General Affairs
Justice J S Khehar appointed as Chief Justice of India
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Justice J S Khehar was on Monday appointed as the new Chief Justice of India after President Pranab Mukherjee’s approval. Khehar, who led the five-judge constitution bench in the Supreme Court which had struck down the controversial NJAC Act for appointment of judges, will replace Justice TS Thakur as the top judge. Thakur will be demitting office on January 3, 2017.
Justice Khehar, 64, will be the first Chief Justice from the Sikh community. He will be sworn in on January 4 and will hold the tenure for over seven months till August 27, 2017.
Besides heading the bench in NJAC matter, Justice Khehar has also headed a bench which had set aside the imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh in January this year. He was also a part of the bench which sent Sahara chief Subrata Roy to jail while hearing the matter relating to the refund of money invested by people in his two companies.
Justice J S Khehar was on Monday appointed as the new Chief Justice of India after President Pranab Mukherjee’s approval. Khehar, who led the five-judge constitution bench in the Supreme Court which had struck down the controversial NJAC Act for appointment of judges, will replace Justice TS Thakur as the top judge. Thakur will be demitting office on January 3, 2017.
Justice Khehar, 64, will be the first Chief Justice from the Sikh community. He will be sworn in on January 4 and will hold the tenure for over seven months till August 27, 2017.
Besides heading the bench in NJAC matter, Justice Khehar has also headed a bench which had set aside the imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh in January this year. He was also a part of the bench which sent Sahara chief Subrata Roy to jail while hearing the matter relating to the refund of money invested by people in his two companies.
Demonetisation: We want to stop black money, Opposition’s agenda is to stop Parliament, says PM Modi
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Opposition for “stalling” proceedings in Parliament during the recently concluded winter session and accused them of supporting corruption. “This is the first time in country’s history that people were raising slogans in Parliament to save the corrupt. Even the people who work in municipality think several times before behaving in this way,” he said while addressing supporters in Lucknow in a ‘Parivartan Rally’ ahead of assembly elections to be held in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.
He also defended the government’s decision of demonetisation, saying the agenda of the Opposition is to stop Parliament from working even as the government’s agenda, he said, is to stop black money. “We took the decision to demonetise higher currency and even you know what happened after that,” he said.
He also said that once the Rs 1,000 notes went out of circulation, the importance of those who only had Rs 100 notes increased manifold. “No one used to ask the small Rs 100 when they had Rs 1,000 notes. However, now everyone values that small denomination of Rs 100. Small has risen,” he said.
Emphasising on how demonetisation shook everyone, PM Modi said people thought they’d easily convert their black money to white but they were mistaken and now they have been caught. “Just one decision has ended the game of all big wigs. They thought by depositing the money in the banks, black money will turn to white. However, that’s where they went wrong,” he said.
Urging people to fight corruption, he also reminded them that big names can bribe bank officials to exchange big amounts of money and people had to fight against it. He also defended his position on e-transactions by citing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s steps to bring in computers to India and reiterated that this move is a war against black money and the corrupt waged by the poor.
“They praised Rajiv Gandhi when he brought mobile phones to the country. Now when I want the economy to be cashless, they are protesting against me. I want to urge the intellectuals of the country to tell people about the resilience shown by Indians to support the demonetisation decision. History will not remember this move for which PM took this decision but for the fight waged by common people against black money,” he said.
He also reiterated his promise of 50 days, saying only that is the duration of time for which people will face trouble. After that, transactions will become smoother. He announced schemes and bumper draws for customers and shopkeepers who use digital money to complete transactions.
PM Modi also acknowledged the Election Commission’s decision’s to put a cap on anonymous donations to political parties. “I had said in all-party meet held before winter session that we must have discussion on donations given to political parties,” he said.
Ahead of the assembly elections, Modi also blamed the UP government for not providing electricity to 1,600 villages and that the Centre had provided electricity to most of the villages. “Only some 75-80 villages are now left without electricity,” he said, adding, “People of Uttar Pradesh are tired of hooliganism and only a new government can put an end to this,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Opposition for “stalling” proceedings in Parliament during the recently concluded winter session and accused them of supporting corruption. “This is the first time in country’s history that people were raising slogans in Parliament to save the corrupt. Even the people who work in municipality think several times before behaving in this way,” he said while addressing supporters in Lucknow in a ‘Parivartan Rally’ ahead of assembly elections to be held in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.
He also defended the government’s decision of demonetisation, saying the agenda of the Opposition is to stop Parliament from working even as the government’s agenda, he said, is to stop black money. “We took the decision to demonetise higher currency and even you know what happened after that,” he said.
He also said that once the Rs 1,000 notes went out of circulation, the importance of those who only had Rs 100 notes increased manifold. “No one used to ask the small Rs 100 when they had Rs 1,000 notes. However, now everyone values that small denomination of Rs 100. Small has risen,” he said.
Emphasising on how demonetisation shook everyone, PM Modi said people thought they’d easily convert their black money to white but they were mistaken and now they have been caught. “Just one decision has ended the game of all big wigs. They thought by depositing the money in the banks, black money will turn to white. However, that’s where they went wrong,” he said.
Urging people to fight corruption, he also reminded them that big names can bribe bank officials to exchange big amounts of money and people had to fight against it. He also defended his position on e-transactions by citing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s steps to bring in computers to India and reiterated that this move is a war against black money and the corrupt waged by the poor.
“They praised Rajiv Gandhi when he brought mobile phones to the country. Now when I want the economy to be cashless, they are protesting against me. I want to urge the intellectuals of the country to tell people about the resilience shown by Indians to support the demonetisation decision. History will not remember this move for which PM took this decision but for the fight waged by common people against black money,” he said.
