Prime ministers are famously supposed to be able to chew gum and walk at the same time, but when you are flying over the Hindu Kush pondering the world's most fragile democracy and the fate of 8,000 British soldiers fighting in Helmand, it is hard to focus on a Lib Dem opposition supply day in the Commons.
While Gordon Brown was over the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Monday, the seeds of a terrible week were being sown at home, as the government blundered towards defeat in a vote over the rights of Gurkhas to settle in Britain. Twenty-seven Labour MPs rebelled, dozens more abstained, an emergency statement followed and the sense prevailed that Brown's authority had been critically undermined.
Miserable comparisons were made to the last days of John Major's premiership and historians noted the first government defeat in an opposition day debate since James Callaghan in 1978. A day later came further dispiriting climbdowns over MPs' expenses as the week of misjudgments dragged on.
"There should have been a figure back in London sorting this out," said one minister involved in the setback.
It was obvious from Monday that Labour was likely to lose the vote on the Gurkhas. It had taken more than six months to get a decision out of Whitehall on what to do, ever since a court ruled in September that the government had not been fair to veterans whose cases had been settled before 1997. The delay was largely because the Ministry of Defence did not have any money to pay the potential pension costs, but also because no one gripped the issue at the centre.
One whip said: "We thought two staged concessions, one to Martin Salter, and the other to George Howarth [both Labour MPs], might be enough to turn it round. But there were a group of MPs that were not listening. What is worrying is that the rebels and abstainers were not the usual suspects.
"We tried everything, but we were very despondent afterwards, saying the MPs were blind to argument. Some of them may have been cross about their second home allowance, but most of them just thought we had mishandled it. We could not get our message across."
A minister said: "One problem is that Gordon at prime minister's questions said this would cost a lot of money, but he did not say the next bit, which is that we have not got any money."
A senior minister stood back and looked at the wider lessons of Brown's first defeat of his premiership: "It's a cliche, but every government needs a John Prescott, or in Thatcher's case, a Willie Whitelaw, an enforcer.
"Brown needs someone to pull it all together. The obvious candidate is Ed Balls because he knows Gordon's mind, or perhaps Alan Johnson. Harriet Harman cannot do it because she is overstretched as it is. Jack Straw might have done it, but he seems to have lost his way, after the bill of rights proposals got shot down by the rest of the cabinet."
Someone like a Prescott might have questioned the wisdom of trying to handle the MPs' expenses issue by unveiling an initiative in a YouTube video. Faced by an increasingly strident rightwing press, it is easy to see why communications gurus favour bypassing papers such as the Daily Mail.
Brown presumably believed he was speaking to a youthful, disenchanted public, on one of the few issues that genuinely engages and infuriates them. But after he had made his first excruciating grin to camera, a good adviser would probably have put his hand over the lens, shouted "cut" and then binned the idea. "Come back Damian McBride, all is forgiven," say some, not wholly in jest.
Sometimes the medium can become the message and, ironically in the case of the supposed dinosaur Prescott, videos have worked unexpectedly well. But Brown had learnt early in his premiership to be authentically grave and his advisers have to stick to that. Even Downing Street's new speech writer, Michael Lea from the Daily Mail, will have to match his metaphors to the man.
But Brown's bigger worry came in the lethal criticism from the former home secretary David Blunkett that Labour had a void where its domestic policy should be. "Of course we will be judged by what we have done in terms of dealing with the economic crisis. But we will actually be judged on our vision for the next 10 to 15 years," he said yesterday.
The bulk of Blunkett's speech was an attempt to fill that void with his version of community-localised politics. Many will disagree with his specific proposals, but there are many Labour MPs like Blunkett, worried that Brown's natural instinct and knowledge of economics lead him to neglect the nexus of social, moral and domestic policy issues on which elections are traditionally fought.
Another minister notes the lack of a centrally driven strategy from No 10 to get the government's message out and tell voters in a concerted way what Labour stands for and where it wants to go. "Ministers in their departments are pushing out their stuff, working in their policy bubble, but there is little attempt to pull it together from the prime minister," the minister said.
"What we lack is determination, willpower and organisation," said one cabinet minister.
"He is good at economics, but not politics," said a Labour select committee chairman.
Another former minister argued: "The public will not thank us for what we have done in the past but on whether they judge we have any gas in the tank and some coherent ideas for the future."
No 10 replies that last week it pushed out big policies on an equality bill, the future of primary education through the Rose review, and fresh ideas about community crime prosecutors. But these stories were drowned out by defeats in parliament, rebellious former ministers and the threat of a flu pandemic.
Apart from yet another rethink inside Downing Street, there is no sign of an attempt to push the prime minister out. Only Frank Field, brilliant, but alone, openly calls for Brown to be toppled after the European elections in June.
