Interim Budget 2014: Reject the charge of policy paralysis, says Chidambaram

Finance minister P Chidambaram - attempting to be heard above the sloganeering of lawmakers protesting against the Telangana Bill as he presented his interim budget  for 2014 - today said the government has managed to contain both the fiscal deficit and the current account deficits and has kept them below target.

He called out to all political parties to "pledge that we will do nothing that will affect the stability of the Indian economy."

With general elections only months away, Mr Chidambaram cannot announce big bang reforms or tax changes, but can list the achievements of his government in his report card on the economy over the last year.

Following are the highlights of his speech:

Global cues not to overly hit India, India held its head above water during global crisis
Fiscal deficit for 2013-14 will be contained at 4.6%
Export seen at $326 billion showing 6.3 per cent year-on-year growth
Growth for FY14 estimated at 4.9%; Q3, Q4 growth seen at 5.2%
I reject the argument of policy paralysis
Let history be the judge of last 10 years
Economy in much better shape now than it was two years ago
10-year trend growth rate at 6.2 per cent, UPA I and II delivered above trend rate
Fiscal deficit down, CAD down, inflation moderated and growth picking up
Merchandise export to grow by 6.8% to USD 326 billion
3 more industrial corridors - Chennai-Bangalore, Bangalore-Mumbai, Amritsar-Kolkata - under various stages of implementation
GDP growth rate in Q3 and Q4 of 2013-14 will be at least 5.2%
Power capacity rises to 234,600 MW in 10 years
Expenditure on education has risen from Rs 10,145 crore 10 years ago to Rs 79,251 crore this year
Sugar decontrol, gradual correction of diesel prices, application for new bank licenses, sick electricity distribution companies restructured
Plan expenditure to remain unchanged at 5.55 lakh crore in 2014-15
Government fully committed to Aadhaar project. Even critics of the project will realise it's a tool of empowerment
Budgetary support to Railways increased
PSUs to achieve record capex of Rs 2,57,645 crore in 2013-14
500 MW fast breeder nuclear reaction in Kalpakkam to be ready shortly; 7 nuclear power reactors under construction
National Solar Mission to undertake 4 ultra mega solar power projects in 2014-15
Rs 1,200 crore additional assistance to N-E states to be released before end of the year
Rs 1,000 crore grant for Nirbhaya Fund will be non-lapsable; another Rs 1,000 crore to be given next fiscal
Non planned expenditure at 12.7 lakh crore
Fuel subsidy pegged at Rs 65,000 crore, food subsidy at Rs 1.15 lakh crore in 2014-15
Fuel subsidy worth Rs 35,000 crore to be rolled over in 2014-15
Rs 3,370 crore to transferred to 2.1 crore LPG users; Government committed to Aadhaar-based LPG transfer but scheme on hold temporarily
Defence allocation up 10% at Rs 2.24 lakh crore
Government has accepted principle of one rank, one pay for defence forces. Rs 500 crore estimated requirement for implementing one-rank-one-pay scheme for armed forces in 2014-15
Food subsidy will be Rs 1,15,000 crore for implementation of National Food Security Act
Budgetary support to Railways increased from Rs 26,000 crore to Rs 29,000 crore 2014-15
Rs 2,46,397 crore allocated for food, fertilizer and fuel subsidy
I have kept Rs 5,55,322 crore for plan expenditure
Re-capitalise public sector banks
Fortunes of China and India has an impact on the whole world
UPA government has clear line of sight to the goals we have set for ourselves
Fiscal consolidation - achieve target of 3% deficit
In a developing economy, we must accept that when our aim is high growth there will be moderate inflation
In next three decades, India's nominal will be on third rank after US and China
RBI must strike a balance between price stability and growth
States have the fiscal space to bear a reasonable proportion for allocation of flagship programmes
Disappointed that we have not been able to implement GST (goods and services tax)
To place DTC Bill for public comments
Minority bank accounts have swelled to 43,53,000 by 2013-14 from 14,15,000 bank accounts 10 years ago
Rs 6000 crore to rural housing fund, Rs 2000 crore for urban housing fund
Moratorium on interest on student loans taken before March 31, 2009; to benefit 9 lakh borrowers
Excise duty on small cars, motorcycles, scooters reduced from 12 to 8 per cent till 30.06.2014.
Excise duty on consumer durables  cut from 12 to 10 per cent till 30.6.2014.
Cut excise duty on mid segment cars to 20% from 24%
Duty cut on SUV cars from 30% to 24%