He also reiterated his promise of 50 days, saying only that is the duration of time for which people will face trouble. After that, transactions will become smoother. He announced schemes and bumper draws for customers and shopkeepers who use digital money to complete transactions.
PM Modi also acknowledged the Election Commission’s decision’s to put a cap on anonymous donations to political parties. “I had said in all-party meet held before winter session that we must have discussion on donations given to political parties,” he said.
Ahead of the assembly elections, Modi also blamed the UP government for not providing electricity to 1,600 villages and that the Centre had provided electricity to most of the villages. “Only some 75-80 villages are now left without electricity,” he said, adding, “People of Uttar Pradesh are tired of hooliganism and only a new government can put an end to this,” he said.
Pathankot attack: NIA files chargesheet against JeM chief Masood Azhar, others
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NEARLY A year after the attack on the Pathankot air base, the NIA on Monday filed a chargesheet against Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother and two others for hatching the conspiracy. All the four have been charged under the Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the chargesheet filed in the NIA court at Panchkula.
Besides Azhar, his brother Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar and two handlers — Shahid Latif and Kashif Jan — have been named. While Interpol Red Corner Notices have been issued against three of them, the notice against Jan is pending, the NIA said in a press statement.
The chargesheet also put to rest speculation about the number of terrorists involved in the attack on January 2, which left seven personnel dead and 37 injured. The agency has given details of only four terrorists — Nasir Hussain, Hafiz Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayoom, all Pakistani nationals and JeM members.
Defence Minister Manohar Parikar and Home Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier said there were six terrorists. As reported by The Indian Express, NIA investigators found only four bodies, along with four AK 47 rifles and three pistols, with no evidence of more terrorists being present at the air base.
The agency relied on forensic reports, including DNA profiles of the four attackers and genetic material lifted from the can of Red Bull energy drink recovered from a vehicle used by them.
According to the NIA, the DNA samples matched that of the dead terrorists. The DNA profile of the genetic material lifted from the dagger recovered from one of them matched that of two victims, Rajesh Verma and Ikagar Singh. Similarly, the profile of the trace DNA lifted from the handle of the dagger matched that of another attacker.
“One walkie-talkie set belonging to the terrorists and one slip written in English were recovered from the Mahindra XUV vehicle (belonging to Punjab SP Salvinder Singh). The terrorists had left that slip on which it was written, ‘Jaish-e-Muhamad Zindabad, Tanghdar se le kar Samba Kathua Rajbagh aur Delhi tak, Afzal Guru shadeed kay jan nisar tum ko meltay rahege. Insha Allah. A.G.S. 25’,” said the chargesheet.
Indicating lax security at the air base, the chargesheet said the four terrorists had entered the premises on January 1, at 8:40 am, and entrenched themselves in a drain and adjacent shed belonging to the Military Engineering Services. They engaged in a gunfight only at 3:20 am on January 2, almost 19 hours after they entered the IAF base.
The chargesheet is likely to be used by India to advocate its case for imposing sanctions against Azhar, released during the IC-814 hijack in 1999. The terror case saw an unusual move, as Islamabad sent its probe team to Pathankot. The Pakistani team was given all the documents and allowed to question everyone, except security personnel.
NEARLY A year after the attack on the Pathankot air base, the NIA on Monday filed a chargesheet against Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother and two others for hatching the conspiracy. All the four have been charged under the Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the chargesheet filed in the NIA court at Panchkula.
Besides Azhar, his brother Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar and two handlers — Shahid Latif and Kashif Jan — have been named. While Interpol Red Corner Notices have been issued against three of them, the notice against Jan is pending, the NIA said in a press statement.
The chargesheet also put to rest speculation about the number of terrorists involved in the attack on January 2, which left seven personnel dead and 37 injured. The agency has given details of only four terrorists — Nasir Hussain, Hafiz Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayoom, all Pakistani nationals and JeM members.
Defence Minister Manohar Parikar and Home Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier said there were six terrorists. As reported by The Indian Express, NIA investigators found only four bodies, along with four AK 47 rifles and three pistols, with no evidence of more terrorists being present at the air base.
The agency relied on forensic reports, including DNA profiles of the four attackers and genetic material lifted from the can of Red Bull energy drink recovered from a vehicle used by them.
According to the NIA, the DNA samples matched that of the dead terrorists. The DNA profile of the genetic material lifted from the dagger recovered from one of them matched that of two victims, Rajesh Verma and Ikagar Singh. Similarly, the profile of the trace DNA lifted from the handle of the dagger matched that of another attacker.
“One walkie-talkie set belonging to the terrorists and one slip written in English were recovered from the Mahindra XUV vehicle (belonging to Punjab SP Salvinder Singh). The terrorists had left that slip on which it was written, ‘Jaish-e-Muhamad Zindabad, Tanghdar se le kar Samba Kathua Rajbagh aur Delhi tak, Afzal Guru shadeed kay jan nisar tum ko meltay rahege. Insha Allah. A.G.S. 25’,” said the chargesheet.
Indicating lax security at the air base, the chargesheet said the four terrorists had entered the premises on January 1, at 8:40 am, and entrenched themselves in a drain and adjacent shed belonging to the Military Engineering Services. They engaged in a gunfight only at 3:20 am on January 2, almost 19 hours after they entered the IAF base.
The chargesheet is likely to be used by India to advocate its case for imposing sanctions against Azhar, released during the IC-814 hijack in 1999. The terror case saw an unusual move, as Islamabad sent its probe team to Pathankot. The Pakistani team was given all the documents and allowed to question everyone, except security personnel.
