NEW EASTERN EXPRESS HIGHWAY

Mhada to hold 1 more lottery around Diwali Over 1,200 Win Homes In Friday’s Draw

Mumbai: In a first, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) is planning to hold a second round of lottery for 2,450 under-construction flats around Diwali this year. The flats, which would be completed early next year, would be located in Virar, said Mhada vicechairman Satish Gavai. 

    Till now, Mhada has held only one lottery in a year. 
    The government is encouraging Mhada to hold the second round of lottery in view of the 2014 general election, sources told TOI. 
    "Another 3,000 flats, most of which are located in Virar, will be put up for sale in 2014. I am not sure, but I don't think the election code of conduct will affect the lottery scheduled to be held on May 31, 2014,'' said Gavai. "Mhada has already made plans to provide 8,000-10,000 affordable homes to citizens on 60-70 hectares of land acquired over the past few years,'' Gavai added. 
    On Friday, the dreams of over 1,000 citizens came true as they won flats in the lottery held by Mhada. Of the 1,244 flats put up for sale, homebuyers won 1,204. 
    "All my life, I have lived in a slum. But I didn't want a similar life for my daughter. Now that I have won a flat, my worries are over,'' said Narayan Mudlidar, who works as a driver in a private firm. Mudlidar, who had applied for aMhada flat for the first time this year, won a 269 sq ft flat in Magathane for Rs 11 lakh. 
    "It seems I have been given my dues for my service to the nation. This flat will give me security in my old age," said exserviceman Pramod Sawant (62), who wona 305 sq ft flat in Powai for Rs 49 lakh. 
    Mhada received 1,500 applications for a single 1 BHK flat (437 sq ft) priced at Rs 30 lakh at Pratiksha Nagar in the middleincome group. This is the maximum number of applications received for a single flat so far. The flat was one of the most affordable given that Mhada's MIG homes in Kandivli cost around Rs 53 lakh. Next in demand were 62 flats in the economically weaker category in Borivli. Over 14,000 applications were received for these. THE WORLD IS FLATFIGURING IT OUT 
    Total no. of flats | 1,244 (572 highincome group, 354 middle-income group, 96 low-income group and 222 economically weaker section ) 
    Total no. of valid applications received | 87,647 or an average of 70 applications per flat 
    Flats won in lottery | 1,204 
    Flats kept aside for various categories | 40 (24 for the CM's discretionary quota and 16 for defence personnel, central government staffers as well as retired and sitting public representatives) WINNERSPEAK 
    Getting my own flat 
    after 21 years seems like a gift for serving the nation Kiran Nikam | RETD INDIAN AIR FORCE PERSONNEL 
Won a 740 sq ft carpet area flat in Gorai for 66 lakh 
    As I am retiring in a few 
    years, the flat cost seems to be high. My daughter recently got a job, so I believe I will be able to afford it D N Jagdale | JOINT CHIEF OFFICER, MUMBAI BOARD, MHADA 
MOST WANTED Mhada received 1,500 applications for one flat at Pratiksha Nagar, Sion, in the middle-income group. This is the maximum no. of applicationsMhada has received for one flat till date NETAS' STOREY 
    15 people, including 9 politicians, won flats for lack of competition in the category they had applied 
    Six of the 9 politicians won the most expensive set of flats (477 sq ft) at Tunga in Powai for 75.22 lakh each 
    The winners include MLAs Dadarao Keche (BJP) and Omprakash Rajenimbalkar (Shiv Sena), Sena MP Bhausaheb Wakchaure and former Congress MLA Kisanrao Khopade OFFICER ON BOARD 
Joint chief officer of Mhada's Mumbai board D N Jagdale won a 476 sq ft carpet area flat at Tunga Village in Powai for 75 lakh. Jagdale had applied for aMhada flat three-four times earlier, but won the lottery only this time

CHURCHGATE-VIRAR ELEVATED CORRIDOR Rlys wants to use 1.3L sq m of its land to raise 7k crore

Mumbai: The railways has asked the state government for permission to commercially exploit eight parcels of its land collectively measuring 1.31 lakh sq m to raise Rs 7,000 crore for the Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor. It has sought allotment of a floor space index (FSI) of 4 for this land. 

    The land parcels are situated in Mumbai Central, Mahalaxmi, Lower Parel, Bandra, Santa Cruz, Andheri, Jogeshwari and Borivli. 
    The railways has also sought commercial exploitation on the concourse area of some of the stations planned along the route, a senior railway official said. 
    The estimated cost of the elevated corridor project is Rs 25,000 crore. The railways is hoping to raise Rs 5,000 crore through the Centre's viability gap funding scheme. 
    The state government is not in favour of extending an FSI of 4 for all the plots. During ameeting on the project on Friday, it was decided to form a team comprising representatives from railways, the state government and the BMC to survey each of these lands. 
    "The team will assess the development potential of each land. It was suggested that the FSI for each plot should be determined on the basis of its development potential and the infrastructure carrying capacity of the region," a state official told TOI. 
    During the meeting, the state flagged off its concerns about the railways' plan to erect a car shed on a 40-acre saltpan land. While the railways intends to implement the project, it has sought the state's assistance in land acquisition, relief and rehabilitation work and shifting of utilities. It was decided to form teams to survey requirements for land acquisition and shifting of utilities.

Govt simplifies e-filing of RTI pleas, allows web-based payment

New Delhi: Filing RTI applications will now become easier with the government extending e-filing of petitions to more departments and enabling people to pay through web-based payment gateway. After launching the facility for department of personnel and training (DoPT) recently, this will be extended to nearly half a dozen departments including road transport and highways ministry on June 3. 

    DoPT has already launched a portal, rtionline.gov.in, to file RTI applications/first appeals online along with payment gateway. Payment can be made through internet banking of SBI and its associate banks and debit/credit cards of Master/Visa. Through this portal, RTI applications/first appeals can be filed for the main ministries/departments of central government located in the national capital. 
    After filing their applications, citizens can track the status and will also get online reply from the ministries/departments. However, the website mentions that such applications should not be filed for other public authorities under central/state governments through this portal. This includes the entire Delhi government. According to sources, DoPT officials told the highway ministry on Thursday that the number of RTI applications has increased manifold since the facility was started. While RTI activist Subhash Agrawal welcomed the initiative, he said the service will have practical limitations because of public authorities being in large numbers apart from government departments and ministries. "System should be formulated whereby there may be sub-options for undertakings after main options of departments and ministries controlling these undertakings," he said.

