added 1.77 million new mobile phone subscribers in November, taking its total user base to 59.57 million, a company spokesman said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Dec 2008 | 7:57 am For whom the Punjab highway toll?A 130-km long highway in Punjab seems to have hit potholes with many questioning why the road was handed over to a private operator who is collecting hundreds of rupees from motorists as toll fee every day.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 13 Dec 2008 | 5:00 am BHEL to invest Rs.10000 Crores - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 4:27 am Rupee falls amid choppy trade, ends at 48.43 - NDTV.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 13 Dec 2008 | 4:11 am U.S. rattled by auto bailout flop, Wall St fraudNEW YORK (Reuters) - The White House weighed emergency funding to avert collapse of the U.S. auto industry on Friday and buttress a financial system tested anew by possibly the biggest Wall Street fraud ever.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Dec 2008 | 1:55 am Madoff's alleged $50 bln fraud hits other investorsNEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors scrambled to assess potential losses from an alleged $50 billion fraud by Bernard Madoff, a day after the arrest of the prominent Wall Street trader.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Dec 2008 | 1:40 am Madoff fraud may not add up to $50 bln - expertsNEW YORK (Reuters) - When the dust settles, Bernard Madoff's alleged fraud could turn out to be closer to $20 billion than $50 billion, fund experts said on Friday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 13 Dec 2008 | 1:30 am Terror: Rhetoric and realityThe extensive debates on television talk-shows and opinion pieces in the print media over the Mumbai terror strikes have perhaps left the general public a little befuddled, if not outright confused. This is due, in no small measure, to all manner ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Corporate India gears up for a taste of politicsPune, Dec. 12 Running companies to playing a role in running the country may not have been the most logical progression, but a band of professionals with successful careers in the corporate world believe that this is the road to good governance.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Record wheat crop on cardsNew Delhi, Dec. 12 With Parliament elections due in the next 3-4 months, the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) can take heart from increased planting of most rabi crops this year, thereby enabling a further easing ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Negative show: Industrial output contracts in OctoberNew Delhi, Dec. 12 The Index for Industrial Production (IIP) has posted a negative growth of (-)0.4 per cent in October as against a robust 12.2 per cent in the same month last year. However, between April and October the index had grown by 4.1Source: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am IIP: Negative surprise for foreign investorsMumbai, Dec. 12 Indian equities reacted sharply to negative global cues and the poor Index of Industrial Production (IIP) figures for OctoberSource: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Axis Bank expanding in South, to increase headcountCoimbatore, Dec. 12 Axis Bank is in the process of expanding its branch network and upgrading its extension counters to branches in theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am BHEL expects cost pressures to ease from Q4Tiruchi, Dec. 12 The public sector power equipment major, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, which had earlier projected a growth of 25-30 per cent for the current year, is today confident that it would end the year with not less than 30 per centSource: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am US auto bankruptcy may hurt India’s component exportsNew Delhi, Dec. 12 Despite domestic component suppliers to General Motors, Ford and Chrysler ruling out a drastic impact of the rejection of the US auto bail out package, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) estimates that itSource: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am TCS may stretch working hours by half an hourMumbai, Dec. 12 IT professionals working with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will now spend more time at their workplaces, possibly as a fallout of the global economic crisis. The country’s largest software exporter has increased its workSource: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Markets ignore weak IIP data, recover on short coveringMumbai, Dec. 12 Indian equities tanked on Friday on news of the collapse of the US auto bail-out package, but bounced back to close on a flat note as traders covered their short positions.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 13 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am US asks India to clear the air on 3G - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 12 Dec 2008 | 11:09 pm Brokers using Buffettspeak to woo investors backThe Sage of Omaha has said that he is investing despite the downturn and that others should.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Dec 2008 | 10:24 pm Every 4th seat on flights vacant in NovAirlines continued to fly low in November with one in every four seats offered by airlines went unsold last month.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Dec 2008 | 10:23 pm Titan watches SE Asia as local headwinds get strongerTitan Industries Ltd, the world's fifth largest manufacturer and retailer of watches and jewellery, is evaluating the option of setting up exclusive outlets in Indonesia and Vietnam.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Dec 2008 | 10:21 pm Omaxe to buy distress land from AprilOmaxe Ltd, the Delhi-based real estate developer, is planning to restart its land-buying process from April to take advantage of the distress sales.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Dec 2008 | 10:19 pm After S Africa, Nalco shelves Saudi planState-owned National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) has done an encore with its Saudi Arabia plans, too, after failing to tie up coal for the project.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Dec 2008 | 10:17 pm MS readies location search engineNew engine will use keywords, landmarks to find addresses.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Dec 2008 | 10:15 pm Government could lift ban on futures trading in 4 farm products - Financial Express
Source: Google News India - Business | 12 Dec 2008 | 9:56 pm West Bengal rules out sops to Dunlop - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 12 Dec 2008 | 9:26 pm NEWSMAKER - Madoff's confounding success finally dissectedNEW YORK (Reuters) - An investor who recently met with Bernard Madoff to discuss the asset manager's gravity-defying success was particularly struck with the fact that his office was completely paperless.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Dec 2008 | 9:07 pm Cos defer advance tax, use funds for biz; IT not amusedThe Income Tax Department of Mumbai is witnessing an alarming trend. A large number of corporates are deferring their advance tax payment and the tax deducted at source is not being paid on time and instead is being being used for businesses purposes.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Dec 2008 | 9:01 pm WTO drops plans for year-end Doha meetingGENEVA (Reuters) - The World Trade Organisation (WTO) dropped plans on Friday to seek a breakthrough for a new trade deal this year, risking an increase in protectionism as the world economy suffers its worst crisis in decades.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Dec 2008 | 8:34 pm Give infrastructure tag to shipping: ministryBangalore: The shipping ministry wants ships to be tagged as infrastructure so that shipping firms can avail of funding and refinance pledged by government-backed lenders earlier this week for infrastructure developers, a ministry official said.  Better story: A ship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port. A decline in rentals has pulled down ship prices, and volatility in shipping equities has created opportunities for shipowners to buy assets at a discount. Ashesh Shah / Mint “We are drafting a proposal for granting infrastructure status to ships,” the official said on condition of anonymity. He added that the proposal will need the backing of the finance ministry, which is now headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after P. Chidambaram was appointed minister of home affairs. If the move is successful, the shipping industry will be able to avail of tax holidays and access to the same special funds currently available to firms operating in sectors that include roads, bridges, railways, seaports, airports, inland waterways, urban transport and infrastructure projects in special economic zones, among others. On 7 December, the government allowed India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd (IIFCL) to raise Rs10,000 crore through tax free bonds by March as part of an aid programme worth Rs32,000 crore to trigger infrastructure investments to stimulate the economy. Best time to buy The industry will be able to avail of tax holidays and will have access to special funds A steep decline in ship rentals in the past three months has pulled down ship prices, and volatility in shipping equities has created opportunities for ship owners to buy assets at a discount. A $20 billion (Rs97,400 crore) investment plan of local ship owners to replace parts of their ageing fleets and expand capacity has run aground due to embattled global banks, especially ship finance specialists in Europe, drastically reducing funding for new buys. “Infrastructure status will allow us to access infrastructure funds and loans for financing ship purchases,” said B.K. Mandal, finance director at state-run Shipping Corp. of India Ltd, the country’s largest ocean carrier. The firm plans to buy 40 ships worth close to $2.6 billion in the next four years. Mandal also said tax reduction was not the primary focus of local shipping firms because they are covered by the Tonnage Tax Act of 2004, under which ships are taxed on the volume of cargo they carry instead of corporate tax rates. As a result, these firms typically pay only 1-2% tax, against 30.9-33.9% other Indian companies pay. However, the local shipping industry claims that other taxes such as service tax, minimum alternate tax and sales tax on freight, besides others, offset the benefits from tonnage tax. According to the Indian National Shipowners Association (Insa), a body that represents India’s shipowners, local companies need to invest close to $20 billion in the next five years to replace parts of their fleets and comply with the stipulation of the International Maritime Organization, the global maritime regulator, to replace single-bottom tankers with double-bottom ones by 2010. Indian shipowners have already set aside a sum of at least $600 million in a reserve account to be used only for buying ships. