Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Our law makers are law breakers, we are responsible for electing them
One-third of Indian MPs face charges
Jalees Andrabi, Foreign Correspondent- Last Updated: May 23. 2009 11:06PM UAE / May 23. 2009 7:06PM GMT
Out of 543 elected members, 153, or 28 per cent, have criminal proceedings against them at various stages, with the charges ranging from serious offences such as murder and rioting to petty theft. The number surpasses that of the previous parliament, which had 128 members facing charges.
Leading the list is Kamleshwar Baitha, of the regional party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. He was elected from Palamauin Jharkhand and has 67 criminal cases pending against him. They include 17 involving murder, 22 for attempted murder and two for kidnapping.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tops the list among parties. Forty-three out of its 116 elected members have criminal cases pending. The party fielded 113 candidates who face charges in the elections.
The report is based on information supplied by the candidates to the Election Commission. ADR, a network of non-governmental organisations from across India, launched a countrywide campaign for electoral reforms and decriminalisation of Indian politics.
“It is disturbing, we conducted several surveys and almost in all of them voters clearly stated that they do not want a candidate with criminal antecedents, but parties still continue to put them in parliament and the electorate has sometimes very little choice to choose from,” said Anil Bairwal, ADR’s national co-ordinator.
BJP’s Varun Gandhi, who is facing criminal charges on six counts, including creating ethnic disharmony and rioting, secured his seat in the parliament by a majority of 250,000 votes.
A senior BJP leader, Seshadri Chari, disputed the claims made by ADR, saying none of the BJP elected candidates has any criminal proceedings pending.
“As far as BJP is concerned we made it a point that only law-abiding candidates will be fielded in the elections. The history of each candidate is verified by the election commission. However, if a candidate has deliberately concealed such facts the party will take action against them,” he said.
“Most of the people which refer to these cases are vendetta cases and we have to understand the difference between serious offences and political vengeance.”
The Congress party, which won 204 seats in the election, fielded 114 candidates facing charges, out of which 41 candidates were elected to lower house of the parliament for a five-year term.
The Congress candidate Kunvarjibhai Mohanbhai Bavaliya, who was elected from Rajkot in Gujarat, faces six criminal cases, including murder charges.
The new United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, led by Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, has made it clear that it will not induct candidates who face charges into the cabinet. The previous UPA government had several ministers who were under investigation.
The ADR report did note a decrease in the number of parliament members facing serious charges. In the previous parliament there were 432 serious charges against the members, which has come down to 268 this time.
“Voters were educated and aware this time, the number of members with serious cases has gone down considerably and we hope in future this will hit the bottom.
“Most importantly candidates with murder cases have come down by almost 50 per cent but we stand for zero per cent tolerance to criminal candidates,” Mr Bairwal, ADR’s national co-ordinator, said. In 2002, the Supreme Court made it mandatory for the candidates to disclose their educational, financial and criminal backgrounds.
The Representation of the People’s Act, amended in 2006, bars people sentenced to jail for two or more years from contesting the elections.
“The government should bring in legislation to completely stop criminals from getting into parliament. There cannot be different parameters for citizens in a democracy when it comes to a justice system. It is ironic that an ordinary citizen cannot get a job with even a small criminal record but one can become a prime minster, chief minister or cabinet minister above a lawmaker, with a murder charge against him,” Mr Bairwal said.
“Once a person becomes a lawmaker he gets a status in the society. Almost he is above the law. You cannot stop him.”
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Fluctuating Rupee
The fluctuating rupee
Up or down, some Indians have to remit money home anyway, others can afford to wait
- By Gaurav Ghose, Financial Features Editor
- Published: 00:00 May 22, 2010
- Foreign funds have already pulled out around $987 million from Indian equities so far in 2010, and there are concerns the pressure may continue until the euro zone situation improves.
- Image Credit: Virendra Saklani, Gulf News
Though it means sacrificing more at his end when the value of the rupee appreciates against the dirham, Mohammad Rafi is a little blasé about the fluctuating exchange rates.
That feeling is not without a reason. He has witnessed the value of rupee going up and down many times in the last 16 years. He has seen one dirham fetching more than Rs14 as in March of last year. He has also seen it plumb the low depths of Rs 10.65 in 2007.
Rafi, 36, who today runs his small independent transport business in Abu Dhabi, has been remitting part of his earnings home since he first came to the UAE.
For the past few years, the amount sent has remained constant every month. He sends Rs15,000 to his family in Guruvayur town in Kerala, where his wife and two young children reside with his parents.
"Of course it hurts when the rupee value strengthens, but what can you do? But never do I send a penny less to home," says Rafi. "They need that money. I make adjustments to my spending here."
He also remits between Rs25,000 and Rs30,000 to his home country bank as repayment amount towards a personal loan of Rs300,000. This amount is also largely constant, he says, as it is never less than Rs25,000.
