Minister says defence deals need middlemen

A debate is raging within the UPA government about reviewing the system of involving middlemen in defence deals. It has been triggered by the fact that several defence deals, including the Eurocopter deal, have fallen through in the absence of such middlemen.

According to minister of state for defence Rao Birendra Singh, even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has questioned the defence ministry's policy of not involving middlemen. He said, "The policy of not involving middlemen is proving expensive for the country's defence preparedness. Military hardware that should have been inducted into the armed forces 10 years ago has not been inducted."

"In view of the disturbed neighbourhood we are living in, this means we are compromising on national security," Mr Rao Birendra Singh pointed out in the course of an exclusive interview.

The minister believed that though middlemen cannot be banned, "we are concerned about solicitation. Solicitation on behalf of a company is prohibited," he stressed....

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Article taken from the issue: 28 Jan 2008

Arbitrage game by FIIs hits Sensex

Hopes were raised on Thursday that the markets would bounce back to some degree after the benchmark BSE Sensex opened nearly 700 points up on the back of Wednesday's splendid showing, but within less than an hour it started to shed its gains on heavy profit booking and closed in the red, down 372.33 points at 17,221.74.

The Sensex saw a low of 17,070.05. The Nifty, too, was down 169.95 points at 5,033.45. The Asian markets, except for the Hang Seng which lost 550.90 points, were all up with the Nikkei gaining 263.72 points.

The Indian markets had their own problems, which will take a few more weeks to resolve. Mr Rajesh Jain of Pranav Securities said, "Thursday's fall was primarily due to the arbitrage play by the foreign institutional investors. They sold in the cash market and bought in the F&O segment, where stocks were going cheap as there was a scramble by punters to square off." The coming Thursday is the last day for settlements in the F&O sector where

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Article taken from the issue: 25 Jan 2008

India to launch 2 more Israeli spy sats

India and Israel are working together to launch two more spy satellites with the schedule requiring at least one of these to be placed in orbit within this year. The successful launch of the 300-kg TecSar has been generated considerable enthusiasm in both India and Israel with the satellite expected to start sending the first images in early February.

The decision to launch the TecSar spy satellite, which is also referred to as Polaris, was taken shortly after the UPA government came to power. The deal was finalised during the visit of Israeli defence ministry director-general Amos Yaron to New Delhi three years ago. It is the first of three such satellites agreed upon between the two governments with the government here oblivious to the adverse reaction to the launch from its traditional friends in West Asia. The launch was effected in great secrecy with only a couple of mainstream Israeli newspapers getting a whiff of the new cooperation between New Delhi and Tel Aviv just a week before the launch.

The Israeli media, which has had access to more information than given out by the government here, has pointed out that the satellite was intended to spy on Iran and Syria. The government here has tried to give the strategic cooperation a "commercial" colour by highlighting the fact that India is virtually renting out its launching pad for such satellites. It did the same for Italy, it is pointed out, at a cost that is supposedly 70 per cent less than offered by other such countries for putting satellites in orbit. This runs counter to reports in the Israeli and international media of growing strategic cooperation between the two countries and that India hopes to benefit from the satellite with information on Pakistan, which is not outside the orbit of TecSar.

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Article taken from the issue:24 Jan 2008

France says N-pact when India ready

India and France have concluded the negotiations for a bilateral agreement on civil nuclear cooperation but the pact will be signed and operationalised after India wraps up a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and gets the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) nod.

Sources familiar with the negotiations between the Indian and the French governments on Monday said the bilateral pact, therefore, might not be signed during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's state visit to India this week.

Instead, both sides could choose to iterate their intent to take an agreed framework for civil nuclear cooperation a step further pending the required approvals.

The sources said that the French, who would like to clinch the pact as soon as possible, have conveyed to their Indian counterparts that the text will be ready to be signed any time...

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Article taken from the issue: 22 Jan 2008

CPM drafts 3rd front plan

The CPI(M) has made it known that from now on, it would much rather focus its energies on forging a third alternative with like-minded political parties than suffer the "neoliberal" economic and foreign policies pursued by the Congress led and BJP-led governments alike.

The party will not be averse to supporting a Congress-led coalition after the next Lok Sabha elections for the singular purpose of seeing a secular government at the Centre, but it will not enter into any alliance or united front with the Congress, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat indicated.

Mr Karat on Sunday released the draft political resolution for the 19th party congress of the CPI(M), which laid out that there has to be an alternative to the Congress and the BJP-led combinations. "The Left must take the initiative for it. For this it is necessary to forge a third alternative," it read.

The central committee of the CPI(M) has adopted the 55page draft resolution for the party congress, which will be held in Coimbatore from March 29 to April 3.