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 7:43 pm Officers can get the boot after 20 years: reforms committeeNew Delhi: Civil servants who do not have a good track record or are found to be incompetent should be dismissed after 20 years in service, India’s Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) has suggested in a report released on Friday. The report entitled Refurbishing of Personnel Administration—released by commission chairman Veerappa Moily—recommends two comprehensive reviews of bureaucrats after they complete 14 and 20 years in service. ARC, set up by the central government, periodically recommends ways to improve public administration. “The first review of 14 years would primarily serve the purpose of intimating to the public servant about his/her strengths and shortcomings for his/her future advancement,” Moily told the media here. “The second review at 20 years would mainly serve to assess the fitness of the officer for his continuation in government service.” ARC’s latest and 10th report also recommends establishing a central civil services authority comprising five members. The authority would assign an area of expertise to civil servants after 13 years of service, the ARC suggests. Once a domain has been assigned, the officer’s postings would be by an large limited to that area. ARC also recommends restricting the permissible age to take civil service examinations to 21-25 years for general candidates, 21-28 years for other backward classes (OBC) candidates and up to 29 for scheduled caste or scheduled tribe (SC/ST) candidates. The current eligibility criteria allows an upper limit of 30 years for general candidates, 33 for OBC and 35 for SC/ST candidates. It also said the number of times a candidate is allowed to take the test be restricted to three, five and six for general category, OBC and SC/ST candidates, respectively. Currently, general category candidates can take the tests four times, OBC candidates can try seven times and SC/ST candidates can try as many times they want. The report also suggests the government establish institutes of public administration to run un undergraduate course in public administration. “I agree with the recommendations of the ARC report and think it will improve the system. Lowering the eligibility criteria is a particularly good idea as today we are recruiting the middle-aged and not the young for our civil services,” said former cabinet secretary B.K. Chaturvedi. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 7:42 pm TV ratings soar during Mumbai attacksMUMBAI (Reuters) - Millions of Indians stayed glued to television sets as a 60-hour siege in Mumbai played out in living rooms last month, more than doubling viewership ratings for news channels in the country.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Dec 2008 | 7:36 pm Talking lust and caution over canteen ‘chai’I don’t know if this happened to you but my college days seemed like a never-ending series of heated if unresolved debates. Whenever the guys—who us girls marooned in a women’s college could never seem to get enough of—came over for cultural festivals, a group of us would engage in long profound debates over cups of sugary chai in our college canteen. Topics ranged from “Is there a god?” to “Are ethics circumstantial?” Ayn Rand was a perennial favourite as was the provocative subject, “Is monogamy a natural or enforced state for humans?” The point of these debates was never winning, or even the topics. For us, sequestered at Women’s Christian College in Chennai, verbal jousting was a way of flirting; of engaging in eye-locks over the rim of speckled brown teacups; of taking the measure of a man and later, analysing if his square jaw was sexy. For us tightly corralled college students who came of age in the late 1980s, these debates were about as close as you could get to a date. At least in conservative Chennai.  Cheongasmic: Lust, Caution is an erotic thriller directed by Ang Lee, who won an Academy Award for Brokeback Mountain. Lust and danger in particular make for a compelling combination. Whether it be lingerie lines such as UK-based Agent Provocateur or the whole notion of spies who cross enemy lines to fall in love with each other, popular culture is full of this link between lust and danger. Hollywood has endlessly rehashed this theme of forbidden love right from the Cary Grant movies to the James Bond series. In my view, however, the directors who truly understand the nuances of lust and danger are Wong Kar-wai and Ang Lee, two Asian directors who operate in a global milieu. Normally my taste in movies is very low-brow. It runs pretty much to action movies with a dash of humour. The Rush Hour movies are a favourite as is the Lethal Weapon series. Being Tamilian, I have a fondness for Rajnikanth, particularly those movies in which his face morphs into a tiger’s. Along these lines, may I recommend what I consider a great comedy scene between Johnny Lever and a guy called “German” in the movie, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain? I’ve watched it a thousand times on YouTube. Also See Shoba’s previous Lounge columns Of late, I have been watching a bunch of movies from the Far East, starting with Memoirs of a Geisha and then on. Bit too artsy, but quite beautiful visually. Consider Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love, for instance. It is the kind of movie you should watch with your lover, if possible after a fight, for it is a great preamble to more tears or make-up sex. Who knew that high-collared, tight-waisted Chinese dresses could be so sexy? As brooding journalists caught in loveless marriages and veering towards an affair with each other, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai match Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca—at least in my book. Shigeru Umebayashi’s background score is a masterpiece of poignancy, with achingly high violins drawing out the sorrow of the situation. The cigarette-shrouded cinematography is an ode to old Shanghai. In her stunning cheongsams, or qi pao as they are sometimes called, Cheung is a metaphor for unrequited love. Even though she reeks respectability in the movie, she is, as my nephew said, “totally hot”. I thought that Leung was not bad either. He is all restraint and accusation with controlled gestures and gelled hair, quite in contrast to his boyish humour and British accent at press conferences. The other movie that marries lust with danger is Ang Lee’s aptly titled Lust, Caution. Again, it features Tony Leung Chiu-wai pitted against ingenue Tang Wei. This time Tang Wei is on the opposite side of the ideological equation. She is enlisted to seduce Leung so that he can be assassinated. Taiwanese director Ang Lee uses Japanese-occupied Shanghai and the Kuomintang as background for a story that is intensely about one man’s lust for a woman and her intended betrayal. I won’t give away the plot here but let me just say that Chinese author Eileen Chang, who wrote the story that formed the basis of this movie, was a woman ahead of her time. Like Nobel prize winning Austrian author, Elfriede Jelinek’s novel, The Piano Teacher, Chang’s work is explicitly sexual, even violent—unusual for a Chinese woman. Let me warn you: These are not movies for the Xbox generation. But if you are in the right mood, they can, like monsoon clouds, deliver that bitter-sweet emotion called unrequited love. Shoba Narayan is up for a debate about Ayn Rand and free will anytime. As long as she gets a cup of “single tea” in a speckled brown cup with malai floating on top, preferably in a college canteen. Write to her at thegoodlife@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 7:28 pm Beyond the blingI’m in Festival City, a waterfront resort in Dubai. Queen is about to perform with Paul Rodgers and I have to pinch myself to believe that they are here. Admittedly, I could be at a gig where the band has a little more spring than strain in its onstage antics—Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas is singing only 30km away—but in the new must-see, must-do Dubai, I think I came up trumps in the ticket stakes. “Not long ago, Dubai’s culturescape was beyond barren,” says Esperanca de Souza, a lifelong resident of the city and a self-confessed culture vulture. “Now, the events calendar virtually heaves with festivals, celebrating everything from cinema and jazz to art and literature.”  Soul singer John Legend scheduled to perform at the Desert Rock Festival. Keith Bedford / Bloomberg It’s a dream come true for Padma Coram, co-founder of Talent Brokers, one of the first entertainment companies to invite international acts to Dubai. “In 1996, when I wanted to host one of London’s most venerable dance brands here, I was told, ‘We’ve heard of a ministry of education or a ministry of defence, but what is Ministry of Sound?’ The UAE today is a completely different country,” she says. Also See Trip Planner / Dubai (Graphic) In less than 10 years, Dubai has welcomed every kind of celebrity from Justin Timberlake to the Russian ballet and Anish Kapoor to Oliver Stone. “When I came to Dubai in the 1990s, everyone wanted to hang out in shopping malls,” says Didier Brun, the newly appointed CEO of Khaleej Times. “The fact that we have a weekly TimeOut is a sign that Dubai has come a long way.” Located strategically between the East and West, Dubai is now living up to its reputation as the most liberal of the Islamic city-states and boasts of a packed calendar this winter. “With close to 30,000 attendees last year, our jazz fest is truly one of the most popular in the Middle-East,” says Anthony Younes, managing director for Chillout Productions, organizers of the Skywards International Dubai Jazz Festival. In its seventh year, the fest is all about kicking back on grassy knolls, nestling in beanbags and indulging in improv and fusion performances by the likes of Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jamie Cullum or, in 2009, James Blunt and John Legend. Dubai’s rock culture is also on the up. The much-anticipated Desert Rock Festival in March is as much about heavy metal mosh-masters playing to rock-starved crowds as it is about kooky sideshows. “There’s a lot of metalheads in the Middle-East and they all come flocking to Dubai,” says Mathilde Montel of Centre Stage Management. “We’ve grown from a 3-hour concert to a two-day festival.” In the past, Dubai Desert Rock has seen Velvet Revolver, Muse and Korn sandblast the airspace and the organizers have gone further to develop an urban music festival and a back-to-school festival, simply to meet growing demand. In terms of art, too, Dubai has gone for broke. “A few years ago, there was a single museum and a handful of serious art galleries,” says Tarane Ali Khan of Third Line Art Gallery. “Today, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a hundred!” Third Line and others have initiated a focus on West Asian, South Asian and African painting, photography, sculpture and installation art. Christie’s and Bonhams, renowned British art auctioneers, have moved in sharpish. “People in this part of the world are certainly not neophytes when it comes to art,” says Matthew Girling, chief executive for Bonhams Europe and Middle East. “There’s a great willingness by the government and the people of this city to participate in the world art market. They’re very sophisticated.” Without a doubt, the showstealer is Art Dubai, a three-day fair showcasing works from at least 30 countries and, in particular, heavyweight galleries such as the White Cube, Continua and Chemould Prescott Road. Held at the Madinat Jumeirah resort, the fair exhibits works by legendary and upcoming artists across spacious rooms, a canal and over Arabian wind towers. “The fact is that there was a degree of seriousness and a commitment towards contemporary art in the UAE,” says John Martin, one of Art Dubai’s co-founders. “An art scene is not something you can buy or import into a city because then it has no character. It has to be built by the people who live here.” Dubai continues to be synonymous with glitz, glamour and petro and real estate dollars but its international festivals have scaled considerable heights in a relatively short time. “Glamour and film festivals go hand-in-hand but we’re making a concerted effort to grow films as not just entertainment but as an art form too,” says Majid Wasi of the Dubai International Film Festival. The 5th Dubai International Film Festival will screen at least 180 films from 65-odd countries and will no doubt attract the usual pack of Hollywood heart-throbs and onscreen legends. “I remember, when we first brought Elton John here,” reminisces Coram. “No one recognized him at the Gold Souk and he was so thankful to be able to shop in peace.” Ahh...the good old days. Next Up *Dubai International Film Fest: Till 18 December. Visit www.dubaifilmfest.com for schedules and tickets. *DJ Judge Jules at the Chaos Dance Party: 31 December At Madinat Arena. *Maxim Shostakovich conducts Dmitri Shostakovich: 10 January At Emirates Palace Auditorium, Abu Dhabi. * Skywards Dubai International Jazz Fest: 18-27 February At Dubai Media City. Visit www.dubaijazzfest.com for tickets. * Dubai Desert Rock Festival 2009: 6-7 March At Dubai Mall. Visit www.desertrockfestival.com for details. *Art Dubai: 18-21 March At Madinat Arena. Visit www.artdubai.ae for details. *Zubin Mehta in concert: 6-7 April At Al Jahili Fort and Emirates Palace Auditorium. Unless otherwise mentioned, visit http://www.itp.net/tickets/ for tickets and full schedule. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 7:00 pm Factory output down 0.4%, first in 15 yearsNew Delhi: India’s economy could expand at a much lower rate than estimated with data released on Friday showing that industrial output in October contracted by 0.4%, the first time this is happening in 15 years, because of a decline in both domestic and external demand. Industrial output grew 12.2% in October 2007. The sharp fall is likely to increase pressure on the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to undertake another round of policy measures to boost domestic demand. Also See FREE FALL (Graphic) Data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on Friday showed that in the first seven months of this fiscal year (April-October), the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 4.1% compared with 9.9% during the same period a year ago. The output of the manufacturing sector, which accounts for around 80% of IIP, shrank 1.2% in October, while those of the electricity and mining sector rose 4.4% and 2.8%, respectively. And while the output of intermediate goods and consumer goods companies fell, those of companies in the basic and capital goods sectors registered weak growth. Economists here do not expect the factory output numbers to get better in a hurry. “Industrial production may somehow perform better in coming months. But for a country like India, any sub-5% growth in industrial output is pathetic. Industry should grow at around 9-10%,” said Dharmakirti Joshi, principal economist with credit rating agency Crisil Ltd. His estimate of industrial output in 2008-09 is 5%. Also See BASE EFFECT (Graphic) Samiran Chakraborty, chief economist of ICICI Bank, said the poor performance in IIP in October has been magnified due to the unfavourable base effect, a reference to the fact that the index is measured year-on-year and was at a high last October. “It is possible that the November IIP number would benefit from a somewhat positive base effect and for the rest of the year we could anticipate some trickle-down impact of monetary and fiscal stimulus. However, it is unlikely that a sustained industrial revival will take place in an era of global financial constraints and growth recession,” he added. “Given poor credit availability and high interest rates, demand conditions will not improve. That problem remains,” said Siddhartha Roy, chief economist, Tata group. The slowdown in exports too has added to the fall in demand, especially in businesses such as textiles. Data from the commerce ministry shows that exports fell 12% in October, the first time this is happening in five years. Initial indications are that November, too, may be a bad month for industrial production. Passenger car sales declined 19% in November, the most in at least five years, with tighter lending by banks and a slowing economy hurting demand. Goldman Sachs economist Tushar Poddar said in a statement: “Preliminary exports data point to another month of negative growth. We therefore expect overall activity to be sharply lower in the second half of FY09, after growing by 7.8% in the first half. Our estimate for GDP growth remains below consensus at 6.7% y-o-y (year-on-year) for FY09 with further downside risks, and 5.8% for FY10.” The World Bank said on 10 November that the Indian economy would grow 5.8% in calendar 2009. Economists expect more monetary easing by RBI to boost domestic consumption through lower interest rates. Though the central bank has aggressively cut policy rates since October, high deposit rates and uncertainties have prohibited private commercial banks from reducing interest rates. “There is scope for further monetary easing, but little scope for more fiscal measures. The central bank may further cut repo (the rate at which it releases money into the system) and reverse repo (the rate at which it takes out money from the system) rates by 50 bps (basis points) before the January policy review,” said Joshi. One basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point. RBI governor D. Subbarao recently warned that India faces a period of “painful adjustment” after the global financial crisis froze credit markets in October, further weakening an economy struggling with high borrowing costs. Subbarao said the bank’s growth forecast for 2008-09 was likely to be cut from 7.5-8% in its January policy review. Late last week, India joined the ranks of countries that have provided a fiscal stimulus to the economy by announcing its own, worth around Rs32,000 crore. The move came in the wake of another effort by RBI to make easier credit available for companies and individuals by reducing its policy rate. Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 7:00 pm Saving time and moneyI am a utility reader and writer. If it doesn’t make you think, I don’t read or write it. If I need entertainment, I go for movies or listen to music. It follows that I have an interest in personal improvement and productivity. Hence I tend to visit websites and blogs of that nature. Some of my favourites: *Personal Finance www.thesimpledollar.com On his website, Trent Hamm talks about improving your personal finances. Hamm also writes detailed reviews of books related to both personal finance and entrepreneurship/self-improvement. The site hosts a number of downloadable books such as 31 Days To Fix Your Finances and quirky tips to save money by making your own bread and detergent! A must-read. www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com Ramit Sethi’s blog is US-centric but there are a lot of tips and discussions on how to be prudent with money and personal finance planning. In addition to blogposts, the Stanford graduate and start-up entrepreneur has newsletters and video interviews that will help budding entrepreneurs and those looking to save a little extra. *Productivity www.lifehacker.com Technology should help you lead a better life rather than make you use more technology. And this is the website that shows how to use technology. Part of the popular Gawker blog network, Lifehacker has advice and tips on saving time. Look for links to great Windows, Mac and Linux applications that help you do just that. It’s all about the blog’s official motto: Don’t live to geek; geek to live. www.calnewport.com/blog/ Called the “Study Hacks” blog Newport writes about the productivity hacks he uses and how to become a better student. Although meant for students, we can all use the advice here because today’s jobs require us to continuously learn and improve our skills. * Design www.yankodesign.com A website which highlights fresh and new ideas from all over the world. Very inspiring. Shows that the world is not limited in ideas but in people who can bring these ideas to life. Great for industrial design buffs, geeks and fans of great photography. *Marketing sethgodin.typepad.com Seth Godin is now an Internet phenomenon. His insightful blog, among the most popular on the Web, focuses on many aspects of running a business and creating products and how they affect the brand and marketing. Swaroop C.H. is the author of two open source textbooks on Python and Vim 7. He is also co-founder of Ionlab (www.ionlab.in), a geeky product design and marketing firm. He blogs at http://www.swaroopch.com/posts. Write to lounge@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:47 pm Many car makers plan January price risePotential car buyers celebrating price cuts after the government slashed central value added tax four percentage points last week may be in for a jolt.