Pakistani Federal Minister lauds India's welfare programmes

New Delhi, Nov 19 (UNI) Visiting Pakistan Federal Minister Farzana Raja today said she was "highly impressed" with the welfare programmes of the Indian government, especially the health insurance scheme, and feels that India and her country have a great deal to learn from each other's developmental experience.
"We have similar cultures, a common shared history and substantial developmental experience," Ms Raja told a news conference in Yojna Bhavan.
Ms Raja had come to pay a courtesy call on Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Dr Ahluwalia was besides Ms Raja, who is also a spokesperson of the Pakistan's People Party, when the dignitary spoke to the Indian media.
Ms Raja said she was involved in the implemenation of the Benazir Income Support Programme, which involes a cash transfer of Rs 1,000 a month to the poor.
She said in her country the word "poor" is not used as it is derogatory and the expression used is "less priveleged."
The programme was formally launched by the Pakistan Federal Government for poor and vulnerable segments of society before Ed-ul-Fiter on September 29. As many as 4.5 million people are intended to benefit from the programme. The Federal government has allocated Rs 3,400 crore for the programme in the Budget. Ms Raja said the scheme was doing very well and has gone a long way to improve the health conditions of the targetted group. The Benazir Bhutto Income Plan is a government programme.
Ms Raja said the two countries have much to learn from the planning process and experience of each other's country.
She said her government has invited Dr Ahluwalia to visit her country and similarly their Planning Minister would come to India later in the year.
Asked whether the arrangement relating to sharing each other's planning experience can be institutionalised, Dr Ahluwalia said it was already so and involves visits of government leaders to each other countries.
On being asked whether there are problems of modernisation in a Muslim orthodox society, such as those pertaining to family planning, Ms Raja said that it was a misnomer to believe that
Pakistan society was too much seeped into traditions and fundamentalist ideology.
She said there was a high degree of acceptance of modern values and a large section of the population had a belief in liberal values.
She said the family planning programme in her country was a success story, with women understanding the need for taking recourse to family planning measures.
She said as many 1,00,000 lady midwives were involved to help implement the family planning programme.
Ms Raja said the two-way trade between India and Pakistan needs to be expanded as the two countries can benefit from the complementarities offered by each others countries.
She said the cross LOC trade was carried out on two points--Poonch-Rawalakot route and Srinagar- Muzaffarabad route.
"There is need to do much more", she said.
Ms Raja said her country, like India, too has been adversely impacted by the global slowdown and her government was doing its best to minimise its impact on Pakistan economy.

Markets not manipulated; Bhave's homilies for retail investor

New Delhi, Nov 22 (UNI) SEBI Chairman C B Bhave today ruled out any manipulation of the stock markets or the possibility of a scam and dismissed the notion that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were only sellers on the bourses, which have been in the grip of high volatility for quite sometime now.

''Let me use my words carefully. As of now we have not been able to detect any scam,'' Mr Bhave said participating in a session at the'Hindustan Times Leadership Summit' here.
He was speaking on 'Safeguarding Investors in an era of market volatility' and the session was conducted by Udayan Mukherjee, CNBC-TV Managing Editor.
The question that the anchor posed to Mr Bhave was the oft-repeated charge as to whether market manipulation led to the market crash, SEBI Chairman replied in the negative, saying that when an investor is in grief having lost his money there is a
tendency on his part to find fault with someone or something other than himself.
He said the market regulator has been doing online monitoring, keeping a watch on the pattern of transactions.
He said an enquiry, however, is ordered by the regulator only when there is definitive proof against an entity relating to manipulation.
Mr Bhave said whatever information SEBI has, it makes it public and thus its system was quite transparent.
He said it would be unwise to paint everyone with a black brush.
Given the data at its command and on the basis of its analysis, so far it has not found support of any widespread market manipulation.
Mr Mukherjee then repeated his question, saying that was there a possibility, as in the previous bull runs, of a scam.
Mr Bhave said, ''so far we have not been able to see any scam.''
He gave interesting data to indicate as to who was buying and who was selling on the stock markets. The figures pertained to the period September one to November 14 this year.
He said the four entities which are involved in these transactions are: FIIs, Mutual Funds, Proprietary Accounts of brokers and others, namely non-institutional investors.
He said during the period, FII's were net sellers to the magnitude of Rs 22,000 crores; Net equities sold by brokers were of the orderof Rs 700 crores; Mutual Funds bought stocks worth Rs 1,000 crores, Domestic Financial Institutions, which are mostly Banks and Insurance Companies, bought stocks worth Rs 16,000 crores and Domestic non-Institutional Investors bought stocks worth Rs 5,600 crores.
Mr Bhave said it was thus wrong to presume that FIIs were only net sellers. He said the ratio of buying by FIIs to net sales was 3:1.
He said the analysis was carried out on the basis of published data.
Mr Bhave said it was wrong to draw the conclusion that everyone, including the retail investors, were selling in panic. The FII's and other entities that were withdrawing money were mostly those who had leveraged funds or whose clients had leveraged funds and there was redemption pressure.
He said the story is that equities were moving into the hands of those who exercised patients and, for one reason or another, not withdrawing their funds.
To a question on retail investors having lost of money due to short selling, Mr Bhave said a regulator's ability to act in such matters is limited, the only option being not allowing investment below a ticket size. This is what SEBI had done on receiving
complaints of this nature.
He, however, said there was need to intensify and speed up investor education in this regard as also on other issues.
Asked whether the Sensex was an indicator of the economy, Mr Bhave said economic performance is impacted by several factors including not only the GDP figures, but future expectations in this regard; investible surplus, and what is happening around the world.
Asked about the safety of Fixed Mutual Fund Plans, Mr Bhave said most mutual funds have assets in the AAA category or AAA plus category.
He said mutual funds have withdrawn money due to the liquidity problems and with the government opening a special window in this regard, the problems seems to have been taken care of.
Asked as to what explains the fact that a real estate stock was hammered 55 per cent in just a few day and thus how could valuations have changed overnight, Mr Bhave said a line needs to be drawn between erosion of market capitalization and erosion of net worth.
The perceptions in the market mostly pertain to market capitalisation.
Mr Bhave had some good advice for the retail investor: it is well neigh impossible for anyone to predict the highest or the lowest of the market; It is similarly difficult in a day as to predict as to how the market will behave; do not put all your savings in the
equities market as it is risky; do not leverage money to invest in
the stock market; invest money in stocks only after taking into account emergencies and committed amounts into account .

