'78% Indians don't save enough for comfortable retirement'

Kolkata, May 15: Veteran Bengali author Debesh Roy, who was conferred the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel 'Teesta Parer Brittanto', died at a private hospital in Kolkata on Thursday, his family members said.

Roy was 84 and he is survived by his son. His wife had died earlier.

He was admitted to the hospital near his residence at Baguihati, in the eastern fringes of the city, on Wednesday after having symptoms like sodium potasium imbalance, sugar problem and breathing problem, his family members said.

He suffered a massive cardiac arrest and died at 10.50 PM.

A regular contributor to a number of Bengali dailies, he was a staunch critic of the attacks on liberals by in the country in recent times and attended protest meetings despite his failing health.

He was born in Pabna in present-day Bangladesh on December 17, 1936. He had five decades of career as a writer.

Besides Teesta Parer Britanta', he will be remembered for books like Borisaler Jogen Mondal , Manush Khun Kore Keno and Samay Asamayer Brittanto . His first book was Jajati.

His last rites will be performed tomorrow.

New Delhi, Mar 7: The Union government has issued a Global Invite for Expression of Interest for disinvestment in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) from prospective bidders with a minimum net worth of $10 billion as of Saturday.

The EoI submissions can be made till May 2, whereas investor queries will be entertained till April 4.

Another condition pertains to a maximum of four members are permitted in a consortium, and the lead member must hold 40 per cent in proportion. Other members of the consortium must have a minimum $1 billion net worth.

The EOI allows changes in the consortium within 45 days, though the lead member cannot be changed.

The GoI proposes to disinvest its entire shareholding in BPCL comprising 1,14,91,83,592 equity shares held through the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which constitutes 52.98 per cent of BPCL's equity share capital, along with the transfer of management control to the strategic buyer (except BPCL's equity shareholding of 61.65 per cent in Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and management control thereon).

The shareholding of BPCL in NRL will be transferred to a Central Public Sector Enterprise operating in the oil and gas sector under the Ministry and accordingly is not a part of the proposed transaction.

The Brazilian government said that the Amazon rainforest witnessed deforestation of a record 829 sq km in May, the highest monthly level since 2015.

On Friday, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said that deforestation in the Amazon increased by 91 sq km compared to the same period last year, reports Xinhua news agency.

Between January and April, destruction of the forest by illegal loggers and ranchers rose 55 per cent, or a total of 1,202 sq km was wiped out, it said.

The Real-time Deforestation Detection system, a federal project created to monitor human activity in the Amazon, alerted authorities to the increase in the rate of destruction of the rainforest.

A recent study by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) warned that deforestation in 2020 could reach 11,900 sq km if the pace of May, June, and July follows the historical average.

Deforestation in the region has soared since President Jair Bolsonaro took office last year, according to conservation groups.

He has argued that more farming and mining in protected areas of the forest were the only way to lift the region out of poverty.

Bolsonaro's environmental policies have been widely condemned but he has rejected the criticism, saying Brazil remains an example for conservation.