Maharashtra civic polls: Congress trumps BJP in eight municipal councils
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The Opposition Congress managed to salvage some pride in the third round of polls in Maharashtra wherein 19 municipal councils and two nagar panchayats went to the elections, as the results started coming this afternoon. Congress won 113 seats and bagged eight posts of municipal council president, while the ruling BJP won 114 council seats and seven seats of council president.
At the end of three phases, BJP continued to remain the single largest party with 1,061 seats, while Congress finished with 885 seats, followed by NCP at 785 and Shiv Sena at 590.
In the third phase, BJP won seven and Congress won eight seats of municipal council president. NCP and an independent candidate bagged one seat each.
So the break-up of council presidents’ tally at the end of phase 3 is: BJP 63, Congress 33, NCP 21. Sena had won 26 council chief posts earlier but drew blank in the third phase. Independents bagged two council president posts.
Elections were held in Aurangabad, Bhandara, Gadchiroli and Nanded districts in the third phase. Apart from BJP and Congress, NCP won 77 municipal council seats in the third phase, independents 28, Lok Bharati five, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha two, Samajwadi Party one and Shiv Sena 38.
The Opposition Congress managed to salvage some pride in the third round of polls in Maharashtra wherein 19 municipal councils and two nagar panchayats went to the elections, as the results started coming this afternoon. Congress won 113 seats and bagged eight posts of municipal council president, while the ruling BJP won 114 council seats and seven seats of council president.
At the end of three phases, BJP continued to remain the single largest party with 1,061 seats, while Congress finished with 885 seats, followed by NCP at 785 and Shiv Sena at 590.
In the third phase, BJP won seven and Congress won eight seats of municipal council president. NCP and an independent candidate bagged one seat each.
So the break-up of council presidents’ tally at the end of phase 3 is: BJP 63, Congress 33, NCP 21. Sena had won 26 council chief posts earlier but drew blank in the third phase. Independents bagged two council president posts.
Elections were held in Aurangabad, Bhandara, Gadchiroli and Nanded districts in the third phase. Apart from BJP and Congress, NCP won 77 municipal council seats in the third phase, independents 28, Lok Bharati five, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha two, Samajwadi Party one and Shiv Sena 38.
CBI files chargesheet against Arvind Kejriwal’s former Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar
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The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet against former Delhi Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar in the ongoing corruption case against him. Kumar, a close aide of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was arrested by the investigative agency earlier this year on corruption charges.
The CBI had earlier approached the Union Home Ministry seeking sanction to prosecute Kumar. It is mandatory for the agency to seek sanction before filing a chargesheet against government officials. Kumar is a 1989-batch IAS officer of UT cadre and was named by the CBI along with four others for allegedly showing undue favours to ESPL in award of government contracts worth over Rs 50 crore.
The CBI has claimed that they have sufficient material evidence to chargesheet Kumar and others. Among them are reportedly audio recordings that the CBI claims to have seized from Kumar’s computer during raids last year. According to the CBI, the audio clips contain Kumar’s instructions to “influence and manipulate” contracts in favour of Endeavour Systems Private Limited (ESPL).
In its FIR, the CBI noted that four contracts were given to ESPL. These included projects for Delhi Transport Limited when Rajender Kumar was the chairman and managing director of DTL, for the Health Department when Kumar was health secretary, for the VAT Department when Kumar was commissioner of trade and taxes, and for Delhi Jal Board when he was secretary, Urban Development.
The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet against former Delhi Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar in the ongoing corruption case against him. Kumar, a close aide of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was arrested by the investigative agency earlier this year on corruption charges.
The CBI had earlier approached the Union Home Ministry seeking sanction to prosecute Kumar. It is mandatory for the agency to seek sanction before filing a chargesheet against government officials. Kumar is a 1989-batch IAS officer of UT cadre and was named by the CBI along with four others for allegedly showing undue favours to ESPL in award of government contracts worth over Rs 50 crore.
The CBI has claimed that they have sufficient material evidence to chargesheet Kumar and others. Among them are reportedly audio recordings that the CBI claims to have seized from Kumar’s computer during raids last year. According to the CBI, the audio clips contain Kumar’s instructions to “influence and manipulate” contracts in favour of Endeavour Systems Private Limited (ESPL).
In its FIR, the CBI noted that four contracts were given to ESPL. These included projects for Delhi Transport Limited when Rajender Kumar was the chairman and managing director of DTL, for the Health Department when Kumar was health secretary, for the VAT Department when Kumar was commissioner of trade and taxes, and for Delhi Jal Board when he was secretary, Urban Development.
Business Affairs
Sensex extends losses, down 81 points on weak Asian cues
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Falling for the fourth straight session, the benchmark BSE Sensex surrendered another 81 points to quote at 26,408.74 in early trade today on sustained selling by investors and funds amid weak Asian cues. The 30-share barometer was down 80.82 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 26,408.74 in early trade, with sectoral indices led by consumer durables, auto, realty and banking trading lower.
The index had lost 208.26 points in previous three sessions. The NSE Nifty dropped 25.20 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 8,114.25.
Brokers said apart from continued outflows by foreign funds, a weak trend in Asia tracking a sell-off on Wall Street and extending last week’s losses on concerns of an expected jump in US interest rates next year mainly pulled the indices down.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.22 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.84 per cent in early trade today. Shanghai Composite too shed 0.19 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.04 per cent lower in Friday’s trade.
