Royal Bank of Scotland under pressure to sell more assets - India

26  feb  2013

LONDON: Royal Bank of Scotland Group CEO Stephen HesterBSE 1.07 % is being pressed by the UK government to sell more assets and bolster capital as the Treasury tries to recoup some of its 45.5 billion($68.9 billion) investment in the bailed-out lender.

RBS will this week announce plans to sell a stake in Citizens Financial Group and shrink assets at its investment-bank by as much as 30 billion, said a person with knowledge of the plans, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. As recently as August, Hester said he didn't intend to sell the US consumer and commercial lender it acquired in 1988.

"RBS is clearly under pressure from the government to shrink and make the bank much simpler," said Ian Gordon, an analyst at Investec in London, who values Citizens at about 8 billion and has a sell rating on the stock. "Regulators seem to be saying that RBS needs to raise capital."

Hester, 52, has cut assets by more than 800 billion, eliminated 36,000 jobs and scaled back RBS's securities unit since he took over from Fred Goodwin in 2008. The shares are still little more than half the price the government paid for its 81% stake when it rescued RBS during the financial crisis, the biggest bank bailout ever.

The lender will post a net loss of 5.16 billion for 2012, compared with a loss of 2 billion a year earlier, according to the median estimate of nine analysts in a Bloomberg survey. RBS is scheduled to announce full-year earnings on February 28. The firm will sell a 15% to 25% holding in Citizens in a deal that may take two years to complete, the person with knowledge of the matter said.

Operating profit for the US consumer banking and commercial unit rose to 554 million pounds in the nine months to Sept. 30 from 360 million pounds a year earlier, according to company filings.

1st Test, Day 3: MS Dhoni destroys Australia with classic double - India

24  feb  2013

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Chennai:  They streamed through the turnstiles in the morning with the intention of watching Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, the past and the future of Indian batsmanship. By day's end, the thousands at Chepauk were on their feet to applaud MS Dhoni, the present captain, whose stunning unbeaten 206 gave India a stranglehold on this game. With two days left to play, India were 515 for 8, a lead of 135.

The numbers were incredible enough - 243 balls faced, 22 fours and five sixes. But they didn't convey the majesty of an innings that utterly transformed the match. A measure of Dhoni's final-session domination can be found from his partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The pushed single to short third man that got him to his first double-century also raised the hundred partnership. Bhuvneshwar's contribution was 13.

Dhoni's virtuoso display also obscured a superb innings earlier in the day. Tendulkar may have added only 10 to his overnight 71, but Kohli followed up his Nagpur hundred against England with a classy 107. His 128-run partnership with Dhoni gave India the initiative, though he didn't stay at the crease long enough to see his captain hammer it home.

Australia's plight in the final session was made worse by an abysmal over-rate. Even with the half-hour extension, they were an over short, forcing Michael Clarke to bowl Nathan Lyon and David Warner's innocuous legspin. By stumps, Lyon had gone for 182 from his 40 overs, though he did have the wickets of Tendulkar, Kohli and R Ashwin to show for his travails.

There was no hint of the drama to come as Australia's pace bowlers put Tendulkar and Kohli through the wringer in the opening hour. James Pattinson was hostile and relentless, while Peter Siddle at the other end also gave them nothing to hit. At one stage, India went 30 balls without scoring.

The pressure built by the pace bowlers was exploited by Lyon, who came on and got Tendulkar with a delivery that drifted, turned sharply and took the inside edge on to the stumps. With only 21 runs coming from the first hour of play, India were under no illusions about the task ahead.

Kohli broke the shackles somewhat, pulling Lyon for six, and Dhoni showed his intent with two meaty leg-side cleaves off the same bowler. While Pattinson's eight overs for the session cost just 16 runs, the intensity wasn't maintained at the other end, where Moises Henriques saw Kohli work him through point and then the vacant slip area for fours.

Pattinson took the second new ball soon after lunch, but there was no repeat of the previous day's heroics as Dhoni welcomed it with a lashed square-drive. He then took Mitchell Starc for three fours in an over, and watched with a smile on his face as Kohli clipped Pattinson powerfully off the pads to get to his hundred off 199 balls.

It was his fourth Test century, and the two took 54 off the first seven overs with the second new ball before the introduction of Lyon again paid dividends. Kohli smacked one to mid-on, where Starc took a smartly judged catch.

There was a brief lull from Dhoni's bat, and a couple of confident leg-before shouts turned down, before he sauntered down the pitch to flick Siddle over midwicket and reach his hundred (119 balls).

