New govt revitalizes Goa highway project

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  Four-Laning Put On NHAI Priority List A week is not yet up since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet assumed office and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already put on its immediate agenda for land acquisition and widening work four stretches of the accident-prone MumbaiGoa highway where a fourlaning project has faced starting trouble. These four stretches together make up 371 km from Indapur to Zara. "We got a call from NHAI saying that acquisition process was being taken to the official and legal paperwork stage to release funds for compensation and construction work," an official linked with the project said. The man in the Cabinet with the transport & highways portfolio is Nitin Gadkari, the brains behind the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Officials said road work on the Goa highway would begin after a year and take at least three years to complete. National Highway 17, as it is officially called, is largely a two-lane affair without dividers and has seen the most accidents and deaths in the state in recent years. An official with the PWD said nods would be required from railways, forest and electricity departments. Once the highway is widened, the one-way toll might be Rs 350 to 400 for a car. Other pending issues are restriction on expansion along the Karnala bird sanctuary, Indapur villagers' flyover demand, and nonperforming contractors.

Govt moves to hike def FDI up to 100%



POLITICS & POLICY: Modi Sets Agenda, Considers Bold Moves To Attract Investments Norms For Rlys, E-Commerce, Construction Set To Be Eased

Within two days of taking charge, the Narendra Modi government has begun work on allowing up to 100% foreign investment in defence production, in a bid to send a strong signal to global investors as well as to try and move the pro duction base of some equipment into the country .

The commerce & industry ministry has circulated a cabinet note seeking comments from other government agencies, sources familiar with the development told TOI.

The ministry is also readying other proposals to allow FDI in sectors such as railways, where the list of areas where investment will be allowed is being expanded, according to sources. Earlier, the government had planned to allow FDI in highspeed train systems, suburban corridors, high-speed tracks and freight lines connecting ports and mines.

Similarly , there is a proposal to ease FDI norms in construction.

On Tuesday , Arun Jaitley had spoken of the government's intent to hike the FDI cap in the sector to 100% from 26% at present--a move that has been resisted by the defence ministry for years.

With Jaitley holding both the finance and defence portfolios, opposition may be muted this time. In any case, during his election campaign Modi had announced his support for greater private participation in the defence sector.

The commerce & industry ministry has suggested a graded foreign investment ceiling.
It has suggested a cap of 49% for companies that do not transfer technology , while in ventures where the foreign partner is willing to transfer knowhow, the government intends to allow up to 74% FDI.

There will be no cap (100% FDI) for companies engaged in manufacturing state-of-theart equipment and machinery or those undertaking modernisation projects.

Proposals via FIPB, P 22 Govt open to AI selloff, says Raju D ecrying the state of Air India, aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Thursday said the government was "not closed to any idea", including privatization, adding that it was not possible to meet all the commitments of the UPA. P 21 Rajnath hints at Aadhaar-NPR merger R ajnath Singh, who took charge as home minister on Thursday, has hinted at the possible merger of the National Population Register (NPR) exercise and Aadhaar. Singh is said to have sought suggestions on how the two could be made "complementary". P 11 & 21 Times View T his paper wholeheartedly endorses Prime Minister Modi's priorities: education, health, water, energy and roads; promoting transparency through e-auctions; infrastructure and investment reforms; empowering the bureaucracy; people-centric governance; stable, consistent policies and their time-bound implementation. We have, in innumerable Times Views over the years, sought exactly the same things from government. Converting vision into practice won't be easy, but the first few days of this government give us hope.

Infosys set to get its first external CEO

Infosys looks set to get its first external CEO in its 33-year history .

Board member and Infy president B G Srinivas, who many believed would be the next CEO--and the first non-founder CEO--of India's second-largest IT company , will leave effective June 10.

Srinivas clearly had realized he was no longer in the running for the post that will become vacant by January 2015 when incumbent Shibulal retires. Sources said chairman N R Narayana Murthy met Srinivas in London earlier this week with the results of an evaluation of `inhouse' candidates. Executive search firm Egon Zehnder is helping the $8-billion company identify an external slate of candidates.





REALTY CHECK Developers take freeway route to sell their projects

Mumbai: Developers launching projects are using the Eastern Freeway as a marketing tool by highlighting the reduced commuting time to South Mumbai. 

