Fodder scam: Lalu Prasad's ex-secretary dodging CBI for 17 years

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad's private secretary during 1990-96 and his partner in crime in the fodder scamhas continued to dodge the CBI for 17 years, even though he was seen reportedly "enjoying life" in Dehradun in Uttarakhandstate. 

Lalu Prasad is among the 45 people convicted Sep 30 in a fodder scam case by a special CBI court in Ranchi. His secretary Mukul Kishore Kapoor disappeared after the scam was unearthed. 

"Mukul knew more than anyone as he was considered the eyes and ears of Lalu Prasad. But he disappeared soon after fodder scam surfaced. It was Mukul who reportedly kept all accounts of huge amount of the fodder scam (money)," said a senior police official here. He had assisted the Central Bureau of Investigation in arresting Lalu Prasad, other leaders and senior IAS and animal husbandry department officers in the case. 

"Mukul's arrest could reveal more about fodder scam. After all, he was powerful and second to Lalu till mid-90s in Bihar. Everything used to pass through him before (reaching) Lalu then," a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer said. 

But the CBI failed to trace Mukul for 17 long years, despite several search operations. 

Lalu Prasad's rivals repeatedly said Mukul was forced to disappear to protect the RJD chief.

"Mukul was asked to go underground and live a life away from the limelight because his arrest would create more trouble for Lalu," state Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Navin said. 

Sources close to Mukul and relatives of his estranged wife told IANS that Mukul is alive and living in Dehradun in Uttarakhand for over a decade now. 

"Mukul is healthy and enjoying life. We fail to understand why the CBI failed to arrest him in connection with fodder scam," a source said. 

Last year, the Bihar government put in advertisements in newspapers asking Mukul to return the money he had borrowed for a foreign trip with Lalu Prasad. He has not returned it. 

It was widely reported that Mukul "surfaced" in Patna over a year ago to buy two flats in an apartments building here.

The Economic Times

P Chidambaram, Raghuram Rajan order banks to cut interest rates on loans

FM P Chidambaram and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan have laid the foundation for a grand Diwali dhamaka that is likely to lead to banks cutting interest rates on loans for the festive season. Government today decided to enhance capital infusion into the PSU banks over and above what was provided in the Budget to enable them to extend more credit to auto and consumer durables sectors to stimulate demand and combat slowdown.

At a meeting between Finance Minister P Chidambaram, RBI GovernorRaghuram Rajan and Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram a decision was taken to increase the quantum of capital infusion into PSU banks.

Related: RBI bans zero per cent interest rate scheme for buying goods

"This amount (Rs 14,000 crore provided for capital infusion in Budget) will be enhanced sufficiently. The additional amount of capital will be provided to banks to enable them to lend to borrowers in selected sectors such as two-wheeler, consumer durables, etc at lower interest rates in order to stimulate demand," a finance ministry statement said.

It further said the additional fund infusion would help in combating slowdown and boost output.

Related: The story behind zero per cent interest EMI schemes

"While this will bring relief to consumers, especially the middle class, it is also expected to give a boost to capacity addition, employment and production," it added.

As per the latest industrial output data, the output of the consumer durables sector declined by 9.3 per cent in July, from a growth of 0.8 per cent in the same month last year. The segment saw a 12 per cent decline in output in April-July compared with growth of 6.1 per cent.

Consumer durables, a reflection of demand for manufactured products, include TV, fridge, washing machine.

The two-wheeler sales recorded a flat growth of 0.72 per cent in April-August period current fiscal, as against a growth of 6.8 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

The meeting, which lasted for over an hour, discussed credit growth in different sectors.

The quantum of additional capital infusion, however, was not disclosed by the government.

The Economic Express

NASA finds plastic ingredient on Saturn’s moon

In a first, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has detected propylene, a chemical essential for creation of plastic, on Saturn’s moon Titan.

This is the first definitive detection of the chemical — used to make food-storage containers, car bumpers and other consumer products — on any moon or planet, other than Earth.

