India slams Pak for blocking Indo-Afghan trade

Brussels, Oct 5 (PTI) Hitting out at Pakistan for blocking Indo-Afghan trade via Attari border for "political reasons", India today said nations cannot become "walls" aborting trade and culture that is as old as written history.

Asserting that the "fangs of terrorism" recognise no borders, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said, "peace is essential to development; terrorism is anathema to development." 

Addressing a meeting here on 'Regional Integration and Prosperity' at the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, Akbar said, "The scale of terrorism and violence unleashed against Afghanistan is of a magnitude that simply does not allow for easy project implementation, efficient delivery of assistance or the rapid inflow of investments into an economy that has huge resources and obvious potential".

He stated that the international community "must ensure security" if it wants stability and economic development in Afghanistan. "We cannot underline 'must' often enough. We abandon this duty at our own risk." 

India has offered a special facility at the Attari border for Afghan products coming to India via Pakistan, he said at the meet also attended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

"Unfortunately, this access has been blocked for political reasons by Pakistan. Nations cannot become walls aborting a trade and culture that is as old as written history, and as powerful as the lore etched in common memory," he said amid heightened Indo-Pak tensions.

Akbar said, however, India will continue to work with Afghanistan for assured and reliable access for Afghanistan's products to India's markets through land, sea and air.

"The full utilisation of Afghanistan's transit rights as a member of WTO will enable greater prosperity. Those who deny transit hurt Afghanistan's economy, with negative resonance for our larger region," Akbar said in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

Talking about India's support for increasing connectivity with Afghanistan, Akbar said, "An exciting and innovative future is taking shape through the recent trilateral India- Iran-Afghanistan agreement in Tehran in May 2016, which makes Chahbahar into a hub for immense economic opportunity".

Asserting that New Delhi's commitment to Afghanistan is abiding, he said it is India's cherished desire to work with the people and government of "one of our closest friends" towards peace, stability and progress in Afghanistan and in the wider region.

India has dedicated its efforts and resources into bilateral cooperation with Afghanistan, with improvements of internal capabilities and provision of year-round regional connectivity, Akbar said.

"We have already completed significant development projects including scientific water management through dams and infrastructure projects like highways, worth over USD 2 billion. We have recently committed to USD 1 billion more.

This is the essence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'neighbourhood first' policy," Akbar said.

International Buddhist Conclave-2016 opens its sessions in Sarnath Uttar Pradesh

The International Buddhist Conclave-2016, which was officially inaugurated on 02^nd October, 2016 in New Delhi, opened its sessions in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, the heartland of Buddhist pilgrimage today.

The opening session was addressed by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism & Culture. Shri Om Prakash, Tourism Minister, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, Tourism Secretary Shri Vinod Zutshi, Shri Navneet Sehgal, Principal Secretary, UP Tourism and Commissioner Varanasi.  H.E. Assoc. Professor Chavanee Tongroach, Vice Minister of Tourism & Sports, Govt. of the Kingdom of Thailand, Mr. Macio Favilla, Executive Director, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Mayor of Varanasi amongst others attended the opening session of the conclave. 

Delivering his opening remarks, Dr. Mahesh Sharma said, “India is the seat of Spiritual Tourism and that Government of India & Government of Uttar Pradesh are committed to develop the Buddhist Circuits. He also stated that Sarnath will be made the hub of Buddhist Tourism in India and efforts will be made to bring in Air, Rail and Road connections from Sarnath to various Buddhist sites in India”. 

Dr. Sharma further outlined the Ministry of Tourism’s investment in tourism infrastructure for development of Buddhist Circuit in India under its Swadesh Darshan Scheme and stated that an amount of Rs. 132.17 crore have been sanctioned till date. He further added that for Uttar Pradesh, the Ministry of Tourism is in the verge of sanctioning an amount of Rs.99.97 crore this year for infrastructure development of Buddhist Circuit covering Saravasti, Kapilvastu, Kushinagar.

RBI surprises with rate cut; home, auto loans to cost less

New Delhi, Oct 4 (PTI) Home, auto and corporate loans may get cheaper as the new RBI Governor Urjit Patel-led panel today marked its debut policy review with a surprise 0.25 per cent rate cut -- lowering borrowing cost to 6-year low, which the industry lauded as a pre-Diwali gift.

In independent India's first collective interest rate setting decision, the 6-member Monetary Policy Committee, which has three members nominated by the government and the rest from the Reserve Bank, lowered repo rate to 6.25 per cent from 6.50 per cent.

First in six months, today's cut came amidst big clamour for easing rates especially after the departure of former Governor Raghuram Rajan, who was often accused by some sections, including those from the ruling BJP, of stifling growth by keeping rates too high.

The repo rate, at which RBI lends to banks, was 6.25 per cent in November 2010. It peaked to 8.5 per cent in October 2011.

