AP: Case against Chiranjeevi for conducting road shows

A case has been registered against the Praja Rajyam party founder and actor Chiranjeevi for conducting road shows beyond 2200 hours at Narasaraopet town here, police said.

 

The party leader has been charged under section 188, (Disobedience of order as public servant), section 283 (obstruction in public way) and section 290 (punishment for public nuisance) of the IPC and Andhra Pradesh Police Act, they said.

 

The case was registered following a PIL filed in the Andhra Pradesh High Court on December 25 for conducting road shows in the town.

 

Chiranjeevi was advised not to conduct road shows beyond 2200 hours and not to obstruct traffic on the public roads in the state.

India: Job prospects bleak in next 3 months

Job prospects are going from bad to worse as majority of job consultants in a survey projected a bleak outlook for the next three months.

 

“Eighty-four per cent job consultants turned negative on the outlook for the short term (three months), significantly up from 16 per cent earlier,” financial services provider Edelweiss Capital said in a note citing its pan-India survey.

 

The survey interviewed 80 recruitment agencies in National Capital Region, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore covering four industry sectors, including information technology and IT enabled services (ITeS), banking, financial services and insurance, and others.

 

While 84 per cent of the total respondents expect hiring to slow down over the next three months, there has been a marginal positive shift witnessed in case of outlook over the next one year, the survey observed.

 

Fifty-three per cent of consultants expect the situation to stabilise over the next one year.

 

“Sixteen per cent of the consultants have changed their outlook on recruitment from negative to stable over the next one year,” the survey said.

 

It pointed out that 93 per cent of the respondents believe recruitment has decreased in the past three months and the number of unemployed has increased in the same period.

 

“The bleak job outlook will keep property demand subdued  weak job generation is likely to keep demand for homes and offices subdued,” the survey noted.

 

However, ITeS sector emerged as the most optimistic sector throughout India where all the consultants expect recruitment outlook to stabilise in a year’s time, keeping the residential demand from this segment upbeat.

Kasab’s mother to come to India to visit him

The mother of Ajmal Kasab , the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai terror attack case, is coming to India to meet him, as the stage is set for the start of the trial of the Pakistani national in Mumbai on Wednesday.

 

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee referred to the visit of  Kasab’s  mother while stressing that Pakistan should not delay investigations on the pretext of clarifications, a day after Islamabad sought more specific information from New Delhi on its probe into the Mumbai attacks.

 

Kasab is currently lodged in a high security central prison in Arthur road in Mumbai.

 

Mukherjee told media persons in Jangipur in West Bengal that it was a reality that many people were killed in the Mumbai attacks, one terrorist had been arrested and that he had made certain confessions.

 

His mother was also coming to Mumbai to meet him, he said. “These are the realities. These are the facts. If somebody wants to evade and avoid these facts, what can we do?” he asked.

 

“The matter should not be delayed on this or that issue, or on this or that clarification. We are prepared to give them any information that they want, provided we have the information,” Mukherjee said.

AP may decide who rules the country

Andhra Pradesh may emerge as the key state which will determine the outcome of the Lok Sabha election and decide who will rule from Delhi. This is not the first time that the southern state will play a crucial role in government formation in Delhi.

 

It all began in 1989 with the then chief minister N T Rama Rao helped form the National Front to provide an alternative government to the Congress. In the wake of the Bofors scam, he forced the en masse resignation of 106 opposition MPs. Though he himself lost power in the assembly election in 1989 and his party’s strength was reduced to two seats in the Lok Sabha, NTR anointed V P Singh  as the National Front prime minister with the support of both the Bharatiya Janata Party and Left Front. It is another matter that the NF experiment lasted a year, eventually leading to mid-term polls in 1991.

 

In the 1991 election, that were overshadowed by Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the Congress managed 25 Lok Sabha seats in AP. P V Narasimha Rao, who emerged as a consensus candidate for taking over the Congress leadership, became the first Telugu leader to ascend the prime minister’s gaddi. He headed a minority government, but successfully completed the five-year term. But the Congress fortunes plummeted in the backdrop of the Babri Masjid demolition and the hawala scam.

 

After the 1996 general election, the Telugu Desam Party, led by then chief mnister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, took the initiative in installing the United Front government under H D Deve Gowda’s stewardship with the ‘outside’ support of the Congress. Naidu played the kingmaker as convener of the United Front which saw two prime ministers, including Inder Kumar Gujral, in two years. Then Congress president Sitaram Kesri forced another mid-term poll on the country when he pulled out Congress support for the government.

