NaMo on the Land Bill

With the early enactment of the land acquisition bill looking uncertain, PM Narendra Modi reached out to his opponents for support with the promise that his government was ready to drop any provision in the bill that was considered to be anti-farmer. Modi also emphasized that passage of the land bill would be particularly beneficial for eastern UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, eastern Andhra Pradesh and the north-east--an assertion which was interpreted as a pitch aimed at regional parties like SP, JD(U), BJD, BSP and TRS who can help the government overcome its number handicap in Rajya Sabha. However, even as the PM struck a conciliatory note and argued that parties should rise above partisan considerations to take a stand, he was not apologetic about seeking to discard the law enacted under UPA. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Lok Sabha that the land acquisition bill enacted by the UPA was flawed and needed to be changed. Citing protests by chief ministers of states ruled by different parties and the armed forces, he said the UPA law was hindering development and had held up defence facilities. Modi also said nobody should have the arrogance that what they had done was perfect and could not be bettered, in what was seen as a dig at Congress for passionately holding on to the law framed under UPA.
The PM said the land acquisition law was made with an eye on the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. “Land was being acquired under the 1894 law for 120 years and so it is not accidental that Congress woke up to the need to change it in 2013,“ he said. Modi further said while BJP had cooperated with the UPA government on the acquisition law despite knowing full well that it was motivated by electoral considerations, it became convinced of the need to change it in the light of the experience of states which complained that they could not find land for creating irrigation facilities and rural infrastructure.
On MGNREGA, Modi's tone oscillated between condescending and confrontational. He rebutted the allegation that his government wanted to dilute the rural jobs scheme, saying he had enough political intelligence to understand that he should keep the project going if only as a “monument of Congress's failure on the development front“. “Whatever else you may charge me with, you cannot accuse me of lacking political intelligence. And my political sense is that I should keep this project going just as evidence of your failure. That 60 years after independence people are having to dig ditches in order to subsist speaks a lot about you and I should keep this going with great fanfare,“ he said.

India First

Faced with criticism he was soft on Hindutva hardliners, PM Narendra Modi stressed that as head of the government, he was obligated to ensure the primacy of the Constitution and rein in those making communal statements. “This country can only be run in accordance with the Constitution. It is the expression of the ethos the country has followed for thousands of years, and reflects hopes and aspirations of the common man. The country cannot be governed by disregarding its tenets. No one can take law into his hands and nobody can discriminate against anyone on grounds of faith.Those making irresponsible statements should remember that being the head of the government, it's my responsibility to determine how it functions,“ Modi said, rejecting the “soft-on-communalism“ charge against the Centre as “imaginary“.
Replying to a debate on the motion of thanks on the President's address in Lok Sabha, the PM said, “I have repeatedly said my government has only one religion, the one which puts India above everything else. It treats the Constitution as its sole scripture and its devotion is only to the country . It worships only the cause of the welfare of all the 1.25 billion citizens. It's geared to achieve the objective of `sabka saath, sabka vikas'.“ PM Modi also said he was opposed to the imposition of unity, saying this country was defined by diversity . “We have been defined by unity in diversity . This has been our strength and it is only in India that diverse faiths can flourish,“ he said.
Although just a reiteration, the comments take on significance because it came against the backdrop of a flurry of statements from Hindutva hardliners and the resultant perception that the Modi government was being indulgent.The PM had spoken in a similar vein while addressing a gathering of Christians on February 17.
His speech on Friday stood out because it was the first time he had addressed the concern about his government's stance on communalism in Parliament.
During the winter session of Parliament, the government had rejected the opposition's demand that the PM spell out his stance on the VHP's reconversion campaign, resulting in quite a few sittings of Rajya Sabha being washed out.
However, even as he dealt with the issue at some length on Friday , the PM resented the charge that his government had failed to leash Hindutva hardliners, calling it a “figment of imagination“. He said while the poison of communalism, which has caused havoc, was allowed to spread for political reasons for a long time, it was his government which was being sought to be put in the dock over it. He also told a member of the opposition who had challenged his statement that he could effectively rebut him but was not doing so because he did not wish to waste time. Modi also recalled the speech he gave in Patna on October 27, 2013, minutes after terrorists had bombed a rally killing half-a-dozen people and injuring several others.
“Blood was flowing amid gun shots and bomb explosions. Innocents had been killed at a gathering of lakhs. The atmosphere was filled with hate. In such moments, you speak what you honestly believe in. And on that day , I appealed to Hindus and Muslims that they had fought long enough without gaining anything. I told them that they should fight their poverty instead of each other,“ the PM said.