Getting back Chandrayaan a challenge,Linenger on life & times

By Gurdip Singh

New Delhi, Nov 21 (UNI) Jerry M Linenger, former NASA Astronaut who has orbited Earth 2,000 times, today held an audience in awe with his experience and tales in space and commended India's space programme as being innovative and one which will have huge spin-offs.
He, however, said bringing back Chandrayaan-1, India's unmanned mission to the moon, will be a ''tough challenge''.
Terming the moon mission "great and fantastic'', Linenger said brining back the mission would be difficult. It needs to be ensured that all systems are in perfect shape, he added.
The occasion was the ongoing HT Leadership Summit, where Linenger spoke about his close brush with death, his isolation and loneliness in space, his feelings when he felt that he was passing through the last moments of his life, and the lessons the world ought to learn from a man who has lived in another orbit.
During what has reported to be one of the most dangerous and dramatic missions in space history, Jerry spent nearly five months aboard the Russian space station 'Mir.' He faced numerous life threatening events, including repeated failure of critical
life-support systems, a near collision between the space station and a massive re-supply spacecraft and multiple computer failures that sent the space station tumbling uncontrollably through space.
Later, Linenger addressed a media conference, where he spoke about his keeness to go to the planned mission on Mars in 2020 and what preparations are required in that regard as well as India's space programme.
He said India's maiden unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 was a good attempt, but the problem would be in its return. Caution needs to be taken that all systems are in perfect shape to ensure its safe landing, which is not always easy.
He described India's space programme as one "great accomplishment" and one that will enable the country to leapfrog technologically. In this sense, the criticism lobbed against it that too much was being spent on the programme by a poor country without an immediate dividends was unjustified.
Linenger said it was commendable to see India's growing role in space.
''I am not underplaying the achievement, but let me tell you that brining back the mission to earth will be dificult,'' he said.
India's first probe to moon landed on the lunar surface on November 14 after riding on Chandrayaan-1, India's first unmanned spacecraft on the moon, travelling nearly 384,000 km in 24 days.
Linenger said bringing back Chandrayaan-1 would pose more technolgical challenges than putting it in the moon's orbit. "Overcoming it would be a greater success,'' he quipped.
Linenger spoke about how he narrowly survived a raging, smoke-billowing fire that was later described as the most severe blaze ever aboard an orbiting spacecraft. In spite of these challenges, Captain Linenger and his two Russian crewmates accomplished all mission goals -- shuttle docking ,space walking, a Soyuz fly around, and all 120 of the United States science experiments. In completing the mission, he logged 50 million miles, the equivalent distance of over 110 roundtrips to the moon, travelling at an average speed of 18,000 miles per hour.
The 53-year-old Astronaut said he welcomed international competition in space, as it will bring different perspectives and benefits from aggressive ambitions being pursued by nations such as technological advances and better systems.
He said since he was 14 years of age, he wanted to become an astronaut. He said this was the time when Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut--an American-- to land on moon, set his feet on the natural satellite.
Lienger spoke about the incredible 'ingenuity' of human mind to adapt when faced with difficulty and may be life and death situations, as he was in when he was in space.
The Astronaut said when his oxygen supply failed in space and he was sure that he would die, he said his first thought was, "Jerry, what a place to die."
He said before he went on 'Mir' a decade ago, he had a son and his wife was pregnant.
His next thoughts were "I am leaving you. I have loved you too intensely. But you will never see me again".
He said he has penned down his thoughts to his son and wife in a book 'Letters from Mir'.
The other famous book Linenger has written is "Off the Planet", which has been translated into 12 languages. The book is about his thrilling and precarious experiences in space.
Linengar said once you are out of the orbit of the Earth, one realises the futility of being petty and one looks at the world as one, not as ''an American, or an Indian or a Chinese''.
He said another lesson is love your family, do not be afraid of them. "Just forget your fears." Tell each one of them everyday that you love them immensely.
"When you go to sleep forget everything, all your worries and have a sound sleep," Jerry said.
Asked when he was in space, did he feel closer to God, he replied in the affirmative, saying it was clear to me that "this beautiful universe was his creation."
"It was my religion-like experience," he said.
He said he also felt close to his father, who must have been in heaven.
On landing after a long sojourn in space, he saw how beautiful his wife, who was heavy with child, ''looked as beautiful as ever'' and what feelings of love he had for his son.
Asked whether he had any ambitions to enter politics, Linenger said he has been made an offer by the Republicans for a ticket and the post of Governor of State, but he turned it down.
He said he had huge commitments and wanted to spend the weekends his family. Besdies, his ambition was to go to Mars.
In 'Mir' he had to be with two Russian astronauts who only spoke their language. One of them was a military engineer and the other anMiG pilot. He himself was a US Navy flight surgeon, who took early retirement. He had learnt Russian before going to space.
This taught him how important communication was with people with whom one may not have much in common culturally.
When he told his father as a boy that he wanted to become an astronaut, Linenger said he told him that he was crazy and enjoined upon him to join a career in the Navy.
Here are some other highlights about Linenger career.
A naval academy graduate, he holds doctorates in both medicine and research methodology, as well as dual master's degrees in systems management and health policy. He has been awarded three honorary doctorate degrees in science.
Linenger was the first American ever to undock from a space station in a Russian Soyuz capsule and the first American to do a space walk in a Russian spacesuit. At mission completion. Captain Linenger held the endurance record for the longest time in space for
an American man.
In 2008, Linenger became the recipient of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. The medal is given to any person in the Federal service who, by distinguished service, ability, or courage, has personally made a contribution representing substantial progress to
the NASA mission.
In his free time, Linenger enjoys competitive triathlons, ocean swim racing, scuba diving, skiing, and kayaking. He presently is a founding member of the advisory council for Circle of Blue, a global freshwater initiative, as well as a space analyst for NBC News. Jerry now lives back on the planet in northern Michigan with his wife and four children.
Few men achieve their ambition in life. They are regarded as lucky. Luckier still are those who achieve precarious ambitions like being an Astronaut, more so if they remain hale and hearty. They have much to tell the world. Perhaps, men like Linenger are blessed they aim higher and higher. After space, now its Mars.

Global slowdown: Plan Panel plan for infrastructure spending

New Delhi, Nov 19 (UNI) As a contra cyclical measure to ward off the adverse of the global downturn on Indian economy, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said the Commission will firm up an action plan in the next ten days entailing additional infrastructure financing of up to 150 billion dollars.

Dr Ahluwalia said it was initially targeted that 500 billion dollars would be spent for infrastructure development. However, financing arrangements had been worked out earlier for 350 billion dollars.
Now the Commission is identifying new projects and seeing how existing projects with absorptive capacity can be accelerated.
The Report is to be submitted to the Apex Committee, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Committee, formed to protect the Indian economy from the global meltdown, is headed by key persons in the government. These include Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and RBI Governor D Subbrao, apart from Dr Ahluwalia.
Dr Ahluwalia said the Prime Minister was of the view that infrastructure development needs to be speeded up to accelerate growth. This will provide the requisite fiscal stimulus.
He said the projects that have been identified will fall both in the domain of Public Sector initiatives and those under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode. It is a way of pump priming the economy, whose projected growth rate is now expected to be 7-7.5
in the current fiscal as compared to 9 per cent growth in the last four years.
He said if the funds for additional spending come by way of budgetary resources, then it would require another set of supplementary grants. However, the Commission was weighing options on finding ways and means of financing additional expenditure.
Dr Ahluwalia said a problem with infrastructure projects is the long gestation period for yielding returns, which are upwards of three to four months.
Dr Ahluwalia said the financing arrangements of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd(IL&FS) could be increased. Similarly, banks could also provide additional financing.
Asked about the Apex Committees programme relating to stepping up of exports, Dr Ahluwalia said the Commerce Ministry is examining the issue. He said there are problems plaguing the exporting community which Mr Kamal Nath is looking at.
Mr Chidambaram has indicated that a separate meeting of the Apex Committee would be held relating to exports.

G-20 Summit a success; India was heard and no discordant notes: PM

By Gurdip Singh

New Delhi, Nov 17 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says the G-20 Summit was a "successful affair" where there was no attempt to make "partisan points" and India's voice, which spoke for developing countries, was heard.
The Prime Minister said the Summit was a clear indication that the balance of power was increasingly shifting in favour of emerging economies.
The Prime Minister's remarks came while speaking to the media on board his special aircraft while returning back home after addressing the G-20 Summit in Washington yesterday. The Summit was convened by US President George W Bush.
"When President Bush first spoke to me about the idea, I had mentioned to him that there was a risk that if the meeting was not well prepared, it could be counter productive. Also, I was worried that the Europeans and Americans may not be able to agree on some
points. And similarly, the emerging economies point of view may not receive the attention that we would like, in which case there would be a clear picture of dissension", he said.
A situation where there was no clear convergence of views would not have been good for handling the global financial crisis or its aftermath and the world recession that is now on the horizon, he said.
"But I must tell you that the meeting could be described as a very successful affair. There was no attempt to score partisan points," he said.
"For a meeting which was convened at such short notice, I must say it was well prepared and there was no attempt to score partisan points. The Chinese and the Russians and all others said that the communiqué was a document which they could endorse. That I think is a positive feature of the outcome of this meeting," he said.
The Prime Minister said previously as well India was being invited for G-8 meetings, but said "consultations were merely for the sake of form. Our views were not really taken into account," while firming up the views of the member countries and strategies.
"This is for the first there was a genuine dialogue between major developed countries and major emerging countries. So, I believe this is one reflection of the shifting balance of economic power. The Western World at long last has realised the reality. This is a
positive gain," he said.
The G-8 has a narrow base with its members being the United Kingdom, United States, France, Russia, Canada, Germany, Japan and Italy. These members are also part of the G-20. India for the past few years is invited to attend the G-8's main meetings.
He said the Summit recognised that the world was faced with a major political crisis and it was now threatening to spill over to the real economy of both the developed and developing countries. There was also the recognition that as far as developing countries were concerned, though they had done nothing to contribute to this crisis, they were "probably the worst sufferers."
He said exports of developing countries were down as also flow of private capital and Foreign Direct Investment. There was an attempt on the part of foreign capital to fly out putting pressure on the exchange of rate of a number of developing countries. Besides, there was a danger that the flow of remittances from overseas workers may decline.
"Our concern was that in tackling the crisis, the developed countries, particularly with regard to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals" may falter. And all developing countries were united in making that this crisis should not become an occasion to divert the world's attention from the development dimension of human conditions."
He said India's point of view was that in a situation where private capital was not available for various reasons--a case of a market failure--there was need to mount considerable fiscal stimulus. In the present time, inflation was much less of a danger
while deflation was a real concern which the world has to grapple with. Therefore, those countries which have the maneuverability should use fiscal stimulus to stimulate demand.
The Prime Minister said as far as developing countries were concerned, infrastructure investment and its protection would be a major contributory factor to sustaining growth rates. It was for this reason that International financial institutions-- the World
Bank, IMF and Regional Development Banks--must come out with facilities to increase their assistance to developing countries.
"I was very happy that in anticipation of the meeting both the Fund and the Bank came out with schemes," he said.
The Prime Minister said there was unanimity in the meetings that international financial institutions must be provided with adequate resources to meet the challenge of the crisis, especially as far as developing countries were concerned.
The G-20 Committee has agreed on a work programme--short term, medium term and long term. It agreed to meet again in April to take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, there is work in progress on several issues. The reform of supervision and management systems of these institutions as well as reform of the governance structures of
international financial institutions, giving greater weight age to the emerging countries, he said.
"These are some of our concerns, which were taken on board. Work is in progress. We will know after three to four months how the work proceeds and what emerges out of
that", he said.
Asked weather there was agreement on his call for desisting protectionist tendencies, Dr Manmohan Singh said there was a general agreement that protectionism would be a wrong response to the present situation.
"It would only accentuate the crisis. Beggar thy neighbour policies have never worked in the past. They only slowdown and lead to decline of economic activity all around. So there is in the communiqué, I think a reaffirmation that all countries will resist recourse to protection tendencies," he said.
He said the communiqué gives urgency to the task of completing the stalled Doha Developmental Round, a point made by the Indian Prime Minister himself.
The Prime Minister was asked whether there was a discord between the Bush administration and the incoming Obama administration on the fiscal stimulus package.
Dr Manmohan Singh said that Mr Bush himself touched upon his relationship with the incoming administration in his closing remarks.
Mr Bush said the incoming administration has been fully briefed about what was happening and what will be the outcome. "He was, therefore, hopeful that there will be broad convergence of views. But I am not an expert on American politics to predict what will be the shape of things when the new administration takes over," Dr Singh said.
Mr Obama was conspicuous by his absence at the Summit. Since his elections some times back, Mr Obama has repeatedly stated that there is "only one President at a time."
Although the transition team is in Washington, Mr Obama has spent almost all his time since his election at home in Chicago.