Falling for the fourth straight session, the benchmark BSE Sensex surrendered another 81 points to quote at 26,408.74 in early trade today on sustained selling by investors and funds amid weak Asian cues. The 30-share barometer was down 80.82 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 26,408.74 in early trade, with sectoral indices led by consumer durables, auto, realty and banking trading lower.
The index had lost 208.26 points in previous three sessions. The NSE Nifty dropped 25.20 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 8,114.25.
Brokers said apart from continued outflows by foreign funds, a weak trend in Asia tracking a sell-off on Wall Street and extending last week’s losses on concerns of an expected jump in US interest rates next year mainly pulled the indices down.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.22 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.84 per cent in early trade today. Shanghai Composite too shed 0.19 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.04 per cent lower in Friday’s trade.
Engagement on Smart Cities initiative: US trade body flags clarity of plans, autonomy of states
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More autonomy to states for funding projects, greater clarity about the plans and initiatives of the government alongside an exclusive channel for US investors are the key issues the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) officials flagged in their engagement with India on the Smart Cities initiative.
“…what we continue to do is that we keep on inquiring have you set the SPV, what does the SPV mean…with the minister of urban development or the secretary or down through, we get different messages sometimes, too. I know they are working hard at it but they are saying now that we had this (smart cities) competition and the money has gone to the states, then we go to the states and some states say we don’t have the money because these things haven’t been done. What we do is just encourage more of that Centre-state work through your pieces there, because in the US government we do have this mission of national engagement where for some projects there are engagements with states as well, but what we do is that there is co-partnership to keep pushing on that,” Vinay Vijay Singh, deputy assistant secretary, US department of commerce, said.
Singh said governance is critical so that more can be done in enabling the cities. “Right now, the states have a lot of autonomy, but it’s the smart cities programme enabling the cities to have more of the autonomy to make more of these decisions,” he said.
While acknowledging the support received from the Andhra government, officials from AECOM, which is partnering with the Indian government in developing Visakhapatnam into a smart city, said that there is a need for clarity in governance for execution of projects as those involve huge amounts of investment.
“Clarity will be nice. In Vizag (Visakhapatnam), in particular, there were talks of a new airport. It would need significant investment, so clarity around these, what is in works and how are they working forward would be helpful for the business side,” Ashley O’Connor, vice-president, Region Business Line leader, AECOM said.
The USTDA officials also spoke of how an exclusive investment desk along the lines of the ones provided to Japan and Korea will be conducive for attracting investment from US investors. “A special cell will definitely help,” Devin Hampton, USTDA chief of staff, said.
The officials said recent initiatives such as a pilot for municipal bond issuance in Pune will also help in attracting more private investment in the smart cities. “…with our partners and the department of treasury, there is a municipal bond pilot happening in Pune and we look to foster municipal bonds or public-private partnerships but those are the things the governments behind the scenes are trying to enable initial funding to let the private sector then come in and actually support these projects…these are all things to enable and to get private sector get more involved. So, we are working with World Bank to channel their money as well to eliminate the initial risk involved in such projects…,” Singh said.
The USTDA officials sounded optimistic about retaining the current momentum of project implementation for Ajmer, Allahabad and Visakhapatnam, in which the country is partnering with India even as the US is in the transition phase for ushering in a new regime under President-elect Donald Trump.
“We are in early stages. Transition teams have come to department of commerce. We have shared our plans, initiatives and priorities. So those (smart cities projects) have been included,” Singh said.
As part of its initiative to develop 100 smart cities (the number later increased to 109), Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his meeting with the US President Barack in September 2014 had announced partnership plans with the US to develop three Indian smart cities of Ajmer in Rajasthan, Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, following which the USTDA had signed MoU with the three states.
More autonomy to states for funding projects, greater clarity about the plans and initiatives of the government alongside an exclusive channel for US investors are the key issues the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) officials flagged in their engagement with India on the Smart Cities initiative.
“…what we continue to do is that we keep on inquiring have you set the SPV, what does the SPV mean…with the minister of urban development or the secretary or down through, we get different messages sometimes, too. I know they are working hard at it but they are saying now that we had this (smart cities) competition and the money has gone to the states, then we go to the states and some states say we don’t have the money because these things haven’t been done. What we do is just encourage more of that Centre-state work through your pieces there, because in the US government we do have this mission of national engagement where for some projects there are engagements with states as well, but what we do is that there is co-partnership to keep pushing on that,” Vinay Vijay Singh, deputy assistant secretary, US department of commerce, said.
Singh said governance is critical so that more can be done in enabling the cities. “Right now, the states have a lot of autonomy, but it’s the smart cities programme enabling the cities to have more of the autonomy to make more of these decisions,” he said.
While acknowledging the support received from the Andhra government, officials from AECOM, which is partnering with the Indian government in developing Visakhapatnam into a smart city, said that there is a need for clarity in governance for execution of projects as those involve huge amounts of investment.
“Clarity will be nice. In Vizag (Visakhapatnam), in particular, there were talks of a new airport. It would need significant investment, so clarity around these, what is in works and how are they working forward would be helpful for the business side,” Ashley O’Connor, vice-president, Region Business Line leader, AECOM said.
The USTDA officials also spoke of how an exclusive investment desk along the lines of the ones provided to Japan and Korea will be conducive for attracting investment from US investors. “A special cell will definitely help,” Devin Hampton, USTDA chief of staff, said.
The officials said recent initiatives such as a pilot for municipal bond issuance in Pune will also help in attracting more private investment in the smart cities. “…with our partners and the department of treasury, there is a municipal bond pilot happening in Pune and we look to foster municipal bonds or public-private partnerships but those are the things the governments behind the scenes are trying to enable initial funding to let the private sector then come in and actually support these projects…these are all things to enable and to get private sector get more involved. So, we are working with World Bank to channel their money as well to eliminate the initial risk involved in such projects…,” Singh said.
