Big bang reforms push mass destruction button on as India sold out to foreign capital!

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time, Chapter: Nine Hundred Eleven

Palash Biswas

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Big bang reforms push mass destruction button on as India sold out to foreign capital!US imperialism failed to locate the weapons of mass destruction in and after oilwar in Iraq. But mass destruction  is not caused by Nuclear and chemical warfare, Indian ruling hegemony proves it time and again! Maintaining the momentum of its reforms agenda,after opening up the multi-brand retail sector to foreign direct investment, the Union Cabinet on Thursday has cleared the the way for higher FDI in pension and insurance sectors.In addition, the cabinet has also approved the Companies Bill,2011 .Who scores? The answer is very clear as the Indian equities gained for the fourth day in a row with the Nifty testing 5800 for the first time in 18 months and the Sensex closing above 19000 on hopes of further reforms.The rupee rose to a five-and-a-half-month high on Thursday, as the government looked set to push forward with more fiscal and economic reforms, sparking a rally in stocks that is expected to attract more foreign investor inflows.However,you may recover from immediate heart failure as foreign investors would not be able to gain controlling shares of pension and insurance providing companies with the cap being fixed at 49 per cent for insurance sector and 26% for pension sector. The move on FDI in pension and insurance will need Parliamentary ratification as they are governed by an act of law and not an executive domain.The UPA appears to be unfazed by the opposition to its reforms measures, as the Union Cabinet, in yet another major step, has finally given a go-ahead to introducing foreign direct investment (FDI) in pension and hiking the cap in insurance.The government has not got the numbers for parliamentary approval and it is taking all the executive decision as minority government by passing parliament.Meanwhile, Yashwant Sinha panel will scrutinise both Insurance & Pension Bills and will wait for the govt to introduce them in Parliament.After the dare devil act by Mamata Didi, no one dares to bell the cat!It is not clear though whether the main opposition party the BJP will back it despite its earlier support on reforms in this sector. The move to liberalize the insurance sector could face opposition from the BJP. Parliament's standing committee on finance headed by BJP's Yashwant Sinha had recommended that FDI be capped at 26%.The government's move to link the FDI cap here with insurance could jeopardize BJP's support on pension reforms.

Changes proposed:

    Amendment to insurance laws for allowing 49% FDI

    Rules for opening, closure of foreign insurance cos

    Changes to allow public sector cos to raise money from mkt

    Changes to allow companies to raise capital via different instruments

    Rs 50 cr paid up capital requirement for health insurers

    Insurance Bill may be introduced in winter session

With the Companies Bill getting the cabinet nod to incorporate crucial changes to it, the government has managed to break a legislation deadlock. The changes in the bill, which has been pending for approval for two decades, aim at improving corporate governance, increasing transparency and making independent directors more accountable.

Keeping with its promise that "reforms are here to stay", the UPA government is planning to introduce more reforms in the country.To push the bills, the government needs simple majority in both houses from those members who are present and voting in the house. With Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress gone, the government is dependent on SP and BSP for bailout. At the moment, UPA has 252 seats in the Lok Sabha and is a minority government.Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has assured support to the government on pension bill, this could be jeopardised by the government going for 49 per cent FDI in insurance.The Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Biju Janata Dal are also opposed to it while the Trinamool Congress and the Left have said that they will defeat the bills in Parliament.

Singh faces a tough fight to win parliament's approval for more foreign investment in the economy, especially with two state elections looming and after an outcry over the decision to allow foreign supermarkets into the retail sector.The pension and insurance bills have been proposed for nearly a decade. Unlike last month's measures, they need to be approved by parliament, where the coalition government is in a minority after its largest partner pulled out in anger at last month's reforms.

The cabinet also signed off on a shareholder-friendly bill to make corporate management more accountable, which would overturn a half-century old law.

Giving some hope to the government, the normally obstructive opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it was waiting for further details but was not totally opposed to the latest reforms.

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has once again hit out at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government for trying to usher in more economic reforms. The feisty leader accused the Centre of undertaking reforms which are anti-poor.

Mamata Banerjee
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday described as 'immoral and unethical' the decision by the 'minority' government at the Centre on hike in FDI in insurance and pension sectors, and called on all UPA partners to quit the government in protest.

"Today, yet another set of anti-people decisions of the Central Government have crossed the Laxman Rekha. These important decisions, which have direct bearing on the livelihood of millions of Indians, taken by a minority government, are immoral and unethical," Banerjee wrote on her Facebook page.

"Increase in FDI percentage from 26 to 49 in Insurance Sector and introducing 26% FDI in Pension Sector will make lifelong savings of individuals totally insecure," she said.

