Archive for ‘India alert’

19/02/2014

India is 4th most dangerous country for journalists in 2013: Report – The Times of India

One hundred and thirty-four journalists and media support staff were killed while on reporting assignments last year, with India fourth on the list of countries with the most number of deaths, the London-based International News Safety Institute (INSI) said on Tuesday.

Most of those killed were targeted deliberately.

Of these, 65 died covering armed conflicts – primarily in Syria, where 20 were killed, and Iraq, where the death total was 16 – while 51 were killed in peacetime covering issues like crime and corruption, and 18 died in accidents.

After Syria and Iraq, cited by the institute as the most dangerous countries for journalists last year, came Philippines with 14 deaths, India with 13 and Pakistan with 9.

via India is 4th most dangerous country for journalists in 2013: Report – The Times of India.

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18/02/2014

UPDATE 1-Coal India units see double-digit output growth in 2014/15 | Reuters

The expected production jump will help India keep a lid on imports of coal, which have surged in recent years due to regulatory, environmental and land acquisition delays in starting new mines at home.

Coal India Limited

Coal India Limited (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mahanadi Coalfields, a Coal India unit with operations in the eastern state of Odisha, expects output to rise to 135 million tonnes next fiscal year from about 114 million this year, Director Of Operations A.K. Tiwari told Reuters.

via UPDATE 1-Coal India units see double-digit output growth in 2014/15 | Reuters.

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17/02/2014

The Other MIT: Microsoft CEO’s Alma Mater in India – Businessweek

Satya Nadella studied engineering at southern India’s Manipal Institute of Technology. Unlike its Massachusetts namesake, the Indian MIT isn’t so accustomed to the spotlight. The school is part of Manipal University, a private school that traditionally hasn’t enjoyed the same prestige as the Indian Institutes of Technology, the country’s elite public-sector schools launched by Jawaharlal Nehru shortly after independence.

Image representing Satya Nadella as depicted i...

Image via CrunchBase

“People’s general perception was the private universities were not able to bring out this kind of quality,” explains Ranjan Pai, Manipal’s chancellor. When it comes to higher education, “the private sector in India has generally been looked down upon.”

Having an alumnus from the Indian MIT in one of the world’s highest-profile—albeit most difficult—corporate jobs should help Pai, 41, as he tries to change that perception. His grandfather founded Manipal in the early 1950s, and today there are two campuses in the state of Karnataka as well as separate schools in the northern city of Jaipur and the Himalayan state of Sikkim. Combined, there are more than 30,000 students attending Manipal classes in person, with an additional 250,000 enrolled online.

via The Other MIT: Microsoft CEO’s Alma Mater in India – Businessweek.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/2014/02/04/microsoft-names-satya-nadella-as-ceo-india-real-time-wsj/

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17/02/2014

India Budget Plans 2 Gigawatts Solar Farms to Double Capacity – Businessweek

India plans to start work on at least 2 gigawatts of solar farms in the year starting April that would nearly double its current photovoltaic capacity.

English: Solar power plant at Om Shanti Retrea...

English: Solar power plant at Om Shanti Retreat Centre, Gurgaon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The proposed new capacity would take the form of four so-called mega solar power projects capable of generating more than 500 megawatts each, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said today in New Delhi in a speech announcing an interim budget that would provide funds until a new parliament is elected in national polls due by May.

A record 15 percent of about 800 million voters will be eligible to cast ballots for the first time as the rising cost of electricity turns into an electoral issue. With the solar farms announced today and already existing targets, India is planning a sixfold increase in solar capacity by 2017 to reduce blackouts and diversify away from coal and gas-fired plants hamstrung by fuel shortages.

via India Budget Plans 2 Gigawatts Solar Farms to Double Capacity – Businessweek.

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17/02/2014

India defence spending seen rising 10 pct to $36 bln in 2014/15 | Reuters

India is a top market for defence hardware, buying some $12.7 billion in arms during 2007-2011, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

via India defence spending seen rising 10 pct to $36 bln in 2014/15 | Reuters.

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17/02/2014

India budget-2013/14 agri exports likely to touch $45 bln vs $41 bln in 2012/13 | Reuters

India’s Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told parliament on Monday that India’s 2013/14 agricultural exports were likely to touch $45 billion vs $41 billion in 2012/13.

Chidambaram was presenting an interim budget to tide public finances over until a new government is formed after elections due by May.

via India budget-2013/14 agri exports likely to touch $45 bln vs $41 bln in 2012/13 | Reuters.