Jadeja made 16 before shouldering arms to Pattinson, coming round the wicket, while Ashwin was bowled via bat and pad. Harbhajan Singh then played a horrible heave across the line to give Henriques his first Test wicket, but after that the Dhoni show took over an enthralled crowd.

Lyon went for two sixes in an over as he surpassed Alec Stewart's 164 - the highest score by a wicketkeeper-captain - and there was more muscular destruction as Australia were run ragged. Misfields crept in and dives were misjudged as hopes of first-innings parity gave way to the realisation that backs were now firmly up against the wall.

At 5pm, when the umpires called it off, Clarke and his men were down for the count - sandbagged and left groggy by a once-in-a-lifetime innings from the poster child of cricket new-power generation.

Lord Balaji at arm's length in a new luxury watch - India

21  feb  2013

Lord Balaji at arm's length in a new luxury watch

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Hyderabad: If you are a devotee of Tirupati's famous Lord Balaji, you can take comfort in knowing that He can be with you at all times.

What you need is Rs. 27 lakh.

A limited edition luxury watch with His image, engraved in gold, embellished with rubies, emeralds and diamonds, has been made by a Swiss firm and is being sold globally.

However, the powerful trust that manages the Tirupati temple, the richest in India with annual earnings of Rs. 2000 crore, is not thrilled about the initiative, but says it could not have stopped the venture, and has agreed to accept a part of the sales for its charitable hospital.

"We have no agreement on this because statutorily, we have no right to sell Lord Venkateswara's photo. It is available. People can take the photograph. They can put it on the Internet. They can put it on their products. They can advertise. One can't protect that at all. Only when they use in a derogatory sense, we have the persuasive power to go after them," says LV Subrahmanyam, CEO of the trust.

A total of 333 watches have been made so divine intervention is at hand, if you can afford it, and are quick enough to snap one up.

Indian American helps end slavery in US - officially! - India

20  feb  2013

Indian American helps end slavery in US - officially!

Slavery has been finally abolished officially from the whole of United States - 148 years after Abraham Lincoln's emancipation declaration - thanks to an eagle eyed Indian-American professor.

The state of Mississippi finally ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery only earlier this month, due in some measure to Dr. Ranjan Batra, associate professor of neurobiology and anatomical sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Centre.

Batra, who became a US citizen in 2008, last November started looking into states ratifying the amendment after watching Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" depicting the political fight to pass it, according to The Clarion Ledger, a state newspaper.

As Batra learnt from usconstitution.net website, after Congress voted for the 13th Amendment in January 1864, the measure went to the states for ratification.

On Dec 6, 1865, the amendment received the three-fourths' vote it needed when Georgia became the 27th state to ratify it. States that rejected the measure included Delaware, Kentucky, New Jersey and Mississippi.

In the months and years that followed, states continued to ratify the amendment, including those that had initially rejected it. New Jersey ratified the amendment in 1866, Delaware in 1901 and Kentucky in 1976.

But there was an asterisk beside Mississippi. A note read: "Mississippi ratified the amendment in 1995, but because the state never officially notified the US Archivist, the ratification is not official."

Batra, according to the Clarion Ledger, then told colleague Ken Sullivan who called the National Archives' Office of the Federal Register to inform them that Mississippi was yet to ratify the 13th Amendment.

Sullivan was able to retrieve a copy of a 1995 Senate resolution, which passed both the Mississippi House and Senate, that ratified the amendment to abolish slavery, but it was never sent to the Office of the Federal Register.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann sent the Office of the Federal Register a copy of the 1995 Senate bill and on Feb 7, Mississippi finally ratified the 13th Amendment.

"Now it's officially filed and recorded," Sullivan told the Clarion Ledger. "There's no asterisk by Mississippi any more."

"Mississippi gets a lot of bad press about this type of stuff and I just felt that it is something that should be fixed, and I saw every reason that could be done," Batra told ABC News.

"Everyone here would like to put this part of Mississippi's past behind us and move on into the 21st century rather than the 19th," he said.

Sullivan also remarked on the unlikely pairing of an immigrant from India and a life-long southerner working together to resolve the oversight.

"You have Dr. Batra, who is the immigrant and me who is the native-born, life-long resident of Mississippi, it was a unique pair," he said.

Defiant Iran announces uranium enrichment upgrade - India

13  feb  2013

Defiant Iran announces uranium enrichment upgrade

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Tehran: Iran on Wednesday announced an upgrade to its uranium enrichment machines, upping the ante even as UN experts were holding talks in Tehran on the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear drive.

The announcement comes despite a warning by Washington that an Iranian upgrade would violate UN resolutions and claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Tehran is moving closer to making a nuclear bomb.