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:44 pm In the house of puppets Also See More photographs (I) More photographs (II) Photographs by Zackary Canepari Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:43 pm Mutual funds keen to buy FCCBsMutual funds are considering buying Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) of Indian companies that are trading at discounts of 30 to 40 per cent to their face value on the assumption that theseSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:43 pm Govt to move court to allow RIL third-party gas salesIn an interesting turn of events, the government will shortly move the Bombay High Court requesting it to vacate an interim stay order that restrained Reliance Industries from selling gas from theSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:42 pm Factory output shrinks for first time in 15 yrsDemands from experts and industry lobby groups for stronger fiscal and monetary measures strengthened after the government data today showed that Indias industrial production dipped 0.4 perSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:41 pm Web designmasala chai Pavitra, 24, hails from Chennai and took her freelance writing career online when she began blogging on Indian designers just over a year ago. She Pop art: (left) A postcard from Lokesh Karekar’s collection; (right) T-shirt designs.started out of necessity, as she couldn’t find any other platform for new and emerging visual art from the subcontinent. Her posts are on topics ranging from desi comic books to new product launches to art auctions. The posts are long on photos but quick on words. She offers her impressions, why she likes them, and then leaves the readers to ingest the work on their own. “Great design and good art have the ability to change the way you think and feel, just like a great song,” she says. TODAY’S POST: He had me at ‘loco’ Lokesh Karekar’s artistic skills are nothing short of superb. This JJ Institute of Applied Arts alumnus knows a thing or two about design. One look at his stylized Indic script illustrations or even the rendering on his desi-hip T-shirt brand locopopo, is all you need to be convinced of this fact. In a sublime mix of austere line drawings and intensely hued folksy vectors, you see a glimpse of Karekar’s visual identity. When quizzed about what inspires him, Lokesh dutifully pays tribute to his city Mumbai, among other things. Visit www.locopopo.com for more. Leave your comments at www.masalachaionline.blogspot.com ********************** artnlight Vineeta Nair discovered the world of design bloggers during a random Google search for art. “What bowled me over was the generosity with which information,  Nature inspired: Add wooden accents and Grecian accessories for an Artemis-inspired look. TODAY’S POST: Goddess To her from whom we derive our strength, our powers, our vision, our grace, where does she dwell? In our dreams, our inspiration, Our breath, our space? — Vineeta Nair I am about to share with you a book which has long been a favourite: Goddess at Home by A. Bronwyn Llewellyn. This book introduces us to the seven Greek goddesses—Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Hera, Hestia and Persephone—and explains how you can infuse your home with a divine grace worthy of the goddess in you. The book offers specific characteristics of each goddess and her symbolism along with examples of ways to welcome her into your home by adding specific objects, colours, patterns or motifs reminiscent of her. Also See: Chatterboxes (PDF) In a recent post I featured Goddess Athena and how you can bring home her spirit of art and wisdom. Today, I want to speak of my favourite goddess, Artemis—the goddess of all things natural, wild, free and independent. The spirit of Artemis lives in many adventurous, self-knowing women, including Jane Goodall, Amelia Earhart, or Georgia O’Keefe. Llewellyn writes “Although Artemis shared the quality of strength with other goddesses, she possessed an untamable individuality. She knew her own nature well and honoured it. So create a space that announces who you are, where you come from and where you are going. Make it personal; use things that resonate at the core of your being. Don’t be swayed by others’ opinions and choices. Exercise your intuition… To summon Artemis, invite nature into the den in all its wildness. Add a vase of tangled twigs or aromatic silvery Artemisia, unrefined containers of clay, drilled stones or wooden containers. This goddess roamed fearlessly through moonlit thickets. Step boldly into colour realms you may have been too timid to try. Consider warm umber or delicate bamboo, add a woodsy hue of oak or gleaming chestnut.” Decorate like Artemis • Cover your floor with natural fibres such as coir or jute. • Frame sketches depicting nature’s beauty in every leaf, petal and stem. • Use natural containers of bamboo canes, twigs and basketry for magazines and other storage. • Display photographs of your travel to exotic places, whether a continent away or the next town. • Collect your found objects and souvenirs in a bookcase, whichever objects denote the life you have or the life you want. Symbols of Artemis • Moon, particularly the crescent • Bow and arrows • Mirror, for its clarity of self-knowledge • Roads and harbours Artemis’ colours • Earth tones and colours of deep woods • Sun-drenched meadows • Saffron and red • Silver • White Leave your comments at www.artnlight.blogspot.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:41 pm Moily panel suggests drastic changes to make bureaucrats accountableSuggesting drastic changes in the service rules of government servants, an official panel headed by senior Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily has recommended that government servants should be sacked after 20 years of service if found unfit to continue.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:31 pm But seriouslyNew Delhi-based Gallery Art Motif’s annual group show for this year features drawings by Indian artists, ranging from established masters and senior artists to up-and-coming names. The show has been divided into two parts. The first one, called Contemporary Drawings I, features artists born before 1947 and includes works by Satish Gujral, Sudhir Patwardhan, Ganesh Haloi, Ram Kumar and Arpita Singh. Most of the drawings have been made in the last couple of years and all the works, including those made earlier, are being exhibited for the first time. The second part, showing drawings by the younger set of artists (born post-1947), will open shortly after the first one concludes.  Mixed Media: Fishing Village, charcoal and pigment on paper by Delna Dastur. Gallery Art Motif This is in full evidence at the gallery—an array of mediums and instruments has been employed on a variety of surfaces to create the drawings, and part of the show’s appeal lies in seeing how these elements have been used in different permutations and combinations to create very different kinds of works. Patwardhan and Gopi Gajwani’s choice of charcoal on paper seems just right to depict their quotidian scenes of couples, crows and footwear in decidedly modest settings; K.M. Adimoolam has used pen and ink to sketch gods and demigods straight out of old temple walls, their casual lines and vacant eyes imbuing them with exoticism; Gujral has used pencil on rice paper for his handsome, classically contemporary drawing of horses and a latter-day charioteer; and Sheila Makhijani’s enigmatically titled ‘HMPHZ’ uses gouache (opaque watercolour) on paper to create a delicate ethereal abstraction. Ram Kumar has used a palette knife—meant for mixing and applying paint—and acrylic paint to make his drawings, and Kriti Arora, as gallery director Mala Aneja mentions, has used tar to draw on canvas. (Her drawing will be on display in the second part of the show.) One can also see from these works that drawing, in all its variety, lends itself to a certain lightness in approach, even whimsy (though nowadays these qualities are not lacking in paintings and sculptures either). K.G. Subramanyan’s minimalist crayon naga sadhus seem deliberately offhand, and Madhvi Parekh’s set of four portraits in ink look more like extended and witty doodles. But a light approach shouldn’t be mistaken for a “slight” approach—these are all fully realized pieces. “Drawing is an important genre, and the basis for a lot of art,” says Aneja, “It is also an independent art form in its own right.” She says drawings have always been sought and prized by serious collectors. Presented with such a variety, it is only natural to wonder what defines drawing and what distinguishes it from, say, a painting. As the show amply demonstrates, there can be no one definition or a set standard. Artists and art lovers say that you can tell that an artwork is a drawing when you look at it. To the inquisitive novice’s rescue then comes Dutta’s excellent and illuminating essay in the show’s catalogue which explains just what makes a drawing a drawing. Contemporary Drawings I will be on view from 14 December to 11 January at Gallery Art Motif, F 213 C, Lado Sarai, New Delhi. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:23 pm Exclusive excerpt | House of terrorMuridke, Pakistan: You are in an educational complex but you are from India and you work for Tehelka, so it will take you time to change your mind,” is what Abdullah Muntazir (my guide and the spokesperson for the foreign media) threw at me within minutes of us reaching Muridke, believed worldwide to be the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). It was, perhaps, the first time that due permission had been granted to an Indian journalist to visit the sprawling campus that lies 40km out of Lahore. The barricade that leads to the complex is heavily guarded, and no one can enter without prior consent. The guided tour took me through a neatly laid out 60-bed hospital, schools for boys and girls, a madarsa, a mosque, an exorbitantly large swimming pool and a guest house. Nestled between tall trees and a meshed wire boundary, the 75 acre complex has manicured lawns, turnip farms and a fish breeding centre. The students who enrol in the school pay a fee while those who study in the madarsa and pass out as masters in Islamic studies can come for free. Learning English and Arabic from class I on is compulsory, as is a course in computers. “Welcome to the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. You think a terrorist organization will be based just a few metres away from the main Grand Trunk Road?” is the next loaded statement. The administrators of the complex, drawn from LeT’s political wing, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), are clearly at pains to dissociate themselves from the group widely believed to be behind the terror attack in Mumbai on 26 November. Other foreign journalists were guided through the complex a few days before my visit. During their orchestrated tour, they saw students working in chemistry and physics laboratories, peering into microscopes and connecting electric circuits.  