The USTDA officials sounded optimistic about retaining the current momentum of project implementation for Ajmer, Allahabad and Visakhapatnam, in which the country is partnering with India even as the US is in the transition phase for ushering in a new regime under President-elect Donald Trump.
“We are in early stages. Transition teams have come to department of commerce. We have shared our plans, initiatives and priorities. So those (smart cities projects) have been included,” Singh said.
As part of its initiative to develop 100 smart cities (the number later increased to 109), Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his meeting with the US President Barack in September 2014 had announced partnership plans with the US to develop three Indian smart cities of Ajmer in Rajasthan, Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, following which the USTDA had signed MoU with the three states.
Cyrus Mistry resigns from all Tata companies: Full text of his statement
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Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry bowed to pressure to quit from the boards of all Tata group companies on Monday, but promised to fight to improve the $100 billion salt-to-software conglomerate’s governance. Mistry said he was resigning as a director from the boards of all Tata group listed firms, just ahead of extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) called by Tata Sons to oust him.
Here is the full statement issued by Mistry to shareholders:
“Over the last five decades my family’s steadfast support for the Tata Group has been one of guardianship. We have always ensured that we did the right thing for the right reasons, regardless of the consequences.
It has now been eight weeks, waiting for concrete reasons to be provided by Mr. Ratan Tata for the illegal coup he staged on the 24th of October. Nothing cogent has been forthcoming.
Having reflected deeply, I think it is time to shift gears, up the momentum, and be more incisive in securing the best interests of the Tata Group.
In order to be more effective, serve the objective of governance reform, and to regain lost ethical ground, I have decided to shift from the forum of the EGMs to a larger platform and also one where the rule of law and equity is upheld.
It is now clear that my attempt to protect and preserve the ethical legacy of our founding father, Jamsetji Tata, was the real cause for my ouster. The pursuit of good governance and ethical business seem to have caused a serious discomfort in some quarters. I have been attempting to resolve the governance break-down at Tata Sons for a considerable period of time.
Mr. Ratan Tata and Mr. Noshir Soonawala, Trustees of Tata Trusts, who had retired from Tata Sons after multiple extensions, have refused to give up participation in key decisions involving Tata Sons and the operating companies, including those listed in India and abroad.
This has undermined the Tata Sons Board apart from exposing the Tata Group including the Boards of Directors of various listed companies to serious regulatory consequences. Such behaviour has adverse implications for the beneficiaries of the Tata Trusts, which are public charitable trusts.
In recent weeks, I have brought to the fore various ethical issues and evidence of governance breakdown in the Tata Group at the hands of certain trustees.
I had raised the issue of recovery of large sums of money due from one Mr. Sivasankaran to Tata Sons in the September 15th Board Meeting, securing approval to litigate.
Within a few days, Tata Sons received a legal notice instead – clearly indicating a leak from Tata Sons. The history of questionable dealings between the Tata Group and him, is a matter of record since he proudly flaunts his close personal bond with Mr. Ratan Tata.
I had also tabled a forensic report containing findings of fraud and wrong-doing at Air Asia India for discussion at the October 24th Board Meeting. This discussion did not happen.
Under the Interim Chairman Mr. Ratan Tata, a subsequent Board Meeting of Tata Sons was held on November 17th. With full knowledge of the fraud, further funds were released to Air Asia India. Yet, no concrete steps, expected of an ethical organisation to fix responsibility for the fraud have been taken till date.
These are but some live examples. We all are aware of the 2G Spectrum scam and its unfortunate imprint on the reputation of the Tata Group. Even today, we hear of potential prosecution of those involved from the Tata Group.
Bringing to the fore these ethical issues can have a short-term adverse impact on the Tata Group. However, I feel strongly that such short-term pain is necessary for the long-term interests of employees, public shareholders and other stakeholders of the Tata Group. As a large shareholder of Tata Sons and a proud long-term partner, my family will also equally suffer this pain.
The time has to come to take matters to their logical conclusion. I will work on protecting the interests of the Tata Group and realising the vision of our Founder, Jamsetji Tata, until my last breath.
Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry bowed to pressure to quit from the boards of all Tata group companies on Monday, but promised to fight to improve the $100 billion salt-to-software conglomerate’s governance. Mistry said he was resigning as a director from the boards of all Tata group listed firms, just ahead of extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) called by Tata Sons to oust him.
Here is the full statement issued by Mistry to shareholders:
“Over the last five decades my family’s steadfast support for the Tata Group has been one of guardianship. We have always ensured that we did the right thing for the right reasons, regardless of the consequences.
It has now been eight weeks, waiting for concrete reasons to be provided by Mr. Ratan Tata for the illegal coup he staged on the 24th of October. Nothing cogent has been forthcoming.
Having reflected deeply, I think it is time to shift gears, up the momentum, and be more incisive in securing the best interests of the Tata Group.
In order to be more effective, serve the objective of governance reform, and to regain lost ethical ground, I have decided to shift from the forum of the EGMs to a larger platform and also one where the rule of law and equity is upheld.
It is now clear that my attempt to protect and preserve the ethical legacy of our founding father, Jamsetji Tata, was the real cause for my ouster. The pursuit of good governance and ethical business seem to have caused a serious discomfort in some quarters. I have been attempting to resolve the governance break-down at Tata Sons for a considerable period of time.