"Is it the intention of the UPA Government to sell out the country? We should unitedly oppose all such moves and will not allow the government to be bailed out after a series of such anti-people decisions," the Trinamool Congress chief said.

Stating that the people of the country were watching the UPA government, she said, "I will also appeal to those supporting UPA to come out and oppose these moves in the greater interest of the people.

"Sarkar jaana jaroori hai, desh ko bachane ke liye," she said.
Calling for moving a no confidence motion against the government, Banerjee said, "the minority government cannot play such immoral role. Let us move No Confidence Motion. We have decided to meet the Hon'ble President on this issue."

Cabinet approves Forward Contract Regulation Act Bill

Giving a reform boost to commodity markets, the government today approved the FCRA Bill that seeks to provide more powers to sectoral regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) and allow a new category of products.

"The Cabinet has approved the Forward Contract Regulation Act (Amendment) Bill. It will give more teeth to FMC. Farmers will also benefit," Food Minister KV Thomas told PTI.

The Forward Contract Regulation Act (FCRA) Bill, considered vital for the development of futures trade, aims to provide financial autonomy to the regulator.

FMC can become self-sufficient by collecting revenues in form of fees from exchanges after the passage of this Bill in Parliament, Thomas said.

The retirement age of FMC Chairman and its members will go up to 65 years from 60 years, if Parliament passes the Bill. The number of members in FMC has also been proposed to increase from four to nine.

The Bill also seeks to facilitate entry of institutional investors and pave the way for introduction of new category of products, like Options.

The Bill seeks to increase penalty on defaulters to Rs 50 lakh from the existing Rs 25 lakh.

At present, the country has five national and 16 regional commodity exchanges. Recently, FMC had given its approval to the Universal Commodity Exchange to operate as a national bourse.

The cumulative turnover of the commodity exchanges is about Rs 80.30 lakh crore till September 15 of the current fiscal.

India Inc on Wednesday gave its whole-hearted support to financial sector reforms to bring in more foreign investment in insurance, banking and pension funds.

At a two-hour meeting with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, representatives of apex business chambers, including Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president and industrialist Adi Godrej, banker Naina Lal Kidwai, Infosys co-founder and executive co-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan and president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India Venugopal N. Dhoot discussed the issues confronting the economy ranging from high interest rates to delays in big infrastructure projects.

While welcoming the recent policy initiatives, Godrej said there is a lot to be done for the economy and industry. Public sector undertakings (PSUs) are sitting on a huge cash pile and the free cash flow of listed PSUs alone is Rs.41,500 crore, he further said.

They must be encouraged to either use cash directly to build new capacity or increase dividend payouts so that the government can spend the money on new projects, Godrej added.

Chidambaram informed India Inc that the government is keen on speeding up reforms and hoped legislation for raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector will be passed in the Winter Session of Parliament.

"The finance minister ...absolutely would like to see the economic reforms happen and is looking for all of us to work together," Kidwai, who is senior vice-president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) told journalists after the meeting.


Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/fdi-in-retail-financial-sector-india-inc-chidambaram/1/223309.html


Time Line

8:02 pm : "Government has taken steps to get rid of bottlenecks"

Planning Commission Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said that time was spent to create consensus and  none of the measures taken by the govt are anti-people.

7: 54 pm: CCEA approves scheme to extend subsidised pulses and edible oil to BPL card-holders

In addition, the subsidy scheme will also include imported edible oil. Cabinet has also allowed export of 20,000 MT of branded edible oil in 5kg packets for Indian diaspora in Middle East.

7:44 pm: Cabinet approves draft  of 12th five year plan

The document will be  placed before National Development Council. The Cabinet also approved constitution of 20th law commission.

7:41 pm: Amendments to Companies Bill approved. Replaces 1956 Act.

Bill designed for 21st century, takes note of companies' explosion in India, says Chidambaram.

7: 36 pm: Insurance Public sector insurance firms will remain as PSUs

Cabinet  has approved the  hike in insurance to 49%

7:31 pm: Cabinet has approved hike in risk allowance to Central govt employees

Apart from risk allowance, Cabinet has also approved hospital care allowance.

7.30 pm: Five new international airports on the anvil

Chidambaram announced the construction of five new airports.

6:56 pm: BJP opposes  FDI cap hike  from 26 percent to 49 percent

BJP leader Yashwant Sinha Panel will scrutinise both pension and insurance bills.

6:40 pm: Here's what the PFRDA chairman had to say about the reforms

PFRDA's Yogesh Agarwal says foreign investors are already showing interest in investing in the pension sector.