Backbenchers would be unlikely to be goaded into revolt even if the party came third behind the Lib Dems in terms of the share of the vote or saw its vote drop below 25%. Most people feel they have been through that process last summer and, in the words of David Cameron, the party has made its strategic choice.
Cabinet ministers who are hardly supporters of Brown have this week been moved to near sympathy. One said: "Backbenchers keep kicking the shit out of Gordon and then wondering out loud why he appears damaged."
Another described the parliamentary Labour party as having gone "la la". Brown was the first PM to attempt to reform the expenses system. He said: "You could post a video on YouTube and announce you were giving them £10,000 each and they would still be unhappy." This cabinet minister, however, drew a line at stepping up to advise Brown.
Some ministers still insist that it is the recession alone that will determine the next general election. The stockmarket, looking at consumer confidence, may be enjoying a frisky spring but, in the real economy the news remains dire. Yet, if Brown can point to an upturn by late winter, the fate of 1,000 Gurkhas, and the second home allowance, will fade into a distant memory.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Hong Kong 'flu' hotel sealed off
About 300 people at a Hong Kong hotel have been placed under quarantine after a guest there became China's first confirmed swine flu case.
The 25-year-old man, who is now in hospital after testing positive for the virus, had travelled from Mexico via Shanghai, Hong Kong's leader said.
Local TV footage showed police wearing masks guarding the hotel exits.
Meanwhile, the UK joined Canada, Spain, Germany and the US in reporting person-to-person transmission of the virus.
On Friday, French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said two people were infected with swine flu, France's first confirmed cases.
South Korea has also confirmed its first case, local media said - a 51-year-old woman who has recently returned from Mexico.
The announcements take to 16 the number of countries where swine flu has been confirmed.
Mexico, where the outbreak began, has shut down parts of its economy for five days in a bid to curb the virus's progress.
Mexican officials say the spread of swine flu - suspected in more than 160 deaths - is slowing.
International experts are more cautious - but one, Nancy Cox, chief of America's Center for Disease Control's influenza division, said the new virus lacked the traits that made the 1918 pandemic so deadly.
"We do not see the markers for virulence that were seen in the 1918 virus," she said.
'No panic'
In cases outside Mexico the effects of the virus do not appear to be severe, although one death of a Mexican child has been confirmed in the US.
The WHO has set its pandemic alert level at five - but says it has no immediate plans to move to the highest level of six.
In Hong Kong, the authorities have raised the alert level to emergency but urged residents to carry on life as normal.
CONFIRMED CASES
Mexico: 168 suspected deaths - 15 confirmed
US: One death, at least 109 confirmed cases
New Zealand: 4 confirmed, 12 probable cases
Canada: 35 confirmed cases
UK: 11 confirmed cases
Spain: 13 confirmed cases
Germany: 4 confirmed cases
France: 2 confirmed cases
Israel, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases each
The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, South Korea: 1 confirmed case each
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Countries with confirmed cases of secondary transmission
US
Canada
Spain
Germany
UK
Mapping the outbreak
Mexico: First swine flu cases
Border town not slowing down
Price hikes in Mexico amid flu panic
"I assure you the Hong Kong government will try its best to conquer the virus," Chief Executive Donald Tsang said.
"I stress we don't need to panic."
The Mexican man is said to be in a stable condition in Hong Kong's Princess Margaret Hospital, after seeking treatment on Thursday night after becoming unwell.
The Metropark Hotel in Wanchai district where he briefly stayed will be sealed off for seven days, health officials said, and the antiviral drug Tamiflu given to about 200 guests and 100 staff there.
Medical staff wearing protective clothing were seen carrying boxes of equipment into the building.
Efforts are also under way to trace people who travelled on the same flights as the Mexican, and taxi drivers with whom he came into contact.
BBC China Editor Shirong Chen says confirmation that the man has tested positive for the virus has set alarm bells ringing beyond Hong Kong.
Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said the virus was very likely to enter mainland China and urged the country to prepare for an outbreak, as millions start travelling over the May Day long weekend.
In South Korea, a 51-year-old woman who had recently returned from Mexico was confirmed as the country's first case, Yonhap news agency reported.
Two other people are being tested for the virus, the agency said.
Schools closed
Meanwhile, the authorities in Mexico hope a nationwide shut-down ordered from Friday, covering two public holidays and a weekend, will help curb the spread of the virus.
SYMPTOMS - WHAT TO DO
Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue
If you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical advice
If you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection
Some factories will stop production and schools are already closed. Residents have been urged to stay at home, but it is not clear how widely the shut-down order will be followed.
The number of confirmed cases of swine flu infection in Mexico now stands at more than 300, officials say.
Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said on Friday that three more deaths from swine flu had been confirmed, bringing the toll to 15.
Announcing the figure, Mr Cordova said that new cases of the virus were levelling off.
But Dr Keiji Fukuda, acting assistant director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said fluctuations were to be expected.
