Motown : 2013-14

Car sales wrapped up yet another year of disappointment as the slowing economy, higher interest rates and rising fuel prices kept buyers away from showrooms and depressed demand.
According to 2013-14 numbers released by companies, sales remained in the red or near-flat and only those with new models could score in volumes. Maruti Suzuki, the country’s biggest carmaker, could realize a poor 0.3% growth in volumes, which stood at 10.5 lakh units against 10.5 lakh units in 2012-13. Hyundai, however, slipped into the red as its volumes stood at 3.8 lakh in 2013-14 against 3.83 lakh in the previous year.
A cut in excise duty in the vote-on-account in February had given some hope to the car industry, which expected price reductions would enthuse buyers. Some positive movement was witnessed in March sales, though not big enough to signal a strong recovery.
Industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) said the situation is still not clear with relation to the demand.
Those with new models bucked the trend. Honda, that has introduced new models like the Amaze entry sedan and the next-generation City, saw sales going up 83%. Ford also rode high on the success of its mini SUV, Eco Sport and saw growth of 9%.

Of ADB's GDP forecast for India....

The Indian economy is expected to grow 5.5% in 2014-15 on the back of an improved performance in industry and services and will inch up to 6% in 2015-16 as external demand improves due to the strength in advanced economies, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday.
The government’s moves to open up some of the structural bottlenecks that have impeded industry and investment is also likely to have an impact on overall growth, the ADB said in its latest outlook. However, it cautioned that economic recovery would be a long haul.
“Economic recovery would have to be led by improved investment and consumption, but the prospects do not appear promising at this stage. Elevated inflation, a tight monetary stance, and a weak currency will continue to constrain spending. Further, fiscal austerity is likely to be an additional drag on growth,” the ADB said. It said the Cabinet Committee on Investment has cleared projects worth $89 billion, or 4.8% of GDP, and this is likely to provide some traction towards resolving issues with some of the stalled projects.
It said that better growth prospects in the US and the euro area will likely bolster external demand.

Naz Foundation files curative petition : #Sec377

Naz Foundation – an NGO fighting for gay rights – has filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court requesting it to “correct” its verdict criminalising gay sex.
A curative petition is the last option available to a litigant after exhausting all the appeals and dismissal of review petition. Curative petitions are generally not heard in open courts.
Maintaining that the SC verdict required “immediate reconsideration”, the petitioner contended that the SC judgment contained many “patent errors on the face of the record”, including non-consideration of its main contentions regarding violation of fundamental rights and mistake of law.
“We hope the Supreme Court would entertain our curative petition and grant us open court hearing enabling us to advance oral arguments,” senior advocate Anand Grover, who has been representing Naz Foundation in this case said.
The SC had on December 11 reversed a landmark 2009 Delhi high court verdict decriminalising gay sex. It had revived section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that makes gay sex an offence punishable with life imprisonment. On January 28, it declined to review its verdict re-criminalising consensual gay sex in private.
A bench of Justice HL Dattu and Justice SJ Mukopadhaya had dismissed eight review petitions filed by gay rights organizations and activists and the Union of India during in-chamber proceedings. Under SC rules, advocates cannot argue review petitions unless ordered by the court.

Delhi Metro Phase III snippets

Japan has signed an agreement to provide Rs.8,383 crore for the ongoing construction of phase III of the Delhi Metro.The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan agreement with the Indian government to provide 1,40,000 million Japanese Yen (Rs.8,383 crore approximately) of Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) for phase III of the Metro.
This amount is the second tranche of the Rs.20,000 crore (approx) soft loan that was promised by the JICA for Metro’s phase 3.
Earlier in March 2012, JICA had signed an MoU with India to release the first instalment Rs.7,659 crore for the phase III, which has total route length of 140 km and is scheduled to be completed by 2016.
The agreement was signed by Shinya Ejima , Chief Representative of JICA in India and Rajesh Khullar of the finance ministry. The loan at a concessional rate of 1.40% has a repayment period of 30 years with grace period of 10 years, said JICA officials.
According to Ejima, “Delhi Metro is a shining example of Japan’s assistance to improve the urban transport in India. The first two phases which were funded by JICA were not only completed in record time but have set off modal shift in Delhi. The present second loan for the phase III will further expand the reach of Metro, and thereby reducing congestion and pollution and boosting economic growth.”
The amount would be released in the coming financial year, said an official.
The budgeted cost of Phase III of the Delhi Metro was approximately Rs.35,000 crore, which has now increased by about 10% due the addition of some corridors in the original plan and a steep rise in the cost of raw material, said a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official.
“Financial support from JICA has been extremely helpful for Delhi Metro’s expansion,” said Anuj Dayal, chief spokesperson, DMRC.
Starting in 1997, JICA has provided 502,644 million Japanese Yen (Rs.30,098 crore approx) for the construction of Delhi Metro in all three phases.