6:30 pm: BJP offers ray of hope to back the decisions taken
If you're staring a little goggle-eyed at the headline, don't. It's true. The BJP has said it could back the legislation, if all its caveats are met.
"Congress has suddenly changed…In the last 10 years the IPOs of insurance companies have not come out yet. " BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
"We have told the government that if you address our concerns then we will back your decisions on pension and insurance," Javadekar said.
We have supported the FDI concept but have caveats but are in the interests of Indian people and companies, he said
The party cannot make a final comment yet though until all concerns are met and if it is, then they can think of backing legislation, Javadekar said.
6:25 pm: TMC declares its opposition to economic decisions
TMC's Suagata Roy said that they will oppose the decisions by the Cabinet.
"We will see how the government attempts to pass it through Parliament. We will oppose it in any way possible," he said.
He promised agitations against the decisions taken today as well. Kolkata can expect another protest rally but if the Left decides on a bandh, then you can be sure Mamata won't allow anyone to take the benefit of that.
6:20 pm: Insurance firms not surprised by decision, hopeful of Parliament passing it
Sandeep Bakshi of ICICI Pru Life tells ET Now that the intent of the government and regulator were known.
"It wasn't a surprise to us," he said.
Puneet Nanda from the same firm told CNBC that FDI in insurance will improve the governance and allow insurance firms access to long term capital, something that can only benefit the the sector.
6:10 pm: FDI in insurance, pension and Companies Bill cleared by Cabinet
CNBC reports that the Cabinet has cleared the changes in insurance and pension. FDI will now be permitted upto 49 percent in insurance and pension management firms.
The Cabinet has also cleared the Companies Bill, 2011, the channel reports.
6:00 pm: Other matters that the cabinet may have discussed
While everyone's watching for pension and insurance decisions, the Cabinet was expected to discuss a range of legislation including the Companies Bill, giving statutory powers to the interim pension regulator and giving the forwards market regulator more power.
The Cabinet is also expected to discuss the final draft of the 12th Five Year Plan and also clear the creation of a National Investment Board to be headed by the Prime Minister for clearing mega projects.
5:40 pm: Will proposals get through Parliament?
Paranjoy Thakurta on CNN-IBN says it doesn't matter if the government does pass the two proposals, it isn't going to be passed by Parliament.
He's got a point. The government doesn't have the numbers as it stands in the Rajya Sabha. It might make it through in the Lok Sabha if the UP parties, SP and BSP, decide to back them. However, whether any of them will be backing FDI in insurance remains to be seen.
5:15 pm : Cabinet meet ends, Mamata roars
The Cabinet meet has ended and the announcement on whether FDI will be permitted in the two sectors are expected soon. The markets have risen a percent in expectation and the rupee is up. Do the ministers have good news for the ears of the markets?
Mamata Banerjee, though out of the government is still complaining, and says the move will end up putting pension funds into the hands of foreigners.
Given the bills even if cleared by the Cabinet, will need support in Parliament to be passed; should the UPA be paying heed to her?
Here's some background on what's expected in the Cabinet meeting today:
The cabinet is set approve bills that would raise the cap on foreign direct investment in insurance firms and open the pension sector to foreign investors, a government minister told reporters on Wednesday.
The bills, which require parliamentary approval before becoming law, will likely be taken up in the forthcoming parliamentary session.
This comes after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled measures aimed at shoring up government finances and attracting foreign investment to revive economic growth.
Can they change the game? PTI
So far, foreign groups are not allowed to invest in the pension sector, while investment is capped at 26 percent in the insurance sector.
Earlier this year, Singh had to put on hold a similar bill after failing to win over allies and opposition parties.
On earlier three occasions, former Congress ally Trinamool Congress played spoilsport. In today's meeting, the DMK has preferred to stay away citing political compulsions.
Domestic and foreign insurers, which have invested billions of dollars in India over the past decade, have been lobbying for years to raise the foreign direct investment limit.
The bills are likely to raise the cap on FDI in insurance firms to 49 percent and permit 26 percent foreign investment in the pension sector.
Earlier this month, the government raised the price of heavily subsidised diesel and cut supplies of subsidised cooking gas despite strong political opposition, including from within the ruling coalition.
It also opened up the retail sector to global supermarket chains, allowed foreign airlines to buy stakes in local carriers and raised the bar on foreign investment in broadcasting.

http://www.firstpost.com/economy/live-govt-reforms-will-clear-bottlenecks-says-montek-479699.html

Big reforms again, Cabinet clears FDI in insurance, pension: Top 10 developments

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/big-reforms-again-cabinet-clears-fdi-in-insurance-pension-top-10-developments-275662

Edited by Prasad Sanyal | Updated: October 04, 2012
ew Delhi:  In a second round of bold and politically contentious reforms, the Cabinet, after a one-and-a-half-hour long meeting this evening, has cleared proposals to allow more Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in the insurance and pension sectors. This is part of the Manmohan Singh government's move to restore confidence in the economy, but the reforms will face a tough fight in parliament, with opposition parties already crying foul. Finance Minister P Chidambaram reportedly said at the Cabinet meeting that the government would cross the bridge on political opposition when it came to it.