In other developments:
• The US announces that it will buy 13 million new courses of antiviral treatment and send 400,000 of them to Mexico
• A flight from Germany to Washington DC is diverted to Boston after a female passenger complains of flu-like symptoms
• An aide to US Energy Secretary Stephen Chu who helped arrange President Barack Obama's recent trip to Mexico is being tested for swine flu, although the aide is said not to have been in contact with the president
• The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is fine for people without flu symptoms to fly and use the subway, a day after Vice-President Joe Biden said he would advise his own family members against using public transport
• Denmark reports its first confirmed case of swine flu
• German authorities confirm that a nurse who treated a patient with swine flu also contracted the disease, in the first person-to-person transmission in the country
• Test results confirm the UK's first person-to-person transmission of swine flu, in a friend of a couple from Scotland who were first in the country to be diagnosed with the virus
Several countries have restricted travel to Mexico and many tour operators have cancelled holidays.
The WHO, meanwhile, says it will now call the virus influenza A (H1N1) rather than swine flu - which it says is misleading as pork meat is safe and the virus is being transmitted from human to human
The 25-year-old man, who is now in hospital after testing positive for the virus, had travelled from Mexico via Shanghai, Hong Kong's leader said.
Local TV footage showed police wearing masks guarding the hotel exits.
Meanwhile, the UK joined Canada, Spain, Germany and the US in reporting person-to-person transmission of the virus.
On Friday, French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said two people were infected with swine flu, France's first confirmed cases.
South Korea has also confirmed its first case, local media said - a 51-year-old woman who has recently returned from Mexico.
The announcements take to 16 the number of countries where swine flu has been confirmed.
Mexico, where the outbreak began, has shut down parts of its economy for five days in a bid to curb the virus's progress.
Mexican officials say the spread of swine flu - suspected in more than 160 deaths - is slowing.
International experts are more cautious - but one, Nancy Cox, chief of America's Center for Disease Control's influenza division, said the new virus lacked the traits that made the 1918 pandemic so deadly.
"We do not see the markers for virulence that were seen in the 1918 virus," she said.
'No panic'
In cases outside Mexico the effects of the virus do not appear to be severe, although one death of a Mexican child has been confirmed in the US.
The WHO has set its pandemic alert level at five - but says it has no immediate plans to move to the highest level of six.
In Hong Kong, the authorities have raised the alert level to emergency but urged residents to carry on life as normal.
CONFIRMED CASES
Mexico: 168 suspected deaths - 15 confirmed
US: One death, at least 109 confirmed cases
New Zealand: 4 confirmed, 12 probable cases
Canada: 35 confirmed cases
UK: 11 confirmed cases
Spain: 13 confirmed cases
Germany: 4 confirmed cases
France: 2 confirmed cases
Israel, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases each
The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, South Korea: 1 confirmed case each
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Countries with confirmed cases of secondary transmission
US
Canada
Spain
Germany
UK
Mapping the outbreak
Mexico: First swine flu cases
Border town not slowing down
Price hikes in Mexico amid flu panic
"I assure you the Hong Kong government will try its best to conquer the virus," Chief Executive Donald Tsang said.
"I stress we don't need to panic."
The Mexican man is said to be in a stable condition in Hong Kong's Princess Margaret Hospital, after seeking treatment on Thursday night after becoming unwell.
The Metropark Hotel in Wanchai district where he briefly stayed will be sealed off for seven days, health officials said, and the antiviral drug Tamiflu given to about 200 guests and 100 staff there.
Medical staff wearing protective clothing were seen carrying boxes of equipment into the building.
Efforts are also under way to trace people who travelled on the same flights as the Mexican, and taxi drivers with whom he came into contact.
BBC China Editor Shirong Chen says confirmation that the man has tested positive for the virus has set alarm bells ringing beyond Hong Kong.
Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said the virus was very likely to enter mainland China and urged the country to prepare for an outbreak, as millions start travelling over the May Day long weekend.
In South Korea, a 51-year-old woman who had recently returned from Mexico was confirmed as the country's first case, Yonhap news agency reported.
Two other people are being tested for the virus, the agency said.
Schools closed
Meanwhile, the authorities in Mexico hope a nationwide shut-down ordered from Friday, covering two public holidays and a weekend, will help curb the spread of the virus.
SYMPTOMS - WHAT TO DO
Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue
If you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical advice
If you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection
Some factories will stop production and schools are already closed. Residents have been urged to stay at home, but it is not clear how widely the shut-down order will be followed.
The number of confirmed cases of swine flu infection in Mexico now stands at more than 300, officials say.
Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said on Friday that three more deaths from swine flu had been confirmed, bringing the toll to 15.
Announcing the figure, Mr Cordova said that new cases of the virus were levelling off.
But Dr Keiji Fukuda, acting assistant director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said fluctuations were to be expected.