The draft resolution said that such a platform must be based on a consistent anti-communal outlook, address the problems faced by the people and advocate pro-people economic measures. "[It] should make provisions for social welfare and for strengthening of the public distribution system; defense of national sovereignty and an independent foreign policy," it said.

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Article taken from the issue: 21 Jan 2008

Goa House prorogued, BJP wants floor test

Congress and NCP central observers negotiated hard all day to resolve a crisis in the Goa government while the Winter Session of the Assembly was abruptly prorogued on Thursday afternoon.

By late Thursday evening, constituents of the new group that precipitated Wednesday's events softened their stance on pulling down the government and said they expected "something to come out of the discussions" being held all day in two hotels in Goa.

"There are functional problems with the government.

Both high commands should realise this and take steps to resolve them," said Independent legislator Vishwajit Rane. He resigned as health minister on Wednesday night, along with the NCP's tourism minister, Mr Francisco Pacheco, and revenue minister Jose Philip D'Souza, withdrawing support to the coalition.

NCP civil aviation minister Praful Patel told the media he was "hopeful of a solution within the framework of this government". Mr Patel held talks with Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat on Thursday evening. While the NCP high command was unhappy with the unilateral decision of its Goa legislators to quit, Mr Patel, after holding talks with them, conceded they had grievances. "These issues will have to be resolved," he said.

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Article taken from the issue: 18 Jan 2008

BIRD FLU IN NEW BENGAL DISTRICT

Tests on to determine virus strain..

Bird flu is likely to have spread to Murshidabad district in West Bengal.

The government on Tuesday had confirmed a bird flu outbreak in Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts after bird deaths were reported from there. Bird samples, meanwhile, have been sent to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal for "N-typing" to determine the strain.

West Bengal state animal resources minister Anisur Rehman said in Kolkata on Wednesday: "We have begun the operation during which 3.5 lakh birds will be culled in Birbhum and nearly 28,000 in South Dinajpur." He revealed that bird flu, which was confined to five blocks of Birbhum, had spread to two more blocks Marora 1 and 2 in Rampurhat municipality area. Mr Rehman also acknowledged that the virus had also spread to four blocks of Khargram area in Murshidabad district - Adamkandi, Jhilijhimi, Parulia and Kitipur.

Reports of bird flu scares are also pouring in from West Bengal's Nadia and South 24 Parganas districts.

The Union agriculture ministry said in New Delhi on Wednesday that the laboratory tests to establish the "Ntype" of the bird flu virus will take five or six days. Bird samples have been sent to the HSADL in Bhopal for testing. In the case of the two districts affected, the Centre is sure that the virus is of the H5 type and "N-typing" of the virus is underway.

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Article taken from the issue: 17 Jan 2008

Suicide bomber kills 23, dozens injured

At least 22 police constables and one passer-by were killed and 70 others wounded in a powerful suicide attack in Lahore on Thursday.

The explosion ripped through GPO Chowk near the Lahore high court at 11.45 am (local time) while a large number of policemen were taking up position in the area ahead of a protest march by lawyers against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

"The blast took place at General Post Office Chowk across the Lahore high court. Twenty-two policemen have died and six are critically injured. Others have minor injuries," a police official at the scene told this newspaper.

Mayo Hospital medical superintendent Fayyaz Ahmad Ranjah said that six or seven constables died on the spot while others succumbed to their injuries on the way to hospital.

A Geo News reporter who was at the site to cover the protest by the lawyers reported witnessing a massive blast and a huge ball of flame. He also said he had seen the severed head and legs of the suspected suicide bomber. The head was found almost 200 metres from the site of the blast.

A meeting of the Lahore High Court Bar Association was underway before the protest march at the time of the blast.

The suicide bomber's explosive device was packed with metal pellets, which damaged numerous vehicles in a radius of about 200 metres.

Dr Ranjah said that soon after receiving information about the blast, "Rescue 1122" immediately rushed to the scene and shifted all the victims within a short time to Mayo Hospital for emergency medical treatment.

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Article taken from the issue: 10 Jan 2008

CPM looks for 3rd front

CPI(M) general sec retary Prakash Karat on Tuesday said that his party, which has been playing the "true Opposition" all through the over three-and-a-half years of the Congress-led UPA government, is working towards the formation of a third front as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP.

Mr Karat called for strengthening the unity of the Left and democratic parties. "Neither the Congress nor the BJP can bring about the alterna tive in the country. Only the CPM can bring in the change, and it is the only hope for the future in India," Mr Karat said, inaugurating the party's three-day state conference in Madurai.

Taking credit for making the Union government commit to the common minimum programme, Mr Karat said it was not the BJP but the CPI(M) that took up the role of the Opposition even while offering outside support. While the CPI(M) was focusing on people's issues, the BJP was concerned about "communal issues", such as Ram Sethu, he said.