Elections on schedule; people should vote UPA back to power: PM

By Gurdip Singh

New Delhi, Nov 17 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has ruled out early Lok Sabha polls and hoped that the people will vote his government back to power for the manner in which it has handled the economic crisis resulting from the global slowdown and its performance while in office.
''I think we have done reasonably well and I sincerely hope that the people of India would repose their confidence in us,'' Dr Singh said in reply to a question by the media in this regard.
The Prime Minister addressed the Press on Board his Special Aircraft while returning from Washington after addressing the G-20 Summit there yesterday.
Asked whether the economic and financial crisis will compel the government to postpone or hasten the elections, the Prime Minister said, '' It has no bearing on the elections. Elections will be held on schedule.''
"The crisis is not of our making. What I would like is for the people of India to judge us by the response of our government to this crisis. We acted in time and while the rest of the world is in doom and gloom, we will still maintain a growth rate of 7.5 per
cent. Growth with stability and more socially inclusive growth is a reality and will remain a reality despite the onslaught of adverse turn in our external environment," he said.
As the global crisis is expected to be a prolonged affair, observers feel that its real impact will come on the Indian economy eight months or so down the line. This may compel the government to go in for early elections. The Prime Minister, however, ruled this out averring that the UPA government has handled it well.
Asked as to when will the crisis get over, Dr Singh quipped, "I am not an astrologer."
"There are conflicting viewpoints. Our effort must be contain and rollback the crisis. But how long it will take, I am afraid I cannot pronounce with any sense of authority," he said.
Dr Singh was hopeful that despite the adverse external economic environment the Indian economy would still be able to clock a 7.5 per cent growth rate, which has been described as decent given the fact that the global meltdown is the worst since the Great
Depression of the 1930s.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who was also on the flight, admitted that the Indian economy's slowdown may impact job creation.
When asked to comment that some major Corporates are laying off workers due to the slowdown, Dr Ahluwalia said some months ago they were aggressively making recruitments.
"But the sad part is that whoever is hit is hit," Dr Ahluwalia remarked. The Plan Panel Deputy Chief was asked as to how deep and how long will the global recession last, Dr Ahluwalia said it was difficult to indicate this.
However, private players indicate that for the next two quarters the downturn is likely to continue, but in 2009 things will look up and the Indian economy will come into its own.

PM arrives in Washington to participate in G-20 Summit

By Gurdip Singh

Washington, Nov 14 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived here today to participate in the G-20 Summit, which has its theme 'Financial Markets and World Economy'.

The focus of the Summit will revolve on the global financial and economic crisis which has now engulfed almost the entire world. The present global turmoil is regarded as the worst ever since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The Indian delegation will make out a case for greater assistance to developing countries to help them tide over the financial crisis which is not of their making. The key members in the delegation are Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The Prime Minister is expected to argue for greater developmental assistance to India to spur growth and employment.
Soon after his arrival, Dr Singh was closetted with Mr Chidambaram and Mr Ahluwalia. The two experts gave the Prime Minister their assessment of the global economic crisis and its likely impact on India as well as the strategic aims to be pursued
at the Summit.
The Prime Minister, later in the evening, will attend a dinner to be hosted by US President George W Bush.

World Bank should enhance assistance to India: FM

By Gurdip Singh

Onboard Air India One, Nov 14 (UNI) To help tide over the fallout of the global financial crisis, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today sought greater developmental assistance from the World Bank for India and transfer of larger resources to developing countries from the Multilateral Institutions or working out a new global ad-hoc mechanism for the purpose.

''The World Bank can step up lending to India from the present level of three billion dollars a year for Central and State projects and programmes,'' Mr Chidambaram told a news conference.
The Finance Minister is part of the team led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh en route to Washington to participate in the G-20 Summit there.
The theme of the Summit is ''Financial Markets and WorldEconomy'', where the discussions are expected to centre on the deepening global financial crisis which has shattered economies every where.
Mr Chidambaram's remarks relating to India seeking larger World Bank assistance assumes significance as the country no longer is dependent in any great measure on external assistance.
It is after several years now that India again is seeking larger International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Agency (IDA) -- the soft lending window of the Bank -- assistance.
Assistance from the World Bank, including for infrastructure development could spur growth, employment, incomes and consequentially demand. Part of the problem has arisen from global financial crisis and some from the long spell of inflation.
Mr Chidambaram said a new order on ''global oversight'' needs to emerge and this can happen through greater inclusivity of the international financial system. ''A more inclusive system can provide better surveillance and serve as an early warning system.''
''In many ways the G-7 is too narrow and too small,'' he said.
He said only a handful of economies are driving global growth, India and China being two such countries, and added that there were other economies which have the potential to drive world growth and they need to be enabled to do so.
''It is very important that the few countries that are able to drive economic growth and other countries which are put on the bandwagon of development, should not suffer in the period during which we grapple with the world crisis. Resources must be made available to developing countries, including India, so that they can continue to grow,'' he said.

The Finance Minister said India does not need an IMF programme now. Money from the IMF can only be if you accept an IMG programme. (The IMF gives money only for adjustment of Balance of Payments problems).
However, Mr Chidambaram said what was needed was more resources for development, for which the best bet would be the World Bank.
Mr Chidambaram was answering a question as to whether India could get resources from the IMF and World Bank.
The Finance Minister said larger resources need to be transferred to poorer countries, where developmental prospects have been hit by the global turmoil. This could be done through the existing multilateral institutions, Or else, an ad hoc arrangement can be
worked out for passing on the resources to the developing countries. The answer will depend upon where the resources are to be found.
Mr Chidambaram said the focus of the Indian delegation at the Summit would be on three issues. These have been spelt out by the Prime Minister, he said.
They are (a) greater inclusivity in the international financial system; (b) ensuring that growth prospects of developing countries are not affected and (c) the need to avoid protectionist tendencies which are rearing their ugly head.
''This is not a time to adopt protectionist policies,'' he quipped.
On the other hand, Mr Chidambaram said the need is for greater flow of goods and services and larger capital flows among countries.
Mr Chidambaram admitted that growth and development of the Indian economy has been hit, though indirectly, as a result of the global financial crisis. The impact has largely been by way of lower growth, exports and currency flows.
''But we are confident that given the underlying strengths of Indian economy, we can weather the crisis and still return a decent growth rate in 2008-09. Even the IMF in its last week assessment places India's growth rate in the current fiscal at 7.8 per cent.''
He said the growth projections for the economy vary between 7 to 7.8 per cent. In this context, he said, the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council has projected a growth rate of 7.7 per cent for this fiscal and the RBI at 7.5 per cent.
The Finance Minister said, in Washington the issue of effective surveillance mechanism would be talked out. If such a system had been in place, it would have identified the huge risks that were being taken by some international financial entities.
In the absence of this surveillance mechanism or the oversight mechanism, these financial entities, some of which have collapsed, took unacceptable risks. This is what led to the crisis in the United States, which is the centre of the world crisis now.
There was thus need for adopting global prudential norms and convergence of accounting standards. He said this is what was highlighted at the G-20 Finance Ministers met at Sao Paulo in Brazil, from where he has just returned.
The global prudential norms financial institutions, especially those with global footprints, would relate to issues like risk assessment and risk weight age.
Mr Chidambaram, however, did not think that a global regulator was the answer to these problems nor a feasible option.
''While there need to have global standards, regulation would have to be national. That is what I think is going to happen,'' he said.
In reply to a question, Mr Chidambaram said he did not think that inventing another Breton Woods type institution would be a practical answer. What was need was improving global governance and global oversight of these institutions.
In reply to another question, Mr Chidambaram said if the world community was to agree to enhance the capital of Breton Woods Institutions, India would not be found wanting.
Mr Chidambaram said the IMF has done one set of reforms, under which India got a higher voting right. ''Whether IMF is ready for another set of reform of voting rights, I don't know. I doubt it. But surely the IMF must begin to discuss within itself governance reforms.''
Asked whether electoral politics would determine the response of the government to the global crisis and its impact on India, Mr Chidambaram said the resolution of the crisis will take one to a point well beyond the elections. Thus it would not adopt an ''election constructive'' point of view, but medium to a long-term point of view.
''I believe the US also will take that view. After all, President Bush and President-elect Obama are reported to have talked about these issues at great length just two days ago. Obama inputs will be there in whatever President Bush presents. So we will have to take a view that takes us well beyond these election dates. That is the stance I think India will adopt,'' he said.