In other developments:
• The US announces that it will buy 13 million new courses of antiviral treatment and send 400,000 of them to Mexico
• A flight from Germany to Washington DC is diverted to Boston after a female passenger complains of flu-like symptoms
• An aide to US Energy Secretary Stephen Chu who helped arrange President Barack Obama's recent trip to Mexico is being tested for swine flu, although the aide is said not to have been in contact with the president
• The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is fine for people without flu symptoms to fly and use the subway, a day after Vice-President Joe Biden said he would advise his own family members against using public transport
• Denmark reports its first confirmed case of swine flu
• German authorities confirm that a nurse who treated a patient with swine flu also contracted the disease, in the first person-to-person transmission in the country
• Test results confirm the UK's first person-to-person transmission of swine flu, in a friend of a couple from Scotland who were first in the country to be diagnosed with the virus
Several countries have restricted travel to Mexico and many tour operators have cancelled holidays.
The WHO, meanwhile, says it will now call the virus influenza A (H1N1) rather than swine flu - which it says is misleading as pork meat is safe and the virus is being transmitted from human to human
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Cong gaining foothold in UP, Bihar?
It is an idea which crops up every now and then. But this time the buzz from the baking lands of Bihar and UP is that Congress, first
time since Mandal and Mandir squeezed it out of power matrix, is finding a connect with voters.
The voting trends in the Hindi heartland suggest that Congress's attempt at revival is not going unnoticed.
Though signs of an organisational resurgence in the past proved to be deceptive, with the party sacrificing whatever limited gains it made at the altar of coalition compulsions, it may sustain this time owing to Rahul Gandhi's personal investment in the project. If so, it will have serious consequences for future cowbelt polity.
Reports say Congress has inserted itself in many contests in UP and Bihar, a far cry from earlier faceoffs as a bit player.
The first two phases in UP saw Congress seriously vie for 11 of 33 seats, while the party is said to have given jitters to the frontrunners SP and BSP in another handful of the lot that were up for grabs on Thursday. Its performance on quite a few seats — among them Kushinagar, Gonda, Barabanki, Unnao, Maharajganj — are surprising UP-watchers too.
The same is true for Bihar where Congress, having dumped trusted ally Lalu Prasad over the snub of three-seat offer, is seen as holding its own in many places and fancying its chances in more than what it won in 2004.
The surge in goodwill for Congress may not translate into wins, but what is happening may still have far-reaching consequences.
There are indications that the bid to make the party fighting fit will not stop with elections, as has often happened in past. Sources said Rahul had personally overseen the decisions against engaging SP and RJD in lop-sided deals and will ensure continuity after May 16.
With regional parties having had around two decade run, Congress's wading into the poll battle solo in two states this year has rekindled the interest among social groups which left its fold for OBC outfits and BJP in the wake of Mandal and Mandir tremors, pulling the rug from under its feet.
Reports say Muslims and Brahmins, two of Congress core support bases in its heydays, have been among first to give it a dekko. These communities have journeyed through regional outfits and may be toying with homecoming.
That Congress is baiting them from a position of strength — as a frontrunner for power after having already run a full-tenure government in Delhi — is helping its cause.
Also, the fact that SP and RJD pursued Congress for tieups has taken a message to voters that it was a party worth its salt, testify insiders.
At the same time, the pragmatism of fielding politically strong defectors — be it Rajaram Pal in Akbarpur or Sadhu Yadav in Bettiah — seems to be egging the interested groups towards "winnable" candidates.
Irrespective of the tally it clocks, Congress is to continue its engagement in Bihar with assembly polls barely over a year away. It is felt the lure of candidatures and offices would keep freshly-generated energy among workers going. In UP, it would have to find ways of doing it, but insiders are hopeful.
Such a sustained project to revive the party in states which send 120 MPs to Lok Sabha is politically significant. Since the project's success would comeat the cost of regional outfits, Congress is thus likely to attract their hostility. For its part, Congress will also find it difficult to have a long-term and close partnership at the Centre with the heartland players whom it will have to contend against in UP and Bihar.
The downside, it is felt, is that getting support from SP or RJD or for that matter JD(U) may become a difficult or complicated proposition.
The power politics may be tantalisingly poised if Congress continues to walk the revival path.
time since Mandal and Mandir squeezed it out of power matrix, is finding a connect with voters.
The voting trends in the Hindi heartland suggest that Congress's attempt at revival is not going unnoticed.
Though signs of an organisational resurgence in the past proved to be deceptive, with the party sacrificing whatever limited gains it made at the altar of coalition compulsions, it may sustain this time owing to Rahul Gandhi's personal investment in the project. If so, it will have serious consequences for future cowbelt polity.
Reports say Congress has inserted itself in many contests in UP and Bihar, a far cry from earlier faceoffs as a bit player.
