Political mood is pro-BJP, Modi tells Kerala cadre

Gujarat Chief Minister and the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, told members of the Kerala state unit that the political climate in the country was favourable to the BJP and they should work together to take advantage of the climate.

Addressing party workers on Wednesday evening here, he called on them to exploit the socio-political situation in Kerala. Urging a fight against corruption, Mr Modi said though the BJP does not have representation in the Kerala Assembly, the potential of the Right to Information Act should be used to fight corruption and claiming the rights of the downtrodden.

Mr Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Kerala, left for Kollam on Thursday morning to participate in the 60th birthday celebrations of Mata Amritanandamayi. Earlier, he visited the Padmanabha Swamy temple and called on the Travancore Royal family at the Kaudiar Palace.

Speaking to party workers, Mr Modi said the youth were angry about corruption and the potential of social media should be used for the election campaign. He claimed that 72 per cent of new jobs were now being created in Gujarat. Setting out the Gujarat government’s plans to set up a ‘statue of unity’ sculpture of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, he said farmers should contribute iron from their used implements for the statue.

State BJP leaders told Mr. Modi, that the party could win in Kerala if community organisations such as the NSS and the SNDP extended support.

Mr. Modi suggested that leaders should come up from Kerala to the national level so that issues of concern to the State could be raised at the national level. BJP national leaders Ram Lal and Bandaru Dattatreya, State president V. Muraleedharan, O. Rajagopal, P. S. Sreedharan Pillai, P. K. Krishnadas, K. Surendran and other leaders attended.

Earlier, he presented Rs. 5 lakh from the BJP’s central funds to the family of Indo-Tibetan Border Police constable P. G. Jomon who was killed during rescue operations in Uttarakhand.

The Hindu

Lull before the storm: Rupee seen at 69.50 against US dollar

The rupee has seen a smart recovery of near 10 per cent after Raghuram Rajan took over as the Reserve Bank chief. The Indian Rupee has stabilised for now after an extremely volatile August which saw the Indian currency test new all-time lows and lose over 20 per cent against major global currencies.

This was categorically due to the growth initiatives the market was expecting from Raghuram, something on which the new man in largely disappointed.

Barring this, as far as the Indian currency is concerned, uncertainty looms over what decision the US Federal Reserve takes on its much vaunted quantitative easing programme in October or later in the year.

"Previously, we were forecasting a value of 62 for the rupee against the dollar by year-end, but now we have raised that to 69.50. We think that the policy moves by the RBI are credible for both inflation and the currency, but that is at the cost of growth. Growth will be slower than expected," Clive McDonnell, Head Equity Strategy, Standard Chartered, told ET Now.

The pressure on the rupee is likely to build up ahead of the Fed meet in October, when a decision on quantitative easing ( QE) is expected.

"We are going to see increased pressure on emerging market currencies, particularly Indonesian rupiah and the Indian rupee. That is likely to intensify ahead of FOMC meeting," said Eric Fishwick, CLSA.

But then there is more to add pressure on the Indian currency. "I would also emphasise that there is more ... I would expect pressure on the Indian rupee and the Indonesian rupiah as a result of stronger European growth," added Eric Fishwick.

What about stock markets?

"Regardless of whether there is tapering or not, what has happened globally is that the liquidity, inter-bank liquidity is drying up pretty quickly and that is the reason why the US bond yields are volatile now and therefore bank liquidity is drying up. Equity markets cannot be very buoyant under those conditions and it is happening in India as well," says market analyst Satish Ramanathan.

"I do not think we are in for a hard rally from here," he adds.

So, the euphoria about cheap valuations, etc, has died out? 

"My interaction with investors at our conference reveals that the interest exists, but it is not that there is a kind of euphoria about the country, about the valuations, etc," says Mahesh Nandurkar, Executive Research, CLSA.

And why is so? "The reason is that most of the investors are a little worried about the direction of the rupee. While the currency has appreciated, it has been quite volatile and the markets have also been volatile. So, international investors are essentially looking for more stability in both the rupee and the market. It is the volatility which is really creating some issues for foreign investors about investing in India at this point in time," Mahesh Nandurkar adds.

The S&P BSE Sensex on Thursday was witnessing a rangebound session with positive bias as traders squared off open positions on the last day of September series. The trade is likely to remain choppy as the session progresses, say dealers.

Economic Times

Delhi gang-rape case: Death sentence for all four convicts

Four convicts in the December 16 Delhi gang-rape-cum-murder case were on Friday awarded death penalty by a Delhi court which said the gravity of the offence cannot be tolerated.

"Death to all," additional sessions judge Yogesh Khanna said while delivering the verdict in the Delhi gang-rape case that had evoked nationwide outrage and led the government to bring in a stringent anti-rape law.