 

The TDP went to the polls with the Left parties in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. But, post-poll, Chandrababu Naidu quietly dumped the United Front and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. On the strength of the 12-member TDP’s letter of support, the then President K R Narayanan invited Atal Bihari Vajpayee to form the government. Naidu once again played the kingmaker role under the NDA dispensation.

 

When withdrawal of support by J Jayalalithaa’s All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam resulted in snap Lok Sabha polls in 1999, the TDP-BJP alliance bagged 36 seats from AP and helped the NDA retain power in Delhi. The NDA, thus, enjoyed power at the Centre for six years, thanks mainly to the TDP’s pivotal support from ‘outside.’

 

Naidu prematurely dissolved the AP assembly in 2003 and the NDA too advanced the general elections in 2004 to cash in on the so-called ‘India Shinning’ factor.

 

However, the Congress-led alliance swept the 2004 polls in AP and their 37 MPs from the state allowed the United Progressive Alliance to wrest power from the NDA. The reverses suffered by TDP-BJP alliance in AP could be attributed to the anti-incumbency wave against the Naidu regime and total failure of India Shining campaign of the BJP. Soon, the TDP and BJP parted company and Naidu left the NDA.

 

Much water has flowed down the Krishna and Godavari rivers since the Congress regained power in AP and the UPA came to power at the Centre. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti broke its alliance with the Congress and pulled out of the UPA in protest against the Congress failure to deliver on its promise to carve out a separate Telangana state. The Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India-Marxist, too, deserted the Congress and launched a virulent campaign against its ‘misrule’.

 

In this scenario, AP goes to the 2009 general elections with completely altered political equations compared to 2004. The Congress is fighting these polls single-handedly. The TDP, TRS, CPI and CPI-M have come together under a Grand Alliance with the avowed aim of dislodging the Congress from power here and in Delhi. Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi’s  newly-launched Praja Rajyam Party is contesting its maiden election on the plank of ’social justice.’ A totally isolated BJP is waging a solo battle against all odds.

 

The 2009 election assumes importance for several reasons. For the third time in two decades, the Lok Sabha polls in AP coincide with assembly elections. In the 1989 simultaneous elections, the Congress wrested power from the TDP led by the legendary NTR and drastically reduced its tally to just two seats in Lok Sabha. In the 1999 simultaneous polls, the TDP-BJP alliance retained power in the state and at the Centre. In the 2004 simultaneous polls, the Congress turned the tables on both the TDP and NDA.

 

Incidentally, for the seventh time in three decades, the state is poised to witness triangular contests. In the 1978 assembly election, the Congress foiled a serious bid by the Janata Party and wrested power from the Reddy Congress led by then chief minister Jalagam Vengal Rao. In the 1994 assembly polls, the TDP-Left alliance trounced the Congress while the BJP finished a poor third.

 

In the 1980 Lok Sabha election, the Congress made a clean sweep and the two factions of the Janata Party failed to open their account. Similarly, in the 1991 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress bagged a majority of seats in a triangular fight with the TDP alliance and the BJP.

 

In 1996, the polls were four-cornered with the Congress and the TDP beating their rivals the NTR-TDP led by NTR’s second wife Lakshmi Parvati and the BJP. Again, in 1998, the Congress trounced both the TDP-led alliance and the BJP in a triangular fight. However, in these polls, the BJP emerged as a ‘third force’ in state politics by polling 18.3 percent of the total votes and winning four Lok Sabha seats.

 

In the 2009 election, the Congress is making a determined bid to retain power both at the state and Centre. The TDP-led four-party alliance is engaged in a no-holds-barred battle to trounce the Congress. The PRP, which has been strengthened with the merger of the Nava Telangana Party of former state home minister T Devender Goud, hopes to beat both the Congress and the Grand Alliance. The BJP is testing the waters by fielding candidates in all assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.

 

Understandably, all the three main contenders for power are making tall claims. AP Chief Minister and Congress strongman Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy exudes confidence about the Congress retaining power. He predicts 36 Lok Sabha seats and 234 assembly seats for the ruling party. On the other hand, TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu is cocksure about the Grand Alliance sweeping these polls to put TDP into the saddle in the state and to bolster the prospects of the Third Front to lay claim to power at the Centre.

 

PRP founder Chiranjeevi is also confident about his party’s prospects of storming into power in the state and playing a key role in installing a ’secular coalition government’ at the Centre. Chiranjeevi has, however, revised downwards the number of seats that his party expects to win. Notwithstanding its nationwide prospects, the BJP should be lucky to open its account in these polls.