The first two phases in UP saw Congress seriously vie for 11 of 33 seats, while the party is said to have given jitters to the frontrunners SP and BSP in another handful of the lot that were up for grabs on Thursday. Its performance on quite a few seats — among them Kushinagar, Gonda, Barabanki, Unnao, Maharajganj — are surprising UP-watchers too.
The same is true for Bihar where Congress, having dumped trusted ally Lalu Prasad over the snub of three-seat offer, is seen as holding its own in many places and fancying its chances in more than what it won in 2004.
The surge in goodwill for Congress may not translate into wins, but what is happening may still have far-reaching consequences.
There are indications that the bid to make the party fighting fit will not stop with elections, as has often happened in past. Sources said Rahul had personally overseen the decisions against engaging SP and RJD in lop-sided deals and will ensure continuity after May 16.
With regional parties having had around two decade run, Congress's wading into the poll battle solo in two states this year has rekindled the interest among social groups which left its fold for OBC outfits and BJP in the wake of Mandal and Mandir tremors, pulling the rug from under its feet.
Reports say Muslims and Brahmins, two of Congress core support bases in its heydays, have been among first to give it a dekko. These communities have journeyed through regional outfits and may be toying with homecoming.
That Congress is baiting them from a position of strength — as a frontrunner for power after having already run a full-tenure government in Delhi — is helping its cause.
Also, the fact that SP and RJD pursued Congress for tieups has taken a message to voters that it was a party worth its salt, testify insiders.
At the same time, the pragmatism of fielding politically strong defectors — be it Rajaram Pal in Akbarpur or Sadhu Yadav in Bettiah — seems to be egging the interested groups towards "winnable" candidates.
Irrespective of the tally it clocks, Congress is to continue its engagement in Bihar with assembly polls barely over a year away. It is felt the lure of candidatures and offices would keep freshly-generated energy among workers going. In UP, it would have to find ways of doing it, but insiders are hopeful.
Such a sustained project to revive the party in states which send 120 MPs to Lok Sabha is politically significant. Since the project's success would comeat the cost of regional outfits, Congress is thus likely to attract their hostility. For its part, Congress will also find it difficult to have a long-term and close partnership at the Centre with the heartland players whom it will have to contend against in UP and Bihar.
The downside, it is felt, is that getting support from SP or RJD or for that matter JD(U) may become a difficult or complicated proposition.
The power politics may be tantalisingly poised if Congress continues to walk the revival path.
From today, manage your own pension
Starting Friday, anybody can invest in a pension fund with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) launching the
facility for the general public. The scheme is similar to the one currently in operation for central government employees, which yielded an average return of 14.5% in 2008-09.
Under this National Pension Scheme (NPS), money invested in the pension fund during the working life of the investor will come back partly as a lumpsum and partly as an annual payment or pension.
The fund gives investors the option of deciding what level of risk they want to take, given the fact that higher returns are typically associated with higher risk investments. The fund will be invested in three kinds of assets — equity, government bonds and corporate bonds — and it is for the investor to decide how much should be invested in each of these.
Investment in equity is, however, subject to two significant caveats. First, it cannot be more than 50% of the amount in the investor's account. Secondly, fund managers cannot invest in shares of individual companies, but only in index funds linked to the BSE's sensex or the NSE's Nifty.
For those who would rather leave it to experts to decide what the balance should be, there is `auto choice' option. Under this option, for those aged 18-36, 50% of the amount in their pension account will be invested in equity, 30% in corporate bonds and the remaining 20% in government securities. From age 36 onwards, the proportion of investments in equity and corporate bonds will decrease annually while that in government securities will increase till the mix reaches 10% in equity, 10% in corporate bonds and 80% in government securities at age 55.
Under the scheme, you can invest any amount, though tax benefits will be available only up to Rs 1 lakh under Sec 80C. The minimum annual contribution, however, has been mandated at Rs 6,000.
The fund will be managed by six fund managers, appointed by the government at annual fees of 0.0009% of the invested amount, which is less than one paise per Rs 100. The fund managers appointed by the PFRDA are SBI, UTI Asset Management, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Reliance MF, IDFC Mutual Fund and Kotak Mahindra.
To open a pension account, you will have to approach the branches of any of the 22 `point of presence' (POP) service providers selected by the authority. These include State Bank of India and all its seven subsidiaries as well as ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank. PFRDA Chairman D Swarup said that to start with there would be around 300 POPs in the country, which will soon be ramped up to more than 10,000.
The investor's account will be kept by a record keeping agency appointed by the PFRDA. However, the investor will need to interact only with the POP, where he can deposit his annual/monthly contribution.
The scheme gives the investor the option of shifting from one fund manager to another, merely by instructing his POP to do so. The POP will inform the same to the record keeping agency, which will shift the fund to the new fund manager, selected by the investor.
facility for the general public. The scheme is similar to the one currently in operation for central government employees, which yielded an average return of 14.5% in 2008-09.