Petrol to cost 75p more, diesel 50p

HEADING NORTH

Weakening Of Rupee Against Dollar To Hit Refiners Hard, Make Imports Costlier

New Delhi: State-run fuel retailers on Friday raised prices of petrol and diesel as the rupee touched 10-month low against the Greenback to pinch refiners hard by making oil imports costlier. But the price of non-subsidized cooking gas was reduced as the fall in the fuel's global price more than offset the Indian currency's weakness. 
    Petrol price has been raised by 75 paise per litre and diesel by 50 paise, excluding state levies. After including sales tax or VAT, the actual increase in pump prices would be 90 paise a litre for petrol, and 56 paise for diesel in Delhi. The rates would vary in accordance with tax rates in each state. 
    The price of non-subsidized cooking gas, which consumers buy at market rate after using up their nine subsidized cylinders a year, was reduced by Rs 45 a cylinder as the fall in the fuel's global rates more than offset the rupee's weakness. Each non-subsidized cylinder of 14.2 kg in Delhi would cost Rs 802 against Rs 847 at present. 
    The new prices would come into effect from the intervening midnight of Friday and Saturday. 
    The increase in petrol price reverses the trend since March, and is the first hike in three months. Petrol price was last raised on March 1 and reduced four times since then, aggregating nearly Rs 7 a litre, on falling global prices and a steady rupee. 
    It is, however, the fifth upward revision for diesel and the trend is likely to continue through the year as the gap between its retail price and market rate still remains at Rs 4.87 per litre. 
    In January, the government had allowed state fuel retailers the freedom to raise pump price in small doses of 40-50 paise a litre every month till the gap, which the government subsidizes, is wiped out. 
    Diesel price was last hiked by 90 paisa a litre on May 11 to cover the two rounds of revisions that the companies skipped on the oil ministry's informal directive issued to avoid voters' backlash during the Karnataka polls. 
    "Prices of petrol were last revised downwards on May 1 by Rs 2.50 per litre (excluding state levies). The current increase is required mainly due to depreciation of rupee from Rs 54.26 to a dollar to Rs 55.32," the country's largest fuel retailer IndianOil said in a statement. "In addition to diesel, oil marketing companies continue to suffer underrecovery (loss) on sale of kerosene of Rs 27.75 per litre and LPG of Rs 334.50 per cylinder," the statement added.

Bharti faces 650cr penalty for roaming rules violation

New Delhi: The department of telecommunications is set to issue a notice to Bharti Airtel, imposing Rs 650 crore as penalty for violation of licence agreement-related roaming services. 

    Though the violation took place between 2003 and 2005, and the DoT had issued a show-cause notice a decade ago, no penalty had been imposed, which had made the department jittery. Officials are now raising the demand, fearing judicial or vigilancerelated action. 
    "As all these cases are being monitored/litigated at highest level in government /judiciary, any kind of further delay may not be appreciated. These cases are being closely monitored by CVC/ CVO also for early compliance," an internal DoT note accessed by TOI said. A Bharti spokesperson said they had not received any notice. 
    The DoT is moving against Bharti for providing Subscriber Local Dialling (SLD) service to its subscribers while on roaming. The facility allowed, say, a Mumbai subscriber to make a 'local call' to a Delhi number while on roaming in the financial capital. The call from Mumbai to the Delhi number is an STD call but with SLD, the subscriber could save on STD charges. Bharti Airtel 'ignored' DoT order for 2 years 
New Delhi: Bharti Airtel faces a penalty of Rs 650 crore for violating roaming rules by providing Local Dialling service. Though it offered immense advantage to subscribers, the DoT issued a notice to the operator saying it violated the national routing plan, number plan and unauthorizedly bypassed national long distance traffic. 
    On June 20, 2003, the department had asked Bharti to stop the service. But the DoT later found out that the service was not stopped and was provided as SLD till 2005. 
    The DoT appointed a committee to decide on the quantum of penalty, which recommended the maximum permissible financial penalty of Rs 50 crore each for 13 circles, where the violations took place. Communications & IT minister Kapil Sibal approved the recommendations on February 2, 2013. 
    Of the 13 circles where the penalty is to be imposed, licences for the two circles-—Chennai and Tamil Nadu—were merged into one on September 15, 2005. 
    But demand notices have been prepared for the 13 circles as during the period of violation, the company had separate licences in Chennai and Tamil Nadu. 
    As a result, the penalty adds up to Rs 650 crore.

CBI backs trial court summons to Mittal 
    The CBI has backed a trial court's decision to summon Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal as an accused in a case regarding irregularities in spectrum allocation during the NDA rule, saying it was based on evidence pointing to his individual role. P 10 

No LBT till consensus: CM

Mumbai:Local body tax (LBT) will not be enforced in Mumbai until there is a consensus, announced chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday—a day before a meeting with traders' representatives arranged by NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
   After convincing non-Mumbai traders to withdraw their agitation on Monday, Chavan interacted with representatives of 80 trader associations at a meeting organized by the Congress on Thursday.
   Traders welcomed the announcement. Viren Shah of the Federation of Retail Trade Welfare Association said all representatives suggested that the state considers levying an additional surcharge on VAT. But Chavan argued that this option would burden citizens in rural areas and "kill the financial autonomy" of the corporation.
   The CM ruled out the October 1 deadline for LBT in Mumbai, which was reported by TOI on Thursday. "We have long maintained that there was no need for Mumbai traders to protest as there is time before a decision is taken," said Milind Deora, Congress MP.
   Chavan indicated that he is willing to set up a separate working group, comprising traders and officials, and agreed to withdraw cases against traders.
   Federation of Associations of Maharashtra chief Mohan Gurnani accused the government of creating a divide between city and non-Mumbai traders. "A delegation will meet UPA chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul on Friday," he said.

Ahmedabad civic body to study model

E ven as traders demand that the state adopt the surcharge on VAT model, Ahmedabad civic officials are scheduled to arrive in Mumbai this week to study the LBT model. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is reportedly not satisfied with the VAT model. TNN

