INDIA COUNTRY BRIEF
111027
Basic Political Developments
· The decision of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to revoke AFSPA and DAA from some areas received a setback due Congress reservations on that.
· The Kashmir Valley Thursday shut down in response to a call by separatists.
· Digvijay Singh asserted that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was trying to bring in spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in their campaign against the government.
· Anna Hazare on Thursday said he would continue his maun vrat at his native village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra for atma shanti.
National Economic Trends
· Food inflation shot up to 11.43 per cent for the week ended October 15 on the back of costlier vegetables, fruits, milk and protein-based items.
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
· Infosys Ltd, India's No.2 software services exporter, is looking for acquisitions worth up to $700 million, Infosys' executive co-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan said on Thursday.The country's IT sector, which feeds off increased outsourcing by companies looking to cut costs, is expected to face pricing pressure and a decline in new orders as Europe struggles with a debt crisis and the United States battles an economic slowdown.
· The government today said it has sanctioned setting up 21 of integrated textile industrial parks involving a total development cost of Rs 2,100 crore.
· In a bid to drive innovation and create more jobs in the area of biotechnology, the government on Wednesday approved legislation to establish a regional centre for biotechnology training and education. The decision to set up the centre, under UNESCO, was taken in the cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
· The combined wealth of India's richest people has fallen nearly 20 percent over the last year, due to factors including inflation, falling stocks and corruption, Forbes magazine said on Thursday.The business publication said the country's 100 wealthiest individuals were now worth a total of $241 billion, down from $300 billion in 2010, according to its India Rich List 2011.
· India’s national carrier Air India (AI) may not get US based Boeing 787 aircrafts, also called dream-liners, as the government is reluctant to guarantee the loan AI wants to take to buy these modern airliners. The civil aviation ministry is adverse to the Air-India’s proposal to buy 27 dream-liners costing Rs 18,000 crore considering its grave financial health, which does not appear to be on a road to recovery in near future.
· Orissa government will soon set up an expert committee to frame a "pricing policy" on minerals to enable local steel makers compete with other steel companies. Finance minister and chairman of the inter-ministerial group on price fixation on raw materials Prafulla Chandra Ghadai on Thursday told 'The ET', "We need to ensure a level playing field to local industries which are now forced to procure raw materials at exorbitant price. We will soon set up a committee of experts to advise Orissa government on a new pricing policy for minerals to ensure that industries get their requirement at reasonable rate".
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
Militant Activity/Terrorism (Particularly in Bangalore, Mumbai, Noida, Chennai, Coimbatore)
· Jammu and Kashmir police, who arrested five Lashkar-e-Tayiba operatives for carrying out attacks on security forces on Thursday, said the face of militancy was changing as some ultras were getting motivated by watching videos on social networking sites."Two grenade attack cases have been solved as we have busted a module of young men motivated by Lashkar-e-Tayiba," Deputy Inspector General of Central Kashmir Abdul Gani Mir told reporters.
· Six persons, including a 12-year old boy, were injured in twin bomb blasts at a market complex in Imphal on Thursday.
· The shadow of terror is growing in Kerala [ Images ], says the National Investigation Agency. Disturbed by the growing number of terrorists from the state, the NIA has drawn up several lists that highlight the gravity of the situation.
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· Ulfa hardliners have intensified their activities in upper Assam districts of Jorhat, Sivasagar and Tinsukia.
· Terror outfit Indian Mujahideen is back to haunt security agencies in the country. An Intelligence Bureau report indicates that the group, which was wiped out to a large extent in India, is all set for a comeback. There are intercepts to show that cadres recruited for the IM are undergoing heavy training in Pakistan.
Labor/Social Unrest
Full Text
Basic Political Developments
Congress not in favour of AFSPA withdrawal till everybody agreeable
http://www.uniindia.com/
Srinagar, Oct 27 (UNI) The decision of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to revoke Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Disturbed Areas Act (DAA) from some areas received a setback when its major coalition partner Congress expressed its reservations.
