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PM declares Bihar flood a “national disaster”

Patna, Aug 28: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday declared the floods in Bihar as “national disaster” after conducting an aerial survey of the state’s worst affected areas. Assuring Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of full support from the Centre, PM announced the immediate assistance of Rs 1000 crore for rescue and relief operations. He also ordered the immediate release of 1.25 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains for the affected people.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi accompanied PM as the two undertook an aerial survey of the most affected districts in Bihar where the swollen Kosi river continued to wreak havoc.

According to reports, Singh and Gandhi arrived at the Purnia airbase by a special IAF plane from New Delhi and took off in an IAF chopper to undertake the aerial survey in Supaul, Saharsa, Araria and Madhepura districts.

They were accompanied by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Union Minister of State for Water Resource Jaiprakash Narain Yadav and BJP Lok Sabha members from Purnia and Araria -- Uday Singh and Sukhdeo Paswan -- respectively.

Earlier, Kumar received Singh and Gandhi at the Purnia airbase and briefed them about the flood situation.

Altogether 55 persons have so far lost their lives in the current spell of floods in the state.

Personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Special Auxiliary Police (SAP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), state police and the Army were engaged in the flood-hit areas to provide succour to the victims, the sources said.

Over 25 lakh people in 15 districts have been hit by the impact of one of the worst floods in recent memory with victims from these four districts making up 19.78 lakh.

A total of 396 boats engaged in relief and rescue work in the four districts have so far rescued 65,539 marooned people to safer places, they said, adding the number of people rescued from all the 15 districts was over 1.2 lakh.

Chief Minister Kumar, who called on Prime Minister Singh in New Delhi yesterday, had demanded an initial allocation of Rs 1,000 crore from the Centre in view of the unprecedented devastation caused by the turbulent Kosi river, which has charted a new course after breaching its embankment.

Kumar had stressed the need for an aggressive pursuit of diplomatic initiatives with Nepal for the construction of high dams and massive re-aforestation in the upper catchment area of the rivers, which would also imply the strengthening of embankments as part of long-term initiatives.

"More than 20 lakh people and their houses, including a number of townships, 242 panchayats and 671 villages which lie along the new course of the river have been inundated," he said, adding the state would immediately require one lakh metric tonne of rice for relief.

RBI phasing out old Rs 1,000, Rs 500 notes

New Delhi, Aug 28: The Reserve Bank is phasing out old currency notes in the denomination of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 of 1996 series and replacing them with new ones with added security features.

RBI spokesperson Alpana Killawala from Mumbai said that the public will not be put to inconvenience by the phasing out of these notes, which merely means that these currency notes would not be reissued after they are deposited with banks.

These notes will be replaced with 2006, Mahatma Gandhi series notes, which have more security features, she said.

Initially, only Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 are being phased out, which may be extended to other currency notes of old series as well.

When asked whether these notes are being phased out because of the problem of counterfeiting, she said replacement of old currency notes with new ones is an exercise followed by central banks all over the world.

The spokesperson made it clear that these notes are not being withdrawn, as is being speculated in some circles. Withdrawal of notes basically means that a currency note will no longer be a legal tender after a stipulated date.

She said no target date has been put for phasing out of these notes, as it all depends on when they are deposited with banks.

As such, notes which are not deposited with banks will continue to be legal tenders in the hands of the public.

Inflation eases to 12.40%

New Delhi, Aug 28: As a welcome respite to the Indian consumers, staggering under the heavy weight of continuously spiraling prices, the inflation softened down to 12.40% for the week ended August 16 from 12.63% the week before.

The Wholesale Price index has declined for the first time in 28 weeks, raising hopes of further ease in prices in the coming weeks.

The ease in inflation is being attributed to the fall in prices of primary articles, fruits and vegetables. While the slight increase in the cost of manufacturing goods remained a matter of concern for the government, the significant decline in fuel and power index came as a big pop up.

The government expressed satisfaction over the fall in prices and said that these are the early signs of moderation in inflation. Although the high milk price is still a matter of concern, yet the overall decline in prices if the food articles is a very positive indication as inflation in the past several weeks had constantly spiralled taking cue from the increasing prices of the primary articles.