A small amount of propylene was identified in Titan’s lower atmosphere by Cassini’s Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), which measures the infrared light, or heat radiation, emitted from Saturn and its moons.

Propylene is the first molecule to be discovered on Titan using CIRS. By isolating the same signal at various altitudes within the lower atmosphere, researchers identified the chemical with a high degree of confidence.

“This chemical is all around us in everyday life, strung together in long chains to form a plastic called polypropylene,” said Conor Nixon, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, and lead author of the paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The detection of the chemical fills in a mysterious gap in Titan observations that dates back to NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft and the first-ever close flyby of this moon in 1980.

Voyager identified many of the gases in Titan’s hazy brownish atmosphere as hydrocarbons, the chemicals that primarily make up petroleum and other fossil fuels on Earth.

On Titan, hydrocarbons form after sunlight breaks apart methane, the second-most plentiful gas in that atmosphere. The newly freed fragments can link up to form chains with two, three or more carbons.

The family of chemicals with two carbons includes the flammable gas ethane. Propane, a common fuel for portable stoves, belongs to the three-carbon family.

Voyager detected all members of the one— and two-carbon families in Titan’s atmosphere. From the three-carbon family, the spacecraft found propane, the heaviest member, and propyne, one of the lightest members. But the middle chemicals, one of which is propylene, were missing.

As researchers continued to discover more chemicals in Titan’s atmosphere using ground— and space-based instruments, propylene was one that remained elusive. It was finally found as a result of more detailed analysis of the CIRS data.

“This measurement was very difficult to make because propylene’s weak signature is crowded by related chemicals with much stronger signals,” said Michael Flasar, Goddard scientist and principal investigator for CIRS.

“This success boosts our confidence that we will find still more chemicals long hidden in Titan’s atmosphere,” he said.

The Hindu

.End of master blaster? BCCI to ask Sachin Tendulkar to quit after 200th Test

while the debate over the venue for Sachin Tendulkar's milestone Test has sent the cricket frenzy nation in a tizzy, the BCCI seems to have assessed that India's greatest cricketer has outlived his usefulness in the new-look team - comprised of Gen Next cricketers.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) - currently embroiled in the Srinivasan saga - will ask the country's prized possession to throw in the towel after playing his 200th Test in November.

According to Mumbai Mirror, the top officials in the Board have confirmed that Tendulkar will be asked to step down and make way for the young guns. While axing the country's legendary sports icon is no joke, BCCI has already narrowed down on the individual who will convey the message to Tendulkar.

The BCCI, during their recent Annual General Meeting(AGM), have established that the master blaster's recent failures against Australia and England are indications of his end of days.

The reports also suggest that the BCCI have arranged the two-Test series against the West Indies next month in lieu to Tendulkar's milestone. Though the BCCI is yet to announce the formal decision, but Tendulkar's 200th Test is likely to take place in Mumbai - in front of his home crowd.

But, the biggest problem for the BCCI is the fact that as long as Tendulkar keeps himself available for selection, no selection committee dare drop him. However, the Board cannot ignore his batting failures either.

Neither a senior administrator nor any of the selectors will approach the Indian batsman as far as convincing him for the retirement is concerned. Simply because, neither of them can match the stature of the Indian batting maestro - who has over18,000 ODI runs and just under 16,000 Test runs to his name.

Indiatoday

India negotiates with Iran on payments for crude oil import

Following the decision of Tehran not to accept rupee payments beyond 45 per cent margin for the purchase of crude oil, India has opened negotiations with the new government in Iran to explore and work out other mechanisms including payment in other currencies that could include rouble or yen.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary, Vivek Rae said following the US and EU sanctions against Iran, payment routes were blocked for India. India has managed to get Tehran to accept 100 per cent rupee payment mechanism but the change in government has changed this equation and Iran had raised a few invoices for oil it sold to India in rupees but stopped doing so soon after. Now Iran is seeking payments in rouble, yen or yuan and that is what is being worked out with them. “Initially, we thought they Iran will be taking all payments in rupee but there is some reluctance on their side particularly after change of government there,” Mr. Rae added.