    With property prices in areas like Chembur increasing by 25% over the last two years, a report says areas closest to the freeway's entry and exit ramps will emerge as stronger locations. 
    These are the Anik, Chembur-Mankhurd Link Road and Panjrapol Link Road areas, said global property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle India (JLLI) in its report 'Eastern Freeway – The Latest Game-Changer For Mumbai Real Estate'. 
    With the development potential of Mumbai's western suburbs almost fully exploited, the eastern suburbs are witnessing increased momentum in new development where land parcels are still available and prices more affordable. The 16.8-km freeway that connects P D'Mello Road in South Mumbai to the Eastern Express Highway at Ghatkopar has sprung into sharp focus with developers. 
    "The implications in terms of demand, supply and price are considerable. We have seen a steady increase in inquiries for residential and commercial spaces close to the freeway's entry and exit ramps, and developers have begun marketing projects with an emphasis on their proximity to this key arterial route,'' said Ramesh Nair, COO-operations (JLLI). 
    Chembur's property prices have risen by 25% over the past two years primarily because of its proximity to the freeway. Siddarth Kapoor, who resides near Diamond Garden, Chembur, said his daily commute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in South Mumbai is a dream. "It takes me under 25 minutes to reach in the morning,'' he said. 
    Kanjurmarg, Kurla, Powai and Ghatkopar saw residential property prices increase by 32%, 29%, 27% and 23% respectively in 2012. The report said this year-on-year increase in prices is also attributable to increase in superior projects with innovative concepts in these areas. LBS Marg has seen the arrival of luxury hotels. 
    The completion of the Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road is also expected to lead to 
more traffic coming in from the north of the secondary business district of the Bandra-Kurla Complex. "This will trigger a fresh spate of development in catchment areas surrounding the alternate route to the central business district,'' it said. 
    The report said there will be further eastward movement of real estate development into locations like Sewri. "But areas closest to the freeway's entry and exit ramps—specifically Orange Gate, Anik Junction, Chembur-Mankhurd Link Road and Panjarpol Link Road—will emerge as stronger locations. Thanks to the new impetus, real estate markets in these areas, which see high residential property absorption, will also see greater demand and consequently upward pricing momentum,'' it added. 
    "In the long-term, certain land parcels held by the Mumbai Port Trust could be released for development. If and when this happens, the freeway's presence will ensure these parcels will attract considerable premium. Many industrial units in catchment areas of the freeway may move out, augmenting supply of prime property for commercial and residential development along the freeway,'' said Nair. 
THE EAST-WEST DIVIDE 
    South Mumbai may witness a small jump in absorption, considering improved accessibility 
    Nearly 35,000 vehicles use the Eastern Freeway each day 
    Central Mumbai will witness acceleration in supply and absorption, and a moderate jump in rental/ capital values 
    BKC will see a moderate impact, which could improve once the Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road comes up 
    Andheri will show, if at all, a mild negative impact as the eastern suburbs will now compete with it as an option for real estate 
    The western suburbs will largely remain unaffected by the freeway, but the contrast between the eastern suburbs--where many infrastructure projects are being undertaken--and the crowded western suburbs may become more pronounced, resulting in price pressure in the western suburbs 
    The eastern suburbs will see maximum impact, with a sizeable increase in supply, absorption and rental/capital values across segments

The Verdict and After New govt may take up bills UPA-II failed to get passed

NewDelhi:The Narendra Modi government may well corner credit for key anti-graft and pro-governance bills that UPAII failed to pass despite a lastminute bid to push the legislations through. 