Spectrum Sale snippets

The Supreme Court cleared the way for next month's spectrum auctions to go ahead as scheduled, but said the results can't be finalised without its nod, throwing the telecom department and operators into a tizzy. A bench, comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Adarsh Kumar Goel, added a further rider -that no winner in the sale scheduled to start on March 4 can claim any “equity“ just because it had won a bid ­ creating further uncertainty among operators.
The top court's interim order will hold till March 26, when it hears the central government's plea against any court interference in the auction process. A ruling could come well after the auction process is over.Harried officials of the department of telecommunications were struggling to figure out the importance of the ruling and were likely to consult legal experts.
Another senior telecom department official, though, put up a brave face, saying the judgment was very clear that the auctions would continue as per schedule.
The government had consciously decided to move the Supreme Court on the matter to ensure that a “deliberate, calibrated and selective attempt on the part of some operators to frustrate the auctions is not allowed to succeed and we are very happy and assured with the court's order.“
The government had sought the top court's intervention to stop interference by high courts in the auction conditions, a policy issue which it said fell in the executive's domain and should not be altered.
At least five cases had been filed by telecom operators such as Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular in the high courts in Delhi, Karnataka, Allahabad and Tripura, challenging various aspects of the government's auction conditions.
The Tripura High Court had directed the government to allot 4.4 MHz in the Northeast circle, instead of the minimum 5 MHz mandated by the auction rules.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had urged the court to transfer all these cases to the top court and decide them once and for all for the sake of clarity. The bench, acting on the transfer petition, Thursday refused a plea to put off the auction process for a few days to allow for more clarity in the process. There may be some inconsistencies in the government policy , but that was no ground to stay the process, Justice Misra observed.

Suresh Prabhu @work

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu kept fares unchanged and eschewed populist gestures such as new trains and stations in his maiden Railway Budget, preferring instead to bring a technocrat's focus to try and improve amenities for customers, set the organisation's trajectory for the next five years and put its derailed finances back on tracks.
Prabhu, whose appointment as railway minister last November had raised hopes of fresh thinking in a ministry long used by politicians to dispense favours to their constituencies, also announced hefty spending increases for building more capacity and track electrification, and unveiled plans to introduce faster trains on existing tracks and sweat railways' assets better by roping in the private sector. The cash-strapped railways will create new special purpose vehicles to secure investments, he said, as he sketched out plans to tap low cost money from long-term investors such as insurance and pension funds, and multilateral agencies.Prabhu, who has secured support worth Rs.40,000 crore from the Union Budget which signals the government's intent to spend more to revive investments, plans to tap a wide range of non-railway sources to augment investments, including setting up JVs with states, PSUs with large investible resources and multilateral and bilateral agencies. Other measures include monetising rail assets, particularly railway stations that can be expanded and refashioned as business hubs, and leveraging earnings to raise capital from the market. The budget drew plaudits from experts, many of whom saw it as a credible start to try and reform a sinking organisation, but it received a thumbs down from the markets where the feeling was it wasn't bold enough because it steered clear of privatisation and did not have bold moves for organisational change vital to realize some of Prabhu's plans.  Political rivals of BJP slammed the budget, while its partner Shiv Sena wasn't enthused either, saying the budget had little for Mumbai or Maharashtra.
The minister did not raise passenger fares, to the disappointment of some reform pundits. Freight charges were, however, increased by up to 10%, portending higher costs for companies in sectors such as steel, coal and fertilisers.
Prabhu said prices had already been increased last June and there had been no major concomitant improvement in passenger amenities. adding that it would be difficult to explain fare increases when diesel prices had fallen.
In the next five years, the railway minister has promised a major improvements in customer experience in a host of areas such as cleanliness, comfort, service quality and train speeds.From a 24-hour helpline to mobile charging facilities on all trains to a choice of cuisine to WiFi in stations, Prabhu said railway consumers would get access to all these services.
He also announced plans to launch services called `Train Sets' in the next two years on some routes, saying these modern trains similar to Japan's Bullet trains in design would provide vastly better customer experience and a 20% saving in journey time as these imported trains travelled at higher speeds on existing tracks. Prabhu said the speeds in nine railway corridors would be increased to 160-200 km per hour from 110-130 kmph now. Prabhu is targeting an operating ratio -a key gauge of operational efficiency -of 88.5% for the next financial year to end-March 2015, the best in nine years and compared with 91.8% expected this year. A lower operating ratio means that the railways will save more on every rupee it earns, allowing it to invest more to grow its operations and provide better facilities. He also announced an investment plan of Rs.8.5 lakh crore for the next five years.

GIFT City snippets

After the Bombay Stock Exchange, another leading bourse, National Stock Exchange (NSE), will set up an international exchange in GIFT SEZ in Gandhinagar, which is being developed as India's first international financial services centre (IFSC).
NSE on Thursday signed an MoU with GIFT SEZ to develop an exchange providing an electronic platform for trading, clearing and settlement of securities.
The exchange is expected to start operations within a year provided regulations concerning IFSC are announced. Chitra Ramkrishna, MD & CEO, NSE, said, “Through this exchange, NSE will move in the international arena.“
Over the past few months, many big players have announced their projects in GIFT City , a brain child of former chief minister and now PM, Narendra Modi.
The GIFT SEZ has initiated talks with New York, London, Dubai and Singapore stock exchangees for establishing operations. “They are very keen to come to GIFT but are awaiting regulations with regard to IFSC in India,“ said Ramakant Jha, MD & CEO, GIFT City Ltd.

Of Information on Mantris' Assets....

In a blow to transparency, the PMO has decided to block public access to the wealth declarations made by ministers. The details of assets and liabilities of the Union council of ministers has been available online since 2010. However, the details are now password protected and can only be accessed by the authorized personnel. In fact, information on assets and liabilities of the present council of ministers was available till recently.
According to the website pmindia.gov.in, the information was last updated on February 11, 2015, when the username and password protection might have been introduced.

Online happeningz