Continent in crisis: The storming of the Lal Masjid led to a sharp increase in suicide bombings in Pakistan. Aamir Qureshi / AFP A day after I visited Muridke, I met a family whose sister-in-law lives right next to the complex. “But of course it’s a training ground. You can hear slogans for jihad blaring out of loudspeakers in full volume and you can also sometimes hear the sound of gunfire,” members of this family confided. But during the 2 hours that I spent within the complex, there was enough conversation about jihad even if there were no signs of it being a sanctuary, not just for LeT, but for Ramzi Yousef, an Al Qaeda operative, and one of the conspirators of the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing. Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist who was captured alive in Mumbai, is supposed to have studied here, according to his interrogators, and it’s time to ask some straight questions. So did Kasab study here, in Muridke? Even if he did, we are not responsible for what any one of our students do after passing out. Do you support the Lashkar-e-Taiba? We used to. You used to? Yes, we were like-minded, but the group was banned after Indian propaganda following the attack on its Parliament, which was done by the Jaish-e-Mohammad and not LeT. We used to provide logistical help to the Lashkar, collect funds for them and look after their publicity. Did you also provide them with arms? They must have bought weapons with the money we gave them. They were obviously not using the money to buy flowers for the Indian Army. The Lashkar has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Red Fort in Delhi and the airport in Srinagar. We do not consider Kashmir to be a part of India. It is a part of Pakistan. Those who attack the security forces are not terrorists, they are freedom fighters. President Pervez Musharraf moved away from the position that Kashmir either secede or be given independence. He proposed joint control. Musharraf did not have any legitimacy. He had no business making such proposals. Do you consider India an enemy? Without doubt. India is responsible for the attack on Islamabad’s Marriott hotel, (and) for the bomb blasts in Peshawar. Sarabjit Singh has been convicted of being a RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) agent. Your Amir, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, has given calls for jihad. He supports the freedom movement in Kashmir. We think it is right. It is ridiculous to call him a terrorist. Even when India is pricked by a thorn, the whole world stands up. Why did Condoleezza Rice not put pressure on India for handing over Narendra Modi after the Gujarat carnage? Kashmir is no longer entirely indigenous. Foreign fighters such as Maulana Masood Azhar were arrested in Anantnag. He was a journalist and still is an inspirational writer. Anyone from here can go to Kashmir. We don’t see it as part of India. Did you sanitize this place before bringing me in? This is an educational complex and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa is a charitable organization. There are very few people here because of the Eid break. Does ISI support you? He just laughs. **** The Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which was banned by the US in 2005 for being a Lashkar front, draws patronage from ISI and though proscribed abroad, has a free run in Pakistan. It has branches all across the country, and is as famous for the social work it renders as it is infamous for its terror activities. It sees itself as a movement and not an organization and holds appeal for many in rural and urban areas. When a correspondent from UK newspaper The Observer went to Kasab’s village in Faridkot, just off a town called Depalpur close to the border with India, to establish if he indeed was a Pakistani, he was told that “religious clerics were brainwashing youths in the area and that LeT’s founder Hafiz Saeed had visited nearby Depalpur. There was a LeT office in Depalpur, but that had hurriedly been closed down in the past few days. The LeT paper is distributed in Depalpur and Faridkot”.  (From left to right) An undated picture of Saeed attending a meeting in Islamabad; Benazir Bhutto on the day she was assassinated in Rawalpindi. AFP/ Reuters Its appeal extends to urban professionals including doctors, who were out in large numbers in Muzaffarabad (the capital of Azad Kashmir or Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, depending on which side of the line of control you are on) in 2005, after a devastating earthquake. Unlike the Taliban, the Jamaat is modelled after Hamas and is not merely an army with gun toting members but a complex and intricate organization with a social and political agenda. It has a huge following and reports have often indicated that in its annual congregations, where Hafiz Saeed gives a call for jihad, as many as 100,000 people are present in the sprawling Muridke compound. It is groups such as the Jamaat and the Jaish-e-Mohammad—started by Maulana Masood Azhar soon after he was set free in Kandahar—that both India and Pakistan are up against. But Pakistan first. Jamaat-ud-Dawa sees itself as a movement and not an organization and holds appeal for many in rural and urban Pakistan The storming of the Lal Masjid was a tipping point in more ways than one. If the release of Masood Azhar and the subsequent formation of the Jaish saw the advent of fidayeen attacks in Kashmir, the Lal Masjid operation led equally to the birth of intense attacks by suicide bombers. The suicide attacks were not just targeting civilians, they were seeking men in uniform and the figures, in fact, tell the story. The first half of 2007 saw 12 such attacks all over Pakistan between January and 3 July, and an estimated 75 people were killed. But after the Lal Masjid operation, which reduced large parts of it to rubble, 44 suicide attacks took place between July and December, killing 567 people, mostly members of the military and paramilitary forces, ISI and the police. December also saw the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a grim reminder of the fact that the militants had declared a war against their ex-masters. The attack on Islamabad’s Marriott hotel, the city’s most high-profile landmark, only confirmed the fact that terror can strike at will, anytime and anywhere. It confirmed also that terror was not restricted to Pakistan’s tribal belt alone. Musharraf himself had, in fact, survived three assassination attempts and now lives under extremely tight security. The terror threat in Pakistan can be gauged from the fact that, for the first time ever, both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani offered Eid prayers at their respective residences on 9 December. The wave of suicide attacks in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan does not just testify to the revival of Al Qaeda and the Taliban networks, but as Ahmed Rashid, strategic writer and author of several books on the jihadi networks, says, “The army is embroiled in fighting these forces in the Frontier and one-third of the country is not even in the state’s control. This is hardly the time to pick a fight with India.”  Kasab’s journey from a remote village in Faridkot to Mumbai is a testimony to this. So is his revelation to his interrogators that he was trained by a “major”. Zardari may have been right when he attributed the Mumbai attack to “non-state actors” because the major does not necessarily have to be a serving officer employed with ISI. “Retired ISI officers are helping the Pakistani Taliban and they have become more Lashkar than the Lashkar,” is how Rashid puts it, but any number of strategic and security analysts will testify to this dangerous trend—to how ex-ISI officers are still in business because they have now attached themselves as advisers to militant organizations such as the Lashkar and the Jaish. Admits one such analyst, who prefers not to be named, “You don’t need large training camps. Ex-servicemen are imparting arms training within the compounds of their homes. Different officials are attached with different groups.” The switch from one alias to another—Lashkar-e-Taiba, Markaz-e-Taiba, Markaz-e-Dawah-Irshad, Jamaat-ud-Dawa—speaks of the Establishment’s (the army and ISI combine) more than subtle support of groups that are used against India. The long-standing relationship between the Establishment and India-bound militants is now under pressure. The overriding message from the US after the Mumbai attack is for these groups to be reined in. This is testing not just the army’s carefully crafted support for the militants, but has also focused attention on yet another faultline—the equation between the Establishment and the civilian government. Committed to better relations with India, Pakistan’s top-most civilian representatives responded instinctively to the horror in Mumbai, in keeping with what Zardari had said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, held a few days before the gun and grenade battles at Nariman House and the Taj and Oberoi hotels. In what took the Indian government by surprise, Zardari committed Pakistan to a no-first-use of nuclear weapons. It was the first major security-related statement to come from Pakistan’s government after the 18 February election and more than just surprise the Indian government, it caused unrest amongst its own Establishment. The next statement, made by Prime Minister Gilani and confirmed through a press release issued by his office, pertained to the civilian government agreeing to sending its top most ISI officer, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha to India on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s