    Modi will take a call on the UPA-II' s unfinished agenda, with cabinet secretary Ajit Seth asking ministries to compile a list of ordinances, pending and lapsed bills that would be put up before the new government. 
    The bills include anti-corruption and public service measures the Manmohan Singh government had, under Rahul Gandhi's prodding, tried to 
legislate. RBI relaxes gold curbs, prices to fall 
    Relaxing rules for importing gold, the RBI has allowed star/premier trading houses to bring in the metal for sale in the domestic market. The move has started showing results: in city, gold was around Rs 28,300/10 gm on Wednesday night, down from Rs 28,800 at 5pm. P 19 Modi panel report on inflation dug out 
    Narendra Modi's shift to the Centre has prodded the central bureaucracy to pull out a three-year-old report on taming food inflation by a panel he headed from cold storage. Inflation has been identified as one of the new government's priorities. P 9 Some bills can be improved, some junked 
    In a communication to secretaries, Seth said, "Ministers/departments may in all such cases take a view in the matter with the approval of the new minister-incharge as soon as the new government is sworn in." 
    Seth has advised ministries that they can frame "suitable proposals for consideration of the Cabinet after requisite interministerial consultations" once it becomes clear whether the bills are to be dropped, altered or retained. 
    The BJP seems inclined to review the bills. "Some of the bills can be improved. Some of the Acts that have been passed can be amended and some pending bills may not be priority any more," a senior BJP leader said. 
    The bills present an opportunity for the new government, as they have been framed by the Congress-led UPA and the former ruling party would ordinarily not oppose their passage. This should help NDA as it lacks numbers in the upper House. 
    Bills seeking to amend the prevention of corruption act, judicial appointments, right to services and introduction of auctions in mining contracts are among 60 pending and 68 lapsed bills.Secretaries have been asked to discuss the bills with new ministers to get a view if they are to be pursued in their present form or if changes are required to be carried out. 
    The note, brought out in the form of an office memorandum of the Cabinet Secretariat, also said that a similar view will also need to be taken about ordinances promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee. "These will now be required to be placed for consideration of the Cabinet", said the note. 
    The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill and the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2013 were introduced in the RS the UPA-II government. 
    The Bills, which are lapsed due to dissolution of the 15^th Lok Sabha, include the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill and the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill.

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK RURAL DEVELOPMENT Work for rural development & make a living too

Mumbai: Has compassion or consideration for the needy been put on the backburner by the thought of earning your daily bread? A career in the rural development sector is now rewarded with adequate compensation to sustain the zeal. 

    "The time is always be right to work for social good but with the CSR clause in the new Companies Act, employment opportunities have increased manifold in 
the development sector. A quick search on Linkedin will show that several companies are looking for candidates who understand the rural market. ," said Sahej Mantri, manager (alliances) at Hopemonkey.org, a nonprofit organization involved in fund raising. 
STARTING OUT 
    Social work or rural development as a discipline is available in many universities and institutes, both at the graduate and postgraduate levels. Specialization in post-graduation could include topics like human resource management, criminology and correctional administration, medical and psychiatric social work, family and child welfare, rural and urban community development, and schools social work. 
    However professionals say lack of a formal background in social work may not be a hindrance. "You can learn the working of the industry through internships and volunteer work. Once you have been in the field for some time you gain understanding about the beneficiaries to work towards their good," said Mantri. 
CAREER PROSPECTS 
    The job would involve working to provide solutions for people's social, economic and emotional problems through counseling, arranging conferences, increasing resources, spreading public awareness and starting social programmes and health services. Opportunities in the development sector are varied, which can range from working in various developmental projects of the government to working for NGOs and international organisations. 
HEART OF INDIA 
College of Social Work, Mumbai 
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai 
Institute of Rural Management, Anand 
Jamia Millia Islamia, Faculty of Social Sciences, New Delhi

RSS Says It Won’t Exercise Remote Control As Process Of Ministry Formation Gathers Steam