Here are the 10 big developments in this story:

1. What the cabinet approved: Raising the cap on FDI in insurance from 26% to 49%, and allowing up to 26% foreign investment in pension funds. The Cabinet also cleared a revised draft of the Companies Bill, and the competition Bill. These will now need Parliament approval. The 12th Five Year plan  was also approved.
2. Allowing more FDI in insurance means the government has ignored the advice of a parliamentary committee headed by BJP leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha. It was a unanimous decision by the standing committee, which means the Congress MPs on the panel also agreed to the decision.
3. The Pension Bill cleared by the Cabinet today allows the setting up of a Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority and allows private companies to manage pension funds. Till now, foreign investors could not invest in a company managing a pension fund. The BJP had wanted the government to explicitly mention in the Bill the cap on how much share a foreign investor could have in such a company once FDI is allowed. The BJP wants to ensure that in future any move to increase the cap would need Parliament's approval.
4.  The BJP has said it will wait for a clear word on what the cabinet has approved today. On Insurance the party says it still supports the standing committee's recommendations. On pension reforms, which it had earlier indicted it would support, the party said it had certain caveats like transparent transactions and a pensioners' right to know how their pension was being invested. "Govt has to give sovereign guarantee. Unless we see fine print, we can't give final comment. We had given cooperation in these two issues, provided that our concerns are taken into consideration,' party spokesman Prakash Javadekar said carefully.
5. The Left and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee are opposed to FDI in both sectors and have slammed the government. Expressing her opposition to the reforms, Ms Banerjee had posted on her Facebook page earlier today, "In the name of reforms, loot chalche loot (Loot is going on). To suppress it, jhoot chalche jhoot (lies are being told)." Her party MP Saugata Roy said in the evening,"Why jeopardise security of common man?  We do not agree with this reform prescription."
6. In Parliament, the government will have to lean hard on allies for support. The DMK is said to have misgivings on FDI in insurance and pension. External partner Mulayam Singh Yadav who has 22 Lok Sabha MPs will play a crucial role in whether the reforms go through. Kamaal Farooqui of the SP said today that his party's support was "not a bearer cheque" and it would consider FDI on a case to case basis. In the Rajya Sabha, the government is in a minority, and that's where it could trip, though CPI's Gurudas Dasgupta told NDTV that while the Left parties would do their best to stop the passage of the insurance bill in Parliament, it was unlikely to succeed. "Congress knows the art of managing the numbers. The entire corporate world is behind them. So therefore they have the resources to get the support," he said.
7.  The proposals on FDI in insurance and pension were floated by Pranab Mukherjee when he was Finance Minister, and were sent to the Cabinet for approval in May this year, but the decision was deferred, underlining the difficulty the Centre faced in driving reforms. P Chidambaram took over as Finance Minister in July this year and immediately resurrected the move. He said on Wednesday in an interview to BBC, "I think we will return to 9 per cent growth once we address certain fundamental constraints and as we address these issues and our savings rates grow up, investment rate grows up to 37-38 per cent, we will return to 9 per cent growth rate."
8. Insurance reform is widely seen as crucial because credible estimates say  the sector needs a capital infusion of over Rs. 62,000 crore or $ 12 billion over the next five years. Domestic and foreign insurers, who have invested much money in India over the last decade, have been lobbying the government for years to raise the FDI limit to 49 per cent from 26 per cent. Along with raising the FDI limit, the insurance amendment bill aims to strengthen regulation of the sector and allow foreign re-insurers to enter the Indian market. Reinsurance is the insurance that is purchased by an insurance company to insure the assets that it is covering.
9. Three weeks ago, the government raised the price of heavily subsidised diesel and cut supplies of subsidised cooking gas despite strong political opposition, including from within the ruling coalition. It also opened up the retail sector to global supermarket chains, allowed foreign airlines to buy stakes in local carriers and raised the bar on foreign investment in broadcasting.
10. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress quit the UPA government of Dr Manmohan Singh in protest a week later.  That change in policy was enacted as an executive decision and did not need a vote in Parliament.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Manmohan Singh has lost the feel of the ground

Firdous Syed | Agency: DNA | Wednesday, October 3, 2012

All these years it was being drummed up that the economic reforms since 1991 have proved to be panacea for all the ills plaguing Indian economy. However, prime minister Manmohan Singh, while trying to justify the bitter pill of FDI in mult-brand retail and diesel price hike, had the gumption to accept rather with a straight face that presently the Indian economy is in dire straits.

