River linking could alter rainfall, hit monsoons, warns expert

"There is a major disruption of ecosystem. In view of climate change there is a possibility of change in pattern of rainfall," V. Rajamani, an emeritus professor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, said on the sidelines of a programme.

He was addressing students on climate change in India at a lecture organized by Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology, at the Indian Institute  of Chemical Biology here.

Rajamani, who has repeatedly expressed his reservations about the project, explained: "You may be damming a river, but the river might not have water if you don't return the water to the sea."

“The marine water system will be disturbed and the physical process for the rainfall will be affected. You may not even get the monsoon.”

The ambitious ILR initiative which received a boost by the Narendra Modi-led government has 30 river-linking projects under its ambit and includes both peninsular and Himalayan rivers.

Union Water Resource, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharti has recently said ILR will raise irrigation capacity and will be taken up on mission mode.

However, Rajamani sounded a word of caution.

"Natural system works with natural laws' give and take. How do you know it works? Americans are regretting they went for technology and now they are realising it is not working and now we are doing the same thing," Rajamani said.

Source: Chhattisgarh Hindi News and MP Hindi News

Compare NDA and UPA stance on black money: Radha Mohan Singh

"Black money issue has today become an important issue in the country. Leaders of different political parties are expressing their opinion on the subject. In my view a leader shall speak with gravity on the matter after pondering over comparative efforts of NDA and UPA governments on the topic," Singh said in a statement here.
  
The Union Agriculture minister's statement seems aimed at RJD chief Lalu Prasad and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar who have been attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi on black money issue.
  
Singh, MP from Motihari, said in 2011 Supreme Court had ordered for constitution of SIT (Special Investigation Team) which UPA (in which Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar are important partners today) had vehemently opposed.
  
In November 2013, Congress-led UPA had filed a petition in the SC requesting permission to make some changes in the Apex Court order on setting up SIT which the court had disallowed, he said.
  
In May 2014, in its last days UPA had submitted a review petition in the SC requesting quashing of its order on SIT constitution, Singh said.
  
The UPA deliberately created delay in the SC on the issue and in the meantime it pardoned over 100 account holders in foreign banks where black money was stashed away, the minister said and added the Apex Court had expressed its annoyance over the stance.
  
On the contrary, the Narendra Modi government in its very first Cabinet meeting approved the proposal to constitute SIT on black money, Singh said.
  
SIT Chairman M B Shah has appreciated the government for handing over list of account holders prepared on the basis of information from France and Germany, he said.
  
The SIT chief has said it was clear from government's efforts that it did not want to protect anybody, Singh said hailing Union government on black money issue.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Centre effects bureaucratic reshuffle; over 35 Joint Secretaries shifted

The Vice Chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Balvender Kumar, has been promoted in the rank and pay of Secretary. Kumar is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.
  
Senior IAS officers Rajiv Nayan Choubey and Devendra Chaudhary have been made Special Secretaries in the Ministry of Power.
  
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister, had on June 18 cancelled the appointment of Choubey as Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office.
   
Choubey, a 1981-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, was appointed in the PMO on June 14. No reason was given by the government for cancelling his appointment.
   
Anjuly Chib Duggal has been appointed as Special Secretary in Department of Expenditure. Her batchmate Chirravuri Viswanath, Chairman and Managing Director of Food Corporation of India, has been promoted to the rank and pay of Secretary.
   
Anil Kumar Agarwal, Director General in Employees State Insurance Corporation, has been promoted to the rank and pay of Secretary.
  
Ravinder Kumar Jain has been appointed as Secretary in the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in the rank and pay of Secretary, said official order by the Department of Personnel and Training issued late last night.
  
Rajiv Arora, Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce, has been shifted to the national intelligence grid or NATGRID in the same capacity.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Coal unions protest 'privatisation' move; to strike on 24th November

The steering committee of the central trade unions met at Ranchi and served a joint notice on the token strike in the coal industry including Coal India and Singareni Collieries, Secretary General of Indian National Mine Workers' Federation S Q Zama said.
  
