The biggest Maoist strike in W Bengal

In the biggest ever attack launched by Maoists against security forces in West Bengal, a camp of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) at Silda, 10 km from Jhargram town, was over-run by their armed squad this evening. At least 20 EFR jawans are feared to have been killed, officials said -- at least five of them burnt to death after being forced to huddle in a makeshift tent which was then set ablaze. The Maoists are said to have escaped with the camp's stockpile of INSAS rifles and SLRs. This is the second Maoist attack on an EFR camp, the last one was on November 4 in Gidhni near the Jharkhand border in which four jawans were killed. The Silda camp, set up in 2009 before the Lalgarh operations, had over 50 jawans when the attack occurred.
According to preliminary reports, a group of about 100 armed Maoists arrived in two vans, a Bolero and six motorcycles. They launched the attack by throwing a grenade just outside the camp which drew the jawans out who were then targeted. Many jawans are said to have escaped. Two Maoists were injured but they were reportedly taken away by their associates. Local officials said that Maoists also planted landmines on the stretch leading to the camp which is in the middle of a crowded, bustling market. Seven shops next to the camp were also torched by the Maoists. This attack comes six days after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram visited Kolkata and held a meeting with Chief Ministers of Maoist-affected states at Writers' Buildings giving final touches to what was being planned as a joint operation by security forces. The Home Minister also urged Maoists to shun violence and come to talk.But within hours of today's attack, Maoist leader Kishenji called up local TV channels and claimed responsibility for the attack.Threatening to repeat such strikes, he said this was "our reply to Operation Green Hunt" and claimed that "at least 35 jawans" were killed. The bullet-ridden, charred bodies of the EFR jawans were strewn in pools of blood as fire raged in the tent.

Narmada project update

The Narmada project, tipped as Gujarat’s lifeline, is set to get a big boost. The Union government plans to pump in Rs 11,000 crore to help Gujarat government complete canal networking of Narmada project by 2015. Canal networking is under construction for taking waters to 18 lakh hectares (ha) of farm fields falling under Narmada command. To put things in perspective, a total of over Rs 30,000 crore has been invested in the project so far. An agreement with Government of India (GoI) for allocating Rs 6,777 crore for constructing branch and minor canals as also distributaries is almost final. What’s more, an additional Rs 4,000 crore is expected flow in the form of grants for sub-minors, field channels and drainage to take waters right up to fields, say sources close to the development. “GoI has agreed to a tie-up till 2014-15 with Gujarat government for canal networking up to the point sub-minors start. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for Rs 7,782 crore is being finalised. Of this, GoI will fund 87 per cent which comes to Rs 6,777 crore,” said a senior state government official. The Centre will allocate about 25% for completing canal networking up to Ahmedabad — a total of Rs 349 crore still needs to be spent to finish this work. However, GoI plans to give about 90% of cost as grant for the rest of Gujarat, considered to be drought-prone, under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme’s Bharat Nirman scheme of GoI. The cost of canal networking for North Gujarat is Rs 3,015 crore; Rs 2,996 crore for Saurashtra and Rs 1,422 crore for Kutch. As for developing networking in 18 lakh ha of farm fields, the official said, the state is in the process of finalising a proposal under a GoI scheme in which it can get 50 per cent of funds from the Central Command Area Development Programme (CODP), for developing sub-minors, field channel and drainage system. Estimates suggest the total work will cost Rs 8,000 crore, of which Rs 4,000 crore is receivable as grant. To end funds crunch, it is expected to quicken up command area development, whose 75 per cent of work is yet to be completed.

Food inflation at 18%

Food inflation rose for the third straight week to touch almost 18% in January-end, fuelled by costlier potatoes and pulses. Food inflation rose by 0.38 percentage points during the week ended January 30 from a week ago. This has given rise to expectations that the Budget will continue with the zero import duty regime for wheat, rice, pulses, sugar and edible oils but added to concerns that raising motor fuel prices or deregulating them at this point will further jack up prices. Food inflation had started showing signs of receding after touching the decade’s high of about 20% in December. But it has been on the rebound again since the last three weeks. In the week under review, inflation rose mainly because potatoes and pulses were up 40.57% and 41.24%, respectively, from their year-ago levels. Economists say along with fuel inflation, food inflation is putting upward pressure on the overall inflation, already at 7.31% in December. The index for fuel group rose by 1.2% in the week due to higher prices of non-coking coal (15%) and coking coal (11%). This has also caused concern in some quarters of the government over freeing motor fuel prices or raising them at this point. On annual basis, vegetable prices have increased by around 21%, while wheat became dearer by over 15%. The price index for food articles, on the weekly basis, rose 0.3% on account of costly fruits and vegetables (2%), while fish marine, spices, condiments and bajra became dearer by 1% each. The RBI, in its quarterly monetary review, asked banks to keep aside more cash with them. It hiked cash reserve ratio (amount banks have to park with the RBI overnight) by 75 basis points to 5.75%, sucking out Rs 36,000 crore from the system. Though food inflation has been back on a northward trail, the government and its functionaries remain confident the prices will come down. According to RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn, food inflation is expected to moderate towards the year-end, but only “in the event of normal monsoon’’. Last week, PM Manmohan Singh told the chief ministers’ conference that the worst was over and prices will stabilise soon.