No to rejoin Zardari`s coalition party`

Islamabad, Aug 28: Making fresh efforts to win back the estranged ally, PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari requested PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif to rejoin Pakistan's ruling coalition but the former premier turned it down saying it was not possible in the "near future."

Zardari made the request when he telephoned Sharif, senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said. The Pakistan People’s Party chief also asked Sharif, who pulled out of the coalition on Monday, to withdraw the PML-N's candidate from the presidential poll to be held on September 6.

During the phone conversation, Zardari referred to his apology extended to Sharif shortly after he broke away from the coalition on Monday as well as his comments about being unable to restore the deposed judges due to "pressures from certain quarters".

Sharif thanked Zardari for his apology but said the PML-N would not like to rejoin the coalition "in the near future".

The PML-N chief split from the ruling coalition after accusing Zardari of reneging on several agreements to reinstate dozens of judges deposed by former President Pervez Musharraf during last year's emergency rule. The PML-N has fielded former Chief Justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui against Zardari in the presidential polls.

Zardari had apologised to Sharif on Monday itself for hurting his feelings and hinted that certain powers within and outside Pakistan, which had played a role in the ouster of Musharraf, were opposed to the restoration of the deposed judges.

Economy grows at 7.9% in Q1

New Delhi, Aug 29: Indian economic growth moderated to 7.9 percent in the first quarter of current fiscal, against 9.2 percent a year ago as rising borrowing costs impacted manufacturing and some other sectors.

However, moderation in the GDP growth was expected as RBI hardened interest rates to control double-digit inflation.

If the first quarter GDP growth continues in the remaining months of this fiscal, the economy would expand at the rate more or less projected by Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

As he projected the economy to grow by close to 8 percent, compared to 9 percent in the previous fiscal.

Manufacturing growth almost halved to 5.6 percent, against 10.9 percent as rising interest rates impacted their expansion. Even though agriculture grew by lower rate of three percent, it is quite considerable on the high base of 4.4 per cent.

The other sectors which witnessed considerable decline in growth rate are electricity, gas and water supply, which expanded at the rate of 2.6 percent against 7.9 percent.

In the services sector, trade, hotels, transport and communication grew by 11.2 percent, against 13.1 percent.

While, financing, insurance, real estate and business services expanded by 9.3 percent, against 12.6 percent.

However, community, social and personal services grew by higher rate of 8.4 percent, against 5.2 percent.

Construction activities also expanded at higher rate of 11.4 percent, as compared to 7.7 percent, while mining and quaring grew by 4.8 percent, against 1.7 percent.

In absolute terms, India's GDP stood at Rs 7,82,357 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal, against 7,24,949 crore in the corresponding period of 2007-08.

What was heartening to note was that gross fixed capital formation rate stood at 32.3 percent in the first quarter, against 32 percent in the year-ago period.

Gross fixed capital formation is a measure of net new investment by enterprises in the domestic economy in fixed capital assets.

Recently, CII president K V Kamath had said that while existing investment pipelines are continuing as it is, new ones may be hampered because of rising interest rates.

Consumption demand also maintained a strong pace. Private final consumption expenditure, consisting of household final consumption expenditure and final consumption expenditure of non-profit institutions serving households, grew by 59.8 percent, which is the same rate as in the first quarter last fiscal.

On agriculture front, the production of rice, wheat, coarse cereals and pulses during the Rabi season which ended in June, 2008, recorded growth rates of 3.3 percent, 3.4 per cent, 8.6 percent, and (-) 7.9 percent, respectively over the production in the corresponding season of previous agriculture year.

However, the oilseeds production, whose prices have been rising, declined by 12.6 percent during the rabi season, while the production of cotton and sugarcane recorded growth rates of 14 percent and (-) 4.2 percent, respectively during the agriculture year 2007-08.

Among the services sector, the key indicators of railways-- the net tonne kilometers and passenger kilometers -- have shown growth rates of 9.3 percent and 7 percent, respectively, during the first quarter of the current fiscal.

Dr Reddy`s gets FDA nod for trandolapril tabs

Mumbai, Aug 29: Indian drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for trandolapril tablets, the regulator's website showed.