The call for the strike, which coincides with the opening day of Parliament, came ten days after the government issued an ordinance to e-auction coal blocks enabling private sector firms, barring those convicted for offences related to mines allotment, to bid. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance 2014, got Presidential nod on October 21.
  
The unions, which also included INTUC, CITU, AITUC and HMS, demanded scrapping of the enabling clause for commercial mining by private players and stopping of further disinvestment and restructuring of CIL.
  
The unions are also seeking first preference to CIL and its subsidiaries before auctioning of any coal block, besides steps to revive units like Dankuni Coal Complex, CIL subsidiary Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL) and Assam's North Eastern Coalfields.
  
Left parties have also opposed the ordinance, with AITUC General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta earlier saying the decision of the government on coal blocks "has a covert implication. It is a back-door entry for taking over the entire coal sector by the private corporates".
  
All India Coal Workers Federation General Secretary Jibon Roy had also warned of nationwide protests if the government implemented any enabling provision to allow commercial mining by private companies.
  
The Supreme Court had last month quashed allotment of 214 coal mines to various companies since 1993 on the ground that they were done in an illegal manner by an "ad-hoc and casual" approach "without application of mind".
  
Allocation of coal blocks became a political issue after Comptroller and Auditor General alleged arbitrariness and absence of any criteria in the screening process and pegged notional loss to the exchequer at Rs 1.86 lakh crore.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

BJP credits Modi government for reduction in petrol, diesel prices

Crediting the Narendra Modi government for having reduced the price of petrol six times and that of diesel twice after coming to power, the party attacked the previous Congress-led UPA dispensation, saying it was only raising the prices.

"The BJP-led government has reduced prices of petrol six times and that of diesel twice within the last three months. This shows the commitment of the Modi government towards the poor, the farmers and the common public," BJP National Secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

The reduced diesel prices, he hoped, would bring relief to farmers and also further bring down inflation.

"While the Congress government continued to raise the prices of petrol and diesel that further raised inflation rates making lives of poor miserable, the Modi government is continuously reducing the prices of these items," he said.

The party leader said the government has taken a number of initiatives since it assumed office, including tough action against hoarders and limiting export prices of essential commodities like onion, rice and wheat.

Sharma said the government is committed to bringing inflation down and helping improve the state of the economy, which was left "in a shattered state by the previous Congress-led UPA government due to mismanagement, bad governance and corruption".

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Government to start selection for 8 PSU bank heads by November-end

A panel, headed by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, is expected to hold interviews of eligible candidates for the post of Chairman and Managing Directors of 8 public sector banks in the last week of November, sources said.
  
Besides RBI Governor, sources said, the other members of the interview panel would include Deputy Governor of RBI, Department of Financial Services Secretary and a few external members.
  
The interview process would be objective and transparent, sources said, adding that the interviews of eligible candidates would be held in Mumbai.
  
Following the shortlisting by the high level panel, the name of the candidates would be sent to Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) and other necessary clearances.
  
Earlier this week, the government scrapped the selection of six PSU bank heads and 14 executive directors (EDs) during UPA tenure following a separate panel finding irregularities in the process.
  
The UPA government had shortlisted heads of Bank of Baroda (BoB), Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Bank and Vijaya Bank.
  
Besides, vacancies of CMDs have arisen in Punjab National Bank and Syndicate Bank due to non-grant of extension and arrest respectively.
  
Following the arrest of Syndicate Bank Chairman and Managing Director S K Jain, the ministry had set up a committee comprising Expenditure Secretary, RBI Governor and Secretary School Education to examine the selections process.
  
"After receipt of the report of the Committee, the government has decided to cancel the current selection process of CMDs/EDs of Public Sector Banks (PSBs)," the statement had said.
  
To fill up these 8 vacancies of CMDs along with those of 14 executive directors, the government decided the selection would be done by a panel necessarily comprising of RBI Governor or his nominee.
  
Syndicate Bank chief Jain was arrested in August for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to enhance credit limits of a company.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Recent policy changes, RBI steps to help rating profile: Moody's

Pointing out that these recent measures are incremental rather than radical, Moody's said, these steps will sustain higher GDP growth and address some of the constraints on the country's sovereign credit profile.
  