It is likely that a team from India consisting of officials from the Finance Ministry, Ministry of External Affairs, Petroleum Ministry and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are likely to Tehran to very soon to engage with their counterparts in Tehran and resolve the impasse.

Mr. Rae said India was targeting 13 million tonne of oil import from Iran in 2013-14 fiscal. It had already imported around 2 MT till now and wanted to import another 11 MT in the rest of the fiscal. Petroleum Minister, Veerappa Moily proposed that India could save $8.47 billion in forex by importing 11 MT of oil in the rest of fiscal from Iran.

Mr. Rae said Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) and Essar Oil Ltd (OIL) plan to import 4 million tonne each from Iran, as against about 5 million tonne each they imported in 2012-13. State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which imported 1.566 million tonne oil from Iran in 2012-13, has entered into a term contract for importing 1.2 million tonne crude oil from Iran this fiscal. Since July 2011, India had paid in euros to clear 55 per cent of its purchases of Iranian oil through Ankara-based Halkbank. The remaining 45 per cent due amount was remitted in rupee form in accounts of Iranian National Oil Company in Kolkata-based UCO Bank. Payments in euro through Turkey ceased from February 6 this year but the rupee payments for 45 per cent of the purchases continued through UCO Bank. Iran later agreed to take all of the payments in rupees.

There is also pressure to put in place a mechanism for utilisation of the accumulated rupee balances in the Iranian accounts with UCO Bank, which are of the order of Rs. 20,000 crore at present. This could be in the form of increasing exports to Iran, given that the bilateral trade between the two nations is overwhelmingly weighted in favour of the Gulf country, or having the Iranian Government invest in infrastructure projects in India.

The Hindu

Rahul Gandhi likely to meet PM Manmohan Singh tomorrow

Congress Vice PresidentRahul Gandhi, who made strong comments against the ordinance on convicted lawmakers, is likely to meet Prime MinisterManmohan Singh tomorrow to discuss the issue. 

Sources said Rahul will meet Singh in the morning at his residence. The controversial ordinance is on the agenda and the two leaders are expected to discuss the way ahead on the issue. 

This will be followed by a meeting of the Congress Core Group in which the Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, among others, are likely to discuss the matter. 

Rahul had earlier this week said at a press conference that the ordinance is "nonsense" and should be "torn up and thrown away". Many saw this as an embarrassment for the Prime Minister and the Opposition vociferously demanded that Singh, who was on a visit to the US at the time, should step down after his return. 

However, today when he was asked by the media accompanying him before he reached Delhi whether he would resign, Singh ruled out any such possibility. 

The sources said the government is mulling whether to withdraw the ordinance- which was sent to President Pranab Mukherjee after the Cabinet had cleared it- or ask the President to exercise his pocket veto and sit over it. 

The Cabinet is likely to take a final call on the matter tomorrow.

The Economic times

Srinivasan re-elected BCCI president

Defying intense criticism, N Srinivasan was elected unopposed as BCCI President for a third year during the Board’s AGM here on Sunday even though he will not take charge till further orders from the Supreme Court.

Mr. Srinivasan was the lone Presidential candidate put forward by the South Zone, from where he got the proposer and the seconder.

But he can resume his duties only after the Supreme Court gives its final verdict on the case filed against his candidature by the Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma.

Mr. Srinivasan’s election was on expected lines despite the fact that he is facing intense criticism on the issue of propriety after his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan was charge-sheeted in the IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal.

Mr. Srinivasan’s company India Cements owns Chennai Super Kings.

During the first half of the AGM, other top office-bearers were also elected unopposed.

After Sudhir Dabir, vice President from the central zone and his west zone colleague Niranjan Shah were removed from their positions, Ravi Savant (west) and Rajiv Shukla (central) were brought in.