Atomic Energy Organisation chief Fereydoon Abbasi Davani said new centrifuges with "a higher efficiency" were being installed at Iran's Natanz site, which uses the machines to enrich uranium gas by spinning it at supersonic speeds.

"The installation of new centrifuges at Natanz site started about a month ago... the process is ongoing," Abbasi Davani said in his announcement, which was reported by local media.

He did not reveal how many centrifuges were installed but said: "These centrifuges have a higher efficiency and are used specifically to enrich uranium to less than 5 percent, and not to 20 percent" -- the purity regarded as being a short step from that which is required to make a nuclear bomb.

Iran had indicated to the UN nuclear watchdog its intention to install the new generation equipment, according to a document seen by AFP at the end of January.

The International Atomic Energy Agency document said that Iran informed it in a letter dated January 23 that "centrifuge machines type IR2m will be used in Unit A-22" at the Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz.

The IAEA replied in a letter dated January 29 asking for more information on the announcement.

Two days later White House spokesman Jay Carney warned that Iran's plans to install more modern equipment at Natanz was a "further escalation" in the showdown over its atomic programme.

"The installation of new advanced centrifuges is a further escalation and a continuing violation ... of Iran's obligations under relevant United Nations Security Council and IAEA board resolutions," Carney said.

Netanyahu warned on Monday that Iran was now closer to crossing the "red line" after which it would be able to build a nuclear weapon. He also asked for "stronger pressure and harsher sanctions" against Tehran.

Abbasi Davani's statement Wednesday on the centrifuge update came as the UN experts were locked in talks in Tehran with a nuclear team led by Iran's IAEA envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh.

The visit by the IAEA inspectors is aimed at addressing international fears of a possible military dimension to Iran's nuclear drive and comes ahead of a new round of talks between Iran and six world powers in parallel diplomatic efforts in Kazakhstan on February 26.

The goal of the meeting in Tehran, the third of its kind in the past three months, is to finalise a "structured approach document", according to Herman Nackaerts, the IAEA's chief inspector who is leading the delegation to Tehran.

The document would "facilitate the resolution of the outstanding issues related to the possible military dimension of Iran's nuclear programme," Nackaerts told journalists before leaving Vienna on Tuesday.

But he said "differences remain" and that his delegation would work hard to resolve them. "We will have good negotiations."

The Vienna-based agency says "overall, credible" evidence exist that until 2003, and possibly since, Iran conducted nuclear weapons research.

Vehemently rejecting the charges, Iran has denied the IAEA broader access to sites, scientists and documents involved in these alleged military activities.

The IAEA is hoping to gain access to Parchin, a military base near Tehran where the agency suspects Iran could have carried out experiments with explosives capable of triggering a nuclear weapon.

But Abbasi Davani on Wednesday dented the prospects of such visit.

"A visit to Parchin or any other site is not on the agenda," he said, according to ISNA news agency.

"We will negotiate and hope to reach a rational framework," he said.

Previous demands by the IAEA to visit the base were spurned by Iran, which insists agency inspectors already visited Parchin twice in 2005 and found nothing untoward.

But the agency counters that activity at Parchin spotted by satellite, including moving "considerable" volumes of earth, makes it want to go back.

Iran has been slapped with multiple sets of UN Security Council sanctions for its refusal to stop uranium enrichment. The United States and the European Union have also imposed their own additional sanctions.

Another Narendra Modi election sweep, BJP wins - India

12  feb 2013

Another Narendra Modi sweep: with 24 Muslim candidates, BJP wins big

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

BJP celebrates its victory in Salaya

Ahmedabad: Narendra Modi's party may not be sure of whether to pick him as its prime ministerial candidate, but the Gujarat Chief Minister is depositing a series of endorsements for their consideration. He was re-elected in December for his fourth consecutive term as chief minister; the European Union confirmed last week that it has ended the boycott that began after the Gujarat riots of 2002; and on Tuesday, the BJP swept local elections held on Sunday, winning 47 of 75 municipal corporations across the state.

Headlining Tuesday's victory is the Salaya municipality in the Jamnagar district of Saurashtra, where 90 per cent of the population is Muslim. For the 27 seats at stake, the BJP put up 24 Muslim candidates, who were all successful. The Congress, which has won the town elections for decades, did not win a single seat.

In the state elections in December, Mr Modi had not fielded a single Muslim candidate, allowing the Congress to question his secularism. The BJP had countered that candidates were picked on the basis of whether they were likely to deliver constituencies.

In recent speeches, Mr Modi has attributed his popularity to what he calls "P2G2" - pro-people good governance. Tuesday's results prove that theory, his party said. "It's a reply to those who have been targeting the chief minister. It's not about religion or caste, it's about good governance. The people of Salaya have voted for good governance,'' commented BJP spokesman Jagdish Bhavsar.