From the peak of Rs14.25 in March 2009, the rupee has appreciated against the dirham by about 10.45 per cent. That means one gets fewer rupees per dirham now. In mid-April this year, when rupee reached a 19-month high, one dirham had dropped to Rs 12. With rupee weakening this month and accelerating in the last few days, smiles in the faces of expatriates are slowly returning. On Friday, a dirham was valued at around Rs12.76.
For many Indian expatriates in the UAE, particularly of the lower socio-economic bracket, a stronger rupee means less money being transferred to India to meet the obligations back home. Their families have to deal with a lesser amount and at times bear some form of hardship.
In some cases, when the rupee appreciates, some expatriates who are earning less dig into their savings here and even take loans to keep their families happy.
"Any time it happens, the strengthening of the Indian rupee it is a very serious problem for low and middle income expatriate workers in GCC countries," says K.V. Shamsudheen, partner and director at Barjeel Geojit Securities (LLC). As chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, he advises Indians struggling with debt-related issues.
Lifestyle
"Having gotten used to a certain lifestyle, the families at home keep demanding the same amount, if not more and do not realise the sacrifices being made by the earner here. It compels them to take a loan pushing them into a debt cycle."
However, there are other Indian immigrants whose families back home do not regularly depend on their remittances. They can afford to wait and track the currency movements and then send money home.
"Compared to the ones who remit monthly, mostly labourers and middle class who have families back home, the ones who wait and send, though low on volumes are usually big tickets," says Sudhir Kumar Shetty, CEO of UAE Exchange. "That is, when they remit, it's a big amount. They are willing to wait for the best rate."
Mostly, they send money to India for purely investment purposes, whether it be in stocks, mutual funds, corporate bonds, fixed deposits or real estate.
A teacher in Ras Al Khaimah, B.R. Chaudhury, 45, is one such expatriate who sends money when the rate is good. She sends money two or three times a year and the amount is usually in the range of Dh10,000 or more, mostly for real estate investments.
"I always send fairly large lump sum amount to my bank in India when the rate is good to pay for my monthly repayments of the loan towards a real estate investment and other expenses when needed," says Chaudhury.
The dirham being pegged to the dollar essentially means movements in the dollar, seen in recent days amid the euro zone crisis, affects the strength of the rupee. Not to forget, the rupee's fortune is also closely linked to the foreign fund flows into India and stock market sentiments.
The outcome of the gains in the rupee over the last year and a half has been on the back of steady gains in Indian stock markets, says Pradeep Unni, senior analyst at Richcomm Global. Last year record foreign institutional investors' inflow of $17.5 billion into the Indian stock market helped the rupee rise 4.7 per cent.
This month, however, the rupee has slipped. That is especially on the back of the weakness in stock markets and fears of foreign institutional investors pulling out of Indian equities. Foreign funds have already pulled out around $987 million from Indian equities so far in 2010, and there are concerns the pressure may continue until the euro zone situation improves.
The latest outflows have played a role in pushing the rupee down 4.3 per cent in May, trimming gains in 2010 to just 0.4 per cent. So for expatriates here, weaker the better, which means transferring more rupees in the hands of their family members or into investing in equities and other assets in India.
Taking into account the recent developments in the global financial markets and more importantly the chaos in the euro zone, a potential correction is impending in the Indian stock markets and this hints that the rupee could weaken a bit more against the dollar in the coming weeks, Unni says.
Further ahead, the currency might get marginally weaker, but the weakness might be limited to between Rs47.50 and Rs48.50 to the US dollar as a potential long due correction in stocks might end by then, he adds.
"Thus expats can wait for a few more weeks to send their money home as they would get better exchange rate by then," Unni says. "At the same time, stocks would also reach levels to re-enter."
However, taking into account the underlying fundamental strength of the economy, the bullish outlook for the rupee beyond six months is intact, he says. But a general cautionary note is sounded when it comes investing in equities, perhaps the riskiest asset class.
"Having known that stock market is more of ‘tangled web' with too many factors playing at the same juncture and no factor can be discounted to the other, it's prudent to diversify the investment in different asset classes so that the risk is diversified," Unni says.
Opting to hedge the currency risk
In light of the recent currency fluctuations, the more savvy investors could very well opt to hedge the currency risk, Pradeep Unni, senior analyst says.
That opportunity is available for such investors right here, whereby the risk can be hedged in the Indian rupee contract on the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX).
"Alternatively investors can also invest in the Indian currency for pure investment sake as the underlying strength in the economy is reflected in the currency too," Unni adds.
The DGCX contract is the only Indian rupee futures trading contract outside India which provides the opportunity of profit from movements in the Indian currency. The contract is a boon to all Indian expatriates in the Gulf and other countries as the Reserve Bank of India [central bank] effectively prevents nonresident Indians from trading in the same contract traded in India.