Another political heavyweight, Arun Jaitley, relinquished the vice-President’s position due to his political commitments and was replaced by his Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) colleague Sneh Bansal.

While Mr. Dabir is considered close to former BCCI chief and Mr. Srinivasan’s adversary Shashank Manohar, Mr. Shah is perceived to be a confidante of another former Board head Sharad Pawar, someone who harboured the ambition to upset Mr. Srinivasan’s applecart.

Haryana Cricket Association chief Anirudh Chaudhary was elected as Treasurer, a post which was to become vacant after Savant was formally made vice-president.

Earlier, a defiant N Srinivasan, who braved scathing criticism on issues of propriety, arrived to attend the Board’s annual general meeting here on Sunday.

The Tamil Nadu strongman, who is vying for his third term as the President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, was accompanied by his loyalists when he arrived at the hotel where the meeting took place.

Mr. Srinivasan, who was forced to step aside in the wake of the IPL spot-fixing scandal, avoided speaking to the waiting media-persons and walked into the hotel lobby.

Mr. Srinivasan was the lone presidential candidate put forward by the South Zone, from where he got the proposed and seconded.

Despite the Supreme Court making some serious observations like how he had continued being the president despite his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan being charge-sheeted by Mumbai Police in the IPL betting scandal, Mr. Srinivasan and his confidants have gone ahead with their plan of retaining power.

The Hindu

Manmohan slams Pakistan-based terror

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday displayed a willingness to bat on the front foot on cross-border terrorism when he said, in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly here, that progress in resolving the Kashmir issue would require that Pakistan prevent its territory and areas under its control from being used to facilitate terrorism aimed at India.

Striking a strong note before the world body on the eve of his much-vaunted meeting here with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Dr. Singh said that even if Pakistan-based “terrorist machinery” were “shut down,” there must be a clear understanding that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India, and in this context there could “never, ever, be a compromise” on India’s territorial integrity.

Epicentre of terror

Though Dr. Singh reiterated that India was “committed sincerely” to addressing this territorial question through bilateral dialogue on the basis of the Shimla Agreement, he underscored India’s persisting concerns at “state-sponsored cross-border terrorism,” particularly owing to the fact that the “epicentre of terrorism in our region is located in our neighbourhood in Pakistan.”

Underscoring some of the wider issues relating to terrorism and the nuclear threat, Dr. Singh said that 25 years after the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, put forward a comprehensive Action Plan for a Nuclear Weapon-free and Non-violent World Order, “We must strengthen efforts against nuclear proliferation and pursue time-bound, universal, non-discriminatory, phased and verifiable nuclear disarmament,” and guard against “terrorists and non-state actors gaining access to sensitive materials and technologies.”

A dominant theme in Dr. Singh’s speech was India’s firm belief in multilateralism as the vehicle to tackle a variety of global policy challenges, from universal concerns such as growth and poverty in a post-recession world to specific strategic questions relating to recent developments in Syria, Palestine and Afghanistan.

In the context of multilateralism, Dr. Singh not only flagged India’s successful partnerships with other developing nations in Africa, for example, but also exhorted delegates to press ahead with long overdue reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council.

Dr. Singh said the U.N.’s 70th anniversary in 2015 would be the moment to ensure that “the U.N. is ready for this century by completing the much-needed reforms of the United Nations and its Security Council.”

Along with other BRICS nations, Dr. Singh’s efforts in this mission have gathered some momentum after U.S. President Barack Obama backed India’s bid to become a permanent member of the Security Council during his 2010 visit to India.

However, at the U.N. General Assembly this weekend, Dr. Singh cautioned: “Never has scepticism about the U.N.’s capacity… been higher, or the external environment less propitious for multilateralism.” The U.N. enjoyed the most success when it based its decisions on “the widest possible consent and balancing equitably the needs and responsibilities of nations at different stages… of development,” he said.