"Besides discussing others offences, I straightaway come to section 302 (murder) of IPC. This falls under inhuman nature of the convicts and the gravity of offence they committed cannot be tolerated. Death sentence is given to all the four convicts," he said.

The offence committed by Mukesh (26), Akshay Thakur (28), Pawan Gupta (19) and Vinay Sharma (20) falls under the rarest of rare category warranting capital punishment, the judge said.

The four were convicted by the court on September 10 for the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedic student.

"Court cannot turn a blind eye to such a gruesome act," the judge said, while handing down the maximum punishment to the four convicts in the Delhi gang-rape case.

He said, "When crime against women is rising on day-to-day basis, so, at this point in time court cannot keep its eye shut."

"There should be exemplary punishment in view of the unparallelled brutality with which the victim was gang raped and murdered, as the case falls under the rarest of rare category. All be given death," the court said while reading out a portion of the order.

"This is a time when serious crime against a woman has come to the fore and now its judiciary's responsibility to instil confidence among the women," it said.

Besides murder, the four have been also convicted for offences including gangrape, unnatural offences, attempt to murder, dacoity, destruction of evidence, conspiracy, kidnapping or abducting in order to murder, while acquitting them of the charge of murder in dacoity.

Immediately after pronouncement of sentence, the victim's mother expressed satisfaction over the verdict.

"Halak mein saans atki thi, jo ab bahar nikli hai. Mein dhanywaad karti hu desh ke logon ka aur media ka' (We were waiting with bated breath, now we are relieved. I thank the people of my country and the media)," she said.

Besides her, the victim's father and two brothers were also present in the jam-packed court room when the sentence was pronounced.

Hearing that he will face the gallows, Vinay started crying in court while the other three convicts-Mukesh, Pawan, Akshay-started shouting for pardon, with one of the defence lawyers A P Singh also joining them in seeking mercy.

Advocate V K Anand, who appeared for Mukesh, said he has regard for the verdict and he will file an appeal in the Delhi high court.

Special public prosecutor Dayan Krishnan said, "I have done my job and we (prosecution) are happy with the verdict."

Soon after the Delhi gang-rape verdict was delivered, people waiting outside the courtroom started clapping.

The girl's mother said that no such victim should remain silent and must come forward to lodge a complaint.

Defence counsel A P Singh said he will move high court only "if no other rape takes place in next two months after this verdict".

"If the country wanted this case to be a deterrent, I will wait for two months to see the crime scene. If no rape takes place due to death being given in the instant case, I will give in writing that my clients be hanged," he said.

Vinay, who started crying and screaming after the order, sat down in the courtroom when the police personnel came to take him back to jail.

The post-lunch work at the Saket Court had come to a standstill with court staff members and litigants eagerly waiting for the pronouncement of the quantum of sentence.

The corridors of six-storeyed court building was crowded with people.

Victim, her family got justice: Sushilkumar Shinde 

"This was the rarest of rare crime...Damini and her family have got justice. I welcome the court ruling," Shinde told reporters here. 

"The 'nyay devta' has set a new example for such culprits that if you commit such a heinous crime, then you will get a stringent punishment," the minister said.

"There was an atmosphere in the country after this incident....We expected such a punishment," Shinde said. 

source:Times of India

Petrol costlier by Rs 1.96 a litre in Delhi, oil companies indicates a price cut in 15 days

State oil firms have announced a steep increase in petrol rates, raising pump price of the fuel by Rs 1.96 a litre in Delhi and Rs 2.05 a litre in Mumbai.

New rates, which are effective from Saturday, have raised pump prices to record levels across cities.

Companies raised petrol rates nine time in last four months citing devaluation of the rupee and rising international crude oil prices.

Indian Oil Corp, country's biggest fuel retailer, said companies may consider a downward revision of the fuel rates in future because the rupee is strengthening and international crude oil rates are softening after the Syrian crisis was averted.

"Should the recent trend of stabilization and appreciation of rupee-dollar exchange rate continue and international petrol prices also not move adversely, the beneficial effect of the same will be passed on to the consumers in the next fortnight," Indian OilBSE 2.17 % said in its statement.

The fuel is priced at Rs 76.06 a litre in Delhi and Rs 83.62 in Mumbai.

Metros	Old Rate	New Rate
Mumbai	81.57	83.62
New Delhi	74.1	76.06
Kolkata	81.57	83.63
Chennai	77.48	79.55

source:Economic Times

Narendra Modi anointed BJP PM candidate, Advani disappointed

 Narendra Modi, a staunch proponent of Hinduvta, was on Friday anointed BJP's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, ending months of suspense over his elevation amid stiff opposition by party patriarch L K Advani.

The announcement was made by BJP chief Rajnath Singh after a meeting of the party's parliamentary board which was skipped by Advani who expressed "anguish" over the way the party was functioning.