Mr. Ratan Tata and Mr. Noshir Soonawala, Trustees of Tata Trusts, who had retired from Tata Sons after multiple extensions, have refused to give up participation in key decisions involving Tata Sons and the operating companies, including those listed in India and abroad.
This has undermined the Tata Sons Board apart from exposing the Tata Group including the Boards of Directors of various listed companies to serious regulatory consequences. Such behaviour has adverse implications for the beneficiaries of the Tata Trusts, which are public charitable trusts.
In recent weeks, I have brought to the fore various ethical issues and evidence of governance breakdown in the Tata Group at the hands of certain trustees.
I had raised the issue of recovery of large sums of money due from one Mr. Sivasankaran to Tata Sons in the September 15th Board Meeting, securing approval to litigate.
Within a few days, Tata Sons received a legal notice instead – clearly indicating a leak from Tata Sons. The history of questionable dealings between the Tata Group and him, is a matter of record since he proudly flaunts his close personal bond with Mr. Ratan Tata.
I had also tabled a forensic report containing findings of fraud and wrong-doing at Air Asia India for discussion at the October 24th Board Meeting. This discussion did not happen.
Under the Interim Chairman Mr. Ratan Tata, a subsequent Board Meeting of Tata Sons was held on November 17th. With full knowledge of the fraud, further funds were released to Air Asia India. Yet, no concrete steps, expected of an ethical organisation to fix responsibility for the fraud have been taken till date.
These are but some live examples. We all are aware of the 2G Spectrum scam and its unfortunate imprint on the reputation of the Tata Group. Even today, we hear of potential prosecution of those involved from the Tata Group.
Bringing to the fore these ethical issues can have a short-term adverse impact on the Tata Group. However, I feel strongly that such short-term pain is necessary for the long-term interests of employees, public shareholders and other stakeholders of the Tata Group. As a large shareholder of Tata Sons and a proud long-term partner, my family will also equally suffer this pain.
The time has to come to take matters to their logical conclusion. I will work on protecting the interests of the Tata Group and realising the vision of our Founder, Jamsetji Tata, until my last breath.
Domestic air traffic rises 22.45% to 89.66 lakh in November
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Continuing the growth trajectory, domestic air traffic surged 22.45 per cent to 89.66 lakh passengers in November as low fares and introduction of new routes and services in the winter schedule of the local carriers helped them fly more passengers. All Indian airlines together had transported a total of 73.22 lakh passengers in November 2015. However, seat factor, which is a measure of how much of an airline’s passenger carrying capacity is used or average percentage of seats filled in an aircraft, in November almost remained flat compared to October 2016 primarily due to the end of tourist season, according DGCA data released on Monday.
Gurgaon-based budget carrier IndiGo continues its domination in the domestic market, having flown 37.73 lakh passengers during the month and cornered 42.1 per cent market share in this period. As against this, Naresh Goyal-owned Jet Airways together with its subsidiary JetLite clocked 17.3 per cent market share by carrying 16.54 lakh passenger in the reporting period.
Air India stood a third with a market share of 12.9 per cent, having flown 11.57 lakh passengers while budget carrier SpiceJet cornered 12.8 per cent of the total domestic passenger traffic in November, having flown 11.48 lakh passengers during the period.
Another budget airline GoAir managed to get just eight per cent of the market pie as it ferried 7.20 lakh passengers in the previous month. The two startup carriers–Vistara and AirAsia India–cornered 2 per cent and 2.8 per cent market share respectively in November 2016.
Among the regional carriers, TrueJet and Air Carnival, flew 41,000 and 9,000 passengers respectively while Air Pegasus remained grounded for the fourth consecutive month. With a load factor of 95.5 per cent, low-cost carrier SpiceJet saw the maximum occupancy in its aircraft in the month. Rival IndiGo ranked fourth in terms of number of flight cancellation, after new entrant Air Carnival, regional carrier TrueJet and budget carrier GoAir, as it failed to operate as much as 1.46 per cent of its total flights in November 2016.
The passenger load factor in the month of November 2016 almost remained constant compared to previous month primarily due to the end of tourist season, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. In January to November period of the year, local carriers transported 903.33 lakh passengers compared to 733.82 lakh, an increase of 23.10 per cent, in the same period of 2015.
In terms of On-Time Performance (OTP), SpiceJet delivered the best with 81.7 per cent, followed by Jet Airways/JetLite with 75.9 per cent and Vistara, which recorded 75.2 per cent OTP in November. Rahul Bhatia-promoted IndiGo was third from the bottom in terms of on time performance, after Air India and GoAir, as more than a quarter of its flights either departed or arrived beyond their scheduled time.
Continuing the growth trajectory, domestic air traffic surged 22.45 per cent to 89.66 lakh passengers in November as low fares and introduction of new routes and services in the winter schedule of the local carriers helped them fly more passengers. All Indian airlines together had transported a total of 73.22 lakh passengers in November 2015. However, seat factor, which is a measure of how much of an airline’s passenger carrying capacity is used or average percentage of seats filled in an aircraft, in November almost remained flat compared to October 2016 primarily due to the end of tourist season, according DGCA data released on Monday.
Gurgaon-based budget carrier IndiGo continues its domination in the domestic market, having flown 37.73 lakh passengers during the month and cornered 42.1 per cent market share in this period. As against this, Naresh Goyal-owned Jet Airways together with its subsidiary JetLite clocked 17.3 per cent market share by carrying 16.54 lakh passenger in the reporting period.
Air India stood a third with a market share of 12.9 per cent, having flown 11.57 lakh passengers while budget carrier SpiceJet cornered 12.8 per cent of the total domestic passenger traffic in November, having flown 11.48 lakh passengers during the period.
