The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) on Friday said it expected the country’s economy to grow at over seven per cent in the current fiscal as it had already started showing signs of recovery.
“Seven per cent plus is what my 2009-10 overall forecast is... I think it has already started recovering in my own assessment,” PMEAC Chairman Suresh Tendulkar said on the sidelines of a conference on broadband here.
He further said it expected rebound in the economy after September as the worst was over.
“I have been maintaining that the worst is already over, (I expect) good recovery after September,” Mr. Tendulkar added. Asked if the contracting industrial production worried him, he said the revised industrial production numbers were higher than the provisional ones, so it did not bother him much.
Despite three stimulus packages announced by the Government, the Indian economy grew by 5.3 per cent in the third quarter of the last fiscal, its lowest rate in over five years, against a whopping 8.9 per cent a year ago.
In the first nine months of last fiscal, the economy grew by 6.9 per cent. For the whole of 2008-09, the advance estimates of the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) pegged the economic growth at 7.1 per cent, which seems a tough task in the wake of dismal industrial growth numbers. On account of slackening demand hitting Indian trade more than anticipated, PMEAC lowered the country’s growth estimate to 6.5-7 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.1 per cent for 2008-09.
To boost the economy, the Government came out with three stimulus packages in December, January and in the interim budget, providing incentives to various sectors.
The Reserve Bank also took monetary easing measures by infusing more than Rs. 4 lakh crore since October.
However, industrial growth turned negative in October, December and in January. Besides, exports declined for the fifth consecutive month in February
Friday, April 17, 2009
'India may face another major terrorist attack'
With the extremist elements in Pakistan expanding their sphere of influence, an American think tank on Friday warned that there could be another major terrorist attack inside India by these militants.
In its intelligence analysis after the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, Texas-based global intelligence agency Stratfor said India is watching fearfully as the jihadist insurgency in neighbouring Pakistan has spread to India's doorstep in Pakistan's Punjab province.
These attacks, Stratfor said, have revealed a trend in which the Kashmiri Islamist militant proxies formerly controlled by Pakistan's ISI are now moving into the jihadist orbit under al-Qaeda and the Taliban to carry out more complex and deadly attacks.
"Since these are the same militants who traditionally have had their sights on India, it is very likely that India will witness another large-scale attack," Stratfor said.
Under the Congress rule, it said, India restrained itself from attacking Pakistan following the November 2008 Mumbai attack.
"New Delhi's restraint arose from fears of destabilizing Pakistan further and granting the militants' wish for a cross-border conflict to divert the Pakistani military's attention from the Afghan-Pakistani border region toward India," it said.
As the link between Islamabad and its militant proxies grows more nebulous, India will continue to struggle to hold the Pakistani government accountable for such attacks, Stratfor said.
Commenting on the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Stratfor said it is more hard-line on national security issues, and never misses an opportunity to accuse Congress of being soft on terrorism.
"India is more likely to deliver a forceful response to future attacks should the BJP emerge victorious in these elections," it added.
In its intelligence analysis after the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, Texas-based global intelligence agency Stratfor said India is watching fearfully as the jihadist insurgency in neighbouring Pakistan has spread to India's doorstep in Pakistan's Punjab province.
These attacks, Stratfor said, have revealed a trend in which the Kashmiri Islamist militant proxies formerly controlled by Pakistan's ISI are now moving into the jihadist orbit under al-Qaeda and the Taliban to carry out more complex and deadly attacks.
"Since these are the same militants who traditionally have had their sights on India, it is very likely that India will witness another large-scale attack," Stratfor said.
Under the Congress rule, it said, India restrained itself from attacking Pakistan following the November 2008 Mumbai attack.
"New Delhi's restraint arose from fears of destabilizing Pakistan further and granting the militants' wish for a cross-border conflict to divert the Pakistani military's attention from the Afghan-Pakistani border region toward India," it said.
As the link between Islamabad and its militant proxies grows more nebulous, India will continue to struggle to hold the Pakistani government accountable for such attacks, Stratfor said.
Commenting on the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Stratfor said it is more hard-line on national security issues, and never misses an opportunity to accuse Congress of being soft on terrorism.
"India is more likely to deliver a forceful response to future attacks should the BJP emerge victorious in these elections," it added.
'UPA allies will come together post-polls to form Govt'
LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday that the party would not "repeat the same mistake" of backing the BJP-led NDA as he exuded confidence that the Fourth Front would be able to form the government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections.
The Fourth Front was formed as Congress had expressed inability to form a pre-poll alliance, he said, adding "the UPA allies LJP, RJD and Samajwadi Party had fought assembly and Lok Sabha elections separately in the past and came together to form the government."
The Fourth Front, would however, not join the NDA even if it secured a majority, he told reporters at the airport in Jamshedpur.
"I had committed a blunder in the past by supporting the NDA and I don't want to repeat the same mistake," he said. Later, at an election meeting, he criticised the BJP for its "anti-minority approach" saying the sole motive of the party was to "divide" the people on communal lines.