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Special Valentine's offer at Sahara Star - 2014

Evergreen Love at Sahara Star
Evergreen Love at Sahara Star
The Earth Plate

Buffet with an elaborate and exquisite menu comprising of cuisines from across the world along with with additional live counters
  • Unlimited Sparkling wine and selected brands of liquor/beer as well as Soft beverage, mocktails and fresh juices.
  • Add-ons: A long stemmed rose bud for the lady and photograph as a memento.
  • Price: Rs 2,500 + taxes per person, from 7pm to midnight

The Ocean - Chef's Table
  • A four course dinner with a bottle of champagne
  • Add-ons: A box of Cholclates for the lady along with a bouquet of Red Roses photograph as a memento.
  • Price: Rs 17,500+ taxe per couple, 8pm to midnight 

The Ocean - Private Dining Room
  • A four course dinner with a bottle of champagne followed by two shots of Bailey's with chocolate strawberry
  • Add-ons: A box of Cholclates for the lady along with a bouquet of Red Roses.
  • Pick up and drop within Mumbai (Honda Accord)
  • Banner Display by Scuba divers with personal message
  • Photograph as a memento
  • Decoration: PDR table to be laid with Red satin cloth & the PDR to be filled with Red heart shaped balloons and candles with romantic music in the background.
  • Price: Rs 45,000 + taxes per couple, 8 pm to midnight 

A pair of musicians with a guitar shall be singing in the restaurants, creating the perfect romantic experience for your unforgettable date. Don't forget to make your booking before 14th Feburary! Just share your contact details with us and our team shall take care of the rest. :) Call on +91 22 3980 7444 or SMS "SAHARASTAR" to 59090 or email at info@saharastar.com


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Sony Hopes Its 4th Overhaul Is the One That Counts



The Japanese electronics and entertainment giant, which predicted on Thursday that it would lose 110 billion yen, or about $1.1 billion, in its current fiscal year, said it would sell its unprofitable personal computer unit. It also announced plans to turn its equally troubled television manufacturing business into a separate, wholly owned subsidiary. And it said it would cut 5,000 jobs.