Modi set to get free hand in both govt and party

Sulking Seniors Won't Get Help From Nagpur

New Delhi: Amid fierce lobbying for ministerial berths by BJP aspirants, the RSS on Sunday claimed that it would not interfere with government formation, in a clear signal that Narendra Modi has a free hand in picking his team and anxious seniors must settle their claims with the PM-elect rather than bank on the Sangh to intercede on their behalf. 
    Articulating the RSS position, Sangh leader Ram Madhav said, "The Sangh has not given any guidelines to the BJP or Modiji after the historic victory in the elections. The RSS never keeps any remote control to perform any role in politics and government." 
    However, Madhav said the Sangh may give suggestions, and expects the government to be sensitive to the Parivar's ideological orientation. "People's representatives who won the Lok Sabha polls are aware of the Sangh's ideology and they know how to do work and take forward its ideology. There is no way the RSS will interfere in government functioning and politics," he said. 
    The Sangh's "clarification" came even as BJP leaders, including Ananth Kumar, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Harsh Vardhan, were seen at the RSS's Delhi headquarters amid hectic lobbying for ministerial berths ahead of Modi being sworn in as prime minister. 
BUSY SUNDAY 
FLURRY OF CALLS, MEETINGS AHEAD OF FINALIZATION OF CABINET, WHICH MAY 
BE SWORN IN ON MAY 24 
    Ministerial hopefuls from Karnataka Ananth Kumar, BSY meet Narendra Modi. Kumar meets Rajnath Singh too 
    Modi meets Amit Shah, BJP gen secy Jagat Prakash Nadda 
and Bihar in-charge 
Dharmendra Pradhan 
    Around 12.15pm, Modi drives to L K Advani's house, meets for over 40 minutes 
    Ram Vilas Paswan and family call on Modi, as does Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje 
    Rajnath meets Arun Jaitley, Amit Shah and RSS point man in BJP Ram Lal 
    BJP leaders Venkaiah Naidu, Kalraj Mishra, Gopinath Munde, Harsh Vardhan & Rajiv Pratap Rudy meet RSS leaders at Jhandewalan office LK may not be considered for Speaker post 
New Delhi: Acknowledging speculation that the RSS will have a big role in the BJP's affairs, particularly as it threw its might behind the Modi campaign, Sangh leader Ram Madhav told the media in Jaipur: "This is common cause of concern for people, especially the Congress which wants to know what the RSS will do next…The same question was posed to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to which the former PM replied that he himself was a direct remote control." 
    The stand and its articulation in public is seen as significant in view of the estimate, as reported by TOI last week, that finding slots for the veteran duo of L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi may be problematic in view of their stature and might require intervention by the RSS. 
    The presence of senior RSS leaders, except its chief Mohanrao Bhagwat, in Delhi, has led many to believe that the parent saffron outfit may be willing to umpire differences over the choice of portfolios, especially the seniors. 
    Madhav's statement was meant to dispel the perception and drive home the fact that Modi's call on portfolios would be final. In the light of the RSS stance, seniors like Advani and Joshi may have to go along with the consensus within the party's top ranks. The party does not seem inclined to consider Advani for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post. The view that Modi will be free to choose his Cabinet and decide on the claims of leaders to portfolios was echoed by senior BJP sources who said all decisions will have to be taken on party forums. 
    The scale of the BJP's mandate of 282 seats in the Lok Sabha and the NDA's tally of 336 MPs seems to have effectively sealed any possibility of Modi's authority being challenged, besides limiting jockeying within the party. Sources said the RSS position that it will be available "only for consultation" suits the temperament of Bhagwat, claiming that contrary to the allegations, he does not believe in micro-managing the BJP. In fact, after being in Delhi on Thursday, Bhagwat left on a prescheduled tour of south India and is due to be in Delhi only towards the end of June. 
    The RSS chief is understood to be keen that the Sangh turn its attention back to its organizational activities after having been part of a campaign aimed at boosting the turnout of voters. It remains to be seen if Joshi does make it to the Cabinet. Sources said while seniority and contribution would be a factor in the selection of candidates, individual leaders would not be able to leverage their "stature" to claim a particular ministry.

UPA’s ‘parting gift’: Adani Group slapped with 5,500cr DRI notice

Mumbai: One day before it got decimated in the Lok Sabha elections at the hands of the BJP, the Congress-led UPA government gave a farewell shock to Ahmedabad-based Adani group by slapping Rs 5,500 crore show cause notice in a case of alleged "over-valuation" of capital equipment for power projects.      The Mumbai office of Directorate Revenue of Intelligence issued the notice to the group on Thursday, hours before the counting for the Lok Sabha polls was to begin. The development is significant because Rahul Gandhi, during his stump speeches, repeatedly attacked the Gujarat-based corporate and its head Gautam Adani for links to Narendra Modi, alleging Adani got land from his government for the price of a toffee.      The Adani group issued several clarifications stating that apart from the Gujarat government, which gave it barren land to develop, the corporate house also got land by three state governments run by different political parties, including the Congress, since 1993.      DRI sources said the agency is investigating "gross overvaluation" of import of equipment and machinery by various entities of the Adani group from a UAE-based company. 'Equipment over-valued by over 2,000cr' T he report filed in December last year states that more than Rs 2,000 crore has been over-invoiced against the value of imports by various firms of Adani group," said a DRI official.      In November 2013, the Central Board of Excise & Customs had reminded the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, part of the commerce ministry, to cancel import duty benefits issued to the Adani group in 2004.      When contacted, an Adani group spokesperson refused to comment on the issue.