request. The sequence of events following Gilani’s offer and Zardari’s quick retraction, saying they had agreed to send a director and not director general Pasha, in fact speaks of the internal battle of supremacy between the Establishment and the civilian authorities, especially on the crucial issue of national security, which the army believes to be its exclusive domain. As Imtiaz Alam, a peacenik and head of the South Asian Free Media Association, who had dinner with Zardari a day after the Mumbai attack put it, “Zardari is very firm on terrorism. He thinks democracy is a better weapon but the terrorists have succeeded in creating a psychological gulf between India and Pakistan. Instead of Pakistan fighting the jihadis, it has become a fight between India and Pakistan.” Senior journalists in Pakistan admit that briefings from ISI changed the post-Mumbai discourse. Reacting perhaps to the loud, jingoistic demands on Indian television channels for action against Pakistan, ISI told a select group of journalists that India had in fact “summoned” their chief. JuD chief, Hafiz Saeed—with a clear nod from his handlers—appeared on one news channel after another, making the same points—that the list of 20 most wanted, which also includes him, was old hat; that India was playing the blame game without evidence; that India had its own band of “Hindu terrorists”; and India should give freedom to Kashmir and end the matter once and for all. The leak soon after, of the hoax call, purportedly made by minister of external affairs Pranab Mukherjee to President Zardari, sealed the debate—India bashing was back in business. Jingoism overtook the more important debate of the threat Pakistan itself faced from terror networks flourishing on its soil. Pakistan’s news channels went on overdrive and as some even blared war songs, the question that gained importance through all the din was who really runs Pakistan—who is in control? The answers to the questions are both easy and complex. Says Mushahid Hussain, chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee in the Senate: “War on terror, national security and relations with India, Afghanistan and China are the domain of the army. Thanks to India, the army has been rehabilitated and the war bugles are all over. No one person, no one institution is running Pakistan. Musharraf ran a one window operation and the army and ISI used to report to him, but now decision-making is murky and that is causing confusion. The hoax call and the DG ISI controversy are symptomatic of that.” There are other examples. Only a few months ago, Zardari quickly retracted on his effort to bring ISI under the control of the interior ministry. And even as the Pakistan government’s response to Indian pressure to rein in the terror networks plays itself out on a day-to-day basis, it is evident that civilian authorities have had to embrace the Establishment’s point of view vis-a-vis India. Therefore, the talk that India should provide concrete evidence. Therefore, Zardari’s statement that the guilty—if found guilty—will be tried on Pakistani soil. That the 20 most wanted will not be handed over. Even on sourced reports put out in the local media that Masood Azhar had been put under house arrest, Prime Minister Gilani went on record to say that no such report had come to him yet. If India believes that Pakistan’s response has been poor—two Lashkar men, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah have been arrested in Muzaffarbad—it is because the government here is tied down by the Establishment and pressure from its own people. It cannot be seen to be buckling under pressure either from India or the US. Some moves seem to be on the cards, including the banning of JuD. But Lashkar was banned in the past, as was the Jaish. Prime Minister Gilani has committed to not allowing Pakistani soil to be used for terror attacks, but then Musharraf had made the exact same promise on 12 January 2002, soon after Parliament was attacked in Delhi. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has gone so far as to say that “Pakistan needs to set its own house in order”, but he is in the Opposition and can afford to make such statements. If Pakistan has begun to resemble a house of terror, it is because the army and ISI are yet to change their stance, not just vis-a-vis India but vis-a-vis the terrorists it creates and supports. Until then, the sprawling compound in Muridke will continue to remain in business. If JuD does get banned, all it will need is another alias. Read the extended version of this story in the latest issue of Tehelka. ******** I support a no-war pact: Nawaz Sharif In his first interview to an Indian journalist after the Mumbai terror attacks, former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif speaks to Harinder Baweja at his farmhouse in Raiwind on the outskirts of Lahore. In an hour-long interview, Sharif says he is all for a no-war pact with India, an agreement that would include both conventional and nuclear attacks. Edited excerpts: Why is it that war clouds gather over India and Pakistan ever so often? It is very distressing. It has become a fashion. You see, I am not saying it in the present day’s context, but this business of allegations and counter-allegations has been devastating for both countries. I know (that) when I was the prime minister of this country, diplomats from both sides used to get beaten up, and there was this tit for tat bashing. I know that no civilized society will accept that—neither India nor Pakistan. These are the only two countries I have seen in my life acting like this, frankly. I hope we are able to learn lessons from our past mistakes. We did move forward but after the Mumbai attacks, the relationship has moved backwards and that is very painful. Pakistan itself is under threat from jihadis. To what extent have they become these Frankenstein monsters who are beyond the control of the state agencies that played a role in training them in the first place?  Critical stance: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari (left) with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad. Sharif says India and Pakistan must learn from the past. AFP So you are saying that jihad is a product of dictatorship? You see, jihad is being projected wrongly. The definition of jihad is to fight against tyranny and injustice. This is the true meaning of jihad. Killing innocent people is not jihad. I fail to understand what these elements are achieving by killing innocents, and Pakistan itself is in the grip of terrorism. We are victims of terrorism and I sympathize with India and I strongly condemn what happened in Mumbai and my heart goes out to the families of the bereaved. This is something that we should all take very serious note of and given the situation India is confronting, Pakistan should go an extra mile to combat terrorism. Both India and the US are of the view that Pakistani soil is being used to export terror into India. There is evidence to suggest this, even for the Mumbai attack… If India has evidence to prove that, I think we should put our own house in order. We should ensure that our territory is never used for these kinds of activities—not only for the rest of the world, including our neighbourly country India, but even for Pakistan. We are having bomb explosions every day. There was a very severe blast that targeted the Marriott hotel and even the day Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan, as many as 250 people were killed. She also lost her life in Rawalpindi. Terrorism is a very serious issue now, and we have got to take it on with all seriousness. One or two steps here and there will not make any difference unless we are serious about curbing and combating this menace. Do you agree with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s recent offer of a no-first-use and a nuclear free South Asia? I would go a step further. I would say that there should be a no-first-attack pact...and a no-war pact between the two countries, and this includes both conventional and nuclear (war). I think that is the best for both countries, and this is what we should be focusing on. Read the extended version of the interview in the latest issue of Tehelka. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:20 pm Carnatic music now in new media formatsChennai: Once or twice a month, depending upon his schedule, Sanjay Subrahmanyan leaves his apartment and walks over to a recording studio just across the street. But Subrahmanyan, an eminent Carnatic music vocalist, is not there to sing—is not there, in other words, to do what one would expect him to do in a studio. Instead, he sits at his microphone to talk and to interview guests, creating podcasts for The Sanjay Subrahmanyan Show (Sanjaysub.libsyn.com), which is also hosted on his blog (Sanjaysub.blogspot.com).  Web-enabled: Carnatic music vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyan. Arjoon Manohar / Mint These projects, many of them firsts for the classical arts in India, have emerged in various guises: Subrahmanyan’s podcasts, blogs by musicians as well as listeners, Wiki-enabled databases of lyrics, tutorials on Skype, Facebook communities, online transliteration tools and notation typesetters, and Twitter feeds. Subrahmanyan himself was one of the vanguards of Carnatic music in the age of Web 1.0. With a partner, he set up Sangeetham.com, a hugely popular website, with always-buzzing forums, that nevertheless imploded when it became a victim of the dotcom bust. “We weren’t running it as a profit centre at all, which was the real problem,” Subrahmanyan says. “After Sangeetham closed, I was inactive online for four years or so, but the recent Web 2.0 concepts really started to intrigue me.” He wasn’t the only one; at least four other musicians have recently started blogs, although they are updated with varying degrees of ardour. “When Carnatic musicians began to tour overseas regularly, they started to see how Western musicians were getting out of their shell and reaching out to the world through these mediums,” says Sikkil Gurucharan, a vocalist whose blog is dormant but on the cusp of being relaunched. “Also, in a sense, musicians earlier were separate from their audiences, but that gap has now narrowed.” Subrahmanyan was drawn in particular to the format of the podcast after he downloaded and listened to numerous episodes of other shows. “I’d listen to podcasts on board games, and the technology podcasts of Leo Laporte,” he says. Every episode of Subrahmanyan’s own chatty, freewheeling show, on average, is now downloaded 800-1,000 