Under this National Pension Scheme (NPS), money invested in the pension fund during the working life of the investor will come back partly as a lumpsum and partly as an annual payment or pension.
The fund gives investors the option of deciding what level of risk they want to take, given the fact that higher returns are typically associated with higher risk investments. The fund will be invested in three kinds of assets — equity, government bonds and corporate bonds — and it is for the investor to decide how much should be invested in each of these.
Investment in equity is, however, subject to two significant caveats. First, it cannot be more than 50% of the amount in the investor's account. Secondly, fund managers cannot invest in shares of individual companies, but only in index funds linked to the BSE's sensex or the NSE's Nifty.
For those who would rather leave it to experts to decide what the balance should be, there is `auto choice' option. Under this option, for those aged 18-36, 50% of the amount in their pension account will be invested in equity, 30% in corporate bonds and the remaining 20% in government securities. From age 36 onwards, the proportion of investments in equity and corporate bonds will decrease annually while that in government securities will increase till the mix reaches 10% in equity, 10% in corporate bonds and 80% in government securities at age 55.
Under the scheme, you can invest any amount, though tax benefits will be available only up to Rs 1 lakh under Sec 80C. The minimum annual contribution, however, has been mandated at Rs 6,000.
The fund will be managed by six fund managers, appointed by the government at annual fees of 0.0009% of the invested amount, which is less than one paise per Rs 100. The fund managers appointed by the PFRDA are SBI, UTI Asset Management, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Reliance MF, IDFC Mutual Fund and Kotak Mahindra.
To open a pension account, you will have to approach the branches of any of the 22 `point of presence' (POP) service providers selected by the authority. These include State Bank of India and all its seven subsidiaries as well as ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank. PFRDA Chairman D Swarup said that to start with there would be around 300 POPs in the country, which will soon be ramped up to more than 10,000.
The investor's account will be kept by a record keeping agency appointed by the PFRDA. However, the investor will need to interact only with the POP, where he can deposit his annual/monthly contribution.
The scheme gives the investor the option of shifting from one fund manager to another, merely by instructing his POP to do so. The POP will inform the same to the record keeping agency, which will shift the fund to the new fund manager, selected by the investor.
Voters feel the heat in third phase of polls
The heat wave singed the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls, with only half the 14.40 crore voters turning up to vote for 107 seats on Thursday.
Crucial phase for BJP The round was crucial for the BJP which was defending 43 seats as compared to the Congress’s 25. Polling is now over in the BJP strongholds of Gujarat, MP and Karnataka.
With temperatures ranging from 40 to 46 degree Celsius in nine states and two Union Territories, Deputy Election Commissioner R. Balakrishan said the “hot summer” had affected the turnout.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP prime minister candidate Lal Krishna Advani were among the 1,567 candidates in the fray in the third round.
Even as the poll panel described the polling as peaceful, two polling officials and their driver were killed in West Bengal’s Paschim Midnapore district when a landmine blew up their vehicle on Thursday evening.
In Purulia, two Border Security Force men were injured in an explosion in a primary school.
With Thursday’s poll, voting for two-thirds of the 543 Lok Sabha seats is now over.
The round was crucial for the BJP which was defending 43 seats as compared to the Congress’s 25. Polling is now over in the BJP strongholds of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
The average turnout for Phase III was lower compared to 2004, except in Gujarat and Anantnag, the only seat to go the polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
Despite the boycott call given by the separatists, the voting percentage was 10 per cent higher at 25 per cent in Anantnag than the last time.
Gujarat saw a five per cent higher voting this time. It was 45 per cent in 2004 polls. BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani is a candidate from Gandhinagar. After casting his vote, Advani called for a fixed tenure for Lok Sabha and compulsory voting to counter low turnout.
Polls were boycotted in 150 polling booths in West Bengal and Bihar. In West Bengal’s sensitive Lalgarh area, very low turnout was reported.
Crucial phase for BJP The round was crucial for the BJP which was defending 43 seats as compared to the Congress’s 25. Polling is now over in the BJP strongholds of Gujarat, MP and Karnataka.
With temperatures ranging from 40 to 46 degree Celsius in nine states and two Union Territories, Deputy Election Commissioner R. Balakrishan said the “hot summer” had affected the turnout.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP prime minister candidate Lal Krishna Advani were among the 1,567 candidates in the fray in the third round.
Even as the poll panel described the polling as peaceful, two polling officials and their driver were killed in West Bengal’s Paschim Midnapore district when a landmine blew up their vehicle on Thursday evening.
In Purulia, two Border Security Force men were injured in an explosion in a primary school.
With Thursday’s poll, voting for two-thirds of the 543 Lok Sabha seats is now over.
