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Here is a roundup of news from Indian newspapers, news wires and Web sites on Tuesday, June 14, 2011. The Wall Street Journal has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
Jayalalithaa Meets PM, Seeks Chidambaram’s Resignation: Accusing home minister P Chidambaram of getting himself elected to Parliament through “fraudulent” means, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday said his continuance in the Union council of ministers was untenable and sought his resignation. (Source: Times of India)
Not Proper to Meet Sonia as Congress, DMK Still Allies: Jaya: Fresh from her electoral victory, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa gave indications that she could consider a possible tie-up with Congress if it makes an approach after severing ties with ally DMK. (Source: PTI)
Lok Sabha Speaker Returns PAC Draft Report on 2G Spectrum to Joshi: In a snub to PAC chairman Murli Manohar Joshi, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has returned the controversial draft report filed by him on the 2G spectrum allocation. (Source: Deccan Herald)
Singur Land Bill Passed in West Bengal Assembly: In keeping with her promise to get the land back, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee successfully tabled the Singur land bill in the assembly Tuesday. (Source: NDTV)
After Leaked Reliance Report, Oil Minister Meets PM: Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy has met the Prime Minister in a meeting that's being seen as significant because it comes a day after a controversial report was leaked to the media. (Source: NDTV)
Gujarat Riot video Used to Motivate Headley Against India : LeT used videos of the 2002 Gujarat riots to motivate David Headley, a co-accused in the 26/11 attacks, to carry out “jihad” against India, indicating how the incident is being [...]
By Sameer Mohindru
The government in India may be facing the heat over widespread allegations of corruption, but it can heave a small sigh of relief at least on one front: the annual Hindu pilgrimage to Amarnath, in India's state of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a region inhabited predominantly by Muslims, right-wing Hindu activists had threatened to start their annual pilgrimage to Amarnath on Tuesday, two weeks ahead of the official schedule, in a move that risked provoking further unrest in the already troubled Kashmir region.
But after negotiations with local government officials late Monday, they agreed to give up their mission.
"Talks progressed very well and we were able to resolve the issue to everybody’s satisfaction,” R.K. Goyal, the head of the government-run shrine board, the body in charge of administering the pilgrimage, told India Real Time Tuesday.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of Hindus go on pilgrimage to Amarnath cave, one of the world's most ancient pilgrimage sit [...]
India's Special Economic Zones—swathes of land slated for industrialization that receive tax holidays and other benefits—have often come in for flak domestically. They have sparked concerns over the land acquisition process as well as suspicion that in some cases the policy has been a clever way for real estate developers to snag land.
But in its new survey of India's economy, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development viewed the zones favorably.
"The recent strong growth in exports, employment and investment in the SEZs could act as a catalyst for broader change," said the report. "Even though they are a second-best policy option, compared to more thorough economy-wide structural reforms, SEZs are providing an important and expanding platform for industrial development."
India put in place rules to allow these zones to be set up five years ago, modeling them on China's special economic regions that helped turn that country into an export giant. There are special procedures to simplify setting up such a zone, as well as a slew of tax benefits. (India's proposed new tax code, which is still in the draft stage, could end many of these tax benefits for SEZs approved after 2014.)
According to the OECD report, released Tuesday, India had granted approval to set up 571 SEZs b [...]
On Tuesday, Idea Cellular Ltd. stock closed up 2% in a flat market after better-than-expected results for January to March, announced yesterday, and despite continuing regulatory troubles.
The shares touched 73.95 rupees ($1.64) in morning trade but failed to surpass their one-month high of 74 rupees. Idea shares closed at 73.40 rupees, while the benchmark Sensex closed 0.2% higher.
The mobile phone company, part of the Aditya Birla Group, displayed superior growth in revenue and key operating indicators over its main competitors, Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Reliance Communications Ltd. The company posted a 3% rise in fourth-quarter net profit to 2.75 billion rupees ($61.1 million) from 2.67 billion rupees a year earlier.
But analysts said the continuing regulatory uncertainty surrounding the company—and the telecom industry in general, which has been buffeted by corruption allegations—has been a deterrent for investors.
A government audit report in November last year put the potential loss of revenue to the government from an allegedly rigged spectrum licensing process in 2008 at $40 billion. The federal Central Bureau of Investigation that is investigating the scandal has put the potential losses at $6.7 billion. As a result, telecom regulators are now looking closely at telecom licenses, and whether companies have been following the rules.
[...]In India subsidies of any kind are the sacred cow, the untouchable, the hot button political issue which could swing votes. That attitude has ensured that in 2009 India had the largest subsidy bill amongst net oil importers, as per the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development's report card on the country's economy. And for a country that is often compared to China, for once it has left that neighbor behind—India's per capita oil subsidies were almost three times higher than China's, and its gas subsidies six times higher.
India's addiction to fossil fuels subsidies is well known. The OECD report doesn't offer any surprises there. But, as the report highlights, it's clearly a key concern for the country's overall growth. "Energy subsidies encourage wasteful consumption, fuel adulteration and smuggling and create a system that is overwhelmed by corruption," the report states. "Globally, by blurring market signals, they push up the level and volatility of energy prices, since when world prices rise India's consumption does not fall commensurately. Last but not least, they are environmentally damaging."
There are those who "fast" and those who actually fast, with no breaks, midnight snacks or honey-and-lemon drinks for succour.
While India was captivated by Baba Ramdev's very public nine-day hunger strike, another sadhu, or Hindu ascetic, quietly died after a 116-day fast in protest against the rising pollution in the river Ganga, according to the head of the ashram he belonged to.
Swami Nigamandand, 34, died late Monday in a Dehradun hospital, the same one where Baba Ramdev was also admitted, Swami Shivanand, the founder and head of the Haridwar-based Matri Sadan Ashram, told India Real Time.
Yet, at the hospital, there were more people gathered around Baba Ramdev, who was discharged Tuesday than around the swami, who has long been near death. Unlike Baba Ramdev, Swami Nigamandand had no entourage, no well-oiled PR machine, no ministers trotting to see him and certainly no private jet.
Swami Nigamandand had been fasting since February 19 against what he claimed was illegal mining and stone c [...]