Core Sector Grows 4.5% in February

India’s infrastructure sector output in February expanded at its quickest pace in five months, indicating some lift in the economy as the country heads to elections.
The index of eight core sector industries rose 4.5% in February from a year earlier, compared with 1.6% in the previous month.
This is the second-highest rise in core sector index since December 2012. The fastest growth in this period was in September 2013, when the index rose 8%.
The core sector index has a 38% weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which makes it a lead indicator of industrial activity and its revival suggests industrial sector may also be picking up pace.
The eight industries in the index are coal, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement, electricity, fertiliser and crude oil.
The improvement in the core sector is driven largely by electricity and steel, and there is some strength in the other key construction material, cement. Slower decline in natural gas production after last year’s massive fall has also contributed to the overall pickup.
Electricity generation rose 10.4% in February, highest since September, which bodes well for the manufacturing sector that had complained of power shortages. The output of the two key inputs for the construction sector – steel (up 4.5%) and cement (up 2.3%) – suggests some pickup in the sector that has borne the brunt of the economic slowdown in recent times.

Petrol price cut

A week before polling begins, the government has put on hold the monthly increase in diesel prices and sought the Election Commission’s nod to abandon further hikes. State firms have also cut petrol prices by 90 paise per litre as the rupee has strengthened while international price softened in the past two weeks.
Indian Oil Corp said that oil firms are awaiting further orders before raising diesel prices. It said oil firms had been abiding by the oil ministry order dated January 17 2013 to raise diesel prices every month by about 50 paise, but the gap between the administered and market rates of the fuel has now fallen to Rs.5.93 per litre. “(This) is below Rs.6/ litre, which is the interim subsidy cap recommended by the Expert Group 2013 of Kirit Parikh. Hence, the issue of monthly price increase is under consideration and the matter has been referred to the Election Commission. A decision regarding revision of diesel price shall therefore be taken on receipt of further advice by the Govt,” it said.

SC commutes Bhullar's sentence

The Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of 1993 Delhi terror convict Devender Pal Singh Bhullar to life imprisonment on the grounds of delay in deciding his mercy petition and because he suffers from a mental illness. The Supreme Court in a verdict on January 21 had held that inordinate, unexplained and unreasonable delay in deciding the mercy petition and insanity/mental illness/schizophrenia were the circumstances for commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment. Regional parties of Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference and PDP reacted to the development by saying the verdict showed that Afzal Guru, convicted for the attack on Parliament, was denied justice.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said the Bhullar decision was “another example of double-standards displayed vis-à-vis Kashmir”. She said it reopened the wounds of Kashmir. “Such discriminatory approach about Kashmir needs to be responded forcefully to prevent their repetition in future,” Mufti told a public meeting in Anantnag. “It needs a united and strong response at political level and through democratic institutions.” Mufti accused ruling NC of “collaborating” in Guru hanging in the most inhuman manner by even denying him a last customary meeting with his family.

FROM THE NOOSE TO MERCY
AUGUST 25, 2001: Bhullar was sentenced to death by a Delhi court.He then appealed in the Supreme Court.
MARCH 22, 2002 :The apex court confirmed the death sentence.
DECEMBER 17, 2002 :A review petition filed by Bhullar was dismissed.
JANUARY 14, 2003 :Bhullar filed a mercy petition before the President of India.
MARCH 12, 2003 :A curative petition filed by him was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
MAY 30, 2011 :President rejected Bhullar’s mercy plea.
JUNE 24, 2011 :Navneet Kaur filed a writ petition in view of president’s decision.
APRIL 12, 2013 :The Supreme Court observed that there was an unreasonable delay of eight years in the disposal of the mercy petition. However the writ petition was dismissed since Bhullar was convicted under TADA Act.
AUGUST 13, 2013 :Navneet filed a review petition again, which was dismissed by the SC. She then filed a curative petition.
JANUARY 31, 2014 :SC stayed Bhullar's execution and agreed to review its judgment by which it had rejected the convict's plea to commute his death sentence to life.
MARCH 31, 2014 :SC commuted Bhullar’s death sentence to life in prison.