Except Advani, the meeting of the 12-member board was attended by other leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manohar Joshi, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari.

The decision on Modi came on a day of fast-paced developments and back-to-back meetings and last minute efforts to bring around Advani,Joshi and Swaraj.

Making the announcement, Rajnath Singh said the decision had been taken by the parliamentary board as per the party's tradition.

The party had announced its prime ministerial candidate in 2009 elections also, he noted at a press conference here.

Modi, who will turn 63 next Tuesday, said he will work tirelessly to ensure that BJP wins the 2014 elections.

Giving a slogan "nayi sonch, nayi ummeed" (new thinking, new hope), he said the party will work for good governance and development while fighting against corruption and price rise.

Touching a sour note, an upset Advani released a letter written to the party chief almost at the same time when announcement about Modi was made.

"This afternoon when you had come to my residence to inform me about the parliamentary board meeting, I had said something about my anguish as also my disappointment over your style of functioning," the BJP veteran said in the two-para letter.

"I had told you that I will think whether I should share my thoughts with other Board members or not. Now I have decided that it is better that I do not attend today's meeting," he wrote.

Modi, flanked by Rajnath Singh, Joshi, Swaraj, Jaitley, Ananth Kumar among others, said the country is going through a "crisis" and the countrymen should support BJP to emerge from this situation.

The Gujarat strongman sought blessings of crores of people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to help BJP win.

He thanked party leadership and workers for reposing faith in him. He also expressed gratitude to NDA allies for supporting him through telephone calls.

Soon after the announcement, Modi went to meet Advani to seek his "blessings".

Advani initially appeared willing to attend the board meeting but changed his mind at the last minute, sources close to him said.

The BJP veteran had conveyed his reservations about announcing Modi's name at this juncture. He had suggested that the BJP chief ministers should be consulted on the issue and the party should wait till the forthcoming assembly elections to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi are over.

Advani was of the view that making Modi the prime ministerial candidate will put issues like price rise and corruption- on which the BJP has attacked the Congress- on the backburner and make the controversial leader the issue.

Rajnath Singh said the decision was taken keeping in view the mood and aspirations of the people. He said the decision was taken "unanimously".

He said Advani is a respected leader and will continue to be respected. "We will keep seeking his guidance," he said.

Joshi and Swaraj, who too were said to be having reservations to Modi's projection at this juncture, changed their stand to join the majority.

Significantly, Swaraj cancelled her plan to visit Haryana on Friday morning to attend the board meeting.

Earlier, Gadkari met Rajnath Singh to discuss the issue. Later, Gadkari met Advani to persuade him on Modi's name. Swaraj and Ananth Kumar also joined the meeting.

Joshi was asked to return to the capital by a special flight from Sagar, Madhya Pradesh where he had gone to attend a party programme.

Modi got a shot in the arm on Friday when NDA allies Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal extended their support to him for the PM candidate post.

source:Times of India

Why Rajan shouldn't go for monetary tightening

Travelling through Europe and England this week, we have encountered a view from some investors that there is a trade-off between FX stability and economic growth, and the RBI, under the newly appointed governor Rajan, needs to follow up its July tightening measures by even more rate hikes to support the rupee. This would inevitably entail further "sacrifice" of growth, as per the view.

The view has been bolstered by governor Rajan's inaugural statement, where he stressed the importance of low and stable inflation, regardless of its source (FX pass-through, demand pressure, supply shock). But beyond the discussion on price stability, the rest of the governor's statement was geared toward lowering the cost of doing business. Indeed, we think that RBI is done with tightening for now.

Let's examine the inflation question first: with faltering growth and worsening employment and wage outlook, inflation is clearly not being driven by demand, so the case for easing price or wage expectations through tightening is not relevant at this juncture. The risk to inflation is presently coming from INR depreciation and higher global oil prices. We don't think even weaker demand would negate pass-through risk or supply shocks; indeed in recent years demand fluctuations have not correlated well with WPI/CPI price dynamics.

Can higher rates attract bond and stock market flows? There are very few carry opportunities for foreign fixed income investors, so higher rates won't attract inflows the way it tends to be the case in more open economies. Higher rates could bring in NRI flows, but that can be accomplished by deploying narrow instruments like raising the FCNR deposit ceiling as opposed to a broad-based tightening of liquidity and spike of short term rates.

In any case, the authorities are seeking to attract stickier FDI than volatile portfolio flows, which won't be helped by higher rates and associated correction in demand and clouding of the outlook. Higher rates and ensuing slowdown won't surely help foreign equity investors, whose holdings are far larger than bond investors in India.