The round was crucial for the BJP which was defending 43 seats as compared to the Congress’s 25. Polling is now over in the BJP strongholds of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
The average turnout for Phase III was lower compared to 2004, except in Gujarat and Anantnag, the only seat to go the polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
Despite the boycott call given by the separatists, the voting percentage was 10 per cent higher at 25 per cent in Anantnag than the last time.
Gujarat saw a five per cent higher voting this time. It was 45 per cent in 2004 polls. BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani is a candidate from Gandhinagar. After casting his vote, Advani called for a fixed tenure for Lok Sabha and compulsory voting to counter low turnout.
Polls were boycotted in 150 polling booths in West Bengal and Bihar. In West Bengal’s sensitive Lalgarh area, very low turnout was reported.
Terrorist attacks double in Pakistan, drop overall
Terrorist attacks in Pakistan more than doubled last year despite a general decline in such violence and its casualties worldwide, according to U.S. government figures released on Thursday.
The death toll from worldwide terrorism fell to 15,765 from 22,508 in 2007, while the number of attacks dropped to 11,770 from 14,506, according to data compiled by the U.S. intelligence community and released in a U.S. State Department report.
The general decline reflected diminished violence in Iraq following U.S. President George W. Bush's 2007 decision to send additional troops to the country, which U.S.-led forces invaded in 2003 to topple former dictator Saddam Hussein.
However, the report said that attacks in Pakistan more than doubled in 2008.
U.S. officials have grown increasingly worried about the stability of nuclear-armed Pakistan, a U.S. ally seen as vital to stabilizing Afghanistan, as the Taliban have advanced from their Swat Valley stronghold to other parts of the country.
The death toll from worldwide terrorism fell to 15,765 from 22,508 in 2007, while the number of attacks dropped to 11,770 from 14,506, according to data compiled by the U.S. intelligence community and released in a U.S. State Department report.
The general decline reflected diminished violence in Iraq following U.S. President George W. Bush's 2007 decision to send additional troops to the country, which U.S.-led forces invaded in 2003 to topple former dictator Saddam Hussein.
However, the report said that attacks in Pakistan more than doubled in 2008.
U.S. officials have grown increasingly worried about the stability of nuclear-armed Pakistan, a U.S. ally seen as vital to stabilizing Afghanistan, as the Taliban have advanced from their Swat Valley stronghold to other parts of the country.
Swine flu: first case of UK human transmission suspected
Health officials fear they have discovered the first case of someone catching swine flu within the UK, it emerged last night, as the number of confirmed cases in this country reached eight.
The "probable" case of domestic transmission involves a man who was in close contact with Iain and Dawn Askham, the Scottish couple who became the first confirmed British cases after returning from their honeymoon in Cancún, Mexico, with the virus.
Tests on the man found low levels of influenza A virus, and the samples were flown to the Health Protection Agency's main laboratories at Colindale, in north London, for further testing to establish whether he has swine flu.
The case emerged as three more people were diagnosed as infected with swine flu in Britain yesterday, bringing the total number of cases to eight. The HPA's laboratories are investigating a further 230 possible cases.
The Askhams said last night that they believed they had caught the virus on the flight back to Britain. The couple, who left hospital yesterday six days after being admitted, told the Daily Record that five men sitting near them on the Cancún to Birmingham flight had been coughing and sneezing throughout the journey. Mr Askham, 27, an IT worker, said he told his wife: "I think we're going to be getting off this plane with the plague."
Last night it emerged that a US security aide who helped arrange Barack Obama's trip to Mexico was suffering from flu-like symptoms, while Canada recorded its first case of person-to-person transmission of the virus, in Nova Scotia.
Dr Harry Burns, Scotland's chief medical officer, said the new British patient was "probably more likely than less likely" to have swine flu because of his contact with the couple and the fact that influenza A viruses are rare at this time of year. He is being treated at home with the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish health secretary, said: "The circumstances around this person give us cause for concern. And that's why he's being treated as probable. That would be the first case of onward transmission from one of the original Mexico cases."
The latest confirmed cases involve a woman in Newcastle upon Tyne and two people in London. All eight confirmed cases contracted the flu in Mexico and have shown relatively mild symptoms after treatment with antiviral drugs.
The sharp rise in suspected cases over the previous 24 hours - from 78 to 230 - may indicate the heightened state of public awareness and alarm, as much as a sign of the disease's rapid spread.
EU governments failed last night to agree on pooling medical resources to combat the flu, and rejected French calls for a blanket ban on air travel to Mexico. The emergency meeting in Luxembourg of health ministers from the 27 countries in the EU agreed to coordinate policies and efforts, but indicated this amounted merely to sharing information on monitoring the speed of the virus's spread.
The newly confirmed case in Newcastle is a woman, recently returned from Mexico, who shared a flat with two local students.
Newcastle University said it would not close its facilities as a precaution. "This [patient] is not a student or a member of staff," the university said in a circulated email. "Neither of the students [who share the flat] has so far displayed any flu-like symptoms.