The Hindu

Philanthropy has to be spontaneous, can't be forced: Azim Premji

Referring to the issue related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which has been made mandatory by the new laws that govern companies, IT czar Azim Premji today said philanthropy cannot be forced and it has to be spontaneous.


Premji, founder-Chairman of WiproBSE -0.49 % - India's third largest software services exporter added however that efforts towards social good need to be "meaningful" and the government alone is not responsible for "social good".

"They are trying to force something. It should be spontaneous," Premji said while commenting on the issue of mandatory CSR during his address at the All India Management Association's (AIMA) 40th national convention here.

The billionaire philanthropist added that giving back to the society is important for the growth of a better world, but it should come from within.

Premji said the stipulation of spending 2 per cent of profits should not become a tax at a later stage.

Under the new Companies Act, 2013, all profitable firms with a sizable business will have to spend every year at least 2 per cent of three-year average profit on CSR works.

This would apply to companies with turnover of Rs 1,000 crore and more, or net worth of Rs 500 crore and more, or a net profit of Rs 5 crore and more.

The new rules, which would be applicable from fiscal 2014 -15, also require firms to set up a CSR committee of their board members, including at least one independent director.

However, Premji said: "If things have to change in the society then the involvement of the whole ecosystem is must. One cannot rely on government alone to do social good and one has to become a co-sharer of the goal and the outcome."

Outlining the key factors for making CSR successful, he emphasised on the need to define the purpose and scale of CSR activities and choose a focus area.

Premji, however, cautioned against making CSR a substitute for personal philanthropy.

"There should be a distinction between a company activity which is CSR and personal activity that is philanthropy," he added.

Known for his business acumen as well as philanthropy, Premji said the company's and entrepreneur's responsibility to the society are two different issues.

In 2010, Premji had donated 8.7 per cent from his personal stock-holding in Wipro for philanthropy forming the endowment for the Azim Premji Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation set up in 2001.

In February, he announced transfer of 295.5 million Wipro shares worth Rs 12,300 crore held by certain entities controlled by him to an irrevocable trust.

The Economic times

Manmohan-Obama meet boosts defence, nuclear initiatives

Within hours of the White House meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President Barack Obama, the two countries released a joint statement that showcased the breadth of their cooperation as well as highlighted joint naval exercises, promised momentum on investment treaties, reaffirmed their commitment to specific energy-sector projects and counterterrorism strategies.

Among the key initiatives flagged in the joint statement, India particularly welcomed the U.S. offer of membership in its ‘Global Entry’ Trusted Traveler Network programme, a scheme only offered to select countries, which will expedite the entry of approved Indian travellers at the U.S. border.

Despite U.S. officials remarking on several recent occasions that they had “specific concerns” about India’s nuclear liability law, Friday’s joint statement welcomed the announcement that Indian Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and U.S. nuclear company Westinghouse had concluded a Preliminary Contract to develop a nuclear power plant in Gujarat. It also reiterated that both nations remained committed to a “full and timely implementation” of the bilateral civil nuclear agreement.

On the subject of fighting terrorism, the two leaders not only agreed to undertake even more cooperation intelligence sharing homeland security cooperation, but they concurred in their strong condemnation of the September 26 terrorist attack in Samba in Jammu and Kashmir. They further called upon Pakistan to “work toward” bringing the 2008 Mumbai terror perpetrators to justice.

Defence cooperation, considered by many to be the “centrepiece” of the bilateral relationship, was applauded by Dr. Singh and Mr. Obama, who said that the way to take this forward in terms of defence technology transfer, joint research, co-development and co-production was by endorsing a Joint Declaration on Defence Cooperation.

Significantly the U.S. President was said to have welcomed India’s decision to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise, which will be hosted by U.S. Pacific Command in 2014.

Another key area of bilateral interest, economic policy, got top billing in the discussions on Saturday. While the usual plaudits were issued on the volume and growth of two-way trade there also appeared to be a renewed vigour in the pursuit of a bilateral investment treaty, negotiations surrounding which appeared to have hit an impasse until recently.