What is more disturbing is the fact that the self-proclaimed father of economic reforms compared the present economic crisis with that of 1991: "At times, we need to say 'no' to the easy option and say 'yes' to the more difficult one. This happens to be one such occasion. The time has come for hard decisions". The prime minister is a renowned economist; if he has reached a conclusion that the economy is in great stress and without some hard measures — "We have much to do to protect the interest of the nation and we must do it now" — it will be a repeat of 1991 — in his words "nobody was willing to lend even small amounts of money then" — he has to be believed what he is trying to emphasise with some degree of alarm. For a layman like me who hardly understands the intricacies of economy, I may not be in a position to ask him like his critics from his own fraternity of economists have asked: He has been the prime minister of the country for eight years now why did he allow the situation to reach such a pass? However, coming from Kashmir where we regard a tree to be 'green gold', I was initially tempted to point out that he is utterly wrong in his belief that "money does not grow on trees". Mr Manmohan Singh, please venture out of your cocooned surroundings and make an effort to interact with any hardworking apple, cherry or strawberry grower or for that matter with a saffron farmer in Kashmir, s/he will for sure make you understand that money indeed grows on trees. Since this point was succinctly addressed by former finance minister Jaswant Singh in his own self-assured manner he is known for, in a national daily, there remained no need to agitate the ill-informed remark of the otherwise well-informed prime minister.

Yet despite my little understanding about the economy, the reason why I am still sticking out my neck to ask a few questions is that an exhaustive debate on the subject for the last two weeks has hardly sufficed some of my rustic inquisitions: If the country has become rich, why has life turned out to be costlier? Why is it that price of every essential commodity has to be increased in order to become rich? My ten-year old daughter asked me a question: Coming to know that a US dollar costs Rs 55, in her innocence, she tried to reverse the question, Abbu how many dollars can a rupee buy? How can I make her understand it is not possible for a rupee to buy a whole dollar? Despite the fact that our own currency has depreciated a great deal, we calculate our richness in how many billion dollars we have in our forex reserve. During the early 1980s, we could buy a few small little things like candies and berries even for 5 or 10 paise; 25 paise was the standard pocket money for many of us school-going teenagers. Now we are told that coins below denomination of 25 paise cease to be a legal tender. Can we draw a conclusion that while the country made a great stride, one fourth of a rupee has lost its value? Are we better-off today in absolute terms or have we become poorer?

The prime minister owns a Maruti 800, but for many years now he has been made to travel in a convoy of Mercedes cars only. That's the reason he has lost the feel of the ground. From an 'accidental prime minster' he has progressed to become a quintessential politician. His personal advancement, whether it is a progression or regression, is irrelevant to the debate. Noble souls of the highest order can only resist the temptations of power. Manmohan Singh is not a saint, presently he is badly captivated by the trappings of power. He might be honest at a personal level, but he is the head of the most corrupt dispensation, can he still be described as an honourable person? Since our prime minister only understands in dollars, it is a million dollar question and not a million rupees question.

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column_manmohan-singh-has-lost-the-feel-of-the-ground_1748119

The Union cabinet approved the opening-up of the insurance and pension sectors to foreign investment on Thursday as part of a new series of reforms aimed at reviving business sentiment.

Speaking to mediapersons, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said that the party would launch agitation against the government throughout the country.

"We will launch agitation against the government throughout the country. It seems that the government is only concerned about the welfare of big capitalists," said Roy.

Earlier on Thursday, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee once again hit out at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government for trying to usher in more economic reforms. The feisty leader accused the Centre of undertaking reforms which are anti-poor.

"Some people think they can increase prices of LPG, petrol and diesel. They want to give pension money of our people to foreigners. We will continue to fight against them, for the people. Arrogance will not win," said Mamata in Kolkata.

Mamata, who withdrew support to the UPA following the hike in diesel price, cap on subsidised LPG cylinders and foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, is all set to oppose FDI in pension and the hike in the cap on FDI in insurance. Bitter foes the Trinamool Congress and the Left have said that they would defeat the pension and insurance bills in Parliament.