Another budget airline GoAir managed to get just eight per cent of the market pie as it ferried 7.20 lakh passengers in the previous month. The two startup carriers–Vistara and AirAsia India–cornered 2 per cent and 2.8 per cent market share respectively in November 2016.
Among the regional carriers, TrueJet and Air Carnival, flew 41,000 and 9,000 passengers respectively while Air Pegasus remained grounded for the fourth consecutive month. With a load factor of 95.5 per cent, low-cost carrier SpiceJet saw the maximum occupancy in its aircraft in the month. Rival IndiGo ranked fourth in terms of number of flight cancellation, after new entrant Air Carnival, regional carrier TrueJet and budget carrier GoAir, as it failed to operate as much as 1.46 per cent of its total flights in November 2016.
The passenger load factor in the month of November 2016 almost remained constant compared to previous month primarily due to the end of tourist season, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. In January to November period of the year, local carriers transported 903.33 lakh passengers compared to 733.82 lakh, an increase of 23.10 per cent, in the same period of 2015.
In terms of On-Time Performance (OTP), SpiceJet delivered the best with 81.7 per cent, followed by Jet Airways/JetLite with 75.9 per cent and Vistara, which recorded 75.2 per cent OTP in November. Rahul Bhatia-promoted IndiGo was third from the bottom in terms of on time performance, after Air India and GoAir, as more than a quarter of its flights either departed or arrived beyond their scheduled time.
Government to review status of 72 coal mines
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The government over the next few days will examine the status of 72 coal blocks allocated either through allotment or auction route to companies like NTPC, JSW Steel, Hindalco and SAIL. “…it has been been decided to hold a meeting under the Chairmanship of Joint Secretary and Nominated Authority, Ministry of Coal to review the status of 72 coal mines,” an official said.
The meeting is scheduled to be held on December 21 and December 26, the official added. The status 35 coal blocks in the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh allocated to the companies like Hindalco Industries, Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd, NTPC, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), JSW Steel will be reviewed on December 21, the official said.
While the status of remaining coal blocks in states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha allocated to companies like Reliance Cement, UltraTech Cementa and GMR Chhattisgarh Energy Ltd will be examined on December 26, the official added. The government had informed Parliament last month that it has so far generated a revenue of approximately Rs 2,779 crore from the auction and allotment of 83 coal blocks.
The amount, it had said, is being transferred to the state governments where the coal mines are located. Earlier, three rounds of mines auction were held after the Supreme Court in 2014 cancelled the allotment of 204 coal blocks.
The government over the next few days will examine the status of 72 coal blocks allocated either through allotment or auction route to companies like NTPC, JSW Steel, Hindalco and SAIL. “…it has been been decided to hold a meeting under the Chairmanship of Joint Secretary and Nominated Authority, Ministry of Coal to review the status of 72 coal mines,” an official said.
The meeting is scheduled to be held on December 21 and December 26, the official added. The status 35 coal blocks in the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh allocated to the companies like Hindalco Industries, Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd, NTPC, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), JSW Steel will be reviewed on December 21, the official said.
While the status of remaining coal blocks in states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha allocated to companies like Reliance Cement, UltraTech Cementa and GMR Chhattisgarh Energy Ltd will be examined on December 26, the official added. The government had informed Parliament last month that it has so far generated a revenue of approximately Rs 2,779 crore from the auction and allotment of 83 coal blocks.
The amount, it had said, is being transferred to the state governments where the coal mines are located. Earlier, three rounds of mines auction were held after the Supreme Court in 2014 cancelled the allotment of 204 coal blocks.
General Awareness
Tajikistan President’s 5 Day Visit to India to Strengthen bilateral relation.
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President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon was on a five-day visit to India from December 14-18, 2016 to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Rahmon landed in Cochin, Kerala on December 14. He arrived New Delhi on December 16, 2016.
- This was the sixth visit of President Rahmon to India. During his last visit to India in 2012, the two countries elevated their bilateral relations to the level of a long-term strategic partnership. Bilateral relations include cooperation in areas like political, economic, health, human resources development, defence, science and technology, culture and tourism among others.
- Tajikistan President was accorded ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan on December 16. The official talks began on 17 December 2016 in New Delhi.
- The visiting dignitary met with the Indian leadership including President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Mukherjee hosted a banquet on December 17 for the visiting President.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Rahmon witnessed delegation level talks to discuss bilateral relations and issues of mutual interests. After the talks, India and Tajikistan signed four agreements in various fields.
4 agreements signed between India and Tajikistan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon witnessed the exchange of 4 MoUs in New Delhi on December 17, following delegation level talks.
- The MoU was exchanged between MoS for External Affairs M J Akbar and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Aslov.
- A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on cooperation in the exchange of financial intelligence related to money laundering, related crimes and financing of terrorism.
- The two sides signed a protocol amending avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion.
- Another MoU was signed regarding cooperation on broadcasting in exchange of audio-visual programmes.The two sides also signed a document on bilateral investment treaty.
Agreement for Cooperation in Broadcasting
Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and Tajikistan’s Committee on TV and Radio has entered into an agreement for cooperation in the field of broadcasting.
- As per the agreement, the two sides can exchange programmes in the fields of cultural, archaeology, history, food, festivals, education, science, entertainment, sports, news as areas of mutual interest.
- The Memorandum of Understanding also envisages that the two sides will explore co-production opportunities related to matters of mutual interest.
- The agreement also includes that the two parties may mutually exchange personnel and provide training to staff.
Agreement for Anti-Terror and Defence Cooperation.