times, by listeners in India but also in the US and other countries. Indeed, the constituents of the south Indian diaspora, many of them cut off from the classical music that they grew up with and love, are the primary progenitors of these innovations; unsurprisingly, a large number of them are computer programmers in the US. A sterling case in point is Ramadorai Arun Kumar, a Chicago-based computer engineer who is now in Chennai for the music season. Last year, over a couple of months, Arun Kumar put together a piece of Unicode software to transliterate lyrics in one language into any of six other languages. Perhaps looking for a keener challenge, he then spent many weekends and late nights developing an automated system to notate music. “I think a lot of us take pride in the fact that Carnatic music is very ordered and very scientific, so maybe that culture itself acts as a catalyst for people to do something along these lines,” says Arun Kumar. “In a Hindustani music forum, I once asked about similar systems, but there was a very weak level of interest.” Inevitably, these projects turn out to be collaborative. Arun Kumar enlisted the help of other members of a Carnatic music forum to work on the languages he did not know. Sunil Mudambi and Sai Prasad Viswanathan, young professionals living in Singapore and the US, built an extensive audio database of 725 songs of the 19th century composer Tyagaraja, without ever having met each other. “Tyagaraja composed thousands of songs, but we have an existing list of 800, and we hear only 200-odd sung in concerts today,” says Mudambi. “If that trend continues, we may just lose the remaining songs. The idea of the website is to propagate the entirety of his compositions.” Simultaneously, Viswanathan worked with a dozen people across the world on a Wiki that compiled the lyrics and explanations to more than 400 songs of another composer, Muthuswami Dikshitar. “When we started, we’d have over 100 edits daily, but now it’s slowed down to once a week or so,” he says. “We’ve begun to get a lot of emails from people who say they’re using the lyrics to teach or learn the music.” In a pleasant twist, these endeavours can sometimes become the listener’s way of giving back to the musician. “Every time I search for lyrics with Google, I get results from these databases that are accurate eight times out of 10,” says Gurucharan. “And it’s always great to go online and see all these forums where people are actively discussing Carnatic music, wanting to learn more about it.” This is the second of a series on Chennai’s music season. The first part was on bootleg audience-recorded versions of concerts, courtesy small MP3 recorders. Next: The little company that could. samanth.s@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:15 pm Indiabulls Retail not paying some vendorsNew Delhi/Bangalore: Retailer Indiabulls Retail Services Ltd is facing complaints of non-payment of dues from vendors in several cities across India with claims ranging from Rs6-45 lakh. A senior Indiabulls executive dubbed it as “legacy issues”from the late 2007 acquisition of Piramyd Retail Ltd, which Indiabulls bought from the Ashok Piramal group for Rs208 crore. Piramyd has since been renamed Indiabulls Retail Services. While Indiabulls did buy Piramyd and all its liabilities, it is now claiming that a lot of claims were fraudulent and hence, payments are on hold. “Some liabilities are recorded and certain liabilities are not recorded. What do you do with the unrecorded liabilities?” asks Anil Lepps, the newly appointed chief executive officer of Indiabulls Retail. However, he concedes that some claims might be genuine and that it will take Indiabulls some time to clean the “mess”. Indiabulls Retail Services is the retail arm of Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd, which has interests across infrastructure, real estate, financial services, multiplex and power sectors. Indiabulls Retail’s vendors, however, are increasingly becoming impatient and while some have stopped supplies. A Mumbai-based retailer, who claims that he has not been paid Rs45 lakh, said Indiabulls employees told him the company was cash-strapped and was not in a position to pay. “I stopped supplying to them three months ago, but now they are forcing me to resume supplies failing which they say they will withhold my payment,” he said requesting anonymity. Several vendors across New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have also made similar allegations. Most of these vendors are agitated because the payments have ruptured their cash cycle. “I took a loan to supply a big order I got from Piramyd in 2007,” said one of the vendors. “My payment was due in January, but despite several reminders and a reconciliation meeting with some senior executives, I haven’t got my payment, yet.” She didn’t want to be identified for fear of more delays with her payment. Some vendors continue to supply so old payments are not jeopardized. “They owe me around Rs9 lakh... I continue to supply to them because if I don’t, they may just hold back my old payment,” said a Mumbai-based garment supplier. He claimed that he, in turn, has not been able to pay his own suppliers. Indiabulls Retail’s Lepps also said some retailers have not been paid because their supplies have not got sold for reasons such as inferior quality of products or designs. A Delhi-based vendor Agril Apparels Pvt. Ltd, for instance, has not been paid Rs8 lakh because the company says its inventory hasn’t moved from the shelves in past many months. The vendor, however, claims to the contrary. “We checked with some of the employees of Indiabulls and found that all our supplies have been sold,” said Rahul Jain of Agrim. “Yet, the company refuses to make payments. It’s my hard-earned money.” In a telephone interview with Mint a month ago, Gagan Banga, chief executive and director of Indiabulls Financial Services had said: “If vendors have proper documents, they could directly approach me. When we acquired Piramyd, we also agreed to take on the company’s liabilities and we have been evaluating them. If they are not established, we will not deal with them.” When bought, Piramyd had nearly 42 stores in two formats. In January, they were rebranded—as Indiabulls Mart and Indiabulls Megastore. By September, Indiabulls Retail had shut four of nine Megastores. Meanwhile, according to a person close to the situation, the advertising agency Hindustan Thompson Associates Ltd (known by brand name JWT), has filed a court case against Indiabulls to recover Rs50 lakh for the advertising work it did for Piramyd. Indiabulls, however, claims that advertising had been done for other Piramal Group companies and not Piramyd. Lepps denied knowledge of a legal complaint. Lepps also said while some claims might be genuine but because of lack of records, it was taking the company a lot of time to sift out the fraudulent cases. “I won’t...say they are all wrong...whatever is genuine is getting reconciled. We are not a fly-by-night operator and we will not keep anybody’s money. Every genuine case will be taken care of,” he said. A Gurgaon-based analyst said retail sales across the country were down by around 10-20% and this has put a pressure on cash flows of retailers. “In such a situation, the retailers want to hold on to their cash and the first step they resort to is stopping the payments to suppliers,” said Zahir Abbas, associate director-retail and consumer business, Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd, a management consulting firm. “A lot of players who had money, got into retail business in the past two years with the sole intention of adding retail into their portfolio. But it is a very difficult business as it needs constant supply of cash, hard work, good locations, strong management and high volumes, whereas the margins in the business are as low as 3% to 4%.” Meanwhile, Lepps said he hoped “everything will be sorted out in the next couple of months”. rasul.b@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:15 pm Bajaj family seem close to settling disputeMumbai: Share prices of Bajaj Auto Ltd and Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd, the flagship companies of the Bajaj family, rose sharply on Friday on speculation that two family factions might have reached a settlement in a five-year-old dispute. The scrip of Bajaj Auto, India’s second largest two-wheeler maker, rose 10.39% to Rs393. The shares of Bajaj Hindusthan, India’s largest sugar maker, rose 5.4% to Rs48.8, beating the 0.46% rise in the benchmark Sensex index. “We are definitely discussing and we have been talking throughout,” said Niraj Bajaj, managing director of Mukand Ltd, another Bajaj group company, who is negotiating on behalf of Rahul Bajaj, chairman of Bajaj Auto. “It’s (a settlement is) pending.” This is the fourth attempt by the brothers to reach a compromise in the six-year dispute over the division of Bajaj group of companies and assets. Three previous attempts, in 2003, 2005 and 2007 failed to break the deadlock between Rahul Bajaj and his cousins on one side and Shishir Bajaj, the chairman of Bajaj Hindusthan, on the other. Kushagra Bajaj, son of Shishir Bajaj, who is negotiating on behalf of his father could not be reached for comment. But a close aide of Kushagra said the “status hasn’t changed”. At the heart of the dispute is the untangling of shareholdings in Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Hindusthan and other group companies between the brothers. Following a messy fight since 2002, Rahul Bajaj and his associates agreed to sell their stake in Bajaj Hindusthan and Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd, which sells hair oil, to Shishir Bajaj and his family at a fixed price. In turn, the latter agreed to sell his 1.8% stake in Bajaj Auto, also at a fixed price. However, a pact reached in June 2003 was not implemented due to undisclosed reasons. In the meantime, Shishir filed a lawsuit against his brother and cousins under Sections 397 and 398 of the Companies Act citing oppression and mismanagement. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 6:00 pm Raw sugar import: Maharashtra mills’ demand sparks a debateNew Delhi: A move by sugar mills in Maharashtra, India’s biggest producer, to import at least 1 million tonnes (mt) of raw sugar to tide over domestic demand has sharply divided the industry.  