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14/02/2014

Kejriwal resigns as Delhi Chief Minister – The Hindu

Arvind Kejriwal on Friday night resigned as Chief MInister of Delhi after suffering a defeat in the assembly on the Jan Lokpal Bill, bringing to an end a tumultuous run of 49-days in power on top of an anti-graft civil society movement.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at a special session of the Delhi Assembly in New Delhi on Friday. Mr. Kejriwal has resigned as Delhi CM after the completion of the special session.

Goverment sources told PTI that he has sent his resignation to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung shortly after a meeting of the Cabinet.

Earlier, Mr. Kejriwal gave enough indications that his government may quit after the BJP and Congress combined to defeat introduction of the Jan Lokpal Bill which he tabled in the Assembly defying Lt Governor’s advice.

“This appears to be our last session. I will consider myself fortunate if I have to sacrifice the chief minister’s post 1,000 times and my life to eradicate corruption,” he said in a brief speech in the Assembly after his government suffered defeat on its pet anti-graft legislation.

via Kejriwal resigns as Delhi Chief Minister – The Hindu.

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13/02/2014

* India Approves Paying $54-a-Ton Subsidy for Raw Sugar Exports – Businessweek

India, the world’s biggest sugar producer after Brazil, will introduce a subsidy on raw sweetener exports to boost shipments amid a domestic glut, a government official said.

The cabinet approved a 3,333 rupees ($54) a metric ton subsidy for exports in February and March and will review the amount in April, the official, who asked not to be named because the person isn’t authorized to speak to the media, said in New Delhi yesterday after the cabinet meeting. That’s 67 percent more than the 2,000 rupees previously proposed by the Food Ministry. India will subsidize as much as 4 million tons in the next two years, the official said.

Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd., Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd. (BRCM) and other mills are counting on government support to increase shipments and trim record losses as cane costs climb and prices drop. The subsidy will help spur exports from India and help the country compete with supplies from Thailand, Michael McDougall, a senior vice president at Newedge Group in New York, said by phone yesterday. Refineries including Dubai-based Al Khaleej Sugar Co. will benefit from Indian supplies, he said.

via India Approves Paying $54-a-Ton Subsidy for Raw Sugar Exports – Businessweek.

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13/02/2014

* Rice Exports From India Climbing to Record on Mideast Demand – Businessweek

Rice shipments from India, the world’s largest producer after China, will probably expand to a record as buyers from Iran to Saudi Arabia boost purchases of aromatic basmati grain used in biryani and pilaf dishes.

Exports are set to increase 7.8 percent to 11 million metric tons in the 12 months through March from a year earlier, said M.P. Jindal, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association. Sales of basmati may jump 14 percent to 4 million tons as cargoes of non-basmati varieties advance 4 percent to 7 million tons, he said in a phone interview.

Shipments are increasing from India as Thailand, once the world’s biggest supplier, is also set to boost exports. The Southeast Asian country has built record stockpiles big enough to meet about a third of global import demand under a buying program that started in 2011. Farmers are demanding the government sell the reserves to pay for their crop.

via Rice Exports From India Climbing to Record on Mideast Demand – Businessweek.

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13/02/2014

Labor Issues Prompt Inquiry into Tata’s Tea – India Real Time – WSJ

Nearly a year after human-rights groups complained about working and living conditions on tea plantations run by Amalgamated Plantations Private Ltd., the World Bank has ordered an inquiry.

APPL, a joint venture of Tata Global Beverages Ltd.500800.BY -1.67% and the International Finance Corp., the private-sector lending arm of the bank, employs around 30,000 people on 20 plantations in the northeastern state of Assam.

Tata Global Beverages owns the Tetley Tea brand.

Rights groups, including People’s Action for Development and Nazdeek, told the bank’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman that the plantations weren’t adhering to Indian laws.

Many tea workers earn less than $2 a day and it “is impossible to properly feed themselves and their family with this amount of money,” the complaint said. “As a result, many workers suffer from malnutrition.”

Ashoke Bordoloi, chief financial officer of APPL said, “We look after our workers and are compliant with the law.” He said the company would extend “full cooperation” to World Bank auditors.

In 2009, Tata Global Beverages received an investment of $8 million from the IFC to address issues concerning workplace and community health and safety.

But civil rights groups allege that the money hasn’t been used.

“Facilities like living quarters, safe drinking water and toilet facilities and proper education for them, have not yet been provided by the management,” Barnabas Kindo, social activist working with PAJHRA, a group working for improving living conditions of tribal people in the northeast told India Real Time Wednesday.

via Labor Issues Prompt Inquiry into Tata’s Tea – India Real Time – WSJ.

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