To get these bills passed in Parliament, the UPA needs a simple majority in both houses. With Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress gone, the government is dependent on the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party for bailout.

CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta has said that his party will opppose FDI in pension and insurance in Parliament. He said the government is on a suicidal path and is working at the behest of domestic and foreign capitalists.

Mind you, Finance Minister P Chidambaramalready ensured bumper harvest for foreign capital in Indian insurance market as he earlier announced a revival package for the life insurance sector.

The package includes easing investment norms for insurers, faster clearance for new products, easing of procedures and allowing banks to sell products of more than one insurance company.

Mr Chidambaram said the country's insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), will consider relaxing norms for insurance companies investing in debt instruments to encourage investments in securities other than the AAA-rated ones.Under the existing rules, insurance companies are required to put 75 per cent of their debt market investment into AAA-rated securities.The finance ministry has also agreed to address tax-related issues, such as a reduction in service tax, tax treatment of annuity products on a par with the New Pension Scheme and Tax Deducted at Source on commission payments made to agents, of insurance companies.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 Verappa Moily said Competition (amendment) Bill has been approved by the cabinet. The bill will be tabled during the winter session of parliament.

The main Opposition BJP has welcomed passing of the bill, but will oppose two other reforms that got cabinet okay, namely FDI in pension and insurance .

Meanwhile,thousands of people began a long march from Gwalior to Delhi on Wednesday demanding that the Centre announce a national land reforms policy and amend legislations for the benefit of the landless.Mobilised by Ekta Parishad, an NGO, the Jan satyagraha, as the march has been called, will culminate in the national capital if no agreement is reached by the end of October.

The insurance sector welcomed the move to increase FDI cap. "This is a very good move and it will give a boost to the industry," said ICICI Pru Life ED Puneet Nanda.

"This is a very positive move as far as sentiments are concerned," said Future Generali MD and CEO Deepak Sood. Similar comments were echoed by IDBI Federal Life CEO Nageswara Rao who said that the move fulfilled the long standing demand of the industry.

India's economic growth rate was around 5.5 percent in the last two quarters, a far cry from the near double-digit rate of recent years. Global credit rating agencies have warned India could lose its investment grade rating because of unsustainable budget and current account deficits.

Last week a government panel, led by former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar, warned of a "fiscal precipice" if the government does not urgently slash fuel, food and fertilizer subsidies to curb a deficit that could hit 6.1 percent of gross domestic product this fiscal year.

The first set of reforms announced last month have boosted the rupee, which partly recovered from a sharp drop in value this year, but the RBI says more action is needed to save the budget and reduce inflation.

The Left also hit out at the government over the move. CPI leader D Raja called the government "shameless", saying it was "desperate" and "moving towards right wing economic policies".

"We do not have social security network in India, you cannot risk the life long savings of people...we will continue to oppose the move. This is a World Bank-directed move. It is going to be disastrous," said D Raja.

He further said, "The government is desperate. The Prime Minister wants to please international finance capital by taking such measures...the government is shamelessly biased in favour of multinational companies."

The main Opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the Congress-led UPA had "suddenly changed". The party, however, said that it would wait for the fineprint on the reforms to give a detailed response.

Almost 70 per cent of the country's middle and lower income families will curtail their expenses during this festive season due to high inflation and less job avenues and salary packages, according to a study by Assocham.

"An overwhelming majority of middle and lower income families in the country will be forced to rip their spends this festive season than the last year mainly because of persistently rising inflation. They have slashed their festive budget to meet their monthly expenses first," Assocham said in a release issued here. Soaring vegetables prices pushed up the retail inflation in August to 10.03 per cent, up from 9.86 per cent in July.

But, the double digit food inflation and higher cost of borrowing did not affect the high income group, it said. The study finds that last year, middle and lower middle income families, on an average, spent nearly 29 percent of their salary during festive season on shopping. However, if incentive of discount is provided during the festive season, customers would spend more. The survey, conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahemdabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Dehradun, said over 78 per cent people would spend more if discounts were offered.

"Over 78 per cent of the respondents said that if they plan to spend higher, discounts will be the incentives for them," it said. Over 68 per cent of the respondents said they will spend 3 per cent on gold items, 27 per cent on sweets and clothes, 9 per cent on vehicles, 8 per cent on gifts, food and drinks, 12 per cent on renovating the house and the rest 8 per cent on electronics, the study added.