What to do? A file photo of raw sugar falling from a conveyor belt at the American Sugar Refining Inc., Maryland, US. Daniel Acker / Bloomberg Bloomberg had on Thursday reported that mills in Maharashtra have sought government permission to buy raw sugar from countries including Brazil. The purchases, if allowed, will be the nation’s first in almost three years. “Sisma (South Indian Sugar Mills Association) is of the opinion that import of neither raw sugar nor white sugar be encouraged at this juncture as this will assist traders for short-term gains and will negatively impact the industry,” said Rajshree Pathy, chairman of Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals Ltd and president of Sisma. The imports, she said, “will jeopardize the interests of farmers”. The country’s sugar output is likely to fall short of the expected 22.5mt by nearly 2-2.5mt in the current sugar season that started in October and ends in September. Any import of sugar will immediately depress the prices forcing mills into losses, she said. The country has seen two consecutive bumper crops in the past two years—28mt in 2006-07 and 26.5mt in 2007-08. With sugar production expected to be 20.5mt in 2008-09, there will be a shortfall of at least 6mt. But several mill owners say there is no need to go in for imports as an opening stock of 9mt will be more than enough to meet the shortfall. The government, however, estimates the opening stock much higher at 10.5-11mt. But other mill owners disagree. “With the acreage of sugar cane falling by 35-40%, the country will need to import raw sugar to meet its consumption requirements,” Narendra Murkumbi, managing director, Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd, said. “Besides, it is better to import raw sugar now and sell value-added sugar in the domestic market rather than importing white sugar later.” Raw sugar has to be refined, while white sugar is ready for consumption. Murkumbi also said that sugar should be imported only on the so-called tonne-to-tonne basis, against grain-to-grain, which requires producers to re-export raw sugar after processing. Prakash Naiknavare, managing director of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd, which has in its fold 190 sugar mills in Maharashtra, agrees. “India needs to change rules to enable mills to process raw sugar bought overseas and sell the refined product domestically. The companies must export a matching quantity when they have a surplus within a time frame set by the government,” he said, suggesting a tonne-to-tonne re-export of sugar. The government last allowed tonne-to-tonne import of sugar in 2004. Imported raw sugar fetches extra business for sugar companies having large refining capacities. Murkumbi admits his company’s refining capacity this year has been 60% of what it was last year. According to S.L. Jain, general secretary, Indian Sugar Mills Association, or Isma: ‘There is absolutely no need for importing raw sugar in 2008-09. Only some companies with trader mentality are perpetuating the idea that there can be a shortfall. Imported sugar will only flood the market and depress prices”. Ram Babu, former Isma president, said millers who cannot proceed with their capacity expansion plans are clamouring for import of raw sugar. “In Brazil, several sugar mills are shutting down because of the downturn and Indian millers see good opportunities to buy sugar from Brazil,” he said. Brazil’s sugar production is expected to rise by 10-12% in calendar 2008, necessitating exports. S. Raghuraman, head of trade research at Agriwatch, a commodity research firm, said the government will not succumb to lobbying by sugar companies. “It is very unlikely that the production will cross 20mt in the country. However, with the carry-over stock, we are still very comfortable and I doubt if the government will allow a tonne-to-tonne import of raw sugar.” “Export is also ruled out this season because Indian sugar is over-priced internationally, which further suggests import will not be required,” he said. The government official in charge of sugar at the Union food ministry couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. Bloomberg contributed to this story. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 4:38 pm Bear market rally seems like a set up for a crash Indian markets, however, brushed off these fears, in spite of extremely negative data on industrial production. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark index, the Sensex, rose by 0.5%, while its Mid-Cap Index rose by 1.6% and the Small-Cap Index gained as much as 2.5%. But considering that the failure of the auto bailout plan has led to a rise in risk aversion globally all over again, Indian markets may not stay buoyant for long. On Friday, capital flowed back to safe havens such as US treasury bills, driving the yield on 10-year paper to the lowest in five decades. This reverses the gradual rise in risk appetite in the past three weeks. Since 20 November, the Sensex has risen by 15% on the back of net foreign institutional inflows worth Rs4,880 crore. Although foreign institutional investor (FIIs) were net buyers worth Rs455 crore in the cash market, they took significant long positions in the futures segment. With the reversal in risk appetite, flows should cease, and the recent bear market rally is likely lose steam. In the previous bear market rally between 27 October and 10 November, FIIs had taken net long positions worth Rs5,200 crore, while during the correction phase in the next seven trading sessions, they took net short positions worth Rs5,700 crore. Needless to say, FII flows will dictate the future direction of the Indian markets as well, and hence the rise in risk aversion doesn’t augur well. The fall of large US auto makers will hit Indian exporters further. The India operations of these firms will also be affected. The only set of stocks that reacted reasonably to the news was IT, which fell by about 3%. But with the economy in a downward spiral and negative news flow expected for some months to come even on the domestic front, the markets are just setting themselves up for a crash by extending the current bear market rally. Write to us at marktomarket@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 4:37 pm Cobra may split UK, India units before saleMumbai: Cobra Beer Ltd, which was put on the block last month for about £200 million (Rs1,458 crore) by founder Karan Bilimoria, may now split its Indian business ahead of the proposed deal, a trade journal has said. The UK-based food and beverages publication Just-Drinks reported the development on Thursday. According to the journal, the brewery, which has sales of about £178 million in the UK market, is circulating a sales memorandum to potential buyers stating its willingness to split its UK and India businesses. The report quoted unnamed persons familiar with the development. An email sent to Bilimoria on Friday on the matter remained unanswered. While the company has not explained the rationale behind such a move, at least two industry executives from rival firms, who declined to be named, said it would provide flexibility to a global buyer who may not be interested in the comparatively small India business. Cobra gets most of its total revenue from the UK market. “It could either retain the business in India, a market which is currently growing at 25-30% in the premium segment, or can even find another strategic investor, who wants to expand in Indian market,” one of the executives said. Cobra, founded in 1989, currently has a brewery in Bangalore and sells at least 250,000 cases of its lager beer in India, with revenues of about Rs20 crore a year, giving it less than 5% of the domestic beer market, which is led by Vijay Mallya-controlled United Breweries Ltd. One case of beer has 12 bottles containing 750ml each. Cobra, which expects a valuation of at least £200 million, had in November mandated UK-based investment banker N.M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd to find a buyer for a stake or the entire company. The firm, which had raised £15 million early this year from private equity investors, had been looking to raise funds for continued expansion. But, it is now proposing an outright sale after some potential investors showed an interest in such a deal. Cobra beer, which was brewed first in 1990 in India, was initially sold only in the domestic market. The company later started exports to the UK and started brewing there in 1997. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 4:37 pm Tough times ahead for China’s policymakers For such a big country, China moves surprisingly fast. So do the big numbers that preoccupy its economists. Click here for breakingviews.com  Exports fell sharply, and so did imports. Official data showed exports fell 2.2% in November year-on-year. Imports plunged by 17.9% year on year, which caused the trade surplus to widen to a record $40.1 billion (Rs1.9 trillion). The real figures could be even worse than the official ones. Testing times lie ahead for China’s policymakers. In a sense, falling exports should be healthy. China’s exporters have gratified foreign consumers with too much stuff, too cheaply, for too long. As the US and European Union, who buy 40% of that output, pull in their spending, prices get slashed on products intended for export. In time, production should turn towards higher-value products for Chinese consumers, at a higher profit. That’s all right for the long term. But China has a serious short-term problem. Domestic demand is still weak to replace exports. And it’s widely believed that sustained growth below a certain level—often given as 8%—will lead to social unrest. That connection hasn’t been put to the test, despite some minor spats in the south and Shanghai. But unemployment is already a threat. The communist party’s main think tank has suggested a real rate of 12%—three times the official figure. Widespread bankruptcies in key industries such as toys, shoes and electronics aggravate the problem by sending disgruntled workers back to the countryside. There are some levers the state can pull. One is to keep the renminbi (Rmb) low against the dollar, making exports more competitive. But China is already so competitive that the effect is likely to be marginal. Another is to cut interest rates, already hacked four times since September, to stimulate demand. But Chinese borrowers don’t seem terribly sensitive to rates so far. That leaves fiscal stimulus. The government has announced a Rmb4 trillion package to create investment and demand, but it’s too early to see how—or if—it will work. If it doesn’t, the state will have to find a way to square a vicious circle. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Dec 2008 | 4:37 pm
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