 

It is too early to assess the prospects of the three main contenders vis-a-vis one another, but the broad indications from the ground reveal that all is not lost for the Congress with very weak signs of anti-incumbency, while the Grand Alliance and the PRP will have to strive very hard to pose a formidable challenge. Dr Reddy already claims the ‘gold medal’ for the Congress and says that the Grand Alliance and the PRP are fighting only for the ’silver and bronze medals’.

Miss Oops Pedicure in a Bottle

Miss Oops Pedicure in a Bottle Are your heels constantly snagging your hose?  Could builders use your feet to sand furniture? Well if you don’t have time for that pampered pedicure pick me up. Miss Oops Pedicure In  A Bottle saves the day. This all-in-one treatment exfoliates, smoothes, and hydrates rough tootsies. One generous dollop of its shea butter, salicyclic acid, peppermint, menthol, and lavender formulas gives a silky, not slippery-greasy feel.

 

Directions: Apply twice a day until you an no longer sand furniture with your feet. Then apply as needed.

5,000 employees quit Satyam since Sept

Mumbai:Fraud-hit Satyam Computer, which will soon have a new owner in Tech Mahindra, has lost about 5,000 employees during September-March period of the past fiscal.

 

“At the end of Q4, the company employee strength was 48,000. Out of these, 43,500 were employees of Satyam Computer stand-alone, and the rest is subsidiaries, contractors and sub-contractors,” Chairman of the government-appointed board of Satyam Kiran Karnik said after announcing the highest bidder for acquiring 31 per cent in the IT company.

 

However he added that at the end of second quarter, Satyam had 53,000 employees.

 

“In Q3, about 2,000 associates left Satyam making it 51,000. When the government nominated board took stock of things, it was 51,000 comprising of 45,000 Satyam’s stand-alone employees and the remaining from subsidiaries, contractors and sub-contractors,” he added.

Future of MFs is in smaller cities: Birla MF CEO

MUMBAI: Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has retained its number 5 position among the top five fund houses, though its corpus declined by 3 per cent to Anil Kumar, CEO, Birla MF Rs 47,096.23 crore as at end March. Birla MF is working on schemes that will act as a hedge to the market volatility and safeguard investors against capital erosion. ET spoke to Chief Executive Officer Anil Kumar to know more. Before shifting to Birla MF, Kumar was global head of Citibank’s NRI business last three years. He is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and NIT Warangal.

 

Excerpts from the interview:

 

Q. What is your road map for the future in these troubled times?

 

A. We will continue our focus in launching innovative products capable of hedging against volatility in the market. We are looking at re-launching old schemes on similar lines, and are exploring the possibility of launching arbitrage and exchange traded funds.

 

We have consistent policy of declaring dividend in our schemes. Whenever we have surplus income, we will keep declaring dividend. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief ’96 declared 50 per cent dividend in 2008-09 despite these troubled market times. It was 200 per cent dividend in 2007-08.

 

Q. What do you give priority in running your AMC?

 

A. We give top priority to portfolio quality and security, size of fund corpus and ultimately our brand image. Identifying customer needs at the right time is a crucial aspect. Recession helped big fund houses to prove their worth in this respect.

 

Anticipating effects from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, we launched a short term debt fund that would invest in commercial deposits and commercial papers of PSU banks in the third week of September 2008. By October, it managed to raise Rs 3,800 crore from all classes of investors despite the economic turmoil.

 

Q. What prospects do you see for sustainability of the MF industry in India?

 

A. MF industry is in a “sweet spot” in India but it has a long way to go, as penetration is still very low. However, the market potential is huge. Only 5-6 per cent of household deposits in India find their way to MFs, which is lower than even the BRIC countries.

 

In the last five years, the industry has been growing at CAGR of 35 per cent. The future of the MF industry lies in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. The rate of deposits in these cities is proportionately higher, irrespective of market condition. Tapping this source will help MF grow manifold.

 

Further, opening up of the pension funds will help increase mutual funds reach. As a fund house, we will be looking at these new avenues to expand our product kitty.

 

Q. What are the product offerings you plan for smaller cities?

 

A. We are mostly promoting systematic investment plans through different equity schemes. We are also selling balance fund and debt schemes. We approach investors with two-pronged communication: 1) invest with 3-5 year time horizon 2) diversify your asset allocation with a mix of equity, balance and debt schemes.