Even though the CPI(M) supported the Congress-led UPA in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections to isolate communal forces, it has been opposing the wrong economic policies of the government. Listing the shortcomings of the UPA government, including the failure to provide 33 per cent reservation for women, Mr Karat said its wrong economic policies had made the people reject the Congress in Punjab, Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh.

"People are not interested in nine per cent growth. And the CPI(M) is not

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What protocol for Sarkozy girlfriend?

The ministry of external affairs is working out what could become a new protocol for the girlfriends of visiting heads of state and government and lead the government to call on the First Gentleman of India, Mr. Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat, husband of President Pratibha Patil, to play host to model-turned-singer Carla Bruni, who is expected to accompany French President Nicolas Sarkozy to India.

Mr Sarkozy is the chief guest on the invitation of President Patil for the Republic Day parade. Under well laid out protocol, the spouses of visiting dignitaries are escorted to the parade by the spouses of the President of India. Mr Shekhawat, who is now living with his wife at Rashtrapati Bhavan, can be expected to do the honours for Ms Bruni, provided of course the MEA works out the current confusion and decides to give a "girlfriend" the status of a "wife".

At the moment the reluctance in the government to bend protocol rules is palpable. Officials are not willing to go into what many in government consider a "grey" area that could lead to all kinds of "complications". As a girlfriend, Ms Bruni, if she decides to brave the Indian moral code of conduct, will at best be a member of the presidential delegation and will then not be escorted to the parade by the First Gentleman. Instead, like the other delegates, she will be seated in the VVIP enclosure earlier to await the arrival of President Sarkozy with President Patil. It is pointed out that the government is not required to give spouse-level recognition to a dignitary's girlfriend, and it might not be diplomatically correct to equate the wedded husband of President Patil with the girlfriend of President Sarkozy.

The seating arrangements at the presidential banquet for the French President will also need some skilful handling if Ms Bruni is elevated to the status of a "wife". President Patil and President Sarkozy will sit opposite each other as is the custom. Ms Bruni will then be seated with Mr Shekhawat on the banquet table with the onus on him to entertain the glamorous visitor and toast the visit with a glass of apple juice. Ms Bruni might be surprised in Mr Shekhawat as he is clearly not a conservative man.

When asked by reporters earlier as to who would call the shots in Rashtrapati Bhavan, he said, "She (President Patil) will be the head of the family. It will now be a matriarchal family."

Ms Bruni could well launch the MEA into the 21st century if she does not back out of the visit and is given the status of a "spouse", or something higher in the protocol hierarchy than a girlfriend. It was not too long ago that a Canadian diplomat posted in India faced the brunt of MEA conservatism when his gay partner was not recognised by the government as a

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Umpires Defeat India

Umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor have done more than ruin a great game of cricket here at Sydney. They have in the space of five days effectively destroyed the credibility of the umpiring panel put together, at great expense, by the International Cricket Council. Today, the doubtful dismissal of Sourav Ganguly put paid to Indian hopes of a draw.

For all the talk emanating from the Indian cricket board's corridors in the wake of the team's 122-run defeat at the SCG here on Sunday, precious little can be expected in terms of action.

BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla's statement that they would lodge a "strong protest" with the ICC will go through a bureaucratic process and it is unlikely that a decision will be taken in time for the Perth Test, which is 10 days away.

To add insult to injury, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was banned by the ICC for three Tests for allegedly directing racist abuse at Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

[ICC match referee Mike Procter said Harbhajan had called Symonds a

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Sonia is better, advised to rest

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was admitted to a hospital here for a chest infection, is making "steady progress", but has been advised "further rest".

"She had a comfortable night and slept well. Her progress is steady and she is responding well to treatment," said Mr B.K.

Rao, chairman of the board of management of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where she was admitted early on New Year's Day.

"She has been advised further rest. Doctors are regularly inspecting her," he told reporters.

Asked when Mrs Gandhi, 61, was likely to leave the hospital, he said a decision would be taken on the basis of the report of the doctors treating her. There was tight security at the hospital and no visitors were allowed to meet Mrs Gandhi.

Among the visitors who had come to the hospital to meet the Congress chief was Bihar governor R.S. Gavai, but he did not get a chance to meet her. "I did not get a chance to meet Sonia Gandhi. I spoke to the doctors and they said her health is fine and she is responding to the treatment," he said. AICC officials also went to the hospital but were not allowed to meet her.

Meanwhile, AICC spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters in reply to a question that the "Congress president has fully recovered from her slight indisposition and we expect that she will be discharged within a day or two".

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Article taken from the issue: 3 Jan 2008