PM to tell G-20 how to resolve global meltdown, protect development

By Gurdip Singh

New Delhi, Nov 13 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today leaves for Washington to address world leaders at the G-20 Summit amid the hope that he will be able to provide the global community insights and solutions into the worst ever global financial crisis since the Great Depression, given his proclivity and skills for economics and wide experience in shaping the destiny of India.

The focus of his strategy at the Summit would be on creating a global credible and stable financial institutional mechanism as a solution provider to a crisis, which has shattered economies all over the world and failed leading economists.
It will also provide the first ever economist Prime Minister of India a golden opportunity to convince the world and his domestic constituency of his ability to catapult India into the status of a developed country and ensure that the process of infrastructure
development, the key to future economic growth, is not hampered.
He and his close confidants have been working round the clock to address the problems relating to the global meltdown and their possible impact on India.
The Prime Minister is accompanied to the landmark event by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The theme of the Summmit is 'Financial Markets and World Economy'.
The G-20 is an informal forum that promotes discussions between industrial and emerging-market countries on issues relating to global economic stability. It aims to strengthen international financial architecture and provides opportunities for dialogue on
national policies, international co-operation and global financial institutions. It, thus, aims to support growth anddevelopment across the world.
The G-20 was created as a response both to the financial crisis of the late 1990s and to a growing recognition that key emerging-market countries were not adequately included in the core of global economic discussion.
The Group of 20 comprises 19 of the world's largest countries plus the European Union. Apart from India, the countries which are member of this Group are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
There is a strong feeling that the community of developing countries is suffering because of structural failure of the industrialised world. The developing countries, thus, are likely to express their concern about backtracking by Multinational
Corporations, including Foreign Institutional Investors(FIIs), from their commitments to the less industrialised countries and demand a mechanism that could ensure that their developmental effort is not sabotaged by the actions of MNCs.
Given the very nature of the problem, it is unlikely that the industrialised world has a solution to it.
India, which has already launched itself on a multi- billion dollar programme relating to infrastructure development using the Public-Private Partnership model, will make out a case that the meltdown process will take its developmental effort back by many
years with fears that developmental activity may come to a halt.
This stand of India is likely to find support among other developing countries and these countries may ask for the opening up of a new international window, which will fund infrastructure and social sector projects.

Indications are that they may ask for the creation of a Regional Investment Bank which can facilitate development of lead sectors.
As a pro-active step, the World Bank Group yesterday announced a substantial step-up in its lending operations to developing countries with additional commitments by the IBRD up to 100 billion dollars in the next three years as well as four new facilities for
the crisis-hit private sector.
Another issue that is likely to crop up at the Summit is the vulnerability of developing countries to FII money and the threat they pose to the health of an economy.
The unprecedented economic crisis has compelled the world to call a meeting of the forum, where developing countries will be equal partners.
The global character of the industrialised countries has landed the United States and its allies, especially in Europe, in a financial mess. It has also made industrialised countries aware that any solution by developing countries to find answers which are purely domestically driven and shuts them off from the global economy can have a catastrophic impact on them.
In a sense, the G-20 meeting may witness a paradoxical situation where the strategy of the Corporate World, especially the FIIs and MNcs, would be contradictory to the position of the pioneers and spokesmen for the industrialised countries with regard to developing countries. The developed world would like to co-opt the developing
world in an expansionary manner into the global economic system.
Stiff competition, clubbed with carrying out operations on thin profit margins, led to a spate of corporate failures and the present economic turmoil.
As a result, voices favouring a global regulatory mechanism which would provide guidelines for functioning of FIIs, thus ensuring that undue risks are not taken to propel growth and profitability are likely to be heard at the Summit.
Some economists favour a super regulatory type of body and a fund which can rescue corporates and economies in the event of such pitfalls.
The developed world is also likely to make suggestions for strengthening financial institutions in weaker countries, measures aimed at discouraging setting up of small banks, weak insurancecompanies and mutual funds.
In the Indian context, this would mean mega mergers in the banking industry as well as encouraging corporate mergers and buyouts.
The Indian delegation will, thus, have to do a difficult balancing act in the lead-up to the General Elections.
Given the receding popularity of the UPA government at home and the need to regain the confidence of the vote bank and the Congress, it is imperative for the Prime Minister to take the lead role in resolving the global crisis and minimising its fallout on the Indian economy.
The economic managers of the country are fully aware of the fact that this is a rare opportunity and they have to bring back the popularity of their party and restore national confidence, which has received a battering with a long spell of inflation, faltering industrial production and fears of a lower GDP growth then targeted.
Sources say they will spring up innovative but practical solutions to resolve the global downturn and enhance India's image of an emerging and forceful knowledge- based economy and society.

More steps necessary to maintain growth of Indian economy: PM

On Board Prime Minister's Special Aircraft, Nov 16 (UNI)
By Gurdip Singh

Describing the G-20 summit as a ''successful affair'', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said there was a consensus among world leaders to provide developing countries with additional resources to help them tide over the global financial crisis and assured that whatever further steps are needed to maintain the growth momentum of Indian economy would be taken.

Dr Singh told reporters onboard Air India One while returning after attending the G-20 summit in Washington that despite a negative impact on the Indian economy of the global turmoil it would be able to clock a growth rate of 7.5 per cent this fiscal.
The situation was being constantly monitored by the government on a day to day basis, he said, adding that the adverse impact would be by way of lower exports, and a lower level of foreign capital inflows, including FDI.
The Prime Minister said several steps have been taken to improve the liquidity situation and as it was a evolving situation whatever further steps are necessary they would be taken.
The Prime Minister said the summit reflected the changing economic power equations in the globe. The developing countries are assuming greater weight, he said.
He said while India has been attending G-8 summit it was heard but its suggestions often not taken on board.
The Prime Minister said this was not the case with the G-20 summit. India's views as also of other developing countries were heard more seriously and likely to be acted upon.
He said there was appreciation at the summit that more resources need to be transferred to developing countries so that their growth and development prospects are not adversely affected by the global financial crisis.

Dr Singh said if the growth and development of developing countries was hurt, then the achievement of the millennium development goals would remain a distant dream. He said all developing countries are united in making the demand that the crisis should not become an occasion to divert the world attention from the development dimension of human conditions.
He said India's point of view was that in a situation where private capital was not available for various reasons due to market failures there was need to mount considerable fiscal stimulus to make good the deficiency in private demand.
The Prime Minister said it was agreed that the World Bank, IMF, and regional developmental banks must work out facilities to increase assistance to the developing countries.
Dr Singh said he and Finance Minister P Chidambaram have anticipated at the time of budget making that there was likely to be a global slowdown this year. He said the government has taken excessive risk on the budget deficit but taken care that slack does not emerge. ''So far as our economy is concerned, I think our fiscal stimulus is already on. The fact that we have given record prices to the producers of wheat and rice, Rs 71,000
thousand crore farm loan waiver, extensive programme on social service and infrastructure expansion will maintain the growth momentum,'' he said.
The Prime Minister said inflation is now becoming less of a problem, especially from the deseasonalised data instead of year on year basis assessment that the situation is turning out to be quite better. This will give the government greater maneuverability
to use necessary monetary fiscal policy.

India's growth to be hit, PM suggests measures to tackle crisis

By Gurdip Singh

Washington, Nov 15 (UNI) Saying that the growth of the Indian economy is expected to slow down to between 7 and 7.5 per cent this fiscal due to the global financial crisis, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today made a host of suggestions to prevent such
a crisis in future and protect developing countries from the present turmoil, including the World Bank Group and Regional Development Banks providing an additional 50 billion dollars per year to support infrastructure projects in developing countries.

''This window (for infrastructure projects) can be wound down once normalcy returns to global capital flows,'' Dr Singh said in his address to the Summit of the Heads of Governments of the G-20 countries.

The theme of the Summit is ''Financial Markets and the World Economy.''

The other suggestions made by the Prime Minister in this regard are reforming the global financial architecture to prevent similar crisis in future, governments of industrialised counties intervening to ensure that private flows to developing countries are not affected, replenishing the resources of the IMF, governance reforms of the Fund, developed counties providing expanded export credit on reasonable terms to poor countries and ensuring that the Doha Round is completed.