UPA Govt Squanders ’09 Goodwill

Last Thursday, India witnessed two starkly contrasting leadership styles: When three IPL players were arrested for alleged spot-fixing, Rahul Dravid stepped forward to say that as captain he would not countenance deviant behaviour. "I have to focus on ensuring that the team fulfils its enormous potential and continues to play in the Rajasthan Royals way," Dravid said at a press conference. On the same evening, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh convened a meeting to fill a vacant seat in the National Human Rights Commission. Opposition leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, on the panel of selectors, vetoed the government's nominee, Cyriac Joseph, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, on the grounds of a mediocre career record. The government overruled the objections and circulated the minutes of the meeting among participants. Swaraj, before putting her dissent note, noticed that the minutes did not contain the name of Cyriac Joseph. "Prime Minister, you have signed on a blank paper," Swaraj told Singh, according to a person privy to the details. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde quickly took the paper back from Swaraj, put Joseph's name and then passed it on to the prime minister. If Dravid's public appearance sent out a clear signal that he would not allow crooks to flourish under him, Singh's handling of the NHRC issue showed that he was willing to be led by his colleagues. Singh, who enters his tenth year in office on Wednesday, has emerged as a practitioner of 'Leading from behind', a concept popularised by Nelson Mandela nearly two decades ago and emulated by Barack Obama in recent years. If Mandela wanted a leader to be "a shepherd, letting the most nimble go out ahead not realising that they are being directed from behind", Obama has been using it to give his foreign policy greater flexibility in foreign locales. But Singh has made it the defining feature of his prime ministership in an apparent bid to avert the possibility of the buck reaching anywhere near his desk. The ship ran into choppy waters in the early part of the second term, with the CAG detecting a scandal in the allocation of air waves that led to the incarceration of a minister and spelt serious setback to one of India's biggest success stories in recent years, the telecom sector. Another CAG report found similar lack of transparency in the coal field allocations. Troubles compounded for the government after CBI, investigating cases of corruption in the allocations, admitted that the government tried to "change the heart of the status report on the probe". This forced Singh's nominee Ashwani Kumar out of the government. The court's hearing in the case may bring yet more troubles as the CBI chief has told the court that the Prime Minister's Office, too, had vetted the status report. The impression that not all of Singh's Cabinet colleagues were above board was reinforced when CBI unravelled the cash-for-jobs scandal in the railway ministry. Although the PM reluctantly showed the door to Pawan Kumar Bansal, CBI is undertaking an investigation to find out whether the then minister, too, was on the take. The government's flat-footed handling of such crises has revived a comatosed Opposition and led to stalling of Parliament, where hardly any business could be transacted during the second half of the budget session. As a result, Congress plans to get Parliament's nod for its vote catcher schemes — food guarantee and hefty compensation for land acquisitions — are in jeopardy. Finance Minister P Chidambaram's initiatives for financial sector reforms will also have to wait. The track record on foreign policy has been equally dismal, with beheading of Indian soldiers by their Pakistani counterparts and renewed aggression by China taking a toll on the national morale. "In the nine years that Singh has been prime minister, China's policy toward India has gone from being quietly negative to being openly adversarial," said strategic expert Brahma Chellaney, "It has been in this period that China reversed its claim to Arunachal Pradesh and shortened the length of the border with India to dispute Indian sovereignty over western and eastern sectors." Amid the series of debacles on multiple fronts, the timing has never seemed quite right to elevate the seemingly reluctant Congress scion Rahul Gandhi to prime ministership. But lately, scepticism has grown within the party over the Congress president holding political power and Singh handling the government. So much so that the party had to issue a clarification that Gandhi and Singh were on the same page over the recent sacking of the two ministers. As he begins his last year in office, Singh appears to have squandered much of the goodwill that he commanded when he began his second term.

After Coalgate, An iGate PHANEESH SACKED

 

Oops! He Did IT Again iGate CEO Phaneesh Murthy has been sacked by its board for not reporting a sexual relationship with 31-year-old investor relations manager Araceli Roiz. Back in 2002, he was unceremoniously shown the door at Infosys on charges of sexual harassment. In a concall with journalists, he claimed it's a case of extortion and when asked why Roiz hurled charges at him, he said: "When you figure out women, let me know and I will take the lesson from you."

OUR BUREAU BANGALORE

   One of the technology industry's bestknown personalities was hoist by his own petard after yet another sexual indiscretion cost him the job of president and chief executive officer of iGate.
Phaneesh Murthy, 49, who transformed a loss-making firm into a billion-dollar company, was sacked on Monday for not reporting a sexual relationship with an employee to the board of directors. The ignominy is a close rerun of a 2002 incident when he was booted out of Infosys, a company where he helped revenues grow 350-fold within eight years. Murthy's abrupt departure means his career has almost been dealt a mortal blow. For iGate, on which he has left his singular imprint, finding a chief executive officer capable of achieving the lofty ambitions being chased by Murthy will be a tall order. "I think this will have a negative impact on the company's growth. The CEO was the face of the company and involved in marketing its services and selling its vision to prospective clients, " said Vincent Colicchio, analyst with US-based brokerage Noble Capital.

Phaneesh Calls it a Case of Extortion


"We expect this to be a setback to the company's brand and stature in the near term," said Colicchio. Shares of iGate, which is based in Fremont, California, and listed on Nasdaq, were down 9% to $15 in opening trade. Murthy admitted to an affair with investor relations manager Araceli Roiz, but insisted that the charges of sexual harassment were a "case of extortion". He denied similar accusations when they were made by Reka Maximovitch, his assistant when he was global head of sales at Infosys. Eventually, the company settled the case by paying $3 million. Murthy forked out a further $800,000 in 2004 to settle another claim by a separate employee of Infosys.
"I feel very sad. Phaneesh is such an extraordinary individual, sociable and a true alpha male," said TV Mohandas Pai, a former director of human resources and finance at Infosys. iGate said in a statement that the independent investigation ordered by iGate's board did not find merit in the harassment charges levelled against Murthy. It also said the company has appointed Gerhard Watzinger as interim president and CEO. A search committee will find a new CEO for the company, which is aiming for sales of $3 billion by 2017. "We recognise the significant contributions Murthy has provided over the past 10 years in helping to establish iGate as a leader in the IT industry. However, as a result of this violation of iGate policy, we asked Murthy to step down," the statement quoted co-founder and co-chairman Sunil Wadhwani as saying.
Attempting to allay concerns about the impact of the loss of its high-profile CEO, iGate's new head Watzinger said the company has "great resources and a deep bench of talent". "We have a clear strategy that has put us in this strong position to maintain our successes into the future. Continuing to execute this strategy is our top priority." Murthy, who steered the acquisition of larger peer Patni Computer, was in the middle of implementing an 'outcome-based' model that challenged the traditional pricing system in the technology services industry. He also piloted an aggressive marketing campaign that took potshots at Indian outsourcers' mainstay time and materials billing model as the "No.1 enemy of mega corporations".
iGate said the decision to
   terminate
Murthy was made after he failed to report his relationship to his superiors, a violation of the company policy and terms of his employment agreement. Murthy, however, said he had informed the company's chairman about his personal relationship after it ended "a few weeks ago". He claimed he was not given an opportunity to explain his side of the story to the board. "A right decision has been taken. I think the decision reflects what the IT industry stands for. It stands for the highest standards of governance and integrity. It is a very isolated incident and has no bearing in terms of what implications it has on the Indian IT industry," said Nasscom Chairman Krishnakumar Natarajan. Murthy said his immediate future will be decided by whether Roiz decides to take the case to court, in which case he could be faced with a costly legal battle. "I have made my mistakes and there are some who have benefited," he said.