Paswan said he was proud of the minority community as it had protected the country during wars.
The Fourth Front was formed as Congress had expressed inability to form a pre-poll alliance, he said, adding "the UPA allies LJP, RJD and Samajwadi Party had fought assembly and Lok Sabha elections separately in the past and came together to form the government."
The Fourth Front, would however, not join the NDA even if it secured a majority, he told reporters at the airport in Jamshedpur.
"I had committed a blunder in the past by supporting the NDA and I don't want to repeat the same mistake," he said. Later, at an election meeting, he criticised the BJP for its "anti-minority approach" saying the sole motive of the party was to "divide" the people on communal lines.
Paswan said he was proud of the minority community as it had protected the country during wars.
Extend ceasefire, India tells Lanka
Amid criticism that it wasn't doing enough to influence Sri Lanka, India today made it clear to Colombo that further civilian casualties in the war zone would be "totally unacceptable". This came on a day the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK said in its election manifesto that if devolution of powers in Tamil-dominated provinces of Sri Lanka failed to give equal status to Tamils, it would press for a “separate Eelam”.
Adding to the pressure, Tamil Nadu chief minister Mr M Karunanidhi shot off a telegram to New Delhi urging the government to sever all ties with Colombo if did not honour and implement India's appeal for a ceasefire immediately.
“Tamils should be accorded equal status with the Sinhala majority with devolution of administrative power in the Tamil-dominated provinces of Sri Lanka,” the AIADMK manifesto, released by Miss J Jayalalithaa in Chennai, reads. It reads: “If these moves fail, then AIADMK will press for a separate state of Eelam to ensure that Tamils in the island live a life of dignity.”
Foreign minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee urged Sri Lanka to extend a limited ceasefire to enable the civilians trapped in the conflict zone to move to safe areas. "Sri Lanka must extend this pause in hostilities to prevent further casualties and enable trapped civilians to leave the area to secure locations," he said in an unusually hard-hitting statement. "Continuation of precipitate military actions leading to further civilian casualties at this time would be totally unacceptable," he added. Mr Mukherjee said that while it was incumbent on the LTTE to release all civilians under its control, Colombo "cannot be oblivious to the evolving human tragedy and the fate of the Tamil civilian population caught up in the so-called no fire zone". "There is no reason not to continue with the pause in military actions in the no fire zone... India expects the government of Sri Lanka and others concerned to respond positively to this appeal...," Mr Mukherjee said.
The statement was immediately hailed by the Tamil National Alliance, the pro-LTTE Sri Lankan Tamil grouping that over the past two days met national security advisor Mr MK Narayanan and foreign secretary Mr Shivshankar Menon to impress upon them the need for India to act fast.
In Chennai, the AIADMK manifesto promised a grant of Rs 10,000 crore for the restoration and development of Tamil areas of Sri Lanka after the devolution was completed. Sharing the dais with CPI-M general secretary Mr Prakash Karat, CPI leaders Mr N Varadarajan, Mr AB Bhardan, Mr D Raja, Mr D Pandian other than PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss and MDMK leader Mr Vaiko, Miss Jayalalithaa urged the electorate: "Give us 40 seats and we can be kingmakers.”
Meanwhile, as top UN official and veteran Indian diplomat Mr Vijay Nambiar met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the plight of civilians trapped in fighting in the north, the LTTE, in a statement on the pro-Tiger TamilNet website, accused the UN, India and the international community of tacitly backing Sri Lanka in launching a military offensive in the civilian safety zone even as it sought a permanent truce in the north..
Adding to the pressure, Tamil Nadu chief minister Mr M Karunanidhi shot off a telegram to New Delhi urging the government to sever all ties with Colombo if did not honour and implement India's appeal for a ceasefire immediately.
“Tamils should be accorded equal status with the Sinhala majority with devolution of administrative power in the Tamil-dominated provinces of Sri Lanka,” the AIADMK manifesto, released by Miss J Jayalalithaa in Chennai, reads. It reads: “If these moves fail, then AIADMK will press for a separate state of Eelam to ensure that Tamils in the island live a life of dignity.”
Foreign minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee urged Sri Lanka to extend a limited ceasefire to enable the civilians trapped in the conflict zone to move to safe areas. "Sri Lanka must extend this pause in hostilities to prevent further casualties and enable trapped civilians to leave the area to secure locations," he said in an unusually hard-hitting statement. "Continuation of precipitate military actions leading to further civilian casualties at this time would be totally unacceptable," he added. Mr Mukherjee said that while it was incumbent on the LTTE to release all civilians under its control, Colombo "cannot be oblivious to the evolving human tragedy and the fate of the Tamil civilian population caught up in the so-called no fire zone". "There is no reason not to continue with the pause in military actions in the no fire zone... India expects the government of Sri Lanka and others concerned to respond positively to this appeal...," Mr Mukherjee said.