Within minutes of the RBI policy announcement, the government welcomed the rate cut saying it will boost liquidity and help achieve 8 per cent GDP growth.

"The Government has announced several measures to cool food inflation pressures, especially with regard to pulses.

These measures should help in moderating the momentum of food inflation in the months ahead. This has opened up space for policy action, as indicated in the third bi-monthly monetary policy statement," Patel said in the fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review for 2016-17.

RBI's current rate cut along with reduction in small savings rates by the government will encourage banks to pass on the benefit to the borrowers, he said.

"The easy liquidity conditions engendered by the Reserve Bank s operations should also enable the smooth transmission of the policy action through various market segments," he said.

Following the rate cut, the BSE benchmark Sensex closed up by 91 points at 28,334.55.

Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said the RBI policy will boost liquidity in the system and both the RBI and government are in sync with the inflation target.

"On the whole, this is a decision which will go down well with all sections of the economy," Lavasa said.

When asked if banks will pass on rate cut, he said: "It depends on the banks. Banks also decides based on market sentiment".

Welcoming the rate cut as a 'pre-Diwali' gift, industry players hoped that banks would pass on the benefits and boost consumer sentiments in the ongoing festive season.

Sensex rallies 377 pts, all eyes shift to RBI meet tomorrow

Mumbai, Oct 3 (PTI) Market turned more decisive as the Sensex today jumped over 377 points -- its biggest single-day gain in about a month -- and the NSE Nifty scaled the 8,700 mark in anticipation of a rate reduction at the RBI policy meet tomorrow.

Improving sales numbers from automakers, a sign of revival in discretionary spending, the rupee holding higher against the dollar and no further flare-up on the geopolitical front added fuel to the rally.

A rebound globally on easing worries about future of German giant Deutsche Bank and a firming oil price provided a perfect setting.

Sentiment was buoyed after a monthly survey showed that the manufacturing PMI print for September, at 52.1, came in above the 50 mark for the ninth month, signalling expansion.

The 30-share BSE barometer after opening higher hit a high of 28,273.02 before settling at 28,243.29, a significant jump of 377.33 points, or 1.35 per cent, its biggest single-session rally since September 6 when it had climbed 445.91.

The gauge had gained 38.43 points in the previous volatile session on Friday.

The broader NSE Nifty retook the 8,700 level to end at 8,738.10 by surging 126.95 points, or 1.47 per cent, after moving between 8,745.20 and 8,635.

"The market rebounded as investors expect a positive futuristic view from the new RBI monetary policy committee tomorrow even though consensus points to a hold in key rates," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Auto stocks, led by Maruti Suzuki, were in the driver's seat. The country's largest car maker came out on tops, surging by over 3.70 per cent, after it posted over 31 per cent growth in passenger vehicle sales in September.

Hero MotoCorp (up 3.18 per cent), M&M (2.64 per cent), Bajaj Auto (1.52 per cent) and Tata Motors (1.11 per cent) were in a sweet spot too.

As many as 28 components of the 30-share Sensex pack ran up while TCS and Infosys finished lower.

Other big movers of the day are Adani Ports (3 per cent), Power Grid (2.72 per cent), L&T (2.67 per cent) and Asian Paints (2.54 per cent).

On the sectoral front, realty rose the most by 3.01 per cent followed by consumer durables 2.65 per cent, infra 2.61 per cent, metal 2.45 per cent and banking 1.59 per cent.

Broader markets continued to show a firm trend as retail investors propped up their bets, with the BSE small-cap index rising 2.67 per cent and mid-cap 2.40 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 1,028.31 crore last Friday, showed provisional data.

Asian shares closed higher on receding fears about Deutsche Bank after a source said the German banking giant was nearing a settlement with the US Justice Department amid strong leads from Wall Street's rally on Friday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng went up 1.23 per cent while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.90 per cent. Chinese markets were closed today for a public holiday. European stocks also witnessed a rise.

PETROTECH-2016, the 12th International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition will be organised at New Delhi from 5 to 7 December, 2016

PETROTECH-2016, the 12^th International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition will be organised by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas at New Delhi from 05^th to 07^th December, 2016. Briefing the media in New Delhi today the Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Sh. K.D. Tripathi said that PETROTECH-2016 is poised to be the most important energy event in India in compassing the entire gamut of the oil and gas industry i.e. upstream, midstream and downstream, as well as related sectors such as alternative energy, engineering and technology.

Along with the three days Conference with an anticipated participation of over 100 eminent speakers and 6000 delegates, the event will also have an Exhibition with participation of over 600 exhibitors from over 50 countries. The theme for this year’s PETROTECH Conference is “Hydrocarbons to fuel the future: Choices and Challenges”. With this theme, PETROTECH-2016 aims to explore areas of growth in petroleum technology, exploration, drilling, production and processing, refining and other related issues. The Conference would be a platform for national and international experts from oil and gas industry to exchange views and share knowledge, expertise and experience across various segments.