Dr Singh mooted the idea of short-term swap arrangements as an alternative to the IMF as a source of quick disbursing liquidity. The existence of such arrangements will reduce the burden on the IMF and will add to confidence in the system, he said.
''Countries in a position to do so should consider the scope for expanding such arrangements,'' he said.

Dr Singh said new and innovative ways are needed for solving the financing problems that will restrain infrastructure investment.
''The World Bank, regional development banks and national governments need to consider measures such as providing additional credit for infrastructure projects, promote new instruments for infrastructure financing and providing capital and liquidity support to banking institutions to lend to infrastructure projects that are underway. The World Bank, IFC and the Regional Development banks should aim at making an additional 50 billion dollars per year in support of infrastructure development in the public and private sectors. This window can be wound down once normalcy returns to global capital flows,'' he said.

He said industrialised countries are expected to slow down in 2008.

They are now projected to be in a recession in the second half of the year, and there is little prospect of an early recovery.
''Many have called it the most serious crisis since the Great Depression,'' he said.

The Prime Minister said India is experiencing the negative impact of the crisis. After growing at close to nine per cent a year for four years, its growth rate is expected to slow down to between seven per cent to 7.5 per cent in the current financial year.

''The pace of growth next year will depend, in part, upon how long the global recession lasts and how quickly global capital flows return to normal. Much of India's growth is internally driven and I expect we can maintain a strong pace of growth in the coming years, but many developing countries will be hit harder,'' he said.

The Prime Minister said slowing down of growth in developing countries will push millions of people back into poverty, with adverse effects on nutrition, health and education levels.
''These are not transient impacts but will impact a full generation. If we are to prevent a slide back and ensure that Millennium Development Goals are achieved, we need to ensure that growth in developing economies is not affected,'' he said.

Dr Singh said since the crisis was global, it calls for a coordinated global response. He said the measures taken by governments in this regard have had some effect, but the crisis
is ''far from over''.

''Credit channels remain clogged and the signs of distress in the real economy suggest that additional measures are needed,'' he said.

The Prime Minister said a coordinated fiscal stimulus by countries that are in a position to do so would help to mitigate the severity and duration of the recession. It would also send a strong signal to investors around the world.

''Resort to fiscal stimulus may be viewed as risky in some situations, but if we are indeed on the brink of the worst downturn since the Great Depression, the risk may be worth taking. We should therefore take all possible measures at the national level to complement any coordinated international stimulus,'' he said.

The Prime Minister said the initiative by the IMF to establish a new liquidity facility was a welcome step. ''However, we must also consider whether the IMF is adequately funded for the task it will face in managing this global crisis. Looking ahead we must plan for possible additional demands on the IMF if the global recession is pronounced. This suggests that we must activate a process for replenishing IMF resources.''

Dr Singh said industrialised countries can also help to revive trade flows in developing countries by expanding the scale of export credit finance available to these countries.
''We know there is a temporary market failure in this area with elevated risk perceptions which discourage private flows. There is a need to intervene to overcome market failure. A collapse of trade is the last thing that one wants in the current crisis, with all its implications for growth and employment. Concerted government action in expanding export credit financing on reasonable terms will help support the pace of development in developing countries, which is critical for achieving poverty alleviation and employment
objectives,'' he said.

He called for urgent steps to strengthen the global trading system and forest all any protectionist tendencies which surface in times of recession.
''A successful conclusion of the on-going multilateral trade talks would be an important confidence builder at this stage. We are willing to work constructively with other major players to reach a balanced and mutually beneficial outcome,'' he said.
''The new architecture we design must include a credible system of multilateral surveillance, which can signal the emergence of imbalances that are likely to have systemic effects, and also put in motion a process of consultation that can yield results in terms of policy coordination,'' he said.

The Prime Minister said over the years, the IMF has become marginal to the task of policy analysis and consultations on macro-economic imbalances and related policies in the major countries.

''That task is now performed in other forums, though it is questionable whether it is being performed well. I believe we need a comprehensive review of the procedures of the IMF, leading to recommendations on governance reform that would enable the Fund to perform the role of macro-economic policy coordination,'' he said.

Dr Singh said an important element of longer term reform is to restructure the representation in the governance levels of the Fund to reflect the current and prospective economic realities.

''Quota reform is the normal way to effect a change in voting power, but it has been contentious and incremental, and what has been achieved thus far has fallen far short of what is needed. The Board of Governors of the IMF should be explicitly charged with exploring alternative modalities to achieve a more legitimate representation,'' he said.
The Prime Minister said it was necessary to pay attention to the many regulatory gaps in the financial system which allowed the development of excess leverage and the risks associated with it.
''It is obvious that we need better systems of risk management and better regulation and supervision, especially of institutions that have a global reach and are dealing in financial instruments that are exceedingly complex. Managers of financial institutions, credit rating agencies and regulators have to do a much better job. The structure of incentives in the system has to be aligned to this end. We also need to examine whether the existing forums of regulators that are there are adequate and cover the entire gamut of regulatory and supervisory activities that are required, ''he said.
He said the specialised forums dealing with financial stability, notably the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Stability Forum need to have broader representation than they do at present.
Dr singh said the convening of the Summit has raised expectations in many circles that ''we will work to produce a new Bretton Woods II''.
''The world has certainly changed sufficiently to need a new architecture, but this can only be done on the basis of much greater preparation and consultation. We can, however, signal that we are serious about starting a process that will, in time, produce an
architecture suited to the new challenges and vulnerabilities facing the world economy and reflective of the changes that have taken place in the economic structure,'' he said.

India to voice concern of poor countries at G-20 summit today

By Gurdip Singh

Washington, Nov 15 (UNI) Leaders of the world's richest nations and fastest growing economies start their formal discussions today at the G-20 summit here, on steps to tackle the global financial crisis.

The Indian delegation is led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who arrived in the US capital Friday afternoon. Those assisting him at the summit include Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
India will make a strong pitch at the summit for enhancing assistance to developing countries, including India, to help them tide over the crisis which is not of their own making.

Mr Chidambaram had made out a case for larger developmental assistance from the World Bank to India, to finance Central and state projects, over and above three billion Dollars it gets annually from the Bank.

The Summit, convened by outgoing US President George W Bush, started with a working dinner at the White House last night. The main meeting is today.

According to reports, Mr Bush wants a clear plan of action to reform the international financial system. This, he feels is necessary to help prevent a similar crisis in the future. Chinese President Hu Jintao will be attending the summit with developed
nations, already suggesting steps that China with its huge forex reserves, could take.

Chinese growth has been affected by the global crisis, falling to a single digit for the first time in years.

The theme of the summit is 'Financial Markets and the World Economy'.

India will highlight three critical issues pertaining to the global turmoil. These are: greater inclusivity of the international financial system ; protecting developing countries' growth prospects and need to avoid protectionist tendencies.

Soon after his arrival, Dr Singh was closeted with his close confidants – Mr Chidambaram and Dr Ahluwalia, who discussed with him the strategy at the summit.

India will be arguing for a greater role for developed countries in the Global Financial System.

Meanwhile, voices of dissent have started appearing relating to the summit. The world campaign for in-depth reform of the system of international institutions, a European civil society initiative raised objections in this regard.
It expressed concern at the neo-liberal capitalist model on humanity, which is ''extremely unjust''. It said, invitations for the meeting have been issued in an arbitrary manner, ignoring poorest countries, which will be deeply impacted by the crisis. They
said the Summit fails to take advantage and even overshadows the Doha Conference on 'Financing for Development' to review the implementation of Monterrey Consensus, scheduled from November 29 to December 2. Particularly, as the consensus includes the section on systemic structural issues, which have been worked out for months at
the United Nations.

Commentators, however, say the G-20 Summit has some advantages. It is more representative of the world's rising economic powers than the G-7 or G-8 Summit. The G-7 comprises of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The United Kingdom and United States.

Some rising powers now in G-20 has strong claim in the group.These include India, Brazil , China, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey.

The US is at the centre of the crisis, which began with the sub-prime housing market collapse and spread to the financial sector.

