Calcutta, May 26 (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday termed as “unfortunate” the lynching of a Railway Protection Force constable by hawkers at Malda and said this was a result of Centre’s interference in law and order situation in the state.

Mamata told the Assembly that the Centre should have informed the state government about hawker eviction. The RPF did not inform the state about this as it is under the jurisdiction of the Railways.

An RPF personnel was stoned to death and three more were injured when angry hawkers allegedly attacked the RPF office in Malda station premises after one of them was barred from doing business.

Mamata said both hawkers and RPF had done wrong, but the problem that took place on Monday can be credited to the Centre for its interference in the law and order issue of the state.

The railway hawkers, she said, live in distress and their eviction should be carefully planned and executed and not in the abrupt manner seen Monday.

The incident took place after an RPF team asked a hawker not to sell wares at the entrance to the station, but as the hawker protested the personnel beat him up.

Stating that there was no role of state police in the incident, Mamata said proper negotiation was needed. They also need a rehabilitation package for sustaining their livelihood.

In this regard, she said that the state government was preparing a scheme for the railway hawkers.

It was a usual day for an IPL final. Yet another Mumbai-Chennai final, Eden Gardens as the venue, fans cheering more for Sachin Tendulkar in the dugout rather than on-field players.

But a girl stole the final single handedly by just making an appearance in the presentation party. For all those wondering who she was, her name is Rakhee Kapoor Tandon.

The Beauty in Blue smiled just once at the camera and the male hearts all around India stopped. She became an instant hit on all social media. Everyone wanted to know who she was.

Apparently, Rakhee isn’t just ‘one of those cute girls’. She is way more than that.

Rakhee is the daughter of Rana Kapoor, Founder & CEO of YES Bank. And she is possible heir to the fourth largest private sector bank in India. Apart from this, she has worked as an investment banker in the US and also holds a MBA degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Along with this, Rakhee is one of India’s 25 Most Influential Women, as per India Today magazine.

Ahmedabad, May 26 (PTI) ‘Delighted’ at Switzerland making public names of some Indians with Swiss accounts, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said this should provide enough indications of actions to follow for those holding unaccounted assets outside India.

“I have been repeatedly saying that the veil of secrecy with regard to assets and monies kept by Indian entities outside India is going to be lifted… This should give a sufficient indicator to those who hold assets outside India,” Jaitley said here.

The names of at least seven “Indian nationals” have been made public in Switzerland’s Federal Gazette with regard to details sought about them by the Indian authorities.

Some countries have already been cooperating and the world is moving in the direction of automatic exchange of information, Jaitley said, adding he was encouraged by Switzerland cooperating with India.

“From the last one year we have had extensive negotiations with the Swiss authorities. The Swiss authorities have been moving in the direction of cooperation. I am delighted that this cooperation would not have fructified on a better day than when our government completes its one year,” he said.

Industrialist Yash Birla, as also two Mumbai-based individuals behind City Limousines scam, are among the seven Indian nationals with Swiss bank accounts whose names have been made public in Switzerland’s official gazette with regard to ongoing tax probes against them in India.

The others are Gurjit Singh Kochar, son-in-law of late realty baron Ponty Chadha, a Delhi-based businesswoman Ritika Sharma, Sneh Lata Sawhney and Sangita Sawheny.

Among these, some details have already been shared by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) with India.

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) Nokia India today withdrew from Delhi High Court its plea seeking permission to urgently sell its mobile manufacturing unit in Chennai, which was frozen over a Rs-10,000 crore claim raised by the Income Tax department, saying the proposed buyer has backed out.

At the same time, Nokia and I-T department told the court that a report has been received from Ernst and Young India Pvt Ltd (EY) on valuation of the company’s assets.

As per the report, Rs 361 crore was the valuation of assets if they were to be sold as ‘on going concern’ (company not bankrupt) and Rs 417 crore if ‘non going concern’ (company has gone bankrupt), they said.

Nokia submitted before a bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva that it was withdrawing the plea seeking permission to urgently sell the unit as the proposed buyer has withdrawn.

It told the court that the buyer had offered it Rs 400 crore for the assets.