Re sinks to 6-month low of 55.42

 

Mumbai: Even as the rupee fell 31 paise to a six-month low of 55.42 in the foreign exchange market, bankers said that nearterm support for the domestic currency was visible on the back of capital flows and profitbooking by exporters.
   "Today's fall was a function of a three developments. There was some dollar buying by a large corporate which had gone long on the rupee. There was also a dollar rally in Europe and coupled with this there was a fall in equities," said Ashish Vaidya, head of trading at UBS India.
   According to Vaidya, in the short term, the rupee would find support on the back of capital flows, including expected capital infusion by Unilever which has announced a $5.4-billion open offer for Hindustan Lever shares
which starts on June 21. This would cap the rupee in the 54-55.6 range in the short term, he said. "But six months from now, at a fundamental level, I see the rupee depreciating against the dollar given the current account deficit and other macro factors," he added.
   Other bankers too are forecasting a recovery for the domestic currency in the near term. "We will see some correction in the rupee tomorrow. There will be support from capital inflows. I also expect that exporters will start booking profits given that they would have gained a rupee in a few weeks," said K N Reghunathan, general manager, Union Bank of India.

Murthy sold $2.7m shares in 2 mths

Bangalore: Did iGate's deposed CEO, Phaneesh Murthy, have an inkling of the trouble he would in? In the last two months, Murthy sold approximately 1,50,000 shares from his personal stake in iGate, mopping up roughly $2.7 million.
   According to data made available on the Nasdaq, Murthy sold 104,459 shares on March 6 at a price of $18.88 a share taking home a neat $1.97 million. A month later on April 19, Murthy again sold 40,000 shares at $17.1 apiece totaling to $ 684,000.
   As per the latest share data available, Murthy holds 655,292 shares in the company, which values his stake in iGate at $9.6 million based on the company's opening share price on Tuesday.
   As the US woke up to the statement issued by iGate about Murthy's ouster, the company's stock price on the Nasdaq plunged a little over 10% in morning trade.
   iGate's stock has crashed over 25% in the last two years after the company's $1.22 billion acquisition of Patni in 2011. The company's currently traded stock price has fallen by 40% over its 24-month high of $24.86 in November 2010. In the month of January 2011 itself the company's stock price crashed 22% following the Patni acquisition.

Sacking right decision: Nasscom

Bangalore: Nasscom chairman Krishnakumar Natarajan on Tuesday said iGate board has taken a right decision to sack its president and CEO Phaneesh Murthy over alleged sexual harassment, emphasizing that a "quick and decisive" action in such incidents augurs well for the IT industry. "I think the decision reflects what IT industry standards for. It stands for the highest standards of governance and integrity," Natarajan told reporters. Natarajan said the board seems to have done a fairly thorough due diligence before taking the action. "It is a very isolated incident and has no bearing in terms of what implications it has on Indian IT industry," he said. AGENCIES

DEJA VU: While Phaneesh Murthy admitted to having a relationship with Araceli Roiz (right), she has accused him of sexual harassment. Murthy described it as a case of 'extortion'

Kampani ropes in Pandit for bank a/c

Mumbai: Nimesh Kampani, one of the top dealmakers in India during the 1990s till early 2000s, pulled off a coup on Thursday by getting on board Vikram Pandit, the India-born former CEO of Citibank, to push JM Financial's bid for a banking licence. Pandit, along with his Morgan Stanley colleague and hedge fund mate Hari Aiyar, will together invest nearly $210 million in Kampani-led JM Financial, the holding company, and two of its arms, a distressed asset fund, and a nonbanking financial services firm. Pandit and Aiyar will also pick up stakes in the bank, if it gets the licence from RBI, but the quantum of their stake would be as per the central bank's rules.
   In a statement to BSE, JM Financial said Pandit and Aiyar, along with Aparna Murthy Aiyar (Hari Aiyar's wife), will pick up a 3% strategic stake in JM Financial through preferential allotment of warrants for about Rs 45.4 crore. The duo will also invest another $100 million in JM Financial's distressed assets fund for a 50% stake. This investment will be from a fund floated by Pandit and Aiyar, in which several sovereign funds are investors, sources said.
   The Pandit-Aiyar combine will also invest another $100 million in the JM Financial's NBFC arm, again for a 50% stake, sources said. The company will nominate Pandit as the non-executive chairman of the proposed bank, the statement from the company to BSE said. As an immediate step, Pandit will be the non-executive chairman of the NBFC arm of the group, and take over the top post at the bank as and when that happens.
   In February, RBI eased rules for new banking permits by letting companies with a 10-year-track record to apply for licences and capped foreign ownership at 49% for the first five years. With this deal, Kampani-Pandit combine will now be vying with billionaires like Kumar Mangalam Birla, Anil Ambani, Cyrus Mistry and Anand Mahindra in seeking a banking licence.
   In Thursday's flat market, JM Financial stock jumped 16% on the BSE to close at Rs 23.55, with the day's high at Rs 24.35. At the day's close of trade, JM Financial had a market value of Rs 1,770 crore (about $300 million).
   Speaking to TOI, Kampani said he had known Pandit for over 15 years. "We go back a long way. He knows this sector and the international market very well. We can bring capital from abroad and help the group grow further," Kampani said. The veteran dealmaker also said that the people from both sides shared similar values and were confident about the association creating a "strong domestic financial services businesses with global best practices and reach".
   Speaking about his association with the JM Financial group, Pandit said that he believed in the long term growth prospects of India. "I have known Nimesh and JM Financial for over two decades and believe that, given the opportunity, JM Financial can provide the banking and financial services that the country needs," Pandit said. For the 56-year-old Pandit, who brought back Citigroup from the brink of financial collapse and later saw an unceremonious exit from America's third largest bank, the deal with Kampani marks a comeback into banking.
   JM Financial had a joint venture with Morgan Stanley in India, christened JM Morgan Stanley since 1997, till the two parted ways amicably in February 2007 to run independent businesses in the country. After the split, JM Financial lost some steam in the merger & acquisition advisory space. The firm was ranked 10 in last year's league tables, Bloomberg Data showed. The Kampani-Pandit partnership will help JM Financial to come back in the investment banking space in a strong position.

A Billion Betrayed For Lakhs

 Sreesanth & Two Raj Royal Teammates Arrested By Delhi Police In Mumbai Dead Of Wed Night For Taking Money From Bookies To Spot-Fix In 3 Matches, Including Against MI Hours Earlier

Players Nailed By Audio, Video Proof; No Clean Chit To Other Teams, Games

New Delhi: The dark and ugly face of Indian cricket exposed itself on Thursday when Delhi police unravelled a shocking and disgraceful spot-fixing scandal in the IPL involving three Rajasthan Royals players, including India international S Sreesanth. The three were caught striking deals—ranging from Rs 40 to Rs 60 lakh—with bookies for conceding a pre-determined number of runs in an over.
   Armed with what appears to be incontrovertible evidence, police sleuths moved in to arrest the three cricketers—Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan—in Mumbai in the early hours when they were still in bed. As many as 11 bookies have been nabbed, including those with fanciful code names like Jupiter and Manoj Metro. One bookie arrested in Ahmedabad, Amit Singh, is a cricketer who played for Rajasthan Royals last season.
   The mastermind of the spot-fixing racket, Sunil Ramchandani, is said to be in Dubai, raising suspicion of it being linked to a betting cartel controlled from Dubai by Tiger Memon, the most trusted aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar said more arrests were expected, and there were reports late at night of two more arrests in Mumbai.
   But overshadowing the story of the crooked book-makers was the shame that has engulfed Indian cricket. Sreesanth, the talented but temperamental seamer, was seen by millions of cricket lovers as Team India's lucky mascot, having helped the team claim two World Cup titles — T20 in 2007 and ODI in 2011. But on Thursday, India discovered his seamier side.
   Sreesanth and his two teammates were among 14 people arrested from Mumbai and Delhi, after special cell cops got confirmation of the racket when they found Chavan had bowled an over exactly as discussed with bookies earlier in the day.
   Police said spot fixing had taken place during three Raj Royals matches this season—on May 5, 9 and 15— against Pune Warriors, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians. Rajasthan Royals' owners, BCCI and ICC pledged full cooperation with the investigations.