Bill Gates commends India's efforts at polio eradication, HIV/AID

New Delhi, Nov 5 (UNI) Bill Gates, Chairman of the Microsoft Corporation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, today commended India's efforts to eradicate polio and tackle other public health issues, and gave a categorical assurance that his NGOs will
enhance support to the country's health problems, notwithstanding the global slowdown and its impact on American businesses.
"Polio can be successfully eradicated with India leading the way. Being successful in polio is of incredible importance to public health. So it is important we do everything possible to accelerate eradication", Mr Gates said addressing a Press Conference here.
The event was convened to highlight the role Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation would play in future in reducing the incidence of health problems, like polio, HIV and Tobacco Control.
Mr Gates said India is one of the four countries in the world where polio was still endemic.
He said there were many reasons for optimism that India can prevail against polio and the country is pivotal to showing that eradication is possible.
Mr Gates said the global economic slowdown will impact on spending by American businesses, but assured that the NGO headed by him will not reduce spending on health programmes in India. If anything, its scale expanded and operations accelerated.
"Philanthropy becomes easier in a situation where there is no slowdown of economic activity", he said.
He was also hopeful that victory of Mr Barack Obama as the next President of the United States, will not mean any reduction in public health spending and its commitment to support developing countries on health issues.
"Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will continue to provide resources and voice for polio eradication efforts in India and other countries. Over the past year, the foundation has more than doubled its funding for polio eradication", he said.
Mr Gates said in addition to its tremendous vaccination activities, India was pioneering many efforts to improve public health. The recent ban on smoking in public places was a remarkable achievement.
"I am also excited about the potential of the country's scientific community to help develop new solutions to major health challenges, such as malaria and HIV/AIDS,' he said.
He said that he will relinquish most of his work in Microsoft and spend more time on health and education work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
During his visit to India, Mr Gates observed surveillance, vaccination and outbreak response activities in Delhi, visited the family of a young girl who was recently diagnosed with polio, and met Indian health officials and polio experts.
Mr Gates lauded the extraordinary work of the Indian government and the ''Global Polio Eradication Initiative,'' which included Rotary International, UNICEF, World Health Organisation and the US Centre for Disease Control.
He expressed his gratitude to Indian parents and volunteers for their continued participation in immunisation campaigns to protect children from polio.
''Participating in immunisation drives can be a challenge for parents and caregivers--especially when rounds occur so frequently. But it is well worth the effort,'' he said.
To date, India has accounted for 35 per cent (496) of all polio cases worldwide. At this time last year, India accounted for 51 per cent (340 of all cases worldwide 689).
The Northern States of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar acccount for 96.6 per cent of polio cases in India.
Mr Gates said large-scale polio vaccination campaign have been underway in these two states during the past three years However, frequent round and new strategies have been worked out to enhance current efforts and stop transmission as quickly as possible.
Mr Gates said not too long ago it was perceived that polio would be wiped out from India but there has been increase in the past few years, especially in cases relating to type I and type II strains.
He said that 'Avahan'-- the India AIDS initiatives of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation--has committed 258 million dollars over five years for HIV/AIDS prevention in India.
Money is distributed to six lead state level guarantees under the programme which in turns collaborate with 134 local NGOs to provide HIV prevention services across the states.
These are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur and Nagaland.
The target groups for the 'Avahan' programme are--two lakh female sex workers and their clients; 60,000 men who have sex with men and transgender and 20,000 injecting drug users.
Mr Gates said that his foundation is guided by the belief that every life has equal value.
People often do not put their money where their mouth is.
Perhaps, Bill Gates belongs to the dwindling tribe of men who back what they believe in.

PSBs, Pvt Banks cut lending,depsoit rates by 75 bps; dawn of new era

New Delhi, Nov 6 (UNI) Housing and consumer loans will now be cheaper, with the State Bank of India(SBI) and a slew of other Public and Private Sector Banks today announcing a cut in deposit and lending rates by as much as 75bps, heralding an era of soft interest rate regime.

SBI, the biggest Bank of the country, reduced lending rates by 75 bps and deposit rates by 50 bps across maturities from 91 days upto five years. The rate cuts are effective from Monday.
The PLR will be 75 bps lower than before.
Other Banks took a cue from this, announcing rate cuts more or less in the same vein.
Among the private Banks, Citi Bank led the way cutting PLR by 50 bps. Other private Banks said they are contemplating similar moves. For instance, HDFC said it will make a review next week.
The rate cuts came after the RBI's in a series of steps infused huge liquidity into the financial system, slashing CRR by 350 bps, cutting repo rate by 150 bps and reducing SLR by one per cent.
The Finance Minister in his recent meeting with Chief Executives of PSBs had asked them to price credit appropriately, thus hinting that they cut lending rates to improve credit delivery.
Allahabad Bank and State Bank of Mysore this afternoon reduced their Prime Lending Rate (PLR) by 75 basis points also with effect from November 10.
After the reduction, SBI's PLR will stand at 13 per cent from the current 13.75 per cent, while PLR of the Allahabad Bank will be at 13.25 per cent compared to 14 per cent at present.
Allahabad Bank will reduce interest on term deposit by 50 basis points from December 1.
Central Bank of India reduced its Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) by 75 basis points from 14 per cent to 13.25 per cent from November 10, while Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) decreased their PLRs by 75 basis points to 13.25 per cent each with immediate effect.
Dena Bank announced a reduction of 75 bps in its BPLR from 14.25 per cent to 13.50 per cent, to be effective from November 10.
To the delight of the reality sector which of late has started becoming sluggish, Oriental Bank of Commerce has reduced its interest rates on housing loans up to Rs 30 lakh.
It has also reduced interest on education loans.
OBC being the first Bank to do this, it set in motion a process of lower interest on housing and education loans. OBC, a mid-sized Bank, often has been a trendsetter of sorts.
Corporation Bank announced cut in its Prime Lending Rate by 75 basis points to 13.25 per cent from 14 per cent, to be effective from November 10.
Three PSBs -- Canara Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda -- slashed their PLRs by 0.75 per cent yesterday.
Other lenders, who have reduced their interest rates include Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India--both very large Banks.
The good news of a lower interest rate regime comes after the festive season. Had it been otherwise, there would have been more glitter and sweets on Diwali.

Plan Panel, EAC lower growth projections; GDP to be lower by 1.5-2%

New Delhi, Nov 8 (UNI) Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said the growth rate of the Indian economy can be affected by 1.5 to 2.5 per cent in the next two years from the targetted level, depending upon the seriousness of the adverse global situation, even as Prime Minister's Economic Advisory
Council (EAC) Chairman Suresh Tendulkar said the Council can lower its forecast for the current fiscal from 7.7 per cent to around seven per cent.
The average targetted growth rate for the Eleventh Plan period is 8.38 per cent and it is for the first time that the economic advisors to the government were expecting a much deeper impact than ever before on the Indian economy of the global crisis.
Dr Ahluwalia was of the view that the adverse global situation could continue for about two years, thus impinging on the growth prospects of the Indian economy.
Dr Ahluwalia and Dr Sundaram made these comments to the media after participating in a seminar on ''Global economic slow down; implications for India'', organsied by the Planning Commission.
Dr Kirit Parikh, member Planning Commission, also gave his assessment of the situation.
Dr Ahluwalia said if one or two negatives could be eliminated from the global scenario then the decline of the growth rate would come down by 0.5 per cent to one per cent. These could be falling global commodity prices, lower rate of inflation and
an improvement in the Balance of Payments situation, primarily due to lower prices of imports,
Dr Ahluwalia, however, said the intensity of the lowering of growth rate would depend upon the domestic contra-cyclical measures that are taken by Indian authorities. These could be fiscal moves, including enhanced spending on infrastructre, and improvements in productivity.
Dr Tendulkar said in July the Council had projected a growth rate of 7.7 per cent in July, but in their next forecast seeing the magnitude of the global meltdown, the EAC may bring down its foreacast to seven per cent, ''notwithstanding a few decimals this
way or that way''.
At the seminar presentations were made by four premier research bodies -- National Council for Applied Economic Reserach (NCAER), Institute of Economic Growth, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore, and Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai.
A presentation was also made by the Planning Commission team.
The seminar considered 20 different simulation model and four major models by the premier research institutes. The variables were different worsening situations of the global economy.
Asked how deep was the global crisis, Dr Tendulkar said the financial crisis was very deep, however, the impact on the real economy was difficult to assess.
He said there was a crisis of confidence all over the globe, the worst hit being the business community.
Dr Ahluwalia said it is from the third year that the clouds of the global meltdown would wither away.
However, all models that were presented this morning came to one conclusion that the long term prospects of the Indian economy continued to be bright and stable as compared to the rest of the world.
The two economists clarified that it was a mistake to say, as was being done in certain quarters, that the Indian economy is in a recession. He said the possibility so far is that only the United States and Europe are in recession, which means a negative growth in
the National Income.
On the other hand, the Indian economy was experiencing a decline in growth rate.
Some of the other points that emerged at the seminar are; public savings rate may decline; interest rates may collapse; the adverse Balance of Trade (BoT) may be countered by a price crash; the world recession would continue in 2009; next two to three years are bad for the world economy and employment in the United Kingdom may be
severely affected.
The economists attending the seminar said impact on India will mainly be due to a slowdown in export and reduction in foreign flows.
They said so far exports from India have fallen by as much as seven per cent in dollar terms and there was a 20 per cent fall in each of the components of foreign inflows. Primarily these are remittances; net factor income; government's foreign borrowings and foreign savings.

ICCI Bank to review interest rate policy soon: Kamath

New Delhi, Nov 3 (UNI) ICICI Bank Chairman K V Kamath today said his bank will review its interest rates policy in the next few days, after monitoring the impact on liquidity of the recent Central Bank's steps to infuse liquidity.