The area has seen huge investment for a new power project and the modernization and expansion of its port in partnership with the Essar group.

Mahinda Rajapaksa prays at Tirupati temple, returns to Colombo - India

09   feb   2013

Mahinda Rajapaksa prays at Tirupati temple, returns to Colombo

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh): Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa returned to Colombo on Saturday after praying at the Lord Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati.

A few hours after praying at the temple, Mr Rajapaksa, his family and members of the Sri Lankan delegation flew to Colombo amid tight security.

His two-day visit had been marred by protests by Tamil groups who denounced the president for not granting autonomy to Tamil areas and for human rights violations.

Mr Rajapaksa, his wife Shiranthi and other family members had a 'darshan' of the resident deity early on Saturday. They also took part in the 'Suprabhatha Seva', a pre-dawn ritual, temple officials said.

After visiting the temple, he told the media that India was a democratic country and everyone had a right to protest.

"What can I do" This is a democratic country," he said, when asked about his reaction the protests.

Asked about alleged right violations in Sri Lanka, he said: "come and see for yourself what is happening there."

The president left the temple for Renigunta airport in a motorcade amid tight security and took off for Colombo in a special aircraft.

The road from Tirumala Hills to the airport was closed for traffic. Security was beefed up along the route.

The president arrived in this temple town on Friday evening.

There were no protests in the temple town on Saturday unlike Friday when a large number of Tamil activists from neighbouring Tamil Nadu tried to stall Mr Rajapaksa's visit.

Earlier, priests offered 'prasadam' and the silk 'vastram' of the presiding deity to Rajapaksa. Temple officials also presented him a memento of the presiding deity.

Officials of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the affairs of the famous temple, welcomed Mr Rajapaksa.

Though as a VIP he was entitled to the 'Mahadwaram' entry, he opted to enter the temple through the 'Vaikuntam' queue complex like a common devotee.

Mr Rajapaksa spent Friday night at TTD's Sri Padmavathi Guest House.

Teachers' recruitment scam: Om Prakash Chautala moves High Court against conviction - India

07  feb  2013

Teachers' recruitment scam: Om Prakash Chautala moves High Court against conviction

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

File photo

New Delhi: Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala today moved the Delhi High Court challenging his conviction and 10 years sentence for illegally recruiting 3,206 junior teachers 12 years ago.

Mr Chautala, 78-year-old chief of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), who was sent to Tihar Jail after his conviction, sought suspension of his jail term on the grounds that "he is unwell and suffering from various ailments".

While seeking urgent hearing of his appeal, he contended that the order of the trial court is liable to be set aside as "it was against the tenets of law as well as contrary to the evidence."

Further, he said, "The present case is false, fictitious and subsumed with political overtones" and he "ought not to be put to such great prejudice and hardship due to his conviction and incarceration during the pendency of the accompanying appeal", which is unlikely to be disposed of expeditiously.

"The trial court has failed to appreciate that in a democratic set up and under the principles of collective responsibility, it is the entire Council of Ministers which is responsible for a Cabinet decision and not any one Minister.

"In such a scenario, only singling out the appellant (Chautala) merely because he was the chief minister is unwarranted and erroneous. Further, it is a settled principle that in a Cabinet, the Chief Minister is only first among equals," the petition filed by advocate Siddharth Aggarwal said.

The INLD chief, his MLA son Ajay Chautala and 53 others including two IAS officers were convicted on January 16 by the trial court for illegally recruiting 3,206 junior basic trained (JBT) teachers in Haryana in 2000.

The senior Mr Chautala, who was held as the "main conspirator" of the scam by the court, was found guilty of cheating, forgery, using fake documents as genuine and conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and for abusing his official position under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Joint Parliamentary Committee examining 2G case may not call P Chidambaram - India

5  feb  2013

Joint Parliamentary Committee examining 2G case may not call P Chidambaram

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

File photo

New Delhi: Notwithstanding strong demand by BJP members for calling Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining 2G spectrum allocation scam is unlikely to call him or any other minister as witnesses.

The 30-member JPC, set up in March 2011, will have the last hearing of witnesses next week when CBI Director Ranjit Sinha and Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar are expected to appear.

JPC Chairman P C Chacko on Tuesday said that next week onwards, focus would shift to writing of the draft report, leaving no scope for calling any more witnesses.

The CBI chief has been asked to sum up before the panel its probe on February 12. On the same evening, the JPC will hear Mr Chandrasekhar to corroborate the evidence gathered by the panel so far.