Sh. Tripathi said that with steady economic growth and being the third largest energy consumer, India is today brightest spot for investors, traders and industrialists. With India looking to expand its energy portfolio and with 100 per cent FDI in Petroleum & Natural Gas sectors, organising such an event to showcase India’s Hydrocarbon industries to the world becomes all the more important.

The main event will be held at Vigyan Bhawan while the PETROTECH-2016 Exhibition will be held at Pragati Maidan. As part of India's growing engagement in the energy domain with countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Europe and the US, 49 ministerial delegations have been invited to participate in the Conference. In addition, there  will be 2 Ministerial Sessions on “Hydrocarbons to fuel the future: choices and challenges” and “Transforming India: key initiatives”; 3 Plenary Sessions on “Oil price volatility: challenges and opportunities”, “India rising: resilience and reforms” and “India, manufacturing hub for the hydrocarbon sector”; 5 Theme Sessions on “Natural Gas: road towards cleaner and prosperous future”, “Beyond Fossil Fuels”, “Gearing for growth: talent requirements and expectations”, “Future of upstream: a techno-managerial challenge” and “The growing prominence of Asian refining”; Roundtable discussions on BRICS and CELAC countries; CEO Conclave; Exclusive forum on Women in the hydrocarbon industry and Yuva Youth Form; and Technical Programmes.

More and upto date information about the event can be obtained by following the twitter handle @petrotech2016 or facebook.com/petrotech.in

Pak troops violate ceasefire 4 times, 5 hurt

Jammu, Oct 3 (PTI) Intensifying action, Pakistan troops today violated ceasefire four times by resorting to heavy mortar shelling and firing on Indian Army posts and civilian areas along LoC in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, leaving five civilians injured and several shops ablaze.

Reports said in the retaliatory action by the Indian Army, one Pakistani post Twiven1 has been been destroyed.

The firing and shelling is going on in various areas along the LoC, officials said.

Pakistan resorted to firing and shelling in Shahpur, Krishnagati, Mandi and Sabzian sectors in Poonch district, officials said.

"Pakistan troops resorted to unprovoked firing in Mandi and Sabzian sectors of Poonch district from 1345 hours today," Defence spokesman Col Manish Mehta said.

They fired 120 mm, 80 mm mortar bombs, automatic weapons and small arms, he said, adding the exchanges are going on.

Earlier, Pakistani troops violated ceasefire in Poonch using small arms, automatic and mortar bombs (in Shahpur) in Poonch, the spokesman said.

"It has appropriately been responded to, we have given them befitting reply. The ceasefire violation is still on," he said.

A Police officer said the firing started at around 1045 hours and is going on.

Pakistan troops resorted to brief firing in Krishnagati sector of Poonch district around 0100 hours, officials said.

In shelling, five people were injured in Shahpur Kerni and Saujian sectors, officials said, adding the injured have been hospitalised.

The injured have been identified as Refeela Bi (18) and Gulam Mohmmad of Shahpur, Shah Begum (35 years) of Qasba, Hafiza Akhtar (17 Years) of Gangrian and 10 year Usma.

A Police officer said that one mortar shell landed in a security force camp in Gangrian in Saujian and it hit oil containers resulting in fire.

In the fire several shops were gutted, he said, adding there was no loss of life or injury to any one in the fire.

President, PM pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi

New Delhi, Oct 2 (PTI) The nation today remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his 147th birth anniversary, with President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders paying floral tributes to him at his memorial here.

Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior BJP leader L K Advani also paid tributes to the Father of the Nation.

"Gandhiji made this world a better place. His ideals, dedication to the poor & struggle against injustice inspire," the Prime Minister said in a tweet.

Clad in a white kurta and pyjama, Modi, who arrived at 7:40 AM, paid homage to the Mahatma by offering rose petals at his memorial and performing a 'parikrama' (circumambulation) around it.

Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu and Rao Inderjit Singh, and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad too joined in paying homage to the Father of the Nation.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who arrived along with his deputy Manish Sisodia, also paid tributes to the Mahatma on his birth anniversary.

Ambassadors of several countries and other dignitaries attended the function. A large number of school children had also gathered at the venue to pay homage.

An all-faith prayer meeting was held on the occasion. 

Go to Pakistan and work there, Raj Thackeray tells Salman

Mumbai, Oct 1 (PTI) Stepping up his attack on Bollywood superstar Salman Khan for opposing the ban on Pakistani artistes in India, MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday asked him to go and work there.

"Our soldiers don't have any personal animosity with Pakistani soldiers. The bullets our soldiers face are not filmy. Salman gets up after being hit by a bullet," Raj said, reacting to Salman's remarks, adding "I have seen his tubelight blinker many a time."