''We will review interest rates after watching the impact of the RBI decision on liquidity,'' Mr Kamath told reporters here.
''It is premature to consider interest rates right now, but we will review it in the next few days,'' he said.
The RBI has undertaken a series of cuts in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and repo rate recently. The Central Bank on Saturday unexpectedly cut its key lending rate by 50 basis points to 7.5 percent and Cash Reserve requirements by 100 basis points to 5.5 per
cent to infuse liquidity into the system.
Significantly, Finance Minister P Chidambaram is meeting heads of Public Sector Banks tomorrow to review the interest rate scenario and lending operations by them.
Private Sector banks may be waiting to take a cue from the meeting tomorrow.
Mr Kamath, however, said signals to banks from the Central Bank is very clear and that lending and deposit rates will react to liquidity.
Speaking on his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as part of the premier's renedezvous with captains of industry, Mr Kamath, who is also the CII President, said: ''We have got an issuance that the government and the industry is on one side and the government will work with the industry to see that any challenge that industry
faces will be alleviated.''

Growth to be protected; PM tells industry not to indulge in lay-offs

New Delhi, Nov 3 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today gave a categorical assurance that the GDP growth rate and other relevant growth parameters will be protected at all costs, notwithstanding the turmoil created by the global financial crisis, and asked industry to refrain from large-scale job lay-offs.

''I would like to assure each one of you that the government will take all necessary monetary and fiscal policy measures on the domestic front to protect our growth rates,'' Dr Singh said in rendezvous with captains of industry here.
The Prime Minister admitted that Indian economy cannot remain insulated from the crisis of the magnitude that was being witnessed at the global scale.
The Prime Minister said international credit has shrunk with adverse effects on Indian corporates and banks. Global uncertainty was also tending to dampen investor sentiment, he said.
He said the government's first priority was to protect the country's financial system from possible loss of confidence or contagion effects.
''I think we have successfully conveyed to our people that our banking system, both in the public and the private sector, is safe, and the government stands behind it and no one should fear for the safety of bank deposits,'' the Prime Minister said.
Talking about the steps taken by the government to ease liquidity, Dr Singh said, ''I believe these steps have made a substantial difference. We recognise that the situation is abnormal and we need to be constantly on alert. The situation is being watched on a day to day basis and more steps will be taken if required.''
He asked industry not to resort to large scale lay-offs, while undertaking other cost cutting measures and enhance productivity to combat the impact of the global economic crisis.
''While every effort needs to be made to cut costs and raise productivity, I hope there will be no knee-jerk reaction such as large scale lay-offs, which may lead to a negative spiral,'' Dr Singh said.
Apart from three heads of the apex chambers--FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM, ten captains of industry attended the meeting.
They include DLF Chairman K P Singh, Tata Group Chairman Ratan
Tata, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) Chairman Anil Ambani, Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Enterprises Ltd Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd Vice- Chairman Anand G Mahindra, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh and ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar.
Industry asked the government to take decisive action to ward off any adverse impact arising out of global financial crisis.
The captains of industry called for a complete reversal of the hawkish policy stance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by infusing huge liquidity to spur growth.
This the first meeting that the Prime Minister has had with industry leaders ever since the global financial turmoil appeared on the horizon.

Former IMF Chief Economist is advisor to Prime Minister

New Delhi, Nov 3 (UNI) Dr Raghuraman Rajan, former International Monetary Fund Chief economist, has been appointed Honorary Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, it was announced here today.
A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said Dr Raghuram Rajan will hold the rank and status of Secretary to the Government of India.
Dr Rajan, is currently a Finance Professor at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business.
He recently headed a panel on financial sector reforms in India, which issued a draft report calling on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to give primacy to controlling inflation. The 229-page draft said the Central Bank should set a target range for inflation
and move to a single instrument such as short-term rates to achieve that goal.
The Report has also offered a slew of recommendations to make India a financial powerhouse over the next five years.
Dr Rajan is a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was awarded the Doctorate of Philosophy in 1991.
Earlier, he did his master's in business administration from the Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi.
Dr Rajan has also been a visiting Professor of Finance at the Kellogg School, Northwestern University, and Fischer Black visiting Professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management.

Chambers meet FM, call for decisive action

New Delhi, Nov 3 (UNI) The heads of three apex chambers today met Finance Minister P Chidambaram and pleaded for decisive government action to ensure that the impact of the global liquidity crunch and possible slowdown of the world economy is felt minimally on India.

The meeting with the Finance Minister took place immediately after the captains of industry met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the global situation and its impact on the Indian economy.
The meeting with Mr Chidambaram was attended by CII President K V Kamath, FICCI President Rajeev Chandrasekhar and ASSOCHAM President Sajjan Jindal.
The government as also the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have taken a number of steps since the beginning of October to protect the country's banking system from the global financial contagion.
Mr Chandrashekhar said the economy and business is at a very critical juncture. There is a crisis of confidence in investors and in business.
''The crisis of confidence is about the growth scenario in the years ahead,'' he said.
He stressed the need for rolling back on the earlier monetary policy stance of the RBI, which laid emphasis on tight money supply.
He said there was very little short money and is expensive as is evident from the weekend call money rates.
He said there was almost no medium and long-term money available. Thus, the measures taken by the RBI to ease liquidity infusion have had little effect in reaching out to the business community and consumers.
Mr Kamath said there was need to monitor the situation emerging from the RBI's decision to infuse liquidity. He advocated steep cuts to ensure that government's articulated GDP growth of eight per cent is achieved.
Mr Jindal called for infusing more liquidity into the economy to generate investments and key expansion activities that have already been planned, but have taken a backseat due to lack of credit or lending at high interest rates.
He called for enhanced government spending in infrastructure projects and other key utility sectors.

Slew of State-run Banks announce plans to cut interest rates

New Delhi, Nov 4 (UNI) Taking the signal from Finance Minister P Chidambaram that Public Sector Banks(PSBs) need to price credit ''appropriately'', several of these Banks today announced their plans to cut interest rates, including SBI Chief O P Bhatt saying that his Bank may lower lending rates by 25 to 50 basis points.

State Bank of India, the nation's largest Bank, will decide on cutting interest rates this week, Mr Bhatt said after meeting the Finance Minister at the CEOs enclave. .
``There was a consensus among bankers that there is a downward bias in interest rates,'' Mr Bhatt said.
He said he visualises interest rates softening and plans for cutting lending and deposit rates by 25 to 50 bps in one or two days.
SBI may reduce its Prime Lending Rate by 50 bps.
Mr Bhatt said credit was likely to grow by 28 per cent and deposits 25 to 26 per cent.
The following are the announcements by other Banks in this regard:
---PNB says there could be a further cut in lending rates;
--- Syndicate Bank today cut BPLR by 75 bps to 13.25 per cent;
--- Bank of India likely to cut lending rate by 50 bps in three to four days;
--- Bank of Baroda to cut lending rate by 75 bps on Wednesday;
--- UCO Bank likely to cut PLR by 50 bps to 13.5 per cent;