Similarly despite growing international and lobbyist pressure on India to transition to the Montreal Protocol and scale down its use of certain gases the two leaders appeared keen to make progress on this front and agreed to “immediately” convene the India-U.S. Task Force on Hydro fluorocarbons to discuss options that based on “economically-viable and technically feasible alternatives.”

A number of third countries of strategic interest to New Delhi and Washington were also discussed on Friday, it was apparent, and in addition to covering ground on Syria, Iran and East Asia more broadly, Dr. Singh and Mr. Obama revisited the questions emerging on the endgame for Western powers quitting Afghanistan next year.

Specifically, the joint statement reflected a consensus on the view that violent extremists could only be countered by coordinated international support to build the capacity of Afghan National Defence and Security Forces an effort towards which both countries said they would remain committed during the critical transformation decade during 2015-2024.

The tone of the statement of the leaders themselves reflected a sustained warmth and personal chemistry that has been the hallmark of bilateral ties during the tenure of Dr. Singh. Variously the two nations alluded to each other as “partners of first resort” and underscored that their relationship had “crossed a threshold.”

The Hindu

Let zero schemes finance growth, RBI

The RBI has done immense disservice to industrial growth in the short term by asking banks not to offer popular financing schemes for consumer durables dressed up as zero-interest equated monthly instalment (EMI) schemes. Industrial growth has been extremely weak for an extended period and the forthcoming festival season is an opportunity for assorted consumer durable companies to step up their sales.

The zero-down-payment, zero-processing-fee, zero-interest EMI schemes an increasing number of companies offer on a variety of products are good for both consumers and for companies. The RBI's move scuppers this opportunity to a large extent.

It is not the case that consumers are unaware that these financing schemes entail real costs on account of interest and documentation. They are aware that credit card-issuing banks charge a financing cost that product companies bear, to tempt consumers with "zero" offers. But this is not their concern. Nor should it be the RBI's. If the RBI is worried about the rates banks offer, it is welcome to examine the banks' books and ascertain if any rule is being violated.

Why should the bank regulator interfere with the behavioural economics at work when consumers prefer "zero" finance options on a higher price that bundles financing cost with the product price to the transparencyof a lower product price and an explicit overlay of financing cost? Nor are consumers irrational. The cost would be lower, when borne by the company for multiple transactions all together, than when financing is offered to individual consumers.

The only beneficiary from the RBI's move is the buyer with sufficient purchasing power to not need a financing scheme, now that the product would be priced lower, taking out the financing cost by which price had been marked up earlier. Product sales and industrial growth would suffer, for the benefit of a tiny elite. This is a fetish for transparency that benefits no one except bean counters at the RBI. The RBI should withdraw these strictures gracefully and wish the economy a Happy Diwali.

source:Economic Times

Google's Motorola eyes BlackBerry employees

With Blackberry shedding staff in its hometown of Waterloo, Ontario, other tech companies, including Google's Motorola Mobility unit, are moving to take advantage of a growing pool of local talent. 

Motorola Mobility said it plans to set up a new hub in Waterloo, located about an hour's drive west of Toronto. 

"We have a small space right now and we're looking to grow considerably," said Derek Phillips, engineering director for Motorola Canada. 

He declined to specify the number of new hires expected, but said the company was seeking computer science and engineering talent. 

Google acquired Motorola Mobility last year in a $12.5 billion deal that gave it ownership of a large portfolio of communications patents. It has since moved to revamp the company's money-losing mobile phone business. 

Google separately has its existing Canadian development headquarters in Waterloo, which boasts an in-office slide. 

The company is one of hundreds of tech players with a presence the city, attracted in part by graduates of the University of Waterloo's highly ranked computer science, engineering and technology programs. 