On the other hand,FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors ) inflows into the Indian markets are set to witness a boost of over $2 billion in 2013 as global leading investment management company, Vanguard, has announced to switch the benchmark for its 16 stock and balanced funds and six index funds including the Vanguard Emerging Market ETF from MSCI benchmarks to FTSE indices and Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) indices.India stands to benefit as its weightage in the FTSE Emerging Index stands at 9.6 per cent (as on September 28) as compared to 7.01 per cent weightage in the MSCI Emerging Market Index (as on October 1) and would lead to a higher component of these funds getting parked here.Indian Express reports.

India needs net capital inflows of up to USD 70 billion annually for the next five years to bring Current Account Deficit (CAD) down to 2.3 percent of GDP, Prime Minister's Economic Advisor C Rangarajan said today. "To sustain 2.3 percent CAD over the medium-term, we would need net capital inflows of at least USD 50-70 billion annually over the next five years.

"Given the uncertainty around both the push factors(rising global risk aversion) as well as pull factors (slow growth here) that determine capital inflows, attracting such a magnitude of inflows could very well be an uphill task," said the Chairman of PM's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) while delivering a lecture  this evening.However, the former Reserve Bank Governor said there is an expectation of the CAD to be around 3.5 percent of GDP in the current fiscal. Blaming the merchandise trade deficit as responsible for the higher CAD of 3.9 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal, Rangarajan said "we should also aim at reducing the trade deficit to 6 percent from the current 10 percent".

Current account deficit occurs when a country's total imports of goods, services and transfers is greater than the country's total export of goods, services and transfers.

He said it may not be possible immediately to bring CAD down to 2.3 percent but expressed confidence it can come down to 2 per cent of GDP in the next six to ten years. The government is looking at a CAD figure of below 2 percent. Rangarajan said to sustain the CAD at a comfortable level of 2.5 percent of GDP, the country will require capital flows of USD 50-70 billion per year for the next five years.

The CAD, or the imbalance between foreign exchange earned and foreign exchange expended, stood at 3.9 percent of GDP in the first quarter of FY13, but better than 4.5 percent recorded during Q4 of FY12 on the back of slowing imports. CAD stood at 4.3 percent in FY12.

Earlier in June this year, the government had made an attempt to push the nine-year-old Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill. The bill which seeks to give statutory status to the pension regulator was put on hold due to the Presidential elections.

This is the second wave of reforms decisions to be undertaken by the government within a month. On September 13, the government had approved the decision of allowing 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, besides relaxing FDI norms for civil aviation and broadcasting sector.

The decision on FDI in retail triggered a major uproar, with some allies and opposition parties launching a massive attack on the government. Trinamool Congress even withdrew support to the government. The Cabinet is also expected to approve 12th Plan and accord international status to five airports.

The Indian economy may turn a corner in the second half of fiscal 2012-13 (October to March), Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, said in an interview to NDTV on Thursday.

India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.5 per cent in the April-June quarter, up from 5.3 per cent in the preceding quarter, which Mr. Ahluwalia had termed as "good news", even though he stopped short of calling it a "strong rebound".

In the interview, Mr. Ahluwalia said that the immediate priority for the government was to show that the Indian economy, which is facing the risk of downgrades from rating agencies, is turning around.

The Union government had announced a string of reforms last month, including relaxing the foreign direct investment norms in aviation and multi-brand retail, and had hiked the price of diesel.

Though the move was welcomed by the market, rating agencies were skeptical, and said the reforms faced rollback risks. Late last month, HSBC cut its economic growth forecasts for fiscal 2013 and 2014 for India citing "the lack of reform traction", a more "challenging" global economic backdrop.

Mr. Ahluwalia called the hike in diesel price "an important step" to show that India is serious about getting back on the growth track, and said not much should be read into the quantum of the hike.

Sticking to his opposition to outsourcing jobs to countries like India, President Barack Obama has said that he wants to give tax breaks to companies that are investing in the United States.

During an intense debate with his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, Obama noted that the corporate tax rate is too high, which he wants to bring down, particularly for manufacturing, taking it down to 25 per cent.

"But I also want to close those loopholes that are giving incentives for companies that are shipping jobs overseas. I want to provide tax breaks for companies that are investing here in the United States," the President said in a face-off with Romney in the first of the three crucial debates ahead of the November 6 presidential polls.

Obama had earlier also gone full blast against Romney, former Massachusetts governor, on the issue, accusing him of outsourcing American jobs to countries like India and China.

"There was an article the other day in The Washington Post about how Romney's former firm—you know, this is what gave him all this amazing success—was a pioneer in offshoring jobs to China and India," Obama had said at an election rally in Atlanta, Georgia, recently.