NOT BROKE, BUT THEY STILL FIXED IT


THREE IN A ROYAL SPOT

S Sreesanth | 30 |

Pacer from Kerala. Featured in T20 2007 and 2011 World Cup finals that India won

Ajit Chandila | 29 |

Off-break bowler from Faridabad, Haryana

Ankeet Chavan | 27 |

Left-arm spinner from Mumbai
Of these Raj Royal players, Sreesanth fetched 2.2 crore in the auction in IPL 2012. Others signed as domestic players and got 20 lakh each

BOOKIES BOOKED

11 bookies arrested, including Jiju Janardhan alias Biju, a friend of Sreesanth, who acted as a conduit for him. Also Amit Singh, who played for RR last year and is still in the extended team. Another bookie, Chandresh Patel, codenamed Jupiter. From Delhi, Deepak Kumar, Rakesh alias Rocky were arrested

WHAT'S SPOT FIXING

Spot fixing is fixing in advance the result of a certain ball or over, or performance of an individual player. Player gets huge sums for doing what he's told. Bookies use advance info to rig bets. Matchfixing is fixing the outcome of a game. It's more difficult as it involves more players

CODES OF PLAYERS AND BOOKIES

No unusual gesture. A player would rotate watch, wear a towel, lift the T-shirt or tuck it in, take out the locket or put it in. Code for money: samaan. Payoffs range from 40-60 lakh

HOT LEADS

Delhi police were tracking some underworld leads since March. In early April, officers stumbled upon intercepts of a person from Mumbai underworld, now in Dubai, talking of spot fixing. By end of April, involvement of players came to notice. On Wed night, Sreesanth picked up from Carter Rd, Chavan from Trident, Chandila from InterCon

ARE FOREIGN PLAYERS INVOLVED?

Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar says no. Speculation about other players rife

WHAT ABOUT TEAM OWNERS?

No evidence has been found

BALL BY BALL



MAY 5 |

Rajasthan v Pune, Jaipur What's fixed: Chandila would concede 14 or more runs in his 2nd over. Chandila gives away three easy fours and bowls a wide The code: Chandila would lift his shirt and look skywards Amount: 20 lakh in advance & 20 lakh later Slip-up: Chandila concedes runs but forgets to give signal. Deal is off and he has to refund money

MAY 9 |

Rajasthan v Punjab, Mohali What's fixed: Sreesanth would concede 13 runs or more in his 2nd over. He concedes 13, even though loose deliveries go unpunished The code: Sreesanth would tuck a towel in the front of his trousers. Before bowling the 2nd over, he asks for towel, warms up and stretches to give time for bookies to take bets Amount: 40 lakh

MAY 15 |

Mumbai vs Rajasthan, Mumbai What's fixed: Chavan's 2nd over to cost 13 or more runs. Chandila (not playing this match) acts as middleman between Chavan and bookies. Chavan goes for 15 runs. Rajasthan lose match by 14 runs The code: Chavan would move his wrist band Amount: 60 lakh. Chandila wants a cut; asks bookies not to pay Chavan directly

Tiger Memon controlling ops?


   The disclosure that Sreesanth, two of his Rajasthan Royal teammates and 11 bookies had been held for spot fixing sent shockwaves across the cricketing world, drawing a torrent of quips and comments on social media.
   Sources told TOI that Friday's match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and RR was also under the scanner. While Neeraj Kumar, in a press conference, ruled out the involvement of any other cricketer, team management person or owner in the racket, sources told this paper that several groups of bookies were operating in all cities and as per their information, other players too had taken money from bookies but did not exactly carry out their bidding.
   Delhi police traced a call in mid-March this year made from aDubai number, while tracking a gangster, where they heard people talk about signs to be used in the cricket ground. Neeraj Kumar called this a "chance intercept". The information was developed and it was learnt that the underworld was using bookies in IPL to make crores of rupees and some players were conniving with them.
   "We had information about bookies from Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and other states involved in this spot fixing, who were working on directions of the underworld," said S N Srivastava, special commissioner (special cell). After the intercept, a team of Inspector Badrish Dutt, who was later found dead along with his live-in partner Geeta Sharma in Gurgaon last week, and Inspector Kailash Bisht started intercepting calls of some bookies. In all, sources say some 40 phones including those of these three cricketers and others, were put under surveillance from the beginning of this IPL, that is, April 3.
   Senior police brass monitored the highly secret investigations on a daily basis, so that players and bookies were arrested with maximum evidence in hand. Delhi police teams watched all suspicious matches from the stadium and at its office, recording every over bowled by the players under investigation.
   Special cell teams were in Mumbai on Wednesday night, watching the match between Mumbai and Rajasthan to establish whether Ankeet Chavan would give away more than 14 runs — as discussed by bookies in phone conversations intercepted by the phones. Police got their confirmation when Ankeet gave away 15 runs in his second over. Special cell officers then called up the police brass in Delhi, seeking directions to arrest the suspects. After initial formalities, Sreesanth was arrested from Carter Road on Thursday morning at 5am, Chandila from outside Intercontinental Mumbai, when he was returning to team hotel Trident after meeting bookies, and Ankeet Chavan, who was sleeping in his room at Trident around 7.30am. Both the hotels are on Marine Drive and close to Wankhede Stadium.
   The players, now suspended by the BCCI, have been brought to Delhi and charged under section 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. Section 420 invites a maximum punishment of seven years. Officials say they are also likely to be booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), which could land them in jail without bail and their confessions before a DCP level officer will be admissible in court. Police are also looking for more bookies based in Delhi and Mumbai.
   Police said Sreesanth, Chandila and Ankeet had bowled fixed overs for payments of Rs 60 lakh, Rs 40 lakh and Rs 40 lakh, respectively. But in the May 9 match against Kings XI, Chandila forgot to signal to the bookies that he was about to 'fix' the over, due to which bookies were not happy and demanded that he returned the advance of Rs 20 lakh, said officials. Sreesanth, Chandila, Chavan and 11 bookies were produced in the court of CMM Lokesh Kumar in Saket on Thursday evening and were remanded to five days custody with the special cell.
   "As a lover of cricket myself, I am announcing with anger and sadness that three players of Rajasthan Royals and 11 bookies have been arrested in a spot fixing scandal," Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar said in his press conference.
   Sources said the main link between the bookie group in India and the underworld in Dubai was Ashwini Agarwal, a wellknown name in betting circles. He has been arrested.
   Other main arrested bookies have been identified as Chandresh Patel of Andheri West (Mumbai), who was dealing with Sreesanth through another arrested bookie Jiju Janardhan alias Biju; Amit Singh from Ahmedabad (who had played for Rajasthan Royal till the last season and was dealing with Chandila); Manan (dealing with Ankeet). These four were held from Intercontinental hotel in Mumbai.
   From Delhi, police have picked up Deepak Kumar, Rakesh alias Rocky and others.
   Neeraj Kumar gave explosive details of the modus operandi followed by bookies and the cricketers, giving audio-visual proof of three IPL matches which were manipulated.
   Officials say the bookies gave the players specific approval codes which were used to signify a compromised over during the matches. Kumar said, "It was information that we had that the Mumbai underworld was indulging in match-fixing or spot fixing and contacting a number of bookies and some players are mixed up," he said. Kumar said the mastermind of the racket was 'sitting abroad' .
   Sources say Tiger Memon was controlling the operation from Dubai and the bookies arrested were just the small fish. "They don't know much about the bigger bookie in India who was in touch with Memon," said asource.

