Baba Ramdev has been hospitalised

Baba Ramdev has been hospitalised after his health deteriorated rapidly as his fast-unto-death against corruption and black money entered the seventh day on June 10 at the Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar.

The Haridwar district administration decided to shift Ramdev to the Jolly Grant Hospital in Dehradun due to better medical facilities there. He was also administered glucose by the doctors that ended his fast.

"Baba Ramdev agreed to be shifted to the hospital. Baba Ramdev has been shifted to Jolly Grant Hospital in Dehradun in an ambulance

Baba Ramdev moved to hospital

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev was taken on a stretcher from his ashram in Haridwar this afternoon; he is being taken to a hospital in Dehradun. Before that, doctors who examined him said his hunger strike, now in its seventh day, had affected his liver and caused his blood pressure to drop significantly.

So far, the 45-year-old has remained adamant about continuing his fast against black money and corruption.

In Delhi, activist Swami Agnivesh met with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to discuss the Ramdev crisis. Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar also confirmed that he is mediating between the government and Baba Ramdev, who have been at war since Saturday night, when the Baba was evicted from his camp in Delhi where he had combined a sit-in protest with yoga classes and the launch of his hunger strike.

"His blood pressure is 104/70 which is low and pulse rate is 58 per minute which is also low. If his pulse rate and BP continue to go down, it may put some pressure on his heart," Chief Medical Officer Yogesh Chandra Sharma said after examining the Baba at his ashram.

Yesterday, district administration officials suggested that they may resort to force-feeding the Baba.

The yoga icon whose followers run into lakhs started his fast in Delhi at the Ramlila Maidan. 65,000 people were in attendance on Saturday night when the police broke up the camp with teargassing and a lathicharge. The Baba was evicted and flown back to Uttarakhand.

The action at Ramlila Maidan ended days of negotiation between the government and the Baba over his suggestions for how to tackle the problem of crores of untaxed money that have been shipped abroad. The late-night violence united Opposition parties who accused the government of violating citizens' right to peacefully protest. Civil activists who have declared Gandhian Anna Hazare their leader pounded the government too, with public criticism and a one-day fast at Rajghat on Wednesday.

The government has disclosed that various tax inquiries are being conducted against the Baba's business empire whose reported turnover is more than a thousand crores. Yesterday, the Baba retaliated by declaring online the balance sheets of the four trusts that he runs for charitable purposes. However, he did not share the financial records of the 34 companies that are linked to him and are run by his close aide, Acharya Balakrishna.

The Baba has also been forced to defend a controversial remark he made earlier this week - that he would recruit 11,000 young men and women who would reciprocate if attacked. Yesterday, he said his remark had been distorted and misreported. "The words should be used in the right context... I said I will make a force who will not beat anyone but they will not get beaten either," the yoga teacher said, adding, "what is the harm or wrong if I speak about shaurya (valour)"

The Baba's remark - seen as incendiary by his critics - had also provoked criticism from other social activists and a warning of legal action from the government.

Agri-commodity prices remain steady

The prices of all major commodities held steady in the wholesale foodgrains market here today.

The following are the wholesale rates of various agri-commodities today
(in rupees per quintal, except where stated otherwise):

• tur dal Rs 6,000,

• urad dal Rs 6,400,

• moong dal Rs 6,600,

• gram dal Rs 2950,

• sugar Rs 2,700,

• wheat Rs 1,800,

• maida (90 kg) Rs 1,600 and

• sooji (90 kg) Rs 1,800.

Sensex declines 18 points

The BSE benchmark Sensex opened over 18 points lower Friday on sustained selling by foreign funds and retail investors ahead of the release of factory output data for the month of April later on Friday.

The 30-share barometer, which lost over 110 points in the previous two sessions, fell further by 18.04 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 18,366.86 points in the first five minutes of trade.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index slid by 11.40 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 5,509.65 points.

According to market experts, the trading sentiment turned bearish on sustained selling by funds and retail investors ahead of the release of index of industrial production (IIP) data later Friday.

Nifty lacklustre

Indian equity benchmarks were completely lacklustre in early trade. Indices remain in a tight range for the sixth day in a row - the Nifty has been moving in a range of 5500-5550 despite positive US cues.

The market may remain in a narrow band over the next few months. "The market looks fairly priced at the moment, but the uncertain macro environment indicates that risks are to the downside. We believe the market may remain in a narrow band over the next few months, hence investors should consider focusing on accumulating good quality names that have strong balance sheets and earnings visibility."