In response to Nokia’s submission, the court noted the proposed buyer had also offered a price that was in the same range as the valuation by EY.

The matter was listed today after the court had on May 19 agreed to give it an urgent hearing after Nokia said a buyer had been found for its Chennai unit.

Initially, the matter was listed for hearing on September 7.

EY was appointed by the court as the valuer for Nokia India’s Chennai mobile plant and its other assets.

The court had said that EY would do the valuation of the assets of the company on both ‘on going concern’ (company not bankrupt) and ‘non going concern’ (company has gone bankrupt) methods.

On April 24, the Income Tax department had told the court that the amount offered by an “arm’s length buyer” for Nokia India’s Chennai plant was “very little”.

An ‘arm’s length’ transaction is one in which the buyer and seller of a product act independently and have no relationship with each other to ensure that they act according to their self-interest and are not influenced by other party.

The I-T department had said that the offer amount was very little and if the unit and related assets were sold, it would be difficult to recover the tax amount which it has tentatively placed at Rs 10,000 crore.

New York, May 26 (PTI) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi- led government marks its first year in office today, American media has taken a critical view of his accomplishments, saying his flagship ‘Make in India’ drive is “so far mostly hype”, job growth remains sluggish amid “outsize expectations”.

“India’s Modi at One Year: ‘Euphoria Phase’ Is Over, Challenges Loom,” reads a headline in the Wall Street Journal of an article on Modi’s first year as Indian Prime Minister.

“A year after Indian voters handed Narendra Modi a once-in-a-generation mandate for change and economic revival, messy realities are sinking in,” the WSJ report said.

It said that Modi’s ‘Make in India’ drive, aimed at supercharging manufacturing growth, “is so far mostly hype”.

It cited economic parameters like exports to say that the “economy is merely limping along”.

Inflation-adjusted lending for capital investment last year fell to a level not seen since 2004, it said adding that exports were down for the fifth straight month in April, corporate earnings were dismal and foreign institutional investors have pulled around USD 2 billion out of Indian stocks and bonds in May so far.

The New York Times, in a news analysis, said Modi must face the reality that much of his agenda is still only potential.

“From abroad, India is now seen as a bright spot, expected to pass China this year to become the world’s fastest-growing large economy. But at home, job growth remains sluggish. Businesses are in wait-and-see mode. And Modi has political vulnerabilities, as parliamentary opposition leaders block two of his central reform initiatives and brand him ‘anti-poor’ and ‘anti-farmer’,” the NYT article titled ‘After a Year of Outsize Expectations, Modi Adjusts His Political Course for India’ said.

It said “most formidable of all is a problem” Modi has “made for himself: outsize expectations that he would sweep away constraints to growth in India, like stringent laws governing labour and land acquisition.

The NYT quoted senior vice president at leading Indian garment exporter Orient Craft’s Vimarsh Razdan as saying that the Modi government’s “image became larger than they themselves.

“They have become superheroes. And everyone knows superheroes don’t exist,” he said in the report.

The WSJ article said that while Modi has swaggered across stages from New York to Paris to Sydney, helping put the country back on investors’ maps, “on other key fronts, Modi has moved less decisively, frustrating investors who hoped for bolder change after last year’s election.”?

His government has avoided privatising state-run banks and companies, which could trigger unpopular job cuts.

Despite vows to improve India’s reputation for unpredictable tax collection, the government has hit investors with demands for back taxes they say they should not have to pay, it said.

The Gujjars had yesterday threatened to intensify the agitation, which has mainly remained confined to Bharatpur and Dausa, and spread it across the state.

Meanwhile, there was a deadlock over the venue of next round of talks between Gujjars and the government after one round held in Bayana ended in a failure.

The government had asked Gujjar representatives to come to Jaipur on Monday to discuss the issue at length but their leader Kirori Singh Bainsla is adamant on holding the talks in Bayana only, which is nearly 15 kms away from Pilukapura where the community members have blocked the railway tracks.
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“We will not go to Jaipur for the talks. We will hold talks in Bayana only. I have given a letter to the government for this,” Mr Bainsla told PTI.