The statement was immediately hailed by the Tamil National Alliance, the pro-LTTE Sri Lankan Tamil grouping that over the past two days met national security advisor Mr MK Narayanan and foreign secretary Mr Shivshankar Menon to impress upon them the need for India to act fast.
In Chennai, the AIADMK manifesto promised a grant of Rs 10,000 crore for the restoration and development of Tamil areas of Sri Lanka after the devolution was completed. Sharing the dais with CPI-M general secretary Mr Prakash Karat, CPI leaders Mr N Varadarajan, Mr AB Bhardan, Mr D Raja, Mr D Pandian other than PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss and MDMK leader Mr Vaiko, Miss Jayalalithaa urged the electorate: "Give us 40 seats and we can be kingmakers.”
Meanwhile, as top UN official and veteran Indian diplomat Mr Vijay Nambiar met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the plight of civilians trapped in fighting in the north, the LTTE, in a statement on the pro-Tiger TamilNet website, accused the UN, India and the international community of tacitly backing Sri Lanka in launching a military offensive in the civilian safety zone even as it sought a permanent truce in the north..
Now, Madhuri magic for Maya’s party
Stretching its social engineering project ~ which is no more than a euphemism for caste politics according to some ~ beyond the shores of India and the confines of the political spectrum, the Miss Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party has invited America-settled Hindi film actress Madhuri Dixit to visit Pune and campaign for Mr DS Kulkarni, its Brahmin candidate for the Lok Sabha constituency.
While it's unusual, even uncharacteristic, of Miss Mayawati to invite any mainstream "celebrity" to canvass for her tightly controlled political organisation, the fact that Dixit had been a director on the board of Mr Kulkarni’s Pune-based construction company ~ DSK Developers Private Limited ~ for several years and that the actress and the BSP candidate are of the same caste may clinch the issue. Reports from Pune suggest the erstwhile Bollywood top draw who is still popular and in demand by filmmakers is likely to agree to campaign for Mr Kulkarni.
Pune, which goes to the polls in the second phase on 26 April, is known as the "cultural capital" of Maharashtra and glories in the historical fact that it was ruled by (Brahmin) Peshwa rulers before British colonial subjugation. The city has around four lakh Brahmin voters and Mr Kulkarni is the most powerful builder of the city. But that doesn't prevent him from often beginning his campaign speech with the invocation "Jai Bhim", a reverential reference to BR Ambedkar. BSP sources said the party was hopeful of opening its account in Maharashtra as Mr Kulkarni is in with a "winning chance". "All he needs is a little boost," a BSP leader told The Statesman; and it's that X Factor, as it were, which Madhuri Dixit is expected to be if she addresses a few rallies.
Indeed, the news that Bollywood's dancing diva may pitch in for the BSP candidate may be the last straw for the Congress’ sitting MP Mr Suresh Kalmadi who is waging a grim battle to retain his seat as the "caste combination" seems to be working in favour of Mr Kulkarni. As it is, Mr Kalmadi is heavily dependent on the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in an alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra, to run his campaign; and while Mr Sharad Pawar has addressed a couple of rallies for him, the NCP chief's nephew Mr Ajit Pawar has refused to campaign for Mr Kalmadi.
n Nandu Kulkarni
While it's unusual, even uncharacteristic, of Miss Mayawati to invite any mainstream "celebrity" to canvass for her tightly controlled political organisation, the fact that Dixit had been a director on the board of Mr Kulkarni’s Pune-based construction company ~ DSK Developers Private Limited ~ for several years and that the actress and the BSP candidate are of the same caste may clinch the issue. Reports from Pune suggest the erstwhile Bollywood top draw who is still popular and in demand by filmmakers is likely to agree to campaign for Mr Kulkarni.
Pune, which goes to the polls in the second phase on 26 April, is known as the "cultural capital" of Maharashtra and glories in the historical fact that it was ruled by (Brahmin) Peshwa rulers before British colonial subjugation. The city has around four lakh Brahmin voters and Mr Kulkarni is the most powerful builder of the city. But that doesn't prevent him from often beginning his campaign speech with the invocation "Jai Bhim", a reverential reference to BR Ambedkar. BSP sources said the party was hopeful of opening its account in Maharashtra as Mr Kulkarni is in with a "winning chance". "All he needs is a little boost," a BSP leader told The Statesman; and it's that X Factor, as it were, which Madhuri Dixit is expected to be if she addresses a few rallies.
Indeed, the news that Bollywood's dancing diva may pitch in for the BSP candidate may be the last straw for the Congress’ sitting MP Mr Suresh Kalmadi who is waging a grim battle to retain his seat as the "caste combination" seems to be working in favour of Mr Kulkarni. As it is, Mr Kalmadi is heavily dependent on the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in an alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra, to run his campaign; and while Mr Sharad Pawar has addressed a couple of rallies for him, the NCP chief's nephew Mr Ajit Pawar has refused to campaign for Mr Kalmadi.
n Nandu Kulkarni
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