Can't say if it's not happening in other teams or in other matches …there will be more arrests of bookies —NEERAJ KUMAR | DELHI POLICE CHIEF

Upbeat music can lift mood

 

Washington: Listening to upbeat, cheery music can indeed make people happier, scientists say. Researchers from the University of Missouri discovered that an individual can successfully try to be happier, especially when cheery music aids the process.
   "Our work provides support for what many people already do — listen to music to improve their moods," said lead author Yuna Ferguson, who performed the study while she was an MU doctoral student in psychological science. "Although pursuing personal happiness may be thought of as a self-centred venture, research suggests that happiness relates to a higher probability of socially beneficial behaviour, better physical health, higher income and greater relationship satisfaction," she said.
   In two studies, participants successfully improved their moods in the short term and boosted their overall happiness over a two-week period. During the first study, participants improved their mood after being instructed to attempt to do so, but only if they listened to the upbeat music of Copland, as opposed to the more somber Stravinsky. Other participants, who simply listened to the music without attempting to change their mood, also didn't report a change in happiness. In the second study, participants reported higher levels of happiness after two weeks of lab sessions in which they listened to positive music while trying to feel happier.
   However, Ferguson noted that for people to put her research into practice, they must be wary of too much introspection into their mood or constantly asking, "Am I happy yet?" PTI

CHEERFUL TUNE

Sibal paves way for Balco, Hindustan Zinc stake sale

 

New Delhi/ Mumbai: The law ministry has set the stage for allowing Anil Agarwal's Sterlite Industries and the Tatas to buy the remaining government stake in companies such as Balco, Hindustan Zinc and VSNL, which were disinvested during the NDA regime.
   A top government source said law minister Kapil Sibal has given a green signal for allowing call and put options for these stake sales, a move which is pushed by the finance ministry, like talks for settlement with Vodafone over a Rs 11,000 crore tax dispute. "These are provisions that are there in every investment-friendly country. That's how we can again build a positive investment
climate in India," the source said, while pointing to the move on PSU stake sale.
   In 2001, the government had sold a 51% stake in Balco to Sterlite Industries, leaving it with 49% holding. It holds a tad less than 30% in Hindustan Zinc, while Sterlite has close to 65% stake. In case of VSNL, however, the Tatas may not be interested given that the government holds a golden share that gives it power to veto any decision. Sibal and finance minister P Chidambaram had met over the weekend, although it could not be confirmed if both the issues had been discussed by the two lawyer-turned-politicians. In the past, Chidambaram had recused himself from issues related to Agarwal's companies as he was associated with them before his reentry into the Union cabinet.

Sensex soars 491 pts on rate cut hopes

Mumbai: Strong foreign fund flows, backed by expectations of a rate cut by RBI in June, sent Dalal Street investors into a frenzied buying spree on Wednesday which added 491 points to the sensex, its biggest single-day gain in over a year, to close at 20,213. As rate sensitive stocks rallied on the hopes that a lower rate of interest would spur their business, investors were richer by about Rs 1.40 lakh crore with BSE's market capitalization now at Rs 68.2 lakh crore.
   The day's trading started on a flat note but the index picked up gains through the session. One of the main reasons for the rally was RBI governor D Subbarao's statement that he was happy the rate of inflation had fallen drastically. Market players interpreted that as an indication that the central bank's decision on rates in its June policy meeting could tilt towards further reduction. The rally that took the sensex to a 52-week high was led by banking, auto, real estate and other rate-sensitive sectors.
   The recent rally in the market is also being aided by strong foreign fund flows, with major central banks around the world preferring an easy money policy to spur growth. On Wednesday, net buying by FIIs was nearly Rs 1,650 crore with the year's net inflows from this group of investors at nearly $13 billion, Sebi data showed. "It's the FII flow that is giving the market this upward momentum to the market," said Nipun Mehta of Blueocean Capital Advisors. "As the rally continues, risks are being overlooked," Mehta said.
   Among the risks that Mehta lists are reversal of the strong FII flow in case the US Fed ends its current bond buying programme (popularly QE3), if the RBI does not cut rates and the fall in gold prices does not arrest the increasing current account deficit.
   Market players also warned that the rally is not broad-based yet. Wednesday's data on BSE showed that compared to 1,466 gainers, there were 973 laggards. Another sign for this concentrated rally was of the 30 sensex constituents, where 29 closed with gains, indicating the rally is concentrated among frontline stocks.

