Kejriwal set for another revelation today; target-Gadkari?

The man who took on Law Minister Salman Khurshid and Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, activist Arvind Kejriwal, is set to take centrestage again on Wednesday. Kejriwal had threatened to release proof of corruption by BJP President Nitin Gadkari. It now remains to be seen whether Gadkari will be his next target or it will be the NCP.

Kejriwal had also alleged that the Congress and the BJP were hand in glove with each other. "Why has the BJP not taken up the Salman Khurshid issue? Because both are hand in glove, they know we are going to expose Mr Gadkari now," Kejriwal had said.

Aiding Kejriwal in that promised expose, would be accompanied by Mumbai-based activist Anjali Damania, who first set the cat among the pigeons in September 2012, when she claimed that Gadkari and NCP chief Sharad Pawar were hand in glove with each other. "When I approached Mr Gadkari to raise the irrigation scam issue, he told me he could not help me because he and Pawar grant favours to each other," Damaniya had claimed.

CNN-IBN had earlier reported how the irrigation scam could potentially embarrass the BJP President. Documents accessed by CNN-IBN showed how close Gadkari aide and now party MP Ajay Sancheti had circumvented rules to get contracts from the Vidharbha Irrigation Development Corporation.

While corporation rules stated that no single firm can hold more than three contracts simultaneously, the Sancheti group bagged contracts FIRs in the name of Shaktikumar M Sancheti Ltd, then in the name of SMS infrastructure which was the same company with a new name, and also in joint ventures.
In the lower Penganga irrigation project that was controversially revived by Ajit Pawar just days ahead of the 2009 Assembly polls, Ajay Sancheti cornered more than one-third of the contracts. Gadkari wrote to the then water resources minister Pawan Kumar Bansal pushing for release of funds for the irrigation project, declared seriously flawed by the central water commission.

But Nitin Gadkari had remained defiant. In an interview to CNN-IBN, he even said that he will leave politics if anything against him was proved. On Wednesday, Arvind Kejriwal, who has so far gone public with charges against Vadra and Khurshid, is threatening to provide proof of alleged corruption that could embarrass the BJP chief.

M & M launches Rexton at Rs 17.67 lakh

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra today said it has launched a premium SUV 'Rexton' from the SsangYong stable.The first launch from its Korean arm is produced at the Chakan plant with some localisation, the company said.

In November 2010, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) had signed a definitive agreement with Ssangyong Motor Company to acquire 70 per cent stake in the ailing South Korean automaker at a total cost of USD 463 million (about Rs 2,105 crore).

"A manual model of the sports utility vehicle (SUV) is priced at Rs 17.67 lakh ex-Mumbai and the automatic version at Rs 19.67 lakh," M&M president, automotive and farm equipment, Pawan Goenka said at the launch.

The car is the first high-end SUV from the Mumbai-based auto firm. The company said it has invested over Rs 63 crore at its Chakan plant for this model.

Delhi government to give 3 extra subsidised cooking gas cylinders

New Delhi: The Delhi government will give three subsidised cooking gas cylinder to the poor under its scheme to remove all kerosene stoves in the state. These will be in addition to the six subsidised cylinder limit announced by the central government on Friday.

The state government has undertaken a plan to remove all kerosene stoves used for cooking purposes. As part of this, it gives one cylinder and a stove free to families that use kerosene stoves. Now this scheme will extend to three subsidised LPG cylinders per family.

This will mean that each family will now get nine subsidised cylinders a year, beating the central government's cap of six. All cylinders above this cap will have to be bought at the market price, which is about Rs. 700. A subsidised cylinder costs Rs. 400.

The central government on Friday announced the limit in a bid to reduce its subsidy bill. But there are reports that this limit might be relaxed to overcome political opposition, specially from UPA ally Mamata Bannerjee.

CRR cut by 0.25 per cent, repo rate unchanged

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday cut the cash reserve ratio by 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent, increasing liquidity flow into the economy. However, it left the key bank rate and the repo rate unchanged, saying inflation risks as well as growth risks persist and the primary focus of monetary policy is fighting inflation, a move that many called conservative.

"In the current circumstances, lowering policy rates will only aggravate inflationary impulses without necessarily stimulating growth," RBI governor D. Subbarao wrote in the monetary policy review.

CRR cut by 0.25 per cent, repo rate unchanged

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took the government’s reforms rendition a note higher today by cutting its key cash reserve ratio from 4.75 per cent to 4.5 per cent to increase liquidity flow into the economy.

The CRR stipulates the minimum proportion of deposits that banks must hold with the central bank. When the RBI increases the CRR, banks have fewer funds to lend or invest since they have to park more money with the RBI.

After the government announced a hike in the price of diesel and followed it up with some big-ticket reforms late last week, India Inc. has been clamoring for a rate cut from the central bank. Amid slowing growth and downgrades from global investment banks—some even threatening a downgrade to junk status—the RBI has steadfastly said controlling inflation is its key priority.

"Controlling inflation is the top most priority of the central bank," Chakrabarty told students of a city college in New Delhi on Friday, 14 September 2012, when inflation numbers for August were released by the government.

After falling a bit in the previous month, inflation rose to 7.55 per cent in August, driven by higher prices of potatoes, wheat and pulses which rose due to poor monsoons.

The spike in August's Wholesale Price Index was also driven by a rise in the prices of manufactured items, further whittling down the efforts of the monetary authority to batten down inflation.

Chakrabarty admitted that the nearly two-year-old rate hikes to combat inflation have had an impact on growth, driven by slowing investments. "We agree that investment has slowed down due to higher interest rate."

In its previous policy review end-July, the RBI left interest rates unchanged for the second time since June, in line with expectations, while cutting its growth forecast and lifting its inflation outlook as economic conditions deteriorated.

However, it cut the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR, the amount that commercial banks have to maintain in liquid assets, such as gold or cash) to 23 per cent from 24 per cent, effective August 11.

"In the current circumstances, lowering policy rates will only aggravate inflationary impulses without necessarily stimulating growth," RBI governor D. Subbarao wrote in the previous monetary policy review, adding the central bank's primary focus remains inflation control.