Gold suffers second biggest fall this year plunges by Rs 600

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:01:46 +0000

New Delhi: Gold on Wednesday witnessed its second biggest loss this year of Rs 600 to Rs 27,300 per 10 grams due to reduced offtake amid weak global trend.

Silver prices followed suit and dropped by a massive Rs 800 to Rs 44,700 per kg on reduced offtake by jewellers and industrial units.

Traders said hectic selling by stockists on the back of sluggish demand at prevailing higher levels and a steep fall in global markets, mainly pulled down both gold and silver prices.

This is gold’s second biggest fall this year since since April 15, when it had plunged by Rs 1,160 to Rs 26,640 per 10 grams.

Gold in London, which normally sets the price trend on the domestic front, dropped to three-week low as a stronger dollar curbed demand for an alternative investment and bullion holdings declined, also dampened the sentiment, they said.

Besides, shifting of funds from weakening bullion to rising equity also influenced the precious metals.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity tumbled by Rs 600 each to Rs 27,300 and Rs 27,100 per 10 grams, respectively, after surging Rs 380 each in yesterday. Sovereigns, however, held steady at Rs 24,000 per piece of eight grams in scattered deals.

Aarushi trial: An unseemly remark on the Talwars

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:16:03 +0000

As you approach Ghaziabad from Delhi, you pass Hindon. There’s an airbase there, and, possibly, north India’s most aromatic rubbish dump. You can see it from miles off, because there’s always a whirl of hawks and vultures above it.

On some days that circling flock multiplies manifold: the days when fresh carrion arrives. A 12-line Supreme Court order isn’t ‘fresh carrion’, but the flock of journalists who cover the Aarushi-Hemraj trial tore into just like those swooping circling birds over Hindon — except that they made a lot more noise.

News channels screamed that the Supreme Court had thrown the Talwars’ last, desperate bid to escape a conviction, and newspapers are likely to be no different.

Dr Rajesh and Nupur Talwar had approached the Supreme Court with a petition seeking a direction to the trial court to call upon 13 witnesses who they felt were crucial to their defence, but whom the prosecution had no intention of calling.

The Talwars did this because the trial judge dismissed their plea in Ghaziabad, and the Allahabad High Court is yet to take up petitions challenging the lower court’s orders that they have filed more than six months ago. Enough time to consign them to irrelevance: the trial court record has gone well past their expiry date.

Prosecution witnesses could have been challenged or confronted had Allahabad spared time for those petitions, but now the witnesses have come and gone — their cross-examinations are over.

Monday’s Supreme Court order said that the court was “not inclined” to entertain the Talwars’ petition. It granted them the liberty to approach the Allahabad High Court. Additionally, it said: “In case the matter is mentioned for being taken up out of turn, we request the High Court to consider it sympathetically.”

The Supreme Court wasn’t talking about the merit of the Talwar’s petition — to the extent whether the additional witnesses be called or not. It followed, as it usually does, the calibrated procedure of the justice system. The High Court had to be the Talwars’ first court of appeal, it said. And then it addressed a reality: the Allahabad High Court is notorious for its backlog.

The Supreme Court weighed this against the urgency of the Talwars’ petition and made a “request”. The Supreme Court does not make requests — every word that emerges from it is, for all practical purposes directive.

The trial court in Ghaziabad is proceeding at the pace it is because the Supreme Court used the word ‘expeditiously’ in an earlier order while granting Nupur Talwar bail. If anything, the Talwars can expect far better treatment in Allahabad post the “request”.

But for some reason, the order had the whiff of the walking dead to the vultures. The press (but not the cameras) was allowed into the Ghaziabad court freely for the first time, as prosecution counsel R.K. Saini broke into the language of the street.

The Talwars were asking for leave to approach the Allahabad High Court and Saini spat out his objection: ‘Kabhi yeh bhai ko bhejte hain, to kabhi baap ko…!”

Rajesh Talwar’s father passed away a decade ago. And earlier Supreme Court observations on the case did have a few lines about maintaining the ‘majesty of the court’ at all times. The Talwars will file an application pointing out the unseemly nature of Saini’s remarks. But it was quality vulture food.

Book on Sri Lanka wins Regional Award for the Commonwealth Book Prize

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:09:59 +0000

Chennai: Debutant author Nayomi Munaweera’s Island of a Thousand Mirrors has won the Regional Award (Asia) for the Commonwealth Book Prize 2013.

Island of a Thousand Mirrors is a story about two girls – one Sinhala, the other Tamil caught in the opposite sides of the long and brutal civil war in Sri Lanka. It takes us through their histories, sibling rivalries and adolescent heartbreaks, the burdens of exile and belonging, and the harsh demands of survival.