The overhaul marks the fourth round of large-scale job cuts over the past decade. Sony announced 10,000 reductions in 2005, 8,000 more in 2008 and a further 10,000 two years ago, bringing its head count down to 145,000 as of September.
“Sony has had bigger cuts,” said Damian Thong, an analyst at Macquarie Securities “But these are, in some ways, the most meaningful cuts.”While previous divestitures have involved peripheral operations in areas like chemicals, now Sony is ridding itself of a brand and a business: Vaio computers, which it once considered central to its ambitions of keeping pace with global technology powers like Apple and Samsung Electronics. And it is positioning itself at arm’s length from television, a sector in which its Trinitron and Bravia TVs once set the standards in picture quality and brand image.
While Sony’s problems reflect a broader crisis in the Japanese electronics industry, other companies, like Panasonic, have moved more aggressively to restructure. Panasonic, which has been pulling out of certain consumer electronics markets, like smartphones, and focusing more on behind- the-scenes businesses like batteries for electric cars, this week reported that its quarterly earnings more than tripled.
While some investors and analysts have urged Sony to get out of consumer electronics entirely, the chief executive, Kazuo Hirai, reiterated on Thursday that he wanted to rebuild around promising areas like game consoles and smartphones.
Those businesses showed progress in the quarter ended in December. Sony reported a “significant increase in sales of smartphones” as well as a big jump in operating income in its game division because of the introduction of the PS4 console.
Over all, the company reported net income of ¥27 billion, or $267 million, after a loss of ¥10.8 billion a year earlier. Sales rose to ¥2.41 trillion from ¥1.95 trillion, though the main factor was a weaker yen, which increases the value of overseas sales when converted into the Japanese currency.
But investors have gotten used to a dose of bad news following any sign of improvement from Sony, and Thursday brought no exception, with the new estimate of a ¥110 billion loss for the current fiscal year, which ends in March, after a previous forecast of a profit of ¥30 billion. While much of the expected loss will come from restructuring costs, Sony also lowered its full-year sales forecast for smartphones to 40 million devices from 42 million.At a news conference in Tokyo, Mr. Hirai described the agreement to sell the PC unit — to the investment fund Japan Industrial Partners — as an “agonizing decision.” Sony said it planned to keep a 5 percent stake in the new PC company to be formed from the sale. Other terms, including the price, remain subject to negotiation, Sony said.
Japan Industrial Partners specializes in buying unwanted assets from Japanese electronics giants, including companies like NEC and Olympus.
Japan Industrial Partners “believes that with its support, the new company that will operate the Vaio-branded PC business will be able to achieve future growth and profitability and meet the expectations of Vaio customers by leveraging the wealth of innovative design expertise and operational know- how accumulated by Sony within the PC business,” the companies said in a statement.
Along with televisions, PCs have been a particular drag on Sony. PC shipments from all makers worldwide fell 10 percent last year, to 316 million, according to Gartner, a research firm, as more consumers turned to tablet computers or smartphones to connect to the Internet. Sony’s share of that total slipped to 1.9 percent worldwide in 2013 from 2.1 percent in 2012, Gartner said, making it the ninth-largest maker of PCs worldwide.
With profit margins under pressure in the PC sector, only a handful of the biggest companies, including the market leader, Lenovo, make money in the business.
“Somebody has to exit from the market because there are still too many competitors,” said Mikako Kitagawa, an analyst at Gartner. “This is an extremely difficult market in which to survive. That is not going to change.”
After splitting off its television business into a subsidiary, Sony said, the new unit will focus on expensive sets, including ultra-high-resolution 4K TVs, while scaling back output of cheaper models.
While Sony is retaining ownership, the new structure could also make it easier to open the TV business to outside investment, analysts said. The changes could also make it easier for the company to cut costs by outsourcing more manufacturing and other operations, while retaining the Sony brand.
Sony has adopted such structures for other business lines, including mobile phones, with mixed results.
In 2001, Sony set up a joint venture with Ericsson of Sweden, but the partnership struggled and Sony bought out Ericsson’s stake in 2012.
Mr. Hirai, the Sony chief, said that while the company had no immediate plans to sell the TV arm, it was keeping its options open.
“There are many possibilities, not just for our TV business,” he said.

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Satya Nadella gives Brand Hyderabad a credibility boost


HYDERABAD: The coronation of mana Hyderabadi Satya Nadella as CEO of the world's largest software player Microsoft couldn't have come at a better time for Brand Hyderabad, which has been grappling with the shame of having lost its erstwhile IT poster boy, Ramalinga Raju, to the Satyam scam in 2009 and gaining the dubious distinction of being a 'city of scams'. 

Of course, Brand Hyderabad's image as a global investment destination and IT hub, built over the better part of the last decade, had taken a further beating thanks to the Telangana-turmoil that kept the city on the boil over the past five years. 

So will Telugu bidda Nadella put Brand Hyderabad back firmly on the global IT map and resurrect its flagging fortunes? Corporate honchos feel that from its days of Satyam infamy to basking in Satya's glory, Brand Hyderabad has come a long way and not only stands vindicated but finally gets the much needed credibility boost. 