 

Q. What sectors are you looking at for investment growth?

 

A. We look at sectors from a long term perspective. Infrastructure, FMCG and capital are three good sectors to look at. Realty, though currently going through a correction phase, has huge potential as there will be huge demand for housing in the long run due rising urban migration.

 

Q. Is the recently market rally indicative of a recovery?

 

A. It is difficult to take a definite call on this. Any negative global cue and uncertainty over general elections can play spoilsport. With sectors like steel, auto and cement showing signs of improvement, we however see revival/stability of economy by last quarter of the current calendar year.

 

Q. Can the MF industry, along with insurance companies, be an alternative to FII dominance in driving equity indices?

 

A. MFs and insurance companies are growing at a much faster pace. There is scope for further growth given the large untapped market space. During Q3 of FY 2008-09, MFs were sitting on cash of around Rs 15,000-20,000 crores. Had the same amount been invested in equities, it could have diluted FII impact. Larger participation by domestic institutions can definitely counter FII impact.

Bad mood helps us focus more, recall better

Bad mood helps us focus more, recall better People grumbling their way through the grimness of winter have better recall than those enjoying a carefree, sunny day, Australian researchers have found.

 

The University of New South Wales team used a Sydney news agency to test whether people’s moods had an impact on their ability to remember small details.

 

Researchers placed 10 small items on the shop counter, including a toy cannon, red bus and a piggy bank, and quizzed shoppers about what they remembered seeing upon their exit.

 

Lead researcher Joseph Forgas said subjects were able to remember three times as many items on cold, windy, rainy days when there was sombre classical music playing as they were when conditions were sunny and bright.

 

Rainy-day shoppers were also less likely to have false memories of objects that weren’t there, said Forgas.

 

“We predicted and found that weather-induced negative mood improved memory accuracy,” he wrote in the study, which was published in the latest edition of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. “Shoppers in a negative mood showed better memory and higher discrimination ability.”

 

Forgas said a worse mood helped to focus people’s attention on their surroundings and led to a more thorough and careful thinking style, while happiness tended to reduce focus and increase both confidence and forgetfulness.

 

“This finding suggests that some allowance for such mood effects could be incorporated in applied domains such as legal, forensic, counselling and clinical practice,” he said.

Supreme Court defers Varun Gandhi’s plea

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday deferred a petition filed by Varun Gandhi challenging the slapping of National Security Act (NSA) by the UP government had invoked NSA against Varun Gandhi for his alleged hate speeches.

 

Uttar Pradesh government against him for his alleged hate speeches.

 

Varun Gandhi’s plea will now be heard on April 16. Meanwhile, the apex court has asked him to submit an undertaking stating he will not make provocative speeches during his campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

 

The matter will be heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, which on April 2 had issued notices to the state government and the district magistrate of Pilibhit on the allegation by Varun that NSA was invoked against him with a political motive to sabotage his electoral debut.

 

However, the Uttar Pradesh government has refuted the allegations of the 29-year-old BJP leader, saying NSA was invoked against him for his communal speeches and the chaos created by him while surrendering before a court in Pilibhit in connection with the cases registered against him.

 

In its 35-page response to the notice issued by the apex court, the state government said the inflammatory statement by Varun and the manner in which he surrendered on March 28 amounted to breach of public order, warranting invocation of the NSA against him.

 

Varun has challenged his detention under NSA for his alleged hate speeches in Pilibhit last month. He was taken to the Pilibhit district jail and later shifted to Etah jail for security reasons.

 

Varun has claimed that the district magistrate passed the order of invoking NSA without any authority and he was not supplied with the material which formed the basis for such an action.

 

However, the state government contended that there was no need for the authority to supply entire material, including the CDs of the speeches and events, relating to Varun’s surrender for booking him under NSA.

 

It denied the allegation that NSA was imposed against him with any political motive or to sabotage his electoral debut.

 

The petition filed on behalf of Varun says that “the entire attempt is a combined effort of the District Magistrate of Pilibhit and Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that he is not able to contest and campaign for general elections so as to sabotage his electoral debut.”

 

The BJP leader has sought quashing of the District Magistrate’s order invoking section 3(2) of NSA for allegedly making inflammatory statements and causing a breach of public order when he went to Pilibhit to surrender.

 

Varun has also alleged that he was detained under NSA as there was apprehension to Uttar Pradesh government that he will be released on bail in the cases registered against him for the hate speeches.

 

He claimed that there was a breach of peace on the day of his surrender due to brutality and excesses by the police.