The vast majority of local technology companies are small startups looking to make a splash such as the one BlackBerry, then called Research in Motion, made after it pioneered pocket email in the 1990s. 

But times have changed for BlackBerry, which said on Friday that it would cut about 4,500 workers, more than a third of its global workforce, and post a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion. 

The job cuts are expected to strike a blow to the city and regional economy, given the knock-on-effect on retailers, the property market and local service providers. 

The latest layoffs follow other cuts over the past three years as Blackberry bled market share to competitors such as Apple Inc and phones that use Google's Android operating system. 

On Monday, BlackBerry said it agreed to sell itself for $4.7 billion to a consortium led by its biggest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. 

It is unclear if the sale, if it goes through, will result in further job cuts. 

Start-ups hiring

Phillips did not link Motorola's expansion to BlackBerry's troubles, but said the local talent pool was key to the area's appeal. 

"The goal is to try to get just as many people who are interested to come out and hire as many people as we can. I think as long as we can find really good people, we will find a way to hire them," he said. 

The hiring is not expected to come close to replacing the hole left by the BlackBerry cuts. But members of the local technology community noted that Motorola is not the only one looking to expand in the region. 

Mobile payments company Square Inc plans to establish a permanent office in the area in 2014, spokeswoman Lindsay Wiese told Reuters. 

Avvey Peters, head of external relations at Communitech, a non-profit that bills itself as a regional hub for the tech sector, said she knew of about 1,000 job vacancies in the industry. She estimates the sector employs about 30,000 people. 

"Certainly everybody's watching. Everybody's feeling for individuals who either have been laid off or are going to be," she added. "The local ecosystem created BlackBerry, not the other way around."

source:Times of India

Ford CEO leading race to head Microsoft: Report

 Ford CEO Alan Mulally has reportedly emerged as the lead candidate for the top seat at Microsoft.

Technology website AllThingsD said that Mulally has vaulted to the forefront of the candidates being considered to replace retiring Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer.

Earlier, there were reports that at least three of the top 20 investors in Microsoft want a turnaround expert to succeed Ballmer and have urged the technology giant's board to consider Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally and Computer Sciences Corp CEO Mike Lawrie for the job.

Investors are keen on Mulally and Lawrie as both have histories of successfully turning around companies.

Under a succession plan at Ford outlined last November, Mulally, 68, is expected to stay on as CEO until at least the end of 2014. However, according to reports, Mulally may step down sooner than planned if he gets an interesting offer.

Microsoft recently inked a deal to buy Nokia's phone business. The deal also brings Stephen Elop, who ran Microsoft's business software division before jumping the ship in 2010, back to the company. Elop too is said to be among the list of contenders to succeed Ballmer.

source:Times of India

Tata Teleservices, Sistema and Aircel in merger talks

Tata Teleservices, Russia's Sistema JSFC and Aircel, controlled by Malaysia's Maxis, are in exploratory talks for a three-way merger to create India's third-largest telecom company by subscribers, said three persons familiar with the development. 

If the transaction materialises, it will allow the companies to cut costs, share infrastructure and pool capital. 

Deal could be complicated

It will create a combined entity with 13.5 crore subscribers. 

A person with direct knowledge of the development said a three-way merger would be complicated and will take some time to fructify. "There was a fair amount of discussion between Tata Teleservices and Sistema. The discussion between Tata Teleservices and Aircel is very new. These are early days," he said. 

Tata Tele, Sistema, Aircel in initial merger talks Another person familiar with the development said, "I know that a few weeks ago, the three companies were trying to put together this idea of a merger." Both these people declined to be named as the talks are confidential and still developing. 

Both Tata Teleservices, which is 26% owned by Japan's largest mobile company NTT DoCoMo, and Aircel have been struggling to pare their debt - around Rs 23,000 crore and Rs 22,000 crore, respectively. Standard Chartered Bank is advising Aircel on its debt-restructuring exercise. 

