1)Decision on ordinances today
Ahead of the Union Cabinet meeting on Sunday evening, the Congress Core group will meet in the afternoon to consider, once again, whether it should clear a set of ordinances on anti-corruption measures, welfare of the SC/STs and the disabled, and the setting up of a SEBI regulator.On Saturday evening, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met her political secretary Ahmed Patel along with some Union Ministers, including A.K. Antony, Sushilkumar Shinde and Jairam Ramesh.Shortly thereafter, Law Minister Kapil Sibal and Mr. Shinde called on President Pranab Mukherjee and discussed the ordinances. Official sources said the President did not favour the idea as the life of this government is winding to a close.While the Congress, especially its vice-president Rahul Gandhi, is very keen that the party complete its social welfare agenda and clear the anti-graft measures before the general election, neither the Cabinet, which met here on Friday, nor the Congress Core group that convened later in the evening, feels it would be appropriate at this stage of the regime to push through a bunch of ordinances, even to make a political point.Official sources said the sense was that it would invite criticism, and even if the ordinances were cleared by the Cabinet, it was doubtful if the President would oblige the government by signing on them. These ordinances were on the agenda of the Cabinet on Friday but a decision was postponed, reportedly after Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said he did not see the need to promulgate ordinances at the very end of the tenure of the government. Mr. Pawar is believed to have said the matter should be left for the next government.No agenda yetCuriously, at the time of our going to press, the Ministers had not received the agenda papers for Sunday's Cabinet meeting that comes hours before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s departure for Myanmar on an official visit. The ordinances under consideration include the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, the Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and the Redressal of their Grievances Bill, the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, the Rights of Persons with Disability Bill and the SEBI Bill.
2)RAW officer found dead with family
A 52-year-old Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer was found dead along with his wife and two children inside his house at Sadiq Nagar in South Delhi on Saturday evening.
According to the police, the officer, Ananya Chakravarty -- who was an inspector with RAW and posted as a field officer in the Cabinet Secretariat -- was found hanging from a ceiling fan in the drawing room of his house, while the bodies of his wife Jaishri and daughter Disha (12) were found in an adjacent bedroom. His son Arnab (17) was found dead in his own room. The house was bolted from inside and the main door had to be broken open by the police.
Mr. Chakravarty lived on the second floor of the type- IV government quarters with his family. His neighbours said they last saw the family on Friday night.
“The incident came to light when their maid reached there around 3-30 p.m. She rang the bell but there was no response. She then went down and called out for the guard, but he too did not respond. She then informed the neighbours following which the police were called in,” said a police officer.
A police team broke open the door and found Mr. Chakravarty, his wife and his son dead in separate rooms. They also recovered a blood-stained hammer which they suspect was used to kill Jaishri and the two children. No suicide note has been found and there are no signs of a forced entry, the police said.The police suspect the incident might have taken place on Friday night as none of the neighbours saw the family members on Saturday and their phones were also switched off since morning. However, the exact time of death will be ascertained after the post-mortem.“Prima facie it seems that Chakravarty first killed his family and then committed suicide,” said a senior police officer.Sources said problems with the in-laws might have prompted Chakravarty to take the extreme step.The bodies were later moved to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences for post-mortem. So far, the police have questioned the maid, the locality guard and the neighbours.
3)Russia’s parliament backs use of Army in Ukraine
Russia’s Parliament has approved the use of armed force in Ukraine, even as the West warned Moscow not to intervene in the troubled post-Soviet state. President Vladimir Putin, who is Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armed forces, asked the Parliament for permission to use the Russian armed forces to “protect” Russian civilians and military in Ukraine.Meeting in emergency session on Saturday the Federation Council, the Russian Parliament’s upper house, unanimously granted its “consent for the use of armed forces in Ukraine till normalisation of the situation” in the neighbouring country.The move came in response to a request of help to “secure peace and calm” in Crimea from the newly appointed pro-Russian Prime Minister of the region. Sergei Aksyonov said on Saturday that Russian troops from the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea were already guarding vital facilities in the region and helping ensure public order.“The situation in the autonomous republic of Crimea has been taken under full control,” said Mr. Aksyonov, who replaced a Centre-appointed head of Crimea after the region rejected the authority of the new government in Kiev.Mr. Aksyonov told a Cabinet meeting on Saturday that a referendum on greater independence of Crimea from Kiev will be held on March 30, almost two months earlier than announced on Thursday. Voters will be asked to say yes or no to the question: “The Autonomous Republic of the Crimea enjoys state independence and is part of Ukraine on the basis of treaties and agreements.”On Saturday, thousands of demonstrators rallied in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking cities of Donets and Kharkiv in support of the demand to call similar referendums in their regions.In announcing plans to send more troops to Crimea, Mr. Putin ignored U.S. President Barack Obama’s warnings of consequences for Moscow’s interference. “Any violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilising, which is not in the interests of Ukraine, Russia or Europe,” Mr. Obama said in a statement from the White House on Friday. Russia’s lawmakers on Saturday asked Mr. Putin to recall the Russian ambassador from the U.S. in protest against Mr. Obama’s “threats.”Ukraine’s Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov accused Russia of trying to annex Crimea as it did the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008.“Russia has launched undisguised aggression against our country,” Mr. Turchynov said in a TV address, appealing to Mr. Putin to “stop provocations and start negotiations.”
4)February brings some relief for car makers
Amid the prolonged slowdown, February brought good news for some automobile makers. Companies, including Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai saw an uptick in their sales, mainly driven by recent price cuts following the lowering of excise duty in the ‘vote-on-account’ interim budget.
Maruti Suzuki India sold 99,758 units in the domestic market in February, up 1.80 per cent compared with 97,955 units in the same month last year.