Nayomi said “I am absolutely delighted. When I was writing my novel I didn’t know if I’d ever even find a publisher for it. Indeed the entire process of writing and publishing it took a decade. I am also incredibly grateful for the opportunity to represent Sri Lanka, a small place, but one with many stories to share with the world.”

The other writers shortlisted from the region were Jeet Thayil, Jerry Pinto, Nilanjana Roy, Mishi Saran and Farhad Sorabjee Nayomi Munaweera was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Nigeria. She emigrated to the United States in her early teens. She lives in Oakland, California.

Now, Sachin Tendulkar on gold coins

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:36:11 +0000

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was embossed in gold on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya on Monday.
A leading gold retail chain Valuemart Gold & Jewels Ltd. unveiled a limited edition ‘Sachin Tendulkar Gold Coin’ of 10 gm with his image embossed on it.

I have always enjoyed the time spent on the cricket field which has given me some of the most precious memories of my life. However, this occasion is a different golden moment of my life,’ Tendulkar said, while launching the gold coin. He has also entered into an association with Valuemart to promote a unique range of commemorative products involving use of his image, photos and log.

Valuemart is celebrating the many golden moments that Sachin has given us to cherish with these gold coins and is in many ways, a real tribute to the true legend of the game,’ said Valuemart managing director CK Vasudevan . Each Tendulkar gold coin is made from the finest 24-karat gold and manufactured at a Swiss Mint by Messrs. Valcambi s.a., a leading international gold refiner and manufacturer of gold bullion, bars and coins.

The coins are packed in a tamper-proof, blister packs with a certificate and carry the assayer’s signature and purity certificate guaranteeing its weight and purity. The 100000 limited coins shall be available at Rs 34000 per piece, online or through leading retailers in the country. A part of the proceeds from the sale of Sachin Tendulkar Gold Coins will be contributed to Valuemart’s new foundation, Golden Dreams, supporting underprivileged children across the country.

Aarushi murder: SC rejects Talwars' plea

admin — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:30:17 +0000

New Delhi, May 13 (IBNS) The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea of Aarushi Talwar’s parents – Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, who are accused of killing their teenager daughter and domestic help Hemraj – for calling 14 witnesses to record their statements in a trial court.

Rejecting their plea, a vacation bench of justices BS Chauhan and Dipak Misra directed them to move the high court.

The dentist couple moved the apex court against the order of a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court that on May 6 rejected their petition for calling 14 other witnesses, including the Additional Director General of Police (ADG) (Law and Order) and the then CBI Joint Director Arun Kumar, to record their statements.

The court has already recorded the statement of CBI investigating officer AGL Kaul, who was the last prosecution witness.

Kaul last month told a special CBI court here that Aarushi and Hemraj were murdered by her parents Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar in 2008.

Kaul, who investigated the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case, told the court no one from outside could come inside the Talwar residence and hence it was they who had committed the crime.

An official of the Gujarat Forensic Science University on Apr 9 told the court that crime was probably committed by using a golf club and a surgical knife.

The official said no outsider except the dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar were involved in the crime.

Pertinently, both Rajesh and Nupur are out on bail at present.

Teenager Aarushi Talwar was found dead, with her throat slit, at the Talwar residence in Noida in the morning of May 16, 2008. The body of Hemraj, Talwars´ domestic help, was found on the terrace the next day.

The case has since spiralled into one of the country´s biggest unsolved cases, with a prolonged investigation marked by admissions of lack of evidence and dramatic twists.

Nupur and Rajesh Talwar maintained that they are innocent, and are being framed by the CBI since the agency has not been able to track down the real killers.

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Will invite Manmohan Singh to my oath-taking ceremony: Nawaz

admin — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:53:56 +0000

Lahore: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Monday said he will invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Pakistan for his oath-taking ceremony as the new prime minister.

Sharif invited Singh to Pakistan on Monday, Express News reported adding that he said he would also invite Singh to his oath-taking ceremony.

Nawaz has already indicated his desire to normalize “rollercoaster” ties with India.

Prime Minister Singh had lost no time on Sunday in congratulating Sharif on his election victory, which will give him his third term as prime minister of Pakistan, and invited him to visit India at a mutually convenient time.

In an unusually quick response even as counting of votes was underway in Pakistan, Singh conveyed India’s desire to work with him to chart a new course in India-Pak relations.

In a letter to Sharif, Prime Minister Singh said, “I look forward to working with you and your government to chart a new course and pursue a new destiny in the relations between our countries. I would also like to extend an invitation to you to visit India at a mutually convenient time.”