Finally, higher rates were supposedly aimed at curbing speculation and FX volatility. On the former, we don't know of any major channels through which widespread rupee speculation was taking place right before July 15. Indeed, FX volume had collapsed due to the various restrictions placed on futures and options market activity and curbs on trade-related FX engineering. Additionally, the fact that banks continue to access liquidity at high cost even today means that genuine transaction need, not cheaply financed FX speculation, was behind the persistently large demand seen in the LAF window prior to July 15. On the latter, the evidence shows the measure had the opposite effect. FX volatility has been higher since July 15, and currency's slide accelerated after the liquidity tightening measures were implemented.

Can India afford higher rates? Corporate and banking distress is spreading, consumer sentiment and consumption indicators are waning, and businesses are reeling from a 20% rise in the cost of imports and several hundred basis points of rise in financing costs. With growth heading toward 4%, higher rates could risk severe balance-sheet stress and cause further economic volatility and slowdown.

This is not to say that fiscal adjustment or import compression measures should be withdrawn. Those steps need to continue as current account adjustment is essential. But monetary policy should not inject further negative impulse for the reasons stated above.

As hinted in governor Rajan's inaugural statement, we expect RBI to start looking hard at stabilizing the financial system (securing financing through swaps etc, for example) and communicate that at this juncture inflation will not be assigned exceedingly high weight in its reaction function. In case we are wrong and the RBI comes out with a hawkish guidance on Sept 20, we will revise down India's growth forecast further.

Source:Economic Times

Indian Hockey Team Enters Asia Cup final, Assured World Cup Berth

It was a great week for the Indian Sports. In a row after U-23 Cricket Team won Emerging Nations Cup and a Gold Medal in Archery World Cup, Indian Hockey Team has qualified for the World Cup and enters the Asia Cup Final.

India came up with an inspiring performance to beat Malaysia 2-0 and enter the final of the ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Friday.

Earlier, defending champions South Korea beat Pakistan 2-1 in a hard-fought first semi-final. 

South Korea's goals came from penalty-corner conversions from Jang Jong Hyun, in the 31st minute, and Lee Nam Yong, in the 40th, while Pakistan's lone goal was scored by skipper Muhammad Imran in the 46th minute.

With the Koreans having already qualified for the World Cup, and Pakistan losing in the semis, both India and Malaysia are virtually through to next year's showpiece 12-team event at The Hague, Netherlands, as the first and second reserves, though official confirmation will come only after the conclusion of the Oceania Cup, in November, which either Australia or New Zealand, who have both qualified, is expected to win.

It will also be the first time that Pakistan will not feature in the World Cup since it started in Barcelona in 1971.

With knowledge of a World Cup berth virtually assured, the Indians started the semi-final on a confident note and stunned the packed home crowd at the Azlan Shah stadium with an early goal.

V R Raghunath swelled his goal tally to seven when he converted India's first penalty-corner in the eighth minute.

However, it was the home team that enjoyed the early share of exchanges and had couple of scoring chances. While on the first occasion Faizal Saari missed from close range, an unmarked Mohd Noor shot wide a minute later with only Indian custodian P R Sreejesh to beat.

The Malaysians created lot of scoring opportunities right through the match but the Indian defence, led goalkeeper Sreejesh, held firm.

India could have doubled the lead four minutes from half-time, but Malaysia’s goalkeeper, Kumar Subramaniam, brought off a fine save to deny Rupinderpal Singh from the team’s second penalty-corner.

The Malaysians continued to missed chances despite creating numerous scoring opportunities after the change of ends.

They earned back-to-back penalty-corners ten minutes into the second half but a brilliant Sreejesh denied them with a fine saves.

To the agony of the partisan home crowd, Izwan Firdaus Ahmad Tajuddin missed an open chance in the 58th minute.

The Indians were quick to rub salt into Malaysia's wounds as they doubled the lead in the 60th minute through Mandeep Singh, who scored his fifth goal of the tournament, after a fine one-two with Ramandeep Singh.

The Malaysians pressed hard in the last few minutes but were thwarted by a crowded Indian defence.

India will play South Korea in the summit clash on Sunday. India had earlier defeated the Koreans 2-0 in the pool stage.

Earlier, Japan defeated Bangladesh 3-0, while Oman eked out a narrow win over Chinese Taipei, via penalty the shoot-out, in the classification matches for fifth to eight places.

In the first classification match of the day, Japan proved to be too good for the Bangladeshis.

Japan scored two goals in the first half through Toshiro Tachibana (9th minute) and captain Koji Kayukawa (26th).

Meanwhile, in the second classification match of the day between two debutants, Chines Taipei overcame a two goal deficit to hold Oman 2-2 after the regulation 70 minutes.

Oman took the lead through an own goal in the 24th minute. They doubled their lead in the 31st minute through a field goal from Samir Haliyas Juma'an Al Shibli.

The Taiwanese side made spirited comeback in the last 15 minutes of the match and scored through Liu Ching Kun (57th) and Tseng Hsien-Yi (67th) to take the match into penalty shootout.

Source: Rediff