"We will wrap up evidence gathering and start preparing the draft of the report," Mr Chacko told reporters here.

He said the plan is to submit the report to Parliament by March 31 so that it could be discussed during the second half of the Budget session.

BJP members had been demanding summoning of Mr Chidambaram before the JPC as he was the Finance Minister when the controversial 2G spectrum was allocated in 2008.

BJP members had even boycotted the JPC proceedings after their demand to call Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was shot down by Mr Chacko.

Mr Chacko had maintained that the demand to call Chidambaram could be met only if the committee had a unanimous opinion.

Congress members have been strongly opposing calling of Mr Chidambaram or the Prime Minister.

A Minister can be called by any parliamentary committee only after a nod by Lok Sabha Speaker, who can take a call only when there is a unanimous decision by the panel.

Kashmir all-girls band quit after threats - India

05  feb  2013

Can give security to all-girls band, but can't force them to play: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Srinagar: After an all-girls rock band in Kashmir has decided against live performances after death threats and hate mail on their Facebook page, across India, musicians, politicians and others are urging them not to give up. 

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told NDTV that he will offer security for the band, but that it is upto them to decide whether they want to play. After the head priest or Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad described the band as "un-Islamic", the chief minister tweeted," Given the importance the people attach to the fatwas of the Grand Mufti, the less said the better." He later deleted that post. When asked why, he told NDTV: "Once there is something on Twitter, even for a minute, it is forever. I put it and then deleted it after I got the reaction I wanted."

The chief minister also said that the mufti is not appointed or paid by the government. Explaining why he hasn't ordered his arrest, the chief minister said, "He hasn't actually threatened them, he just told them to stop," Mr Abdullah said, adding, "Were he to have threatened the security of the girls, then that would have been a different situation."

Pragaash (which means First Light) shot to prominence in December when the trio, who are all in school, won an annual "Battle of Bands" competition held in Srinagar, the state capital.

In recent weeks, the backlash has been unnerving for their families and the girls. Their manager, Adnan Matoo, who also runs musical academy Band Inn, said the teens broke down after seeing the abusive comments online.

Many others point out that Kashmir has a long tradition of women who write and sing poetry, starting with Lal Ded or Lalleshwari, the 14th century poet, whose verses or vaaks are a centrepiece of Kashmiri culture.

'Vishwaroopam' row settled: Kamal Haasan agrees to edit 7 scenes - India

2  feb 2013

'Vishwaroopam' row settled: Kamal Haasan agrees to edit 7 scenes

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Chennai: Actor-director Kamal Haasan has agreed to run seven scenes that Muslim groups had found objectionable in his movie Vishwaroopam without audio. This paves the way for the movie, which was banned for two weeks by the government, to be finally released in Tamil Nadu, its biggest market. The compromise deal came after a six-hour meeting on Saturday between Mr Haasan, government officials, and representatives of Muslim groups in Chennai.

Emerging from the meeting, Mr Haasan said, "I will let you know the date of the release soon," and thanked Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and the home secretary for facilitating the meeting. The chief minister had mooted conciliatory negotiations on Thursday.

Mr Hassan and his elder brother Chandra Hassan, who is also the co-producer of the movie, met with 13 representatives of various Muslim organisations in Chennai on Saturday. Sources say the protestors wanted 15 scenes in all to be audio edited. After tough negotiations, which were mediated by Home Secretary R Rajagopal, Mr Haasan agreed to edit seven scenes.

Mr Haasan said, "We will take back our petition and hope that the ban on the film would be lifted."

It will take some time though before the movie can be screened in the state. For starters, the state government will need to formally lift section 144, which it imposed in all 31 districts of the state along with the movie's ban last month. District collectors will have to be notified that the movie has been cleared for screening.

Mr Chandra Hassan told NDTV that the process of audio-editing and finalising the revised version of the film would take about six hours, after which digital reprints would be ready. But, the movie will now have to compete for screen time with two other big weekend releases - Mani Ratnam's Kadal and actor Vikram's David. Both are running to packed houses and have advance bookings for the next three days.

Mr Haasan has refused to reveal which portions of the movie will be edited. He said that a list identifying the audio edits would be sent to the censor board, which would formally declare them.

The Rs. 95-crore blockbuster, which has been cleared by the censor board, first ran into trouble in Tamil Nadu after some groups alleged that it portrayed Muslims in poor light. The state government put its release on hold for two weeks on January 23 citing law and order concerns. The order was upheld by the Madras High Court. Soon protests against the movie spread to neighbouring Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala and screenings of the movie were affected.

Meanwhile, the movie's Hindi version, Vishwaroop has been well-received in north India, barring some minor protests in Lucknow.