During the campaign, 63-year-old Sharif had vowed to revive the India-Pak peace process which was interrupted in 1999 by the then military ruler Parvez Musharraf who ousted him in a bloodless coup. Sharif had started the peace process with then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Karnataka, a way ahead

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:18:55 +0000

If the 2013 Karnataka assembly election has to mean anything, the Congress has to think fresh. Thus far, old habits have been playing out. This, of course, makes the Congress look like it is unprepared. Claimants to the chief minister’s post cannot go around using terms like ‘high command’ to describe the Congress leadership in New Delhi. It diminishes the self-esteem of the Kannadigas who voted for them. This loss of self-worth can play out in many ways.

I remember a senior Congressman from Andhra Pradesh who was depressed when YS Rajasekhara Reddy was chosen to head the government in Andhra Pradesh in 2004. The Congressman said it would destroy whatever little reputation Andhra Pradesh had gained as a state seeking to move on from its laid back and unprofessional past. YSR’s son is now in prison for corruption and a big example of how not to raise children, especially in the Congress party. If Siddaramaiah is chosen to head the Karnataka government, he might need a crash course in new think.

It is possible that he has some ideas but so far he hasn’t shared any. If he doesn’t have any, he is not likely to learn now – when he is 64 and has announced he will not contest another election. Thus, the Congress leadership in New Delhi, which means Rahul Gandhi, might need to lay it down. Whoever heads the government will have to begin with a bang.

The first two things ought to be: an able government that shall punish all the corrupt and making sure that every Kannadiga has the basics: water, power, roads, education and health. All else must come next. This is the only way that Karnataka can mean something to Indians outside the state. New Karnataka must show the way. A good beginning would be in the choice of ministers. The Congress was expected to win the election. This implies that somewhere in the Congress party must be a plan of action. There might also be a list of names as ministers in the event of victory – unless Congressmen did not believe they would win.The choice of chief minister is crucial. Normally, the Congress leadership makes up its mind and conveys this to the team of observers sent to oversee the election of the CLP [Congress Legislature Party] leader. Unless there’s a revolt, which Jaganmohan Reddy led in Andhra Pradesh, the choice of New Delhi is the choice of the state. As it will be with Karnataka. Therefore, there isn’t much that anyone can do about the chief minister. But there’s plenty of room to pick the ministers. Picking a great team sends a message. There is talent and intent in Karnataka that the Congress must pick. Straight up are the following: Girish Karnad, NR Narayana Murthy, UR Ananthamurthy, Ramachandra Guha, GR Gopinath, Azim Premji and Santosh Hegde.All of them think and speak their mind. They have a sense of Karnataka and have a body of work that merits attention. All of them are at a station in life when public service ought to be huge motivation. The seven worthies should be tasked with progress and development in education [primary and secondary], technology, law and justice, culture, the arts and craft, the sciences, finance, business, manufacturing, employment generation and anything else they can do. Development of scientific temperament ought to be priority because this affects every family and how every child is raised and schooled.These personalities will balance the regressive choices the Congress will make to satisfy identity politics. There might even be children of past Congress politicians in the new government, which will irritate people. The only option then is to choose people with eminence who understand politics but who are outside the Congress set-up. Santosh Hegde, for instance, is the reason why the BJP was demolished. Hegde’s reports on illegal mining and its political patronage ended BS Yeddyurappa’s stint as chief minister.

Hegde and his team in the office of the Lokayukta brought into the public domain the full extent of politician-bureaucrat-businessmen corruption in Karnataka. The BJP did not recover after this. Yet, the man who most influenced Karnataka politics over the past four years was barely even mentioned in the election campaigns. Hegde would be a fine choice. Allow him to clean up, and he will. Guha has much to say about the state of education. He has a Padma award for services in the education sector. Ask him to reform things, and he should.

Premji is a forward-looking Muslim corporate titan, which is rare. He ought to have a great sense of life as a Muslim and as a businessman. Allow him to modernise the minorities, and he ought to. Gopinath should by now know exactly how corporate affairs need to be reformed. Task him with it, and he must. Narayana Murthy has a keen sense of governance. Task him with administrative and police reform, and he will. And so on. A clear and irreversible message must go that the Congress means business and that Karnataka comes above all else.

Else, Karnataka will remain a quaint, conservative state that seems to like alcohol, computers and corruption. Remember: Karnataka is the only state whose chief minister died of drinking – JH Patel, of liver cirrhosis. PS: I haven’t mentioned women because I couldn’t think of any. Readers, please tell us who we’ve missed.