NSEL chief held in 5,600cr mkt fraud

Mumbai: The economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police, which is probing the Rs 5,600 crore cheating case involving the National Stock Exchange (NSEL), on Wednesday arrested Jignesh Shah, chairman of the Financial Technologies (FTIL) group, and MCX CEO Sreekanth Javalgekar for their alleged role in the biggest payment default in the Indian commodity market.      With the two fresh arrests, the number of people behind bars has gone up to 11. Shah was initially summoned by the EOW at 3pm for questioning and allowed to go. However, he was again called at 6pm and placed under arrest. He and Javalgekar have been kept at the Mumbai crime branch's lock-up in the police commissionerate compound near Crawford Market, and will be produced before a special court on Thursday.  EXCHANGE CRISIS  July 31, 2013 | Jignesh Shah-led NSEL suspends trading after govt nudge on faulty contracts  Who was to pay 5,600cr | 21 commodity suppliers/planters  Who was to get it | 13,000 investors, mostly HNIs IN THE NET  Shah, Javalgekar  knew about  fraud, says EOW  Mumbai: Rajvardhan Sinha, additional commissioner of police (EOW) who has been supervising the NSEL fraud probe, said, "The EOW has arrested Shah and Javalgekar and they are being interrogated. Earlier, we arrested certain borrowers and middlemen like Sanjeev Bhasin, Rajesh Mehta of Lotus group and Indrajit Namdhari of Namdhari Food International. During Javalgekar's interrogation, it transpired that as group financial manager of FTIL, he was in full control of the Indian Bullion Merchants Association (IBMA, in which FTIL has a major stake) and NSEL for a long time. We found that he was in criminal conspiracy with other accused in the NSEL crisis."      Sinha added that it was found that IBMA had a large chunk of bogus clients whose addresses and other details could not be traced, leading to suspicion that black money and other unaccounted funds were flowing into the exchange circuit. He said that Shah, head of FTIL, director of NSEL and a member of the NSEL audit committee, had approved the entry of all borrowers as members of the exchange.      "He also approved several contracts. Shah personally represented to the government the scheme of NSEL, which was nothing but a platform for running a non-banking financial company. It was found that their (Javalgekar and Shah) defence claiming ignorance of this fraud is incorrect," said Sinha.      Shah was earlier questioned and summoned at least 16 times by the EOW. "However, he could not give satisfactory replies. The accused also evaded crucial replies and hence their custodial interrogation was felt necessary," added Sinha. "Till today we have secured properties and assets of the accused worth Rs 5,100 crore."      Shah and Javalgekar are also accused of using their clients' bank accounts without their knowledge. Sinha said that the probe was still open about the role of brokers and auditors. In December 2013, the EOW had attached properties, frozen shares and sealed a bungalow and a row house belonging to Shah. They were collectively valued at Rs 192 crore.      Police had seized 1.2 lakh shares of Shah that were in FTIL. The estimated value of these shares was around Rs 179 crore. Besides this, police also sealed Shah's Juhu  bungalow, a row house at Aarey Colony (worth Rs 78 lakh), a plot in Pune worth Rs 1.6 crore, shares worth Rs 51 lakh in India Energy Exchange, and FDs worth Rs 11.8 crore in a private bank. Five demat accounts were also frozen. Shah earned Rs 160 crore by way of dividend from FTIL, police said.      The police in January chargesheeted five persons including Anjani Sinha, NSEL's former managing director; Amit Mukherjee, exassistant vice-president of business development at NSEL; Jai Bahukhandi, exassistant vice-president of warehousing at NSEL; Nilesh Patel, MD of N K Proteins Ltd; and Arun Kumar Sharma, MD of Lotus Refineries Pvt Ltd. Later, the police arrested Surendra Gupta, MD of Dunar Food, Indrajit Namdhari of Namdhari Food International Limited, Rajesh Mehta of Lotus and Sanjeev Bhasin.      Till date, the EOW has frozen 322 bank accounts holding Rs 171 crore, attached over 210 properties worth Rs 2,600 crore and seized 15 high-end cars worth Rs 5.8 crore.