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Manmohan Singh cannot be kept out of CBI probe: Jaitley

October 18, 2013

JaitleyNew York, Oct 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cannot be kept out of the CBI probe into the controversial coal block allocation as he was the "competent authority" when the decision was taken, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said today.

Naming industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and former coal secretary P C Parakh by the CBI in its FIR sent a "very, very adverse" signal that investors and civil servants will face investigation for irregularities, while the "competent authority" in the case, the Prime Minister who held the coal portfolio, "will go scot-free", Jaitley said.

He said successive corruption scandals like the spectrum and coal blocks allocation are adding to the "disillusionment" towards the UPA government.

"This (coal block allocation) case is going to send a very, very adverse signal to both international and domestic investors," Jaitley told PTI here.

The Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha said it defied logic that a secretary to the government who recommends a coal block should be made an accused in an FIR filed by the CBI but the minister who sanctions the blocks should be out of it.

"The competent authority was the minister, the minister in this case happened to be the Prime Minister," he said. Jaitley said Parakh was only a "recommending authority" but has been named as an accused in the FIR. "The automatic corollary of this has to be that the minister in charge, who was the Prime Minister, cannot be kept out. He is the competent authority."

The FIR has named Parakh and Birla for criminal conspiracy and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act in the allocation of two coal blocks in Odisha in 2005.Jaitley described Birla as "one of the doyens of the industry" and Parakh as an "an honest civil servant" who as a "dissenter" in the coal bloc allocation had recommended auction of coal.

"This case sends three signals. The investor is being told that if you invest in India, years later your projects and allocations can be reviewed by the investigating agencies and the head of your organisation will face criminal investigation.

"The politician is being told that the civil servant will be liable and the competent authority, who is the politician, will go scot free."

Jaitley added that the treatment meted out to Parakh is a warning to bureaucrats that "even the most honest civil servants will be investigated." The "net effect" will be that apart from foreign investments drying up, even domestic investors "will now be compelled to go outside." "This sends a very bad signal to investment. If honest civil servants are going to be squeezed to save the politicians, bureaucrats will stop making honest recommendations," he said.

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News Network
April 3,2020

Washington, Apr 3: The World Bank has approved USD 1 billion emergency funding for India to help it tackle the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 76 lives and infected 2,500 people in the country.

The World Bank's first set of aid projects, amounting to USD 1.9 billion, will assist 25 countries, and new operations are moving forward in over 40 nations using the fast-track process, the bank said on Thursday.

The largest chunk of the emergency financial assistance has gone to India USD 1 billion.

"In India, USD 1 billion emergency financing will support better screening, contact tracing, and laboratory diagnostics; procure personal protective equipment; and set up new isolation wards," the World Bank said after its Board of Executive Directors approved the first set of emergency support operations for developing countries around the world, using a dedicated, fast-track facility for COVID-19 response.

In South Asia, the World Bank also approved USD 200 million for Pakistan, USD 100 million for Afghanistan, USD 7.3 million for the Maldives and USD 128.6 million for Sri Lanka.

The World Bank said it was now working to grant up to USD 160 billion over the next 15 months to support measures to tackle the pandemic which will focus on the immediate health consequences and bolster economic recovery.

The broader economic program will aim to shorten the time to recovery, create conditions for growth, support small and medium enterprises, and help protect the poor and vulnerable.

"The World Bank Group is taking broad, fast action to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and we already have health response operations moving forward in over 65 countries," said World Bank Group President David Malpass.

"We are working to strengthen (the) developing nations' ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and shorten the time to economic and social recovery," Malpass said.

According to the bank, USD 100 million will support Afghanistan to slow and limit the spread of COVID-19 through enhanced detection, surveillance, and laboratory systems, as well as strengthen essential health care delivery and intensive care.

In Pakistan, USD 200 million will support preparedness and emergency response in the health sector and include social protection and education measures, the bank said.

A total of 1,002,159 COVID-19 cases have been reported across more than 175 countries and territories with 51,485 deaths reported so far, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

Mumbai, Aug 6: Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday that overly focusing on what sovereign rating agencies think can take one's eyes off what needs to be done for the economy.

"It is also important to convince both domestic and international investors that after the crisis associated with the pandemic is over, we will return to fiscal responsibility over the medium term, and the government should do more to convince them of that," Rajan told the Global Markets Forum.

India was placed under one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in late March for more than two months to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but cases have continued to rise steadily since the government eased restrictions in June, stymieing hopes of an economic recovery.

The government has announced several initiatives to help the poor and small- and medium-size businesses, but actual cash outgo from the government's measures has been estimated at just about 1% of GDP.

Several attribute the fiscal prudence to fear of a downgrade after Moody's cut India's rating and outlook in early June followed closely by a change in outlook from Fitch.

The central bank on its part too has reduced the key lending rate by 115 basis points on top of the 135 bps last year and is widely expected to cut rates by another 25 bps later on Thursday.

"The RBI and government have certainly been cooperating, but it seems like it is elsewhere, the ball is in the government's court to do more," Rajan said.

He said the RBI needs to focus on whether credit is reaching the stressed areas of the economy and also if the viable firms were able to access credit and not the unviable ones.

"And I think that's where it has to focus its attentions, because resources, as you well know, are limited in India today."

Recently analysts, however, have cited the growing possibility the RBI may prefer to pause and cut rates only at its October meeting.

Government officials too have suggested the possibility of any more fiscal stimulus being announced, would only come in the second half of the fiscal year, once a recovery has taken root and coronavirus cases have peaked.

"What India should focus on at this point is protecting its economic capabilities, so that when it has dealt with the virus it can go resume activity in a reasonable way. That should be the focus," Rajan said.

"And if it does that, there is no reason why the rating agencies will not see that as an appropriate policy".

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News Network
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: India recorded 19,459 new coronavirus cases and 380 deaths in the last 24 hours.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday, the total coronavirus cases in the country stands at 5,48,318 including 2,10,120 active cases, 3,21,723 cured/discharged/migrated and 16,475 deaths.

Maharashtra's COVID-19 count touched 1,64,626 and cases in Delhi have reached 83,077.

The total number of samples tested up to 28 June is 83,98,362 of which 1,70,560 samples were tested yesterday, as per the data provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). 

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