More than 200 crorepatis in new Karnataka Assembly

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:43:11 +0000

The average asset per MLA in the 2013 Karnataka Assembly elections is Rs 23.54 crore, a nearly 135% increase compared to the previous 2008 poll, when it was Rs 10.02 crore, according to an NGO.

Karnataka Election Watch (KEW) also said on Friday that 93% or 203 MLAs of the total 218 analysed are crorepatis.

In 2008, only 63% MLAs were crorepatis.

KEW said it analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 218 out of the 223 newly elected MLAs.

It said 92 re-elected MLAs have been analysed. Their average asset in 2008 was Rs 17.53 crore, which has gone up to Rs 30.15 crore, a growth of 72%.

The biggest growth in assets in the last five years has been for DK Shivakumar (Congress), who has declared an increase of Rs 175.9 crore – from Rs 75.5 crore in 2008 to Rs 251 crore in 2013.

Assets of Priyakrishna (Congress) has increased by Rs 143.36 crore – from Rs 767.6 crore to Rs 910.9 crore and that of Santhosh Lad (Congress) by Rs 124.8 crore – from Rs 61.5 crore to Rs 186.4 crore

KEW said 34% or 74 of the 218 MLAs analysed have declared criminal cases against them, compared to 20% five years ago.

Out of these 74 MLAs, 39 have declared serious criminal cases like attempt to murder, kidnapping, dacoity, assault against women etc.Five MLAs have declared that they have murder-related cases against them.

11 MLAs have declared that they have been charged under Prevention of Corruption Act.

Also See:

Analysis and coverage: Congress sweeps to power in Karnataka

Out of 218 MLAs, five (two%) are women in the new Karnataka Assembly, compared to three in 2008.

Narendra Modi to address Indians in 18 US cities

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:53:59 +0000

Washington News: Still a persona non grata in the US, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is again set to talk to the Indian community in 18 cities in North America via satellite from state capital of Gandhinagar Sunday.

He will be the keynote speaker at Gujarat Day celebrations across North America, according to the organisers of the event, Indian/Gujarati Samuday of North America, an informal grouping of several community organisations.

Various ethnic Gujarati associations had decided to celebrate Gujarat Day in America on May 12 to celebrate the May 1 1960 formation of the State, the organisers said. Modi, they said was invited to share his vision of “Good Governance” that is the foundation of Gujarat’s growth story

The events to hear Modi will be held in New York; Edison, New Jersey; Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Riverside, Los Angeles-Norwalk, Placentia and Fremont (Silicon Valley), California, Chicago, Rolling Meadows and Bloomington, Illinois; Minneapolis-Edina, Minnesota; Indianapolis and Merrillville, Indiana; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Baltimore, Maryland.

Modi, who has been denied a US visa since 2005 for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, last spoke to the Indian diaspora in North America via satellite in March after the Wharton India Economic Forum withdrew an invitation to him to speak following protests from some students and faculty of the University of Pennsylvania.

While the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan US federal body has recently asked the State Department to keep the visa ban on Modi, the US business has been warming up to the controversial leader.

A delegation from the US, including members of the House of Representatives and business leaders, led by Republican House member Aaron Schock recently met Modi in Gandhinagar recently and lauded the state’s economic development under his leadership.

Coalgate: CVC seeks report from CBI on interference in probe

admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:09:39 +0000

New Delhi: The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has sought a detailed report from the CBI over the Centre’s interference in its investigation into the coal blocks allocation scam.

The CBI has also been asked to submit its latest status report on the case to the Commission, official sources said today, adding the CVC has taken cognizance of reports citing interference in CBI’s probe in the coal blocks allocation case.

The move came after it came to light that certain changes were made in the agency’s draft status report on the case submitted to the Supreme Court. CBI is probing irregularities in allocation of coal mine blocks on the direction of CVC.

The apex court had yesterday rapped the CBI, Prime Minister’s Office and Coal Ministry officials for changing the “heart” of the coal scam probe report.

The CVC, which exercises superintendence over the CBI in matters related to corruption, has expressed unhappiness over the whole issue of interference by a political functionary and government officials in vetting of the agency’s draft status report, the sources said.

“The Commission will soon hold a meeting with CBI Director Ranjit Sinha to take stock of the agency’s probe in the matter,” the sources added.

The CBI Director has admitted before the SC that its status report on the coal blocks probe was shared with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and two joint secretaries, Shatrughna Singh and A K Bhalla, in the PMO and Coal Ministry respectively.

Taking a stern view over the vetting of its draft report, the apex court yesterday said the CBI has become a “caged parrot” speaking in its master’s voice.

CBI has so far registered 11 FIRs in the matter.