According to Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd chairman and CEO GV Prasad, though several Hyderabad entrepreneurs have made a global impact, this is the first time that a professional from the city has risen to the position of CEO at such a large global organization. "I believe this appointment will help 'Brand Hyderabad' gain more respectability and credibility. We are a city of varied talent and it is great to see a fellow Hyderabadi go to such great heights," says Prasad. 

"Nadella's news reaffirms the 'fundamentals and ethos' that Andhra Pradesh and particularly Hyderabad's IT industry has stood for all these years. His success is a landmark because it will inspire young Indian techies to aspire for top jobs in IT firms and is also an important development for the IT sector as a whole," feels Nasscom president Som Mittal. 

Former JWT India CEO Tarun Singh Chauhan is of the opinion that the positive association of Hyderabad with Nadella will go a long way in helping the city shed some of the negative baggage of its recent past. "A lot of other negative issues related to the city now become irrelevant. Hyderabad is now a globally relevant brand as Nadella has bagged one of the most coveted jobs in the corporate world and it is the city that gifted this talent to the world. It is also about the victory of people from humble backgrounds." 

Raising a toast to yet another feather in Hyderabad's cap, BVR Mohan Reddy, founder chairman of homegrown IT major Infotech Enterprises says this is "very positive" news for Brand Hyderabad. "There are quite a few high profile names in the corporate world with a Hyderabad connection such as Prem Watsa of BlackBerry, Adobe Systems chief executive officer Shantanu Narayen and now Satya Nadella. This will go a long way in boosting Hyderabad's image," he says. 

Randstad India president Aditya Narayan Mishra too feels Satya Nadella is the much needed "feel good factor" for Hyderabad, which has been facing a lot of headwinds recently because of various reasons such as the ongoing political uncertainty in the state. 

However, the city needs more of such "feel good" news to pump up Brand Hyderabad, points out Indian School of Business (ISB) deputy dean Deepak Chandra. "Whenever a son of the soil makes it to such heights, it is a matter of pride for the region. Nadella's rise to the helm at Microsoft is a positive development and puts Hyderabad in the news for all the right reasons. The city needs many more such consistent and positive reinforcements to have an enduring impact on its brand," he says.

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Setback for AAP Government

Raising a red flag over the move by Delhi’s AAP government’s to bypass the Centre on the Jan Lokpal Bill, Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran has said the Bill must be presented to the Lieutenant-Governor before it is tabled in the state Assembly.
Parasaran has said the Bill can “become law in the National Capital Territory only after it receives the President’s assent”, it is learnt. His opinion came in response to L-G Najeeb Jung’s request for counsel on two counts: whether presenting the Bill in the Assembly “without sending the legislative proposal to the Central government” —  as Arvind Kejriwal’s government has sought to do — violates the constitution; and whether the Delhi government has the power to legislate on matters concerning the Delhi Police and the Delhi Development Authority.
Parasaran’s opinion suggests the Delhi government will not only be violating the constitution if it sticks to its plan of “directly” discussing the Bill on the floor of the house, but adds that Presidential sanction is required to bring the Delhi Police under  the Jan Lokpal. To support his opinion, the Solicitor General has relied on provisions in the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, it is learnt. According to the Act, no Bill that involves expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India -  as the Jan Lokpal Bill does -  can be introduced in the Assembly without “the recommendation of the Lieutenant-Governor”.
Since the Jan Lokpal Bill’s provisions will “overlap” with those in the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, passed by Parliament, Parasaran has suggested “the law can never come into force” without the President’s assent. Also, throwing a wrench in the AAP’s works is Article 239AA of the constitution which stipulates that the Delhi government cannot make laws with respect to the police, unless it is approved by the President.
As reported by The Indian Express, the draft Bill seeks to bring the Delhi Police within its ambit. Since Parasaran has not been provided a copy of the Bill, he has simply highlighted Parliament’s superior legislative power on this count. While the AAP government has said it will push the Bill without seeking the approval of the Union government, the Delhi Congress has said it will not support a bill which is not constitutional, setting the stage for a major confrontation between them.
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Who will be the best PM for India?

Who will be the best PM for India?
  
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