"I am also an artiste and artistes don't fall from the sky. Pakistani artistes have refused to condemn Uri terror attack. Why should our artists speak up for them?," Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief told reporters here.

Raj said the 50-year-old actor should work in Pakistan if he has so much love for artistes of the neighbouring country.

"Artistes should know its always 'nation first'. Artistes are not inseparable from society. Is there a dearth of talent in our country?," he said, adding those supporting Pakistani artists will face opposition from his party.

Raj said he does not buy the argument that there is no justification in banning Pakistani artists since they are not terrorists.

"How does that concern me if the people are good. I am seeing only terrorists who come to kill our people," he said, adding film industry was only concerned about the business of their films.

Raj said what would happen if Indian soldiers keep aside their arms to hear a Ghulam Ali concert. "What will happen then. Are soldiers our servants? ...they are protecting us."

Interestingly, Raj is on good terms with Salman and is a regular visitor to the actor's home during the Ganpati festival.

Salman had on Friday said artistes from Pakistan should not be treated like terrorists and art and terrorism should not be mixed.

The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association has passed a resolution to ban Pakistani actors from the industry in the wake of the Uri attack, which left 19 soldiers dead.

The resolution came after Indian Army announced that seven terror launch pads were targeted across the LoC by special forces during a 'surgical strikes'

64,275 declarants disclose Rs 65,250 cr black money: Jaitley

New Delhi, Oct 1 (PTI) In the biggest ever blackmoney disclosure, at least Rs 65,250 crore of undisclosed assets were declared in the one-time compliance window, yielding Rs 29,362 crore in taxes to the government.

While the blackmoney declarations will go up once all the online and manual filings of undisclosed assets filed at the end of the four-month window on September 30 are compiled, the government will get nearly Rs 14,700 crore or half of the due taxes, this fiscal.

Announcing the declarations made under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS), Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said 64,275 declarants disclosed an amount of Rs 65,250 crore.

"Some disclosures have not been tabulated... This figure could be revised upward once the final tabulation is done," he told a news conference here.

Government had offered a one-time chance to holders of income and assets that had illegally escaped taxes, to come clean by paying a tax and penalty of 45 per cent.

On the declarations compiled so far, the government will get Rs 29,362.5 crore in tax and penalty. The declarants can pay this amount in two instalments up to September 30, 2017.

Half or Rs 14,681.25 crore will accrue this fiscal.

Last year, under a similar scheme for foreign black money holders, 644 declarations of undisclosed foreign income and assets were received, and just Rs 2,428 crore was collected in taxes.

"We will maintain secrecy of these declarations," Jaitley said, adding the tax would accrue to the Consolidated Fund of India and would be used for welfare of public.

The average declaration per declarant comes to Rs 1 crore.

A total tax of Rs 9,760 crore was collected under the Voluntary Income Disclosure Scheme (VIDS) amnesty scheme brought by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram in 1997.

"In 1997, the tax collected was Rs 9,760 crore," Jaitley said, adding that VDIS and IDS cannot be compared as the two schemes are different.

While IDS is not an amnesty scheme, VDIS provided blanket amnesty, he said. Taxation under IDS is charged at the rate of 45 per cent while the effective rate of tax in the 1997 scheme was in single digit.

Jaitley also listed out the steps taken by the government to unearth unaccounted money in over two years, including Rs 56,378 crore during search operation and Rs 16,000 crore from non-filers of tax returns

High alert over possible attacks by Pak-based terror groups

New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) The Centre today issued a country- wide alert asking states to step up vigil to foil any attempt by Pakistan-based terror groups to avenge the surgical strike on their launch pads in PoK even as Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed security situation along the Indo-Pak border.

Security agencies were also apprehending stepped up action by militants currently operating in Jammu and Kashmir targeting security forces and civilians following yesterday's surgical strike by special forces of the Army on seven terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK).

Security was strengthened at vital installations across Punjab and a high alert has been sounded at all airbases across the state while evacuation of people residing in villages along the International Border continued.

During the hour-long meeting with the country's top security brass, Singh instructed the officials to ensure that the forces posted along the border remain on alert as the situation along the Indo-Pak border continues to be volatile, official sources said.

The Army, meanwhile, trashed reports in Pakistan about Indian casualties during the operation, saying one member of the special forces received minor injury during exfiltration but it was not due to any enemy or terrorist action.

The operation was a clinically planned one and the attack on the seven launch pads were carried out simultaneously, sources said.

The sources said it was a moonless night and total darkness helped the special forces bring in the element of surprise with total effectiveness.

It has been estimated that casualties was at least 40 on Pakistani side but there was no official confirmation.

Choppers also hovered over several sectors on the Indian side of the LoC to divert attention of the Pakistani security forces guarding various posts..