In a report released from Singapore this afternoon, titled 'Recent policy changes to support growth acceleration,' Moody's Investors Service lauded the 'Make in India' campaign which saw the government initiating some reforms in the labour and investment policies front.
  
The report also appreciated the financial inclusion measures, infrastructure development initiatives, clarity around inflation targets, as well as banking and energy sector reforms are all measures in the direct direction.
  
The report further notes that together these measures will harness the country's economic advantages of size, diversity and a deep pool of labour and savings.
  
"These measures will also improve its investment climate, and allow the economy to reap the benefits of lower global commodity prices and international financial flows seeking real investment assets," the report said.
  
Based on evidences from other countries and India's own experience in the past decade, Moody's said it expects incremental reforms to raise productivity, savings and investment growth.
  
In addition, if policies lower fiscal deficits, stabilise inflation and strengthen the banking sector, they will mitigate the macroeconomic and financial risks to growth that have been evident in the last three years.
  
These policies can lead to higher investment and lower macroeconomic imbalances which in turn will help sustain higher growth rates of around 7.5 percent over the next 5-10 years, Moody's said.
  
However, it ruled out any revision in the credit rating saying the present country's sovereign rating of BBB- with a stable outlook already incorporates Moody's assessment that its growth potential is high, such higher growth rates would, in themselves, be of limited, though positive, significance for the sovereign credit profile.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

European oil firm BP hails Modi government's decision to hike gas price

BP wrote off USD 770 million from its investment in the eastern offshore KG-D6 block of Reliance Industries, citing "uncertainty" over benefits flowing from the government's gas pricing policy.
   
The government earlier this month approved a new pricing formula that would provide a gas tariff of USD 5.61 per million British thermal unit from November 1 as against USD 4.2 currently. This hike was lower than USD 8.4 approved by the previous UPA government.
   
"This increases the gas price applicable for existing production and is a positive first step towards creating the more competitive economic landscape required to encourage the development of India’s gas resources," BP Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary said at an investor call after third quarter earnings.
   
In the earnings statement on Tuesday, BP wrote off USD 770 million saying "the charge arises as a result of uncertainty in the future long-term gas price outlook, following the introduction of a new formula for Indian gas prices, although we do see the commencement of a transition to market-based pricing as a step in the right direction."

In the investor call, Gilvary said the government announced a new domestic gas price formula as part of a package of oil and gas sector reforms.
   
"We expect further clarity on the new pricing policy and the premiums for future developments to emerge in due course," he said.
   
BP in 2011 bought 30 percent interest in RIL's eastern offshore KG-D6 as well as 20 other oil and gas exploration blocks for USD 7.2 billion. Bulk of this was for the producing block of KG-D6 and gas discovery area of NEC-25.
   
A BP India spokesperson had on October 28 stated that , "the gas price decision increases the gas price applicable for existing production and is a first step towards creating the more competitive economic landscape required to encourage the development of India's gas resources."
   
"The timing of this gas price decision just prior to our Q3 stock exchange announcement and the requirement to understand the long term price-outlook to support future developments has led to the write down. This is in compliance with standard accounting policies and Securities Exchange requirements," the spokesperson said.
   
Both BP and RIL have been advocating market-linked gas pricing and had initiated an arbitration against the government for not revising rates from the due date of April 1, 2014.
   
The USD 4.2 per mmBtu rate, fixed in 2007, was for the first five years of production from KG-D6 fields. KG-D6 fields started gas output from April 1, 2009.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Modi government reconstitutes six cabinet committees

The Narendra Modi government on Thursday reconstituted six cabinet committees, including the one on appointments and on security.

“The government has reconstituted six committees of the Cabinet i.e. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Cabinet Committee on Accommodation, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs and Cabinet Committee on Security,” said an official statement. The Appointments Committee would comprise the prime minister and the home minister, according to an official statement.

The Cabinet Committee on Security would comprise Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs would comprise of the prime minister, home minister, external affairs minister, finance minister, Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Railways Minister D.V. Sadanand Gowda, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju, Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. The Cabinet Committee on Accommodation, on political affairs and parliamentary affairs were also reconstituted.

Source: Hindi News