Since India and Tajikistan face multiple security challenges in their extended neighbourhood, both the countries decided to strengthen defence cooperation for addressing the issue of terrorism and radicalism.
- During the bilateral talks between India and Tajikistan, on strategic issues including threats posed by radicalisation and extremism, trade and investments, the two countries inked a pact to share financial intelligence to counter money laundering and financing of terrorism.
- The two leaders discussed situation in the region and stressed that terrorism and extremism seriously threaten peace, stability and progress of all countries.
- Both the leaders agreed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations must be eliminated without any distinction between good and bad terrorists and called for an end to sponsorship, support and provision of safe havens and sanctuaries to terrorists.
- Modi and Rahmon confirmed their resolution to work for early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism by the UN General Assembly.
About Bilateral Cooperations between India and Tajikistan
The two countries have robust cooperation in the areas of defence, counter-terrorism, science and technology, culture and tourism. They also have strong political cooperation and economic cooperation.
- Their relations got a further boost with the visit of the Prime Minister to Tajikistan in July 2015 during his Central Asian tour. During the visit, the Prime Minister held wide ranging talks with President Rahmon to step up cooperation in the spheres of defence, connectivity and counter-terrorism.
- India and Tajikistan actively cooperate with each other under Multilateral Fora, including SCO and the UN organisations. Tajikistan is supportive of India’s permanent membership to UNSC. India extended support to Tajikistan’s accession to the WTO.
- However, bilateral trade with Tajikistan is much below the potential, mainly due to the problem of connectivity.
- The major items exported from India to Tajikistan are pharmaceuticals, tea, coffee, chemicals, textiles & clothing and machinery and the major imports from Tajikistan are aluminum, cotton, dry fruits, vegetables, organic chemicals and essential oils.
Tajikistan
- Capital: Dushanbe
- Currency: Tajikistani somoni
- President: Emomali Rahmon
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon was on a five-day visit to India from December 14-18, 2016 to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Rahmon landed in Cochin, Kerala on December 14. He arrived New Delhi on December 16, 2016.
- This was the sixth visit of President Rahmon to India. During his last visit to India in 2012, the two countries elevated their bilateral relations to the level of a long-term strategic partnership. Bilateral relations include cooperation in areas like political, economic, health, human resources development, defence, science and technology, culture and tourism among others.
- Tajikistan President was accorded ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan on December 16. The official talks began on 17 December 2016 in New Delhi.
- The visiting dignitary met with the Indian leadership including President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Mukherjee hosted a banquet on December 17 for the visiting President.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Rahmon witnessed delegation level talks to discuss bilateral relations and issues of mutual interests. After the talks, India and Tajikistan signed four agreements in various fields.
4 agreements signed between India and Tajikistan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon witnessed the exchange of 4 MoUs in New Delhi on December 17, following delegation level talks.
- The MoU was exchanged between MoS for External Affairs M J Akbar and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Aslov.
- A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on cooperation in the exchange of financial intelligence related to money laundering, related crimes and financing of terrorism.
- The two sides signed a protocol amending avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion.
- Another MoU was signed regarding cooperation on broadcasting in exchange of audio-visual programmes.The two sides also signed a document on bilateral investment treaty.
Agreement for Cooperation in Broadcasting
Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and Tajikistan’s Committee on TV and Radio has entered into an agreement for cooperation in the field of broadcasting.
- As per the agreement, the two sides can exchange programmes in the fields of cultural, archaeology, history, food, festivals, education, science, entertainment, sports, news as areas of mutual interest.
- The Memorandum of Understanding also envisages that the two sides will explore co-production opportunities related to matters of mutual interest.
- The agreement also includes that the two parties may mutually exchange personnel and provide training to staff.
Agreement for Anti-Terror and Defence Cooperation.
Since India and Tajikistan face multiple security challenges in their extended neighbourhood, both the countries decided to strengthen defence cooperation for addressing the issue of terrorism and radicalism.
- During the bilateral talks between India and Tajikistan, on strategic issues including threats posed by radicalisation and extremism, trade and investments, the two countries inked a pact to share financial intelligence to counter money laundering and financing of terrorism.
- The two leaders discussed situation in the region and stressed that terrorism and extremism seriously threaten peace, stability and progress of all countries.
- Both the leaders agreed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations must be eliminated without any distinction between good and bad terrorists and called for an end to sponsorship, support and provision of safe havens and sanctuaries to terrorists.
- Modi and Rahmon confirmed their resolution to work for early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism by the UN General Assembly.
About Bilateral Cooperations between India and Tajikistan
The two countries have robust cooperation in the areas of defence, counter-terrorism, science and technology, culture and tourism. They also have strong political cooperation and economic cooperation.
- Their relations got a further boost with the visit of the Prime Minister to Tajikistan in July 2015 during his Central Asian tour. During the visit, the Prime Minister held wide ranging talks with President Rahmon to step up cooperation in the spheres of defence, connectivity and counter-terrorism.
- India and Tajikistan actively cooperate with each other under Multilateral Fora, including SCO and the UN organisations. Tajikistan is supportive of India’s permanent membership to UNSC. India extended support to Tajikistan’s accession to the WTO.
- However, bilateral trade with Tajikistan is much below the potential, mainly due to the problem of connectivity.
- The major items exported from India to Tajikistan are pharmaceuticals, tea, coffee, chemicals, textiles & clothing and machinery and the major imports from Tajikistan are aluminum, cotton, dry fruits, vegetables, organic chemicals and essential oils.
Tajikistan
- Capital: Dushanbe
- Currency: Tajikistani somoni
- President: Emomali Rahmon
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