However, the Chief Minister's decision found support from the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP). The common man on the streets remained unconcerned with the announcement.
Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Saifuddin Soz said AFSPA will end only when there is no militancy while a Congress minister in the Omar government, Taj Mohiuddin, said the decision about its withdrawal should be taken only after everybody agreed to it.
The Chief Minister made it clear yesterday that AFSPA would be withdrawn from some areas as promised by him to people.
Mr Abdullah, who faced a tough time from the entire opposition for the past more than a month after the death of a National Conference (NC) worker Syed Mohammad Yousuf Shah allegedly after being tortured in the house of the Chief Minister, found support from the main opposition PDP to his move to withdraw AFSPA and DAA.
Prof Soz said both the Acts should go only when the militancy ends in the state.
He said if the Mr Abdullah was confident that militancy has ended in some areas then he should identify such places and discuss it with the Defence and Home ministries.
The PCC chief said the Chief Minister should acquire a broader consensus before taking such a decision.
Mr Taj, a senior Congress minister in the Omar Abdullah government, said the Acts should be removed only when everybody agreed to it.
There should be consultations at various levels within Jammu and Kashmir and later at the Central level before a final decision was made.
Separatist shutdown in Kashmir against 'Indian occupation'
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_separatist-shutdown-in-kashmir-against-indian-occupation_1603995
The Kashmir Valley Thursday shut down in response to a call by separatists to protest the landing of Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir on this day in 1947 to fight Pakistan-backed tribal invaders.
Shops and business establishments were closed and traffic went off the roads in summer capital Srinagar and several other parts of the valley in response to the call. The shutdown call was given by both factions of the Hurriyat Conference and other separatist leaders.
This date has been a permanent fixture on the separatist protest calendar since 1990 when armed militancy broke out in the valley. Indian troops landed in Kashmir a day after Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra king, signed the instrument of accession and sought military help from India to push back Pakistan sponsored tribal invasion of the state.
The separatists say it marked the start of "Indian occupation of Kashmir". That tribal invasion led to the division of Jammu and Kashmir, with Pakistan occupying its northern third. India controls the remaining two-thirds of the state.
Stay away from the RSS, Digvijay warns Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-stay-away-from-the-rss-digvijay-warns-sri-sri-ravi-shankar/20111027.htm
Controversy seems to travel wherever Congress leader Digvijay Singh goes. This time around, on a visit to Bengaluru to meet his grandson, Singh asserted that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was trying to bring in spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in their campaign against the government.
He made an open request to Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar not to get involved with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Talking to media persons, Singh claimed that the RSS had earlier brought in yoga guru Baba Ramdev and social activist Anna Hazare in the campaign.
"Once the Ramdev episode was over they roped in Anna Hazare to divert from the key issue. Now that the Anna issue is over they are seeking the services of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. I respect him and Anna a lot and would hope they did not involve themselves with the RSS," he said.
Hazare to continue maun vrat
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2573422.ece?homepage=true
Nothwithstanding his fragile health condition, social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday said he would continue his maun vrat at his native village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra for atma shanti
Social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday decided to continue his maun vrat (vow of silence) as his health is not permitting him to break it even as his team is all set to meet this Saturday to discuss the controversies surrounding it.
Mr. Hazare will not attend the core committee meeting of the Team scheduled in the national capital.
In his latest blog posting, Mr. Hazare said, “My health still does not permit me to give up my maun vrat There is still some swelling on my feet and the knee troubles me a lot.
“Maun vrat helps me heal my body from within and outside.
Verbal communication with people is an exertion for me leaving me very weak. Hence, keeping my physical condition in mind I have taken the decision to go on with maun vrat,” he said.
Mr. Hazare began his maun vrat on October 16’ at his native village in Maharashtra for ‘atma shanti’ (peace of soul).
Mr. Hazare shifted his residence from the Padmavati Temple complex to his old residence, the Yadavbaba Temple complex, in this village, about 250 km from Mumbai.