"Smaller size contracts with low margins with extended market hours make the contract an ideal one for both institutional and retail investors," Unni says. "We currently see a lot of investors visiting us to understand and trade this product."
Also, being a developing currency, the rupee is subject to significant volatility. Money funds in the form of some offshore Indian rupee funds are a relatively low-risk way to grow one's investment. But he points out, such funds are typically for investors who posses large capital and aren't dependent on a regular income from it but might need to access it at short notice.
As far the accounts are considered, given the same argument that the rupee is volatile, it's ideal to keep the US dollar as base currency, Unni adds. Some quick minded investors will transfer funds to India when the rupee grows weaker and repatriate them back to US dollar accounts when the rupee grows stronger. This was quite evident when the rupee went past 50 to the US dollar in March and April of 2009, and reversing back at Rs47-Rs46 levels. The result was a pure gain of Rs3 to Rs4 on idle funds.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
INTRODUCE INFRASTRUCTURE BOND FOR NRKs
Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust
Post Box No. 940, Sharjah
Email: kvshams@gmail.com
Tel: +971506467801
February 23, 2007
PRESS RELEASE
INTRODUCE INFRASTRUCTURE BOND FOR NRKs
We came to understand from the media that Government of Kerala floated a new company called Infrastructure Kerala Limited (InKel), to channelise investments from non resident Keralites (NRKs) with a paid up capital of Rs. I billion out of that 26 percent stake would be held by Kerala Government. NRKs had supported and invested in more than two dozen Kerala Government promoted companies since 1976.
NRKs had very bad experience in investing in companies fully or jointly promoted by Government of Kerala. The first company NRKs had invested was Keltron Component Complex Ltd year back 1976. Keltron Component Complex Ltd had paid its first and last dividend after 11 years where as Cochin International Airport Ltd made its maiden dividend after eight years. Most of the companies are disappeared with total loss of capital. Notably majority of the investors in these companies are low and middle income NRKs, all of them had invested their hard earned money expecting some return form the investment. Ninety five percent of NRKs from this segment are not having financial resources to get a regular income for their lively hood when they return for permanent settlement. If such investors are not getting any return on the investment or totally loosing their investment is not affordable to them. In addition to that among State-level public sector enterprises (SLPEs) in Kerala 49 enterprises incurred losses amounting to Rs 501.50 crore during the 2004-2005. So, NRKs who knows the past experience in investing in Kerala based companies will not invest again.
If government is really looking for financial participation of NRK in the development of Kerala, the newly set up InKel must have a professional management and that company must raise fund by long term bonds in the line of Konkan Railway or Naiveli Lignite or Narmada Sarovar Nigam who raised fund for their project as Bonds. a) The return of these bonds must be higher than NRE bank deposits. b) Such bonds must have guarantee from the federal government on timely payment of the offered return to the investors because state had defaulted earlier.
During the regime of E K Nayanar Government of Kerala made attempt to raise fund from the public for infrastructure development. Instead of using that fund for infrastructure development the government diverted Rs. 5 billion into pay salary of the employees. Since the financial situation of the state is still bad, how we could believe that this government will use this fund for the infrastructure development?
A large number of Gulf returnees are now demanding for the government help for their rehabilitation. A government who has more 3.9 million jobless people in the state will not help them. Kerala had received more than Rs. 22,000 crores last years as remittance from NRKs. If government could mobilize 10% of the yearly remittance for the infrastructure and industrial development of the Kerala, we could change the face of Kerala. In addition to that the income from such investment will be a shelter for thousands of NRKs for their resettlement.
For More details, please contact:
K.V Shamsudheen
Chairman
Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust
Overseas Contact: Post Box No. 940
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Tel: 00971506467801
Email: kvshams@gmail.com
www.pravasibandhu.com
NRI body slams move to charge User Fee at Trivandrum airport
Report appeared in India media
NRI body slams move to charge User Fee at Trivandrum airport
Dubai, May 12 UNI
An NRI organisation working for the welfare of the low income overseas Indians in the Gulf has slammed the India government's decision to slap a user fee of Rs 755 on every outbound international passenger saying it is discriminatory.
In a letter to the civil aviation minister Praful Patel, the Pravasibandhu Trust said it was surprised that the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) had rejected the Airports Authority of India (AAI) demand to levy the same fee on domestic passengers.
The government should have studied the profile of the international passengers from the airport, majority of who are low paid blue collar workers compared to domestic users who are far richer in comparison, Mr K V Shamsudheen, Chairman of the Trust told UNI.
"If the AAI feel the fee is essential to make the project viable, they may introduce a reduced fee of Rs 250 from all the users of the airport, one way" he said appealing for immediate intervention by the minister.
The member of Parliament from Trivandrum Dr Shashi Tharoor has also opposed the fee, which will be a double whammy on the low income Gulf workers many of who are now
returning from the region because of recession. UNI
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