Pak stocks scale another peak

Karachi: Pakistan's stocks scaled another peak on Wednesday after two days of volatile post-election buying and selling. The Karachi Stock Exchange's (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended 0.45%, or 92 points, higher at 20,567 points. The index had breached the 20,000 mark for the first time on Monday as Nawaz Sharif looked set to form a stable government. AGENCIES

Silver at 2.5-yr low

Mumbai: Silver prices crashed to Rs 44,500 per kg in Mumbai on Wednesday, a level not seen since mid-December 2010, due to weak industrial demand. In the international market, the metal was trading at around $22.50 per ounce. TNN

G-sec yield at 3-yr low

Mumbai:Asharp drop in inflation to levels below RBI's comfort zone led to strong rally in the government securities market on Wednesday with the 10-year benchmark yield falling to 7.22% per annum, a three-year low level, in the 'when issued' segment. TNN

State clears the decks for 5,000 Mhada colonies’ redevelopment

Mumbai: The state government has finally revised development norms and cleared the decks for the redevelopment of 5,000-odd societies in Mhada colonies.
   Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan-led urban development department has issued a notification in this regard.
   Raising stakes for redevelopment, the new norms offer bigger areas for tenants while linking the developers' incentives and Mhada's share in the redevelopment to the plot's market value.
   The floor space index (FSI) for redevelopment of such societies has been raised from 2.5 to 3, and to encourage societies to come together for planned development, the government has linked incentives for tenants to the size of the plot. While tenants in an individual society will get up to 35% additional area on redevelopment, the area incentive offered will increase by another 15%-45% if they participate in an integrated redevelopment scheme involving a bigger plot-size.
   The state has offered 15% more area to tenants, if they participate in a scheme on a plot area ranging from 4,000 sqm to two hectares. This would go up to 25% for development on two-five hectares, 35% on five to 10 hectares, and 45% on 10 hectares, and above.
   Of the 104 Mhada colonies in Mumbai, 56 are on larger plots. A senior state official said the idea was to encourage cluster redevelopment in such plots for better infrastructure and planning. An additional 10% area will be offered to tenants if they opt for a development or a joint venture agreement with Mhada.
   But there is a catch. To rein in fraudulent practices used by builders, Chavan has imposed a cap of 861 sq ft as the maximum rehabilitation area that can be offered to tenants, excluding the balcony area.
   The developer's incentive and Mhada's share in the surplus built-up area has been linked to market rates to make projects in lesser development pockets more viable. Accordingly, the incentive FSI offered to developers will range from 40%- 70% taking into account the ready reckoner (RR) and construction rates. The incentive component will be lower in the prime area.
   The society's share in the remaining surplus area after the rehabilitation and incentive components will range from 30%-45% depending on the RR and construction rates, while Mhada will retain the remaining built-up area.
   The state said about 60% of the built-up area in such projects will be reserved for houses for the middle and low income groups.

THE NEW REVAMP PLAN


FSI hiked from 2.5 to 3 60% built-up area for affordable houses for low and middle income groups Existing tenants to get a minimum of 405 sqft and a maximum of 900 sqft, inclusive of fungible FSI components Bigger area for tenants if they club development plans with other societies
Tenants opting for Mhada as developer to get more area
Incentive FSI for builders and Mhada's share in the redevelopment linked to Ready Reckoner (RR) and construction rates
No premium on fungible FSI for rehabilitation component
Infrastructure charge at 7% of RR to be payable on extra FSI, excluding fungible component

SC declines to stay LBT, traders remain defiant

   Traders protesting against local body tax (LBT) vowed to intensify their agitation after their plea for a stay was rejected by the Supreme Court on Friday.
   The apex court rejected a PIL filed by Pune traders and directed the Bombay high court to adjudicate the matter within four months, thatis September. LBT is to be levied in Mumbai from October 1.
   Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM) president Mohan Gurnani said the bandh would continue, probably spilling over to the second week on Monday. Traders will run a kitchen for daily wage workers and pay salaries for the period of closure on humanitarian grounds.
   Kirti Rana of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) expressed fear that other states would follow Maharashtra's lead and adopt the LBT model.
   More than 10,000 trucks stayed off roads on Friday as transporters supported the protest. Essential goods were exempted from the protest that was called off late in the evening. Bombay Goods Transport Association (BGTA) general secretary J K Jain said, "We incurred losses of nearly Rs 2 crore during the shutdown. We will continue to support FAM even though we will ply our vehicles."
   Drugstores that were shut on Friday will reopen on Saturday morning. "Around 4,500 people participated in a morcha to the FDA office and submitted a memorandum. We met minister of state Satej Patil, who promised to look into our problems," said J S Shinde, president, All-India Organization of Chemists & Druggists.
   D eve l o p e r N i r a n j a n Hiranandani, president of the Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC), joined voice with the "poor traders who were fighting for the cause of the common consumer". Hiranandani said, "The burden of this draconian tax will be passed on to the customer, who will have to pay more for basic essentials."
   Under the shadow of local trade associations, even sectors not supporting the sitr were affected. Wine shops were shut ahead of the weekend in Thane, while jewellery showrooms in Bandra kept shop fronts closed.

SUPERMARKET BOON

APNA BAZAR'S FORT OUTLET
14.31 lakh (Turnover from May 1-7, 2012) 17.40 lakh (Turnover from May 1-7, 2013)

WHAT LIES AHEAD

The traders' association has promised to intensify the stir after the Supreme Court declined to stay LBT on Friday
Most kirana stores will be closed till further notice. However, malls and large retailers will remain open
Chemists will remain open after Friday's token strike
Jewellers in certain areas may stay shut on the weekend, to open only on Akshay Tritiya

For steps to download free Alive app, see P 6

SUPER FRIDAY Mumbaikars, hit hard by the ongoing traders' stir, flocked to supermarkets to stock up on essentials Another pic, P 6

Industrial growth slows to 20-year low of 1% in 2012-13

 

New Delhi: Industrial growth slowed to a 20-year low of 1% in 2012-13, raising fresh worries about the health of the crucial sector despite a 2.5% rise in March on the back of signs of a
feeble revival in manufacturing and electricity sectors.
   But the looming political uncertainty in the run-up to the general elections in 2014 could impact the strength of the tentative recovery and hurt growth which is estimated to have slowed to a 10-year low of 5% in 2012-13. The government expects growth in the current fiscal year (2013-14) to revive on the back of the reform steps announced since September and expects it to be close to 6%. But experts say continued policy logjam may upset plans.
   The persistent slowdown in the industrial sector has hurt the government's plan to raise the share of manufacturing in the country's economy, and will deal a blow to the efforts to create millions of jobs.