The agitation, which was started on Thursday last week, would be called off only when the government fulfills the demand, he said.

“After discussion with our members, it was decided today to not go to Jaipur. We are open for the talks but we will not go to Jaipur, as proposed by the government, and any talk will take place in Bayana,” said Himmat Singh, spokesperson of the Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, yesterday.

District collector Ravi Jain said the Gujjars were being convinced to accept the government’s proposal to go to Jaipur.

“Jaipur is the right place to hold talks in detail and we are trying to persuade the Gujjars,” he said.

On the fifth day of the agitation, Delhi-Mumbai rail tracks in Bharatpur and a state highway in Sawaimadhopur continued to be blocked causing inconvenience to travellers.

Since the Gujjars relaunched their agitation after seven years on Thursday last, one round of talks took place on Saturday between the Gujjar leader Bainsla and a committee comprising Health minister Rajendra Rathore, Social Justice minister Arun Chaturvedi and Food minister Hem Singh Bhadana.

However, the meeting ended in a failure with Gujjars saying the government did not come up with any concrete proposal.

Himmat Singh, yesterday, alleged that the government was trying to build pressure on them. “My farmhouse in Dausa was today raided by several policemen. It is a pressure tactics used by the government,” he alleged.

Mr Bainsla, meanwhile, went to a hospital for a medical check up. The spokesperson said it was routine medical check up which was due.

Police have already booked Mr Bainsla and his supporters for rioting, sedition, damaging public property, endangering life, obstructing public way, criminal conspiracies in three cases lodged on May 21, the day when they started the agitation, and Sunday.

The state government once again asked the Gujjars to come to Jaipur for holding talks.

The committee of three ministers- Health minister Rajendra Rathore, Social Justice minister Arun Chaturvedi and Food and Civil Supply minister Hem Singh Bhadana met at the secretariat here and issued a fresh letter proposing the Gujjars to come to Jaipur, according to a government spokesperson.

Meanwhile, agitators captured Agra-Jaipur National Highway in Dausa again tonight and squatted there, forcing the authorities to divert the traffic through an alternate route.

“Gujjar protesters returned late in the evening and blocked the highway at Sikandra. The situation was tense in Sikandra but nothing violent happened. The agitators confronted the locals, who chased them away earlier in the day, but police force controlled the situation,” IG Jaipur, DC Jain told PTI.

Police, paramilitary forces have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order, he said, adding that the situation was tense but peaceful.

Mumbai, May 26 (PTI) The benchmark BSE Sensex today declined by another 112 points to close at over one-week low of 27,531.41 due to continued selling in heavyweights such as ITC, Tata Motors and Vedanta on muted earnings amid weakening rupee.

A cautious stance adopted by participants, who trimmed positions ahead of May derivatives expiry on Thursday, and absence of any positive trigger also dampened trading sentiments, brokers said.

At the forex market, the rupee was trading 42 paise down at Rs 63.99 against the American currency (intra-day).

Falling for the second day in a row, the 30-share Sensex closed down 112.47 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 27,531.41 — the lowest closing level since May 15. It touched a high of 27,675.94 and a low of 27,473.54 in day trade.

The 50-issue Nifty of NSE fell by 30.90 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 8,339.35 after hovering between 8,320.05 and 8,378.90 intra-day.

Vedanta Ltd plunged 2.33 per cent and was the biggest loser among Sensex scrips. ONGC fell sharply by 2.05 per cent.

Tata Motors fell by 1.60 per cent ahead of its January- March quarter earnings due later in the day.

ITC was down 1.05 per cent, sliding for the second session after disappointing earnings on Friday.

Sun Pharma, NTPC, Reliance, ICICI Bank, HDFC and Dr Reddy’s recorded losses up to 1.34 per cent.

FMCG major Nestle shares closed down 2.10 per cent after cracking over 6 per cent intra-day following reports that UP Food Safety and Drug Administration may file case against the company due to higher than permitted levels of lead and a food additive in Maggi noodles.