When it comes to corporate taxes, the President said during the debate, Romney has stated "he wants to, in a revenue-neutral way, close loopholes, deductions—he hasn't identified which ones they are—but that thereby bring down the corporate rate."

"Well, I want to do the same thing, but I've actually identified how we can do that. And part of the way to do it is to not give tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas.

"Right now, you can actually take a deduction for moving a plant overseas. I think most Americans would say that doesn't make sense...," Obama said.

However, Romney disagreed. "The ... topic, which ... you said you get a deduction for getting a plant overseas. Look, I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I may need to get a new accountant," he said.

"The idea that you get a break for shipping jobs overseas is simply not the case," Romney said.

"What we do have right now is a setting—where I'd like to bring money from overseas back to this

country," Romney asserted, ignoring three interruptions from the moderator who was trying to tell him that his time was over.

Stating that economy is recovering now, President Pranab Mukherjee today expressed the hope that it will back in path of steady growth soon. "The Indian economy is witnessing a rebound. I do hope that shortly it would come back in the path of steady growth," Mukherjee said after inaugurating the 'India Chem 2012' conference .

"Our National Manufacturing Policy envisages increasing the share of manufacturing from the present level of 16 per cent to 25 per cent in GDP by 2025 and creation of 100 million additional jobs by the manufacturing sector by 2022," he said.

"The chemical sector has a very important role to play in this endeavour. I understand the National Chemical Policy is currently under preparation and will include measures to facilitate this," Mukherjee said on his maiden visit to Mumbai after becoming the President.

He called upon the chemical industry to increase its spend on research and development from the current level of 1-2 per cent to 5-6 per cent of the annual turnover. The aim of chemical industry should be to bring new products that are competitive in the international market. For achieving this, the Government has taken several pro-active steps in expanding R&D and infusing energy and support for human resource training institutions.

Efforts should be made to nurture the talent and make sure that the skill development programme matches the growth requirement of the industry, the former finance minister said.

With Asia's share in the global chemical industry increasing from 31 per cent to 45 per cent, India has emerged as one of the focus destinations for chemical companies worldwide. The Indian chemical industry, currently valued at USD 108 billion accounts for only 3 per cent share of the global market. "This is a very good reason for the policy makers and the industry to take the lead and prepare a road map," he said.

Struggling with a reforms agenda in the face of a concerted attack from allies and Opposition alike, the UPA govt was today handed some good news by the data.

India's services sector expanded at its fastest pace in seven months as a spurt in new business encouraged firms to hire more staff, a survey showed on Thursday, suggesting the worst of the economic slump may be over.

The HSBC purchasing manager's index (PMI) for the services sector, which gauges the activity of hundreds of Indian companies, rose to 55.8 in September from August's 55.0.

A reading of 50 and above separates growth from contraction and the index has held above the break-even mark since November last year.

India's services sector makes up for over 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product and a strong reading in HSBC's survey augurs well for the economy, where growth has faltered in recent months against the backdrop of political upheaval.

Service sector activity grew at a faster clip in September led by firm demand, underscoring (its) resilience, said Leif Eskesen, an economist at HSBC.

This further lifted employment, which helped businesses keep up with orders.

The new business sub-index surged to its highest since February allowing firms to hire more workers, and employment touched a 15-month high.

But survey participants are now less optimistic about the future. The sub-index measuring business expectations, a gauge of what firms think conditions will be like in a year's time, fell to 67.2 from 74.0 in August.

Policy measures taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European central bank to shore up their respective economies have led to an increase in demand for Indian services. Still, the fragile recovery in the U.S. and a dire euro zone economy pose a threat to India's export dependant services sector.

Growth in Asia's third-largest economy languished near its slowest in three years at 5.5 percent in the quarter ended June, as the lack of reforms by New Delhi and high interest rates hurt investment.

Determined to regain investor confidence and bring the economy back on track, the government launched a slew of reforms last month by slashing fuel subsidies and inviting foreign investments in retail, aviation and broadcasting.

RISING PRICES

Prices also rose at a faster pace in September from the previous month, the survey showed. That could further fuel wider inflation in the economy where the wholesale price index rose to 7.55 percent in August after a temporary slip in July to a three-year low.

Liquidity injections from the Fed and other major central banks have in the past pushed global commodity prices higher and resulted in rising inflation in emerging markets.

That could pose a complication for the Reserve Bank of India which, although determined to fight inflation, may find the task difficult.

The RBI has limited room for policy rate cuts given the persistence of inflation, although further progress on fiscal consolidation and structural reforms may eventually pave the way for some easing, Eskesen said.

A similar survey on Monday showed factory activity expanded at a steady pace in September as new orders and output rose.