Industry seeks urgent reforms


New Delhi: Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Friday showed industrial output rose 2.5% in March compared to a decline of 2.8% in the same month a year ago. For the full year, industrial growth slowed to a paltry 1%, compared to a 2.9% expansion the year before, highlighting the heightened stress in the sector. Industrial output had plunged to 0.6% and the manufacturing sector fell 0.8% when India faced an economic crisis.
   "History seems to be repeating itself. IIP (index of industrial production) data released today reveals that Indian industry's performance in 2012-13 is its worst showing in the past 20 years," ratings agency Crisil said in a note. "The current situation is reminiscent of the 1991-92 crisis when industrial output grew by a mere 0.6% whereas manufacturing output contracted by 0.8%," it added.
   While policymakers were confident of growth bouncing back, economists and India Inc called for urgent policy reforms to remove the bottlenecks to growth in the industrial sector. India Inc also called for further moderation in interest rates to boost economic activity.
   "This is exactly the trend we are hoping. If it (the trend) continues, inflation comes down and growth begins to pick up, I am quite confident that growth in the current fiscal will cross the 6% mark," economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram told reporters.
   The CSO revised the February data to 0.5% from the previously reported 0.6%.
   The industrial sector has been hit hard by stubborn inflation, high interest rates, policy logjam, delay in implementation of projects and the global economic slowdown. High input costs and shortage of power have also hurt the sector.
   Crisil said a mild rise in consumption would aid recovery in the industrial sector, and called for early resolution of issues besetting the mining sector, saying it could provide some respite not only to the mining industry but also other industries such as power generation. The capital goods sector, a key indicator of industrial activity, rose 6.9% in March compared with a 20.1% decline in the year ago month. This was the second consecutive expansion in the capital goods sector which had witnessed sharp volatility in the previous months. Economists said the easing of monetary policy and clearances of pending projects should help in a modest recovery in the sector.
   "We maintain our view of a shallow recovery to 5.7% in 2013-14 versus 5% in 2012-13. This factors in the RBI easing rates by a further 50 basis points, a pick-up in consumption as 2013-14 is a pre-election year and lower rates (that) could help consumer durables; a marginal uptick in investments, which rests on continued government efforts — both policy change and execution," said Rohini Malkani, economist at Citigroup India.Indian industry stepped up calls for faster reforms and clearances to boost growth. "Looking at the financial year 2012-13 data, it is evident that the growth in manufacturing is constrained by shortage of power and subdued growth of core sectors of the economy. Electricity growth has decelerated to just half of what it was in 2011-12, which is a cause for concern," Ficci president Naina Lal Kidwai said.

Two dented, tainted mantris go in a day

New Delhi: In swift and decisive moves, the Congress brass on Friday gave marching orders to railway minister Pawan Bansal, under a cloud after the CBI arrested his nephew for taking a bribe for a Railway Board job, and law minister Ashwani Kumar, who has faced Supreme Court rap for vetting and changing the CBI report on Coalgate.
   It is learned that Sonia Gandhi leaned on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to secure their resignations. The PM agreed to remove the duo— both seen to be close to him—after a 45-minute meeting with the Congress chief who, according to sources, had strongly advocated drastic measures to counter the softon-corruption image that has been bleeding the Congress.
   The sacking of two Union ministers on corruption-linked charges on a single day is unprecedented. While the axe was wielded because of growing opposition and public pressure, there is an impression that the Congress was also seeking to draw some political mileage out of an adverse situation. While the BJP was booted out in Karnataka two days ago for running a corrupt government, the Congress is likely to brandish its new-found "intolerance" to corruption.
   Already Congress leaders were ridiculing the BJP "sermonizing" the party on probity. A sustained campaign would escalate the BJP's cost of re-inducting B S Yeddyurappa in Karnataka as that would be seen as welcoming back a "corrupt" leader. However, without him, the BJP's prospects in the Lok Sabha polls in the state will significantly recede.

FRIDAY EVENING SHOW: GONE WITH THE WIND


   Law minister Ashwani Kumar & railway minister Pawan Bansal quit after Cong chief Sonia Gandhi meets PM on Friday evening
   Oppn clamour, public outrage may have forced Cong to act. But Cong will now pit its 'intolerance to corruption' image against BJP that was booted out of Karnataka over corruption
   Cost of reinducting BSY in Karnataka goes up for BJP as he's seen to be corrupt. No reinduction will reduce its chances in the state in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections

COUNTDOWN TO SACKING

APR 12 Reports surface that Ashwani scanned CBI draft on Coalgate, toned down findings MAY 3 Railway minister Pawan Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla arrested by CBI for taking Rs 90 lakh bribe for Railway Board posting MAY 5 Cong core group meets, rules out sack of Pawan Bansal & Ashwani Kumar
MAY 6 CBI files affidavit in SC that law minister, PMO and coal ministry made significant changes in Coalgate status report
MAY 8 SC says heart of Coalgate report changed by Ashwani & govt officials
MAY 10 Sonia meets PM. PM agrees to remove Bansal and Kumar, both seen as close to him

WHAT NEXT?

Reshuffle coming: With allocation of ministries like chemicals & fertilizers pending, and some MoS holding extra charges, changes in railways & law might be couched as part of larger reshuffle

UPA-2 MINISTERS QUITTING UNDER CLOUD

NOV 15, 2010 A Raja (DMK), for 2G scam JULY 7, 2011 Dayanidhi Maran (DMK), for alleged corruption in Aircel-Maxis deal
JUN 26, 2012 Virbhadra Singh (Cong), for alleged graft in business deals
MAY 10, 2013 Pawan Bansal, Ashwani Kumar (both Cong) for Railgate, Coalgate

PM reluctant to let go of law minister Ashwani?


   Last time, Karnataka gave BJP the largest block of members of parliament from a state — 19.
   Although Manmohan Singh had seemed disinclined to drop Kumar altogether from the Cabinet, he eventually gave in to Sonia's insistence — and in every likelihood, her political game plan on corruption — on what party sources termed as "demonstrable" action against graft.
   In their resignation letters to the President, Bansal wrote that he was unaware of his nephew's contact with the Railway Board member while Kumar wrote that he was quitting to put an end to the controversy and public perception of wrongdoing.
   The railway minister reached PM's residence just before 9pm, and Kumar followed him shortly afterwards.
   Well-placed sources indicated that petroleum minister Verrappa Moily and telecom minister Kapil Sibal were being considered for holding the additional charge of the law ministry. No decision has been taken on Bansal's replacement in the railway ministry yet.
   With the resignations in, Congress swiftly moved to claim the moral high ground, while questioning BJP's commitment to probity. Party spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das said: "Congress stands by its commitment to fight corruption, and has never tolerated these issues. However, BJP has a lot to explain why it acted with such delay and reluctance against its former CMs in Karnataka and Uttarkhand, B S Yeddyurappa and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, respectively, and why there has been no action yet against Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh who faces serious charges."
   Although the fate of Bansal and Kumar had looked fragile for quite some time, the die was cast soon after Sonia Gandhi drove down to 7, Race Course Road just after 5pm for urgent consultations with the PM at his residence.
   The conversation happened against the backdrop of strong indications that CBI's investigation into the auction of crucial jobs in railways could end at Bansal's bungalow. The railway minister had earned the benefit of doubt on Sunday, with Congress's core group, party's elite decisionmaking body, giving some weightage to his argument that his maternal nephew, Vijay Singla, who is in judicial custody for taking bribes for railway posting, was not connected with him in any way.
   The PM is understood to have been reluctant to let go of Ashwani Kumar. Sources said Singh had surprised many by picking Ashwani, a relative political lightweight, for the sensitive law ministry. It's said that he had been seeming to draw a distinction between Bansal's possible culpability in the alleged misdeeds of his nephew, and the case of Kumar.
   Government sources have maintained that the law minister could at worst be accused of having committed an indiscretion in seeking to protect PM's interests in the Coalgate probe.
   However, the Congress leadership maintained that the public mood was unsparing on corruption, and will not respect a nuanced reading of perceived guilt.