Sistema, on the other hand, is cash rich and would be the dominant shareholder if the three companies agree to merge. The company, which is partly owned by the Russian government and operates in India through a joint venture with Shyam Telecom, has identified consolidation as the route to growth in the Indian market. 

"The Indian telecom market was ready for consolidation and one shouldn't be surprised to see more than two operators come together," Sistema Global Chief Financial Officer Vsevolod Rozanov told ET recently. "One could expect the top seven players to shrink to just four and that foreign investors will lead the consolidation of this market." 

Rozanov, however, declined to comment on a specific query on the merger talks involving Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) with Tata Teleservices and Aircel. 

Spokespersons for both Aircel and Tata Teleservices said they would not comment on market speculation. 

Sistema Shyam's pan-India licence to offer CDMA services in 22 circles was cancelled by the Supreme Court last year. But the company won back airwaves for eight states earlier this year and now has more than 9 million customers. 

The government will shortly announce revised M&A guidelines for the sector, a move that is expected to trigger a shakeout in the industry. But foreign operators such as Sistema are concerned that the new policy might make it compulsory for the buyer to pay an additional amount to the government for the acquired airwaves, thereby increasing the total acquisition cost. Industry experts said consolidation was the way forward and any deal would be a win-win for the three companies. 

"Sistema will receive CDMA footprint of Tata and can strengthen its voice subscribers while Aircel and Tatas can cut their expenditure by pooling their capital and share infrastructure," said BK Syngal, senior principal at Dua Consulting. 

The country's leading telcos are also preparing for a wave of consolidation. Last week, SingTel chief Simon Israel urged Bharti Airtel, in which it holds a 32.34% stake, to lead such moves in the Indian telecom market while a few days before him, Vodafone India CEO Martin Pieters said he saw his company as the natural consolidator.

source:Times of India

India to build its first strategic oil storage by January 2014

 India will build its first strategic oil storage by January in an effort to insulate itself from supply disruptions, Oil Minister MVeerappa Moily said today.

India, which is 79 per cent dependent on imports to meet its crude oil needs, is building underground storages at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka to store about 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil. This is enough to meet nation's oil requirement for 13-14 days.

"The storage at Visakhapatnam is expected to be commissioned in January 2014," Moily said here.

Visakhapatnam facility would have the capacity to store 1.33 million tonnes of crude oil in underground rock caverns. Huge underground cavities, almost ten storey tall and approximately 3.3 km long are being built.

A similar facility in Mangalore will have a capacity of 1.55 million tonnes and would be mechanically completed by March 2014. A 2.5-million tonnes storage at Padur, near Mangalore, would be completed by end of current fiscal, he said.

With the commissioning of Visakhapatnam storage, India will join nations like the US, Japan and China that have strategic reserves. These nations use the stockpiles not only as insurance against supply disruptions but also to buy and store oil when prices are low and release them to refiners when there is a spike in global rates.

Originally, India Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), the state-owned firm building the strategic stockpile, was to build the Visakhapatnam facility by October 2011 while the Mangalore storages were to be mechanically completed by November 2012. The storage at Padur was scheduled for completion in December, 2012.

"Visakhapatnam storage is 94.6 per cent complete, Mangalore is 89.2 per cent and Padur is 86 per cent complete," Moily said.

The Cabinet had in January 2006 approved building of the strategic crude oil storages at a cost of Rs 2,397 crore but due to cost and time overrun the capital required is now estimated at Rs 3,958 crore.

The Visakhapatnam facility will cost Rs 1,038 crore, Mangalore Rs 1,227 crore and Padur Rs 1,693 crore.

ISPRL has till date received Rs 2,529 crore from Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB) and Rs 100 crore from Hindustan PetroleumBSE 1.93 % Corp Ltd ( HPCLBSE 1.93 %), officials said adding that the firm requires Rs 1,195 crore either from OIDB or the Government to complete the projects.

ISPRIL would need Rs 490 crore in current fiscal and Rs 705 crore in the next, they said.

The Economic Times