However, state-run BHEL emerged as top gainer among Sensex stocks by soaring 2.88 per cent even as it posted 52 per cent fall in net profit at Rs 888.35 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2015

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh continued to bear the brunt of intense heat wave that has been sweeping many parts of the country with as many as 149 people dying because of it in the state since yesterday, raising to nearly 700 the overall toll in various states.

Sweltering conditions persisted in Delhi as also other states like Telangana, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal with temperature hovering around 45 degree celsius in most of these places.

According to Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, Angul in Odisha recorded 47 degree, while Chandrapur and Wardha in Maharashtra witnessed 46.6 and 46.5 degrees, respectively.

Delhi recorded 45 degree celsius, 0.5 degrees less than yesterday which was the hottest day.

There could be some respite from the sweltering heat as some parts of north and south India are expected to experience thunder storm in next two days, thus bringing down the temperature by a few notches.

Kashmir Valley, on the other hand, is witnessing pleasant weather with maximum temperature around 22 degree celsius.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh saw the death of 149 people since yesterday, raising the toll in the state to 551. The number of deaths in the state till yesterday was 302.

The overall death toll in various parts of the country due to hot weather till yesterday stood at around 550 and with 149 more deaths since then, the number has gone up to 699.

The scorching weather claimed 104 lives in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh alone, Special Commissioner for Disaster Management Tulsi Rani said today.

Guntur was followed by East Godavari with 90 deaths, Vizianagaram with 84 deaths, Visakhapatnam 61 and Prakasam district 57, she told PTI. In other districts, the death toll varied between 8 and 36.

According to the Meteorological department, heatwave conditions will prevail in several parts of the state.

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) Yet another book has come out damming the previous UPA government with former TRAI Chairman Pradip Baijal alleging that the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had warned him of harm if he did not cooperate on 2G telecom licenses.

An accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, he also claimed that the CBI wanted him to “implicate” Arun Shourie and Ratan Tata in the case.

In his self-published book, “The Complete Story of Indian Reforms: 2G, Power and Private Enterprise – A Practitioner’s Diary’, Baijal, who was appointed head of the telecom watchdog by the NDA government in 2003, said the 2G scam trail began under UPA’s Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran regime.

“They (CBI) had warned me in each case that I would be harmed if I didn’t cooperate. Incidentally, this was exactly what the eminent economist Prime Minister had told me would happen if I did not cooperate in their scheme of things in the 2G case,” Baijal writes in an apparent reference to 2G case and disinvestment issues.

There were no immediate comments available from the former Prime Minister, while Baijal told PTI “I have said everything. It is 100 per cent correct and I have evidence to prove everything.”

This is the third book in last more than a year that has come to haunt Singh and his government about state of affairs during his regime. The first book was written by his aide and media advisor Sanjaya Baru and later by former coal secretary P C Parekh who is also an accused in the case relating to coal blocks allocation. .

New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has again extended the deadline for submitting bids for control of four airports, further delaying their privatisation process.

The private players can now submit their applications for short-listing till July 1, the AAI said today.

The AAI, which invited ‘Request for Qualification (RFQ)’ to handover the management, operations and development of the state-controlled airports in Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Jaipur last year, had earlier extended the date for submitting the bids from March 24 to May 26.

The government-run airports operator, however, did not specify the reason for extending the deadline further.

The AAI had last time pushed the date on the grounds that it wanted to sort out manpower related issues prior to transferring these airports, which have already seen a public investment of Rs 5,000 crore, to the domestic corporates.

“There are many issues. There are issues relating to human resources. A concerted decision has to be taken (on such issues). Whatever are the concerns of the employees, they have to be addressed,” Airports Authority of India chairman R K Srivastava had said, while justifying the decision to extend the deadline earlier.

AAI employees union, however, is opposed to privatisation on the ground handing over these airports, after the two highest revenue-generating airports in Delhi and Mumbai, to the private sector would not only recede AAI’s topline but also lead to massive lay-offs.

Domestic corporates including Tata and Adani groups, existing airport operators GMR and GVK groups as well as Siemens Postal Parcel and Airport Logistics Private Limited, International Business Development Flughafen, Zurich, Flemingo Duty Free Shop Pvt Ltd and Cochin International Airport have shown interest in the these airports following the RFQ.