His decision to continue the maun vrat comes at a time when Team Anna’s Core Committee has decided to meet. The meeting is expected to discuss the controversies surrounding Team Anna.
Sources in Team Anna said Mr. Hazare will not attend the meeting.
Team Anna is engulfed in a series of controversies in the past few days, including the continuance of Prashant Bhushan in the team following his controversial remarks on plebiscite in Kashmir and alleged financial misconduct by Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi.
The meeting also comes after the resignation of two prominent activists P.V. Rajagopal and Rajinder Singh from the Core Committee, apparently unhappy over the movement moving towards party politics.
National Economic Trends
Food inflation jumps to 11.43 per cent
http://www.thehindu.com/business/article2573526.ece
Food inflation shot up to 11.43 per cent for the week ended October 15 on the back of costlier vegetables, fruits, milk and protein-based items.
Food inflation, as measured by Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 10.60 per cent in the previous week.
The rate of price rise of food items was 14.20 per cent in the corresponding week of 2010.
As per data released by the government today, vegetables became 25 per cent costlier, year-on-year basis. Similarly, Fruits grew dearer by 11.96 per cent, milk by 10.85 per cent and eggs, meat and fish by 12.82 per cent.
Pulses also became dearer by 9.06 per cent and cereal prices were up 4.62 per cent year-on-year.
However, onions became 18.93 cheaper. Wheat prices were also down 0.95, and potatoes by 0.45 per cent during the week under review.
As for weekly comparison, inflation in the overall primary articles category was 11.75 per cent for the week ended October 15, compared to 11.18 per cent in the previous week. Primary articles have over 20 per cent weight in WPI.
Inflation in non-food articles, including fibres, oil seeds and minerals, was recorded at 7.67 per cent during the week under review, as against 8.51 per cent in the week ended October 8.
Fuel and power inflation stood at 14.70 per cent during the week under review, compared to 15.17 per cent in the previous week.
The upsurge in food prices is likely to exert further pressure on the government and the Reserve Bank to tackle the situation expeditiously.
Headline inflation, which also factors in manufactured items, has been above the 9 per cent mark since December, 2010. It was 9.72 per cent in September this year.
RBI has hiked interest rates 13 times since March, 2010, to tame demand and curb inflation.
In its second quarterly review of the monetary policy earlier this week, the apex bank said it expects inflation to remain elevated till December on account of demand-supply mismatch, before moderating to 7 per cent by March 2012.
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
Infosys says seeks acquisitions worth up to $700 mn
Reuters
Shanghai, October 27, 2011First Published: 08:42 IST(27/10/2011)
http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/sectorsinfotech/Infosys-says-seeks-acquisitions-worth-up-to-700-mn/Article1-761704.aspx
Infosys Ltd, India's No.2 software services exporter, is looking for acquisitions worth up to $700 million, Infosys' executive co-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan said on Thursday.
The country's IT sector, which feeds off increased outsourcing by companies looking to cut costs, is expected to face pricing pressure and a decline in new orders as Europe struggles with a debt crisis and the United States battles an economic slowdown.
Infosys and its local rivals also face stiff competition from global players including IBM and Accenture for large outsourcing deals from global corporations.
Government approves 21 textile parks costing Rs 2,100 crore
http://news.google.com/nwshp?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8
NEW DELHI: The government today said it has sanctioned setting up 21 of integrated textile industrial parks with world class infrastructure in nine states involving a total development cost of Rs 2,100 crore.
The new textile parks, to be set up under public-private- partnership, would attract an overall industry investment of over Rs 9,000 crore generating employment of four lakh workers, according to an official statement issued here.
The scheme for the integrated textiles parks would be implemented within 36 months, it said, adding the government would finance common infrastructure with a subsidy of up to Rs 40 crore for each of the textiles enclaves.
Six of these parks would come up in Maharashtra, four in Rajasthan, two each in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, one each in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir and West Bengal.