"Both students have received the antiviral Tamiflu. They and the university have been advised by the HPA that there is no need for the students to isolate themselves from the community unless they show symptoms."
Health officials in Paignton, where a 12-year-old girl was confirmed as having swine flu, said yesterday that dozens of other people in the area had complained of symptoms.
The girl, who is said to be "improving" is a pupil at Paignton Community and Sports College in Devon. Yesterday the school was shut and 340 pupils and staff issued with Tamiflu.
Dr Sarah Harrison, public health consultant for Torbay Care Trust, said: "We are aware of people who have flu-like symptoms. A number of people in this area are being tested. The numbers are more like dozens than hundreds."
After releasing the latest tally, the HPA said: "At this stage close contacts who should be offered antivirals as a precaution are individuals who have been exposed to a probable or confirmed case within the previous seven days, for longer than one hour, and within a distance of one metre. All cases up to now have been associated with travel to Mexico."
Earlier in the day the government's chief medical officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, said he believed the UK would see "many more cases" of swine flu as the virus spreads, but that most people would make a good recovery. He described himself as "concerned, but not alarmed" by the decision by the World Health Organisation to raise the global alert level to phase five.
The "probable" case of domestic transmission involves a man who was in close contact with Iain and Dawn Askham, the Scottish couple who became the first confirmed British cases after returning from their honeymoon in Cancún, Mexico, with the virus.
Tests on the man found low levels of influenza A virus, and the samples were flown to the Health Protection Agency's main laboratories at Colindale, in north London, for further testing to establish whether he has swine flu.
The case emerged as three more people were diagnosed as infected with swine flu in Britain yesterday, bringing the total number of cases to eight. The HPA's laboratories are investigating a further 230 possible cases.
The Askhams said last night that they believed they had caught the virus on the flight back to Britain. The couple, who left hospital yesterday six days after being admitted, told the Daily Record that five men sitting near them on the Cancún to Birmingham flight had been coughing and sneezing throughout the journey. Mr Askham, 27, an IT worker, said he told his wife: "I think we're going to be getting off this plane with the plague."
Last night it emerged that a US security aide who helped arrange Barack Obama's trip to Mexico was suffering from flu-like symptoms, while Canada recorded its first case of person-to-person transmission of the virus, in Nova Scotia.
Dr Harry Burns, Scotland's chief medical officer, said the new British patient was "probably more likely than less likely" to have swine flu because of his contact with the couple and the fact that influenza A viruses are rare at this time of year. He is being treated at home with the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish health secretary, said: "The circumstances around this person give us cause for concern. And that's why he's being treated as probable. That would be the first case of onward transmission from one of the original Mexico cases."
The latest confirmed cases involve a woman in Newcastle upon Tyne and two people in London. All eight confirmed cases contracted the flu in Mexico and have shown relatively mild symptoms after treatment with antiviral drugs.
The sharp rise in suspected cases over the previous 24 hours - from 78 to 230 - may indicate the heightened state of public awareness and alarm, as much as a sign of the disease's rapid spread.
EU governments failed last night to agree on pooling medical resources to combat the flu, and rejected French calls for a blanket ban on air travel to Mexico. The emergency meeting in Luxembourg of health ministers from the 27 countries in the EU agreed to coordinate policies and efforts, but indicated this amounted merely to sharing information on monitoring the speed of the virus's spread.
The newly confirmed case in Newcastle is a woman, recently returned from Mexico, who shared a flat with two local students.
Newcastle University said it would not close its facilities as a precaution. "This [patient] is not a student or a member of staff," the university said in a circulated email. "Neither of the students [who share the flat] has so far displayed any flu-like symptoms.
"Both students have received the antiviral Tamiflu. They and the university have been advised by the HPA that there is no need for the students to isolate themselves from the community unless they show symptoms."
Health officials in Paignton, where a 12-year-old girl was confirmed as having swine flu, said yesterday that dozens of other people in the area had complained of symptoms.
The girl, who is said to be "improving" is a pupil at Paignton Community and Sports College in Devon. Yesterday the school was shut and 340 pupils and staff issued with Tamiflu.
Dr Sarah Harrison, public health consultant for Torbay Care Trust, said: "We are aware of people who have flu-like symptoms. A number of people in this area are being tested. The numbers are more like dozens than hundreds."
After releasing the latest tally, the HPA said: "At this stage close contacts who should be offered antivirals as a precaution are individuals who have been exposed to a probable or confirmed case within the previous seven days, for longer than one hour, and within a distance of one metre. All cases up to now have been associated with travel to Mexico."
Earlier in the day the government's chief medical officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, said he believed the UK would see "many more cases" of swine flu as the virus spreads, but that most people would make a good recovery. He described himself as "concerned, but not alarmed" by the decision by the World Health Organisation to raise the global alert level to phase five.
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