Right to education kicks in on April 1

After more than six months’ wait, HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Friday signed the file for the notification of the Right to Education Act, 2009, in the next few days and its implementation from April 1. Delay in working out the finances and funding pattern between the Centre and states were the reasons given by HRD ministry for sitting on the notification. But the funding pattern is yet to be worked out and there is uncertainty on how much will be allocated for RTE in the upcoming budget. Ministry sources say only a small part of RTE implementation is dependent on finances. The ministry has projected Rs 1.71 lakh crore as the total cost of RTE, for both Centre and states, for five years. Right to education being a fundamental right, the government is obliged to provide funding, sources said. They also said, “Much of what is needed under Right to Education is already there in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which is going to be the main vehicle for implementing the historic legislation. Additional requirements will be only in terms of getting more teachers and building more classrooms.” Though late, the notification will ensure that state governments get into the act immediately and start by making it mandatory for schools to implement 25% reservation for poor children in the neighbourhood. But schools, especially private ones, in many states like Delhi might miss the reservation bus since the admission process for the coming academic session is in an advanced stage. Model rules for states have already been finalized while those for Union Territories are in an advanced stage. As for finances, sources said it is going to be a tough battle finalizing the funding pattern. States are also awaiting the 13th Finance Commission report to know what kind of devolution of funds has been recommended. Sources said more than Rs 20,000 crore has been given to the states for SSA. Hope stems from the fact that the Centre as well as states are in the process of finalizing their budgets. It is also expected that demand for extra funds will be met through supplementary grants.

Kolhapuri chappals’ GI tag snippets

Karnataka and Maharashtra have jointly applied for GI (geographical indication) tag of Kolhapuri chappals that’ll ensure that there aren’t any copies of the native product. Geographical Indication (GI) is a sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that place of origin. While not a branding process, they increase the brand value of the product in national and international markets. G L Verma, assistant registrar of trade marks and GI, said the tag ensures the name of the product is not misused by others trying to take advantage of the recognition value that a product from one area might have. GI is governed by the Geographical Indication of Goods (registration and protection act) 1999.

Ahmedabad BRTS update

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has invited firms for constructing the Rs 16.51 crore BRTS elevated corridor. The three-km-long corridor has been planned between Dariyapur Darwaza and New Cloth market to ease off traffic for BRTS bus service that will be extended to Kalupur by the end of next year. The average carriage width of each of the side of the corridor will be 7.5 metre. The project will take at least 18 months for completion, said AMC sources. AMC is consulting STUP engineering consultants for the elevated corridor. The corridor is supposed to take the BRTS bus directly to the entrance of Kalupur railway station. A metro line is also being envisioned.

New Chennai-Bangalore road to cut 100 kms

The travelling time between Chennai and Bangalore by road could get shorter with the governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka evaluating possibilities of reducing distance between the two cities to about 250km from the present 350km, with plans also afoot to promote this route as an industrial and manufacturing hub. A pre-feasibility study has already been completed in this respect by management and engineering consultancy, Mott Macdonald. While financial details of the project are not available, it is expected to be in two phases, with the Chennai-Bangalore corridor being developed in the first phase, followed by the Bangalore-Mumbai corridor. “Apart from developing a freight corridor, there are plans of making the entire stretch an industrial and commercial hub,” said Rajeev Ranjan, principal secretary, industries department, Government of Tamil Nadu. There would also be rail linkages along the route. According to officials, active discussions are on with their counterparts in Karnataka. This would not be part of the Golden Quadrilateral, they clarified. “As far as the route, we are working on various permutations and combinations. We are also evaluating the shortest route of 250 km,” added Ranjan. Auto and electronic firms are expected to develop along the corridor. Officials also added that if a new route was developed between the two cities, it would lead to development of new townships and SEZs (special economic zones) along the way. Already, the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam belt on the NH4 is lined with big players from the automobile industry and EMS (electronic manufacturing services) companies like Nokia, Flextronics and consumer electronics majors like Samsung. On the Bangalore side, it is dotted by the huge campuses of tech titans like Infosys and Wipro, including those in the Electronics City. Just outside Bangalore limits in Hosur (part of Tamil Nadu), automotive companies like Ashok Leyland and TVS Motor have their manufacturing units. The development of this stretch is further expected to give a fillip to industry in both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka along underdeveloped stretches at Chittoor.