FM asks PSBs to ''appropriately'' price credit; Banks say yes

New Delhi, Nov 4 (UNI) Finance Minister P Chidambaram today asked Public Sector Banks(PSBs) to price credit at an "appropriate rate" with the government having pumped adequate liquidity into the system and said that he has received a "positive response" from them.
Addressing media persons after his quarterly meeting with Chief Executives of PSBs, Mr Chidambaram repeatedly denied that he had issued any directive to these Banks to cut interest rates.
Mr Chidambaram said The Indian Banks Association(IBA)- which is the voice of the Bank managements--has assured him that it will reflect on the matter, namely the demand for rate cuts.
The Finance Minister elaborated that there were three steps relating to credit. The first was provision of adequate liquidity, the second of its appropriate pricing and the third relating to credit delivery.
The government having provided adequate liquidity by way of CRR cut totaling 350 bps, repo rate by 150 bps and SLR by 100 bps, it was now for the Banks to provide appropriately priced credit.
The implication of the Finance Minister's remarks was that interest rates need to be in conformity with the abundance of liquidity so that credit off take can increase.
He said the PSBs would suitably adjust both lending and deposit rates.
The Finance Minister said liquidity needs to be monitored on a regular basis and if it becomes known to the government that there was need for a still higher dose of liquidity, then the RBI would act appropriately.
Asked whether the Finance Ministry would also talk to the private banks to review the interest rates situation and credit delivery, Mr Chidambaram said Finance Secretary Arun Ramanathan has called a meeting of the private and foreign banks tomorrow to discuss the issue.
Mr Chidambaram gave a categorical assurance that the housing and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sectors would be provided adequate finance, these being the two sectors which are generators of high employment.
Mr Chidambaram said the RBI would soon take a decision on extending a line of credit of Rs10,000 crore to the National Housing Bank and an equal amount of line of credit to SIDBI to ensure that adequate funds are available for the housing and SME sectors.
"The demand for credit is higher and bankers are feeling the pressure", Mr Chidambaram said .
He said he has sought from them a fortnightly report on the credit growth.
"We are monitoring the situation on a 24 by 7 basis," he remarked.
He said the Banks have been asked to lend to Mutual Funds at reasonable rates and to use the new window that has been created recently in this regard.
Mr Chidambaram said dollar availability will not be a problem as the RBI has increased FCNR (Foreign Currency Non- Resident) deposit accounts and NRE (Non-Resident External) accounts. ''The RBI is closely watching the situation,'' Mr Chidambaram said.
Mr Chidambaram said the Banks would have to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers and projects. Other than this, it was necessary that all sectors must get adequate credit at an appropriate rate.
He said the impact of enhanced liquidity on the economy needs to be watched.
The Finance Minister said there was no significant increase in the second quarter of the NPA level.
On capitalisation of Banks, Mr Chidambaram said except five PSBs most banks have a CRAR of 12 per cent. The government would want these five Banks also to reach a CRAR of 12 per cent, which may require that they borrow from the market.
Talking about Action Taken on the last meeting of PSBs with him, Mr Chidambaram said all details relating to the farm loan waiver scheme have been completed.
He said all Banks have returned back jewelry and ornaments that are due to the farmers covered under the scheme.
Mr Chidambaram said he has conveyed to the Bankers concerns expressed by the Corporate sector, which were conveyed to him and the Prime Minister in their meetings yesterday.
Mr Chidambaram said it was extremely important to ensure adequate credit to the reality sector as it was an important driver of growth. He said in some economies it's contribution to GDP was as high as 50 per cent.
The Finance Minister exuded confidence that the target for agricultural credit of Rs 2,40,000 crore for the current fiscal would be achieved. This is apart from the lending by the Co-operative Banks and Regional Rural Banks.
He said it was absolutely essential to know where lending was taking place. This varies week on week basis.
For instance, in the week ended October 10, deposits were to the tune of Rs 27,000 crore and advances of the order of Rs 65,000 crores.
However, in the week ended October 24, 2008, deposits were of the order of Rs 16,000 crores and advances of the magnitude of Rs 8,000 crore. The situation relating to credit delivery thus requires close monitoring, he said.

Negotiating parties must show accommodation: Lamy

New Delhi, Aug 12 (UNI) World Trade Organisation(WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy today exuded confidence that the negotiating parties would be able to bring about an agreement of the stalled Doha round, even as India put the blame on the industrialized nations for the failure of the Geneva talks.
India's position was articulated by Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath in the presence of Mr Lamy and several leading CEOs of Indian companies at a meeting organsied by the Confederation of Indian Industry(CII).
Mr Nath squarely blamed the stubborn stand taken by the United States even though India had displayed magnificent generocity in moving on to the agenda outlined at Geneva.
The talks failed at agenda item number 18, relating to safeguard mechanism, and the next two items number 19 and 20 could not be taken up.. Item 19 pertained to textiles and the next items related to Intellectual Property Rights, Geographic Indicators and
Bio-diversity issues.
Mr Lamy, who was described both by Mr Nath and the captains of industry, as a 'friend of India, said he was willing to play the role expected of him in bringing the talks to a successful conclusion, provided the negotiating parties were able to work in a spirit of accommodation and "give and take."/
"I am not pregnant, I will play the role of a midwife, if negotiating parties want delivery of the baby.," Mr Lamy remarked.
Mr Lamy said India adopted at the talks a "straight jacket' approach on safeguard mechanisms, while the United States had its own position on the subject.
India wanted that the trigger on applying safeguard mechanisms should be permitted at 10 per cent surge in imports of agricultural products, while the US held on to the rigid position that it should be done when the increase in volume was at 40 per cent in
imports.
India argued that this would pose a threat to the livelihood of millions of its poor farmers, which the country can ill afford.
Mr Nath said India adopted a flexible approach on many subjects, including sectoral issues, of interest to industry, but would not give in to this critical issue.
He said India on many os the issues was not arguing for its own stand, but was speaking on behalf of the less developed and emerging economies. For instance, on the issue of bananas it stood behind the interest of more than 30 developing countries/
Mr Lamy said from New Delhi he would be going to Washington where he would explain the viewpoint of India to the US government.
In the Question- Answer session which followed, Mr Rahul Bajaj, a Rajya Sabha MP and an eminent industrialists, said the Indian industry puts its weight behind its trade Minister. Its concerns were not narrow, but broader entailing agriculture and services
and those of the Least Developed Countries.
Mrt Bajaj said industry would not have fogiven Mr Nath if he had come with a bad deal, rather than come back without the deal being through. He accused the industrialised countries of obstinacy and bullying tactics and charged that they weaked the position of
India's representative.
Mr Bajaj's tone was different and defiant from the one usually adopted by industry leaders at such meetings. He not only chose to be outspoken on national interests and not sectional in his approach, even if meant annoying the global powers that be.

Empower all, not just a few; celebrities of the world of letters

New Delhi, Aug 14 (UNI) The brightest minds of the country are
not satisfied at what is India today, the missing link being the mass
of poor amidst pockets of affluence.

Poverty is a threat to prosperity anywhere and everywhere, goes an
old adage.
But the dismay is that the system has not delivered to the poor,who survive on just a dollar a day. The need of the hour is to empower one and all, not just a few.
It is not an act of charity, but borne out of the democratic credentials of the wonder that is India. Empowering also means sustainable development. A hugely unequal system has the potential to explode.
These views crystalised at an event organsied recently by 'NDTV Profit' where the participants included Nobel Laurete Amartya Sen, Amitav Ghiosh, a remowned novelist and author, Dr R A Mashelkar, former Director General, CSIR, Charles Correa, a Mumbai-based architect, and Piyush Pandey, an ad guru.
Entitled; 'The Unstoppable Indins; Defining a new India,'the occasion was to debate India's agenda for the future. After brief comments, the celeberities of the world of letters interacted with some award winning students who won an essay competition organsied
by the channel. "The conclave is essentially a celeberation of the Indian spirit", remarked Manvi Dhillon, who moderated the programme.
Said Dr. Sen: "I am not a great believer in the magically inspired power of individual success. The focus should be on the betterment of human life and not only on commodity expansion."
"The role of society, government and the opposition is important.
The focus should be on the life that people are able to lead and
we should be able to justify the ends to ourselves and others," he
said.
Mr Correa brought in a comparative approach, saying; "unlike other
countries like the United Kingdom and France where London and Paris
are their well-known cities, India is balanced with many recognisable cities. Indian cities have incredible potential and are engines of growth."
Mr Corea said cities in India form the basis of hope and are changing the nature of societies.
"Unfortunately, they are run in the most terrible system by political parties who rely on real estate for revenues. We need a system that can be held accountable," he said.
On being asked how India can seize the moment, Mr Correa said,
"India has the advantage of democracy, demography and diversity.
It needs to recognise the power of its talent, unquestionably and undisputedly."
Mr Corea said India needs to be tolerant towards risk-taking, ambiguity and failure.
To a question as to how privileged members of the Indian society can help remove inequity and poverty, Mr Ghosh said, "India has really changed in the last 15 years. The success of the new generation is based on education. They have a real engagement with
society and believe in spending on the social structure."
On the youth of modern India finding itself at the crossroads paved by traditional values and Western materialism, Mr Pandey said, "we Indians have a big advantage of having our roots in place. We are born in a country that accepts adaptability. We don't
need to choose."

Cabinet approves equity restructuring of Punjab & Sind Bank

New Delhi, Aug 8 (UNI) The Union Cabinet today approved the restructuring of the capital of the Punjab and Sind Bank (P&SB), entailing Tier-I and Tier-II capital, to enable the Public Sector entity to go in for a Initial Public Offer (IPO) at a reasonable
premium.
An amount of Rs 160 crore is to be converted into 'Innovative Perpetual Debt Instrument' and Rs 200 core into 'Perpetual Non-Cummulative Preference Shares, while retaining Rs 183.06 crore as the equity capital of the Bank.
Briefing newspersons on the outcome of the Cabinet decisions, Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said the annual floating coupon rate on the proposed 'Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preference Shares' of Rs 200 crore may be benchmarked to Repo Rate
with a spread of 100 basis points with annual rests, which would be re-adjusted annually on the previaling Repo Rate on the relevant date.
However, Mr Sibal said, keeping in view the weak financial position of the Bank and to enable it to strengthen its capital base, the Bank would be allowed to pay a coupon benchmarked to Repo-Rate for 2008-09 and next two fiscals. Thereafter, the coupon
rate is to benchmarked to Repo rate with a spread of 100 basis points.
The rate of interest on 'Innovative Pertual Debt Instrument' and 'Perpetual Cumulative Prederence Shares' will be decided by the government in consultation with the Bank.
''The decision will enable the bank to go for an Initial Public Offer at a reasonable premium for raising additional capital from the market. The enhanced capital will enable the Bank to expand its business in compliance with Base-II requirements and, thereby,
improve its financial position," MR Sinbal said.