Hyundai Motor India’s (HMIL) domestic sales increased marginally to 34,005 units in February 2013.
“Post the reduction in excise duty, inquiry inflow has increased with February sales of 34,005 units, a growth of 2 per cent over the earlier month, and it is expected that this would lead towards creation of a positive momentum,” HMIL Senior Vice-President-Sales and Marketing Rakesh Srivastava said.
Honda Cars India reported a over two-fold increase in domestic sales at 14,543 units in February, mainly led by the new ‘City’.
“We are happy to see the huge demand for the all new Honda City which has gained the leadership position in its segment from the first month itself,” HCIL Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Jnaneswar Sen said.
The company sold 7,213 units of its premium sedan, City, during the month.
Similarly, Ford India’s domestic sales were up 51.42 per cent at 6,799 units in February as against 4,490 units in the same month in the previous year.
“...The recent reductions in excise duty should provide a positive message to customers and encourage them to make the most of the outstanding value being offered on our smart, safe and fuel-efficient products,” Ford India Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Service) Vinay Piparsania said.
On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra’s domestic sales stood at 39,338 units last month, as against 44,399 in the same month in the previous year, down 11.39 per cent year-on-year.
“The auto industry has received the much needed boost in terms of an excise duty reduction and this has resulted in higher inquiries over the last one week,” M&M Chief Executive (Automotive Division) Pravin Shah said. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) reported a 20.82 per cent fall in its domestic sales at 10,100 units in February 2014. “The excise duty cut is a welcome step taken by the government to revive sale. However, other factors such as high interest rates, falling value of rupee and unstable fuel pricing still loom large on the market,” TKM Senior Vice-President (sales and marketing) N. Raja said.
5)Interest rates may remain firm
Interest rates are likely to remain firm in the near to-medium-term even though the Finance Minister has set an ambitious fiscal deficit target for 2014-15.“Fiscal deficit target for the next year appears ambitious as also irrelevant,” said Swapnil Pawar, Chief Investment Officer, Karvy Capital. Owing to the spending during elections, food inflation may continue to stay high.According to Mr. Pawar, interest rates are unlikely to come down in the next few months, although a further hike also looks unlikely given the recent cool-off in inflation and likely stance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to wait for its previous tightening [measures] to take effect.Plan expenditure“Any government will come to power, their Plan expenditure will shoot up to pump-prime the economy and the target of 4.1 per cent for next financial year is very tough to achieve,” said Sonam Udasi, Senior Vice-President and Head, Research, IDBI Capital Markets. According to him, inflation number will move up in April-May, mainly because of election spending. “Next six months, interest rates will remain elevated, and we are likely to witness a status quo in interest rates in the next few months.”The RBI Governor, Raghuram Rajan, had already indicated that consumer price index (CPI) is his benchmark.At present, the CPI-based inflation hovers around 8.7-8.8 per cent. Further, inflation will come down only when supply constraints are removed, “that’s the only way to bring down interest rates,” Mr. Udasi added.The most awaited event for the financial markets before the close of this financial year was the update on the path of fiscal consolidation by the Finance Minister in the Interim Budget.However, “there are doubts with regard to credibility of the 4.8 per cent fiscal deficit announced for 2013-14 as it involved deferring of fuel subsidy of Rs.35,000 crore to next year, interim dividends of Rs.14,000 crore in current fiscal, which would have otherwise come in 2014-15, and a significant cut in planned expenditure which ultimately has impact on growth,” pointed out Arun Khurana, Head, Global Markets Group, IndusInd Bank.
6)Microsoft to give upgraded Windows for free: report
As Microsoft plans to wind up Windows 8.1 operating system next month, the firm plans to announce a free version of Windows in a bid to persuade customers to upgrade to the latest versions. A new version, called ‘Windows with Bing’, could be given away at a developers’ conference in April, IANS reports claiming media reports.
7)Saurabh Chandra is Petroleum Secretary
Saurabh Chandra, on Saturday, took charge as Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He succeds Vivek Rae, who demitted office on superannuation on Friday. Mr. Chandra was earlier Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
8)Kumar named JNPT Chairman
The government has appointed N. N. Kumar, IRS, as Chairman of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). He has been elevated from the post of Deputy Chairman. He was Chairman-in-charge since May, 2013.
9)Low fare offers elicit mixed views
The latest round of discounted airfare offers ended on a satisfactory note on Saturday with airlines reporting ‘overwhelming’ response from flyers.However, there have been complaints about less number of seats available at the publicised low fares in peak hour flights and non-metro destinations, which have limited flights.Airlines justified this, stating that it was part of their revenue management strategy. More seats at low fares were offered in flights not in demand, while a dozen-odd such seats were available in other flights.Executives clarified that the offers were for 30, 60, 90 days apex fares and not for spot fares. Travel agency executives said ‘early birds’ (those who could book instantly) managed to benefit.“The smart people could get the cheap fares. Seats were sold out by the afternoon of the first day of the offer. No amount of inventory is sufficient for a country like India. Low fares were not available in flights which you (people) wanted. Discounts were offered in flights operating in odd hours and where excess capacity is deployed,” said a travel agency executive.“Sale of tickets at our site went up three fold during the offer period. Plenty of seats were available because the validity of the travel period was up to September-end. Airlines were seen pushing flights which face weak demand. People who visited online travel portals found it easy to book cheap tickets,” said Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com“Our data indicate that Delhi and Bangalore routes emerged as top favourites, however, and interestingly, newer destinations saw strong uptake like Agartala and Srinagar ex-Delhi or Pune-Bangalore,” Indiver Rastogi, COO, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd said.Newer destinations such as Agartala and Srinagarex-Delhi seestrong uptake
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