The drug is a generic version of Abbott Laboratories' Mavik tablets, indicated in the treatment of hypertension.

India may produce record rice this year`

New Delhi, Aug 29: India's rice production in this agriculture year may breach the record output of 96.43 million tons in the last year on the back of increased acreage even as floods in some producing areas have hit the kharif crop, a top government official said Friday.

"Rice production will surely touch record this year on the back of the areas sown and the overall crop condition as of now, even though floods in some producing regions have hit the crop," Secretary in the Department of Agricultural Research (DARE) Mangala Rai said.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar here, he, however, said sufficient rain in September and vigil against pest attacks are key to any further addition to the bumper output. He did not mention the quantum of increase in output, saying it is difficult at this stage.

Rai also said floods in Bihar and Punjab, however, will create a congenial condition for rabi crops. Planting in the next season should be focused upon covering the losses caused during the kharif season, he added.

Areas under rice and soyabean have risen by over seven percent in this period. However, areas under 10 major crops, including maize, sugarcane, arhar and cotton, have declined by up to 24 percent during the ongoing kharif season as on August 22.

Rai said maize production deficit in Bihar, caused by the floods, can also be bridged if farmers use single-cross hybrid (high quality) seeds in a big way, thereby raising the productivity level by about 50 percent. Moreover, the sowing areas under rabi maize in the state are also large, he added.

Google to go ahead with ***** deal by October: Report
29 Aug, 2008, 1714 hrs



Google Inc, facing a US Justice Department probe of its search-advertising partnership with ***** Inc, will proceed with the agreement by early October, Bloomberg said.

"We are going to move forward," Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday in Denver.

"We are in the process of talking to the government. They've not indicated one way or the other how they're dealing with us," the news agency quoted Schmidt as saying.

Google, with more than 60 percent of the internet search market, and *****, with 16.6 percent, agreed in June last month on an advertising partnership under which ***** will let Google put search ads on its site.

The deal has raised concerns that it will give Google too much power in the $65 billion online advertising market, and the U.S. Justice Department launched a formal antitrust investigation in July.

"We always worry a little bit, but we think our arguments are pretty strong," Schmidt told Bloomberg.

Google was not immediately available for comment.

Search engine marketing poised for boom
29 Aug, 2008, 0020 hrs IST,

BANGALORE: The search-engine-marketing (SEM) industry is likely to double in size to $225 million by 2009-10, driven by a growing internet base and the expanding use of internet marketing techniques, a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) says.

Some three-fourths of the over 40-million internet users now avail of search services compared to 34% in 2004 and the popularity of SEM is growing in a number of sector, the report said.

Search engine marketers help promote the visibility of websites by sponsoring links on search engines, paying search engines to include a website in the search index or by altering a website’s programming code to get it a better ranking from the search engine. The report also suggests that India has the potential to be the preferred outsourcing destination for SEM.

Jet fuel prices cut by over 16%, effective from Tuesday

New Delhi, Aug 31: State-run oil firms on Sunday cut aviation turbine fuel (ATF) or jet fuel prices by over 16 percent with effect from Tuesday.

"The sharp fall in ATF prices is on account of fall in prices of jet fuel in international market," an official of the Indian Oil Corp, the company which controls half of the fuel market in the country, said.

Jet fuel price on an average has been cut by Rs 11,784 per kilolitre for domestic airlines. For international airlines, which are not subject to pay the local sales tax, the cut in jet fuel price would be USD 205 per kl.

In Delhi, which has the nation's second busiest airport, the price will fall from Rs 71,028.26 per kl currently to Rs 59,244.26 per kl, the official said.

The reduction in ATF price comes after two straight hikes in the fuel price during July and August.

Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum revise ATF prices once a month based on the average price of jet fuel in the international market.

Irrespective of clear indications of a likely fall in jet fuel prices from September 1, airlines across the board have announced a hike in airfares from next month.

Airlines in India pay the most for fuel when compared with other Asia Pacific hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong and Colombo, mainly on account of higher tax rates. Airlines in India pay an eight per cent excise duty, besides sales tax that varies from 20 percent (in Delhi) to 35 percent.

ATF accounts for 35 percent of the total airline expenses.